Liu Mei arrived in Jinan Prefecture.

  When Li Qian received Cao Zhan's phone call, he was stunned for several seconds before suddenly remembering: that was He Runqing's agent, and also Cao Zhan's past lover.

  Her timing was exquisite, coinciding with the end of Li Qian's final exams and also coinciding with the release of Wu Suo's 5.7 million sales figures.

  Li Qian rode his bicycle to Cao Zhan's second-hand bookstore to see her.

  Liu Mei was around forty years old, made up very delicately, although it was a cold winter day, she still wore a fitted little suit, an elegant and capable woman who had been through ups and downs, calm and not showy.

  No matter whether it's from her age, her relationship with Lao Cao, or the fact that she is He Runqing's agent, Li Qian was very polite and humble when he saw her.

  The other party was clearly more adaptable and better at this kind of social interaction, with polite flattery and persuasion that made people feel comfortable listening to. However, when mentioning "Half a Jar of Silk", after lightly thanking him, she changed the subject and looked at Li Qian, smiling and saying: "With Xiao Qian's 'Half a Jar of Silk' as the foundation, we can be considered to have figured it out. This kind of Chinese style is indeed very popular, so recently, we've also been collecting this type of Chinese style in our circle. The works we've received so far are somewhat accomplished, but still not comparable to Xiao Qian's works. In fact, I think your Chinese style and Rong Qing's voice are a match made in heaven, they're simply perfect together!"

  As soon as she finished speaking, Cao Zhan's face had already darkened.

  However, he paused and saw that Li Qian was just smiling faintly, with no change in expression on his face, so he lowered his head and simply didn't speak. At this time, it's unclear whether Liu Mei noticed Cao Zhan's facial expression or not, but seeing Li Qian's non-reaction, she straightforwardly said: "If Qian Shao still has a suitable work in hand, can we consider collaborating again? Rong Ying has always been looking forward to your work. She said that if she could get one of your songs as the main theme, she would feel more at ease."

  Li Qian smiled and pretended to think seriously, saying: "If there's a suitable work, I'd also like to collaborate with Runying Jie on her interpretation of Chinese style, which is indeed outstanding. However, everyone knows that I'm currently in school and my creative time is limited. Recently, I just promised Liao Liao Jie to help with her next album, so I need to rush to write some songs for her... it's really a pity, but hopefully after I graduate from high school, university courses won't be as heavy, and maybe we can collaborate then."

  Cao Zhen heard this and his expression slightly cleared up.

  Liu Mei was arrogant, but Li Qian's counterattack was just right, neither too heavy nor too light.

  Liu Mei smiled lightly and indifferently, changed the subject with a few words, and then chatted for a while before taking her leave.

  Li Qian didn't even get up to see her off, and Cao Zhan, the master and old lover, only sent her to the stairs before watching her go downstairs. And as soon as she stepped out of the building, Cao Zhan couldn't help but slam his fist on the table with a loud "bang".

  Li Qian sat back in his seat and chuckled, saying: "No need, why get angry?"

  Cao Zhan returned with a calm face and sat down, only to say in an ambiguous tone after a long while: "He Runqing's agent, huh? Awesome! Does she think you're stupid or does she think I'm stupid? Or maybe she thinks we're both stupid? Can't tell?"

  Li Qian smiled and suddenly leaned forward curiously, staring at Cao Zhan, saying: "Do you really want to know?"

  Cao Zhan was in a rage and didn't understand Li Qian's meaning for the time being, so he furrowed his brow in confusion and stared at him.

  Li Qian smiled wryly and said, "She thinks I won't be able to hear it! Or maybe she thinks that even if I do hear it, I'll still be excited about being able to work with He Runqing... And you, you're an old lover, after all. You'll give me some face, how could you possibly expose me like this?"

  Cao Zhan thought for a moment and suddenly let out a cold snort.

  Li Qian didn't care, but Liu Mei ran to the guest room of Cao Zhan in Jinan Prefecture and did such a thing on Cao Zhan's turf, which obviously made Cao Zhan extremely angry.

  Well, you invited Song Yu to collaborate, and that unpleasantness in the past can be considered as repaying a debt of gratitude. Whether it's Cao Zhan or Li Qian, they've all laughed it off. However, before inviting Song Yu, he mentioned that He Runyi already had several good Chinese-style songs in hand, implying that even without you, He Runyi would still be fine. Then he said something about being a match made in heaven... The implication is that we're actually doing you a favor by inviting you to collaborate with Song Yu. You have to know, that's He Runyi we're talking about!

  This remark, the young man with a crew cut may not be able to hear it, those music enthusiasts who are only devoted to music but are very confused in human affairs may also not be able to hear it, but how could Li Qian and Cao Zhan not hear what it means?

  Compared with her arrogant tone, those self-proclaimed top singers are nothing!

  But the question is, from Li Qian and Cao Zhan's point of view, they wouldn't think that He Runqing, this sweet song queen, is that impressive. Especially Li Qian, when he first heard Liu Mei's words, although his face didn't show any expression, in his heart, he couldn't help but be shocked. You know, the album he helped Wu Xing Wu Su make just sold out double platinum in a month! In Liu Mei's mind, how highly does she think of He Runqing to think that asking her to sing is giving herself face and promoting herself?

  Although the world is full of wonders, Li Qian couldn't help but ask Cao Zhan: "How did she become He Runqing's agent? And has been doing it for so many years, always smoothly?"

  Cao Zhan's face still looked unpleasant, but after thinking for a moment, he sighed and said: "Actually, she wasn't like this before!"

  Li Qian shrugged.

  Cao Zhan took out his own pipe, slowly and leisurely filling it with tobacco. After finishing, he held the pipe in his hand but hesitated to light it up for a moment. Then, he put down the pipe, looked serious and started flipping through phone numbers.

  Li Qian was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and said: "No need. It's just a few words, no need to ruin someone's rice bowl."

  Cao Zhan flipped through the numbers halfway, heard the words and looked up at Li Qian, took a deep breath. He said solemnly: "Although I know you're just wearing a sheepskin, but in this circle, many times those idiots are self-proclaimed. They won't notice what's under that sheepskin, whether it's a wolf or not. So sometimes being low-key is okay, but sometimes being low-key doesn't work! If you don't show her some ferocity, she'll think you're nothing!"

  After finishing speaking, he flipped through the numbers and dialed directly.

  The phone rang twice before being answered, and on the other end was a bright and sweet voice. "Ah, Teacher Cao, hello! I'm He Runqing... um... I didn't expect it, why did you think of calling me?"

  Cao Zhan's old god sat down, and with the other hand holding a pipe, his tone suddenly became light and breezy. "Hello Miss He, I know you must be very busy, so... Originally, it was impolite to disturb you!"

  "Ah... no need to be polite! Teacher Cao, you're too kind. If you're willing to call me, then nothing is more important than your call! What's on your mind, please go ahead and say it!"

  "Oh, yeah. So there are some things that I don't want to say in person because I'm a bit of a prideful person and I don't like to make others lose face either. Anyway, Liu Mei came to my place earlier, you know we had a past relationship, so I specifically called you to ask you to pass on a message to her. Just tell her that from today on, Cao Zhan and she are completely done, and please also tell her not to come to my place again! Yeah, sorry about the trouble, but I really can't bring myself to say this to her in person. Oh, no other issues, nothing to do with you, just some old grudges between us two. Ah, yeah, Li Jian was here earlier too... a bit embarrassing, I know you're busy and it's not like this is a big deal or anything... but I really can't bring myself to say this to her in person, so thanks for helping me out! Thanks!"

  After finishing speaking, Cao Zhan hung up the phone and threw his mobile phone on the table. He lit a match to light his pipe and took a comfortable puff. After exhaling, he glanced at his phone with a slanted gaze and suddenly cursed, "Damn it!" Then he said to Li Qian, "You see, from now on, don't be polite to everyone, they're all bastards!"

  Li Qian was speechless and smiled.

  To be honest, his temper was never better than Cao Zhan's. However, when he first arrived in this time and space, he already felt a bit like a stranger in a strange land, without roots or foundation. As a 17- or 18-year-old young man, Li Qian still adhered to the strategy of being kind to others, trying his best not to show off. However... how could Cao Zhan, a big shot in the music industry, tolerate being given a cold shoulder by a small agent?

  And in fact, let alone Liu Mei being just an agent, even if He Runying herself dared to say this in front of Cao Zhan and Li Qian, it's likely that Cao Zhan wouldn't give her any face either.

  No matter how big your reputation or fame is outside, in this circle, let alone Li Qian, even Cao Zhan is absolutely not inferior.

  After a phone call, Cao Zhan felt relieved and didn't care about any storms that might be brewing on the other end.

  Although Li Qian himself might not do that, Cao Zhan wants to do it, and he won't have any opinion about it - after all, he now has some status in the music circle of Shuntian Prefecture, and if he just stands there, countless record companies will come to fawn on him. Letting a small agent play tricks in front of him, he is actually very displeased in his heart.

  It's all settled, Li Qian was about to get up and bid farewell, but Cao Zhan stopped him, inviting him to sit for a while longer. Seeing that he had something on his mind, Li Qian smiled and sat back down, saying: "What is it? Just say it straight out, I have to go to the county below this afternoon to meet with Teacher Wang."

  Cao Zhan thought for a moment and said, "Being high-profile in doing things and low-profile in being a person is originally not wrong, however... this time you praised those five little girls, isn't that too much?"

  Li Qian blinked his eyes and looked at him.

  Cao Zhan puffed on his pipe, taking two long drags. A wave of smoke and fog almost completely enveloped him, then he said: "Some things, actually I'm just blindly guessing, they're all still uncertain matters. Just wanted to give you a heads up in advance, so that if something really happens later, I'm afraid you won't be able to accept it!"

  Li Qian smiled and raised his legs, leaning on the sofa, laughing: "It seems that this matter is not small, your temper, actually still want to lay an ambush, make a preparation... okay, said it!"

  Cao Zhan took another puff of his pipe and said, "You know, Huage is a big company. Those girls... they're not Liao Liao, they're not the real deal, they don't have that kind of backing, many times they can't even... even with their own affairs, they can't take charge!"

  Li Qian had already started laughing halfway through what he was saying.

  He paused for a moment, then said: "Let me put it this way, although I did indeed use a lot of effort to try and make their group popular, but I really didn't think about getting any benefits from it afterwards! So, for their next album, well, actually when I decided to work with them on the album, I already guessed that my collaboration with them would probably just be that one album! Hehe, no choice, my price is too high, the company isn't stupid, once they're popular, they'll still continue to look for me?"

  Cao Zhan stared at him seriously for a while, feeling that he indeed had a calm demeanor. He nodded slowly and said: "Businessmen! Old Bai once said that businessmen value profit over separation, which is true from ancient times to the present! Alright, now that you have a plan in mind, I don't need to follow you around worrying unnecessarily!"

  However, Li Qian furrowed his brow and thought for a moment before asking: "Are they going to make their second album already? Is there any news in the circle? This doesn't seem like the style of those big companies, shouldn't they be making more money while they're still hot?"

  Cao Zhan shook his head and said, "There's no wind, at least I haven't heard any. However..." He paused for a moment, nodded towards the direction of the stairs, and said, "Do you think she's really stupid? Doesn't she know that with the huge success of those five girls' album, this should be your most popular and prestigious time?"

  Li Qian was taken aback for a moment, this point, he really hadn't thought of it.

  So... is it related to this?

  So it seems that He Runqing has already heard some rumors? And Hua Ge is indeed planning to abandon himself?

  Although it was expected, but isn't this a bit too fast?

  In the blink of an eye, Li Qian's mind had turned several corners, and he suddenly revealed a look of sudden realization. He exchanged a glance with Cao Zhan, and both nodded slightly, instantly understanding each other's thoughts.

  Take advantage of the hottest time to take on more commercial performances and make money, of course, it's a matter of course. However, taking advantage of the hottest time to rush out the next album, riding the popularity of this album to sell more, and continuing this red-hot momentum is the real way to make big money! Especially since they have already decided not to let Li Jian produce their next album!

  It has to be said that being able to run a record company and making Huaguo one of the top three domestic record companies is indeed reasonable!

  However, relying on the popularity of "Sisters Who Make Waves" to sell the next album, can it really sell well? Does he think that by copying his own path, he can make a lot of money?

  Is there such an easy way to make money in the world?

  Li Qian looked up and glanced at Cao Zhan, who happened to be exhaling a mouthful of smoke. Their eyes met for a moment, and he said disdainfully, "They think too simply!"

  Li Qian smiled and stood up, saying: "Let them go!"

  ***

  Unexpectedly got a fever, and this night made me dizzy. Slept until the afternoon before waking up, opened the computer to take a look, and indeed the monthly ticket had dropped to 31st place again, and was about to drop to 32nd place soon, sigh...