107: Chapter 107 Beneath the Calm Surface Lies Submerged Currents

Hearing this, Wang Qicheng's eyelids twitched slightly, and he tapped his fingers gently on the table, not answering immediately.

The conference room was quiet for a few seconds.

Zhao Ming was not in a hurry either. He leaned back in his chair, twirling the fountain pen on the table absentmindedly, and waited patiently.

"President Zhao, with what you're saying, whose hands the copyright of that song is currently in is still unclear to both you and me. How can we handle it?"

Wang Qicheng finally spoke, his tone unhurried.

"Besides, even if the copyright is in their hands, do you think those two youngsters who just terminated their contracts will easily sell the song to you?"

Zhao Ming smiled, put down the fountain pen in his hand, and crossed his hands in front of his abdomen.

"Old Wang, you're too honest. Who said we must buy it?"

Wang Qicheng raised an eyebrow.

"Then what you mean is..."

"Exert pressure."

Zhao Ming spat out two words, his tone casual, as if he were talking about the most ordinary thing in the world.

"What is their identity now? At most, they are two helpless online singers, with no company backing them and no team to support them."

"And what about us? Starlight Entertainment and Moonlight Entertainment, top-notch companies in the industry."

"Do you think that if they don't cooperate, we can let them walk this path smoothly?"

Wang Qicheng leaned back in his chair, stared at Zhao Ming for two seconds, and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly upward.

"President Zhao, you have a good idea, but have you thought about one problem?"

"What problem?"

"Shen Qingxue is a person from your company. When terminating the contract, you signed a harsh clause with her prohibiting her from signing with anyone within a year."

"But the path she is taking now is that of an online singer, which is not within the scope of contract restrictions."

Wang Qicheng paused and continued.

"As for Lu Li, he has already terminated his contract with me and is now a free man. I can't control him either."

"How do you exert pressure? With what do you exert pressure?"

Zhao Ming's smile did not change, as if he had anticipated that Wang Qicheng would say this.

"Old Wang, you are still too honest."

He spoke slowly and leisurely.

"Exerting pressure doesn't necessarily mean resorting to legal means. Sometimes, public opinion is the best weapon."

Wang Qicheng frowned slightly.

"Tell me in detail."

Zhao Ming straightened his body, braced his hands on the desktop, and leaned forward slightly.

"Look, Shen Qingxue just terminated her contracts with your and my two companies, and turned around to form a duo with Lu Li, and even released a new song."

"Netizens are shipping their CP happily right now and don't think there's any problem, but what if someone guides public opinion?"

He paused, a meaningful arc hooking up at the corner of his mouth.

"For example, manufacturing some scandals about Shen Qingxue, and that ex-girlfriend incident of Lu Li, and frying it up again, do you think netizens will feel disgusted?"

"These things, whether true or false are not important. What's important is that as long as someone believes it, their reputation will be ruined."

After hearing this, Wang Qicheng was silent for a few seconds, then picked up the coffee cup in front of him, found that it was completely cold, and put it down again.

"President Zhao, your move is ruthless enough."

"The business world is like a battlefield, Old Wang. It's not your first day out here."

Zhao Ming smiled, his tone still casual.

"Besides, I don't want to completely ruin them either, just let them know that this path is not so easy to walk."

"If they know what's good for them and hand over the copyright of coral sea, everyone will be happy."

"If they don't know what's good for them..."

He paused and didn't finish his sentence, but the meaning was already very obvious.

Wang Qicheng leaned back in his chair, crossed his hands in front of his abdomen, stared at Zhao Ming for a few seconds, and then slowly spoke.

"Then how do you plan to split the profits at that time?"

Zhao Ming narrowed his eyes slightly and then smiled.

"Old Wang, I just like doing business with people like you, straight to the point without beating around the bush."

He raised two fingers.

"Two-eight, you two, I eight."

Wang Qicheng's brow furrowed.

"President Zhao, isn't your appetite too big? You came up with the idea, that's true, but don't forget, Lu Li came out of my company."

"When it comes to bargaining chips for applying pressure, I have much more than you."

Zhao Ming gave a laugh, put down his fingers, and leaned back in his chair.

"Then you tell me, how should we split it?"

"Four-six, you four, I six."

Wang Qicheng spoke without hesitation.

Zhao Ming stared at him for two seconds, then slowly nodded.

"Alright, four-six it is, but there is a condition."

"Go ahead."

"The copyright of this song must belong to Starlight Entertainment, and your Moonlight will only take dividends."

Wang Qicheng's expression changed slightly, but quickly returned to normal.

He stared at Zhao Ming for a few seconds, seemingly making a final trade-off.

Then he slowly spoke.

"Okay, but the ratio of dividends needs to be changed to fifty-fifty."

Zhao Ming looked at Wang Qicheng and suddenly smiled.

"Old Wang, you really refuse to take even the slightest loss."

"Likewise."

Wang Qicheng picked up the completely cold coffee in front of him and drank it in one gulp.

"Then it's a deal."

...

On the other side.

On Lu Li and Shen Qingxue's side, they had no idea that a storm was already brewing.

The two were sitting on the sofa, holding their mobile phones, watching the backend data skyrocket, and their expressions were somewhat complicated.

"It's rising again."

Lu Li refreshed the page, and the number of followers had jumped from 500,000 to over 800,000, and it was still climbing at a visible speed.

"Yeah, I saw it, just unclear how long the heat can be maintained, but maintaining it for a month or so should still be fine."

Shen Qingxue's tone was still calm, but her slightly pursed lips still exposed a trace of tension.

Lu Li thought for a moment and nodded.

"Makes sense, unless there is other big news during this period to cover it up."

Thinking of this, Lu Li couldn't help but laugh dumbly.

Big news, what big news could cover up this video with such a terrifying growth rate?

But soon, Lu Li suddenly turned his head to look at Shen Qingxue.

"To be honest, what I'm most worried about right now is not the heat, but something else."

Shen Qingxue turned her head to look at him.

"What?"

"Copyright."

Lu Li's expression turned serious.

"For the copyright of coral sea, we only registered it individually and did not affiliate with any company. If someone wants to make trouble, this part might become a breakthrough point."

Shen Qingxue's brow furrowed slightly.

Of course she knew what Lu Li was worried about.

Having mixed in the entertainment industry for so many years, she had seen too many creators ruined by copyright issues.

Some companies talk about cooperation on the surface, but secretly dig pits waiting for you to jump in.

Once you don't pay attention and sign a contract you shouldn't sign, that song will no longer belong to you.

"You are right, we must improve this copyright part as soon as possible."

Shen Qingxue put down her phone, and her expression also became serious.

"Tomorrow I will go find a lawyer, go through all the copyright documents, and confirm there are no loopholes."

Lu Li nodded.

"And the account, the current account is our individual one. Should we change the authentication? Do the authentication for the duo, lest people take advantage of loopholes later."

Shen Qingxue thought for a moment and nodded.

"Alright, we'll handle it together tomorrow."

The two chatted for a while about the next plan, sorted through all possible risks, and confirmed there were no omissions.

After chatting, Lu Li leaned back on the sofa and let out a long breath.

"I'm exhausted. It feels even more tiring than recording a show."

Shen Qingxue glanced at him, the corners of her mouth twitching slightly.

"This is nothing, there will be more tiring things in the future."

Lu Li wailed and buried his face into the sofa cushion.

"Can you let me slack off..."

"No."

Shen Qingxue refused very decisively.