Chapter 147: I'll Take on Ten of Them!

An Qi's unintended remark left Zhou Miao feeling rather uncomfortable for a good while. It was only after she clarified that she did not mean to target him that his mood gradually improved.

"I ran into Hu Xiran a few times while I was in South Korea. He is extremely polite to everyone, and he has never been involved in any negative news—his public reputation is stellar. But I always feel that he is a bit..."

An Qi frowned, struggling to find the right words, "...to put it bluntly, he is almost too perfect. He is simply the complete opposite of Brother Miao."

Hearing this, Zhou Miao immediately became unhappy. "What do you mean by that?"

An Qi giggled and said, "Nothing, I just mean you are exceptionally genuine, whereas his kind of perfection feels a bit manufactured to me."

Zhou Miao let out a soft snort. That sounded closer to the truth.

Zuo Qiu wiped her mouth and remarked, "I bet since Hu Xiaoqian couldn't secure his deal with you, he's most likely going to keep looking for other top-tier producers. You heard his tone—he's determined to craft an album for his son that can rival *Listening* and *Intertwined Spacetime*."

Zhou Miao remained noncommittal about this. The production quality of *Listening* and *Intertwined Spacetime* was not something impossible to replicate. If you spend a fortune hiring eight or ten top producers, what kind of album can't you make? At worst, the musical styles of the tracks might lack unity, but ordinary listeners rarely care about such details.

Zhou Miao tossed a peanut into his mouth. "No need to panic. At the very least, it will take him a good half a year to prepare this album. When the time comes, I'll go head-to-head with him."

Seeing Zhou Miao's calm expression, Zuo Qiu felt a lot more at ease. She smiled and asked, "Aren't you worried he might recruit ten industry heavyweights to fight you?"

Zhou Miao clenched a fist the size of a sandbag. "That would be even better! I've been meaning to take on ten at once!"

An Qi played along enthusiastically, clapping rapidly. "Brother Miao is amazing!"

Zuo Qiu looked speechlessly at this little sycophant, half-teasing and half-warning, "Qi qi, don't tell me you have a crush on Zhou Miao? He has a girlfriend, you know."

Hearing this, An Qi's face flushed crimson. She protested playfully, "What are you talking about, Sister Qiu? I simply view Brother Miao as my idol. If I actually liked him that way, I would have chased after him long ago."

Zuo Qiu looked at her skeptically. "Really none at all?"

An Qi gave a wry smile. "Truly none! I simply admire his personality and talent. Besides, in my view, an idol can never be boyfriend material, otherwise many of those wonderful fantasies would shatter."

Zuo Qiu expressed complete agreement with this sentiment. "You're right. Just look at Li Qin and Lin Zekai—the moment their relationship was exposed, Lin Zekai shifted the blame faster than anyone. Even when the evidence was completely overwhelming, he still refused to admit it. He completely lacked the responsibility of a man."

"Unlike our Ah Miao: 'Let me introduce everyone, this is my girlfriend, one of a kind and without equal!'" Zuo Qiu imitated vividly with great emotion.

An Qi slapped the table excitedly. "Yes, yes, yes! That was the exact moment I started stanning him. So manly!"

Zhou Miao's thick-skinned facade had not yet reached absolute mastery, and he found it somewhat overwhelming to face such open flattery from two beauties.

"You ladies take your time eating, I'm heading out first. I still have to go record a show tomorrow."

Watching Zhou Miao's retreating figure, An Qi's lips parted slightly, but in the end, she said nothing.

Zuo Qiu sensed her awkward hesitation. "Still not planning to tell him?"

An Qi smiled awkwardly. "What if he rejects me? Wouldn't that be super awkward? I've heard he doesn't just write songs for anyone casually. I'll wait until we know each other better; I haven't been at Rainbow Music for very long after all."

"It's not as difficult as you think. He actually only has three requirements: first, excellent vocal skills; second, good moral character; and only the third point is a bit tricky—he has to find you pleasing to the eye," Zuo Qiu explained.

An Qi considered her own vocals and character to be rock-solid, but she was unsure about the third criterion. Zhou Miao seemed to harbor a distinct aversion to artists returning from the South Korean entertainment industry. "Sister Qiu, do you think he finds me pleasing to the eye?"

Zuo Qiu said leisurely, "I wouldn't have known before, but with the way you were buttering him up just now, I'm certain he finds you exceptionally pleasing to the eye right now!"

...

Before Zhou Miao even stepped into the lounge, he heard Gu Xi's booming voice shouting inside.

"Damn it! He offered you three million, but only offered me 2.8 million. Am I somehow worse than you?"

"Alright, alright, my offer is two million and I haven't even said a word yet. Get over it," Zhao Tianxiang said.

Zhou Miao pushed the door open and walked in. "What are you guys talking about so heatedly?"

Seeing Zhou Miao, Gu Xi's eyes lit up. He demanded, "That old bastard Hu Xiaoqian must have approached you too, right? What was his offer?"

Zhou Miao held up three fingers. Gu Xi instantly grew depressed. "You're just like Lao Zhang—both got three million. Why am I getting twenty percent less?"

"It's thirty million," Zhou Miao corrected.

Before his voice even trailed off, the entire lounge fell dead silent. All five of them stared at him in a daze.

"How much?" Gu Xi doubted his own ears.

What was the concept of thirty million? He wasn't even sure if all the songs he had ever written for others in his entire life added up to thirty million.

Writing songs itself doesn't generate massive wealth; it is only later on, if a song becomes a hit, that a producer can earn a substantial sum through a negotiated share of the copyrights.

Zhou Miao sat down on the sofa and slumped backward. "He wants me to produce an entire album for him, with a quality no lower than the standard of my first two albums. The offer is thirty million plus a five percent sales commission."

"However, I turned it down. You guys probably already know about the relationship between Rainbow and Vanguard; there's no point in subsidizing the enemy for that little bit of money."

Thirty million! Plus a five percent sales commission! Zhang Tuo, who had been smug just moments ago, could no longer force a smile.

As it turned out, all of them were merely Zhou Miao's backup options—only after he declined did it finally trickle down to them.

Zhao Tianxiang sucked in a sharp breath through his teeth. "And you call that little bit of money? Little brother, how much do you actually make in a year?"

Zhou Miao made a rough mental calculation. "I didn't take on many commercial deals last year, so it was just a little over one hundred million. This year I've taken on quite a few endorsements and commercial performances, plus a few variety shows, and combined with song copyright royalties and other miscellaneous streams, after splitting with the company, it should be around three hundred million or so."

The older veterans looked at each other in dismay. Tan Yue asked, "Do the five of us combined even reach three hundred million this year?"

No one answered. They were all veteran artists past their prime, essentially in a state of semi-retirement, and their approach to commercial work was completely detached. Forget three hundred million; even combined, the five of them didn't make half of that. Perhaps back in their youth, there might have been a chance.

Tonight's competition hadn't even started yet, but they already felt like they had lost.

Zhao Tianxiang patted Lu Jinping on the shoulder. "You've got to show some spine tonight, absolutely cannot lose to this running dog of a capitalist!"

Tan Yue also patted him on the back. "Keep it up, Lao Lu!"

With black lines running down his forehead, Zhou Miao watched his own teammates cheer on his opponent for the night. Why did the atmosphere suddenly feel so strange?

Encouraged by his old brothers, Lu Jinping's enthusiasm instantly surged. He raised a fist high in the air and shouted, "Down with the tyrannical landlord!"

The director, who had just returned from the restroom, looked at the scene on the monitor and asked in bewilderment, "What's going on in there? The show hasn't even started recording yet, why are they all so worked up?"

The assistant, who had just finished sucking on a lemon, replied, "They're playing Landlord."