Chapter 0143: The Decision

When the dimension of time and space is compressed, those within it realize that each day is unique—it cannot be altered, erased, or relived.

It is the irreversibility of time that makes every day shine.

In other words, if time were reversible, everyone would have countless regrets and dreams they wished to make up for.

Zhao Fusheng sometimes thought: if everything happening now were a dream, what would he do? Once he woke up, his parents would still be dead, Fan Beibei and Li Yuan would vanish without a trace, and Fan Baobao would still be that glamorous but fake-smiling star on screen.

After much thought, he found he would rather live forever in the dream than wake up.

At least in the dream, he lived happily—that was enough.

"I'm sorry."

Back at the hotel, Zhao Fusheng received a page with no name, but he could guess who sent it. Seeing that no phone number was left, a smile crept onto his lips.

It was most likely Mu Qingqing.

Shaking his head, Zhao Fusheng didn't dwell on it. The rest was Li Jian's problem. If Li Jian had enough standing in Qingcheng Culture, he could naturally demand He Yunzhi compromise. If not, Zhao Fusheng would spend a few thousand yuan to buy back the song copyright, and the rest would be none of his business.

As for what Qingcheng Culture might lose—he wasn't Mu Qingwan or He Yunzhi's father, so why would he care?

Many of us are like signposts, standing by the roadside to guide the lost, yet we ourselves end up going where we don't want to go.

Zhao Fusheng was tired of such a life; he just wanted to live freely.

…

…

Li Jian also wanted to live freely, and he had indeed done so. After all, not everyone could give up a good spot at Tsinghua University to play in a band, then leave the band to go solo.

But Li Jian did just that. In his own words, music was his dream, and he was willing to pay any price to realize it.

When Mu Qingwan relayed Li Jian's words to He Yunzhi, He Yunzhi's face turned frighteningly pale.

"This guy, who does he think he is…"

He Yunzhi muttered to herself, and the "he" she referred to was clearly not Li Jian, but Zhao Fusheng.

In He Yunzhi's eyes, Zhao Fusheng's behavior was nothing less than a public challenge to her authority.

What's more, he had even dared to incite Li Jian to threaten the company—he must have grown a bear's gall and a leopard's heart.

"He's nobody, just an ordinary student. But the problem is, our previous approach was flawed." Mu Qingwan sighed and said to her good friend, "We all thought he wanted to enter the entertainment industry, so we planned to temper him. But we forgot he's still a student—it's too early to tell if he'll enter the industry. Maybe our methods are common in the circle, but to him, it was indeed trampling on his dignity and his work."

In fact, there was something she didn't say: when Mu Qingqing first came home and suggested letting Zhao Fusheng recompose the music, she had agreed. But He Yunzhi said that doing so would be admitting the company's composers were inferior to Zhao Fusheng, and suggested a different approach—to make Zhao Fusheng willingly write the music.

Now, the new piece was written and sounded good, but the problem was that he wanted to initiate the copyright buyback agreement.

"So what do we do? Do we really let him ride roughshod over us?" He Yunzhi frowned and said in a low voice.

Mu Qingwan shook her head: "Two paths, two choices."

"What do you mean?" He Yunzhi clearly didn't understand.

Looking at her long-time best friend and business partner, Mu Qingwan said calmly, "First, we don't admit fault, we don't admit defeat. We shelve Li Jian's album and don't release it. In two months, at the end of the year, his contract expires and he won't renew. Then we find a new singer to promote. At the same time, we completely blacklist Li Jian and Zhao Fusheng, using all our power to ensure they never have a chance in the entertainment industry."

As she spoke these words, Mu Qingwan's tone was very calm, showing no sign that she had just made a decision that could ruin two people's lives.

"And the second choice?" He Yunzhi didn't nod immediately but pressed on.

Mu Qingwan gave her a deep look and slowly said, "The second path is simple: apologize, pay up, and agree to Li Jian's demands. As for whether he renews his contract, as long as this album sells well, even if he doesn't renew, we'll have proven the company's strength, and others will come to us."

He Yunzhi was silent for a long time. Though unwilling to admit it, she had to concede that even with her higher education and overseas study in professional business management, she was not as thorough as her friend in considering many issues.

Just from this matter, He Yunzhi realized that Mu Qingwan's thinking was more penetrating than her own.

In fact, the two choices Mu Qingwan offered covered all possibilities for the whole affair.

The former was to be tough to the end, while the latter was mainly conciliatory.

More importantly, she gave the power of choice to He Yunzhi, which would neither embarrass her nor cause dissatisfaction within the company.

Thinking this, He Yunzhi gritted her teeth and said in a low voice, "If we use our capabilities, how long can we blacklist Li Jian and that Zhao Fusheng?"

Mu Qingwan shrugged: "It's hard to say, but I have some friends in this circle. At the very least, if Li Jian leaves Qingcheng Culture, it will be very difficult for him to release another album, and he won't have a chance to perform on stage again."

Having been immersed in Beijing's entertainment circle for years, especially the music scene, Mu Qingwan had considerable influence.

She was well acquainted with figures like the campus music leader Short Fat Guy and Old Fox, and had a good relationship with Short Fat Guy, who had helped recruit Li Jian in the first place. After all, Short Fat Guy was something of a big brother among campus singers.

"As for that Zhao Fusheng…" Mu Qingwan hesitated and said with a bitter smile, "To be honest, I don't have any information on him. Qingqing is also upset with me over this matter. So unless he actively tries to enter the entertainment industry, there's not much we can do to him. At most, based on the copyright agreement, we can prevent 'The Prose Poem Written by Father' from being published for a few years."

That was the rule of the copyright agreement: the seller had the right to buy back the work's copyright according to the agreement, but by convention, a repurchased copyright could not be resold for up to five years.

Thus, few people paid attention to this clause, because neither the seller nor the buyer could afford to waste those five years.

Unexpectedly, they ran into Zhao Fusheng, someone who didn't care about time.

Gritting her teeth, He Yunzhi made her decision…