Chu Yang was stunned and exclaimed in surprise, "Going to your house? No way, meeting your parents so soon? This is too sudden, I'm not mentally prepared..."

"No, no!" Li Qingshu blushed and stamped her foot, hurriedly explaining, "They just came to my house for a visit. I also invited Wen Jing, Lianhua, and Ding Lei!"

Wenjing was her deskmate, Lianhua was from the next class and was also a good friend of hers, and Ding Lei was Lianhua's boyfriend.

"Why don't you invite Han Dachun too? Let's make it a small get-together," she added.

Chu Yang smiled at her: "Is it really just a simple little gathering?"

Li Qingshu felt a little guilty, but forced herself to say, "Yes, so don't overthink it, and you don't need to bring a gift."

"I see." Chu Yang seemed to see through her little thoughts, but didn't point it out. He agreed, "Okay, then I'll ask Da Chun to come with me tomorrow."

Li Qingshu smiled and said, "Okay, tomorrow morning at 9:30, lunch at my house."

"They even provide meals? That's great!" Chu Yang said with a smile.

"Okay, see you tomorrow then." After saying that, Li Qingshu walked towards her front door.

After taking a few steps, she turned back, her face beaming with a smile: "You absolutely must come!"

"Okay, see you there." Chu Yang waved with a smile.

He only got on his bicycle after she went inside.

Suddenly remembering that Shen Nansheng had contacted him earlier that day, he stopped his bicycle by the roadside, put one foot on the ground, took out his phone, and made a call.

"Second brother, you're back?"

"Yeah, I just got back. My older brother called me at noon, but the signal was bad and I couldn't hear him clearly. What was it about?"

"It's a good thing, I guess. We've made contact with Wu Zhongxian."

"Holy crap, bro, that's awesome! How did you manage to hook up with him?"

"Hehe, my network of connections spans the entire world. What's a mere Taiwan province? Anyway, here's the situation: Holiday KTV has already made an offer of 300 million New Taiwan Dollars, which is equivalent to 60 million here. Old Wu hasn't decided yet. That cunning guy is waiting for Zhou Xianglun's new album to sell out so he can make a quick buck, while also waiting for other companies to offer even higher prices!"

"Hmm, I guessed it too. What are you thinking, brother?"

“We definitely can’t compete with those big companies if we buy it. Money is one thing, but Lao Wu also has to consider Zhou Xianglun’s future development. After all, there’s a bond between us. If we sell it to a small company like mine that has nothing, then we’ll probably bury talent.”

Chu Yang thought it made sense. It was 2002, a time when the music scene in Taiwan was booming. The music resources and production levels there were far ahead of the competition. If Zhou Xianglun were brought to the mainland now, there probably wouldn't be a future Asian superstar.

“Old Wu also revealed his thoughts,” Shen Nansheng continued. “If it can alleviate the debt, he definitely won’t want to sell the company. Other companies treat Zhou Xianglun as a cash cow, and so does he. It’s just that the current cash cow’s cash-making speed can’t keep up with his debt bills.”

"So, I want to ask you, second brother, do you think this investment is worthwhile? After all, it was you who brought the information. If you think it's reliable, then let's invest. I trust your intuition!"

Chu Yang pondered for a moment and said, "The demolition compensation hasn't come through yet, but I currently have fifty million on hand..."

"Holy crap, you're planning to go all in? You're really that confident?" Shen Nansheng exclaimed in surprise.

Chu Yang laughed: "That's Zhou Xianglun. If we could, investing 50 million in him wouldn't be a big deal."

Just then, a middle-aged man in a Tang suit walked by on a leash, looking at him strangely.

Then he shook his head and walked away.

Chu Yang didn't notice and continued speaking into the phone, "However, I have conditions."

"What are the conditions?" Shen Nansheng asked.

"In addition to the share dividends that Alpha is entitled to, we will be in charge of all of Zhou Xianglun's commercial performances and concerts in mainland China, including album sales and music copyrights," Chu Yang said.

Shen Nansheng remained silent for a few seconds.

"really?"

"really."

"really?"

"Brother, stop messing around. I'm just asking if you're going to join or not?"

“…Fine! I’ll put in 50 million too. Anyway, all this money comes from betting on football. Let’s throw a hundred million across the coast and bet on a future Asian superstar! I’ll talk to Old Wu about it right now!”

After hanging up the phone, Chu Yang smiled slightly.

"If this succeeds, it will be the biggest business opportunity in the entertainment industry for the next twenty years."

“Investing in Alpha may not be a long-term solution, because Zhou Xianglun will definitely want to go independent once he has become independent.”

"But putting everything else aside, just securing his music copyright agency is enough to make a fortune for the next twenty years."

"Invest 50 million, and you'll make a fortune!"

"..."

…

"Fifty million, haha..."

Li Yanbai tied the dog to the yard and went into the living room.

"What's wrong, Lao Li? What happened?" Zhang Xiaoyu, his wife who was making tea, asked with a smile.

Li Yanbai sat down and said with a smile, "These young people nowadays really can brag without even thinking, they just spout off whatever comes to mind."

"Just now, I ran into a young man while walking my dog. He was riding a beat-up bicycle and was quite handsome, but I overheard him on the phone. Guess what he said? He was talking about investing 50 million! Isn't that hilarious?"

Zhang Xiaoyu poured him a cup of tea and smiled gently: "They were probably just joking around with their friends, why do you care so much?"

"It's just sad, young people should be down-to-earth," Li Yanbai said casually, picking up his teacup and asking, "Where's Shu'er?"

"She went to take a shower. She went to the beach with her classmates all day and is exhausted," Zhang Xiaoyu said.

Li Yanbai nodded and took a sip of tea.

Zhang Xiaoyu looked up at him and said, "Shu'er said she invited Chu Yang to our house as a guest tomorrow."

"Ugh!" Li Yanbai almost choked, coughed twice, and snorted, "He actually dared to come, this kid has some nerve!"

"It's just inviting a few classmates over to play. We're not planning anything. It would be abnormal if they didn't dare to come," Zhang Xiaoyu said with a smile.

“That’s true. Now that I’m here, I’m going to have a good talk with him!” Li Yanbai said earnestly.

Zhang Xiaoyu was both amused and exasperated: "Alright, alright, don't scare them. There are other classmates too, we need to treat them well. Also, this Chu Yang is the top scorer in the national college entrance examination. If this were ancient times, he would have passed the imperial examination with flying colors, been personally summoned by the emperor, and directly granted an official position, bringing glory to his ancestors."

"So, do you think this child is an exceptional individual, a rare talent? Would he be a good match for our Li family?"

“I admit he’s very talented.” Li Yanbai curled his lip. “But you said it was ancient times. Things are different now. The top scholar in the national exams doesn’t have such great benefits anymore. There are top scholars every year, but how many of them actually achieve great things?”

"So, we shouldn't speak too soon. Let's see how it goes in a few years."

"Hehe, you're just being stubborn. You just can't stand seeing your daughter have a boyfriend," Zhang Xiaoyu laughed.

Li Yanbai continued stubbornly, "In any case, you have to get past me first!"

…