Chapter 72
Xu Jie's new album, arranged by Yinli, will be released on the 30th.
It already trended on Weibo yesterday, and thanks to the efforts of its fans, it climbed into the top ten.
It's not that they didn't want to keep pushing forward, but this time, the album's quality was a bit worse than expected.
Xu Jie has a large number of casual fans. When he released an album, many people were willing to listen to it, but this time the reviews were not as good as before.
[Is this Xu Jie's new album? I've been waiting for three years for nothing.]
[Can you please be serious, Yinli?! Did your PR team go off to pick up male celebrities with the boss? You can't even write a decent copy.]
Xu Jie is quite talented; his song "Rose Lover" is especially beautiful.
The polarized word-of-mouth made the promotional campaign that Yinli originally planned not go very smoothly.
However, relying on Xu Jie's popularity over the years, he can still enjoy unparalleled popularity for the time being and dominate the trending searches.
In the office of President Yinli, Chen Zhi was listening to a report from her subordinate.
After he finished reporting the data, she asked the most crucial question.
"That guy from the Jianghu First Line, what's his name again, Su something? How are his results?"
The subordinate who came to report had been specifically instructed by her two days prior to record data from the front lines of the martial arts world in real time, so he was well-prepared.
He opened another document in his hand and reported to Chen Zhi.
"The song has already been played more than 300,000 times on music platforms. His new song is doing very well on short video platforms. The number of views is unclear, but it is estimated to be no less than 10 million."
Chen Zhi frowned unhappily.
"Arrange for marketing accounts to start editing Xu Jie's new song, and buy a batch of online trolls to create hype and guide the narrative."
"Are we targeting newcomers to the front lines of the martial arts world?"
Chen Zhi glanced at him impatiently, "Right, remember to create some conflict and get Xu Jie's fans to attack him."
The subordinate received her order and left the president's office.
As soon as I returned to the PR department office, my colleagues eagerly surrounded me, asking, "So? What did General Manager Chen say?"
"What else can I say? I'm not satisfied."
The subordinate who had gone in to deliver the documents returned to his seat and sighed, "Let's hire online trolls. President Chen instructed them to stir up conflict between Xu Jie's fans and Su Zhao's fans."
After saying that, he couldn't help but make a sarcastic remark.
"This newcomer has no die-hard fans, so it's hard to find a conflict."
That's true.
Su Zhaoman has only been in the public eye for about a week. How many fans can such a complete newcomer possibly have?
If both sides are big stars, it's very easy to stir up conflict.
One is so famous, and the other is completely unknown. Sometimes even their fans are too lazy to criticize them, so it's actually not easy to stir up conflict between them.
But since the boss gave such an order, the subordinates had no choice but to carry it out.
Even if it's very difficult, we must try our best to accomplish it.
The only option is to spend more money on online trolls.
With that in mind, he opened WeChat and started contacting online trolls and influential followers, hoping to achieve the effect that Mr. Chen wanted.
However, things took a turn for the worse than anyone expected.
Su Zhao's open-air concert in the capital was recorded and quickly garnered over a million likes.
His name and the names of these songs were posted in the comments section.
On the Polar Bear Music platform, play counts are updated in real time.
According to data from Yinli, Su Zhao has already garnered 300,000 listening views.
This is a very good result for a newcomer.
But in reality, Su Zhao's actual performance was much better than that.
His audition count doubled and increased like a snowball, with a noticeable increase every time he refreshed the page.
By the time his subordinates found suitable online trolls, Su Zhao's listenership had already surpassed one million, and his album was selling like hotcakes.
Overnight fame happens every year.
People who become popular online are either fleeting celebrities or online influencers.
In any case, the moment they rose to prominence was the focus of everyone's attention.
Before singing, Su Zhao thought the effect might be good.
But after he sang it, he understood what a warm response meant.
More and more people gathered in the square, some even coming specifically for him.
Su Zhao forgot which song he was singing. He took a few sips of water to rest and saw the traffic police organizing the traffic in the distance.
There are too many people in the square, and the congestion here could easily lead to a stampede.
That's why a team of traffic police officers on duty was urgently dispatched to maintain order.
Su Zhao stood on the stage in a daze, almost thinking he was still dreaming.
But soon, the flashes of light and the sweat reminded him.
'This is not a dream!'
When Su Zhao came down from the stage, he was almost like he had amnesia. He couldn't remember what happened on stage. He only remembered the flashing lights and cheers in front of him.
"What? Still not ready to react?"
Someone patted him on the shoulder and said, "Wake up! Think about what we want to eat tonight. Let's celebrate!"
Su Zhao turned his head and saw that it was his assistant, Brother Zhao.
Oh right, the performance has ended...
Su Zhao seemed to wake up at this moment, his whole body snapping out of its daze.
"Brother Zhao, what would you like to eat?"
"How about the bullfrog and fish? Can you handle the spice?"
Singers are generally careful about their diet, and Su Zhao always avoids eating anything too spicy after intense vocal use.
"It's evening, let's eat something light."
The assistant agreed, saying that celebrities are different from ordinary people. Su Zhao has officially debuted today, and they might have to manage his weight in the future. He can't just eat whatever he wants like Su Zhao.
"Then let's go eat congee hot pot," the assistant suggested, smoothly changing the subject.
"I heard that your Weibo followers have increased by 500,000. Mr. Hu said he's going to give the publicity department a break so they can go on a team-building trip. Maybe you can get a break too once the album project is finished."
Su Zhao didn't look forward to the holiday, but just smiled and agreed with him.
"Let's talk about it after this busy period is over. I haven't had a moment's rest lately."
After saying that, the car arrived at its destination.
They live in the city center, so they can easily find a place to eat congee hot pot by simply driving around.
Su Zhaogang sang on stage and gained popularity on short video platforms, but to the people walking on the street, he is still an unfamiliar face and does not need to disguise himself.
"Let's go, get out of the car and have some food quickly. We need to get back to the hotel to rest soon, as we have to catch a flight to another city tomorrow morning."
Su Zhao was very clear about his schedule.
Hu Zhenzhen mentioned it to him once, and he remembered it all.
On the contrary, Zhang Ge's assistant followed Su Zhao's train of thought and got out of the car to go inside for a meal.
While they were celebrating happily, the PR staff at Yinli Company, who were working overtime, weren't in the same good mood.
Chen Zhi couldn't announce his dealings with the underworld to the whole world, so he only entrusted the task to these few employees.
It was already time to leave work, but these people were all staying in the office to work overtime because they hadn't finished the tasks she had assigned.
"Boss, haven't the online trolls been arranged yet?"
The marketing manager gets a real headache just thinking about it.
"The online trolls were arranged, but the results are poor. You'll see for yourself."
He turned the screen so that his subordinates behind him could see it clearly.
Xu Jie's new album is terrible; it's not even as good as the songs by Su Zhao that I saw on Douyin.
The new generation surpasses the old, and the old generation dies on the beach; Xu Jie is no exception.
These two points are relatively normal; anyone could hear the mockery in them.
Some of Xu Jie's fans also fell for it, starting to argue with passersby in the comments section of the video.
Everything was going well, but when he checked again half an hour later, he found that the wind direction had completely changed.
[Who exactly is spreading rumors? Xu Jie is known as a kind and supportive senior who mentors younger generations; he wouldn't do such things to a junior.]
They're just using people as pawns; this is clearly a case of online trolls.
I saw the same thing said in Su Zhao's comment section; he's just stirring up trouble and trying to get us into a fight.
[I'm seriously fed up with this underhanded behavior. Can't Yinli do something about this? Artists who sign with you are really unlucky!]
The manager became increasingly alarmed, unsure how the matter had escalated to this point, and even hired online trolls to stir up trouble.
But this time, things still didn't go as he expected.
[I'm fed up, here we go again!]
[I think I see now, could it be that Yinli is behind this?]
[Who understands! Ever since I saw that photo of CEO Chen kissing a male celebrity, I can no longer look at the artists signed by Yinli the same way.]
[Xu Jie, hurry up and run! Please, other music companies, take a look at Xu Jie! Sign him up, sign him now!]
It's one thing for his own artist's fans to be disgusted and riot, even verbally abusing the company in the square, but Su Zhao's side of the fanbase is also bigger than he expected.
In just one day, a fan group of 100 people has already been gathered.
These fans only joined the fandom today, so they shouldn't be very strong.
But the truth is, just when they were at their most enthusiastic about Su Zhao, these negative reviews and slanders came into view.
Many people were provoked into a rebellious attitude and insisted on going against this issue.
As a result, Xu Jie's fans, knowing what was going on, started criticizing Yinli. Su Zhao's fans, after hearing Xu Jie's fans' account of the situation, also started criticizing Yinli.
The combined efforts of fans from both sides managed to get Yinli trending on social media for all the wrong reasons.
When the manager saw the trending topic, he was completely baffled.
"What should we do now? Spend money to buy more?"
He tried asking his subordinates, but he knew in his heart that it wasn't a good idea.
Fans' rebellious spirit is at its strongest at this time, and suppressing trending topics at this time will only anger them and provoke a more intense backlash.
His subordinate cautiously reminded him, "Manager, the funds approved by President Chen are limited; they can't suppress the trending topics."
Okay.
He simply leaned back in his chair.
It seems he has no choice but to accept this outcome. Just thinking about how Mr. Chen will scold him tomorrow is already making him anxious.
"This lousy job! I have to work overtime until late every night, and the overtime pay is so meager. Plus, I get yelled at by the boss all the time, which is driving me to depression. Damn it, I really want to quit!"
Even he, the manager, wanted to resign, let alone his subordinates.
After he said that, the office fell silent.
A minute later, someone finally muttered something.
"I also want to quit my job. I've been staying up so late these past few days that I have to take liver-protecting pills."
Once someone started it, all the complaints that people usually dared not voice suddenly began to pour out.
"I've got wrinkles around my eyes from staying up so long, how much longer do we have to endure this?!"
"Yeah, I'm supposed to be in PR, so how did I end up doing these shady things here?"
"Who says otherwise? I'm a proper copywriter, how come I ended up in this company writing articles for online trolls? I'm really impressed."
After a few words, the atmosphere became increasingly tense.
In the early hours of the morning, which office worker can be without resentment?
The manager listened from the side, and the more he thought about it, the angrier he became.
In addition, he has been staying up late a lot lately, and his heart races every night around midnight, giving him a feeling that he is about to die suddenly.
He thought silently for a while, then suddenly slammed his hand on the table and stood up.
"Damn it, I quit!"
He was quite decisive. After saying that, he bent over and typed out his resignation letter on the computer. He didn't even wrap it in an envelope and just went into the president's office and threw it on Chen Zhi's desk.
His movements were so fluid and graceful that they left his subordinates dumbfounded.
"No, the boss has already resigned?"
"Why did he just leave work? Is he really quitting?"
The people in the office looked at each other in confusion. "Then what should we do?"
With their leader gone, what can their subordinates do here?
When it comes to leaving get off work, it's always a matter of mutual understanding. Since the boss has already resigned, his subordinates will naturally leave work without getting scolded.
With that in mind, everyone decided to disband.
The next morning, Chen Zhi came to work and immediately sensed that something was wrong.
Not only was there a resignation letter on the desk, but the PR manager simply stopped coming to work altogether.
She angrily called her secretary.
"Tell Manager Zhang of the publicity department that even if he resigns, he cannot leave the company immediately. He must return to work before I approve his resignation!"
"Who told him he could just leave whenever he wanted? That's outrageous!"
The secretary did nothing, yet Chen Zhi still scolded her.
However, due to Mr. Chen's request, they still had to contact Manager Zhang, who had already resigned.
He dialed the phone.
"Hello, is this Manager Zhang?"
"It's not Manager Zhang, you've dialed the wrong number."
The person on the phone was clearly still half asleep; their voice was muffled and subtly different from their usual tone.
The secretary was even a little jealous.
"Manager Zhang, General Manager Chen wants you to come back to work. She said you can only resign after he agrees."
Manager Zhang left the car decisively, probably because he was a bit more sober and didn't want to make things difficult for his secretary, who was also a working person.
"Please tell her for me that I'm going home to inherit the family fortune. As for her petty mess, let whoever wants to do it do it."
After saying that, he hung up the phone decisively.
He felt good, but his secretary was numb.
How am I supposed to report this to General Manager Chen?
Fortunately, before he could worry for long, something even more shocking happened, directly diverting Chen Zhi's attention.
Xu Jie wants to terminate his contract with the company.
To be precise, he had a complete falling out with the company.
Yinli has been embroiled in numerous scandals recently, especially after the affair between President Chen Zhi and Chen Hang came to light. As a result, viewers tend to view Yinli's artists with prejudice.
Xu Jie was already dissatisfied with the company for many reasons.
The album release date that had already been decided was repeatedly delayed by the company, and after it was released, they even incited his fans to attack others.
This was the final straw that broke the camel's back, leading him to make the final decision to leave.
His agent was trying to stop him.
"No, Brother Jie, we've been together for so many years. Even if we don't have any gratitude towards each other, we still have feelings for each other. We should at least give the company some face."
Xu Jie wouldn't listen to a word he said.
“I left after the album was released to give everyone face. Look at the quality of this new album and what the company has done. You won’t have the nerve to say these things to me.”
The company's actions were indeed unethical; they used Xu Jie as a pawn.
The agent knew exactly what was going on, but he just smiled awkwardly.
“Being an artist isn’t easy. Compared to other companies, our Sound Grain is already pretty good. Ah-Jie, take my advice: the next company might not be any better.”
"You're wrong about that."
Xu Jie left only this sentence, took what he wanted, ignored his agent's obstruction, and strode out of the company.
Seeing that they couldn't stop him, the agent quickly contacted President Chen.
"Mr. Chen, something bad has happened! Xu Jie says he wants to terminate his contract and has already left the company."
Chen Zhi had just thrown the resignation letter into the trash can when she heard the news, and the veins in her temples throbbed with pain.
"What did you say? Why does he suddenly want to terminate the contract?"
"It seems like he had a disagreement with the company because of this album. I tried to persuade him, but I couldn't."
When it comes to the album, Chen Zhi inevitably feels guilty.
This time, they used Xu Jie's fame and fans to attack Su Zhao's side without consulting Xu Jie first, so it's normal for him to be unhappy.
She accepted her bad luck, pinching her nose.
"Okay, you calm him down first, and I'll find an opportunity to talk to him, reason with him and appeal to his emotions, to see if we can keep him here."
Xu Jie is considered a pillar of the Yinli brand.
If we really let them go, we'll lose both our wife and our army, suffering a complete and utter loss.
Chen Zhi was certainly unwilling to do such a foolish thing.
She could only put other things aside for the time being and try to resolve Xu Jie's matter first.
But this time, Xu Jie was determined to leave.
His phone was switched off, and he didn't go home. His assistant couldn't find him at his residence in S City.
Xu Jie vanished as if he had disappeared from the face of the earth, right under Chen Zhi's nose.
Where could he go?
Chen Zhi was extremely anxious and urged her agent to help her come up with a solution.
"I don't know either, Mr. Chen. Ah Jie doesn't usually live in S City, so he shouldn't know anyone here."
Chen Zhi only wanted to hear one answer and had no interest in listening to the drawn-out explanations in between.
"Find him! Send out everyone you can to search. You must find Xu Jie!"
She was very flustered.
The board of directors is already very dissatisfied with her. If she loses Xu Jie as well, she might not be able to hold onto her position as president.
Xu Jie didn't actually go very far.
Yinli Company is not far from Wanfu Plaza. He arranged to meet someone in a private room on the fifth floor of Wanfu to discuss the contract.
Arriving at the pre-arranged location, Xu Jie pushed open the door, and Hu Zhenzhen, who was sitting in her seat, looked up at him.
"Hello, Mr. Xu, I've heard so much about you."
Xu Jie nodded politely, "Mr. Hu, I've heard of your great reputation for a long time."
After exchanging a few polite words, the room fell silent.
For many years, Xu Jie has been focusing on making music.
He was not good at socializing, and the only good thing Yinli did was not to force him to attend those businessmen's gatherings.
Therefore, he has remained a man of few words all these years.
Hu Zhenzhen saw this and simply pushed the prepared contract over.
"As we agreed before, Jianghu First Line will cover the penalty for breach of contract that Yinli needs to pay. This is your contract terms after you arrive. You can take it back and have a lawyer review it carefully. After you've thought it through, give me your answer."
Xu Jie had finished speaking in less than a minute.
He held the contract, unsure whether to stay or leave.
When he signed the contract, those people would always give him a long explanation of the benefits of the contract, without mentioning any of the pitfalls.
Xu Jie was quite taken aback by Hu Zhenzhen's unconventional approach, which led her to tell him to find a lawyer.
After hesitating for a while, he finally managed to say, "Thank you, Mr. Hu."
The two remained silent until Hu Zhenzhen gestured for him to enter, which eased Xu Jie's awkwardness.
"Then I'll be going now, Mr. Hu. I'll get back to you as soon as possible."
Xu Jie stood up, and before leaving the private room, he suddenly remembered something and turned back to explain to Hu Zhenzhen.
"By the way, those comments about Su Zhao online were not my own."
Hu Zhenzhen knew, of course, that Yinli was behind all of this.
She smiled and nodded to Xu Jie, "I know your fans are also very discerning."
Xu Jie then left, relieved.
After he left, Hu Zhenzhen's smile became even more genuine.
Yinli was just using some underhanded tactics, which Hu Zhenzhen saw clearly, but she wasn't angry.
After all, she's poaching the mainstay of Yinli, so Chen Zhi should be the one who's angry now.
The purpose of booking this private room was solely to discuss contract matters.
Hu Zhenzhen didn't linger; she left shortly after Xu Jie.
All of this was witnessed by Xu Jie's former assistant.
"It's bad, Mr. Chen! Xu Jie is probably going to the front lines of the underworld!"
Chen Zhi, who was in the office, answered the phone, and anger suddenly surged to her head.
It's her again, it's Hu Zhenzhen again.
"are you sure?"
"Confirmed," the assistant said, tossing over two photos: one of Xu Jie coming out of the door, and the other of Hu Zhenzhen coming out of the door.
"They were in a private room just now, it seems they've reached an agreement."
Chen Zhi had no idea how she hung up the phone; by the time she realized what had happened, the call was already disconnected.
Hu Zhenzhen is truly her nemesis; nothing good ever comes of it when she encounters Hu Zhenzhen.
Chen Zhi was still angry when her office door was suddenly pushed open.
"Don't you know any manners?!"
She uttered a shout, but upon seeing who it was, she almost swallowed it back.
"Chairman Bai, what brings you here today?"
Chen Zhi immediately sat up, tidying her posture and trying not to give herself away.
However, it's clear that it's too late for her to pretend now.
Mr. Bai came here today specifically for her.
"Chen Zhi is something else. She forced the PR manager to resign and drove away talented people like Xu Jie. I think if you keep managing Yinli for another two years, it'll be shut down."
Upon hearing this, Chen Zhi couldn't keep up the smile on her face.
"Mr. Bai, you're being too serious. This was indeed my oversight. I didn't consider Xu Jie's feelings. Don't worry, as long as I contact him, I will definitely persuade him to come back."
"affim?"
Bai Dong didn't believe a word of it. "What makes you so sure? I've heard that Xu Jie is in contact with Hu Zhenzhen."
"In terms of money, you can't offer more than Hu Zhenzhen. In terms of feelings, Xu Jie has already lost interest in Yinli. What makes you think you can guarantee he'll come back?"
Chen Zhi was speechless after his question, and could only say, "Please give me another chance, Chairman Bai. I will definitely make amends and do better in the future."
"I have worked for the company for so many years and have made many achievements, big and small. Chairman Bai, please trust me one more time. I will definitely lead Yinli back to its peak."
Bai Dong waved his hand, no longer hiding the disgust in his eyes.
"Chen Zhi, I've already given you a chance, but you didn't cherish it."
"The board members will be here shortly. In ten minutes, we will hold an emergency board meeting to discuss the CEO issue. Be prepared."
Chen Zhi's face immediately drained of all color.
"Chairman Bai, I truly have the ability to lead Yinli, you—"
Chairman Bai didn't want to listen to any more of this useless talk. He simply waved his hand and said, "Stop talking nonsense. The meeting will be held in the main conference room in ten minutes."
This was the last thing he said to Chen Zhi.
This sentence kept Chen Zhi in her seat.
She looked up, knowing she had no chance, and took one last look at the office where she had worked for many years.
On the wall behind her hangs a calligraphy piece by a master that Chen Zhi had requested when he first took office.
The phrase "great ambitions" now seems particularly ironic.
Chen Zhi was in agony, but she didn't have a moment to catch her breath before her secretary knocked on the door.
"Mr. Chen, it's time to start the meeting."
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