Chapter 114: Have You Ever Heard of DUANG~?

Seeing the expressions of those around him, Yuan Feng found himself in a dilemma. Should he reprimand this newly risen platinum-level star? Although the individual had caused quite a bit of trouble, the benefits brought to the Stardust platform were undeniable. The platform’s recent performance spoke for itself, reversing its previous decline and steadily improving. Yuan Feng did not wish to sour their relationship unless absolutely necessary, especially since the star’s attitude toward contracts made it clear they were not someone to be easily swayed.

“Supervisor Han, what do you think?” After a moment’s contemplation, Yuan Feng shifted his gaze toward Han Yinglan, who had remained silent until now. Before making a decision, Yuan Feng felt it essential to hear her opinion. Among everyone present, Han Yinglan was the one who knew the streamer best, having met them several times.

“Does everyone still remember why Luo Shui Tianyi refused to sign? Last time, it wasn’t Tianyi himself who refused, but Luo Chen didn’t want his sister to sign,” Han Yinglan mused, carefully avoiding a direct answer.

“So you’re saying it was planned from the start?” Some executives immediately caught on. The refusal was an attempt to avoid contractual ties with the Stardust platform, which on one hand showed the individual respected rules, but on the other suggested a hidden agenda.

“See? What did I say before? Newcomers are always like this—never satisfied. We’ve been too lenient,” Huo Kong sneered, shaking his head. He despised those streamers who, clinging to whatever value they had left, constantly tested their limits. Huang Ying had been like this before; now with a new streamer, the result was the same.

“Wait, you’re not talking about...” The more Zhao Hong listened, the more uneasy he felt. Could this be related to their music division’s star, Luo Shui Tianyi?

“Zhao, you probably still don’t know,” Wu Qing mocked him after watching his nervous demeanor. “Your music division’s rising star is probably about to jump ship.” She scoffed, noting how Zhao had seemed so calm earlier; it turned out he was just clueless and nearly got fooled.

“Luo Shui Tianyi plans to jump ship? That’s impossible!” Zhao Hong blurted out, no longer caring about revealing secrets. Their music division had finally found a reliable star, albeit one whose slow updates made him despair. Surely she wouldn’t just leave?

Even refusing a platinum contract with Stardust was a rarity—where else could she possibly go?

“Zhao, you really don’t know? This afternoon, Luo Shui Tianyi released a new work exclusively on Pure Angel’s personal website. Considering her usual update pace, you should understand now,” one of the executives explained.

The others stared silently at Zhao Hong’s excited face, having momentarily believed he had changed. It turned out this was the reality.

“So it’s true?” Zhao Hong’s face fell as Yuan Feng’s piercing gaze bore into him. Was his hard-earned progress about to vanish? The music division, just regaining vitality, might sink back down. Not to mention the poor impression left on his superiors.

Today had truly been... disastrous!

Yet Zhao Hong’s interruption lightened the atmosphere in the meeting room somewhat. After a moment’s thought, Yuan Feng spoke, “Let’s put this matter aside for now. It’s not urgent. How’s Huang Ying doing lately?”

“Huang Ying? He’s been quite obedient recently—updating and streaming on schedule each week. That arrogance he used to have has faded considerably. That’s why I say just giving benefits isn’t enough. Huang Ying is the perfect example,” Huo Kong said with a flicker of disdain in his eyes upon hearing Yuan Feng’s decision to delay action. In his view, Yuan Feng was placing too much value on this so-called new star, unaware that blind generosity was not always wise.

Like Huang Ying—once cocky because of his popularity, constantly clashing with the executives—after a harsh setback, he had no choice but to obey.

“There’s already enough going on. What we need now is stability,” Yuan Feng warned, casting a glance at Huo Kong.

The prolonged negative growth on the Stardust platform had already drawn displeasure from the senior executives at Xingyu Entertainment. Yuan Feng desperately needed a period of steady growth to prove his worth to headquarters. This was not the time to stir up trouble.

***

The next morning.

Lo Chen, secluded at home, was unaware that his personal affairs had once again stirred up the Stardust platform. At this moment, he was sitting with his sister watching television.

Leaning against Lo Chen, Luo Tianyi absentmindedly pressed buttons on the remote. Watching the rapidly changing images on the screen, the young girl frowned in dissatisfaction. Why was there no food program today?

After flipping through channels, Luo Tianyi, in a fit of childish stubbornness, closed her eyes and randomly pressed the remote, deciding to watch whatever came up.

Lo Chen smiled at his sister’s antics but said nothing, letting her have her way since he had no particular desire to watch anything either. Although the two worlds had many differences in TV programming, it was mostly just the same types of shows dressed up differently.

After a while, Luo Tianyi opened her eyes, finding none of the programs appealing. She sighed softly and tossed the remote onto the table.

Lo Chen shook his head gently, still unable to figure out what his sister wanted to watch. He then turned his attention back to the screen...

“Next, we welcome international superstar—Uncle Long!” The host announced after a lengthy introduction. Amid the audience’s eager anticipation, he pointed the microphone toward the stage. The spotlight illuminated Uncle Long as he emerged with a smile, greeting the crowd and sitting down under the host’s guidance. Cheers erupted from the audience.

Lo Chen froze momentarily, a sudden uneasy feeling washing over him. Not long ago, he had uploaded a parody video of Uncle Long—could this be related?

Sure enough, after some routine questions, the host suddenly blurted out, “Uncle Long, have you heard of...?”

Thanks to reader r for the generous 5,000 Qidian coins tip—much appreciated! Also thanks to readers 1006 Wolf Cub, r, and Starry Sky’s Color I’ve Long Forgotten for their 1,000 coin tips—much appreciated! By the way, the part about Uncle Long isn’t made up—I recall someone actually asked this in real life.