Chapter 29: Five Songs

The next day, Cheng Chen arrived at her company using the contact information Wang Tianxiao had left him.

Tianhai Records, conference room.

"Here's the contract, take a look."

Wang Tianxiao pushed the contract toward Cheng Chen; she still wore the attire of a powerful woman—suit and trousers making her look extremely efficient.

"The contract is fine."

After a long pause, Cheng Chen smiled and said, holding the contract.

The contract clearly outlined the obligations and responsibilities of both parties, and Cheng Chen trusted her on this point.

"Alright, as agreed, you must deliver me five premium songs this first half of the year."

"You're a shareholder of the company and also the lyricist-composer-producer—you get your share of dividends, and you also get your producer's cut."

Wang Tianxiao crossed her arms, expressionless.

Her feelings toward Cheng Chen were complicated: she wanted to harness his talent, yet felt she'd given him too much equity…

"Manager Wang, you have your concerns, and I have my thoughts."

"Tianhai Records was founded by you alone; though I'm a shareholder, I won't interfere with the company's normal operations."

"I only want what's rightfully mine, so you needn't harbor any hostility toward me, thinking you're raising a tiger that will turn on you."

Cheng Chen spoke bluntly, but to someone like Wang Tianxiao, blunt honesty was the right approach.

Hearing Cheng Chen's words, Wang Tianxiao finally allowed a faint smile to appear—both were intelligent; a hint was enough.

She asked half-jokingly, half-testing:

"How's the progress on those five premium songs I mentioned for the first half of the year?"

"It's already May—there's still half a month left before the first half ends."

"I've already told everyone under me: don't let our new shareholder disappoint them."

After saying that, Wang Tianxiao picked up a cup of coffee with a mischievous grin and took a sip.

Cheng Chen smiled slightly and pulled a stack of handwritten sheets from his briefcase, pushing them toward her.

"So fast? Don't try to pass off shoddy work on me!"

Wang Tianxiao opened the sheets skeptically.

Besides the three songs already agreed upon—"Love Transfer," "Blue Lotus," and "Autumn Does Not Return"—Cheng Chen had added two new ones.

They were "Wolf Loves Sheep" and "Fairytale."

"The wolf loves the sheep, madly in love—who made them truly fall in love?"

"The wolf loves the sheep, not absurd at all—they say where there's love, there's direction."

"The wolf loves the sheep, in glorious love—they break through the walls of convention."

"The wolf loves the sheep, madly in love—they support each other as they journey far away…"

……

"I wish to become the angel you love in a fairytale."

"Spread my arms, become wings to guard you."

"Believe me, believe we'll be like in a fairytale."

"Happiness and joy are the ending…"

Same handwritten lyrics, same musical notation, same sensation that made the soul tremble!

Wang Tianxiao held the lyrics, staring down for a long time, reading word by word, even humming softly to herself without realizing it.

Cheng Chen waited patiently for Wang Tianxiao's response; her reaction didn't surprise him.

After all, these two songs were immensely popular in his past life.

"Wolf Loves Sheep" won "Top Ten Original Pop Songs" at the Decade Tour of the Popular Music Gold Chart: Original Golden Melody Awards.

This song played in speakers on every street corner—in barbershops, it doubled the number of customers.

Not to mention the older men heartbroken in love, sipping beer and grilling meat late at night, then shouting:

"The wolf loves the sheep, madly in love…"

"Fairytale" was even more iconic—everyone's childhood had a few songs etched into their DNA, and "Fairytale" was one of them, becoming the youth of the 90s.

Countless teenagers carefully copied its lyrics line by line into their lyric books, and it even became the anthem of many classes.

Everyone carried within them an unquantifiable longing for fairytales—its lyrics were warm, its melody catchy.

With this song, Guangliang became a full-blown superstar and one of the hottest singers of the time.

The sales of the album titled "Fairytale" were terrifyingly high—reaching 1.2 million copies.

Even today, this song remains a must-request track for some.

When singing it, one still feels a faint warmth and a subtle sadness, just like the passing of youth.

"It's truly… incredible—every single song is of the highest quality!"

Wang Tianxiao clutched the lyrics, excitedly staring at Cheng Chen, as if afraid someone would snatch them away.

"I've already prepared the lyrics and melodies—what about your singer? Before recording, I want to meet him."

Cheng Chen smiled.

"No problem, I'll call right away."

……

"What?! Traveling outside? Zhang Guangfeng, if you don't want to stay at Tianhai, just leave!"

"Do you think your decent voice gives you the right to do whatever you want here? I'm not a pushover!"

"What? Terminate the contract? Fine—if you can pay the penalty, you can walk out anytime!"

Through the glass, Cheng Chen saw Wang Tianxiao throwing a tantrum, and faintly heard her words.

"Snap!"

Wang Tianxiao walked into the meeting room and slammed her phone onto the table.

Cheng Chen winced in pain—that was Samsung's brand-new model this year!

This wasteful bitch!

Looking at the furious Wang Tianxiao, Cheng Chen asked:

"What happened?"

Wang Tianxiao sneered and said:

"Just an ungrateful wolf who thinks he can make demands because he's Tianhai's 'number one.'

I didn't agree to his terms, so now he's gone on strike and gone traveling abroad, even threatening to break his contract with me?

I've known for a while that other companies have been secretly contacting him.

He thinks I don't know what he's thinking—if Tianhai agrees to his terms, he'll stay as 'number one'; if not, he'll jump ship. Fine, go ahead and jump.

I, Wang Tianxiao, am not a soft target to be manipulated. An ungrateful wolf!"

Cheng Chen ignored her feud with the man named Zhang Guangfeng and frowned as he asked:

"What about these five songs?"

Hearing Cheng Chen's question, Wang Tianxiao also grew troubled.

Tianhai Records had its own signed artists, though only a few, but they still had production capacity.

Now that the 'number one' had defected, the other artists couldn't hold up the stage—would they have to hire outsiders?

Hiring outsiders wasn't impossible, but those who met the criteria and had real talent were all from other record companies.

That would mean higher royalty splits, and worse, they might end up building someone else's brand.

Tianhai's hard-earned reputation in the record industry would vanish overnight.

"What if we let a female singer perform them?" Wang Tianxiao ventured, then immediately shook her head and dismissed it:

"No, no—your five songs are all targeted at male audiences; a female singer would feel completely off."

"No, no, those five songs of yours are all male-oriented; a female singer singing them wouldn't have any feel at all."

Just as Wang Tianxiao was struggling, Cheng Chen suddenly spoke up from across the table.

Just as Wang Tianxiao was struggling, Cheng Chen across from him suddenly spoke up.

……