Chapter 307: Those who have done nothing wrong need not bear responsibility

Lu Shiye again felt he had misspoken, after all, under such an era capitalists are basically a monolith; for their own interests they want to train employees into puppets on strings.

Absolutely not allowed for employees to speak ill of the Lao ban behind his back; he spoke ill of a previous Lao ban today, will Jiang Cheng see him as the kind of employee who likes to badmouth?

Jiang Cheng wouldn't want him; at that moment he was especially uneasy, his hands clasped together, his gaze flustered.

"Lao ban, I don't mean to tattle; this might just be the show's rules, maybe because my ability hasn't met their demands—rest assured, I will follow company regulations, absolutely not cause you trouble."

He was once a heaven-sent prodigy; after all, in local competitions he won the championship and made a name for himself, and even before joining the show team he already had a certain fan base.

He originally thought he could make a stunning debut; after all, in that era his fans almost numbered several times the combined fans of other idols, and at that time he could be considered a top-tier star.

But in real life, when rules came pouring in, Lu Shiye only then felt flustered; he knew he wasn't the best, and he knew he shouldn't be complacent about his pride.

But when he wanted to resist, he discovered he had no means to oppose capitalist power.

No matter how well he performed, he couldn't push himself onto the stage; only capital could push him onto the stage, his eagerness almost bursting forth.

Jiang Cheng could sense how much the young man before him yearned for the stage; he loved the stage.

He is an exceptionally outstanding singer; his resume is particularly impressive, and he also has solid vocal skills—with some polishing, he can definitely be sculpted into something great.

However, other entertainment companies dare not accept the young man before them, fearing to offend the show team; but he is not afraid, he has always been daring and willing to act.

"Do you still want to keep standing on stage, singing your own compositions? If so, answer me now."

When Jiang Cheng asked, Lu Shiye hesitated a bit, not knowing how to answer.

But the next second he thought everything had already been screwed up by himself; he might as well throw caution to the wind, since he'd already been rejected by many companies.

"Of course I want to stand on stage; I want to show my talent, I want my fans to know that I'm not quitting because I want to—I want them to know I've always loved my stage."

He spoke fluently, his eagerness barely containable.

Jiang Cheng knew the young man before him had suffered many grievances; to still keep his passion amid such hardship is already no easy feat.

"Good, this is what you said; if you can't persevere, then I won't take you."

As soon as Jiang Cheng finished speaking, Lu Shiye opposite him was dumbfounded: "What does Lao Bai mean?"

"Could it be that they want to keep him in the company?"

He was so excited he was about to stand up.

"Lao ban, do you mean I meet your company's standard for hiring singers? If so, I can start from the bottom; I don't care about my past glory, I just want to sing—I can definitely make a comeback." He was delayed by the show team for several years; according to others, it was a delay of several years, and if he hadn't practiced properly, his success would surely regress.

Moreover, he has already missed his prime years; now he counts among the older generation, so he feels somewhat apprehensive.

He knows his best years are gone, but in these years he has consistently practiced his voice seriously.

He also created many songs, but unfortunately he has no channel to enter the audience's sight.

"You certainly meet our standard for hiring singers, but you are just too insecure; because of the show team's fault back then, you took the blame onto yourself, we need on stage a confident singer, an employee who can showcase himself, not someone who only feels inferior."

Jiang Cheng's words hit the mark; he didn't care about hurting the young man's self-esteem, and shoved the contract directly in front of him.

At the same time, the chill in his words continued, directly accusing the young man before him.

"You must understand our company needs commercial value; if you can't be confident, do you still expect the audience to sympathize with your ordeal these years? Do you expect them to sympathize with the pain of being shelved these years? The audience won't sympathize."

"Only after you truly become popular will the audience dig into your behind-the-scenes stories and truly feel sorry for you; if you're not popular, any of your experiences—even if you're a good person, or even just a nobody—will be seen as lack of ability."

Jiang Cheng's words naturally made sense; at that moment Lu Shiye had no rebuttal, and he deeply felt these words had enlightened him.

He originally thought his fate unfair; if he merely revealed a few details, fans would surely pity him, but all his fans are scolding him, feeling he betrayed their love.

Even many fans quit the fan group, but Lu Shiye couldn't speak of the repression and suffocation of those years; it took him half a year of medication to barely get through.

When he thought of making a comeback, he found his fan base had long since dispersed, and his success could be seen as gradual accumulation awaiting a breakthrough—just needing one opportunity.

As long as Jiang Cheng gives him this stage again, he firmly believes he can win back his lost fans, and do so with a massive wave of fans.

"Thank you, Lao ban, for your trust; I won't disappoint your expectations—just watch my performance from now on, I definitely won't let your investment go to waste."

Jiang Cheng's face showed a mysterious smile; he knew the young man before him would certainly not disappoint his hope, and he was also waiting, for the young man to give him an answer at this moment.

"Now sign the contract in your hand; once signed, you'll be our company's official singer—you can look over the contract carefully, I'm not in a rush."

Jiang Cheng poured two cups of coffee; as he drank, he secretly rejoiced—such an excellent singer is exactly what he needed.

Meanwhile, Lu Shiye still didn't realize how outstanding he was, due to others' suppression and the calculations of various forces, which had nothing to do with his own ability.

Jiang Cheng has achieved a certain level of capital, and he won't fear other capital launching a crusade against him. (End of chapter)