Perfect Superstar.

After sending Little Gao away, Chen Jianhao turned his attention back to the sound engineer.

His gaze was as sharp as an eagle's, and the sound engineer trembled like a quail, with beads of cold sweat forming on his forehead.

Despite his claims of being the "Boss" in the sound studio, when faced with an angry and the real BOSS, his entire body quaked with fear, wishing he could instantly find a place to hide.

Unable to escape, he forced a smile that looked more like a cry, "Boss, I know I was wrong. It was Little Gao's idea."

"I know it was Little Gao who incited you to do this."

Chen Jianhao interrupted his defense and said, "So, I'm only deducting your bonus for this month. If there's another incident…"

Owning a mid-sized bar in Houhai, Chen Jianhao was obviously no ordinary person. He was sharp and astute, not prone to missing any details. He could easily guess the truth of the situation.

Though he could not tolerate Little Gao, who was the instigator, he couldn't let the sound engineer off the hook either.

Of course, appropriate punishment and warnings were necessary.

"There won't be another time!"

The sound engineer felt as if he had been granted amnesty, and quickly said, "I'll be on my best behavior from now on. I'll fix Little Lu's sound right away!"

He hurriedly moved to turn on the mixer.

To his surprise, Chen Jianhao pondered for a moment and then said, "No need to adjust Little Lu's sound. Just continue as usual for everyone else."

Previously at Daylily Bar, only two performers did not require sound adjustments: the signed artists, Zhang Nana and Qin Hanyang from the Wandering Band. Both were mainstays.

Now, Lu Chen has joined the list!

Chen Jianhao was troubled, thinking that Lu Chen might leave after tonight. The world here was indeed too small.

He nodded at the sound engineer and left the sound studio.

At this point, Lu Chen had just finished singing the second round of "My Old Classmate," receiving even more enthusiastic applause from the audience.

And a flood of beer tips!

"Little Lu, sing two more songs!" Someone shouted.

Seeing the generous tips, Lu Chen wanted to sing more, but if the bar was a small Jianghu, then the Jianghu had its rules. He, as a small fry, had no right to ignore these rules.

As a filler performer, singing two songs was expected. Singing an additional one upon request was acceptable, but staying on stage beyond that would provoke resentment— after all, other performers had to sing too!

So, when the Host came out, Lu Chen immediately stood up and bowed, "Thank you, everyone! Thank you!"

At that moment, he saw Chen Jianhao waving to him from behind the bar and took the opportunity to step aside, leaving the stage for the new performer, Sister Hong.

After placing his guitar in the backroom, Lu Chen hurried to the bar counter.

"Boss!"

"Let's sit down and talk."

Chen Jianhao nodded, signaling him to sit, and said, "You sang very well tonight. 'My Old Classmate' has a lot of charm. I didn't expect you to have such talent. I was wrong about you before."

Lu Chen felt a bit embarrassed and scratched his head, unsure how to respond.

To be honest, even he felt like he was dreaming, it all seemed a bit unreal.

Fortunately, Chen Jianhao didn't dig deeper. He pointed to the charming woman beside him and said, "This is my cousin, Su Qingmei. She and her partners have just started a media company and are interested in you. She'd like to discuss a potential contract."

"Me?"

Lu Chen could hardly believe his ears. "A contract with a media company?"

This was something he had never even dreamed of before, and everything was happening so quickly, with good fortune coming one after another!

Su Qingmei smiled, "Yes, that's right!"

"Let me introduce myself. I'm Su Qingmei, the director of Qingyu Media Company. I really like your singing."

She extended her hand to Lu Chen, "You can call me Sister Mei."

"Hello, Director Su."

Lu Chen shook her hand. Her touch was soft and warm, and his heart couldn't help but race.

Su Qingmei smiled charmingly, not correcting Lu Chen's way of addressing her, and said, "Our Qingyu Media Company focuses on artist management, film and television production, large-scale events, new media, and so on. We're currently looking for talented new artists. If you're interested, we can sign a formal contract tomorrow."

After the initial excitement, Lu Chen gradually calmed down and asked, "Director Su, if it's convenient, could I take a look at the contract first?"

If this opportunity had come yesterday, Lu Chen would have accepted without hesitation. But now, having recently achieved significant success and validation, the allure of signing with a media company was great, but not enough to make him lose his reason.

Su Qingmei seemed surprised and smiled, "Of course, no problem. I have a draft of the new artist contract saved on my phone. I can show you now or send it to you via WeChat."

Lu Chen quickly said, "Then please let me use Director Su's phone. It'll be faster."

He didn't want to pull out his old, shabby phone and make a fool of himself.

Su Qingmei took out her phone from a bag adorned with a "CHANEL" logo, unlocked it with a fingerprint, and handed it to Lu Chen. The 5.5-inch high-definition screen displayed the enlarged contract text clearly.

The contract for new artists was lengthy. Reading it thoroughly would take some time, but Lu Chen skimmed through a few clauses and was increasingly alarmed.

The terms of this contract were far more severe than he had imagined!

Previously, Lu Chen had often read about actors, vagabond singers, and entertainment agencies getting into conflicts, with scandals and lawsuits making headlines. The stars' complaints about their agencies frequently included harsh contract terms.

They spoke of terms that were too strict, inhumane, restrictive, and exploitative.

At the time, Lu Chen merely observed as a spectator and didn't believe much of it. He figured that since all stars are actors, their tactics for gaining sympathy were nothing new, and everyone had become accustomed to it.

But now that he was just touching this industry, he realized that many things were not entirely false.

This new artist contract required a 10-year commitment. For the next ten years, Lu Chen would not be able to leave Qingyu Media Company.

And the penalty for breaching the contract was a staggering 10 Million Yuan!

Signing this contract would mean selling the best years of his life to the company!

Even just this clause alone made Lu Chen feel uncomfortable.

Additionally, the contract stipulated that during training and probation, new artists would only receive the minimum legal salary, with no benefits or bonuses, and were not allowed to work elsewhere for extra income.

Lu Chen thought it was better to find a tofu to knock himself out and forget about it.

Furthermore, after signing the contract, his portrait rights, creative copyrights, and other rights would all belong to the company. The contract specified a starting revenue share of only 10% based on seniority and performance!

Lu Chen couldn't tolerate it any longer, even though there were many more complicated terms in the contract.

He handed the phone back to Su Qingmei and said, "Director Su, I'm really sorry, but I don't want to sign this contract."

"Why?"

Su Qingmei frowned and asked, "You've made a decision without reading it all. Isn't that a bit hasty?"

Lu Chen replied tactfully, "The initial terms aren't suitable for my situation, so I'm really sorry."

His family was heavily in debt, and he was struggling in the Capital City. Though it was tiring, the pay was decent, allowing him to support himself and send money home each month.

If he signed this contract, he wouldn't be able to make ends meet, not to mention the future terms.

Most importantly, the rights clause meant that all the copyrights for any songs he created would belong to the company, leaving him with only a small fraction!

If this were the old Lu Chen, he might not have cared, but now, with a vast treasure trove of his own, how could he just hand it over to someone else?

Not to mention the restrictive terms.

However, Su Qingmei didn't understand Lu Chen's thoughts and mistook his reluctance for bargaining, which displeased her.

She thought for a moment and said, "If it's about the terms, most entertainment, media, and management companies have similar contracts for new artists. If you sign with us, Qingyu Media will use a lot of resources to train, package, and promote you. Don't just focus on these minor details!"

"Think it over carefully. Don't be impulsive and miss out on this opportunity!"

Su Qingmei wanted to tell the young man in front of her how many people desired this contract but couldn't get it!

Yet Lu Chen didn't like her aggressive tone and countered, "I'm really sorry, Director Su. Perhaps I'm shortsighted right now, but maybe we can work together in the future."

You're beautiful, wealthy, and the director of a media company, but so what?

I have no demands from you, so why should I follow your orders?

Lu Chen straightened his back and looked at her to convey his refusal and determination!

Rejecting this beautiful director was not easy.

"Cooperation?"

Su Qingmei almost laughed in anger— such shameless boasting!

So what if he's handsome and can sing? Thinking one original song makes him amazing?

Too naive!

If there was a glass of water in front of her, Su Qingmei would have poured it over Lu Chen's head to wake him up.

"Cough, cough!"

Seeing the argument escalating and the atmosphere becoming tense, Chen Jianhao, who was sitting nearby, coughed loudly and said, "Little Lu, how about this: You go home tonight and think it over. Tomorrow…"

"No need to wait until tomorrow!"

Su Qingmei frowned, stood up decisively, and neatly tucked her phone back into her designer bag. Her beautiful face showed a hint of arrogance as she said, "Qingyu Media's small temple can't afford this Venerable Great God. I'm leaving!"

With that, she turned and left, disappearing through the bar's door.

Her retreating figure seemed to carry a trace of dissatisfaction.

Chen Jianhao and Lu Chen looked at each other in silence. Chen Jianhao sighed and said, "She didn't even pay for her drinks."

Lu Chen couldn't help but laugh. He had never seen his boss display such a humorous side before.

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(End of Chapter)