Chapter 272 - Selena Tang (10)

Time passed. Yet the uploaded song did not gain any views or comments at all.

Why? Well, definitely not because Zheng Xiang's face was unsightly or that his voice was unbearable to the ears. On the contrary, the makeover made him eligible to compete for the most handsome face of the year. His singing foundation was also there. At the very least, he should have no problem staying in tune and not ruining the melody he had created by himself.

So why was the attention gain nonexistent again? The answer to the question was quite awkward.

Of course, there wouldn't be any views or comments. After all, for a weird reason known only to him... he had set the uploaded video as private! 

In other words, the heartfelt song which he tortured himself with for an hour was only sitting there in his flamed Weibo account! He was the only one who would be able to view the video! ...Unless somebody else knew his password and username and logged into his account.

On when he would reveal it to the public or if he had the plans to reveal it to the public, only he knows. He might not even have plans to do so.

But to be honest, even the system was puzzled why the man did. He seemed too uncomfortable singing the lyrics he had penned by himself. Was this included in the mission?

'Who is this crazy man?'

'Is this really my  host?'

Jiang Li was not aware, but when he was in the middle of the recording, the system was watching him as if it was the first time it had seen him. 

Time passed by as the man tidied up the room. Before noon, he had already eaten his lunch.

By the afternoon, he was contacted by the promoter informing him that he found a buyer for his house and quoted a price that made him satisfied. Without further ado, he agreed with the transfer and asked the other to help him with the change of ownership.

Two days later, he was already moving his things into the new home that the agent found him.

Yet oddly, after that, he donned a coat and dragged a suitcase to the airport.

Nobody knew, but once people discovered that he moved out and was nowhere to be found, especially those who knew Zheng Xiang's history with Mo Fang, they just assumed that he was either guilty or too hurt by the incident... so he fled abroad.

Probably, in the country, only that new guy he got acquainted with knew, or had an idea, of what was truly going on.

His ex-wife? She was oblivious to Jiang Li's recent actions. The Mo family forced Mo Zan to seek out Qin Tai.

How could she pay any more attention to her ex-husband when she was too happy taking the vacated spot next to the male lead's side. 

…

...

...

The entertainment world was never a place that waits for somebody. No news really stayed for long there, and people come and go on a regular basis.

In just a week, there was no more people making a big deal out of the divorce that happened between a popular A-list actress and a producer.

The incident might not have been forgotten by those fangirling or following Mo Fang, but since the news was consistently popping out and there were some about bigger personalities than her, the talk about her divorce, of course, could only die down.

Maybe it was this which made Mo Fang feel like she should climb up more... because the current her was not one who could cause a huge and lasting ripple in the big pond which was the entertainment world. 

Yet at the same time, it was in this manner that Jiang Li managed to live a quiet life, away from the prying eyes of the busybodies. He began traveling in big cities in the country.

Of course, he was not only sightseeing. Along the way, he was acc.u.mulating funds and digging up dirt to be used against the cheaters.

He also kept making music. A few which did not have the forlorn love theme were uploaded all over the internet under the name Jiang Li.

Sometimes he would reveal his face as he live-streamed the song, so he was also gaining fans. Even with only half of his face visible each time, the rate of the increase in his followers was very satisfying to see. Although the price of this was hearing the system announcing that he had wasted one chance to change the plot... 

As he busied himself with these, he did not stop monitoring the leads. But the reason he could not be idle was that aside from checking out how they were all doing, he was also watching out for 'her' appearance. When would they meet again? She shouldn't be in immediate danger, no?

He believed the girl he was looking for would always be somehow related or near the leads. And she was always the one prone to accidents or disaster. So he must find him as soon as possible. 

The will was there, and the perseverance too. However, as said, man proposes, god disposes. The heaven's plan was simply different, or maybe just outright against him.

It was unfortunate but there was no result even after months of searching. He found not even a trace of her.

Days went on. From time to time he amused himself through throwing shades at Mo Fang and Liu De. However, he had yet to make any great moves.

He only spread memes and compilations of ugly pictures and angles of those two on the internet.

Some were expression packs obtained from various movies, dramas, and reality shows. People should commend him for managing to scour through many materials just to compile those. He was truly bored… or with too much time in hand.

"Mr. Jiang. We really want to sign you under us. Would you please give us a chance to prove our sincerity to you? Allow me to buy you a meal as we discuss the terms. What say you?"

One time, a talent agent sought him out through email. When he gave his number so they could talk over the phone, the other party happily called right away.

He was in the hotel at the heart of the city he visited this time. Looking out into the boundless sky above from the transparent floor-to-ceiling glass wall, Jiang Li asked, "Are you really from 'Starlight'?"

"Yes, Mr. Jiang and I can definitely prove it to you once we meet up. I'll bring my credentials with me to show you."

The agent from the other line was someone called Tang Jingyi. He didn't voice it out, but he also planned to bring a modified 'sample' of the contract with him. Apparently, he was prepared to give his all to bring Jiang Li under his banner.

After all, this man was a real talent.

With no backing whatsoever and only video clips of songs, he managed to acc.u.mulate around five million fans! Five million!

What kind of sorcery did this unknown artist use to be this popular?

His videos had ten million views on average!

It was simply outrageous… and astonishing, especially since the man was a one-man army! The one recording, singing, mixing, editing, and promoting his own songs and videos!

Does hard work and talent really impress and pay off at the end?

As an agent, he had been in the industry for quite a while and saw many things.  And thus he knew the answer. The people at the top would always say, they really worked hard to reach where they were. But were the efforts of those from the bottom any lesser than theirs?

It was not really hard work which propelled people up every single time. Luck was more needed sometimes. Yet sometimes too, charisma was all that was needed to make people like you and voluntarily share your works.

Which case was Jiang Li's? 

When the agent checked, he discovered Jiang Li had an extremely soothing voice, but what could capture the audience was his lyrics and melodies which according to him, he had composed by himself. So was it all talent and luck?

Such good songs would usually be hunted down by music labels, or other artists. Given that the man was somebody not protected by any large names, it would have been no surprise if one day, an issue about plagiarism and stealing of the song just suddenly popped up, caused by songwriters and music producers eyeing his pieces of work. Yet up to this date, none of those things actually happened.

It was another puzzle about him.

Maybe, people just didn't know, but Jiang Li actually had some sort of backing...?

But even if he has, it's okay!' thought the agent.

He wouldn't be intimidated! Starlight was under the Giant Qin family! And the Starlight was a giant too in the entertainment circle, standing toe to toe against Dreamer Entertainment!

With such a background, he didn't believe the other would not be tempted to sign!

"Sir, how about we decide the date and time now?" The agent then followed it up with a laugh, the kind which sounded carefree yet not offending.

'Does this guy know Starlight's second-largest shareholder is now me?'

Jiang Li also laughed.

The answer to the question was most likely no. After all, he never attended any of the meetings personally, only sending random people as his representative. Qin Tai never pursued the matter for he knew him or maybe, that guy was simply happy not having an additional person questioning his every move and decision in the company.

Shaking his head, he replied, "I'm free tomorrow, noon."

"Great! It will be the best decision on your part, Mr. Jiang! I will make sure you won't regret it…" The person spouted more words, deciding the best place for a meeting, explaining that this place had the best scenery, food, and music.

Of course, Jiang Li didn't give much damn about those.

But yep, in the end, he agreed to meet.

It was time to go back to the capital anyways. The best plays and drama were there, and there was nothing more satisfying than spectating the fun from a VIP seat.

"Thanks for the offer then. I'm quite busy so I'll hang up now."

The person replied, "Okay. See you tomorrow. Please don't forget."

A snicker just came out of Jiang Li's mouth as he ended the call.

When he turned around, he saw Liu De's smiling face on the TV mounted on the wall opposite the glass pane. The male lead was really a popular bastard loved by the people and was the first choice for magazines and billboards. Even for commercials, Liu De was popular. That guy's face could be seen almost everywhere.

It was naturally annoying for Jiang Li so he reached for the remote control on the low coffee table and switched to news channels. Deep inside, he was already planning to spread more ugly photos of the male lead and every one associate with him.