Chapter 222: New Song
The prelude to “Lanting Xu” suddenly rang out.
Jiang Shu, who had just arrived at the restaurant and hadn't even warmed his seat yet, heard his phone ringing.
Caller: Li Xiuman.
Jiang Shu couldn't help but raise his eyebrows.
Why would this old fox suddenly contact him?
He answered the call.
“Hello, Chairman Li.”
As soon as the call connected, the waiter came over with the menu.
Jiang Shu raised his hand and pointed to the table.
The waiter nodded at Jiang Shu, then placed the menu on the table.
“Chairman Jiang, what is DM Entertainment’s plan for aespa’s comeback this year?” Li Xiuman’s voice came through.
“A plan, huh? My idea is to release another single,” Jiang Shu said while looking through the menu.
“It seems Chairman Jiang has already prepared the song,” Li Xiuman said with a chuckle, listening to Jiang Shu’s words.
“It’s ready. I see aespa’s schedule is free this afternoon, so let them go back to S.M. Entertainment. I’ll happen to go over there,” Jiang Shu said.
“Alright. Since Chairman Jiang has time this afternoon, we’ll do as you say.” Li Xiuman had no objections either.
“Then let’s make it three o’clock this afternoon. I’ll arrive at your company around three.”
“Okay, then I’ll wait for Chairman Jiang’s arrival with the aespa members,” Li Xiuman said with a smile.
“No problem.”
“Alright, then that’s settled.”
“Okay.” Hanging up the phone, Jiang Shu hailed the waiter to order food.
After lunch, Jiang Shu drove directly to a public parking lot not far from S.M. Entertainment. Going home and coming back would be too much trouble, so Jiang Shu, finding it bothersome, just went directly.
He flattened the back seat of his car and “passed out” in the car until almost two fifty, only to be urged awake by his alarm.
Just woken up, he stepped out of the air-conditioned car, and a cold breeze made Jiang Shu shiver all over.
The weather in late February had improved significantly compared to last month, but it was still cold.
He tightened his clothes and quickly walked into S.M. Entertainment’s old building.
“Chairman Jiang.”
Before Jiang Shu could call Li Xiuman, his voice had already reached him.
After a brief search, he saw Li Xiuman walking towards him from one side of the first-floor lobby.
“Chairman Li.” Jiang Shu stepped forward to meet him.
“I say, Chairman Li, S.M. Entertainment has made so much money, you should at least change your office building. You’ve been using this building for at least ten years, haven’t you?” Jiang Shu said to Li Xiuman.
“Seventeen years,” Li Xiuman said with a smile, “We haven’t made as much money as your DM Entertainment.”
“Heh heh.”
All the money went into your pocket, right?
Jiang Shu didn’t care; he had just mentioned it casually.
He pulled a USB drive from his pocket and handed it to Li Xiuman.
“The new song prepared for aespa.”
Li Xiuman reached out and took it.
“The members are already in the practice room. Shall we go together?”
“Let’s go.”
Jiang Shu and Li Xiuman went together to aespa’s practice room. Along the way, they encountered several S.M. Entertainment artists. Seeing the fearful expressions of these artists towards Li Xiuman, Jiang Shu found it quite interesting.
“Chairman! General Manager Li!”
Hearing the girls’ addresses, Li Xiuman raised his eyebrows, turned to look at Jiang Shu, and seeing no change in his expression, couldn’t help but chuckle softly.
“Long time no see, kids,” Jiang Shu said with a chuckle to the girls, but his eyes were always on Liu Zhimin alone.
Liu Zhimin noticed Jiang Shu’s gaze, pouted slightly, and avoided eye contact with Jiang Shu.
Jiang Shu smiled helplessly, then turned to Kim Minjeong standing beside Liu Zhimin, and then looked at Ning Yizhuo.
Judging by these two’s standing positions…
It didn’t look like there was any conflict.
He suppressed his doubts and then spoke.
“Chairman Li, play the song. Let’s listen together,” Jiang Shu said to Li Xiuman.
Li Xiuman glanced at Jiang Shu. Was this kid treating him like a subordinate?
He hummed in acknowledgment and waved to the four aespa members.
Liu Zhimin, who was closest to him, took a step forward.
“General Manager Li.”
“This is the single Chairman Jiang wrote for you. Go play it, let’s all listen,” Li Xiuman handed the USB drive Jiang Shu had given him to Liu Zhimin.
“Yes!” Liu Zhimin’s spirits lifted. Although Jiang Shu, this ex-boyfriend, wasn’t much of a person emotionally, Liu Zhimin still highly recognized his musical talent.
The single he had prepared for them would definitely not be bad.
Thinking this, Liu Zhimin took the USB drive and quickly went to the speaker in the practice room.
The rhythmic prelude of “Next Level” played through the speakers in the practice room, followed by Minnie’s very distinctive voice.
Li Xiuman’s expression changed, and he subconsciously glanced at Jiang Shu.
The female voice singing the demo was quite captivating, and Li Xiuman felt like he had heard it somewhere before.
He put that thought aside for now and listened to how the song was.
Soon, more than three minutes passed.
“This song…” Li Xiuman spoke first, “I think it’s perfectly fine, but more importantly, who is singing the demo?”
There was really nothing to say about this song; it perfectly matched aespa’s concept.
Jiang Shu’s repeated efforts had proven his level, so Li Xiuman wouldn’t question this song too much.
Compared to the song, he was more interested in the person singing the demo.
“Minnie, our company’s exclusive trainee,” Jiang Shu said with a smile.
Li Xiuman didn’t recognize it, but Ning Yizhuo and the others did.
Minnie had participated in “Produce 48” with them, and Minnie’s ranking wasn’t low, she just hadn’t debuted.
When Minnie first sang, she not only gave the audience an amazing listening experience, but also gave the trainees the same feeling.
“Is that so?” Li Xiuman was helpless; this guy always managed to find excellent trainees from obscure corners.
This ability was truly enviable.
“Alright, you go make the arrangements. I have something to discuss with our DM Entertainment artists,” Jiang Shu said with a smile.
“This is my company,” Li Xiuman said with a laugh, but having said that, he still waved his hand, taking the others and clearing the space.
“You and General Manager Li seem to have a good relationship, huh?” Liu Zhimin immediately said after Li Xiuman and the others left.
“Our business cooperation is very pleasant, so our relationship naturally won’t be too bad on that basis,” Jiang Shu said with a chuckle.
“Come on, everyone find a seat. I have some things to tell you.”
Hearing this, the four girls pulled over small stools and sat opposite Jiang Shu, where he was seated.
“S.M. Entertainment’s comeback rhythm is different from our company’s. I chose to let you be managed by S.M. Entertainment because I wanted to follow their rhythm.”
“Our company generally has a comeback every three or four months, while S.M. Entertainment usually has a group comeback twice a year, at most three times. This rhythm is more suitable for you, so this time I tried to slow down the pace, only giving one single, and the production of a mini-album will wait until next time.”
“This is one thing I wanted to tell you, and the other thing is…”