Chapter Twenty-Four: Negotiating a Deal

  Ji Xin'an called Song Jiangliang to ask him out, but this time they didn't talk at school, instead it was in a coffee shop that wasn't very common for their age group. Ji Xin'an got straight to the point and stated her request as soon as they met.

  Song Jiang thought that she had come to him with a well-thought-out plan, but he didn't expect the conditions to be so harsh. "Why don't you want to become famous? This is something that many people would give anything for."

  "Because I don't want to be a singer or a celebrity for the rest of my life, I think I'm not suited for that kind of life in the spotlight. The reason I agreed to meet you today is just to experience the fun of making music." Ji Xin An picked up the coffee cup in front of her and took a sip, knowing at once it was instant coffee.

  "But your situation is unprecedented, and you're not going to be our contracted singer, just collaborating on one album without any promotion. This puts us at great risk." Song Jiangliang was somewhat bewildered by her, wondering how someone so young could resist the temptation of fame and fortune, and what she would become in the future.

  "Hmm... how about this, let's change the way we do things. I'll put up some money and we can be partners. I'll take care of writing and recording the songs, while you guys handle the promotion and sales afterwards. We can split the profits 50/50. What do you think?" Ji Xin An thought for a moment, feeling that this way would give her more freedom.

  "You're paying? You can pay a lot, this is not a small amount. And you said all the songs in the album were written by yourself?" Song Jiangliang was very surprised and suddenly felt that he should no longer treat her like a child.

  "500,000 is no problem, just recording an album and not releasing a music video, I think that should be enough. As for the songs, I think I can handle it, although they may not all be as classic as "Invisible Wings", but they won't be too bad either." Ji Xin An suddenly thought of Zou Ze, if possible, he should also give him an opportunity. "However, having a whole album sung by myself is too monotonous, some of the songs I write are more suitable for males to sing, so I think I'll find someone to sing them."

  Song Jiang hesitated for a moment after hearing this, "I need to go back and discuss this with the others, as there is no precedent to follow."

  "Of course, it should be like this." Ji Xin'an said with a smile.

  A few days later, Ji Xin'an received a reply and they agreed. Everything was written into the contract as she had said. She would invest 500,000 yuan and share half of the profits. She would be in charge of all song-related matters, whether it was writing songs or singing them, or inviting male singers to collaborate. Others were not allowed to interfere. The company would be responsible for promoting and selling the album, and they also agreed to Ji Xin'an's request that her real name not appear anywhere, using only her stage name instead.

  Ji Xin'an knew that this condition was already very lenient, but she had to get her parents' consent first. Her mother initially strongly disagreed when she found out, but after Ji Xin'an's persuasion and repeated assurances that it wouldn't affect her studies and would only be a one-time thing, her mother slightly relented. When she finally learned that Ji Xin'an was just going to sing and wouldn't be exposed, she agreed.

  As for the 50,000 yuan, Ji Xinan didn't tell her mother about it. This semester alone, she had already saved up 600,000 to 700,000 yuan just from writing articles for magazines. Since there was no need for money at home, she just left it there without mentioning it, and this time she used it herself first.

  Everything was in order, and Ji Xin'an directly signed his own name.

  She hadn't told Zou Ze about this matter before, fearing that if it didn't work out, he would be disappointed. Now that the contract was in hand, Ji Xin'an showed it to Zou Ze first.

  "I just said it casually back then, didn't expect you to actually make it happen? However, you're asking me to take out 50,000 myself, isn't that a bit too much?" Zou Ze roughly flipped through the contract.

  "Don't worry about that one, take a closer look at the other clauses, there's a surprise in store for you." Ji Xin'an smiled as if presenting a treasure.

  "What surprise? I've seen it all." Zou Ze looked at her in puzzlement.

  Ji Xin'an smiled and pointed to the words on the contract, "Didn't you see this clause? I have full authority over song matters and also have the right to choose other singers to sing with me."

  "What's wrong with that?" Zou Ze still didn't understand.

  "Oh my, I said you're so stupid! Just when I said your IQ exceeded zero, you went back. " After finishing speaking, she snatched the contract back and sat up straight, "I, Ji Xin An, now as the producer of this album, formally invite you, Zou Ze, to participate in the recording of my album."

  "Me?" Zou Ze's mouth opened wide in surprise, staring at Ji Xin'an as if he were a monster.

  "Right, you, shut your mouth now. Everyone's seen enough of your stomach." Ji Xin'an stretched out her hand to support his chin and closed his mouth.

  "This... will this work? Besides, I can sing but I won't be able to write songs!" Zou Ze hesitated.

  "Don't worry about this, just sing when you get there." Ji Xin'an smiled and sat back down, no longer discussing the matter.

  After signing the contract, Ji Xin'an thought that since it was only once, he would focus on doing it well. So, except for normal classes and morning and evening training, everything else was put on hold, and he stayed at home to focus on writing songs or copying songs.

  Zou Ze still comes to her house every noon to have lunch or check on her songwriting progress. Because she had been on vacation and borrowed books, Zou Ze also returned the books she wanted a few days after school started, carrying them tied together with a rope to her home.

  "How's that enough, huh? This isn't just the textbooks for both semesters of sophomore year, but also workbooks and test papers for each subject. I've brought them all for you." Zou Ze tossed the books he was carrying onto the ground, using his dusty hands to wipe away the sweat on his face, instantly smudging it.

  "Go wash your face, look at how dirty it is." She said and pushed her into the bathroom. Then she herself bent down to pick up the books on the floor. As expected, every subject's textbook had exercises, some even had mid-term exams, "Zou Ze, thank you so much, if I went to borrow them myself, I might not have been able to gather all the books."

  "Don't be polite to me, but if you really want to thank me, I won't stop you. Just add a dish every day!" Zou Ze poked his head out of the bathroom, still wiping his face with a towel.

  Ji Xin'an couldn't help but give him a white eye again, and indeed couldn't be polite to him. So she started sitting on the ground sorting them out.

  "An An, I'll tell you a secret. This time when I helped you borrow books, I also borrowed a set for myself. I plan to study with you together, and if possible, I'll skip grades too." Zou Ze tidied up and walked out, squatting beside Ji Xin'an to watch her flip through the book.

  "You're going to skip a grade too, why?" Ji Xin'an heard his words and blankly raised her head, thinking that in her previous life he had always been good at studying, but she hadn't skipped a grade.

  "It's all for you, An An." Zou Ze pretended to look at Ji Xin'an with deep affection.

  Ji Xin'an was seen by him and shivered, "You'd better not." Ji Xin'an didn't believe him at all, raised his hand to hit him, but suddenly thought of something and stopped. "Zou Ze, you wouldn't follow me to skip grades just so you can come and eat lunch with me every day, would you?"

  "Smart, you're indeed my deskmate." Zou Ze immediately regained his usual cheerful expression after being teased by her. "Before, I used to eat at the cafeteria every day and didn't think much of it, but now that I've eaten here for a few days, I feel like the food at the cafeteria is basically pig feed. If I had to eat this for an entire semester, my stomach would be ruined, and going back to eating at the cafeteria afterwards would be even more unbearable than death!"

  "Look at your little temper, just for a meal you decide on such a big thing, does your family agree?" Ji Xin'an smiled, didn't expect that because of a few days' lunch, history would be changed, it's really a bit absurd.

  "This is great, they are thrilled. " Zou Ze also sat down to help her tidy up, "When the time comes, I'll skip grades with you and still be in the same class as you. At that time, I can come to eat lunch every day, and even release an album to sing songs. With so many good things, why wouldn't I go?"

  Ji Xin'an smiled and stopped persuading him. What he said was right, this is a good thing. He's so smart, if he spent more time studying, he would be much better than now. Unexpectedly, just making some food for him to eat made him study hard.