Mo Xiaojuan wasn't as naive as Mo Fei. She could vaguely see Niu Meiling's intentions, but she held back her anger and didn't argue further with the big boss. It wasn't until Mo Fei returned from recording a show at Xiangbei TV that Mo Xiaojuan vented to her.
"Sister Fei, I think we should jump ship once the contract ends, or just start our own studio!" Mo Xiaojuan said angrily. "These Tianmei people don't respect us at all, and Sister Ling is deliberately trying to suppress us!"
Mo Fei was silent for a long moment, then shook her head. "Sister Ling has been good to me. Unless they go too far, I can't betray her nurturing."
In truth, Mo Fei had another thought she didn't voice: "Even if I start my own studio, I wouldn't betray Sister Ling by jumping to another agency."
When Mo Xiaojuan suggested starting their own studio, Mo Fei did feel a flicker of temptation. But her motive differed from Mo Xiaojuan's. Mo Xiaojuan wanted more freedom to plan albums according to Mo Fei's own ideas, while Mo Fei also craved freedom—but to arrange her schedule as she saw fit, cutting down on commercial performances and show recordings she didn't want to attend.
However, Mo Fei hadn't made up her mind yet. After all, Sister Ling had nurtured her from the start. Back when Sister Ling was her agent, she was as meticulous as a mother caring for her daughter, helping Mo Fei avoid many detours.
Even when Yang Yi had beaten up that rich kid and stolen his car to flee with Mo Fei, it was Sister Ling who stepped in, spending a lot of favors to smooth things over and stop the rich kid from pursuing the matter.
Mo Fei remembered those years of kindness well. She wanted to repay Sister Ling, which was why she chose to return and make a comeback under Sister Ling's company.
"And this isn't going too far?" Mo Xiaojuan grumbled. "Zhenzhen and her agent are walking all over us, and Sister Ling won't even say a word for us. Sister, open your eyes—Sister Ling isn't the same person she used to be!"
"That's because I really didn't perform well enough on the comeback album," Mo Fei sighed. "With my poor results, I can't blame Sister Ling for telling me to cool off and settle down, can I?"
"But don't you want to release a new album? The company isn't even planning to source songs for you right now! If you have to wait in line like everyone else, when will it ever happen?" Mo Xiaojuan asked.
Mo Fei fell silent. Mo Xiaojuan's words struck a chord. For Mo Fei to put out a hit record and return to her peak, she needed the company's full support.
And Mo Fei didn't want to wait...
Seeing Mo Fei quiet, Mo Xiaojuan chuckled. "Sister, luckily I'm clever. I got a promise from Sister Ling: if we can gather twelve songs on our own, she'll go all out to help us release the album!"
Mo Fei was speechless. "Where are you going to conjure up twelve songs?"
"Find Muzi Ang!" Mo Xiaojuan said smugly. "He's such a brilliant creator, he must have plenty of great songs saved up. And besides, he's your admirer—writing songs for you, helping you release an album—how wonderful would that be?"
Mo Fei blushed with embarrassment. "Xiaojuan, how can you be so reckless?"
Her relationship with Yang Yi was still stable now, despite some arguments. But even when they were in that lukewarm state before, Mo Fei had never considered accepting someone else's pursuit!
After all, Yang Yi was still Xi Xi's father, wasn't he?
And now that her heart was gradually leaning back toward Yang Yi, it was even harder for anyone else to enter.
Accepting songs from this admirer had always weighed on Mo Fei with guilt. She loved those two songs too much to refuse them outright.
But now Mo Xiaojuan wanted to keep asking "Muzi Ang" for songs—not just one or two, but ten. The debt of gratitude would be too great for Mo Fei to bear.
"No, I won't agree to this. We can't ask him for more songs!" Mo Fei flatly rejected Mo Xiaojuan's suggestion.
"Heh, I knew you'd say that." Mo Xiaojuan smugly pulled Mo Fei over to her desk and opened an email. "So I acted first and asked later!"
In the email, Mo Xiaojuan had sent a message in Mo Fei's name to "Muzi Ang." Of course, she didn't use a fawning tone or explicit words—just a simple description of Mo Fei's situation, asking if "Muzi Ang" had any new songs for her.
"Muzi Ang" had replied. He didn't say yes or no, only: "Give me some time."
"There's still hope!" Mo Xiaojuan said cheerfully.
But she suddenly felt a chill. Turning her head, she saw Mo Fei staring at her with icy eyes. Mo Xiaojuan shivered, her smile fading into awkwardness.
"Mo Xiaojuan!" Mo Fei said, each word deliberate. "Who gave you the right to send him an email without my permission? Did I say I wanted to beg anyone? If I can't release a new album now, I can wait! But I won't allow you to ask him for songs!"
Because "Muzi Ang" was a man!
Mo Fei didn't want to get entangled with him any deeper!
Nor did she want this to affect her relationship with... with Xi Xi's father!
Mo Xiaojuan panicked. Though she knew her cousin wouldn't fire her, facing Mo Fei's unprecedented anger still made her anxious.
"Sister, I was wrong. I didn't think this through." Mo Xiaojuan lowered her head, her voice weak and a little hurt. "Next time, I'll definitely follow your instructions and won't act without asking again!"
Mo Fei bit her lower lip, the coldness in her expression easing slightly. After a moment, she said, "Send him another email to clarify."
But Mo Xiaojuan mustered her courage. "Sister, do we have to? It took us so much effort to get Muzi Ang to write for us! Think about it—he's so talented, he might come up with songs even better than the last two!"
Mo Fei paused, her resolve wavering this time.
Seeing an opening, Mo Xiaojuan quickly added, "How about this—we won't clarify in the email. What I said was true anyway! We can apologize to Muzi Ang in person if we ever meet him."
"For now, let's not put all our hopes on Muzi Ang. I'll start browsing the Copyright Association's website, picking out new songs one by one. Even if it's exhausting, it's fine! I refuse to believe we can't gather twelve songs!" Mo Xiaojuan patted her chest.
This was the clumsiest approach. In an environment with strong copyright protection, countless domestic creators upload thousands of new lyrics and melodies to the Copyright Association's site daily, but most are of poor quality!
Finding a good song among so many was like searching for a needle in a haystack! Plus, they'd have to compete with many companies—hesitate, and it might be gone!
But even the clumsiest method was the only way for independent musicians.
Mo Fei sighed. "Don't let it happen again. I'll pick songs with you..."