Actually, Yang Yi felt a bit awkward being alone with Mo Xiaojuan.
After all, Mo Xiaojuan and his predecessor had been at odds with each other. She believed her cousin had been held back by Yang Yi, and since Mo Fei and Yang Yi's relationship had serious issues, her opinion of him had always been extreme.
Yang Yi didn't like this woman either, who had given him dirty looks ever since he first arrived in this world!
But since Mo Xiaojuan was Mo Fei's cousin—practically a sister-in-law—he couldn't exactly treat her coldly.
Now, Mo Xiaojuan, who usually had nothing pleasant to say to him, actually wanted a private conversation, and it seemed like she had something important to discuss. How unusual!
Seeing Yang Yi hesitate and stay silent, Mo Xiaojuan grew anxious. "Brother-in-law, my sister told me everything—'Soldiers' Sortie' and 'Drawing Sword' were both written by you. Two bestsellers must have earned you a lot of money!"
Yang Yi wasn't concerned about the money; he was just figuring out how to talk to Mo Xiaojuan and what tone to use.
"Not bad. When the settlement comes this month, it should be around seven million in income," Yang Yi decided to treat Mo Xiaojuan like an ordinary person and communicate casually.
"That much!" Mo Xiaojuan's eyes lit up. She said, "That's enough, that's enough. Brother-in-law, you just need to save up for two or three months!"
Was this girl no longer keeping her distance from him like before?
Curious, Yang Yi asked, "What do you want to do?"
"It's not about what I want to do!" Mo Xiaojuan said excitedly. "It's about what my sister wants to do!"
"What does Mo Fei want to do?" Yang Yi was a bit confused.
If Mo Fei wanted to do something, or if she needed money, why wouldn't she tell him directly? Why go through Mo Xiaojuan?
Yang Yi soon realized it was a small misunderstanding.
Mo Xiaojuan sighed and shook her head. "Oh, brother-in-law, you have no idea how my sister is being treated at her current agency..."
Yang Yi really didn't know much about Mo Fei's current situation. From his—"Mu Zi'ang's"—emails with Mo Fei, he could tell things weren't going well for her. What kind of company doesn't help its artist and makes her gather an entire album's worth of songs on her own?
Through Mo Xiaojuan's embellished account, Yang Yi learned about Mo Fei's marginalization at the agency and the boss's intention to pressure her into signing a stricter contract.
"My sister is so stubborn. She thinks Ling Jie was good to her in the past, so she doesn't want to burn bridges!" Mo Xiaojuan pursed her lips in annoyance. "But she has no idea what kind of person Ling Jie really is!"
"Exactly. Back when my sister was successful, she was the only big star in the company, so Ling Jie treated her like a treasure. But now that her comeback album sold poorly, her attitude has completely changed! That woman is so pragmatic. With Zhen Muqian being young and pretty, she wants to push Zhen Zhen to the forefront and kick my sister out."
"My sister just remembers how people treated her well in the past and can't see reality! Look at how the company treats her now—how many commercial gigs and appearances they've arranged that she doesn't want to do? Before, if my sister hesitated even once, they wouldn't dare bring it up again! And wasn't there that scandal recently? The company secretly arranged that too..." Mo Xiaojuan said bitterly.
Yang Yi frowned deeply. If Mo Xiaojuan hadn't told him, he wouldn't have known Mo Fei was facing such a situation. He had thought her constant traveling was just part of the job!
But now it seemed she was being worked like a mule by the company.
"What do you want me to do?" Yang Yi asked in a low voice, suppressing his anger.
Mo Xiaojuan snapped her fingers, her face lighting up with excitement. "My idea is to have my sister break away and start her own studio. It might be tough at first, but the key is freedom!"
"But my sister doesn't want to. She's still hesitating, not wanting to fall out with Ling Jie." Mo Xiaojuan shrugged helplessly. "So I want you, brother-in-law, to set up the studio first, build the framework, and then when the contract is almost up and Ling Jie wants to renew, we'll tell her straight!"
"Brother-in-law, you might not know this, but no matter how much I say, it's useless. My sister is very stubborn. But she cares about what you say. If you persuade her then, saying you want to start a family business with her, she definitely won't refuse!" Mo Xiaojuan chuckled, casually patting Yang Yi on the shoulder. "Of course, not now. We have to wait until my sister releases this album."
"Why wait? Why not tell Mo Fei now to terminate her contract and release the new album under our new studio?" Yang Yi asked, puzzled.
"Terminating a contract costs money, you know!" Mo Xiaojuan rolled her eyes. "My sister was a diva back then. The termination fee is forty million! Do you have forty million?"
Forty million was the price tag for a popular diva five or six years ago. Since Mo Fei later retired, the contract hadn't been revised. If it were today, with skyrocketing prices, not setting a termination fee of one or two hundred million for a popular diva would be foolish—it would invite the greed of industry giants!
Of course, now that Mo Fei had hit a slump, she wasn't worth forty million by today's standards.
"I can borrow the money. Pay the fee to terminate, then earn it back. No point staying in that company and ruining our mood," Yang Yi said nonchalantly.
At worst, he could borrow forty million from Fu Jun, or sell the film and TV rights for "Soldiers' Sortie" and "Drawing Sword" at a discount, then bring over a few more bestsellers to rake in cash...
He'd never heard of money being a problem for someone who got a second chance at life!
"Alright, brother-in-law, even if you have forty million, there's no need to waste it here. I have reasons for not wanting my sister to terminate early," Mo Xiaojuan explained.
"First, my sister needs this album to prove herself. Mu Zi'ang's songs are excellent. Even if they can't bring her back to her pre-retirement peak, I think it won't be hard to make her popular again! But running a studio isn't just about throwing money at it. If you're not a top-tier star, lacking popularity, it's tough to compete with big agencies on your own!"
Otherwise, why would so many small stars endure exploitation by their agencies, while only established big names open their own studios?
"Besides, Tianmei has resources we desperately need right now. If we jump out and start our own studio now, how do we record the album? How do we shoot the music videos? How do we handle distribution and promotion?" Mo Xiaojuan said. "A newly established studio can't gather all those resources in a short time!"
Yang Yi had to admit Mo Xiaojuan made a lot of sense.
"So over this year, we'll build the studio's framework. I'll gradually invite professionals I've met over the years to jump ship, or hire and poach talent. By the time my sister's contract ends and she joins your studio, we can make a smooth transition!" Mo Xiaojuan said confidently.
She hadn't wasted her years in the entertainment industry. She had plenty of connections, but it took time to set things up. For one, she was determined to poach from the old company, persuading capable and experienced friends like Xiao Ai to switch sides!
"Of course!" Mo Xiaojuan snorted proudly. "The most important reason is, how can we slink away like this? This album has to be released under Tianmei, and it has to do well, so they'll be shocked and regret it later!"