Niu Meiling had been on a business trip recently, though it was hard to say whether she had deliberately chosen this time to avoid facing Mo Fei. After all, people in the entertainment industry staying in the office or in one city all the time was the real anomaly.
After returning, Niu Meiling called her secretary over and asked in detail, "How's it been lately? Has she caused any trouble?"
The "she" clearly referred to Mo Fei.
The secretary knew exactly what she meant. She shook her head, a hint of confusion in her voice, and said, "I haven't seen any reaction, Ling Jie. I followed your plan to the letter, but over at Mo Xiaojuan's side, there doesn't seem to be any response at all."
The secretary brought up Mo Xiaojuan because, in a sense, she represented Mo Fei, and besides... that girl had a fiery temper. Whenever Mo Fei faced any grievances, Mo Xiaojuan was always the one who kicked up the biggest fuss.
"And no complaints about the music producer not being Duan Shurong?" Niu Meiling asked, puzzled.
The secretary shook her head. "No complaints. In fact, they seem pretty satisfied with the new music producer. They've already started officially recording songs today!"
Niu Meiling was a bit taken aback. She felt there was no reason for Mo Fei's side not to make a scene.
Duan Shurong had collaborated with Mo Fei for years but was reassigned to Zhen Zhen. Even if Mo Fei wasn't angry, she should at least have grumbled a bit, right? But judging by the secretary's demeanor, it seemed Mo Fei and her team truly didn't care at all.
"Who did you end up finding as the new producer?" Niu Meiling asked with a frown.
The secretary replied, "Jin Yingming."
Seeing Niu Meiling's confused expression—clearly she had never heard the name—the secretary quickly explained, "We followed your instructions to find a relatively unknown freelance producer with a flawless resume. Jin Yingming fit the bill. Ten years ago, he produced an album that almost won the Golden Melody Award for Best Mandarin Album, but he hasn't achieved much since then."
"Nothing in ten years?" Niu Meiling was surprised.
The secretary smiled. "Yes, his performance has been quite poor. When we found him, he was about to sell his apartment in Modu just to pay the utility bills for his studio!"
Niu Meiling felt reassured. She gave a gentle smile and said, "Since they haven't come to cause trouble, that's a good thing. I still hope Mo Fei can stay calm and focus on making music. Why waste time on all those frivolous ideas?"
In her view, Mo Fei finding Mu Zi'ang to write songs for her was rebellious and a refusal to follow orders.
...
Mo Fei was in the studio recording with Jin Yingming and a few instrumental experts, but the Mo Xiaojuan that Ling Jie and the others were worried about wasn't in the recording booth. She hadn't even come to the company today, having asked Mo Fei for the day off.
But Mo Xiaojuan wasn't resting at home as she had claimed. She secretly drove to a sparsely populated street in Tingshan District, stealthily got out wearing a cap, and tiptoed toward a phone booth.
A tall man was standing by the phone booth. Hearing the noise, he turned to look at her.
"Brother-in-law!" Seeing she couldn't startle Yang Yi, she stopped tiptoeing and ran over with a grin.
That's right, the tall man was Yang Yi. Though autumn had arrived, he was still dressed casually in a T-shirt and shorts, as usual.
"Why all the secrecy? You could have just come to my coffee shop, or I could have brought it to Tianmei for you," Yang Yi said with a frown, asking Mo Xiaojuan.
Mo Xiaojuan rolled her eyes and said impatiently, "Bro, this is a covert operation. Setting up the studio has to be done under the radar. If Ling Jie finds out, Fei Jie will be in big trouble!"
Yang Yi thought about it and agreed. Without another word, he pulled a bank card from his pocket. He had already transferred one million yuan into it—money from last month's royalties from Qiyue and the sales share from Sahara's physical books.
"The password is 666666, six sixes. There's only one million for now. Use it to cover the initial costs. Once the TV drama copyright fees come in, I'll transfer more to this card," Yang Yi said briefly.
Mo Xiaojuan took the bank card as if holding a piece of gold, beaming with joy. "Got it!" she said happily.
Feeling inspired, she began telling Yang Yi about her plan. "First, I'll find a place to rent and settle our early team..."
"Why not buy? Just buy a whole building as the studio's location," Yang Yi interrupted.
Mo Xiaojuan rolled her eyes again. "Bro, property in Binhai District is expensive, you know? You think it's like Tingshan District?"
"Then buy in Tingshan District! I think Mo Fei would be happy to work close to home," Yang Yi said decisively.
Mo Xiaojuan paused, hesitating for a moment. "Tingshan District? But wouldn't that be inconvenient? Most people in Jiangcheng's entertainment industry are concentrated in Binhai."
"If commuting is inconvenient, buy a shuttle bus and hire a driver!" Yang Yi waved his hand. "Money isn't an issue."
Mo Xiaojuan didn't have strong objections. For a celebrity's studio, there was no real need to be based in a specific location. They were all serving Mo Fei, and Mo Fei wouldn't be tied to one place anyway—big stars always traveled across the country.
On a national scale, Tingshan District and Binhai District were no different.
Plus, Mo Xiaojuan was tempted by Yang Yi's suggestion. Owning a building as the company's fixed asset sounded pretty awesome!
"Alright, I'll look around in Tingshan District," Mo Xiaojuan decided, nodding. "But it can't be near the school. I need a place with good transport and not easy for paparazzi to find. And buying a building means renovations, setting up a recording studio—a ton of work!"
She rambled on, sounding annoyed by the trivial details, but her expression showed no irritation. Instead, she was eager, ready to jump into action.
"Do you need me to come with you to look?" Yang Yi asked.
Mo Xiaojuan looked startled, quickly waving her hands. "No, no, I can handle it myself. Besides, Xiao Ai is with me!"
With that, she clutched the bank card and fled, leaving a puzzled Yang Yi behind. Still, he breathed a sigh of relief.
Yang Yi had no intention of working alongside Mo Xiaojuan anyway. He still found her personality a bit hard to handle; he was just being polite.
Little did Yang Yi know, the fleeing Mo Xiaojuan was silently cursing him.
"This brother-in-law is trouble! First calling me in the middle of the night, now offering to help out. If this keeps up, things might get messy. Better keep my distance—can't let Fei Jie get hurt."
"Good thing I have my Xiao Ai, who quit her job without hesitation. Now she can run errands for me full-time! Hehe, I need to reward her—let's double her salary first."