Chapter 69 Invitation

After Lyra's graduation concert ended, she trended on several social media platforms that very night.

Now they're amicably terminating their contracts with the company. Although it's called amicable, the company wouldn't be foolish enough to spend any more money on advertising for them. So the buzz is all organic. After the 8,000 people who were there went back, Meimei immediately uploaded photos and videos of the event. Within days, Lyra's songs saw a significant rise in popularity on music platform charts.

Nothing particularly noteworthy happened that night, but given Yu Shuling's previous accumulated popularity, it was as if her efforts exploded overnight, resulting in almost everyone having a trending topic. Yu Shuling and Kawana's duet dance also surged to the top of the trending topics, truly making her a breakout star through her stage performance.

Even the CP supertopic for Yu Shuling and Kawana became a bit popular. Lin Yujie even came across their CP fan art while surfing the internet, laughed so hard, secretly liked it with her alternate account, and shared it in Lyra's group chat for everyone to appreciate.

This was the first time Yu Shuling had encountered something like this, and she even read the entire four-panel comic strip. She had to admit that people's imaginations are quite rich these days, especially when it comes to creating couples. Their ideas are incredibly imaginative and far superior to those of many boring idol drama writers.

After Lyra officially terminated her contract with the company, all five of them were in a period of inactivity, but they renewed their group contract. Now they don't have managers and manage everything themselves. They live in a newly rented apartment instead of going home.

This has attracted the interest of many companies, as Lyra seems to have considerable potential given her current momentum. In just six months, she has not only returned to the public eye, but her appearance and abilities are also quite impressive. If her company hadn't been so unhelpful in sidelining her, she would definitely be much more popular now.

There are very few idol stages in China, and the market supply cannot meet the demand. The fact that every girl group and boy group audition can generate a huge buzz shows that everyone loves to watch idol stages, but there aren't any that are really good enough.

Girl groups are also very good at attracting fans at music festivals. This can be seen from the fact that Lyra's data has been rising since the music festival. If their next song is also a good one, they have already gained a lot of casual fans and may be able to take off with this.

Five people can't possibly work alone. Girl groups aren't like acting groups. Actors only need to settle down and focus on acting; even without appearing on variety shows, they still have plenty of opportunities to become famous. But for idols, producing songs and music videos, and promoting new songs are all essential tasks, requiring an entire team.

No one was in a hurry to accept the offer from the company. After what happened last time, everyone was more cautious and more united than ever before.

Now everyone has a vague feeling that Yu Shuling is the core. Although Li Song is still the captain, Yu Shuling has become more and more reliable in some important matters, and always gives people a sense of trust.

Moreover, Yu Shuling didn't get arrogant just because her popularity soared to the top of the team. She became more respectful of others than before, and her words made people feel comfortable.

The real power of those in positions of authority lies not in their authoritative suppression, but in their invisible ability to unite people and increase their credibility.

Having been Empress for so many years, Yu Shuling was capable of both battlefield prowess and palace management; winning over a few young girls was a piece of cake for her. Their relationships, though not so close before, had solidified through shared experiences, becoming unbreakable.

A week after the concert, Lyra received a flood of offers. In addition to contracts with their company, there were invitations to variety shows, personal endorsements, and group commercial activities, far more than during the period when they were sidelined. It was dazzling to see.

Yu Shuling and Zhong Xinfan even received acting offers, all for idol dramas. Among them, Zhong Xinfan's popularity was relatively low, but she was jokingly said to have an "actor's face," very photogenic, and her eyes were lively on stage. She wasn't the kind of wooden beauty, and she was a graduate of a drama academy, which many people thought was a good fit for her major.

"Shuling, are you planning to go into acting? A lot of idols are indeed going into acting now. After all, there are still relatively few stages in China. Acting can at least give you exposure, and it's good to have success in both fields."

The two didn't hide it after receiving the invitation, and even talked about it over the phone, which their teammates overheard. After one of the calls ended, Li Song looked at Yu Shuling and gave her some sincere advice.

Yu Shuling shook her head:

"I'm not very interested in acting."

She's still adjusting to being an artist, and she's adapted very well to being a singer and dancer. She's only just started to gain some recognition, and now she's going to act? Her fans initially became fans because of her stage performances, but acting is primarily about portraying characters, a completely different profession from being an idol. Doesn't that force her fans to adjust all over again?

“And I’ve thought it through now,” Yu Shuling said with a smile. “There’s no point in doing anything half-heartedly. When I can’t dance anymore, I’ll consider becoming a singer. If I want to try acting, I’ll find a suitable one. There’s no need to be so eager for quick success and just take on these scripts that are like copies right away.”

Many idol dramas these days follow similar formulas. Yu Shuling watched a few when she was bored. Modern and historical idol dramas basically still follow the "domineering CEO" formula, where the female lead plays a naive and innocent character who becomes the male lead's sidekick. Even if the drama improves in the end, the male lead gets more credit, while the female lead is easily overlooked. Unless the role is given special attention, she might be considered for the role if she wants to play it.

Hearing her say that, Zhong Xinfan, who was sitting on the sofa, also smiled:

"Shuling and I think the same way, let's all go together first."

The phone call Yu Shuling had just received was giving her more time to consider, and Yu Shuling was already planning to refuse if she asked again. Hearing her say that, and knowing she had her own ideas, Li Song didn't say anything more.

However, in the afternoon, Li Song gathered everyone together again and said with a rather amusing tone:

"Senior You Jingzhou sent me a PPT, please take a look."

Kawana whispered to Yu Shuling:

What is PPT?

Yu Shuling still possessed the original owner's common sense and memories. Just as she was about to answer her, she saw that Li Song had already brought out the computer and placed it on the large table in the restaurant for them to see.

You Jingzhou posted a comparison of several domestic companies, each with detailed introductions, and it was clearly not taken from Baidu Encyclopedia, but rather his own analysis.

It lists which companies are more lenient with their artists, which companies rely on outsourcing for production, and what their music styles are like.

He is, after all, a professional producer and a singer, so he can be considered half a colleague of theirs. His advice was more about musical style and route planning. He only mentioned the salary briefly, since these things still need to be negotiated by themselves.

Although You Jingzhou is young, not yet 25, he entered the industry early and has some understanding of these companies. He believes that a situation like YueDong, where indulgence of agents allows them to suppress artists, is absolutely impossible. Especially by looking at the female artists' opinions of the company, one can see the attitude of the company's executives.

His PowerPoint presentation was very detailed, and he even analyzed their strengths and weaknesses from the artists' perspective, showing more care than a professional agent.

When Li Song finished reading, she was filled with surprise and didn't even know how to thank You Jingzhou. She didn't think that just because she had worked with You Jingzhou once, he would go to such lengths. She looked at Yu Shuling with a mix of helplessness and gratitude.

Yu Shuling was also surprised to be honest. She had never told You Jingzhou about this before, but after all, Lyra's incident had caused quite a stir, and anyone in the industry must have heard about it.

In the world of fame and fortune, most people choose to protect themselves, as offending an entertainment company offers no benefit to an artist. Yu Shuling was surprised that he actually took it to heart and even made a PowerPoint presentation.

Thinking of You Jingzhou sitting in front of the computer, wearing glasses and typing away intently, Yu Shuling couldn't help but smile slightly, feeling a little silly.

But since he meant well, Yu Shuling later called him and invited him to dinner to express her gratitude. Yu Shuling is very efficient and immediately asked him if he had any favorite restaurants suitable for team building.

It looks like they're going to make a big splash right from the start.

"No, I don't need to eat. Can I ask you for a favor? It's a small favor... not a big one."

Upon hearing the offer of help, Yu Shuling was momentarily stunned, wondering how she could possibly assist You Jingzhou. Moreover, she noticed the man's voice suddenly became noticeably tense on the phone, further fueling her curiosity.

"What?"

"I'd like to ask you to star as the female lead in my new song's music video, is that alright?" You Jingzhou quickly added, "The performance fee is the same as usual, no need for a discount."

Yu Shuling: "?" That's it?

Judging from You Jingzhou's tense tone, she thought it was something very difficult. But although they hadn't known each other for long, You Jingzhou didn't seem like the type to make things difficult for others or to take advantage of favors.

Yu Shuling and he are now friends, and she would actually prefer to perform for free at this "friendship price".

That's You Jingzhou's music video; countless female celebrities would love to appear on it. Yu Shuling felt like she was getting a free ride; only a fool wouldn't agree immediately.

"Alright, there's no turning back now. I'll book this room for you, Mr. You. But I'll definitely treat you to dinner. Let's talk in person sometime soon. Please bring your agent and assistant."

Yu Shuling's address of "President You" was sweet, with a hint of flattery, yet it didn't feel forced at all; instead, it was playful and cute.

This created a stark contrast with You Jingzhou's previous impression of her.

The phone call between the two didn't last long. After hanging up, You Jingzhou regained his usual composure.

He rarely invites people to appear in his music videos, and there are relatively few love songs in his songs. This project is not a love song, but a storytelling perspective. Since the role happens to be female, he thought of Yu Shuling.

That role suits Yu Shuling perfectly; it was an idea he had long ago, and he had already made a demo, intending to release it as the official song, but he hadn't found a suitable lead actor yet.

Hearing that Yu Shuling was willing to come, You Jingzhou finally breathed a sigh of relief, a faint smile appearing on his face that he himself didn't even realize.

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Author's Note: Updates will be available today and tomorrow.