For now, I'm just here to test the waters and see if there's another path forward.
"How good are you with musical instruments?"
Hearing this, Sun Li's pretty face flushed: "I think I'm decent, but definitely not on par with professionals."
Zhou You couldn't help but laugh at that: "That's not what you said when you told me before. Back then, you were boasting like crazy, and now in front of the director, you're showing your true colors."
"Haha, that's no big deal. Art is subjective—everyone has their own take. If your skill level isn't high, you can always keep learning; there are plenty of teachers out there," Teng Huatao said with a chuckle.
"Have you ever sung? Received any formal vocal training?" Teng Huatao continued.
"I've sung, written a few songs on my own, and jammed with classmates in a band. As for formal vocal training, I've studied it at school, but I haven't specialized in it yet," Sun Li answered honestly.
"Well, I'm not a professional either. Tomorrow, I'll ask someone from the music industry to assess Sun Li. But at your age, it's rare to find people still wanting to refine their skills in the music world," Teng Huatao said, choosing his words carefully.
"What's your personal inclination? Do you want to become a professional singer, or further deepen your instrumental skills?"
"I truly love the two instruments I've learned, and I want to keep improving. Of course, if I could become a singer, that would be a dream come true," Sun Li said, feeling a bit embarrassed. After all, what music student doesn't want to belt out a few songs?
Having a representative work that spreads far and wide is a lifelong dream for them.
"That's perfectly normal. Many singers today aren't formally trained. Some rely on passion, some on perseverance, and some on luck to carve out a place for themselves." That was indeed true.
Zhou You didn't really care what Sun Li studied, because he knew that no matter how good you got, in the eyes of those who didn't care, it was all the same.
He personally leaned toward Sun Li improving her technical skills and strengthening her vocal training, so she could become an independent musician later. That way, she'd face fewer constraints and have more freedom.
Plus, with the arrival of the mobile internet era, individuals would have more channels to make their voices heard. As long as her professional skills were strong enough, she could find her place.
But he couldn't say that now. Who could predict the future? All he could do was make connections for Sun Li. As for how things would develop later, that was out of his hands.
Small success comes from support; big success comes from fate.
How many big investors had tried to prop up their beloved darlings, only to crash and burn, disappearing without a trace?
The three of them chatted while eating, and before they knew it, they'd learned a lot more about the entertainment and music industries. Zhou You had originally planned to have a few drinks with Teng Huatao at lunch, but he'd drunk too much the night before and had no desire for alcohol.
Since Zhou You himself wasn't addicted to drinking—he could take it or leave it, having a bit when he felt like it but never getting wasted—he didn't push anyone else to drink either.
Teng Huatao went to contact someone in the music industry, hoping to get in touch by tomorrow.
After Zhang Yiming returned, he told his startup team about the news. Everyone was thrilled. They were a ragtag group with an immature structure and composition, and the founders had been worried—how could they support their families without salaries or income?
Now, someone had invested, and a whopping 5 million yuan at that. It was almost unbelievable to them. At the time, the average housing price in Beijing was only around 20,000 yuan per square meter, enough to buy two apartments.
Many people talked about selling their homes to start a business, but how many could actually bring themselves to do it? That was truly burning one's bridges.
Others started businesses to buy homes; if selling a home to start a business failed, what then? Single young people might manage, but those with families couldn't dare to take such a risk.
Zhang Yiming laid out the conditions Zhou You had proposed.
"I have no objections. Since Yiming, you hold the majority of shares, and we're all here because you brought us in, as long as you agree, we're fine with it. Plus, with this funding, our lives will be much easier. This money can at least sustain us until our product launches," one team member said.
"I was already prepared to work for free for a few months. I never expected we'd land an investment. Now at least we can pay salaries, right?" another person laughed.
Seeing his team no longer looking as worried as before, Zhang Yiming was delighted: "Of course there'll be salaries. I wouldn't make you work for free. The investor also said he won't interfere with our specific matters or overall direction—he's just providing the funds. So his conditions are a bit more numerous, but for us, they should be within acceptable limits."
"In a way, he's become a member of our startup team, just contributing capital instead of technology. So it's reasonable for him to ask for the same treatment as us, even the same as you."
"Why don't you invite him over? At least to visit our startup team," one member suggested.
"I did, but he declined. It seems he's invested in many projects and probably doesn't think much of our small one. Once we have a mature product, we'll invite him then."
Seeing everyone excitedly discussing, Zhang Yiming quickly said, "Let's not waste time. We should get the agreement sent over this afternoon to avoid any delays. Mr. Zhou still needs to review it."
The advantage of a small team was efficiency—fewer layers of bureaucracy. The agreement had actually been drafted long ago; they just needed to tweak it according to Zhou You's requirements, and it was done quickly.
That afternoon, Zhang Yiming hurried to the hotel and messaged Zhou You that he was already downstairs with the agreement ready.
Zhou You was surprised by the speed, but he understood. During a startup phase, hesitation and dawdling usually led to failure.
He took the agreement and sent it directly to a legal firm in Shanghai, asking them to review it as soon as possible and give a response by tomorrow.
"I'll push them to speed it up. If there are no issues, I'll transfer the money to you by the end of the month, so everyone can have a good New Year."
Hearing this, Zhang Yiming was even more moved. The end of the year was tough, especially for a startup team—no achievements, no income, let alone bonuses; they might not even be able to pay salaries.
"Thank you, Mr. Zhou. I'll bring this good news back to the team. Everyone's thrilled and invites you to visit our company for an on-site inspection."
"Well, I do have some things to take care of these two days. Once the agreement is finalized and the money is transferred, I'll go check out the company and meet everyone. I can't show up empty-handed, after all," Zhou You said, thinking he should still go. It wouldn't hurt, and it'd be a learning experience.
Right now, the company was unknown, but once it took off, these founders would all become big shots.