Chapter 65: Album The Mortal World

November 1st.

Overcast.

Temperature: 15–23°C.

8:00 AM.

Inside the conference room of Top Entertainment.

Today marked the official release of The Mortal World, the company’s heavily promoted new album.

As a result, nearly all of the company’s top executives had gathered early in the morning to witness its sales performance firsthand.

Two months ago, during the summer competition, the scene in this very conference room had been similar.

But back then, Top Entertainment had suffered a major defeat—first, losing by a significant margin to Starshine Entertainment, which had the “Queen of Sweet Songs,” Wang Xiaoni, on its roster.

Their best-ranking single only reached ninth place.

Then, they lost again, albeit narrowly, to The Long River, a rock album released by another rival, Tianchen Entertainment.

This double loss not only knocked Top Entertainment out of the top ten for singles rankings and the top five for album rankings for two months straight, but it also severely damaged the company’s standing in the market.

The embarrassment forced Top Entertainment to fire its entire music production department and adopt a broad recruitment strategy.

Armed with substantial cash reserves, they scoured the industry for top-tier songwriters and producers, all in an effort to stage a comeback before the year’s end.

This time, their main competitor was Lion Emperor Entertainment.

Aside from the two tracks acquired by Liao Liao, The Mortal World included six pre-selected, high-quality songs to form a complete album.

The artist chosen to perform them was Chen Yu, the company’s most popular singer with a massive fanbase.

Every effort had been made to dominate the November and December music charts.

The most anxious person in the room was none other than Liao Liao, who had spearheaded the promotion of the album’s two leading singles—”Passing Through the Mortal World” and “Hard to Let Go”.

Sitting in her chair, she anxiously twirled a pen between her fingers at a rapid pace.

Those who knew her well understood—

The faster Liao Liao spun her pen, the more restless she felt inside.

“Boss.”

“First batch: 200,000 cassette tapes, 50,000 CDs. Is that too much?”

Hearing this, General Manager Guo Xiangyang chuckled.

“Liao Liao, you chose the songs, the release date, and the distribution volume. Why are you losing confidence now?”

“Maybe because the origins of those songs are questionable…” Sun Fang interjected sarcastically.

Ignoring Sun Fang’s jab, Liao Liao tightened her grip on the pen.

“I’m confident in the quality of the songs… but I’m just not sure about Lion Emperor Entertainment…”

Before she could finish, a sudden knock on the door interrupted her.

Knock knock knock.

“Come in,” Guo Xiangyang said, frowning.

The door swung open, and a secretary in a tight-fitting dress hurried in with a tense expression.

She leaned in and whispered something into Guo Xiangyang’s ear.

Instantly, his face darkened.

After the secretary left, he announced grimly,

“Lion Emperor Entertainment released their album ahead of schedule!”

The entire room erupted.

Some, unable to contain their anger, slammed the table and cursed.

“Those bastards at Lion Emperor Entertainment!”

“Such dirty tactics!”

It was an unspoken rule in the industry that if two entertainment companies scheduled an album release on the same day, they had to launch their tracks at the exact same time.

Promotional efforts were fair game.

But the actual release? That had to be simultaneous.

Originally, both Top Entertainment and Lion Emperor Entertainment had set their release time for 9:00 AM.

Now, their competitor had jumped the gun.

This meant the market had already been tapped into before Top Entertainment even had a chance.

The underhanded move left everyone in the room feeling disgusted, as if they had swallowed a fly.

All eyes turned to Guo Xiangyang.

“Tan Wen, notify the marketing department. Start distributing our stock to retailers immediately.”

“Got it.”

A middle-aged man with a large belly promptly stood up and left the room.

“Huang Wen, contact the radio stations. Get our album’s songs on the air. Whatever conditions they have, as long as they’re not outrageous, agree to them.”

The bespectacled, thin woman hesitated for a moment but ultimately nodded, gathering her materials before leaving.

“Li Qiang, keep a close watch on Lion Emperor. Report any updates to me immediately.”

“Understood.”

A middle-aged man seated at the back nodded but remained seated.

Guo Xiangyang said nothing about it, instead turning his attention to Liao Liao.

“Liao Liao, inform Chen Yu—I want her in the Haicheng TV studio within an hour.”

“Understood.”

Liao Liao quickly got up and left the meeting room.

After issuing a few more instructions, Guo Xiangyang’s gaze landed on the Lion Emperor Entertainment logo projected on the screen.

With a cold smile, he muttered,

“If you play dirty, don’t blame me for playing ruthless.”

—

Meanwhile…

Inside Lion Emperor Entertainment’s headquarters in Qingzhou.

The entire company was bustling with activity.

Every employee was busy handling the release of Zhao Yuanyuan’s new album, To Fly.

Everyone, that is, except General Manager Wang Yang and his secretary.

Wang Yang sat comfortably, one hand resting on the back of his secretary’s head as he gave her a proper massage.

His other hand held a phone, and he was chatting leisurely.

A while later—

After the secretary let out a few muffled sounds, Wang Yang took a deep breath.

Turning to her, he casually instructed,

“Tell the marketing department to coordinate with the distributors and prepare for shipment.”

“Yes, sir.”

The secretary, clearly flustered, quickly straightened her clothes and was just about to leave when—

Click.

The office door gently opened.

A stunning, sultry figure stepped inside.

“Busy, are we, Mr. Wang?”

The woman’s gaze lingered on the secretary’s flushed face before she turned to Wang Yang, amusement glinting in her eyes.

Sensing her presence, the secretary stiffened.

Clearly intimidated by the newcomer, Wang Yang chuckled and swiftly changed the topic.

“Yuanyuan, shouldn’t you be at the TV station preparing? What brings you here?”

“I came to tell you something.”

Zhao Yuanyuan suddenly reached out and stopped the secretary as she walked past her.

“Hold on a second.”

The secretary froze, her tear-filled eyes full of confusion.

“Yuanyuan… is there something you need?”

Zhao Yuanyuan smiled sweetly and reached toward the secretary’s lips—

Plucking off a small, curled black strand of hair.

With a knowing smirk, she whispered,

“Be more careful next time.”

The secretary bolted out of the office in embarrassment.

Zhao Yuanyuan sauntered over to Wang Yang’s desk and placed the black strand onto the surface.

Tapping the desk lightly, she said,

“Top Entertainment’s little informant just sent word—”

“That so-called genius songwriter and composer, Jiang Jiang? Chances are, she’s a woman.”

“A young woman, at that…”