Chapter 46: Miss Liu, You Are Very Beautiful

This was an era that belonged to IT.

Computers, which seemed expensive and high-end now, would become a standard tool in every household within the next few years, certainly within the next decade.

This was a market with immense potential, on the verge of a massive surge in vitality.

Chen Weiwei had always believed this.

Thus, after graduating from university, Chen Weiwei had dedicated herself to the industry. After several years of diligent work, having mastered both computer software and hardware, she used her first pot of gold along with some financial support from her family to found Bluebird Technology.

However, her entry into the market was still a bit late.

From her start in 2004 to the present, many foreign computer brands had been ravaging the Huaxia market, seizing a massive slice of the pie. Domestically, the industry giant Lianzhong Technology also held sway, carving up the remaining resources.

The portion that Bluebird could claim was truly limited.

Oftentimes, the business world was like a battlefield.

Many computer companies that started at the same time had either been acquired and assimilated or had simply collapsed under market pressure. Those that managed to survive were mostly hanging on by a thread.

Bluebird Technology was one of the few among these companies that was operating reasonably well and maintaining a steady profit.

“The brand needs an image…”

“Among female celebrities, I think Zhao Yiman is quite good. For the men, the rising star singer Zhou Yang – the Little Heavenly King¹ – is an excellent choice. I believe he has huge potential…”

“I’ve prepared a proposal and a quote for these two. President Chen, I’d like to sign them. I wanted to get your thoughts on…”

“…”

Inside Chen Weiwei’s office.

Chen Weiwei listened to Liu Ying’s work report.

She fell into deep thought, especially after reviewing the sales figures for the new quarter.

The computer sales for the first quarter weren’t bad, totaling around sixty thousand units, but there was no significant growth point.

Feedback from various channels showed that users didn’t have a particularly strong reaction to the computers, and the brand’s recognition remained stuck around the third or fourth-tier level.

This was enough to give Chen Weiwei a slight sense of crisis.

“Zhao Yiman is fine. She has a wide fan base, and her manager is easy to talk to. But this Zhou Yang… his current quote isn’t low. Plus, his enunciation is a bit slurred when he sings. I honestly don’t understand why young people like him so much…” Chen Weiwei frowned as she stared at the cool photo of Zhou Yang in the proposal.

She had actually heard Zhou Yang’s songs.

His songs were very fast-paced. After listening to an entire track and trying to recall it, she realized she couldn’t remember a single line of the lyrics.

“But it works, doesn’t it? Many young people follow this trend. They think Zhou Yang looks incredibly cool, and his slurred enunciation isn’t a bad thing – it’s become his signature style. If we can land him, our brand recognition among the youth will definitely explode…”

“What’s his endorsement fee?”

“Around eight million. Well… currently, money alone might not be enough to get him. I heard the international brand Huijia is also looking for him, and they might offer an even higher price…”

“…”

Chen Weiwei fell silent again upon hearing that figure.

An endorsement fee of eight million was a terrifying, astronomical sum in 2005.

It wasn’t that she couldn’t afford it, but she was weighing the potential gains against the loss of that capital.

If Zhou Yang continued to stay popular and eventually achieved the status of a true Heavenly King, this money would absolutely be worth it.

But…

The entertainment industry was a fickle place.

There were far too many instances of stars rising and falling overnight.

“There’s one more thing…”

“What is it?”

“President Chen, have you heard of a man named Zhang Yang?”

“Zhang Yang?” Chen Weiwei paused, feeling like she had heard the name somewhere before. Then she asked, “The head of the company behind that game that’s been getting popular lately, Beat the Grass Mud Horse?”

“Yes, Zhang Yang from Universe Technology. He just called us, saying he wants to collaborate with us on game development. He seems to hold you in very high regard and hopes to use our company as a blueprint to create a game together… Would you like to schedule a time to meet him?”

“Oh? Then let’s meet.”

Chen Weiwei felt a bit curious.

“…”

……………………….

The contract had been signed in the morning.

By the afternoon, the whole group swarmed into Bao Qiang’s office building with great fanfare.

Bao Qiang’s office space was indeed excellent.

It was spacious and had great natural lighting.

The only regret was that, aside from the floor tiles and essential utilities like water and electricity, the vast hall was completely empty.

There wasn’t a single chair or desk in sight!

Zhang Yang felt as if he could see stacks of cash flying out of his pocket, fluttering all around the hall.

His expression changed drastically.

Dammit!

How could they not leave us a single computer desk?

We have to buy everything ourselves?

How much is that going to cost!

Crap!

Why didn’t I come to see the place in person when I signed the contract…

The usually shrewd Zhang Yang felt like he had just swallowed a bitter melon; his face turned as green as a crashing stock².

However…

The others were jubilant!

“Wow, this place is great…”

“We can put a pantry here, and in this corner, we can design a small balcony…”

“We’ll put a few sofas here. Yeah, I think the view from this window is nice. We can look at the world outside when we’re busy…”

“And here…”

“Let’s put in some brand-name desks. Maybe we should arrange for those new model computer chairs?”

“I think that works!”

“President Zhang, didn’t we hear you can play the guitar? Do we need to set up a music and entertainment room?”

“…”

Ge Yumiao, the Great God Ge, was so excited his eyes were practically bulging.

He was hopping around everywhere like a skinny monkey that had found a bunch of bananas, brimming with joy.

Meanwhile, Zhao Hang, Wu Zhuang, and the others were staring at the empty space, envisioning their future.

Every word they spoke felt like a sword piercing through Zhang Yang’s heart…

The pain was enough to make him burst.

What the hell…

Who could possibly endure this?

Right at that moment, Zhang Yang heard his phone ring.

He pulled it out.

“Hello? Ah, hello!”

“Ah, Miss Liu, hello, hello… Ah, when am I free? I’m free right now, yes! Right now! Where are you? I’ll head over immediately…”

“…”

……………………….

“Driver, could you turn the music down a bit?”

“Don’t you young people all like Zhou Yang? His songs are so good…”

“Uh, just a bit quieter, please.”

“Alright, I’ll turn it down…”

The moment Zhang Yang hung up the phone, he hailed a taxi and rushed toward the Bluebird Technology headquarters.

This meeting was incredibly important to him.

The future fate of his company practically rested on this single discussion.

So, while in the taxi, he spent the entire time contemplating his wording and analyzing President Chen Weiwei’s state of mind.

He hadn’t expected the taxi driver to be such a trendy fellow.

The man kept playing one fast-paced melody after another.

Zhang Yang found his thoughts involuntarily drifting along with the upbeat rhythm, making it difficult to concentrate.

It felt exactly like listening to Jay Chou’s “Nunchucks³” back in the day – “Heng heng ha hei…”

Only after the driver turned the music down did Zhang Yang feel a bit more comfortable and sink back into deep thought.

Soon!

Zhang Yang arrived at the entrance of Bluebird Technology.

It was an office building, not particularly large in scale, only about two or three floors bigger than the current Universe Technology.

This was Bluebird Technology’s sales headquarters.

Their actual industrial production park wasn’t in Yanjing, but in Shenzhen.

Just as he walked in and was waiting for the elevator, Zhang Yang overheard a few employees gossiping excitedly.

“Did you hear?”

“Hear what?”

“I heard our company might – I’m saying might, mind you – be preparing to invite Zhou Yang and Zhao Yiman to be brand ambassadors…”

“Wow, for real?”

“Shh, it’s supposedly still under consideration…”

“…”

When the low-level employees noticed Zhang Yang, they instinctively shut their mouths and hurried away.

Zhang Yang watched their retreating backs, frowning slightly.

Zhou Yang?

That was the second time Zhang Yang had heard that name.

He was a singer, right?

Just like Jay Chou⁴‘s early work, the lyrics were all slurred…

Wait!

An incredible idea suddenly flashed through his mind!

How did people make money in all those transmigration novels?

They wrote songs!

Even though many novels claimed the protagonist wrote a song that became a hit and brought in tens of millions…

And even though he didn’t know that many pop songs.

But…

As long as he could produce something and get it recognized, making a bit of pocket change shouldn’t be a problem, right?

Besides, he knew a little bit of guitar himself!

Didn’t know how to compose?

Only knew the lyrics and the tune?

Did that even matter?

As long as he could sing it.

He could just spend a bit of money, find a professional to help polish it, and wouldn’t it be done?

But how could he get in touch with the teams of these big stars?

The key was, as someone in the gaming industry, how could he make them believe he was also great at songwriting?

They wouldn’t believe he could write songs, would they?

While Zhang Yang was lost in these wild thoughts…

The elevator stopped on the fifth floor.

Ding!

The elevator doors opened.

Zhang Yang saw a tall figure standing before him.

“President Zhang, I presume?”

“Ah, hello.”

“I’m Liu Ying. Hello, President Zhang…”

“Oh, hello Miss Liu. Wow, Miss Liu, you’re quite beautiful…”

“…”

Upon seeing Liu Ying, Zhang Yang’s eyes lit up, and a sudden spark of heat flashed in his pupils!

(End of Chapter)

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Translator’s Notes

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1. Little Heavenly King: A title (Xiǎo Tiānwáng) used for rising male stars in the Mandopop industry who show the potential to reach the legendary status of the ‘Four Heavenly Kings’ of the 1990s. The character Zhou Yang, with his fast-paced songs and slurred enunciation, is a parody of real-life superstar Jay Chou during his early 2000s rise. ↩
2. green as a crashing stock: In the Chinese stock market, the color coding for gains and losses is the opposite of Western markets: red indicates a price increase, while green indicates a decrease or ‘crash.’ Zhang Yang’s face turning green is a play on words, linking the color of a bitter melon to the ‘green’ of a falling stock to express his financial distress. ↩
3. Nunchucks: One of Jay Chou’s most iconic early songs (released in 2001). The phrase ‘Heng heng ha hei’ mentioned in the text is the signature martial-arts-inspired vocal hook from the song’s chorus. ↩
4. Jay Chou: A reference to the real-life Taiwanese pop megastar Jay Chou (Zhou Jielun). In his early career, he was famously known for a unique ‘mumble’ singing style where his enunciation was often unclear, a trait the protagonist uses here to categorize the fictional singer Zhou Yang. ↩