Chapter 742: Sell Me for More

Lawyer Tian, though aware that the relationship between Yan Zhusheng and Li Luo seemed unusual, had never been certain what exactly it was.

So when drafting the contract, he still offered standard terms.

Especially for someone like Yan Zhusheng, whose popularity mainly relied on Yuan Wanqing and Chongran's works, his conditions were hardly different from Ruan Lin's.

However, considering Yan Zhusheng's relationship with Li Luo, Lawyer Tian made slight adjustments.

The contract term was three years—relatively short by industry standards—but included an automatic renewal clause unless Yan Zhusheng himself objected.

Then came the exclusivity terms.

All commercial activities of the signed artist would be fully represented by Chongran Culture.

For revenue sharing, given Chongran's substantial contribution to music, Lawyer Tian set a 3:7 ratio.

The company takes seventy percent.

For advertising endorsements, it's a 50-50 split.

If future income comes from live-streaming tips or similar sources, it's a 7:3 split, with Yan Zhusheng taking seventy percent.

After receiving the contract, Li Luo skimmed it briefly, then said to Lawyer Tian: "Change all the revenue shares to 7:3—Yan Zhusheng takes seventy percent."

"Let me see." Before Lawyer Tian could nod, Yan Zhusheng snatched the contract, didn't even read it carefully, and reached out for a pen, "Fine as is."

With swift strokes, Yan Zhusheng signed his name, then blinked at Li Luo beside him and said seriously: "Done."

Li Luo: "... Aren't you afraid I'll sell you off? You didn't even look at it before signing?"

"Where could you sell me to?" Yan Zhusheng tilted his head. "If you're going to sell me, get more money—then I'll just run back myself. That's free profit."

"You're clueless," Li Luo laughed. "You're sure you don't want to adjust the revenue shares?"

"It's not much of a difference," Yan Zhusheng shook his head. "Don't want to waste time."

"Alright then." Li Luo took back the contract and said to Lawyer Tian: "Let's go with this."

"Hmm…" Lawyer Tian fell silent for a long moment before finally reacting.

This was probably the simplest, fastest signing session he'd ever witnessed.

He'd assumed that even if the two were close, they wouldn't sign a hastily drafted contract outright—there'd be negotiations over revenue splits and such.

Yet Li Luo wanted Yan Zhusheng to get a higher share, while Yan Zhusheng signed without hesitation…

Without even reading the contract.

Why didn't Yan Zhusheng just sign directly with Yuan Wanqing's own studio?

As Lawyer Tian pondered, this question suddenly popped into his mind.

But since Li Luo and the others didn't explain, Lawyer Tian didn't ask further.

As long as money was being made, that was enough.

It wasn't as if Li Luo was dating both Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng at the same time, was it?

That was impossible to imagine.

One was Ying Zong's daughter, the other Yuan Wanqing's daughter—unless Li Luo was insane, or Lawyer Tian himself was,

he couldn't even entertain the thought.

…

After lunch, Li Luo prepared to receive Ruan Lin and Lü Yilan in the conference room.

Sitting at the head of the table, Li Luo looked at the spacious room and said: "Shouldn't we get an office building soon? Otherwise, we won't have space for employees."

"Aren't Lin Yi and the others turning the breakfast shop into the company?" Ying Chanxi asked, puzzled.

"That place won't work," Li Luo laughed. "It's so tiny—if Ruan Lin and Lü Yilan saw it, they'd doubt our company's strength."

"Besides, that spot was only used to register the company's official address."

"I mainly convinced my parents to renovate it into an office because I feared they'd suddenly go back to running the breakfast shop."

"Now they've got their own things: one runs a hotpot restaurant, the other goes shopping and plays mahjong daily with Aunt Cui."

"The so-called office there has served its purpose—later, we can just rent it out for some extra rent."

"I see," Ying Chanxi nodded, then considered and said, "What about the Tianjie area? The building upstairs has many floors of office space—the rent should be much cheaper than downtown."

"Hmm…" Li Luo paused, thinking the suggestion was good. "No wonder you're our CEO—your mind works fast."

Ying Chanxi blushed slightly, muttering softly: "What's so impressive about that?"

While chatting, someone knocked on the conference room door.

Lü Yilan entered with Ruan Lin; Ying Chanxi stepped forward to greet them and took charge of the situation.

Lawyer Tian sat nearby as a guest, while Li Luo and Yan Zhusheng sat aside, letting Ying Chanxi handle everything without interference.

Before this, the two sides had already negotiated three or four times over the past few days.

After finalizing the outcome, Lü Yilan finally decided to have her daughter sign with Chongran Culture.

Honestly, during the summer break, many agencies far more powerful than Chongran Culture had privately contacted Lü Yilan.

But Lü Yilan rejected them all.

On one hand, Ruan Lin was still young; Lü Yilan wasn't in a hurry and wanted to hold out for a better deal.

On the other hand, the more powerful the agency, the harsher their terms.

Contract terms were typically five years minimum; some big companies demanded seven or eight years, even ten outright.

Lü Yilan wasn't signing her daughter into slavery—how could she accept such tyrannical clauses?

And the revenue splits? Usually started at 3:7.

2:8 or even 1:9 weren't uncommon.

If Lü Yilan signed with them, Ruan Lin would be completely drained.

So after contacting Chongran Culture, though the company was still in its early stages, its terms were genuinely reasonable.

The contract clauses were relatively acceptable.

If the resources are provided internally by the company, such as Li Luo's projects "Little Joys" and "The Beginning," then Ruan Lin's earnings would be split 40-60, with the company taking sixty percent.

If the company handles external business and projects and entrusts them to Ruan Lin to manage, the split would be fifty-fifty. If future earnings involve live-streaming tips, the split would be 60-40.

In addition, there are a series of more detailed clauses, all within Lü Yilan's acceptable range.

And the most critical point is that the contract's duration is only four years.

That means, when Ruan Lin graduates from university, the contract will expire.

At that time, whether to renew or seek a better deal from a larger company, the initiative will be entirely in their hands.

Li Luo isn't particularly concerned about this—if an artist insists on leaving, forcing them to stay will only leave both sides unhappy.

So Li Luo didn't let Ying Chanxi impose overly strict restrictions.

Four years is about right.

According to his plan, if things develop as expected over these four years, it might be Ruan Lin and Lü Yilan who beg to renew.

"This is truly an honor," Lü Yilan said with a smile after signing, walking over to Li Luo and shaking his hand, "I hope Master Chongran will take good care of our Linlin."

"She's our second signed artist—there are only two of them in the entire company. Who else would we take care of if not her?" Li Luo said with a smile.

"S-Second?" Lü Yilan paused, startled, "I thought your company just a few days ago was…"

"Oh, she just signed today too, but she has no competitive relationship with Ruan Lin, no need to worry," Li Luo pointed to Yan Zhusheng beside him, "she's pursuing a singing path."

Lü Yilan instinctively glanced at Yan Zhusheng, then realized, her face lighting up with understanding.

So she's Yuan Wanqing's daughter…

Lü Yilan thought this, and sighed with relief.

For a moment, she thought she'd been tricked—it scared her.

But the role of the female lead in "The Beginning" is already written into the contract, so she didn't need to worry too much.

"'The Beginning' will officially start filming in December; the two months in between will be used for character auditions and other preparations," Li Luo said. "During this time, let Ruan Lin return to school and spend her free time studying the character."

"The female lead's persona is an ordinary college student—very compatible with Ruan Lin."

"Just get a copy of the script from the assistant director."

Li Luo knew Lü Yilan had a good relationship with assistant director Chu Jiyong, so he said this.

"Yes, yes," Lü Yilan nodded eagerly, "then please, Master Chongran, guide us well."

"Mm, happy cooperation."

After seeing off Lü Yilan and Ruan Lin, Li Luo and the others didn't leave immediately but waited a while longer in the conference room.

Not long after, Yuan Wanqing arrived with Xiao Wen and the team member responsible for liaising with TikTok.

After brief greetings, Yuan Wanqing smiled and asked, "You've seen the terms TikTok offered—do you have any suggestions?"

"Which contract do you personally lean toward, Auntie Yuan?" Li Luo didn't answer directly but asked in return.

"Me?" Yuan Wanqing considered, then said, "I'm probably getting old—I'm more conservative."

"I've downloaded the app you mentioned and taken a look these past few days—I feel a bit out of place."

"But some things are interesting, though it seems mostly young people use it."

"Do you think I'll be popular if I join TikTok? What if it doesn't go well—wouldn't that be embarrassing?"

"If I were to choose, I'd probably start with the most basic, lightweight agreement."

As soon as Yuan Wanqing spoke, Li Luo nodded—her choice matched his prediction.

So Li Luo paused, then slowly said, "If I were to advise, I'd recommend you choose Option Two."

"An exclusive agreement?" Yuan Wanqing raised an eyebrow.

"Mm," Li Luo nodded. "The full agency agreement is definitely out—we don't need to hand over control, even just for short-video operations and planning. Better to keep it in our own hands."

"But given current internet trends, short videos will only become more important in the future."

"So I think we should take a gamble."

"You're sure?" Yuan Wanqing considered. "I've been paying attention lately—besides TikTok, there are several similar apps out there, all quite popular too, right?"

At this moment, Li Luo could have listed many reasons why TikTok has the highest probability of surviving.

After all, this was the confidence of a Reborn.

But he knew it didn't matter.

"If Auntie Yuan is willing to trust me, try negotiating with TikTok," Li Luo said. "If you still prefer to be conservative, choosing Option One is fine too—it's just a matter of how much you earn in the end."

Hearing this, Yuan Wanqing fell into thought.

But she didn't think long—soon she smiled and told the team member handling TikTok, "Follow Li Luo's advice—proceed with Option Two and keep negotiating with TikTok."

Li Luo smiled at this answer: "Please have Ying Chanxi and Lawyer Tian also follow up—TikTok wants me and Zhusheng bundled together, right?"

"Of course," Yuan Wanqing nodded, then patted Xiao Wen's shoulder and smiled at Li Luo and Yan Zhusheng, "I've brought Xiao Wen to you—she's yours now."

"Cough…," Xiao Wen's face showed reluctance; she whispered a few words to Yuan Wanqing, then stood and extended her hand to Li Luo, "Boss! Please guide me well from now on!"

"You'll have to work hard, Sister Xiao Wen," Li Luo shook her hand. "Lawyer Tian, please draft an employment contract for Sister Xiao Wen."

"Understood, no problem," Lawyer Tian nodded.

"Zhusheng has no immediate tasks—future assignments depend on how TikTok's liaison develops," Li Luo told Xiao Wen. "Ruan Lin's affairs will also be handed to you later, but only after she joins the set in December."

"For now, stay with Ying Chanxi, handle some internal company work, and follow up on TikTok matters."

"Got it~ I understand," Xiao Wen nodded seriously. "Should I, like I did for Sister Qing, accompany Zhusheng daily?"

Li Luo didn't answer—he looked at Yan Zhusheng.

"I'm getting my driver's license," Yan Zhusheng blinked at Li Luo. "You still owe me a new car. I just need a driver."

Li Luo: "... Isn't that a bit too much to ask of her?"

"No problem!" Hearing she might become Yan Zhusheng's driver—and possibly witness intimate moments between Yan Zhusheng and Li Luo in the car—Xiao Wen's eyes lit up. "I'm an old hand! I drive very steadily!"

(End of Chapter)