Ling Yichen and Jun Mozhan watched Jack's hurried departure, their unease growing stronger. In the conference room, the legal and financial team members exchanged uneasy glances; the tense atmosphere of the previous negotiations was instantly replaced by an eerie silence.
"What exactly is going on? Could it be that our competitors are up to something again?" Lawyer Zhang from the legal team frowned and broke the silence first.
Ling Yichen shook his head, his expression grave: "It's still unclear, but we can't just sit here and wait to die. These 15 minutes are crucial; we must come up with a solution."
Jun Mo Ran took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down: "No matter what happens, we must remain calm. Let's first review the content of the negotiations and see if there are any clauses we can concede on, while also clarifying our bottom line."
So, everyone quickly gathered together, spread out the draft contract, and reviewed each clause again. The head of the finance team pointed to the copyright revenue sharing clause and said, "According to the current plan, our share is relatively low. If Jack platform proposes to further reduce it, we're afraid we'll find it difficult to accept, as this will directly affect the production team's revenue and future development."
Ling Yichen pondered for a moment and said, "Copyright revenue sharing is our core interest, and we absolutely cannot give up easily. However, we can make some adjustments to the way publicity and promotion expenses are borne, such as increasing our participation in publicity activities in exchange for favorable conditions in other aspects."
Just as everyone was engaged in a heated discussion, Ling Yichen's phone suddenly vibrated. It was a call from investor Mr. Wang. Ling Yichen's heart tightened; he knew that at this sensitive moment, Mr. Wang's call might bring new variables.
"Hello, Mr. Wang." Ling Yichen tried his best to make his voice sound steady.
"Ling Yichen, I heard you're negotiating a cooperation agreement with Jack Platform. How's it going?" President Wang asked with concern.
Ling Yichen briefly reported the current status of the negotiations to President Wang, omitting the details of the negotiations breaking down. After listening, President Wang said, "You must seize this opportunity and strive for favorable cooperation terms. If you need any support from me, please let me know at any time."
Ling Yichen felt a warmth in his heart and quickly thanked him, "Thank you, President Wang. Your words give us even more confidence. We will definitely do our best to live up to your trust."
After hanging up the phone, Ling Yichen relayed President Wang's words to everyone, which boosted the team's morale. However, they all knew that the real challenges were yet to come.
Time ticked by, and the 15-minute deadline drew ever closer. Ling Yichen and Jun Moran decided that no matter what questions Jack raised upon his return, they would focus on the quality and market potential of the new drama and argue their case logically.
Finally, the conference room door opened again, and Jack walked in. His face was expressionless, but Ling Yichen and Jun Mozhan keenly sensed that something seemed to have changed.
“I’m very sorry to have kept you all waiting.” Jack sat back down and cleared his throat. “We just received some new information. Our team has some new concerns about the market prospects of this new series.”
Ling Yichen and Jun Moran exchanged a glance, inwardly realizing the gravity of the situation. Ling Yichen suppressed his nervousness and asked with a smile, "Mr. Jack, what are your new concerns? We'd be happy to answer them for you."
Jack took a report out of the file folder and placed it on the table: "This is our latest market research report, which shows that similar works have not performed well in some overseas markets recently, which makes us worried about the commercial prospects of the new series. Therefore, we hope to add some risk-sharing clauses to the cooperation contract."
Ling Yichen took the report, quickly glanced through it, and swiftly formulated a response strategy in his mind. He knew that Jack was using this opportunity to exert pressure, attempting to extract more benefits from the contract terms.
“Mr. Jack, I understand your concerns about market risks.” Ling Yichen put down the report and said calmly, “But our new drama is fundamentally different from those similar works. We have innovated in terms of plot, production and cultural connotation, and have already obtained distribution licenses in three countries, which is enough to prove the unique charm and market potential of the new drama.”
Jun Mo Ran added from the side, "That's right. We have already built up a certain fan base through the early publicity and promotion, and as public opinion gradually improves, the attention and anticipation for the new drama are constantly rising. We are confident that we will succeed in the international market."
Jack nodded slightly, but wasn't entirely convinced: "That's true, but the market is unpredictable, and we still need some safeguards. For example, we hope to increase the copyright revenue sharing by another 5 percentage points."
This demand weighed heavily on Ling Yichen and Jun Moran's hearts; it had exceeded their previously set bottom line. Ling Yichen took a deep breath and said, "Mr. Jack, copyright revenue sharing is one of the key terms of our cooperation, and the current plan is already our sincere offer after careful consideration. Increasing it by another 5 percentage points would put too much pressure on our production team. We can make concessions in other areas, such as taking on more work in publicity and promotion to reduce your platform's costs."
The two sides reached a stalemate, and the atmosphere became tense again. Jack was clearly unwilling to give up easily, while Ling Yichen and Jun Mozhan also held firm to their bottom lines.
Just then, Ling Yichen's phone rang again. He glanced at the screen; it was an unfamiliar number.
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