"Are you trying to make me cry on purpose?"
Zhang Bichen asked Wang Shu after receiving the lyrics he had finished writing.
"No, I just wanted to sing it to you a little bit, with a bit of emotion,"
Wang Shu replied, feigning innocence.
"Fine, I think you did it on purpose anyway. It's getting late, I'm leaving!"
Zhang Bichen stopped arguing with Wang Shu, tidied her clothes, and prepared to leave his room.
As Zhang Bichen opened the door, she specifically looked back at Wang Shu and asked, "Are you sure you don't want me to stay and discuss music further?"
"No, I'm not interested in music right now!"
Wang Shu flatly refused.
He then turned back to focus on writing his novel.
However, over the next few hours, Xu Jiaying, Zhou Xing, Zhang Ji, and Deng Xiaoqi also visited Wang Shu's room one by one, asking him to write songs.
Wang Shu accepted all these "offerings" and, with a wave of his hand, wrote a song for each of these singers.
After all, winning this competition wouldn't yield any substantial prize money; it would merely offer more opportunities to sign with major companies or elevate one's status in the music industry.
While these benefits might be valuable to musicians already signed with companies, they were utterly meaningless to Wang Shu, who was solely focused on making money.
After seeing off the last customer who bought a song, Wang Shu calculated his total earnings from selling songs over the past few days.
He had earned a million yuan from Deng Xiaoqi and Zhang Ji alone, and another 1.5 million from the other three combined.
Thus, he had made a total of 2.5 million yuan just from selling songs in these two days. Coupled with the one million yuan prize money from "I Am a Singer," he now possessed a substantial sum of 3.5 million yuan.
However, the cheapest technology available in the mall cost 6.5 million yuan, meaning he still needed to earn another three million.
He estimated that the singers on "I Am a Singer" likely had no more money to be squeezed out of.
This was because Zhang Ji had borrowed money from friends to buy a song from him today.
Therefore, for him, this competition no longer held any lucrative potential. Consequently, he made a bold decision.
Late at night, Gong Tao, who was fast asleep, received a phone call. On the line, Xiao Su informed him that Wang Shu intended to withdraw from the competition.
This immediately jolted Gong Tao awake.
He understood perfectly well that Wang Shu was the soul of "I Am a Singer."
If he were to withdraw, the show's entertainment value would plummet.
Therefore, he absolutely could not let Wang Shu leave.
"Give me Wang Shu's phone number. I'll talk to him personally!"
Gong Tao said excitedly into the phone to Xiao Su.
Xiao Su quickly sent Wang Shu's phone number to Gong Tao.
Gong Tao then called Wang Shu directly.
Wang Shu, who had just finished writing his daily calligraphy, also received Gong Tao's call. He knew that Gong Tao wouldn't let him go easily.
"Wang Shu, why do you suddenly want to withdraw?"
Gong Tao asked, completely bewildered, over the phone.
"No money, can't survive!"
Wang Shu replied directly.
"Aren't you writing songs for those contestants every day? Didn't you get paid?"
"I did!"
"Then why do you say you have no money?"
"Not enough!"
"Tell me, what would it take for you to stay?"
Gong Tao hadn't expected Wang Shu to be so greedy. He had privately asked Zhang Ji about the price Wang Shu charged for his songs.
Since the start of the competition, he had earned at least over a million yuan, yet he still felt it was insufficient.
"You have to pay me more!"
After a few seconds, Wang Shu replied slowly.
"Alright, I'll add fifty thousand to your original appearance fee!"
Gong Tao gritted his teeth and said to Wang Shu.
He had originally hired Wang Shu because he was cheap, but now, his plan had backfired.
"Director Gong, it's not solely about the appearance fee,"
Wang Shu stated directly. The production team had initially set his appearance fee at fifty thousand yuan. While not much, he had agreed because he intended to sell songs on the show.
Now that he had impoverished these singers, staying here had little value. Originally, he had quoted a higher price just to get Gong Tao to let him leave.
But he hadn't expected the chief director to double his appearance fee.
Wang Shu understood that for someone who had just started making a name for himself in the industry, being invited onto a show was a godsend. Many people even paid to get on shows.
For someone like him, receiving an offer of one million yuan from Gong Tao was quite sincere.
This was because the appearance fees for other established singers were likely within this price range.
"Another fifty thousand, no more. If it's any more, I won't be able to film the show!"
Seeing Wang Shu still hesitating, Gong Tao gritted his teeth and said.
This was the first time he had encountered such a bold newcomer who dared to negotiate directly with him. However, it was primarily because this guy was exceptionally talented, and he had no choice but to accommodate him.
Otherwise, he could have used his influence to blackball Wang Shu, making it impossible for him to progress in Dragon Country's entertainment industry.
"Director, wouldn't it be impolite to refuse again? Perhaps I should persist a little longer?"
Seeing Gong Tao increase his offer by tens of thousands within seconds, Wang Shu's impression of him improved considerably.
This director was truly a good person. He couldn't let such a kind director down.
He decided to agree to stay on "I Am a Singer" and then find an opportunity to sing an obscure song to get himself eliminated.
This way, he would be naturally eliminated according to the show's rules, and Gong Tao shouldn't have any objections.
Thinking this, Wang Shu inwardly praised himself for his cleverness.
As the program "I Am a Singer" had three episodes per round, after the recording of this round, it would be broadcast on television and online video platforms over the weekend.
The following week would usher in a new round of competition, with new faces among the contestants, and of course, some old faces departing.
Wang Shu's plan was to be eliminated during the challenge round the following week, for which he intended to choose an unpopular song that was destined to fail.
...
The next morning, Wang Shu woke up early, planning to escort Xu Yunshang to the airport. After all, the young girl was returning to Korea, and it was uncertain when they would meet again.
So, he decided to see her off.
However, when he stepped out of his room, he found Xu Yunshang's room opposite was already empty. Only a few maids were tidying up the room.
"Did the person who stayed here leave?"
Wang Shu asked in surprise.