Love Variety Show: The despised me exploded in popularity

She dared not make a move, her gaze rigidly fixed on Xu Qingyan's neck. She didn't dare to look into his eyes for fear that she wouldn't be able to hold back from speaking her mind.

His fingers had left, but a faint burning sensation remained on her face. It spread bit by bit, soon making her entire body slightly feverish and her chest feel a bit stuffy.

The heat of the surroundings, the bonfire, the distant crowd, it all seemed to freeze in that moment.

Night had fallen, and at this point, it was time to eat.

Ji Chen had cooled down, so the feast began ahead of schedule.

Pei Muchan sat at the dining table, surrounded by her studio's staff. Xu Qingyan had taken the seat next to her, and since sitting down, he had scarcely stopped moving.

He was either being toasted or livening up the atmosphere, making him seem more like the boss of Chanming Studio than Pei Muchan herself, but the mood was nevertheless lively.

She was rather content with the peace, sipping her drink in small mouthfuls and occasionally picking at the food with her chopsticks.

Suddenly, she heard a female staffer call out to "President Xu," "You wrote the new song for Lin Chuan?" As she spoke, she lifted her phone to show that the lyrics were clearly credited.

Lyricist and Composer: Xu Qingyan.

Lin Chuan's posts promoting the song couldn't possibly detail who wrote the lyrics and music, but anyone who bought "The Great Fish" could see it as soon as they opened their mouths – such a large name hanging there.

Upon hearing this, seven or eight of the studio's staff lifted their heads and stared at Xu Qingyan.

He set down his cup, filled with a beverage. With more women than men on staff at the studio, he seldom drank alcohol unless necessary, to avoid any potential issues and ensure he could drive.

"Uh... yes, what about it?"

The studio's female staffer, flushed with a bit of alcohol, excitedly pointed at her phone.

"It's been just two hours, and the download count is already at six hundred thousand!"

Everyone present was an industry insider, so naturally, they knew what it meant for a song to break six hundred thousand downloads in two hours – a pure sales figure of one point two million.

Even with Lin Chuan as the artist, such a swift climb to a million in sales was exceedingly rare.

Hearing this, Pei Muchan couldn't help but look up, her eyes showing surprise. She had been so engrossed in chatting with him that she had forgotten about Lin Chuan's new song once her emotions had settled.

She would have bet anything that Xu Qingyan had also forgotten about it.

Seeing his surprised expression, Pei Muchan became even more certain of her assumption. Suddenly, she found it ridiculous. A song breaking a million in sales in just two hours – what kind of song was it?

...

Jiang Ling walked out of Cloud Wing Entertainment's building and looked back.

The building was shrouded in a haze of lights, appearing like a monstrous creature perched within a sphere of illumination, yet now it seemed particularly menacing.

However, she had terminated her contract and was no longer a part of Cloud Wing Entertainment. She clutched the kraft paper bag in her hand, and hope flared in her heart once again.

As she expected, the company had no intention of fulfilling the contract and investing resources to nurture her. They had only sought to bind her tightly, to use her as a disposable asset and tie her down with the contract.

It sounded like the treatment of a dog, and in fact, it wasn't much different.

If Lin Wanzhou had faced such a situation, she would likely have gathered evidence and firmly disputed the issue. She would have faced the company in court or perhaps settled things privately with money and time.

But what Jiang Ling had in abundance right now was time, so she adopted the first part of that approach. She gathered evidence and made a reasoned argument before going directly to the company executives.

"I can't live like this anymore. Since Mr. XX insists on this, I will hang myself at his house tomorrow. I'll do it in front of his child and I'll call all the reporters over."

"Don't worry, even as a ghost, I won't let you go. I have seven or eight useless brothers back in my hometown, so if I can't live, then let's all die together."

The company executives were nearly scared to death; Jiang Ling had always been considered wild. Who would have thought she would be this crazy? The look in her eyes didn't seem fake at all.

Fierce people are afraid of the mad, and the mad are afraid of those who are desperate.

It was just a long-term contract, after all. Frankly speaking, the music segment wasn't that important to them. It was just that Lin Wanzhou's contract termination had led the company to reflexively want to lock down Jiang Ling.

It didn't matter if she wasn't popular, or even if she was slowly fading out of the limelight. Dying at her post was irrelevant. They only needed someone to fill that role, to serve as material for PowerPoint presentations.

It could be Jiang Ling, Zhang San, Li Si, Wang Mazi – whoever. It didn't matter.

Even when executives were furious, they didn't dare gamble with everything they had fought to build. Just like Jiang Ling said, apart from money and her seven or eight brothers back home, she had nothing left.

Jiang Ling came from a clan of martial artists in the south of Dian, with copious family members. If she really clung to one of them, dying at their home.

Beyond emigrating, he was unsure where was safe. Even if he moved to the roof of the world, he feared someone knocking at his door in the middle of the night, a thought chilling him to the bone.

What else could he do but try to calm her down. He stabilized Jiang Ling on one hand while actively seeking a solution for her on the other, employing an intern to carry out irregular operations.

By means of the irregular operations, Jiang Ling was able to complain through internal channels. Eventually, with coordination from the executives, it took half a month to forcefully terminate the contract.

The twists and turns were perilous and there were many setbacks for the executives, but thankfully, they succeeded in breaking the contract in the end.

Since the company had not actually invested resources in Jiang Ling, there was no need to abide by a non-compete agreement. After a series of mediations, the matter concluded with Jiang Ling paying a settlement of 1.13 million yuan.

1.13 million yuan was not a big deal for Jiang Ling, nor was it for any singer who had been famous for a while and had a recognizable name.

Buzz, buzz, the phone rang, a call from CEO Wu.

"Hello, CEO Wu."

"Jiang Ling, you have already terminated the contract. I hope you won't bother me and my family anymore." On the other end of the phone, CEO Wu sounded exceptionally tired.

Jiang Ling stood downstairs. Hearing this, she instinctively looked towards Wu Qingyan's office. Her face uncovered by a mask, her eyes were clear and pure.

"Understood, CEO Wu."

She smiled, recalling the scene half a month ago when she had gone to talk about termination with Wu Qingyan. That big bad wolf leaning back in his chair, arrogantly asking what coffee she wanted.

He even mocked her for not maturing over time, for not understanding human nature or certain unspoken rules, and for not offering anything when asking for a favor.

Now he's the one acting like a coward, drink your mother's coffee, trash. Continue your saga on empire

Some people are fierce in appearance but weak at heart. They won't listen to reason, but when you're ready to flip the table and destroy everything, they suddenly become helpful.

She never feared death, only obscurity.

Time didn't leave much on her, but instead made her even more dazzlingly mature. Her thick lashes hung down, her eyes bright as snow on a high mountain.

Her voice barely concealed her disdain for Wu Qingyan as she let out a light scoff and hung up the phone.

Back in her car, she carelessly tossed the document bag on the passenger seat. She buckled up, ready to start the car, then suddenly thought of something, she took out her phone and composed a message.

"I've terminated my contract."

About ten seconds later, the reply was brief.

"Congratulations."

Is that all, just congratulations? Jiang Ling sat in her car, nibbling at her fingernails, feeling slightly suffocated. But she couldn't afford to offend Xu Qingyan, who was even more ferocious than her.

Usually unyielding to either soft or hard tactics, she ironically became her only lifeline now—a clear case of what comes around goes around.

At eighteen, she had left the south of Dian, thinking she could make a name in the music world. But after a brief peak came endless suffering.

Time had not favored her, and before she knew it, she was almost twenty-nine.

She thought for a moment and sent another message.

"Just congratulations? Doesn't Teacher Xu have any comment?"

Xu Qingyan: "Heh."

Jiang Ling, fueled by anger, felt a pang in her chest, wondering what this man was really like. If it hadn't been for... she sighed, deciding to forebear, to treat him like a child and let him off the hook.

She didn't respond to the message, simply scrolling through her feed. The trending news of Ji Chen's scandal was still there, now updated with #JiChenTakenAwayForInvestigation#.

Jiang Ling had no interest in fan circles and was about to put down her phone to drive home when, suddenly, a notification popped up, [Lin Chuan's new song "Big Fish" fiercely debuts].

Lin Chuan has released a new song? She couldn't help but be surprised. Recently preoccupied with terminating her contract, she had almost completely ignored outside news.