After offending capital, my songs became more and more popular.

Chapter 304: Here's an old CD for you, let's listen to our love story from back then...

"Shui" is a word that is generally considered very sensitive and serious in the entertainment industry.

In the entertainment industry, there's a saying: "Switch to whoever you should, and don't switch to whoever you shouldn't." Switchling with the wrong person is unacceptable, and failing to hand over the money you're supposed to have is also unacceptable...

Artists, while being celebrities, are also ordinary legal citizens of this country. While legally earning income, they must remember to legally pay taxes.

If you've misrepresented someone, you might be able to spend a little money to control public opinion, let things cool down for a while, and then you can continue to make money after the public outcry subsides. But if you're planning to steal or evade taxes, once the authorities catch you doing that, forget about making money anymore; you'll be lucky if you don't become universally condemned.

As high-income earners, celebrities, especially top-tier celebrities, pay enough taxes in a year for many people to earn for several lifetimes. Even for the local government departments, the amount they pay is a considerable sum.

Therefore, if they steal or leak some of it, it would essentially constitute a deficit for the local authorities, making the data look bad...

Do you think the higher-ups won't investigate them?
But then again...

If you work hard all year round to earn money, and then honestly try to hand over more to your superiors...

Do you think the higher-ups will do you any favors, no matter how small?
Take Shen Mingen as an example. Now, Shen Mingen is a top-tier celebrity in the Chinese entertainment industry and a well-deserved "king" figure. The amount of tax he pays out of his annual income is probably comparable to that of some medium-sized enterprises.

Paying so much tax, it's blatant, gleaming silver!
How could the higher-ups not be happy?
To put it bluntly, Shen Ming'en is essentially giving money to his superiors. Under such circumstances, if Ruixing Entertainment uses the "contract" to cause trouble, who do you think the relevant authorities will side with?
Shen Ming'en was essentially handing money to his superiors, eagerly paying the highest possible rate; Ruixing Entertainment's implication was, "We have a contract; he can't make money, and if he doesn't make money, he can't hand over money to you..."

Do you think the higher-ups would be happy?

How can I be happy?
Can you speak up for Ruixing Entertainment?

Wherever there are people, there is a "world of its own." These days, you can't escape the complexities of human relationships no matter where you go. Besides, the contract between Ruixing Entertainment and Shen Ming'en was unreasonable to begin with. If pushed too far, the disputes will never end. The higher-ups have directly announced that they will also investigate your company's tax and accounting records, and while they're at it, they'll also check your company's fire safety records...

If your company is capable, it can withstand scrutiny!
You little punks... you think we can't handle you?!
and so!
To put it bluntly, even if Shen Ming'en were to take on private jobs behind Ruixing Entertainment's back, even if Ruixing Entertainment found out, they wouldn't dare to do anything, and might not even dare to utter a sound.

What's the funniest thing about this?
The funniest thing is that when Shen Mingen takes on a job later, he might also give Ruixing Entertainment a contract, but the "artist income" on that contract is pitifully low, or even zero pay for the appearance. But he makes a fortune behind the scenes, which is just disgusting to them!

"puff……"

After hearing Shen Ming'en's words, Feng Yucan was so happy he couldn't stop smiling. He couldn't help but ask Shen Ming'en, "Which sorcerer guided you? This plan is brilliant!"

Shen Ming'en waved his hand and laughed, "Whether or not to do this is another matter. It would also violate the contract. Let's see when I need money."

In fact, when Shen Ming'en is short of money, it's basically because he has used up all his income for charity. If he spends all his earnings on "charity", then Ruixing Entertainment would probably be even less likely to cause him trouble.

In conclusion, although Shen Ming'en has not yet become the truth, he has at least grasped a part of it...

Feng Yucan nodded while saying something nonsensical: "That's probably how it is, we'll have to pay a lot of taxes, which is a shame."

His lament is understandable, given that celebrities do pay a lot of taxes. This guy himself might be having a headache lately because of his high income and high taxes...

Shen Ming'en was furious upon hearing this and couldn't help but shout, "What the hell are you talking about? Paying taxes is the duty of every citizen. You only talk about how much tax you pay without mentioning how much money you make, right? Have you no shame?!"

"Ber, I was just venting, I..." Feng Yucan wanted to defend himself...

As a result, Shen Ming'en retorted with:
"Let me tell you this, if you ever dare to evade taxes, don't blame me for disowning you as a brother. I'll be the first to post about it online and then we'll have nothing to do with each other again!"

“Ber you…” Feng Yucan didn’t dare to speak for a moment.

Well...

No matter how well Shen Mingen does, whether he uses his income for charity or national defense, or whether he "unconditionally hands over the copyrights of his songs to the state," there will always be rumors about him being two-faced, and people will always say that he is just "creating a persona"...

But only those close to him, like Feng Yucan, know that Shen Mingen is not only outwardly "red," but also has a truly "sincere and sincere" heart for his motherland!

No wonder they're so incredibly popular; they truly embody the principle of "consistency between appearance and reality." You think I'm kidding?!

……

While rumors were swirling online that Shen Mingen was about to join the show "Music Journey," Shen Mingen rushed to the airport the next morning to catch an 8 a.m. flight to Funan to participate in the recording of "Music Journey."

Actually, Shen Mingen arrived at the event quite late, so there was basically no time for rehearsals. He had to go straight on stage tonight to perform...

There was nothing he could do; the production team of "Bright Sword" was busy filming, and the platform was pushing too hard for "advanced on-demand viewing."
Shen Ming'en also wants to finish filming "Bright Sword" before the Chinese New Year, so that not only him, but everyone in the crew can also have a peaceful and happy New Year.

Shen Ming'en didn't feel he had wronged the "Music Journey" program team in any way. On the contrary, Yao Shuli, there was no "rehearsal" and she just came on stage. I was afraid something might happen on stage...

Fortunately, Yao Shuli was understanding and sensible enough to tell Shen Mingen that with their tacit understanding and ability, even if they just rehearsed together a few times via video call, there shouldn't be any major problems on set.

Although that's indeed the case—both are talented performers, and even if they'd never rehearsed together before, let alone done it several times via video call, there shouldn't have been a "stage accident" on stage—Shen Ming'en still felt a little embarrassed towards Yao Shuli.

so……

When Shen Ming'en was communicating with the staff of the "Music Journey" program, he specifically asked the program team to see if they could find a hotel with a kitchen when booking his hotel, so that he could buy some ingredients to cook something nice for Yao Shuli after he arrived...

Yao Shuli doesn't like eating out; she prefers Shen Mingen's homemade food. So even though she was in a rush today, with a performance tonight and Shen Mingen's 8 o'clock flight arriving close to midnight, he still tried his best to make something for Yao Shuli.

But who knew...

Damn it, the weather's not cooperating!

Upon arriving at the airport, before Shen Ming'en even got out of the car, he saw snow falling heavily outside the window...

Shen Ming'en had a bad feeling about this, and sure enough, when he was waiting for his flight after passing through security, just as he was about to board, an announcement came from the gate that the flight was delayed due to weather conditions...

It's snowing, and it's snowing heavily. It's uncertain when it will stop today, and it's also uncertain when we can take off again. To put it bluntly, it's uncertain whether Shen Ming'en will even be able to get to Funan tonight!
The trip, which was already planned and was already rushed, was completely ruined due to the flight delay.

……

News of Shen Ming'en's flight delay quickly reached the "Music Journey" program team. Everyone on the team was stunned, especially the director, Zhao Tian, ​​who made countless calls asking what happened and if he could find a solution. He was so anxious he almost wanted to fly over himself to pick Shen Ming'en up... But it was impossible. He couldn't fly, though he could drive, but the two locations were far apart; driving would take fifteen or sixteen hours, which was simply not feasible...

Basically, all we can do is hope that Shen Ming'en's flight can take off as soon as possible today.

Actually, it's not that there's no possibility of "taking off," since the flight is only "delayed," not "cancelled." But it's precisely this "delay" that's the most agonizing. You don't know if it will take off, or if it will even arrive. It gives you a glimmer of hope, but then tells you that that hope could be shattered at any moment...

If you ask the production team of "The Sound of a Journey" festival, they'd be better off just canceling it!
Backstage at the show, Yao Shuli, upon learning of this, couldn't help but feel worried, so she made a video call to Shen Ming'en...

On the other end of the video, Shen Ming'en, bundled up in a down jacket, was sitting in the airport VIP lounge, sipping tea and looking quite comfortable. However, his expression still carried a hint of guilt as he said, "Sigh, I was thinking of making some food for you to take over, but now, I'm not even sure if I'll make it to the performance."

Yao Shuli was very understanding and kept saying, "It's okay, if you can't come, I'll just do it myself. Anyway, I can sing your part."

She was always so sensible that it broke Shen Ming'en's heart. He could only comfort her by saying, "The airport staff seemed to say that we can take off today. The snow should stop soon, so there shouldn't be any major problems."

“Mmm…” Yao Shuli nodded repeatedly and told Shen Mingen to eat something at the airport, noting that he had lost weight from filming these past two days.

The two chatted casually, neither of them taking it seriously. After all, it was just a performance; if he couldn't come, he couldn't come. Although the "Music Journey" program had done a lot of promotion, and the audience might be disappointed and complain if Shen Ming'en couldn't come, he could always make it up to them later. And the flight delay due to weather wasn't Shen Ming'en's fault...

Can a young couple's relationship be affected by something like this?
but!

Others seem to care a lot!
"Tsk tsk..."

Kong Ze, one of the guests at the "Music Journey" festival, immediately made a sarcastic remark upon learning of the matter: "If you ask me, it's still a lack of attention. If it were taken seriously, would they be too busy to come to the rehearsal? If they were going to come to the rehearsal, would they be unable to come due to weather delays?"

Shen Ming'en once defeated Kong Ze head-on on the show "Music Journey". Back then, his songs "Loyalty to the Country" and "Borrowing Five Hundred Years from Heaven" were like an emperor descending to earth, completely crushing Kong Ze. So now, he's stopped pretending and started being sarcastic and sarcastic.

The other guests actually wanted to refute Ming En's claim that he was too busy with work, but after thinking about it, they realized that Kong Ze's words were indeed correct.

Shen Mingen's behavior of "not participating in rehearsals" is indeed considered by industry insiders to be somewhat like "acting like a diva".

It's worth mentioning that since the guests were mostly together during breaks, in the same large lounge, Kong Ze's words seemed to have a hidden meaning, deliberately sarcastic, so he didn't try to hide it from Yao Shuli at all, as if he was saying it specifically for her to hear...

As a result, Yao Shuli, who was not far away, also heard these words.

Yao Shuli, who had just hung up the phone with Shen Mingen, pursed her lips. For a moment, she actually considered standing up and going over to warn Kong Ze to watch his words...

But after thinking about it, she ultimately gave up.

Her personality has never been one to fight with others, and given that Shen Mingen couldn't come, she really didn't seem to have any room to argue with Kong Ze.

With her rosy lips slightly pursed, Yao Shuli stood up and walked out of the lounge to the window...

Under the same sky, the weather in the south was much better than in the north. Although the temperature wasn't high either, at least it wasn't snowing. Yao Shuli stood on the rooftop wearing a down jacket with a white fur collar, holding a cup of warm water in her hands, frowning and pouting...

Although she was frantically telling herself that she had to be sensible, that Shen Mingen didn't care about her because she was too busy, if Shen Mingen really couldn't come today...

She just wasn't that happy.

After all, it's about going on stage alone and facing so much criticism.

……

Time passed, and evening arrived in the blink of an eye. There was still no news from Shen Ming'en, and the broadcast time was ticking away second by second...

The strategy for "Sound Journey" was already in place: not to tell the audience that Shen Ming'en wouldn't be coming, but to let them know after the performance. This way, although they would be criticized, at least it wouldn't affect the show's viewership.

But Yao Shuli...

Only one person can go on stage.

Perhaps it was because of that idiot Kong Ze spreading rumors that, from the moment the news of Shen Ming'en's inability to come came until the start of the performance, the backstage area was basically filled with discussions about "Shen Ming'en not taking this performance seriously and not taking Yao Shuli seriously."

Although Yao Shuli said she would ignore it, how could she possibly not care...?

As the performance was about to begin, Yao Shuli quietly walked onto the stage alone.

The audience was as enthusiastic and passionate as ever, and because they were looking forward to Shen Ming'en, they were also particularly enthusiastic about Yao Shuli.

The thought of being the only one singing later, and the disappointed expressions on the audience's faces when they find out Shen Mingen can't come, put Yao Shuli under immense pressure...

This is truly the first time I've ever felt so unwilling to act.

"call……"

Having been a veteran singer for many years, Yao Shuli remained relatively calm. She took a deep breath and finally mustered up the courage to give the band a signal, pick up the microphone, and prepare to sing "Because of Love".

The first line was actually written by a boy, but there was nothing he could do since Shen Ming'en couldn't come.
Yao Shuli took a deep breath, keeping time with the accompaniment, and was about to help Shen Ming'en sing...

Suddenly, Shen Ming'en's voice came through the speakers and in-ear monitors:
"Here's an old CD for you..."

"Listen to our love back then..."

For a moment, Yao Shuli was slightly taken aback.

At that moment, all cameras and eyes instantly focused on the man at the entrance to the stage, who was clearly travel-worn but appeared calm and composed.

……

(End of this chapter)