Zeng Hou was browsing Dou Yin and watching the video of Ji Xiaonian, who was still trending, when he suddenly heard a knock at the door. He turned off his phone and said, "Come in."
Hearing the voice inside, the young lady at the door pushed it open and gestured for the two people behind her to go in.
Ji Xiaonian was taken aback for a moment, somewhat confused as He Yi pulled her in. Seeing the man sitting at the desk, she immediately stood up and walked over to greet them.
"Mr. Zeng, hello." He Yi smiled.
Seeing the astonishment hidden in the woman's eyes, Zeng Hou had to admit that she looked even more delicate in person than she did in the video.
"Miss Ji, Miss He," Zeng Hou nodded with a smile, "I've had coffee prepared. Please have a seat." He made a gesture for them to sit on the nearby sofa.
"Thank you." He Yi smiled and boldly led Ji Xiaonian to sit down.
Ji Xiaonian herself seemed rather ill at ease, awkward in front of a stranger. Moreover, the man before her was a company president, so in terms of momentum, she was even more nervous and uneasy.
Zeng Hou noticed the woman's discomfort and was surprised. It seemed that this Ji Xiaonian was somewhat introverted. She hadn't said a word from start to finish and looked rather nervous.
He Yi also noticed and was shocked. The old Ji Xiaonian looked down on everyone and carried herself like she owned the place. Yet now she was nervous?
Could it be that she had become insecure after being bashed by the critics online? He Yi was puzzled, sympathy in her eyes. She used to be so confident. Now she was like a different person. Alas, getting close to men really does lead to misfortune...
"Miss Ji, don't be nervous. This is our contract. Take a look. If there are no issues, let's get down to business as soon as possible. We still need to create the accompaniment to record the songs," Zeng Hou said with a smile.
Ji Xiaonian was a little dazed. She took the contract and looked at it. Alright, she didn't understand. She didn't know these professional terms.
Seeing that the woman had no reaction after a long time, He Yi reached over and took her contract to look it over carefully.
After almost 15 minutes, He Yi finally raised her head and nodded, saying, "Mr. Zeng, this contract of yours means that you own all the copyrights. If any partners need to use these two songs, we'll also get a share of the partnership fees, right?"
Zeng Hou nodded. Their company had always been efficient. They gave what they were supposed to give, and their reputation in the industry was quite good. "That's right. Although the percentage isn't high, you'll still have the rights you're entitled to," he replied.
He Yi nodded. There were no issues with the contract. Penguin Music was indeed very conscientious. She then turned to Ji Xiaonian and said, "You can sign it."
Ji Xiaonian nodded. "Okay." She would just follow He Yi's lead. She couldn't go wrong that way.
She then picked up the pen and signed her name very briskly, hesitating for a moment as she almost wrote the wrong name. She should write Ji Xiaonian.
Seeing these three characters, He Yi frowned slightly, finding it odd. The handwriting seemed completely different from before. But she wouldn't pay too much attention to such details. One's handwriting could change with mood when writing, so it was understandable.
Satisfaction showed in Zeng Hou's eyes. She was refreshingly straightforward, not acting arrogantly or demanding additional terms just because she had to sign a contract. Sometimes dealing with people like that could be vexing.
After he signed, he politely said, "Miss Ji can go to the recording studio first. I'll have the music producer come over to discuss with you, and we'll do our best to record the songs in the next few days."
"Okay," Ji Xiaonian nodded.
As they walked to the recording studio, a few young men inside looked over.
Zeng Hou went over and introduced, "This is Ji Xiaonian, who has come to work on the musical accompaniment."
The young men were astonished, admiration in their eyes. Nowadays, anyone who watched Dou Yin knew her, with the halo of being Cheng Li Ran's ex-girlfriend and having sung two songs that went viral.
One man joked, "A beauty has come to our recording studio, how rare."
Zeng Hou knew they were joking around and said, "Then you'd better take good care of her."
Ji Xiaonian smiled bashfully, somewhat embarrassed. Zeng Hou could also see she was rather modest, and said, "Alright, hurry up and get to work."
After that, the young men came over. One introduced himself, "Miss Ji, I'm the head of music production. You can call me Older Brother Li."
Ji Xiaonian looked at him with her big eyes and sweetly responded, "Hello, Older Brother Li."
Her soft, coquettish voice paired with her delicate features made people stare blankly. Older Brother Li almost couldn't maintain composure. He marveled to himself that this woman was a vixen.
"Were these two songs composed and written by Mystery?" Older Brother Li asked curiously. In the industry, Mystery had spread by word of mouth. The reason was that the compositions of these two songs were a little different, attracting the attention of composers.
Ji Xiaonian was startled for a moment and nodded, "Yes."
"You play instruments. Could you play us an overall musical accompaniment for the songs so we can hear?" Older Brother Li nodded. He had wanted to ask who Mystery was, but felt it might be rude to ask that right away.
Ji Xiaonian nodded and looked at the electric piano not far away. She sat down and thought for a moment before starting to play.
Everyone was astonished, having assumed she would play guitar. They didn't expect she could also play piano.
Captivated, they listened as she played.
After finishing the piece, she walked over somewhat bashfully and asked, "The songs are roughly in this form. I can write out the sheet music for you."
Zeng Hou regained his senses and looked at her admiringly. "I really didn't expect you were quite skilled at piano, Miss Ji."
He Yi was utterly confused. In her heart she questioned herself - had she been negligent as Ji Xiaonian's agent? She didn't even know her client could play piano.
Older Brother Li nodded appreciatively. "I can see you have solid piano foundations. You must have played for many years, right?"
Ji Xiaonian nodded. "Just a hobby and interest."
"Alright then, leave us the sheet music for the two songs. Come back in a couple days to record the songs." Older Brother Li smiled.
"Okay," Ji Xiaonian nodded.
Zeng Hou was very interested. It seemed this ex-girlfriend of Cheng Li Ran did have some skills. A long-term partnership could lead to unexpected gains.
After finishing everything, Ji Xiaonian left with He Yi, contract in hand. Seeing it was already 4 p.m., it would be dark by the time they took the subway and bus home.
He Yi smiled, saying, "Penguin is a good company with an excellent reputation in the industry. You can tell from this contract alone that they are generous."
Ji Xiaonian nodded. Although she didn't know the specifics of the contract, He Yi was right.
She was feeling a little uncomfortable now. She didn't know if it was due to this body having attempted suicide before, but sometimes she would feel weak all over.
