Chapter Seventy

  At the critical moment, Li Jin finally arrived.

  Bei Feng tightly grasped the phone in his hand, his grip so strong that he almost crushed the metal casing. If it weren't for the fact that they were in a public place and he couldn't show favoritism, he would have almost stood up to welcome Li Jin with open arms and a warm hug.

  Li Jing suddenly felt his passion, and her body swayed as she dodged the two scorching gazes, walking to her own seat. At the same time, agent Xiao Pu's face was serious, holding a stack of printed documents in his hand, following closely behind him into the conference room, standing quietly by the door.

  "Li Jin is finally here." Huang Wei's seat was right next to Li Jin, and she smiled wryly and hummed twice, saying in a sarcastic tone, "We were just discussing how to get through this crisis, and everyone has already agreed that Luo Fei should withdraw from the competition. As Li Jin's agent, you have the best relationship with Luo Fei, so we'll trouble you to convey this decision to him later, lest he doesn't take it well."

  Li Jin's lips curled up with a hint of a cold smile, his legs together, standing straight beside his seat. His gaze, as if it had substance, swept over each person in the room. Everyone present had reached their current position by weathering storms, but now, Li Jin's fleeting glance made no one dare meet his eyes.

  Kicking out Luo Fei is an unavoidable measure. His father being a gangster is already a scandal, and adding the title of "Gangster Boss" to it makes it a scandal within a scandal. Now public opinion is overwhelmingly against him, with major media outlets almost uniformly condemning him in a manner reminiscent of forced confessions, with some websites even dedicating entire sections to collecting all the negative news about Luo Fei's career. Before the meeting, there were even reports that instructor Shi Dongning, who had always been favorable towards Luo Fei, was also affected by the backlash, with his microblog comment section being flooded with insults and even his music company's website being attacked. With everyone speaking out against him, this momentum is too great for Luo Fei to withstand, no matter how many fans he has.

  Moreover, Luo Fei indeed deserved it. His father was a gangster, and he concealed such sensitive information. Now that the truth has come to light, the situation is out of control, and being kicked out is not unjust.

  Lui Jin understood this principle, but many things in this world are not based on reason from birth.

  He raised an eyebrow, smiled coldly and said, "Oh? Is that so? Has everyone decided?" He turned his head to ask Beifeng Ming, "Has Director Bei agreed?" His gaze swept around the room again, but this time it was slower and lingered longer, as if he was really surprised and seriously inquiring about everyone's opinions. "Does Manager Dai agree? Does Manager Qin agree? And you, Manager Ma, do you have no objections?"

  Huang's lips twitched slightly, and his expression clearly showed that he couldn't bear to watch anymore, wanting to stand up and stop Li Jin's actions. Just then, Li Jin suddenly let out a cold laugh and said, "I think everyone doesn't want to do the second season of Chinese Star Voice, right?"

  "What do you mean?" asked Dai Xu from the Public Relations Department.

  Qin Dao had said earlier that by this time next year, Star Voice would be in its second season. But a show that had a scandal erupt in the first season due to lax screening of contestants' backgrounds, resulting in a popular contestant being forced to withdraw from the competition - who would still expect a second season? Lei Jindao said, "Luo Fei is not only a member of the program team but also an idol nurtured by Art Song Company. Whether or not everyone acknowledges it, he now represents the image of the competition and the company in the eyes of the public. Our consistent statement to the outside world is that we neither admit nor deny anything - no matter how many voices there are among the public and media, they are all just speculation. But once Luo Fei is forced to withdraw from the competition, it would be equivalent to us indirectly admitting that his father is a triad boss. This is not only a personal problem for him but also a crime of dereliction of duty on the part of the Star Voice program team for failing to properly screen contestants and having huge loopholes in their selection process. It even proves that China's Star Voice has not delivered positive energy from music as advertised. At that time, the audience will not remember our good deeds but instead will be fixated on the scandal. As a result, the meticulous production and large investment made in the early stages of the show would all have been for naught, and the show's reputation would be completely ruined!

  As soon as this was said, a low murmur of private conversations suddenly broke out in the large conference room.

  Knowing that he had already shaken everyone, Li Jin cleared his throat and raised his voice, overpowering all the other sounds: "Not only that, if Ruo Fei's incident affects the ratings and reputation of the rest of the show, then it's easy to deal with the repercussions from the TV station. But what's scary is that when the time comes, the complaints and dissatisfaction from the sponsors will be enough to make the marketing department drink a whole pot. What if some sponsors ask for a refund? Then how are we going to handle the remaining two matches?" He paused for a moment, and indeed, the face of the person in charge of the marketing department began to look ugly. "One step back, if we really let Ruo Fei withdraw from the competition, then what about his endorsement deal? The merchants who accepted Ruo Fei as their spokesperson valued his fan appeal and healthy image. If he withdraws, his fans will lose interest quickly, where is the fan appeal? And if it's confirmed that he's the son of a triad member, then where is the healthy image? At that time, we'll either miss out on the endorsement opportunity or offend the merchants for no reason. Everyone, please carefully consider the consequences."

  Losing endorsement opportunities means losing huge profits and offending business partners... The several endorsements that Ruo Fei has recently taken on are either domestic first-line brands or internationally renowned trendy brands. For a small music company like Art in Sound, these brands are not something to be trifled with.

  "What's the point of saying so much?" Dai Xu sneered, "It won't change the fact that Ruo Fei's father is a triad boss."

  "Yes, it's said that Luo Fei has already admitted that his father is indeed a triad leader. Previously, he reported that his parents were ordinary working-class people, but that was all lies. Someone who lies about such things, what's the point of keeping them around?" Huang Wei smiled very gently and said, "Luo's manager, you have big problems with your background checks on artists."

  Li Jinyu's eyebrows slightly furrowed, and she glanced at Bei Fuming with a hint of warning. "I remember that according to the schedule, Luo Fei was supposed to be recording a new single in Shi Dongning's studio last night. Everyone knows Shi Laoshi's rules - once you enter the studio, you're cut off from the outside world. Even if there's an earthquake outside, you can't leave until the song is recorded well. When Xiao Pu contacted Luo Fei at 8:53 pm, things hadn't blown up yet, and Luo Fei did admit on the phone that his father was a triad leader. However, he also said that this matter was complicated and would explain everything clearly after he came out of the studio. From yesterday to now, Luo Fei and the other three strong contestants have been in Shi Dongning's studio without coming out, unaware of the situation outside. Our people are already waiting outside Shi Laoshi's studio, and as soon as Luo Fei finishes recording, he will be brought back to explain the truth. So before everything is clear, I hope everyone won't make wild guesses."

  "Huh, things have blown up so big and he still has the leisure to record songs?" Dai Xu sneered. "Why not just knock open the recording studio door, bring him back, or hand him a phone and let him make a call to explain?"

  "Dai Xiu, do you know that Shi Dongning hasn't recorded a single song for any singer in over a year?" Bei Fuming, who had been quiet since the meeting started, raised his head and stared at Dai Xiu with an unblinking gaze. Dai Xiu had never thought that this notoriously kind old man could have such a gloomy and oppressive stare. Being stared at like this made him feel as if all the blood in his body had frozen. "By interrupting Shi Dongning while he's recording, are you hoping that our company's artists will all be on his blacklist from now on?"

  "No, not...". Shi Dongning's influence in the music industry is too terrifying. Although being on his blacklist won't completely ruin one's future, it will be extremely difficult to produce a good album. Dai Xu hastily apologized and nervously lowered his head.

  "As for Huang Wei's comment that Luo Fei might not have enough momentum after the selection, so it's not necessary to go all out to save him..." Li Jin raised his eyes and gave a signal to Xiao Pu, who was pretending to be invisible in the corner. Xiao Pu nodded and handed out the documents in his hand to everyone present.

  "This is Luo Fei's performance plan for the next three months after the draft." Li Jin also held a copy, "This plan is arranged according to the schedule, everyone can see that whether Luo Fei is the champion of this Star Voice Generation or not, within three months after the final, except for one day off per month, his schedule is full. Moreover, the compactness of this schedule is still increasing, which means that the worry about insufficient momentum will not appear at all. Just these three months, Luo Fei's endorsement fees and performance fees are enough to support the company's normal operation for a whole year. Everyone, even if you really want to abandon Luo Fei after crossing the river, please let him earn everyone's salary and bonus for next year first."

  "Crossing the river and dismantling the bridge?" Manager Qin of the marketing department laughed dryly, "Xiao Li, what you said is too unpleasant, how can this be..."

  "Li Jin, I heard that you and Luo Fei were very good friends before joining the company." Suddenly, Huang, who had been silent for a long time, smiled three times, pushed the plan book in front of him far away, raised his eyebrows, and looked at Li Jin with some provocation. "You're so biased towards him, are you overemphasizing personal feelings while forgetting about the company's considerations?"