lovenovelstory Chapter 30 Oppa, I'm going to become really famous someday!
Chapter 30 Oppa, I'm going to become really famous someday!
LOEN Entertainment Headquarters, Samseong-dong, Gangnam-gu.
It's been almost a month since "Haeundae" was released, and the promotional schedule is no longer as intensive as it was at the beginning.
After finishing his work for the day, Li Zhixing went directly to LOEN headquarters.
Pushing open the revolving door, I saw the young receptionist checking visitor records with her head down. She looked up when she heard the noise.
Upon recognizing Li Zhixing, her face instantly lit up with excitement, and she instinctively waved and shouted, "Zhixing-xi!"
Realizing she was speaking too loudly, she quickly covered her mouth, but her bright eyes still shone with undisguised excitement.
Lee Ji-hsing had previously trained at LOEN with Ji-eun for a period of time and was familiar with many of the staff there, so he walked over with a smile.
"Su-min, are you still at get off work?"
"I'm off work after checking the documents," So-min quickly explained, then her eyes lit up as she said, "Oppa is so popular lately, please give me his autograph!"
Li Zhixing naturally nodded in agreement.
Speaking of which, So-min was a trainee at the same time as him and Ji-eun.
After practicing for a while, I felt that I couldn't endure the hardships of this industry. In addition, I didn't really have any talent except for my good looks, so I simply gave up and turned to working as a receptionist. I was full of enthusiasm every day.
After signing, Sumin carefully tucked the notebook into her bag like a precious treasure: "Oppa, you're here to pick up Ji-eun, right? She seems to still be practicing dance at the dance studio."
Li Zhixing nodded, said goodbye, and left.
Although LOEN is a well-known music distribution company that operates the Melon music streaming website, its artist management department is not large, and could even be described as somewhat rudimentary.
Currently, only Lee Ji-eun has successfully debuted. There are some trainees, but whether they can debut and when they can debut are all unknown.
It was well past the end of the workday, and most of the employees in the department had already left. Those who were still working overtime greeted Li Zhixing familiarly.
After dealing with the autograph requests from his former colleagues, Lee Ji-hsing was about to go to the dance studio to find Ji-eun when the door to the department head's office suddenly opened.
A man in his early thirties with fair skin and wearing black-rimmed glasses leaned out and waved: "Zhixing, come over and let's chat."
This person is Choi Gap-won, the head of the production division.
Back then, Li Zhixing took Zhi'en to auditions at all the entertainment companies, but in the end, only Choi Gap-won of LOEN took a liking to her and personally handled the production of her album.
Lee Ji-haeng dragged over a chair and sat down opposite Choi Gap-won, leaning back comfortably in a relaxed posture.
Cui Jiayuan picked up a pack of cigarettes from the desk, took one out and put it in his mouth, then handed the pack to Li Zhixing.
Li Zhixing waved his hand in refusal: "Never mind, I still prefer this one."
As he spoke, he took a lollipop out of his pocket and put it in his mouth.
"I knew it," Choi Gap-won shook his head helplessly, exhaling a puff of smoke as he said, "You've really got some momentum lately, kid. Such high popularity for your debut work is rare!"
Li Zhixing had heard far too many compliments like this lately, so he just chuckled.
Then Choi Gap-won sighed and said, "Looking at it this way, it was definitely the right thing for you to choose the path of acting instead of debuting as a singer. I should have signed a contract before letting you go."
After a pause, Choi Gap-won asked curiously, "So, have you decided which company to sign with yet?"
Li Zhixing smiled and shook his head: "It's not decided yet, let's wait and see."
Choi Gap-won's eyes widened in surprise: "What are you waiting for? If you don't sign now while the hype is high, are you going to wait until 'Haeundae' is off the screens and your popularity has dropped before signing?"
Seeing that Li Zhixing remained silent with a smile, Cui Jiayuan's mind began to stir, and he tentatively asked, "Zhixing, how about signing with me?"
Li Zhixing paused for a moment, then leaned forward with a grin: "Sure, Brother Jiayuan, after all, I came from here too, I have no objection to signing back."
Just as a look of joy appeared on Choi Gap-won's face.
Then Li Zhixing continued, "As long as the conditions are right!"
Choi Gap-won's smile vanished instantly, and he pointed at him a few times with his finger: "I knew you shrewd little devil wouldn't give in so easily. Tell me, what conditions did the other companies offer?"
Li Zhixing leaned back in his chair and said slowly, "Well... the conditions at other places are all pretty good. Providing a private nanny car and a separate apartment are the basics."
"Like a signing bonus of 300 million, a three-year contract, a role as the second male lead in a TV series on one of the three major TV stations, and as for the profit sharing ratio, it's 50/50."
With each point Li Zhixing made, Cui Jiayuan's expression grew more shocked. Finally, he slammed his hand on the table.
"Hey kid, you're messing with me, aren't you? What company would dare offer a newbie like this? Even charity doesn't operate like this!"
Li Zhixing blinked innocently: "Brother Jiayuan, these are the conditions they offered me."
"Them?" Choi Gap-won snapped out of his daze, then said, both amused and annoyed, "So you just pieced together the best offers from other companies, didn't you!"
"Large companies with resources will definitely offer less or even no signing bonus, and they won't force you to sign long-term contracts."
"Small companies without resources may offer high signing bonuses, but the contract term will definitely be locked for seven years, and you won't have much room to negotiate the profit sharing ratio."
"Haha, as expected of Brother Jiayuan, you saw right through me," Li Zhixing said with a laugh. "So, what are Brother Jiayuan's conditions?"
Choi Gap-won glared at him irritably, sighed, and said, "Signing fees are easy to discuss; I can approve two or three hundred million for the company. But when it comes to roles and resources, LOEN really can't handle it."
"We're a music distribution company. We haven't even made Zhi En famous yet, how can we help you get film and television resources?"
"To be honest, no one in the entire company has as many connections as you on Chungmuro Road right now."
Waving his hand dismissively, Cui Jiayuan said, "If you really sign it back, it will only delay you."
However, Choi Gap-won immediately put aside his joking thoughts and earnestly instructed, "Zhixing, big companies provide resources but not money, while small companies provide money but lock you in for seven years. You need to carefully weigh the pros and cons of this."
"Don't ruin the most crucial years of your acting career for short-term gains. If you're unsure about anything, come over and let me give you some advice."
Hearing this, Li Zhixing sat up straight and said earnestly, "Thank you, Brother Jiayuan, I understand."
After thinking for a moment, he added, "In the future, if I plan to debut as a singer, I will sign a record contract with us."
Choi Gap-won's eyes lit up: "You keep your word!"
Then he couldn't help but laugh.
Just then, there was a knock on the door.
A short, stocky young man with an honest-looking face pushed open the door and walked in. It was Bae Jong-han, Ji-eun's manager.
His expression was somewhat anxious, but he still greeted Choi Gap-won first: "Minister."
Then he looked at Li Zhixing and said, "Zhixing, you should go and see Zhi'en."
Li Zhixing's expression changed slightly, and he stood up to ask, "Brother Zhong Han, what happened?"
Cui Jiayuan also looked over in confusion.
Bae Jong-han explained, "Ji-eun only had one variety show appearance today. She filmed all day from the morning. After returning to the company, Ji-eun locked herself in the dance studio and practiced dancing the whole time."
"I was already exhausted from filming a variety show all day, and then I came back to practice dancing. It's been almost two hours now, and she won't rest no matter what I ask her. She won't say what's wrong. I'm so worried."
Li Zhixing frowned and asked, "Did something happen during today's recording?"
Bae Jong-han shook his head: "No, I watched the whole thing from the side. Ji-eun was in a great state during the recording, her facial expressions were well controlled, and she was very focused."
Cui Jiayuan quickly added, "That's strange. Zhixing, you should go and check on her. Zhi'en can be a bit stubborn sometimes."
Li Zhixing nodded, then quickly walked towards the dance studio.
Through the glass window on the dance studio door, I could indeed see Lee Ji-eun practicing dance inside.
The girl was covered in sweat, and it was clear that she was severely exhausted, but she was still gritting her teeth and persevering.
Pei Zhonghan said anxiously, "Look, that's it. She won't say what's wrong when we ask her."
Li Zhixing looked at Zhi'en carefully, then turned to her with a smile and said, "It's nothing, don't worry. I've been running around all day too, go back and rest."
Pei Zhonghan knew the bond between the siblings and that as long as Li Zhixing was there, Zhi'en would be safe. He nodded and turned to leave.
Li Zhixing pushed open the door to the dance studio, stood quietly in the corner, and watched Zhi'en practice dancing.
Ji-eun caught a glimpse of Lee Ji-haeng in the mirror, but still didn't stop what she was doing.
Her face was stubborn, her teeth were clenched, and although she was exhausted to the extreme, she was still holding on.
After Lee Ji-eun finally finished her dance, Lee Ji-haeng stepped forward, took a towel, and gently wiped the sweat from her face, as well as a few tears that had quietly slipped down her cheeks.
"Alright, let's go home."
Ji-eun's lips trembled, as if she were a little aggrieved, but in the end she didn't say anything. She silently changed her clothes and followed her oppa outside.
Li Zhixing didn't ask.
She didn't say anything.
The two of them continued walking towards home.
Li Zhi walked ahead, with Zhi En following closely behind, her head slightly lowered.
A gentle night breeze swept by, carrying away some of the daytime heat.
a long time.
Ji-eun finally raised her head, looked at Lee Ji-haeng's retreating figure, and said firmly, "Oppa, I will definitely become very famous in the future!"
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