In the conference room.
Almost everyone in the department rushed to the large, empty room at the end of the corridor, with even Li Zhaoyang following along.
Five minutes later, the entire conference room was packed, and not a single person dared to be absent.
The main reason is that the situation has been too serious in the last two days.
First, the director made a solemn promise that the music department would definitely win any rose championship for Wanxia this year. Then, Zhaoyang's voice was accidentally damaged, which delayed the rose-related matters.
Then, Zhao Shanshan from Xingtu pressured Wanxia's side with public opinion.
It's fair to say that Zhaoyang's singing career has no future at all.
Therefore, many of Li Zhaoyang's colleagues sitting next to him tried their best to say some nice things to comfort him.
"Everyone has heard about the public opinion over the past two days, right?"
Song Yuqin scanned the crowd, her tone icy and devoid of any emotion: "I won't waste my breath on you. Zhaoyang has run into some trouble, so we have to choose a new candidate for this year's rose champion. We have to breach our contracts with other companies for the custom-made works we commissioned. Do you have any better candidates?"
Instantly, everyone lowered their heads.
I didn't dare to look Director Song in the eye.
Their actions say it all.
Song Yuqin wasn't surprised, but looked at Huang Weizhou and asked, "Old Huang, you're one of the department's four top songwriters, do you have anyone in mind?"
In the industry, the honorary titles of songwriters and composers are like a ladder, progressing step by step: trainee, bronze medal, silver medal, gold medal, ace, and song god.
Huang Weizhou pondered for two seconds, but couldn't find a suitable candidate. He immediately shook his head and replied, "Director, it's almost August now, and there are still about four months until the end of the year. In such a short time, only Zhaoyang has the ability to win the monthly rose championship. Unless a classic work suddenly appears, even if the singer's conditions are not good, there is still a chance to win the championship."
"Of course I know that, otherwise what would I be doing holding this meeting?"
Song Yuqin pursed her lips and continued, "My next plan is to gather the strength of all the lyricists and composers in the composition department in the next few months to select a suitable candidate to win the Rose Champion award."
Once again, the entire hall fell silent.
This made Song Yuqin frown even more.
"Director." It was Li Zhaoyang who broke the silence first: "Let me give it a try, I've already written the new song."
"Zhaoyang, you're not going to be a singer anymore and you're going to switch to songwriting?" Huang Weizhou asked this question without thinking, it was basically blurted out, and then he realized that it was a bit strange.
Yes, given Zhaoyang's situation, her singing career is over...
"Zhaoyang, just watch this from the sidelines and don't draw attention to yourself, especially since you're already under so much public scrutiny." Chen Zuan, who was on good terms with Zhaoyang, gestured for him not to speak up at this critical juncture.
Chen Zuan, along with Huang Weizhou, is one of the department's four top songwriters.
Besides, winning the rose championship isn't that easy.
Chen Zuan didn't want Zhao Yang to show off at this time.
As for the transition to songwriting, you can talk to the director privately.
“I…” Song Yuqin glanced at Zhaoyang, and was about to speak when there was a knock on the door.
"Knock knock knock".
The knocking interrupted everyone's thoughts.
Everyone turned around to see who it was; almost everyone from the composition department was already there.
Upon discovering that he was a shareholder vice president of the board of directors, they all stood up.
When Song Yuqin saw the vice president appear, she already guessed what he was going to say next.
"I was wondering why there was no one in the department. Turns out they were all in a meeting. That's good, I just notified them directly."
The vice president came here in person for one purpose only: to alleviate the public pressure facing the company. He announced this publicly:
"Based on the unanimous discussion and resolution of the board meeting, Li Zhaoyang was publicly blacklisted to quell public opinion."
Although Song Yuqin had guessed it, she still couldn't help but feel a little disappointed when she heard the vice president say it himself.
Such a great and popular singer, and suddenly he fell from grace, putting his company under tremendous pressure.
The vice president walked over and glanced at Li Zhaoyang, sighed, and said, "Zhaoyang, such a big thing has happened. The company should have fired you directly. However, considering that you have made many contributions to the company in the past, which the company has all taken into account, the company will announce the news of blacklisting you in the next two days, instead of firing you directly."
After all, you're not a saint, so it's understandable that you might do something outrageous. I've retained your year-end bonus, and you won't have to pay for the financial losses the company suffers due to the negative publicity. However… you will definitely have to pay the penalty fees. The company will advance the payment for you, and you'll have to repay the company later.
The vice president had already spoken very tactfully, without saying that Zhao Yang's damaged voice had no commercial value. Instead, he used a gentler and more humane approach, which would not offend anyone.
The main reason for keeping Zhaoyang in the company is the penalty for breach of contract.
“Vice President, this is the right thing to do for the company’s benefit. Besides, even if they don’t blacklist me, I won’t be able to be a singer anymore.” Li Zhaoyang’s voice was still a little hoarse.
The vice president felt a pang of sympathy and asked, "Zhaoyang, what are your plans for the future? Considering all the contributions you've made to the company, let's see if the company can do something to help you one last time."
"Uh... I want to transfer to the composition department," Li Zhaoyang said, revealing his thoughts.
He figured that although the penalty for breach of contract was high, it wasn't impossible to pay.
The revenue from releasing one or two works should be enough to cover the costs.
"You want to write songs?" The vice president glanced at Song Yuqin, then at Zhao Yang, hesitated for a moment, and nodded: "That's fine, no problem. You have experience as a singer, so starting from the bottom will be much smoother. Director Song, transfer him to the composition department later."
Song Yuqin hadn't expected Zhao Yang to be serious. After a couple of seconds of hesitation, she could only nod in agreement: "Okay, Vice President."
"However, let me make this clear first: you can write songs, but you can't use your real name. You must use a stage name to avoid getting caught up in public opinion later." After giving this instruction, the vice president stopped talking and called Song Yuqin out for a private talk.
"Yuqin, is there any news about the rose champion?"
"Vice President, today's meeting was to discuss this, and we're currently selecting people."
“Yuqin, even though you are the head of a department, if you make a pledge in front of so many people that you will not win the rose championship by the end of the year, the board of directors will still follow the badge system.”
"Vice President, I understand."
Song Yuqin's expression was somewhat bitter. After thinking for a while, she still spoke up for Zhao Yang: "Vice President, I think there's something fishy about Zhao Shanshan's incident. If it were really as she said in the video, we would have called the police long ago. So I believe Zhao Yang didn't do it. We should call the police now."
The vice president gave a professional wry smile: "Yuqin, haven't you figured it out yet? The most ruthless thing about Xingtu's move is that whether Zhaoyang did it or not is no longer important."
The important thing is that public opinion has already taken hold, and the outside world is not focused on reporting the incident to the police, but on the fact that Zhao Yang and Zhao Shanshan are indeed in a romantic relationship.
I don't know if you've heard of a case where the two parties got engaged, received a bride price, and the woman agreed to have sex with him. However, she later went back on her word, insisting that she didn't want to sleep with her fiancé at all and that she was forced. In the end, the man lost the case.
What Xingtu really wants is for us to call the police. Their goal is simply to gain a lot of attention and solidify Zhao Shanshan's position as a top singer.
After listening to the vice president's words, Song Yuqin fell silent.
Li Zhaoyang also heard what the vice president said. Indeed, now that this public opinion event has nothing else to do, what matters is that netizens only believe what they see, not the truth.
Moreover, he knew that calling the police without evidence would only lead to disputes, so he figured it was better to use his own methods to send Zhao Shanshan to jail.
"That's all for now, you guys get back to work." The vice president patted Song Yuqin on the shoulder, finished explaining the last question, and then left the composition department, taking the elevator upstairs.
"Let's adjourn the meeting. That's all for today." Song Yuqin had lost all interest in continuing the meeting. "Xiao Zhang, transfer Zhaoyang to the composition department."
Supervisor Zhang nodded: "Understood."
"Director, supervisor, I've actually already written the new song."
Looking into Zhaoyang's clear eyes, Song Yuqin couldn't find a reason to refuse him, so she could only nod helplessly: "Alright, Zhaoyang, send the encrypted audio file to my email later. I'll personally check it for you and give you some pointers."
I guess Zhaoyang also hopes to get my guidance... It's good that he didn't give up on himself because his singing career was over.
It means starting all over again from the bottom.
After receiving the director's reply, Li Zhaoyang returned to his office and wrote down the lyrics of "Sorrow" into a document, and even set the melody and arrangement.
In contrast, Song Yuqin didn't dwell on the matter too much. She gave her supervisor a private talk: "Once the company officially announces the ban on Zhaoyang, the public pressure will basically be eliminated. For the next period of time, please ask for songs and see if you can come up with any high-quality works."
"What about the candidates?" Manager Zhang was about 30 years old, only 3 years older than the director, but her abilities were no less than the director's. Moreover, with these two naturally charming leaders in the department, the monotonous work environment was given a bit of color.
After all, who wouldn't want two stunning beauties as their leaders?
"It depends on the quality of the songs you get. Then, based on the style of the songs, we'll poach a popular singer who's a good fit." The only solution Song Yuqin can think of right now is poaching.
"Okay." Manager Zhang complied.
Shortly after the supervisor left, Li Zhaoyang appeared at the office door, knocked, and said, "Director, I have encrypted the audio file and sent it to you."
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