Chapter 156: Are You Jealous?

Winning four major awards at the Golden Melody Awards solidified Cheng Chen's status in the music industry.

Previously, some called him the Mainland Song King, but that title might have felt hollow.

After all, he had no major competitions to prove himself.

But now, with the Golden Melody Awards behind him, both the Mainland and Tai Sheng acknowledge his standing.

After returning from Tai Sheng, Wang Tianxiao led all Tianhai Records employees to welcome Cheng Chen at the company.

Seeing Wang Tianxiao cradling the trophy, beaming and unwilling to let go.

Cheng Chen suspected she wasn't welcoming him—she was welcoming the four trophies.

For this, Wang Tianxiao specially rented an office and installed a sleek wall cabinet.

She carefully placed the trophies inside, stared at the cabinet, and muttered to herself:

"When will I be able to fill it with trophies?"

Hearing this, Cheng Chen chuckled and said:

"Come on, your cabinet is custom-made way too big. Of course, if you don't pick and choose awards, I'm confident I can fill it within a year!"

Since his debut two years ago, award ceremonies big and small have all reached out, eagerly inviting him to attend.

Especially music awards—famous or obscure, legitimate or seemingly dubious.

Most of these smaller ceremonies just send out invitations hoping to piggyback on fame.

If a star actually shows up, it boosts their award's visibility; handing out a few prizes to him? Easy!

Wang Tianxiao shot him a look and said:

"Come on? How long have you been in Tai Sheng that you've picked up their accent already?"

"Oh my, so impressive—the most beautiful woman in Tai Sheng throws herself at you, and you have candlelit dinners with her."

"Cheng Heavenly King, love and career both thriving, galloping on a spring breeze, seeing all the flowers of Tai Sheng in one day… Hmph!"

Hearing her sour tone,

Cheng Chen immediately teased:

"Are you jealous?"

"Bullshit, do you think I'm jealous of you? I'm standing up for Yuanyuan!"

Wang Tianxiao crossed her arms, lifted her chin, and glared at Cheng Chen with righteous fury.

Of Cheng Chen's two girlfriends, Wang Tianxiao is Gao Yuanyuan's absolute supporter.

This woman constantly watches him for Gao Yuanyuan, and the moment anything suspicious happens, she's the first to confront Cheng Chen!

As for Yan Danchen, her staunch ally is Chen Zihan, after her name change.

Though this sister rarely shows up, she keeps close tabs on Cheng Chen's every move.

Right after rumors spread about Cheng Chen meeting Lin Zhiling in secret, this sister sent him a direct text:

"If you ever hurt Chenchen, I won't let you off!"

When he saw the message, Cheng Chen was torn between laughter and tears.

For some reason, since the last concert ended,

Chen Zihan had been sending him fewer messages, and she seemed to be avoiding him.

Cheng Chen could guess what Chen Zihan was thinking.

She had feelings for him, but never expected he'd end up with her best friend.

She probably chose to step aside willingly, to make way for her sister.

Hoping for a "love deeply, love fiercely, be happy" ending…

"Oh, by the way, here's this for you."

Wang Tianxiao suddenly pulled out a stack of documents from a file folder, as if she'd prepared them long ago.

Cheng Chen took the papers and saw the cover read: "Equity Transfer Agreement."

Cheng Chen opened the agreement and clearly saw it stated:

Wang Tianxiao was transferring 40% of her 80% stake to Cheng Chen.

That meant, adding his original 20%, Cheng Chen now held 60% of Tianhai Records.

He became the largest shareholder of Tianhai Records.

Cheng Chen stared at her in surprise and asked:

"What happened? Why suddenly transfer so much equity to me?"

Wang Tianxiao looked at Cheng Chen, her face twisted, and spat out a few words through clenched teeth:

"Sign before I change my mind—yes or no!"

Seeing Wang Tianxiao wasn't joking, Cheng Chen said:

"Sign? Of course I'll sign—free equity handed to me? I'll sign!"

At its current scale, Tianhai Records still pales compared to industry giants.

But it far surpasses small indie labels and firmly ranks among top-tier record companies.

Owning absolute control over such a company

is far better than his previous 20% dry shares.

In truth, Cheng Chen could guess Wang Tianxiao's motives.

Originally, he bought 20% of Tianhai with five songs.

For a small label then earning only five-digit annual profits, it was no less than a high-stakes gamble.

But Wang Tianxiao won—the return he gave her was thousands, even ten thousand times over.

Though she never said it aloud, Wang Tianxiao had always been grateful to Cheng Chen.

Cheng Chen rose higher and higher, and under his leadership, Tianhai Records soared as well.

But the faster it developed, the more uneasy she felt inside.

She feared Cheng Chen might leave Tianhai—once he was gone, could Tianhai still maintain its current achievements?

Tianhai had other signed artists, besides Zhang Jie, whom Cheng Chen had recommended.

The other several artists they had cultivated were utterly unreliable.

She had originally planned to go to Tai Sheng with Cheng Chen, yet she gave up this opportunity the day before departure.

She went to clean up after her artists instead.

Those bastards had gotten into a fight with someone at the night market.

Wang Tianxiao spent tremendous effort convincing the other side to drop legal action and agree to an out-of-court settlement.

She also spent a lot of money to bribe the media, making sure they didn't release any reckless statements.

After all that maneuvering, Wang Tianxiao was utterly drained.

Add to that Cheng Chen's trip to Tai Sheng, which set a new historical record for Mandarin pop music on the Mainland, and Tianhai Records rode the wave to new heights.

If Cheng Chen were to quit right now—of course, based on her understanding of him, he wouldn't do such a thing.

But just because he wouldn't do it doesn't mean Wang Tianxiao was blind to the reality.

Aside from daily operations, which she managed, every single source of revenue came from Cheng Chen alone.

For today's Tianhai, it could still run normally without Wang Tianxiao.

But without Cheng Chen, Tianhai would collapse rapidly—that was the reality!

That's why she had decided to transfer shares.

If Cheng Chen accepted the shares, he couldn't possibly abandon his own assets.

Moreover, Wang Tianxiao had a selfish motive.

From the moment Cheng Chen casually wrote "Nizhan" for Zhang Jie, turning that unknown into a star with a massive fanbase,

Cheng Chen had proven he had the ability to create stars!

If the company was his, wouldn't it be reasonable for him to write lyrics and compose songs for his artists to promote one or two singers?

Cheng Chen immediately signed the share transfer agreement; the rest of the handling was up to Wang Tianxiao.

"By the way, even though I'm now the major shareholder, everything still runs as before."

"You stay as general manager—I won't interfere with company operations. Just come find me when you need my help!"

Cheng Chen handed the pen back to Wang Tianxiao, speaking slowly.

"Got it, my Lord Cheng—you'd be a landlord in ancient times!"

"You'd exploit us poor workers! I'm just destined to be your maid!"

Wang Tianxiao rolled her eyes at him, yet inside, she felt significantly more relaxed and at ease.

She had endured tremendous psychological pressure transferring forty percent of her shares to Cheng Chen.

Now that it was settled, she felt much lighter.

"Don't say that—I'd be stuck. Don't you still just call me, and I come running?"

Cheng Chen waved his hand, teasing.

Wang Tianxiao's eyelashes curved as she glanced sideways at Cheng Chen and said:

"Since we're on the topic, when are you planning to release your new album this year?"

At this, Cheng Chen's head throbbed. "Give me a moment—this can't be rushed."

"Not rush it? It's already May. Take advantage of your Golden Melody Award Song King momentum."

"Release an album during summer break—the sales will be fantastic."

So clearly, Wang Tianxiao understood the market well.

A large portion of Cheng Chen's fans were young people, with high school and college students making up at least thirty percent.

Releasing during summer break was the golden period for both album sales and chart performance.

"Sis, writing songs takes time, okay? Give me some time!"

"Big sis, writing a song takes time too, alright? Can you give me some time?"

"Huh? You need time to write songs? Isn't it just a few swift strokes? Here, take the pen—write!"

"Hm? You need time to write a song? Isn't it just a few quick strokes? Here, take the pen, write!"

Cheng Chen rolled his eyes. Though he spoke this way, he'd already formed a rough plan for the new album in his mind.

The Spring Festival Gala song "Where Has All the Time Gone" would be included as usual.

Also, "Huaxia style" wasn't just empty talk—if they were going to stick with this genre, they needed more great songs.

About four songs would be Huaxia style; the remaining five would be pure pop.

As for which songs exactly, he already had a rough idea.

He'd already won the Golden Melody Award—why not take a trip to Gang Sheng next?

"As long as you've got a rough plan, you've got about two or three months until summer break—hurry up, Lord Cheng!"

"Also, the concert tour needs to be scheduled, Lord Cheng."

"This year we tour domestically; next year we hit Asia, then Europe and America—our journey is the stars and seas!"

Wang Tianxiao grinned at Cheng Chen as she left.

Who knew this woman was into anime?

Who would have thought this woman was actually a weeaboo...

After resolving all issues in Jingcheng, Cheng Chen rushed straight to Shancheng.

After resolving all the issues in Jingcheng, Cheng Chen rushed straight to Shancheng.

The film "Crazy Stone" has already quietly started production here.

Ning Hao is a very practical director; he insists on using every penny wisely.

So there was no grand opening ceremony, and no media reporters were invited to create hype.

After the opening ceremony, the main cast sat down for a meal and then got straight to work.

In May, the weather in Shancheng was damp, with a light rain pattering down.

When Cheng Chen arrived, several of them were huddled in the hotel rehearsing their lines.

Due to the weather, Ning Hao had everyone take a day off to organize the next shooting schedule.

"Chief Cheng!"

"Chief Cheng is here!"

"Long time no see, Chief Cheng."

As soon as Cheng Chen entered the hotel, everyone stood up to greet him.

Liu Hua, Guo Tao, Xu Zheng, and Huang Bo were all present; among them, Liu Hua and Guo Tao had the longest careers.

Both had appeared in many films and TV dramas in the 1990s and were among the earliest well-known faces in the room.

Next was Xu Zheng, who entered the public eye in 2000 with the historical fantasy drama "Spring Light Shines on Zhu Bajie."

From then on, Xu Zheng carried the label of Zhu Bajie, but he was also lucky.

Thanks to this drama, he won over Tao Hong, whom Duan Yihong regarded as a goddess.

Later rumors claimed that Xu Zheng and Tao Hong lived separate lives, but no one knew the truth; they certainly seemed very affectionate now.

In 2002, he starred again in the historical comedy "Li Wei Official."

That same year, he also starred in Mainland China's first time-travel drama, "Love Across Time." With these three hit dramas as a foundation,

Xu Zheng's status in the entertainment industry was firmly established.

It was precisely "Li Wei Official 2" that allowed him to take on the role of director for the first time.

This laid the groundwork for his later transition from actor to director, leading to high-quality comedies like "Lost in Thailand."

But at this time, Xu Zheng was still a shy person, despite his fame in film and television.

In front of Cheng Chen, a "Heavenly King," and investors, he remained somewhat reserved.

"Brother Hua, Brother Tao, Brother Zheng, Brother Bo, hello—I'm Cheng Chen. Thank you all for coming all this way to support 'Crazy Stone.'"

Cheng Chen smiled at everyone in the room.

"Don't mention it. When Ning Hao first approached me, I read the script and knew it was exactly the kind of film I loved."

"It's all part of the job; no need to talk about hardship."

The elder brother Liu Hua laughed.

Liu Hua was from Jilin Province, and his speech carried a trace of the boldness common in Northeast China.

He had portrayed the general Pan Feng back in the 1994 version of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms."

He looked very similar to another actor, Wang Jingchun, and Cheng Chen often confused the two.

"Brother Hua is right—this is a great film, and our director has won major awards in Japan."

"I believe our film will be a huge hit!"

Guo Tao added from beside him.

Last year, he had co-starred with Liu Hua in the police-crime thriller "Case Investigation"; their relationship was quite good.

"Exactly!"

Xu Zheng nodded shyly beside them.

His current personality was a stark contrast to his on-screen persona—and even more different from his wife's outgoing, lively nature.

No one knew how these two ended up together; was it complementary personalities?

"If that's the case, I won't say more. Once you've finished rehearsing, I'll treat everyone to dinner tonight."

Cheng Chen smiled.

Afterward, Cheng Chen pulled Ning Hao aside and asked in detail about the shooting progress and any problems encountered.

For his first time directing a major production, Ning Hao showed no nervousness—instead, he was calm and experienced.

For him, these scenes and every step had been rehearsed dozens, even hundreds of times in his mind.

This actual filming was likely just one more run-through of what he'd already visualized.

Hearing Ning Hao say there were no issues, Cheng Chen nodded in relief.

"I'll probably stay here until Mike's scenes are finished before leaving."

Cheng Chen smiled.

"Good. Mike's schedule is already prepared—I'll give it to you shortly."

"By the way, Chief Cheng, I heard Liu Dehua is coming to Shancheng for a concert soon..."

"Oh, Hua Zai is coming for a concert?"

With Ning Hao's reminder, Cheng Chen suddenly remembered.

In 2004, Hua Zai had indeed held a concert in Shancheng.

It was said the stadium was completely packed.

The total number of audience members inside and outside reached over 130,000.

After the concert ended, Hua Zai couldn't exit the backstage area at all; the car had to drive straight into the backstage.

But there were too many fans—the car took nearly half an hour just to reach the inner venue.