I was exposed for adding my female boss to my group of female friends.

September 10th, which is one week later.

The anticipation is off the charts.

Some listeners have practically worn out their calendars.

The top comments below the video perfectly represent their sentiments:

"Please release it soon! I really can't wait to hear 'Courage'!"

……

If the opening track "Courage" surprised the audience, then it was a shock to Ruan Qingzhu's team.

This move caught them completely off guard.

They had assumed that "Red Bean," which Chen Ya had given to the company to use to persuade higher-ups, was their trump card.

Therefore, they thoroughly analyzed the various melodies, singing techniques, and timbres in "Red Bean" and specifically instructed Ruan Qingzhu to confront them head-on.

As a result, the other side feinted and then played a completely different song, "Courage".

These two songs are excellent at creating strategic ambiguity; they simply can't figure out which style Jiang Xinhai is primarily known for.

You should know that in the music industry, having too similar styles can be fatal.

If Jiang Xinhai is the latter type, wouldn't Ruan Qingzhu alone be enough to keep her in check?

...On September 7, Ruan Qingzhu arrived at the residence of Tianhou Yingzi.

She came to visit and learn from their experience.

Chapter 143 The Pre-Exam (Thanks to Wsw Chocolate Master for the Alliance Leader) (Two Chapters Combined)

Yingzi's residence is a place befitting her status as a "superstar".

This is the end of the River Bend Green Park. After driving two kilometers along the asphalt road through the tree-lined path, you will find Yingzi's villa located on the riverbank.

Ruan Qingzhu parked the car next to the neatly manicured lawn, got out, and knocked on the door.

Today, in addition to Ruan Qingzhu, several big bosses and industry people also came to visit.

They lay on the comfortable sofas in the living room, smoking cigars and talking at length about the international landscape and the economic situation.

Ruan Qingzhu greeted these people and shook hands with each of them, not daring to be negligent.

Yingzi's living room is like a hub in the entertainment industry.

A cultural salon is held here every week, where celebrities from all walks of life come to sit and discuss important matters. "Wealthy businessmen come and go in conversation, and there is an endless stream of visitors."

These bosses looked burly and rough, but Ruan Qingzhu knew they were all quite wealthy.

The mine owners in the north of the mountains earn tens of millions a day, and that's just from one well. They make money like water and spend money like dirt.

Their favorite singers are veteran singers like Yingzi, who are famous and have a good temperament. They would spend a lot of money to have Yingzi lead a group of celebrities to attend their opening ceremonies and their children's birthday parties.

Have a face.

Over time, Yingzi's living room became a very famous place in the entertainment industry.

It's safe to say that even if she never releases a new song again, given her status in the industry, no one would dare to mess with her in the slightest.

Thinking of the young songwriter who had just shown his talent in the same company, Ruan Qingzhu felt a pang of regret.

After waiting in the reception room for a while, Yingzi finally came out to greet the guests with a glass of red wine.

"Welcome, welcome!" Yingzi sat down in her designated seat with a big smile.

The guests applauded as if they were stars appearing at a concert, and Yingzi beamed with joy.

Yingzi first greeted the men who looked like bosses, chatted and laughed for a while, and after exchanging pleasantries, she finally looked at Ruan Qingzhu:

"Qingzhu, is there anything you want to say?"

Ruan Qingzhu respectfully asked, "Master, have you heard the recent song 'Courage'?"

Yingzi sank deeper into the sofa and said, "I heard about it, what's wrong?"

“That’s how it is,” Ruan Qingzhu said, “that piece, ‘Courage,’ was written by Zhi Chi, but the company decided…”

She explained the whole story from her own perspective, but Yingzi's face remained expressionless.

After a long silence, she slowly said, "To be honest, after listening to 'Courage,' I felt that it was just so-so, even though everyone had said it was so well sung."

She looked up and asked the others, "What do you think?"

"I haven't heard of it. If Boss Ying says it's just average, then it must be just average."

"Boss Ying has a very sharp eye."

Yingzi took a sip of red wine and said, "Her singing style is weak and lacks power and pitch. To be honest, she is far inferior to you."

Ruan Qingzhu clenched her hands and said, "The song 'Courage' is indeed not very high-pitched, but she also has a song called 'Red Bean,' where the high notes are quite good."

Yingzi said, "Oh, you mean that one you can sing even if you raise the key by two... right?"

"Um……"

With other people present, the master and disciple couldn't bring themselves to speak openly about it.

The two tacitly understood that it was Yingzi herself who asked Lu Ren to write "Love Beans" to suppress Jiang Xinhai.

Ruan Qingzhu said, "Master, I feel a bit of pressure... after all, she is very well-known."

"Don't feel pressured," Yingzi waved her hand. "Just you wait and see. In the music industry, talent reigns supreme. Jiang Xinhai is just good-looking. As long as he dares to release an album, he'll flop."

After saying that, she swirled the clear red wine in her glass a few times before continuing:

"She came to the music scene as a rising film and television star, probably because she saw too many other multi-talented artists from Shanghai and thought she could do it too... She's overthinking it."

Suddenly someone clapped their hands and said, "Speaking of which, I just remembered."

Everyone looked at him, and he said, "When it was my son's birthday, I wanted to invite Jiang Xinhai to come and celebrate, so I contacted her mother to get to know her first, but she didn't appreciate it and refused to come."

"This child is the pure and innocent type, not the kind who would spend some time in the entertainment industry and then marry a rich man."

One of the bosses chuckled slyly, "Sister Ying, why don't you recruit her? We all want to see Jiangxinhai's beauty."

Yingzi said loudly, "I've recruited him! He's very stubborn and won't come no matter what I say."

Ruan Qingzhu whispered, "I heard that it was Zhichi who persuaded me to do music with him."

Yingzi looked at her, her eyes sharp.

"Zhichi, is that the supporter who made those outrageous remarks on Weibo?" a celebrity next to him said. "Didn't he just walk right into Yingjie's line of fire?"

One of the shop owners immediately realized, "Oh, I remember, the one who talked about sales figures, right?"

"He's so arrogant," another person said. "If someone like him knew that Sister Ying makes 500 million just by appearing on screen, wouldn't he be shocked? Sales figures? Who makes money selling CDs?"

A man with a calm voice said, "Boss Ying, just say the word. I have so many partner manufacturers. With just one word from you, I can make them unable to make any waves, and they won't even be able to release a song."

Yingzi gave a calm smile and said, "It's not like I'm some kind of domineering person. I'm not trying to drive anyone to their death."

The red wine was like blood; the last drop was drunk onto her red lips. Yingzi placed the glass on the side table, clasped her hands together, and slowly said:

"What I want is very simple: I just want him to change careers."

……

The next day, entertainment news newspapers were displayed at newsstands throughout the streets and alleys, with the headline on the front page being:

Queen Yingzi's Sharp Commentary on Two Recent Popular Songs: Ruan Qingzhu Has Good Skills, Jiang Xinhai Lacks Effort.

Chen Ya tossed a one-yuan coin to the newsstand owner, picked up the newspaper, tucked it under his arm, and walked across the bustling street.

The conversation of passersby reached his ears:

"...Even Yingzi has said so, Jiang Xinhai is definitely not cut out for singing."

"Yes, 'Courage' is catchy, but it lacks depth, and the singing is poor..."

Chen Ya tightened his clothes and walked home.

Autumn has arrived before we knew it, and it's getting a bit chilly.

As soon as I pushed open the door to the rented room, I heard Jiang Xinhai's anxious voice on the phone.

"...We agreed on this, and we've already paid the deposit. How can you go back on your word?"

When she saw Chen Ya return, she handed him her phone, tears still welling in her eyes.

"The manufacturer said they won't be making CDs for us anymore!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Ya put down the newspaper and picked up his phone: "Hello? What's going on?"

After hearing what the person on the phone said, he quickly walked to the window: "This is a breach of contract!..."

"...Fine, if you don't want to do it, there are plenty of others who will. Give me back my deposit."

"...What? You collect money so quickly, but you have to go through procedures to return it? What kind of logic is that??"

"I'm going to sue you!"

Chen Ya angrily hung up the phone and returned it to Jiang Xinhai.

"How was it?" Jiang Xinhai asked, blinking his eyes.

"It's terrible."

Chen Ya collapsed onto the sofa.

He rarely says things like that. So if he says it's bad, then it really is bad.

In 2012, albums were typically released on CD.

Some people also collect vinyl records, but most households don't have a record player.

Digital albums are just a concept; piracy is rampant, and digital copyright is still under development and has not yet taken off.

Therefore, nowadays, the mainstream way to release albums is still by selling CDs.

Burning CDs isn't a particularly cutting-edge technical skill, but there aren't many factories in China that do it.

The main problem is that the market is not very large, and although it has been developing for many years, not many manufacturers have survived.

Chen Ya specifically sought out a manufacturer that had little connection with his former company. When he found this company, the other party was quite easy to talk to.

Unexpectedly, just a few days later, the other party suddenly said that the factory was adjusting its business strategy and would no longer produce CDs.

Who would believe this? The orders have been shipped out for so many days; logically, their CDs should have been burned by now.

Why would the manufacturer suddenly stop selling? They're just deliberately trying to annoy them.

Despite all my calculations, I still got tricked like this.

"We've been tricked," Chen Ya said dejectedly. "I just don't know if it was the company or some big shot who pulled the strings, but we've been completely tricked."

Jiang Xinhai rubbed his eyes, sat down next to him, and asked, "Can we postpone it?"

“It can’t be postponed,” Chen Ya said. “I’ve figured it out. This is all a trap they set.”

"The first trick was to release 'Love Beans' to put pressure on us. If our album was released slowly, they would definitely accuse 'Red Beans' of plagiarizing their 'Love Beans'," Chen Ya said.

"But we didn't plagiarize!"

“We have no evidence,” Chen Ya said. “Yingzi has such a lot of influence. If they insist that we plagiarized, our reputation will be ruined.”

Jiang Xinhai said, "So that's why you chose to release the album on September 10th?"

“Yes, as long as we release our album early, the other party can’t accuse us of plagiarism,” Chen Ya said. “So we promoted it in advance and set a date, and as a result… this is the situation we are in now.”

Jiang Xinhai fell into deep thought.

"What if we find another manufacturer and expedite production?"

Chen Ya squinted: "What if we get tricked like this again?"

Jiang Xinhai stood up: "Sitting here worrying won't solve the problem, will it?"

Chen Ya rubbed his hair vigorously: "I know, I'm thinking..."

"Instead of thinking about it now, we should act quickly," Jiang Xinhai grabbed Chen Ya's arm and pulled him up from the sofa. "Let's find a manufacturer that can make this right now, the sooner the better!"

Chen Ya stood up, feeling his body very heavy.

"I just figured it out. Yingzi must have used her connections. The manufacturers I know... probably wouldn't dare to go against her, I think..."