Chapter 369: Zhang Lan’s Turning Point

“Do you think that’s even possible?”

Zhang Lan looked at Li Xiaoxiao and couldn’t help but laugh. Her dedication to music—did they really not understand that?

Give up the Music Studio? That was out of the question.

Even if she ended up being the only one left, she would still carry on.

“Zhang Lan, I really think it’s better if you join the Music Studio. You know those songs are credited to all four of us. Once we sign with the entertainment company, we’ll have to follow their lead.”

“If the company doesn’t grant authorization, you probably won’t be able to use those songs anymore.”

Wu Jie looked at Zhang Lan with a troubled expression.

“What are you trying to say?”

Zhang Lan’s tone turned cold as she listened to Wu Jie’s words.

“Are you threatening me? If the songs are credited to all four of us, then if I don’t give my permission, even if you join the company, you won’t be able to use them either.”

She had thought that after spending so much time together, even if they were going their separate ways, it wouldn’t come to this.

But Wu Jie’s words were clearly a veiled threat.

No authorization unless she joined them? What a joke.

“Hahaha, Lanlan, don’t get upset. Wu Jie didn’t mean it like that. She just wants you to come with us to the entertainment company, that’s all. No other intentions.”

Xu Lei quickly stepped in to smooth things over, pushing Wu Jie aside.

Zhang Lan ignored Xu Lei. She turned and sat down on a chair nearby, lowering her head in silence.

After a long pause,

She took a deep breath and looked up at Xu Lei.

“You’ve all made up your minds, haven’t you?”

But before anyone could answer, she could already tell from their expressions what their decision was.

“Zhang Lan, we…”

Xu Lei hesitated, guilt flickering across her face.

But for the sake of her future, she had ultimately chosen to sign with the entertainment company.

The club had been doing well lately, thanks to a few well-received songs they had created. But creativity was unpredictable—who could guarantee it would last?

Right now, they were riding a wave of inspiration, but what about later? When the well ran dry, then what?

Joining an entertainment company changed everything. Even if she couldn’t write good songs herself, the company could source tracks from other songwriters.

Sure, there would be restrictions.

But gains always came with losses.

And joining an entertainment company didn’t mean she could only sing. If her resources were decent, she might get commercial gigs or even appear on variety shows.

If she landed a spot on a variety show, she’d get screen time. The audience would get to know her.

The more shows she did, the more exposure she’d get. Even without many songs, she could still gain popularity. And once she had popularity, how could she not make money?

Xu Lei had thought it all through. After careful consideration, she decided to join the entertainment company with Wu Jie and Li Xiaoxiao.

Among the four of them, she was confident that her singing ability was second only to Zhang Lan.

After all, Zhang Lan had been eliminated from the competition not because of poor performance, but because she refused to comply with the show’s unspoken rules. Xu Lei herself had been eliminated due to a sore throat that day, which affected her performance.

So when it came to vocal skills, she and Zhang Lan were on par.

Wu Jie and Li Xiaoxiao were a different story. They had been eliminated purely because they couldn’t sing well.

So Xu Lei knew she was stronger than them. Once they joined the company, it would only take a little effort on her part to stand out. It would be obvious who the company would choose to invest in.

“Alright, I get it. If you want to leave, then go.”

Zhang Lan waved her hand wearily. Those who were meant to leave would leave eventually.

Besides, she had already seen the longing in their eyes when they talked about the entertainment company. Forcing them to stay would be pointless.

“We’re fine with leaving, but about the songs…”

Wu Jie began to speak again, seeing that Zhang Lan had agreed to let them go.

But before she could finish, Xu Lei shot her a sharp glare that immediately shut her up.

“Zhang Lan, once we sign with the company, there’ll be a lot of things out of our control. Some decisions won’t be ours to make. Like with the songs—if the company doesn’t allow us to grant authorization, there’s nothing we can do.”

“I’m sure you can understand that.”

“That’s right. You can refuse to authorize the songs, but I don’t think there’s any need to let things get so ugly. If none of us can use them, then all our hard work goes to waste.”

Xu Lei glared at Wu Jie, though inwardly she was fuming.

Wu Jie was such an idiot. Saying something like that now, when they needed Zhang Lan’s cooperation the most? If she really got angry and refused to authorize the songs, then what?

The company had only invited them because of those songs. If they couldn’t use them, then what leverage would they have left, even if they did sign?

How could Wu Jie not see something so obvious? Xu Lei couldn’t believe she hadn’t realized how dumb she was until now.

“What do you want to do?”

Zhang Lan asked calmly, her gaze fixed on Xu Lei.

She had seen everything in Xu Lei’s expression just now.

After all this time together, she never imagined Xu Lei would be this kind of person.

Xu Lei took a moment to gather her thoughts before slowly speaking.

“To be honest, these songs are extremely important for us as we join the entertainment company. I really don’t want things to end up in a situation where no one can use them.”

“So, we’ve come up with a new proposal. The copyright for the current version of the songs will be handed over to you. You can do whatever you want with this version, but you’re not allowed to modify it or create derivative works. Also, you don’t have the right to license it to anyone else.”

“Of course, this does infringe on your rights to some extent, so we’ll be giving you 500,000 yuan as compensation.”

“After we leave, managing the club on your own is going to be tough. The songs may be popular now, but they’ve only just started gaining traction, and they’re still in the free release phase. It’ll take time before they start generating any real income.”

“But this 500,000 should be enough to keep the club running for a while.”

Zhang Lan rubbed her temples and looked seriously at Xu Lei.

In truth, she didn’t care that much about the song itself. What mattered more to her were the memories of the four of them huddled together in that dim basement, creating music.

Back then, she truly felt like she had found three kindred spirits.

No matter how hard things got, it was all worth it for the sake of making good music.

But now, it all felt like a joke. The moment an entertainment company appeared, their club fell apart.

Forget it.

She sighed quietly to herself. If they wanted the song that badly, then so be it.

After all, they had once worked hard together.

Having sorted out her thoughts,

Zhang Lan looked up at Xu Lei, just about to nod in agreement, when Wu Jie stepped forward and spoke.

“Zhang Lan, what are you still hesitating for? This is already a really good deal. Don’t be ungrateful! Do you really think you can go up against an entertainment company and come out on top?”

Seeing Zhang Lan remain silent, Wu Jie couldn’t hold back any longer.

“Exactly…”

Li Xiaoxiao chimed in with a quiet echo of agreement.