Chapter 224: The Composure And Confidence
Wang Heng and Han Yixuan stood in the lounge, looking at Brother Tao, the bar owner who was also standing in front of them.
Brother Tao had a face full of hesitation, his eyebrows and nose scrunched together. He hesitated and said, “I understand. Xiao Pei’s current price range is beyond what I can afford, but this store’s popularity is at least half thanks to Xiao Pei…”
Wang Heng and Han Yixuan exchanged a glance, both of their gazes carrying a bit of teasing. No matter how much business Pei Ningle had brought in, she only got two hundred a day in her hands. Meanwhile, the bar’s daily profit clearly far exceeded that amount. Since there was no revenue share, what else was there to say?
“You’re overstating it. It’s not as exaggerated as half; she only sings for less than two hours a day,” Wang Heng said with a smile, beating around the bush. “Moreover, now there’s the task of recording the program, preparing a personal original album, and performance invitations for the music festival. All of this together takes too much energy, so regular singing here is probably no longer feasible.”
What he was refusing was Brother Tao’s request to keep Pei Ningle as a resident singer at this bar on a fixed basis. Eight hundred each time, once a week, plus one-tenth of the bar’s net profit each month. This condition was already the best treatment Brother Tao dared to offer, but in Wang Heng’s eyes, it was obviously far from enough.
Of course, before this, Pei Ningle had taken a share of the bar’s profits for a few days, from that “finding older brother” marketing plan. But now, whether Brother Tao or Wang Heng treated it as if it never happened, ignoring and downplaying it as much as possible. After all, as Pei Ningle started gaining fame, such things that wouldn’t hold up under scrutiny would become increasingly dangerous, for her or for the bar.
Han Yixuan added, “Anyway, Xiao Le lives nearby. If she has free time in the future, she can still come back here to sing a few songs.”
Brother Tao sighed, “It’s possible, but I’m afraid I won’t know how to explain it to the customers…”
Wang Heng smiled, “No problem, just tell the truth. After going on the program, she won’t have time for regular singing here, and everyone will surely understand. Besides, if Xiao Le comes back to sing here in the future, there won’t even be a need for an appearance fee.”
“Then let’s go out and take a look later,” Brother Tao said helplessly. “Today, this should count as the last performance, right?”
Wang Heng: “So there’s no need for you to pay…”
“No, no, no, this money must still be paid!” Brother Tao insisted strongly. “We keep things separate. As long as Xiao Pei sings here for a day, she gets paid for a day. We agreed on that from the start, and even if she becomes a big star with million-dollar appearance fees in the future, it’s the same!”
————
Pei Ningle stood on the small circular stage in the bar, having just finished singing the very last song of the day, which was the one she recently performed on the program, Dawn.
“I hear the harp playing crystals, weaving into beautiful poems. I see you…”
As the final high note rang out, before the accompaniment even finished, the bar erupted in cheers and applause that seemed capable of lifting the roof.
Everyone gathered here had already seen Pei Ningle’s performance on the CCTV program and understood that the young girl was no longer the same as before; she was poised to spread her wings and fly. Moreover, before tonight’s performance, Brother Tao had already instructed the bar employees to spread the word—this might very well be Pei Ningle’s last show at the store.
So tonight’s atmosphere was naturally completely different from usual. Despite the limited venue, the audience was as enthusiastic as if they were at a famous singer’s performance venue.
Looking at the audience packing the bar to the brim, a slight glint of tears flickered in the young girl’s big eyes.
After waiting a good while until everyone quieted down a bit, she said into the microphone, “Thank you everyone for your continued support. Thank you, I…”
The young girl was choking up a bit when she heard a few people in the audience shout “No need to thank us,” and she couldn’t help but laugh.
Then she continued, “Everyone might already know that starting tomorrow, I’m no longer the resident singer here. Because I need to record the program, write new songs, and there are many other things… Of course, you might still see me here, because when I have time in the future, I’ll come back to sing.”
In an instant, the bar grew noisy again.
Amid the applause and cheering, some were loudly shouting blessings, as well as calls for “encore” and “one more song,” and even someone shouting “don’t run,” but it was quickly drowned out.
Pei Ningle’s gaze swept over these enthusiastic audience members, then suddenly fixed on two people in the corner.
Standing there were Wang Heng and Han Yixuan.
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Wang Heng and Han Yixuan stood in the corner of the bar, watching the somewhat moved Pei Ningle on stage and the audience below responding enthusiastically, discussing in low voices—of course, although the two stood side by side, they carefully kept nearly half a meter of distance, so there was no ambiguous vibe.
Han Yixuan recalled the final conversation with Brother Tao just now and couldn’t help but sigh, “It still had to be you stepping up. I’m still too embarrassed to refuse. Being the one to abandon a former partner like that feels a bit off to me, so I don’t even know how to refuse…”
Wang Heng said calmly, “Business is business; there’s nothing to be embarrassed about. The key is that before stepping up, they didn’t treat us as particularly important partners either. Remuneration settled daily, with only a very simple contract that bound neither side. That means they could terminate the employment anytime they wanted, with no breach costs.”
Han Yixuan: “But I always feel like Brother Tao is our friend…”
“He is, why wouldn’t he be?” Wang Heng smiled. “It’s just that for ordinary friends who aren’t that close, when it comes to long-term planning, we must keep clear accounts. To be honest, Brother Tao’s choice wasn’t wrong. If I were in his position, I’d probably make the same choice.”
Han Yixuan: “The same choice?”
Wang Heng explained, “No formal contract, so if any changes come up—like if Xiao Le suddenly can’t sing anymore or the bar no longer needs a resident singer—he could let her go anytime.”
Han Yixuan patted Wang Heng’s shoulder like a good friend and laughed, “But he didn’t expect Xiao Le to go on the program and blow up.”
Wang Heng shrugged. “That’s normal. Xiao Le herself didn’t expect it.”
Suddenly, Han Yixuan felt her jeans pocket vibrate as her mobile phone buzzed. She casually took it out and looked. The next moment, the young girl’s face froze.
She said in a daze, “That music festival has officially quoted us. Fifty thousand for a single appearance fee, reimbursing round-trip accommodation and airplane ticket, and it’s business class…”
Wang Heng smiled. “That’s a lot for just once, isn’t it great?”
But Han Yixuan’s expression was a bit complex.
She hesitated for a good while before finally asking, “How should we split this money?”
“We have an agreement.” Wang Heng said it nonchalantly.
After all, the agent’s revenue share from Pei Ningle, compared to the investment returns from the past two or three months, was quite a gap. Facing money in the tens of thousands, Wang Heng, who wasn’t short on funds, finally had the confidence to stay calm and composed.
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PS: Seeking recommendation ticket support!
