CHAPTER 112: CHAPTER 108: CANDLE IN THE TOMB COPYRIGHT SECURED, PRESIDENT HOU’S AMBITION

"Qingqiu, you’re here? Take a look. This was found on your desk this morning."

"Let me take a look."

As soon as she entered the company, Xu Qingqiu, who previously seemed like a little girl, immediately transformed. Adopting the air of a strong career woman, she sat in her chair, picked up the authorization letter Sister Hua handed her, and glanced at the names.

"*The Girl with Wings*, *Song of the Wind*, *Teenager*—three songs?"

"That should be it. This is a USB drive. Want to take a listen first?"

Xu Qingqiu looked up at Chu Tian and Yiyi, who had just entered, and nodded immediately.

"Good. Since Chu Tian is also here, you should listen too. These are the three new songs that were just provided. See if they’re suitable for the album and if any changes are needed."

Chu Tian nodded nonchalantly. The songs were from him, so how could he not know? He was just putting on an act right now.

After listening to the three songs, everyone’s eyes lit up. Indeed, the melodies of at least the last two songs were incredibly catchy and perfectly matched the album’s theme.

Xu Qingqiu’s eyes sparkled as she looked at Chu Tian.

"What do you think? How are they? They fit well, don’t they?"

What’s with that expression? Why does it feel so strange?

Chu Tian looked at her. Her delight was so obvious it was practically written all over her face, an expression of pure eagerness. He didn’t know why, but he felt a twinge of jealousy.

But he still nodded honestly.

"These three songs are very suitable. With a few adjustments here and there, you’ll be able to sing them, no problem."

"Yay! What are we waiting for? Let’s go record the songs now!"

Xu Qingqiu jumped up excitedly. Only then did she notice Li Chunhua standing beside her with a resigned expression. She turned her head, pouted, and said to Sister Hua in a coaxing tone, "Sister Hua~~ Is there anything else? If not, I’m going to record now, is that okay?"

"Go on, go on. You just arrived and you’re already leaving, abandoning me here to work myself to death! It’s my fate in this life to be your servant!"

"Oh, come on, Sister Hua~ Don’t say that. Aren’t I just trying to hurry up and finish recording the album to lighten your burden?"

"Alright, you do have a way with words. Just go, be safe. And Chu Tian..."

She looked at Chu Tian and said in a serious tone, "I’m entrusting Qingqiu to you now. Please look after her and help her. Protect her voice during recording. Also, about that incident before, I owe you an apology. I’m sorry, and I hope you won’t hold it against me."

Chu Tian hadn’t expected her to make such a move so suddenly. This was her second apology, wasn’t it?

Although it seemed rather utilitarian, always happening when she needed his help, he couldn’t deny that she genuinely cared for Xu Qingqiu. She disregarded her own pride, doing everything for Xu Qingqiu’s benefit.

This point alone was enough for Chu Tian to let go of any resentment he held toward her; he even felt a measure of respect.

Flexible and adaptable, willing to do whatever it took—this Sister Hua was truly a remarkable person. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to guide Xu Qingqiu through their precarious journey to this point.

"Understood, Sister Hua. Don’t worry. She and I are friends; I know what to do."

"Hmm, good."

Watching this scene unfold, Xu Qingqiu understood what was happening. Tears welled up in her eyes as she slowly walked over and hugged Li Chunhua, unable to speak a word.

Finally, with Li Chunhua’s comforting words, she let go.

On the way to the recording studio, because of what had just happened, the atmosphere in the car was noticeably subdued, not as lighthearted as before.

「...」

In the following days, it seemed as if everyone had been wound up like clockwork, collectively shifting into a busy mode.

In the recording studio, they recorded each song over and over, striving to find the perfect take.

Xu Qingqiu had lost a lot of weight. Her appearance no longer had its usual composure and freshness; instead, she looked somewhat disheveled and worn out.

Chu Tian wasn’t faring much better. His throat was hoarse again, and this was despite Xu Qingqiu strongly insisting he speak less; otherwise, it would have been even worse.

It couldn’t be helped. Xu Qingqiu’s skills were still lacking, and only with his guidance could she understand how to sing a song more appropriately, finding the optimal vocal approach through his continuous adjustments.

For this reason, Chu Tian had secretly exchanged for two bottles of Sea Blue Essence and added them to their water—one to protect Xu Qingqiu’s throat, and the other to treat his own.

The studio wasn’t having an easy time either.

On the operations side, they continually promoted the album’s progress to maintain at least a baseline level of buzz. Occasionally, they had to create content reusing some of her previous songs, afraid the hype would die down too quickly.

Sister Hua was dealing with music platforms, song promotion platforms, business negotiations, variety show appearances, and so much more. The song revenue had already been transferred to Unlimited Entertainment.

Hou Yichuan at Unlimited Entertainment was also ready to make his move. He had been in contact with Cloud Summit Culture previously about purchasing rights. Now, they had reached the final stages, setting the bundled price for the novel *Candle in the Tomb 1* at 2.8 million—the result of a week’s negotiation.

Aside from the audio rights, which had already been sold, the rest—including anime, film and television adaptation, and game rights—were all bundled together.

Of course, the physical publication rights had already been negotiated. This was a direct deal between Cloud Summit Culture and the publisher, based on a royalty-sharing agreement. Currently, only a portion of the signing fee had been paid, totaling just tens of thousands of yuan.

Chu Tian had already received payment through earlier manuscript fees. To receive the physical publication fees, they would have to wait until the book was printed and released to see how it performed in the market.

Both parties were aware of this, and Hou Yichuan wasn’t concerned about that part.

His current focus was entirely on Cloud Summit Culture’s treasure trove of IP.

When he was employed at Tianmu Group, he had managed the adaptation of novel IPs into film and television. However, this area wasn’t popular at the time, and web novels, in particular, hadn’t yet entered the mainstream view.

But ever since taking on this assignment from his boss, he had immediately discovered the vast treasure trove that was web novels. He immensely admired his boss’s foresight. Not to mention how enchanting the magnificent world of *Candle in the Tomb* was! Through this novel, he had subsequently looked into several other top-trending novels and was already brimming with restless excitement.

If it weren’t for financial limitations, he would have gladly secured them all!

The four songs previously released on music platforms had already garnered over two hundred million total plays. Plays on other platforms combined were approaching ten billion. Revenue from music platform shares alone, plus copyright income from appearances, various commercial performances, and video platform usage fees, had already exceeded forty million.

After deducting applicable taxes, the profit share amounted to roughly twenty million.

According to the agreement, Youmeng took eighty percent and Xu Qingqiu took twenty percent, resulting in about ten million going to Unlimited Entertainment Company’s account.

No wonder Xu Qingqiu had complained that the studio was out of money. The lion’s share had been paid out, leaving her with a meager four-million-something. This obviously wasn’t enough, as the funds required for an album were immense, and that amount was far from sufficient.

Of course, she also had income from commercial performances, which was entirely hers. But even adding it all up, it didn’t amount to much—a few million at best, and that included short-term endorsements and similar earnings.

Although Unlimited Entertainment appeared to have more money, it still wasn’t enough. After allocating funds for purchasing the *Candle in the Tomb* rights, Hou Yichuan had some capital left to acquire other properties. However, these purchases required Chu Tian’s approval. His immediate task was to first secure the rights for *Candle in the Tomb*. Then, he would select other projects he deemed suitable and present them to Chu Tian to persuade him to agree.

"A pleasure doing business with you."

"Indeed, a pleasure. This is just the beginning. Our company will continue to focus on this area, so we may collaborate again in the future. I hope President Xu will give us a favorable price then."

"Haha, of course, of course. This is also tremendously beneficial for our company. We’ll definitely give you the best possible price!"

After more than a week, the rights for *Candle in the Tomb* were finally settled. Hou Yichuan couldn’t wait to return to the company and instruct his newly recruited staff to quickly draft a proposal.

He needed to take this proposal, along with the *Candle in the Tomb* rights, and go to Chu Tian to request funding.