Chapter 114: Recording Studio

"She won't," Xu Tian remained calm.

Because Wang Manshan wouldn't even have the chance to propose a condition.

"Alright then, I'll take that bet!" Wang Manshan extended her pinky finger. "It's a deal. You can't go back on your word."

"No problem."

Seeing Wang Manshan actually come up with the childish act of hooking pinkies, Xu Tian thought to himself: *Are you the one who's had too much to drink? *

"Xu Tian, you can't make jokes like this!" Shang Yiran, who had been left out on the side, was getting anxious.

Had Xu Tian forgotten that he had a girlfriend? How could he make a bet like this with Wang Manshan?

One had to know that Wang Manshan was a famous "player" in the entertainment industry. If Xu Tian lost, she would definitely seize the opportunity to make some excessive demands.

What's more, no matter how you looked at it, Xu Tian was bound to lose this bet.

How could Wang Manshan possibly win the Golden Melody Award for Best Female Singer?

"It's fine, I know what I'm doing."

Xu Tian finished his sparkling water in one gulp, stood up, and said goodbye to Wang Manshan. "It's getting late. Yiran and I will be going now. Miss Wang, don't forget our bet."

Shang Yiran followed Xu Tian out of the party venue with a face full of black lines. On the way back, Xu Tian started driving, and Shang Yiran stared at him fixedly from the passenger seat, making him feel a bit uneasy.

"What are you looking at? Is there something on my face?"

"If there wasn't no alcohol in that sparkling water, I'd really think you were drunk," Shang Yiran said, staring at Xu Tian.

He thought for a long time but still couldn't understand why Xu Tian wanted to make that bet.

"Aren't I perfectly sober?" Xu Tian didn't even turn his head, focused on driving.

"But..." Shang Yiran opened his mouth, but ultimately swallowed the words he wanted to say. "Forget it. As long as you know what you're doing, that's all that matters."

He was Xu Tian's friend, not his parent; there were some things he didn't need to meddle in.

"Don't worry, I've never lost a bet."

After Wang Manshan won Best Female Singer, her career would reach a new level.

Making her owe him a bet—no matter how you looked at it, this was a very profitable deal.

The next day, Qingguo Music.

The news that a new agent had come over from headquarters had spread throughout the entire company.

In the morning, several of the company's recording studios were packed.

Recently, the company was going to select a few trainees to debut, so they had booked the recording studios in advance to record demos, making it convenient for the agent to take them to headquarters for auditions.

These trainees were all sixteen or seventeen years old; the oldest wasn't even twenty. They were all in the prime of their youth.

Because she had an appointment with Xu Tian, Murong Xue arrived at the recording studio early that morning.

She had changed into a dress today—still a white dress, with traditional lace at the hem. It was a style that cost fifty yuan at the commercial street.

Compared to a group of brightly dressed young trainees, she seemed somewhat out of place.

Fortunately, Murong Xue's face was truly exquisite and flawless, and combined with her ethereal temperament, she didn't seem overshadowed at all among those glamorous trainees; instead, she possessed a unique charm.

Five minutes had already passed since the time she had agreed to meet Xu Tian, and he still hadn't arrived.

This made Murong Xue feel a bit lost.

Just then, a gaudily dressed female artist walked out of the elevator.

She was laughing and talking with the people around her and didn't notice Murong Xue, stepping directly onto Murong Xue's foot with her high heels.

"Ah!"

She lost her balance and almost fell.

"Don't you have eyes?"

The woman was startled. After steadying herself, she saw that the person blocking her path was Murong Xue, and her face became even uglier. "Why is it you?"

This woman was Jiang Mo, whom Du Xiaowei had prepared to trade for Murong Xue yesterday.

Because Du Xiaowei held the most resources, and she knew how to hype up trends, she had released two albums in her first year of debut and had become a rising star in the music scene, with momentum approaching that of a third-tier artist.

Because Jiang Mo had the most traffic among the new batch of artists, almost everyone else revolved around her, scrambling to curry favor.

However, Jiang Mo wasn't in a very good mood today.

Yesterday's incident of Du Xiaowei and Xu Tian fighting over an artist had already spread throughout the company. Xu Tian had chosen Murong Xue, who had been obscure for two years since her debut.

And it was said that Du Xiaowei didn't want to let Murong Xue go and wanted to trade her for Murong Xue, but Xu Tian hadn't even agreed.

Now that this news had spread, she had also become a joke for company employees to discuss after tea and dinner.

Jiang Mo had been angry all night because of this, and now seeing Murong Xue again, she naturally saw her as an eyesore.

In front of Murong Xue, Jiang Mo arrogantly lifted her chin, staring at her with disdain.

"Why are you here?"

"The agent told me to come."

Murong Xue wasn't surprised by Jiang Mo's attitude.

In fact, most of the people in the company treated her this way.

"Heh, an agent?"

Jiang Mo sneered upon hearing this. "He's just a pretty boy with no real skills. An agent not even thirty years old—what kind of climate can he create? You really take his words as an imperial decree!"

The few trainees around Jiang Mo also took the opportunity to mock her.

"Sister Momo, don't say that. She's now a big star designated by the new agent. Surely it won't be long before she's famous worldwide. She has plenty of confidence; us little newcomers have to take a detour when we see her!"

"Hahahaha... I also want to see what the future 'Light of Qingguo' looks like..."

A female trainee deliberately crowded in front of Murong Xue, making clicking sounds with her tongue. "The new agent's eye for picking people isn't that great either. With this rustic outfit, anyone who didn't know better would think she was the company's cleaning lady!"

"You don't think that just because you have a new agent, you'll suddenly strike it rich, do you?"

"A piece of trash that even a senior agent as powerful as Brother Xiaowei couldn't make famous—and you're actually delusional about being a big star? It's truly laughable..."

The mockery from these few newcomers made Jiang Mo feel refreshed.

She stared at Murong Xue triumphantly and said haughtily:

"Don't underestimate her, everyone. She debuted earlier than all of us. When we see her, we still have to call her 'senior'!"

Although there is seniority in the entertainment industry, this only applies to certain fixed sectors.

For artists like these who live off traffic, if they debuted early but have never had any fame, they won't get any respect.

Especially a "transparent" nobody like Murong Xue, who hadn't received any work for so long and had even fewer fans, would be trampled into the dust.

Murong Xue had long since seen through the bootlicking nature of the entertainment industry. She had heard too many similar remarks over the past two years and had long since become numb, so Jiang Mo's words had no lethality for her.

Jiang Mo didn't see the reaction she wanted on Murong Xue's face, so she curled her lips in dissatisfaction and then gave a wink to the trainee beside her.

That trainee immediately understood her meaning, stepped forward, and pushed Murong Xue to the side.

"Excuse me, let us through. Our Sister Momo needs to use the recording studio. Sister Jiang Mo has to rush to appointments every day, and time is precious. Don't you go wasting her time!" ===== CHAPTER 115 =====