Life countdown begins, ice queen bursts into security room

For an entire day, Xu Qingya sang "Red Bean" ten times and "Legend" nine times in the recording studio.

Jiang Fan sat in front of the mixing console, meticulously working on the details over and over again.

Breath control in the chorus, the emotional build-up in the bridge, and the timing of the ending notes.

His requirements were extremely demanding, down to the precise timing of every breath.

Xu Qingya did not complain at all.

She's a superstar, but in the recording studio, she obeys every instruction Jiang Fan gives.

Because she could tell that the final product was getting better with each revision.

"That's fine."

Xu Qingya took off her headphones, her forehead glistening with a thin layer of sweat.

Chen Lan sat on the sofa in the corner of the control room, with two contracts spread out on the coffee table in front of her.

"The contract is ready." Chen Lan pushed the documents over.

Jiang Fan took the contract and flipped through it page by page.

Of the digital music sales revenue, after deducting the music platform's cut, Jiang Fan receives 40%, Xu Qingya 35%, and Tianyu Media 25%.

He picked up the pen and signed his name in the signature column.

At that moment, the recording studio door was suddenly pushed open from the outside.

Wang Haiyang strode in, his face ashen.

Two uniformed security guards followed behind him.

One of them wore a nameplate on his chest—Security Manager, Zhao Guoqiang.

"Chen Lan! Are you crazy?"

Wang Haiyang poked Chen Lan's nose directly with his finger.

"Chen Weiyang just stormed into my office, saying you brought an outsider, seized his recording studio, and kicked him out! He's in charge of the music production for three key projects for the company in the second half of the year. If he abandons them, can you take responsibility for that?!"

Chen Lan stood up, her face showing no sign of panic.

Wang Haiyang turned his head and fixed his gaze on the young man sitting in front of the mixing console.

He was wearing a black T-shirt, one hand resting on the slider of a million-dollar mixing console, while using the other hand to flip through the audio track waveforms on the computer screen.

He didn't even lift his head.

Wang Haiyang walked over and said, "You, get out of here right now. Do you think you can touch Tianyu's S-level equipment? Security, take him out."

Zhao Guoqiang followed Wang Haiyang and took two steps forward.

Then he saw the face in front of the mixing console.

My feet were rooted to the spot.

Wang Haiyang noticed Zhao Guoqiang's unusual behavior and frowned: "What are you standing there for? Drag him out!"

Zhao Guoqiang's Adam's apple bobbed up and down twice.

"Mr. Wang... Mr. Wang."

Wang Haiyang frowned: "You know him?"

"He...he was our company's former...security guard."

Wang Haiyang's expression cracked.

"What?"

"It's...it's that guy on the night shift in the underground parking garage, I...fired him last month."

Zhao Guoqiang wished he could bite his tongue off.

He finally understood that the nonchalant attitude the other person displayed when packing up and leaving in the security room that day was not a sign of passive acceptance at all.

They didn't even consider this job a priority.

Wang Haiyang glared at Zhao Guoqiang, then glanced at Jiang Fan, the information in his mind failing to connect.

security guard?

Jiang Fan then looked up from in front of the screen.

He glanced at Zhao Guoqiang.

"Brother Zhao, has the 320 yuan overtime pay from last month been deposited into my account?"

Zhao Guoqiang's face turned red to the roots of his neck.

"I...I'll take care of it when I get back."

"No rush, we can transfer whenever it's convenient."

After Jiang Fan finished speaking, he turned back to continue looking at the waveform diagram.

Wang Haiyang's blood pressure jumped another ten points.

Good heavens, the vice president of Tianyu Media, along with the security manager, came to clear the place, only to find that the security manager still owed them three hundred yuan.

How is he going to handle this situation?

At this moment, Xu Qingya pushed open the glass door of the recording studio and walked out.

With headphones hanging around her neck and impeccable makeup, her cool aura made the recording studio feel two degrees colder.

She walked over to Jiang Fan and looked at Wang Haiyang.

"Mr. Wang, Chen Weiyang is blackmailing me with his hit song, forcing me to go to Sanya with him for 'source gathering.' Are you going to do anything about this?"

Wang Haiyang's lips twitched.

He wasn't unaware of this matter.

To be precise, Chen Weiyang had informed Xu Qingya beforehand about the day he invited her to dinner.

His exact words were: "Weiyang, Qingya is stubborn, so be careful."

The implication was that he didn't want things to look too bad, but he didn't care about the outcome.

It's perfectly justified to manipulate the production resources when the diva is disobedient.

But he couldn't say this in front of Xu Qingya.

Wang Haiyang adjusted his expression and softened his tone.

"Qingya, Weiyang is just a man who speaks without thinking. He was just looking for inspiration. Your new album is about to be released. Without him, how will you release it? Go apologize to him right away. I'll mediate this."

Wang Haiyang wanted to try his best to regain the initiative on the field.

"Besides, even if Chen Weiyang has problems, that's an internal company matter. But this... this outsider," he pointed at Jiang Fan, "what gives him the right to sit here?"

Xu Qingya glanced at Jiang Fan sideways, then turned back.

"He is the producer of my new album. He wrote, composed, arranged, and recorded all two lead singles."

"The contract was just signed." Chen Lan picked up the documents from the coffee table and waved them in front of Wang Haiyang.

"The process is compliant, and the fees will be paid through Xu Qingya's studio's independent account, without affecting the company's budget. Mr. Wang, do you have any further questions?"

Wang Haiyang raised his head, his gaze flickering back and forth between Jiang Fan and Xu Qingya several times.

"Him?" Wang Haiyang's tone was full of suspicion. "A security guard wrote a song, and you're using it as the lead single? Qingya, you know perfectly well how much budget you put into marketing for your new album..."

"Mr. Wang."

Chen Lan walked to the mixing console, opened the audio file she had just recorded, and pressed play.

The piano prelude flowed from the monitor speakers.

Then came Xu Qingya's voice.

"I haven't even had a chance to properly experience the weather when the snowflakes are blooming."

"When we tremble together, we'll understand even more what tenderness truly is."

Wang Haiyang shut his mouth.

Although he doesn't understand music, he understands the market.

He has a better sense than any music critic when it comes to knowing which songs will chart and which will make money.

This song is going to be a huge hit.

The melody is so catchy that you can remember the chorus after just one listen, and the lyrics are sophisticated but not obscure.

Hsu Ching-ya's singing was exceptionally good, at least a level better than her previous two albums.

After the song finished playing, no one spoke in the recording studio.

Zhao Guoqiang stood at the door, his mouth slightly open, with only one thought in his mind—who exactly did he fire back then?

The way Wang Haiyang looked at Jiang Fan again had completely changed.

"This song... is really good."

Wang Haiyang cleared his throat.

He has turned his back on business countless times, and his skin has long since become as thick as an impenetrable fortress.

"I was unaware of the situation before, and I apologize for any offense." He nodded to Jiang Fan. "Your name is Jiang Fan, right? Talented young people are always welcome at Tianyu Entertainment."

Three minutes ago, he was telling someone to "get out," and three minutes later, he's become a "talented young person."

Jiang Fan leaned back in his chair and didn't respond.

Chen Lan turned off the media player and walked up to Wang Haiyang.

"Mr. Wang, Chen Weiyang abused his position to withhold music resources from artists and engaged in power-for-sex transactions. I have copies of the evidence. Were you aware of this?"

Wang Haiyang's facial muscles twitched.

"Alright, I'll handle things in Weiyang." He buttoned up his suit jacket, resuming his vice president demeanor. "Qingya, keep an eye on the album. Contact me directly if you need anything."

After saying that, Wang Haiyang turned and walked towards the door.

As he passed Zhao Guoqiang, he stopped and vented his anger on him.

He lowered his voice and cursed through gritted teeth, "That three hundred and twenty yuan, fucking pay him back right now! And find out his background, what's his background? How can a security guard write a song like this? If you can't find out, you don't need to come in tomorrow!"