Chapter 81: In Any Case, the Entire Rolling Poetry Company Will Be Yours

Ren Qian and the nurse walked around two corners and took the elevator to the seventeenth floor.

Anyone taking an elevator to such a high floor was definitely not an ordinary company employee. Those who frequented the top floors were all people of status and reputation.

Like those "artists" who had accompanied Ren Qian in several performances.

Other staff, no matter how curious, didn’t dare wander up here at will. The seventeenth-floor corridor wasn’t very wide, and the constant coming and going of busy executives made it feel even narrower.

If you weren’t careful, you could easily bump into someone important in a hurry.

If you ran into someone with a gentle temperament, perhaps they’d just laugh it off.

But if you collided head-on with a bad-tempered executive who was racing against time, your bright future could vanish in an instant.

Incidents like this happened every year. Just last year, a promising newcomer had sneaked up to the top floor and, unfortunately, crashed into an elderly gentleman, sending the USB drive in his hand flying. Worse still, the data inside was completely corrupted.

As a result, that talented newcomer could only watch as his peers made a name for themselves, while he himself remained stuck in mediocrity. Unable to break his contract, he wasted several years for nothing.

"You must be new here, right? Curiosity killed the cat. Just wait by the elevator doors, and when the elevator arrives, head back down. Don’t jeopardize your future," someone kindly patted Ren Qian on the shoulder and advised.

Why were newcomers always so reckless?

After this well-meaning warning, Ren Qian suddenly realized that everyone’s gaze had fallen on him.

It was rather awkward.

The elevator chimed and, with a gentle sway, came to a stop. The doors slid open on both sides.

The gentle nurse hurriedly pulled Ren Qian to the right corridor.

The corridor was ablaze with dazzling lights, almost blinding. Fortunately, after just a few steps, they arrived at the Diva Aunt’s office. The nurse quietly pushed open the door.

Inside, the Diva Aunt was sitting on the Father-in-law’s lap, her cheeks flushed red.

In broad daylight, with only a man and a woman alone, embracing and whispering sweet nothings—how improper!

Ren Qian sighed inwardly. So this is what other people’s "girlfriends" are like: sweet and clingy, always eager to nestle into your arms.

And his own? Who knew how many years he’d have to wait before she’d climb into his bed of her own accord!

Even a casual touch risked being kicked out of the room.

"Ah, the golden son-in-law has arrived!" the Father-in-law called out cheerfully as soon as he heard the door, shifting slightly while supporting the Diva Aunt.

The Diva Aunt simply stood up and pulled out a chair.

"Good son-in-law, come sit over here."

The nurse was speechless.

What odd forms of address! They weren’t even engaged yet, and they were already in a rush to marry her off?

"Are you managing to handle things lately?" Lin Ruowan put down her pen. She was about to make Ren Qian some tea, but instead sat back down and waved at the nurse.

"Girl, go make your boyfriend some hot tea. Quickly now—since you’ve brought him to meet your parents, you can’t neglect proper manners. Show him your gentle, virtuous side…"

Ren Qian was dumbfounded.

The Father-in-law was clearly pushing him into the fire pit. Though the nurse was obedient here, at home she’d surely turn into a shrew.

The key point was, Ren Qian couldn’t even win in a fight against her.

"Haha… Young people don’t need hot tea. I’ll help myself, thank you."

The nurse shot Ren Qian a meaningful glance, picked up a newspaper from the sofa, and started reading as if nothing had happened.

"I heard Cai Chengyu’s been causing you trouble?" the Diva Aunt asked.

"Just trivial matters, nothing I can’t handle. Are you planning a new album, Diva Aunt?" Ren Qian replied casually, glossing over the topic.

Then his gaze landed on the documents on the desk.

If she really was planning an album, his immense music library held several good songs she could use.

"My album already has a dedicated team working on it; there’s no need to worry," she replied. "Every established singer here doesn’t need to concern themselves with their albums—the company handles everything."

"What we’re struggling with is how to launch a new batch of artists. You know, every company needs fresh blood to stay vibrant. Otherwise, we’ll run into the problem of no successors."

"But if newcomers appear in the public eye without a representative album, no one will remember them."

"The company has signed more than a dozen promising new talents this time. The teams are already stretched thin and can’t look after these newcomers, so we’re discussing how to best allocate resources."

The Father-in-law and Diva Aunt took turns explaining to Ren Qian.

Previously, resources in the company were distributed in rotation: top-tier singers released an album every two years, second-tier singers every three years.

Newcomers were shelved for two or three years after joining, and only then—depending on their loyalty and potential—were resources allocated accordingly.

Though this golden model had its advantages, the current record market was bleak. Adjustments were necessary.

Otherwise, the entire company would face huge losses in album production.

"A signature album and songs with broad appeal are the foundation for a singer to make money through performances. If this basic condition isn’t met, the singer can’t generate profit for the company."

"Moreover, to maintain a singer’s reputation, a new album must be released within two years—otherwise, the market will forget them."

"And then they stop making money?"

Ren Qian understood the rules. Compared to how a single song could be milked for years in his homeland, the Empire’s singers had alarmingly short lifespans in the public memory.

The Father-in-law and Diva Aunt nodded.

The company signed promising singers to make money—no one did business at a loss.

"So right now, what’s missing is a songwriting team for the newcomers?"

Seeing their affirmation, Ren Qian continued, "Rather than paying a fortune to hire production teams from other entertainment companies, why not let me take charge of this?"

"I guarantee each new artist will have a catchy lead single!"

Every word was humble, but together they carried a whiff of arrogance.

He’d come to the Empire with a "super-sized music library" in his mind; many songs came to him with just a little thought. Even for those less familiar, he could reconstruct the chorus from the verse and write suitable lyrics in a similar style, easily reaching commercial standards.

Given this, there was no need to keep treasures to himself. Some catchy pop songs might be too lowbrow for him to perform, but why let them go to waste?

If he couldn’t sing them himself, why not hand them to the newcomers? It was the perfect solution.

It would boost the newcomers’ fame and make money for Rolling Verse.

Besides, writing songs for others was as commonplace as could be.

"That’s settled then. Leave the newcomers to me."

Diva Aunt and the Father-in-law were speechless. If it were anyone else boasting like this, they’d have been thrown out long ago…

"We’ll let you take charge of this batch of newcomers. In any case, we’ll be stepping down soon, and the entire Rolling Verse Entertainment Company will be yours."