Jasmin's office hadn't been this lively in a long time. Not only were the leaders of Germo Entertainment present, but also well-known songwriters signed under the company, and even...
Even the company's big investor himself had personally come. After all, this matter was of immense importance.
When Jasmin made the phone call to notify everyone, her tone was quite strange—both excited and rushed, with so much emotion that her words came out in broken sentences.
It felt like she was... well... eating snacks in the office? Or like a woman sneaking out at night and caught by her husband, hurriedly explaining she was just out for a jog.
In any case, it was all very odd.
This time, everyone important at Germo Entertainment was present. And the reason? Everyone's attention was focused on one man—Paul, who remained calm and composed.
How can he be so relaxed? One executive thought. Doesn't he realize what's at stake here?
But Paul was now the treasure of Germo Entertainment. And today, this treasure was about to make a rather absurd decision, which was the second most outrageous and difficult-to-accept thing in the company.
As for the first most outrageous thing? That would be the day Paul decided to terminate his contract and leave the company.
If that day came, and Germo Entertainment hadn't nurtured a successor for him, the company's music department could essentially collapse. Paul, being a phenomenal artist with an explosive ability to generate revenue, and with zero risk of scandal, was undoubtedly the top target for all major entertainment companies.
Rumor had it that even the top entertainment company in Germo secretly extended an olive branch to him, offering to cover any breach-of-contract fees. They even promised salaries and profit shares several times higher than what Germo Entertainment was offering.
How Paul responded to such blatant temptations, Jasmin and the others didn't know. But word was, he rejected the offer and stated that he would stay with Germo Entertainment.
Upon hearing this, Jasmin was so excited that she almost broke down that very night. She called Paul, inviting him out to talk about life and dreams.
Of course, if the city felt too stuffy, they could go to a mountaintop in the wilderness, where the view was wide, the air was fresh, and—there was no one around.
If they got tired, she had a car, and the seats could be laid flat. Very convenient.
But Paul simply responded, "Sorry, Jasmin, I get car sick."
"???"
She was about to explode. Her car had top-tier equipment, all brand new. It drove smoothly and comfortably, with no exhaust issues, and even had two big headlights. How could he get car sick?
Was he nauseous from the car, or from her? This made Jasmin seriously suspect whether he had someone else. After all, someone like him, especially a folk singer, would easily attract naive young girls.
She'd heard that some men had rather peculiar tastes, specifically liking young girls. Could Paul be like that? But after some investigation, Jasmin found that he didn't have anyone around him at all.
He only had one manager, who was also a man. There's no way... absolutely no way. She was certain—he wasn't that kind of person. She was confident. Even if he didn't care for her now, when he needed something, she would still be his first choice!
---
"Paul, I hear you plan to perform all new songs at your next concert?" An elderly man looked at him with deep concern in the office.
This man was the main investor behind Germo Entertainment. He had poured his heart and soul into the company and was very satisfied with its current development.
Paul nodded. "That's correct. I believe it's time for a change."
The investor's brow furrowed. If I were younger... But business is business...
Unlike Jasmin, who liked to push forward boldly, he preferred a more cautious approach. After all, in today's Germo, the entertainment industry was booming.
Even pigs could fly in such times, but even the smallest storms could bring danger. The Titanic, which was said to be unsinkable, hit an iceberg and sank, didn't it? Not every girl could become Cinderella.
As for the company's star singer, the old man knew him well—he was even a fan himself. If he weren't so old, he might have bought a ticket and gone to one of Paul's concerts to howl along.
After all, they called it a concert, but wasn't it just a massive sing-along? One more voice wouldn't make a difference.
So, the old man's expression mirrored Jasmin's earlier: puzzled, confused, and looking at Paul as if to say, "Are you serious?"
The renowned composer present was also overwhelmed. He certainly didn't like the idea of the executives approving Paul's request.
"Twenty songs in a week? That's impossible!" the composer exclaimed. "The quality would suffer immensely."
Paul met the composer's gaze calmly. "I understand your concern, but I assure you, the quality won't be compromised."
His songs resonate because they're genuine, the composer thought. But can he maintain that with such a tight deadline?
Twenty songs in a week, and he had to arrange all of them? The mere thought of it made him numb.
This was worse than working 9-to-5, seven days a week. Even working 24 hours a day wouldn't be enough!
And the kicker was that all these songs had to be ready for the concert in a week. This had to be a joke, right? Paul's previous songs were of such high quality, with every single one becoming a nationwide hit.
People joked that at his concerts, he didn't even have to sing—his fans would do it for him. But the reason fans could sing along was that his music was so high-quality.
The melodies and lyrics were down-to-earth, easy to remember, and resonated with people. Most importantly, they struck a chord with fans on an emotional level.
When people sang at Paul's concerts, they weren't just singing—they were expressing their frustrations with life. Having bottled up their emotions for so long, they needed an outlet, and his songs and concerts provided the perfect stage.
On top of that, he had never lost himself to fame. He stayed true to his music, without scandals or hype, releasing a new song every month, and each one was impeccable in quality.
With such dedication, how could fans not love him? All these factors together made Paul the success he was today.
It wasn't a miracle—it was inevitable.
But at the same time, it was incredibly difficult to find another person like him in the industry. The more exceptional he was, the more precious he seemed.
That's why the 'Anilani Phenomenon' couldn't easily be replicated.
So, faced with such a situation, where he could easily keep holding concerts and releasing one song per month without breaking a sweat…
He didn't want to?
What the others didn't know was that Paul was behaving this way because he had lived two lives already. In both lives, as a singer, he never got a proper chance to sing.
In his previous life, he had no fame and barely any fans, resorting to performing in bars. But who goes to bars to listen to songs? Seriously!
After crossing over to this world, although he became famous, the problem didn't go away—it got worse. Now, he had tens of thousands of fans, but his situation was even worse than in the bar.
At least back then, people were too busy socializing to grab his microphone. He could at least sing a couple of lines. But in this world, as soon as he started singing, his fans took over.
And he couldn't even be mad about it because it was their way of expressing their love and admiration for his songs.
This is my chance to finally sing, to truly perform. I can't let it slip away.
Seeing that both sides were unwilling to compromise, Jasmin suddenly spoke up.
"Actually, I gathered everyone here mainly to let you take a look at Paul's new works."
"New works? Is it already a new month?"
"No, this time he wrote 20—" Jasmin said.
"What?! When?" one executive interrupted her. Even Jasmin was surprised when she saw the songs. So, she knew how they might feel right now. She even wanted to strangle Paul a bit; maybe there was an opportunity. She would need to change into another outfit though.
"Yesterday..."
Everyone was surprised. They had heard that he had written over twenty songs in just half an hour to an hour, overnight. Could good songs really be written in such a short time?
With decades of experience in the industry, they thought—no way, don't lie! If it weren't for Paul being the company's top artist, the executives would have already started cursing.
They were all extremely busy. Who had time for such a ridiculous request?
Who does Paul think he is? one executive thought bitterly. If he doesn't want to do concerts, there are plenty of others who—no, we don't have anyone...
With the intent to criticize the quality of Paul's new songs, the executives picked up a few lyrics from the table and began reading.