Shen Huai didn't care about these trivial jealousies. He glanced at his watch; it was already 10:30, but the upstairs door was still tightly closed.
Just as Shen Huai decided to wake Ye Cang up, the door to the upstairs room finally opened, and Ye Cang, with his hair in a bird's nest-like mess, staggered downstairs.
Shen Huai looked at him, who was still sleepy and even had his slippers on the wrong feet. Even though he had seen this scene many times before, Shen Huai was still worried that the other person would miss a step and fall down the stairs.
After washing up like a lost soul, Ye Cang sat down at the dining table, a piece of toast in his mouth, playing on his phone while eating breakfast.
Shen Huai turned off the iPad and stood up: "I have something to do and I'll be going out for a bit. Auntie will be coming over to cook lunch, so remember to eat."
Ye Cang mumbled a response, still half asleep.
Shen Huai felt somewhat helpless and could only give a few hurried instructions before leaving home.
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Shen Huai arrived at a private restaurant. After a while, a man wearing a baseball cap walked into the private room. When he saw Shen Huai, he took off his cap, revealing his handsome face.
"You busy man, finally have time to get together with old friends?" The other person laughed and punched Shen Huai. "I could hardly believe it when I saw the email you sent yesterday."
Shen Huai also smiled, but it wasn't his usual restrained social smile; rather, it was the relaxed expression one has when meeting a friend.
This man's name is Chen Chiyu. Two years ago, he returned to China after graduating from a prestigious foreign university and founded Chiyu Technology, quickly becoming a rising star in the internet industry.
He and Shen Huai were childhood friends and had always had a good relationship. However, in recent years, they had been busy with work and their contact was not as frequent as before. But after receiving Shen Huai's email, Chen Chiyu took it very seriously and specially put aside his work to meet him.
Shen Huai, showing no awareness of using a sledgehammer to crack a nut, asked, "Did you watch the video I gave you before? Is it possible for this kind of software that randomly selects songs to be tampered with?"
Chen Chiyu was both amused and exasperated: "Is this trivial matter worth your attention? You even called me out specifically for it." Despite this, he still answered seriously, "These random programs are easily interfered with, and specifying a particular song, as you mentioned, isn't that difficult. However, even if you obtain evidence that the other party modified the program, if the source of the evidence is illegitimate, it has no legal effect and is useless."
Shen Huai knew this, but said, "I just need to confirm whether someone has tampered with it."
“That’s very simple.” Chen Chiyu took out a small USB drive. “There’s a small program on this USB drive. You need to find a way to plug this USB drive into the target computer. As long as someone modifies the program, it will start and record everything and send it to your email.”
Shen Huai took the USB drive and put it in his pocket: "Thanks."
"You're being so polite with me over such a small thing."
After finishing their business, the food arrived, and the two chatted as they ate. Chen Chiyu said, "I'm telling you, you're really addicted to being an agent? Aren't you planning to come back?"
Shen Huai's lips curled slightly as he countered, "What's wrong with being a manager?"
"It's not that it's bad, but it feels like a waste of your talent. It's a pity that you have so many skills." Chen Chiyu clicked his tongue in regret.
Shen Huai chuckled: "There's nothing to regret. I actually think what we're doing now is much more interesting than a pure money game."
Upon hearing this, Chen Chiyu recalled something and asked, "Did that young artist you used to manage break up with you? I've seen him attending brand events and participating in variety shows these past few days, and I heard he's going to act in a web series too. Tsk tsk, he's quite the character."
Shen Huai smiled, seemingly uninterested.
Chen Chiyu rested his chin on his hand: "You really don't care?"
Shen Huai: "He's not my artist, why should I care?"
Chen Chiyu: "That's not how it works. After all, you've put so much effort into him. He's so naive. He doesn't know that the vocal and dance teachers you hired for him are top experts in the industry. Yet he betrayed you over such a small thing. Aren't you angry and upset?"
Shen Huai said calmly, "I wouldn't say I'm angry or sad. It's just a failed investment, and I'm a little disappointed."
Chen Chiyu chuckled strangely, "You're being too heartless. I'm starting to feel sorry for him now."
Shen Huai ignored him.
Chen Chiyu then said, "Hey, I'm really curious, what exactly are you after by working under an assumed name as the manager of these minor celebrities?"
Shen Huai had never thought about this question before. Now that Chen Chiyu had asked him, he frowned and thought for a moment, then for the first time showed an uncertain expression: "I don't know either. Maybe I want to see... the meaning of life?"
Chen Chiyu: "..."
If it were anyone else, Chen Chiyu would probably laugh at them for being a late-stage chuunibyou (a person with delusions of grandeur), but looking at Shen Huai's serious expression with furrowed brows, he could only sigh silently.
It's really hard to understand what big shots are thinking.
Chapter 8
Bai Weijia felt that she had been very unlucky lately. The recording of her new album was not going smoothly, and Cassie had recently signed several new artists, which took up most of her energy. As a result, she was not as doting and coaxing towards Bai Weijia as she had been at the beginning.
Bai Weijia endured it for several days, but finally couldn't hold back and snapped at Cassie: "What kind of choreographer did you find! How could they be so perfunctory?!"
Cassie's face also turned ugly: "What nonsense are you talking about! Mike is a senior choreographer, do you know how much effort it took me to get him to do it!"
Bai Weijia frowned. He had heard of Mike's reputation and had high expectations, but he was greatly disappointed after meeting him. Mike's choreography seemed fancy, but it was not as good as the two unknown dance teachers that Shen Huai had hired for him.
Seeing that he didn't speak, Cassie's expression softened: "Alright, stop being so stubborn. Go record the song this afternoon. I've already booked the recording studio for you."
Speaking of the recording studio, Bai Weijia's mood worsened. She complained, "I used to record singles in Xingyi's studio, but now I'm crammed into the company's regular recording studio with those small-time artists. And that recording engineer you found can't even do simple auto-tuning, let alone anything else. You can't even say a word to him about it..."
Cassie's eyelids twitched. Even with her good temper, she couldn't hold back any longer. She sneered, "Star Art Studio is such a professional recording studio, used by top-tier stars. You should be grateful you got to use it once. And you want to do auto-tuning? Have you been fooled by those so-called million-dollar auto-tuning engineers online? You should use that time to practice singing! What kind of singing is this?! Even if you didn't put as much effort into your previous singles, it should at least be passable!"
Bai Weijia couldn't hold back any longer: "I'm not careless, I've always been like this..."
Cassie was too lazy to continue talking to him. She glanced at her watch and said impatiently, "I'll have someone come pick you up in a bit. Also, don't go looking for trouble with Shen Huai in the future. Who do you think you are? Who do you think Ye Cang is? What's the point of arguing with him?"
Cassie left in a hurry after she finished speaking. Bai Weijia opened his mouth, but only the shaking door responded to him.
He was so angry that he kicked the sofa, but he hit his big toe and almost cried out in pain. He sat down on the sofa in a huff, intending to read some compliments from his fans to calm himself down. But as soon as he opened Weibo, he found that Ye Cang was trending at number one.
Bai Weijia flew into a rage and smashed her phone against the wall.
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