CHAPTER 89: CHAPTER 85: ANOTHER NEW SONG, OR A STACK?

"Eh? A USB drive? Youmeng? Youmeng!"

"Sister Qiu! Has Youmeng reappeared?"

Yiyi turned her head to look at Xu Qingqiu, who was staring into space. Following Xu Qingqiu’s gaze to the USB drive on the table, Yiyi finally realized what was happening.

Yes, Youmeng had appeared again.

Xu Qingqiu felt a mixture of emotions, unsure what to feel.

Excited? she wondered. Definitely. It’s been so long since Youmeng last appeared. But happy? That’s complicated. Every time Youmeng appears, I feel like someone is secretly helping me, always when I need it most. This feeling is terrible! Extremely unsettling!

She desperately wanted to know who this person was.

A relative? A friend? Why help me? Is there a motive? What kind of motive?

This uncertainty robbed her of any sense of security. It was as if someone was constantly watching her from the darkness, yet she knew nothing about them. Even though they had been helping her, she couldn’t shake off a sense of dread.

It’s like walking down the street, suddenly remembering I left my keys at home, and then turning around to have them handed to me by an unseen person. Or being in the restroom, having forgotten toilet paper, only to look down and find some placed before me. I’d have no idea if the person was male or female, young or old. Not even knowing why they’re helping me—wouldn’t I be scared too?

This was exactly how Xu Qingqiu felt. Her biggest fear was that this person had a hidden, deeper agenda. After all, every song Youmeng has provided is an enduring classic, a masterpiece coveted by everyone in the industry. Such a huge investment must mean they expect something even greater in return!

She hesitated.

"Sister Qiu, Sister Qiu? Take a look, there’s writing on it!"

"Hm? What? There’s writing?"

Engrossed in her own thoughts, Xu Qingqiu immediately snapped to attention. All her focus had been on the USB drive, and she hadn’t noticed the note underneath. With Yiyi’s reminder, she now saw that there seemed to be some words written on a piece of paper.

[The previous songs are a gift to you, don’t mind them. For these songs, it’s an 80/20 split—I take eighty, you take twenty—non-negotiable.]

These few lines of text inexplicably made Xu Qingqiu breathe a sigh of relief.

It’s good they have a request, she thought. The most frightening thing would be if they wanted nothing. The more they give, the more they probably expect in return, and the greater the pressure on me. Now that there’s a demand for a split, this is business. An 80/20 split... that’s steep. No, wait, it’s not just steep, it’s extraordinarily so. But Youmeng’s songs can’t be judged by conventional standards. First, every single one of their songs is a masterpiece. Second, Youmeng single-handedly handles everything from lyrics and composition to arrangement. The entire work is already perfected. I don’t need to make any alterations; in fact, any changes might even make it worse than Youmeng’s original version.

So, in Xu Qingqiu’s eyes, this split ratio wasn’t unacceptable.

Of course, the most important point was that during her most difficult times, Youmeng’s timely interventions had helped her pull through, and this time was no different.

For that alone, I’d gratefully accept even a 10/90 split. Money has a price, but gratitude is priceless. Under these circumstances, Youmeng is worth it!

"Ouch, my stomach! It’s all your fault, Qingqiu. I didn’t get a wink of sleep last night."

Just then, Li Chunhua walked in, chattering away while clutching her stomach, holding a pack of tissues as tightly as if it were a life-saving straw.

"Sister Hua, is your stomach still not better?"

"No, I’m almost out of strength now, UGH..."

Last night, Xu Qingqiu had insisted on having ice cream. After Yiyi bought it, she only had a little before Sister Hua snatched it away, afraid she would eat too much and it would affect her health. To prevent Xu Qingqiu from dwelling on it, Sister Hua had eaten it all without a second thought. This resulted in a night of stomach troubles. This morning, on her way to the company, she had run straight to the bathroom without even entering the office, and she was just now emerging.

"What’s with you all? It’s just my stomach. Why do you all have that look on your faces?"

"Sister Hua, it’s not about you. It’s because Youmeng has sent Sister Qiu more songs."

"What? Youmeng sent more songs? Where? Where are they?!"

Seeing her frantic state, not even caring about her stomach anymore, Xu Qingqiu sighed, torn between laughter and tears.

"Sister Hua, here they are. A USB drive, a note, and a stack of authorization letters."

"Authorization letters? A stack?"

Li Chunhua scurried over, hunched over and squeezing her legs together, leaning over the desk to take a look.

"Song authorization letters? Authorizing the song ’Direction of Light’? Revenue-sharing authorization, an 80/20 split?"

"Why are these authorization letters so thick?"

Sister Hua herself often dealt with authorizations. She had always been in charge of arranging song adaptation rights for previous shows, so she was very knowledgeable in this area. Besides the scope of authorization and liabilities for breach of contract, the primary contents of an authorization letter were the work’s name, copyright registration number, and income distribution rules. Generally, there were two types: a one-time buyout authorization, where a specific amount was paid, and revenue-sharing authorization, which was what they had here.

But this stack is so thick!

She quickly glanced at the top authorization letter and then hurriedly lifted it to view the ones beneath.

"Huh? Why’s there another one? Authorizing the song ’Hello Tomorrow’?"

"This one is... ’My Dream’?"

"’The Farthest Place You Can See’!"

"’Flower In The Wonderland’..."

As Sister Hua looked over each letter, her voice began to tremble by the end.

"Seven... seven songs?!"

"Qingqiu! Did Youmeng give you seven songs all at once?!"

"What? Seven?"

Xu Qingqiu was also stunned. She had been so preoccupied with her thoughts that she hadn’t even had the chance to see what songs they were. How could she have known there were so many?

How could there be so many? she wondered.

She quickly grabbed the authorization letters and started reading through them. As expected, there were indeed seven songs.

Thinking of this, she hurriedly picked up the note left by Youmeng and carefully read it again from the beginning.

[These songs...]

[Authorization letters for seven songs...]

[A few more to follow...]

As she read each line, every key word stood out to her, her heart growing more and more excited until she came to the last sentence.

A few more to follow?!

"What?! There’s more?!"

At this, Sister Hua couldn’t stand any longer and plopped down on the floor, staring blankly at Xu Qingqiu, her lips trembling as she asked, "Qingqiu, tell me the truth. Is your dad some kind of hidden tycoon?"

"Sister Hua! What are you talking about?"

"If not, then where did this Youmeng come from? Why are they helping you so much? Big shots like that are rarely seen. Do you really have no idea who it might be?"

"I really don’t. I’m still clueless."

"Phew, alright then. Think hard. If someone is helping you to this extent, they must know you. Maybe it’s someone close to you..."

At this, Sister Hua and Xu Qingqiu both froze, simultaneously turning to stare at Yiyi.

"Huh? What’s wrong?"

Yiyi, who was munching on a large bun she’d bought that morning while enjoying the show, stared blankly at the two of them, wondering why they were suddenly looking at her so strangely.

"No, it can’t be her!" Sister Hua shook her head vehemently.

Xu Qingqiu quickly nodded in agreement. It could be anyone but definitely not Yiyi, she thought. The contrast is too stark.

"No matter who it is, they must be very familiar with me," Xu Qingqiu declared. "It’s very likely someone from our own studio!"