Chapter 173: Do You Like Me? (Additional update for the alliance leader aspiring to be a great newbie)
Watching Pei Muchan losing control of her emotions bit by bit, Xu Qingyan couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
These people are really beasts, applying such pressure when they don't want to renew the contract.
But the entertainment industry is just such a realistic place, with the music scene being only a part of it. Everyone is into fan culture. If you don't participate, how will others make money?
If nobody's into fan culture, how can there be any progress?
When you're not famous, even drinking water can seem wrong.
If you're unlucky, you end up like the current Pei Muchan, clearly having done nothing wrong. Yet, you're targeted and oppressed at every turn. Everyone wants to get a kick in, how miserable.
And you'll get comments from onlookers asking why you're the only one being bullied and not others.
This kind of misery comes from the humiliation and bullying on one's self-esteem and psyche. But if the singer has some real talent, they will still make money as usual.
Even minor singers who can be recognized by name won't be poor.
Unless... they end up like Lin Wanzhou, falling out with their previous company and quickly heading to a speedy contract termination.
But even so, if the singer is willing to spend time fighting in court, the court won't uphold the company's exorbitant demands for compensation. Most likely, they'll only have to pay a symbolic amount.
In short, a singer's misery, in terms of finances, isn't that miserable. They live better than average people, at least affording a house and a car.
But the psychological pressure is much greater than that of ordinary people. Bearing the brunt of verbal attacks and psychological bullying from all sides, some might just break down and then disappear for a while.
The more severe cases might just...
"This production team is pretty stupid, I love speaking the truth."
Xu Qingyan stretched his hand to pull out a pack of tissues from the bedside table and handed one to Pei Muchan, suddenly realizing that this tissue was an international brand.
Darn it, the remnants of poverty.
"Actually, you're overthinking it. Honestly, in this industry, as long as you don't do anything illegal, as long as you're famous enough, who can ban you? Who would choose not to make money?"
"The production team doesn't recognize talent, just blacklist that bunch later. Plus, they're not evergreens. How many music shows can they make before collapsing?"
As Xu Qingyan spoke, he suddenly felt a desire to swear.
Yes, he lacks manners.
These days, the mannered ones are all wallowing in their own mental struggles. When conflict arises, their minds go blank, they tremble uncontrollably, and tears start to flow.
They go home to cry under the blankets, list out all the ways to counterattack in the middle of the night, furiously punching their pillows. It's at 2 a.m. that they're the most brilliant, with a rush of ideas.
Fast forward to the next day, unable to swallow the injustice, they end up hanging themselves at their own front door.
Xu Qingyan is different. He simply asserts, "Dad's not wrong. The mistake was your mom's for giving birth to a bastard like you. I really wish I could travel back in time and stop your mom..."
In a fight, you never prove yourself, you either point out the other person's mistakes or you take the fight to the extreme.
Be lenient with oneself and strict with others.
Pei Muchan, who had been crying, stopped her tears when she heard him speak.
"Really?"
"Could there be any doubt?" Xu Qingyan, with no experience at all, still felt extremely confident. "Trust me, winning the championship on the show and then withdrawing is the way to do it."
"To hit their faces hard. Who are they to crown themselves champions of a lousy show? Who are they to mess with music?"
Speaking of which, Xu Qingyan got himself excited.
Fuck, is it really so joyful to be naïvely hopeful?
But Xu Qingyan isn't just naively hopeful, he really has something. One of these days, I should give Boss Pei some boosts... the more I talk about it, the more I feel like I'm becoming Boss Pei's little trinket?
Like the old grandfather in a ring or the white-haired immortal in a jade pendant.
"I'm afraid I won't be able to become famous, and you can't always write songs for me," Pei Muchan sighed. "You're now squandering your talent. You'll understand when you reach my age."
Huh?? Isn't it just a three-year difference? Why does she sound like she's been through it all?
"No worries, I don't like eating salt or crossing bridges," he replied. "We'll talk about exhaustion of talent when it happens. Right now, I can't even feel what exactly 'talent' is."
Xu Qingyan is merely a ruthless transcriber of scores, his only talent resides in lacking manners.
"But being famous really depends on fate. I don't actually want to be that famous," Pei Muchan muttered, looking down. "I just don't want to be bullied anymore. Why should I be the one?"
"When I left the company before, my career hit a low point. I accepted being oppressed; as long as I hid it was fine. I didn't even dare to go to the studio."
"Even if sometimes, in the middle of the night, I psyched myself up, thinking I'd wake up energized to face everything. I am a singer, after all; getting back into the songwriting groove would do it."
"It's not for the sake of fame or money; I just wanted to write songs. But every time I got dressed and reached the door, I just couldn't step out."
"Every time I considered giving up, but every time I couldn't bear it. It wasn't my fault, so why was everyone picking on me?"
Because people tend to pick on the weak.
Hearing this, Xu Qingyan said.
"It's okay, I'll write for you, take your time with your own music. Fame and inability to write songs don't conflict; you just work on composing that song in your heart at your own pace."
"Maybe one day you'll come up with it, and it will be much better than my luck-based pieces. There's a saying 'blue is extracted from the indigo plant but is more vivid than it'. You sing the songs I write, and someday you'll outshine me."
Pei Muchan paused, feeling there was some truth to his words, yet something didn't sit right.
"But you can't write songs for me forever. What if I never manage to write a good song?"
No sooner had the words left her mouth than she regretted them. They sounded like emotional blackmail, although she had never really thought about quitting. But it still didn't feel quite right.