Chapter 29: Chapter 28: Placing a Heavy Bet
Translator: 549690339
Harrison Clark thought for a moment, “This afternoon, Lewis Brown will call
you again and offer better terms.”
“Huh?”
“Your performance just now was very ordinary, your acting was terrible, stammering and evasive; even a fool would know you have something to hide. But precisely because of this, you will give Lewis Brown the illusion that Spotify has a competitor. Besides their deal, you have another option! So, to get you successfully into his pit, Lewis Brown will definitely up the ante and offer more attractive terms.”
“You knew it again!” Carrie Thomas suddenly felt her nails itching.
Harrison Clark nodded, “Yes, the logic of the bad guys is so easy to guess. All you need to do is first understand their motives, and then all the behaviors that are caused by those motives are within your control.”
Harrison continued to shamelessly pretend to be mysterious.
“I don’t believe it!”
“Betting again?”
“Yes!”
Harrison Clark: “What do we bet on this time?”
“If you guess right, I will let go of the fact that you took advantage of me this
morning.”
Harrison Clark sighed, “So you were actually holding a grudge in your heart.”
“Of course, any normal person would be annoyed! I was actually planning on moving out after this thing was settled. If we were strangers like before, it would be fine, but living together like this is actually inconvenient.
Harrison Clark nodded, “That’s true. What if you win?”
“If I win, you have to agree to one condition.”
“What condition?”
Carrie Thomas smirked, “That is, in the future, if I have any questions about music, you can’t play dumb like you did last time.
Apparently, her idea of having Harrison Clark as her mentor had not disappeared, but had become stronger.
It’s just that Harrison Clark had confused her with tai chi last time, and she didn’t have a chance to speak up, but now that she had found the opportunity, she brought it up again.
Harrison Clark bitterly smiled, “Didn’t I tell you that, as a self-taught person, my songwriting relies entirely on sudden inspiration, and I don’t follow the same path as you, so there’s nothing I can teach you.”
“It doesn’t matter, I didn’t say I wanted to be your apprentice. I just want you to answer my questions within your ability if 1 have them. Otherwise, I’ll move out.”
As she spoke, she seemed to subtly stick out her chest.
Her little gesture seemed to say, if I move out, you won’t have such a good cheap tofu treat anymore.
Of course, Harrison Clark didn’t dare to think about it in that direction, knowing that it was probably just a figment of his heated imagination.
With Carrie Thomas’s temperament, she would never make such a gesture.
But it has to be said that it seemed to be the truth.
Although he had no plans to flirt, Harrison Clark recalled the amazing glimpse of beauty he had seen in the morning and the strong touch that was worth savoring thousands of times over, and couldn’t bear to part with it.
Of course, he had a more important reason. Now that the two of them are living together for the time being, he, the changer of history, could better use the millennium-old Carrie Thomas as a medium to manipulate the future.
He cannot see the detailed historical records in the future, as he is just a nameless soldier.
His only avenue to know how he will fare in the future lies in the biographies of
Carrie Thomas.
As someone who relies on riding the coattails of others to survive, he is so weak, pitiful, and helpless.
“Alright, let’s bet.”
Harrison Clark agreed.
Carrie Thomas showed a triumphant expression.
Actually, she basically agreed with Harrison Clark’s judgment in her heart, but she didn’t believe he could be so accurate twice.
Why would it have to happen this afternoon? Did you put a remote control on someone else?
What if Lewis Brown held out until tomorrow?
Then Harrison Clark would lose.
As for moving out, she was just talking about it, merely adding a little weight
to her bet.
“Okay, let’s say you’re right again, but if he calls this afternoon and offers better terms, what’s the point? We’ll still refuse, won’t we?”
Carrie Thomas thought for a moment and then asked.
Harrison Clark chuckled, “It’s of great significance! This is the bargaining chip well use when negotiating with the next company. You could even call it our knocking brick! In our previous state, what kind of treatment do you think we would get when we reached out to No. 1 Fly?”
Carrie Thomas was startled at first, “I’m afraid the waiting time would be even longer than on Spotify Top?”
“Of course, and we’d definitely get the worst contract terms. However, now that we’ve turned down Spotify Top’s favorable Tier 2 contract and switched to No. 1 Fly, as long as we can provide solid proof, they will assign someone influential to negotiate with us right from the start, and they will definitely take ‘Boring’ seriously!”
Carrie Thomas finally understood and silently gave a thumbs up, “Impressive, you’re really something. But there is still one thing I don’t get.”
“Go on.”
■■You seem pretty smart, so why are you still a low-level employee at Chesterton Apartment after working there for half a year?
Harrison Clark shrugged, “It’s all about seniority and office politics, you know?”
“Alright. Why can’t people just live a simpler life?”
“The result of living a simpler life is that Eric Mitchell would easily crush us, but now we’ve not only avoided potential risks but also turned his schemes into resources that we can use. I think if Eric Mitchell knew this, he would feel even sicker than eating two pounds of flies.”
Carrie Thomas covered her mouth and laughed, “So it’s like a mosquito successfully taking revenge on an elephant by giving it a bump on its head?” Harrison Clark shook his head, “He might be an elephant now, but he might not always be. We may be mosquitoes now, but we won’t always be. A gentleman’s revenge can wait ten years; just make a note of it.
By the afternoon, Lewis Brown actually called again, offering terms that, in some ways, surpassed the Tier 2 Contract.
Most of the new terms were the same as the Tier 2 Contract, with the downside being an additional five-year binding term. The upside was that the revenue-sharing ratio between the platform and content provider changed
from 30-70 to 50-50.
This 50-50 term was precisely what set the Tier 1 Contract apart from the Tier 2 Contract, which typically required a top-tier domestic artist or a heavily promoted newcomer guaranteed to succeed to qualify.
Carrie Thomas was just a fledgling singer who had been performing in various Oxfordshire nightclubs for just over a month and was completely unknown, so offering her these terms was quite startling.
Lewis Brown was really going all out to lure her in.
Of course, according to Lewis Brown and Eric Mitchell’s plan, once Carrie Thomas signed the agreement, her song would immediately be locked away, making the revenue split of 30-70 or 50-50 irrelevant.
An infinite multiple of zero is still zero.
Carrie Thomas somewhat expected and somewhat didn’t expect Lewis Brown’s timely phone call, as Harrison Clark had predicted.
This time she mentally prepared herself and perfectly completed the task Harrison Clark had given her.
She said that she was indeed unable to leave her hometown at the moment, but she was grateful for Mr. Brown’s favor and didn’t want to miss this opportunity. She suggested that Mr. Brown send a scanned or faxed copy of the contract with the official seal on it.
She would print it out, sign it, and attach a copy of her ID card before sending it back by express mail. Once she returned to Oxfordshire, she would pick up the officially stamped contract.
Lewis Brown had no doubts about his scheme’s success and sent the scanned copy to Carrie Thomas’ email just half an hour later.
Seeing this, Harrison Clark snapped his fingers, “Success! Now let’s book the tickets and fly directly to Abertawe tonight! We’ll find No. 1 Fly! This email is our gateway to victory!”
“Okay!” Carrie Thomas agreed quickly and started searching for flights on her phone. A few minutes later, she blushed and put her phone down, “There’s a very practical problem.”
Harrison Clark: “Are there no flights available today?”
“No, there’s one at six in the evening, which we can make. However, I only have five hundred yuan left. Same-day tickets don’t have discounts; it will cost 1,100 yuan per person for a round trip, or 2,200 yuan in total. The round trip for both of us will cost 4,400 yuan. We’ll also need to stay in Abertawe for at least two days, and a single hotel room there costs at least 300 to 400 yuan per day… Plus meals… We should prepare at least 7,000 yuan, right? And on your end…” Harrison Clark looked up at the sky, “All my savings have gone into the production of your song. I only have over 700 yuan left in my account.” The two ambitious but destitute people were suddenly at a loss.
That’s why Harrison Clark never thought about going to another city at first – every fart there would cost money.
Unexpectedly, he eventually managed to raise the money.
Fortunately, a tenant had just paid the rent in cash the day before. Harrison Clark had planned to deposit it into his card at the bank the next day and then transfer it to the company’s account.
In light of the urgent situation, he temporarily diverted the money. However, in accordance with company regulations, he was required to transfer the money to the company’s account within a week; otherwise, there would be big trouble.
Although the amount in question was small, it was, in fact, misuse of public funds, so Harrison Clark took a major risk.
In order to get to Abertawe, Harrison Clark also paid another heavy price. After taking one day off, he had to force himself to take another two days of leave.
Of course, his boss wouldn’t approve, but Harrison Clark had already made up his mind and used up one of his precious blank medical certificates, forcing himself to take sick leave.
As the two boarded the plane bound for Abertawe, they couldn’t help but feel weighed down.
They’d really gone all in this time.
If they didn’t succeed again, they were in danger of going bankrupt..