novellhall Chapter 39, Part 3: Last Wish and New Contract
Chapter 39, Part 3: Last Wish and New Contract
June 9th, Chang'an. This ancient northern city has a dry climate; the hot, dry wind carries the scent of sand and dust, unlike the warm, humid climate of the south.
Xie Anran was physically weak and couldn't withstand the dry weather. After several days, she developed a fever and even had a nosebleed for no apparent reason. Zhang Yun felt particularly sorry for her and carefully cleaned her nasal cavity and took meticulous care of her. She also placed a basin of water in the hotel room and turned on the air conditioner's humidification mode. After this careful treatment, Xie Anran's dryness and discomfort in her throat and nasal cavity were relieved considerably, and she felt much more comfortable.
In contrast, the delicate and frail Sisi showed no discomfort whatsoever from the dry northern climate, demonstrating exceptional adaptability and exhibiting no abnormalities whatsoever.
At that moment, the little girl lay by the bedside, looking at Xie Anran who was resting against the headboard, and smiled, her eyes crinkling, as she asked, "Anran, does your nose still hurt?"
"It doesn't hurt anymore." Xie Anran glanced at her indifferently and answered softly.
"Anran~!" Qianqian nimbly climbed onto the bed, sat down next to Xie Anran, and leaned closer to say, "I'll tell you a secret!"
"Go ahead," Xie Anran said, leaning back slightly to avoid her. Qianqian never seemed to have any sense of boundaries, always wanting to get very close and being quite clingy.
Sisi grinned, her voice brimming with excitement: "Your album has sold over 200,000 copies!"
Xie Anran's lips twitched slightly, his expression completely unmoved. He already knew about this; his personal reel had been updated with data showing that the album's actual sales had already exceeded 210,000.
There's an unwritten rule in the music industry: an album's sales peak in the first two weeks after release, followed by a sharp drop in legitimate sales due to rampant piracy. However, thanks to Crystal Records' support, the record company must have reached a private agreement with the piracy forces. In the ten days since its release, there have been almost no traces of low-quality pirated copies on the market, and legitimate sales have maintained a healthy and stable growth trend.
And so, his second wish was successfully fulfilled, and he had already received the corresponding reward. He was gifted a complete global music library for the next thirty years, encompassing all kinds of popular hits, as well as a vast collection of instrumental pieces. These musical resources were directly implanted into his mind in a special way, requiring no conscious memorization; he could access and use them at any time simply by actively retrieving them, without any burden on his mind or body.
Compared to the extensive music library, the newly triggered third will was the most unexpected and special thing for him.
[Third last wish: to sign an exclusive contract to release one album every year for twenty consecutive years, with no limit on the style or number of tracks.]
Prize: Ownership of the Crystal Record.
Note: Completing the annual task unlocks 5% of the company's shares; interrupting the task midway will forfeit all share eligibility.
This was the first time Xie Anran had encountered a mission that allowed for the phased fulfillment of a dying wish, and this wish was perfectly aligned with the second wish. The third wish would automatically activate the moment he achieved his sales target. All shares would be temporarily held in notarized custody under the Anning Foundation, and would be officially transferred to his name once he came of age. He had already triggered the first phase of the mission's benefits when the new album was released, which could be considered an exclusive privilege granted by the system.
At this moment, Xie Anran truly felt that the changes brought about by the system were no longer just about conditioning his body and empowering his talents, but also about being able to intervene in the real world and leverage real industrial resources for him.
"Sign the agreement..." Xie Anran breathed a sigh of relief and looked up towards the hotel lobby.
While the two children rested in their bedroom, a business negotiation specifically for him was quietly taking place in the living room outside. His old acquaintance, Manager Zhang, was already there, accompanied by a special figure—Robert Holt, CEO of Crystal Records.
"Ms. Liu, Ms. Zhang, this is Mr. Robert from our Crystal Records headquarters." Manager Zhang quickly introduced the foreign executive beside him to the two ladies.
"Hello." Liu Xiaoli and Zhang Yun exchanged a glance, then greeted each other politely in fluent English.
Robert smiled and shook hands with Liu Xiaoli, his tone full of praise: "Beautiful lady, your English accent is very authentic, it sounds excellent."
"Thank you for the compliment." Liu Xiaoli had already studied and practiced English diligently for future overseas affairs, and her daily communication was effortless. Zhang Yun, on the other hand, seemed a little flustered. She had excellent scores on her written English test, but she was a typical "mute" in English, with her spoken English being halting and rusty. Fortunately, her listening comprehension was decent, and she could understand the conversation between the two parties.
"I wonder what brings Mr. Robert here?" Liu Xiaoli was full of doubts. She did not expect that the CEO of Crystal Records would personally come to negotiate. Executives at this level are only responsible to the board of directors and are in charge of all the company's daily operations. They would not easily come forward to deal with artist matters.
Robert looked sincere and earnest: "Our company is very optimistic about Mr. Xie Anran's development potential and hopes to sign a supplementary exclusive cooperation agreement with him."
"A supplementary contract?" Liu Xiaoli instantly became alert, subconsciously thinking that the record company wanted to take this opportunity to tighten its control and exploit the artist's value. She glanced at Zhang Yun beside her without showing any emotion. Zhang Yun gave her a calm look, signaling her to calm down and make a decision after carefully reviewing the specific terms of the contract.
Liu Xiaoli understood immediately. After exchanging a few pleasantries with Robert, she cut straight to the point and inquired about the core benefits of the contract. Manager Zhang promptly took out a prepared contract from his briefcase and placed it on the table. Liu Xiaoli picked it up, flipped through a few lines, and her expression instantly turned extremely strange.
"The contract doesn't have any mandatory binding clauses. It only requires An Ran to release one album every year, and the company will provide top-tier S-level resources throughout." Liu Xiaoli raised an eyebrow and spoke, then read out the key information, "The contract term... a full twenty years."
Zhang Yun didn't catch the key details and quickly asked, "What's going on?"
"It means that once An Ran signs this contract, he can directly receive 5% of Crystal Records' incentive shares, which will be temporarily registered under the Anning Foundation's notarized records." Liu Xiaoli explained with a frown, "As long as the target of releasing albums is met for twenty consecutive years, the shares will be officially transferred to An Ran's name and will belong entirely to him."
Zhang Yun's eyes widened instantly, her face filled with disbelief: signing a contract and getting company shares directly? This was unheard of.
"Yes, that's a top-tier signing bonus." Liu Xiaoli's expression was strange, and her tone was full of surprise. "Moreover, the contract doesn't have any requirements for album sales or popularity. In other words, An Ran can just release one album every year and still get the corresponding shares without any problem."
She paused, then added, "Although Crystal Records is not publicly listed, its copyright, media, and radio businesses are valued at over five billion dollars. A 5% stake would be worth over 2.5 million dollars." This is just the publicly estimated price by the media; the actual market value of the company's vast music copyrights and media equity is likely even higher.
"This is too outrageous..." Zhang Yun was completely baffled. This was no cooperation agreement; it was clearly a windfall of huge sums of money falling from the sky.
"I also find this strange. We'd better have a professional lawyer review the contract again carefully." Even with her strong mental fortitude, Liu Xiaoli couldn't help but feel her heart race when faced with such a large sum of money. Hundreds of millions of dollars in assets were within easy reach; all she had to do was release an album every year to secure the shares. It all seemed too unreal.
"That's right, there's no such thing as a free lunch." Zhang Yun immediately nodded in agreement, not daring to sign the document rashly.
Liu Xiaoli immediately told Robert that she needed time to consider the matter. Robert seemed to have expected this, and his attitude was exceptionally generous and easygoing, without any intention of urging him: "Ladies, please take your time to consider. Our sincerity as Crystal Records is always evident."
Liu Xiaoli sighed inwardly. This whole thing was unbelievable, but the contract in black and white was right in front of her. Reality is often so absurd and unexpected.