Jiang Hua was genuinely unaware of any informants.
It seemed Liu Yajie had connections within Little Hundred Flowers as well.
"Senior, what can I do for you?"
There was a moment of hesitation on the other end, then an unfamiliar voice came through.
"Hello Jiang Hua, this is Wang Xiaoqi."
Holy crap, the diva! She was the youngest diva, though still a generation older than Jiang Hua.
But she truly was the youngest diva.
However, the diva had been quite unlucky recently. Hua Yi clearly had no intention of crafting a proper album for her.
They just wanted to quickly cash in on her remaining value by releasing a few songs hastily.
Because the diva had decided not to renew her contract with Hua Yi, which was nearing its end.
"Oh, hello, senior! It's an honor."
This Liu Yajie was impressive, truly befitting a top-tier celebrity with such extensive connections.
An informant in Little Hundred Flowers, and now a diva in the entertainment circle.
"Comrade Jiang Hua, I'd like to request you to write a song for me. Name your price."
She called me comrade, Jiang Hua's favorite form of address.
Although many people had misused it lately, it was the best acknowledgment of his identity.
But he didn't feel like doing anything lately, regardless of the money.
Jiang Hua apologetically said, "Senior, I'm quite busy recently. The art troupe is preparing a new Yue Opera, so I can't spare the time."
Then Liu Yajie's voice came through.
"Jiang Hua, aren't you starting a company? What do you think about our sister Xiaoqi joining your company?"
"Cough cough cough..."
Jiang Hua was startled. This was no joking matter, sis.
She was a diva! When he said he was starting a company, he really meant just a small studio.
He quickly said, "How is that possible? Don't joke, sis. My temple is too small."
"It's not a joke, Jiang Hua. I love your music. I'm not in it for the money anymore. I just want to make music I love. Besides, it's not the size of the mountain, but the presence of a fairy that makes it famous."
The diva spoke up, fearing Jiang Hua would refuse, she added:
"How about this, let's meet and discuss in detail. Yajie is on break recently, so we'll meet in Hangzhou."
Damn, his company wasn't even established yet, and a diva wanted to join. This was like starting with a royal flush.
"Alright, alright, I agree. But joining the company is off the table. I haven't even had time to register it yet."
"That's perfect! We've already booked our flights. I'll bring a few people along. It's settled then."
She hung up before he could refuse.
This was practically forcing their way in, and bringing a team too.
Wait, how did they know he was starting a company? He had only mentioned it to Teacher Mao, who might have told the troupe leader.
So it was possible that Liu Yajie had significant connections in Little Hundred Flowers, either with the former or current troupe leader.
He had wanted to find out who the informant was, but now he didn't dare.
Ah, how troublesome. Was it because he had been slacking off too much lately, so they were finding work for him?
Online, that "Big Stick" group's songs had completely overshadowed recent domestic releases.
They were leading by a huge margin, which caused a lot of discontent.
People were crying out that the domestic entertainment industry was finished, that the wolf had come.
Looking closely, the domestic entertainment industry had been in decline for a while. The older generation had mostly retired, except for the semi-retired "God of Song".
Among the younger generation, no one could carry the banner.
Jiang Hua had somehow become the hope of the entire village.
His first album actually saw a surge in sales.
But even so, it couldn't stop the other group from dominating the charts.
The main issue was that there were too many catchy but shallow songs. They sounded good at first listen but couldn't stand scrutiny.
Moreover, the Korean Wave had already been flooding this world, and people had grown accustomed to it.
As a result, the comment section of his novel exploded.
"Jiang Hua, stop writing novels. The music industry is about to fall. Big bro, please, release an album. I'll buy 100 copies. You can still make money this way."
"I'll buy 200 copies. Hurry and release a new album. I can't take it anymore."
"Although I'm a novel fan, this time I won't push for updates. I'll allow you to pause for a month. Hurry and reclaim lost ground."
On other authors' novels, all the comments were pushing for updates. But on Jiang Hua's, the trend had completely changed.
Everyone was asking him to stop updating and focus on music.
Jiang Hua's only work account on Douyin didn't even have a single video. Everyone knew that this novel was now the only way to reach him.
A serialized novel with millions of readers was being begged by thousands to stop updating, not because it wasn't good, but because the author had a more important mission.
Wasn't this ridiculous?
Jiang Hua looked at the comment section with a wry smile.
The hope of the entire village? They were putting him on too high a pedestal. There were still big names in the entertainment industry.
It's just that even the big names had to make a living, and making music really didn't pay well.
Look at those celebrities who frequently appeared on variety shows, like Xue and Wang. To make up for the losses from album production, they had to run around doing shows all year.
Releasing one album a year was already their utmost effort, and their high-quality productions were truly expensive.
To be honest, Jiang Hua wasn't satisfied with the quality of his last album. It was at the level of a personal recording studio.
But asking him to spend several months making an album was too much.
He chose not to respond.
...
The next afternoon, just as Jiang Hua got off work, several Buick business cars appeared at the entrance.
He could see a few people walking towards him from afar.
The two in front were fully disguised, just like how Jiang Hua usually went out, maybe even more thoroughly hidden.
"Junior, long time no see. Looks like you're doing well."
"Comrade Jiang Hua, hello!"
The diva extended her hand, taking the initiative to shake hands with Jiang Hua. She was a very enthusiastic person.
"Well, why didn't you tell me you were coming? I could have picked you up. This is so embarrassing."
"It's fine, we know you're busy. We just arrived."
"Let me introduce everyone."
The diva took the initiative to introduce the people with her.
"This is the former music director of Hua Yi, Zheng Haijun. You can call him Xiao Chong. This is my manager, Huang Feifei, the artist manager of Hua Yi's music department. She left with us. This is the guitarist, drummer, bassist..."
Damn, did they bring the entire music department of Hua Yi?
They even brought a whole band.
The diva was truly worthy of her title. Her personal charisma was undeniable, to have so many people following her.
Jiang Hua rubbed his nose and said, "How about this, since you've come from so far, let me treat everyone to a meal. Tomorrow, I'll invite you all to watch a Yue Opera performance."
Jiang Hua wondered if he could add a few seats in the theater. Tickets were really hard to get now.
He'd have to pull some strings.
"That sounds great! But junior, we didn't come all this way just to watch opera."
See, the debt collectors had arrived.
Jiang Hua could only take out a notebook from his bag and hand it to Liu Yajie.
"Each of you can choose one song."
Nothing could be more shocking than this. These people felt their worldviews were being overturned.
Jiang Hua's notebook was very thick, seemingly containing no less than a hundred songs.
Have you ever seen someone offering a menu when writing songs for others? Casually choosing from a notebook, this was inhuman.
They had been skeptical about the diva joining Jiang Hua.
Jiang Hua's album was impressive, but perhaps not enough to justify a diva joining.
But this notebook dispelled all their doubts.
Liu Yajie held the weighty notebook, looking at Jiang Hua thoughtfully:
"Junior, you've changed."
.....