Chapter 54: How Could He Possibly Be a Deadbeat? (Part 1)

The already crowded small room became even more cramped with the arrival of the painter Mendeleev.

Zhou Yang looked at Mendeleev.

Naturally, he knew of this world-renowned, internationally acclaimed master painter.

His iconic unruly hair and full beard, coupled with his obsessive, non-human gaze, fulfilled every fantasy he had about artists.

Artists all looked like this.

In fact...

When the painter aggressively burst in, Zhou Yang and his manager were both taken aback.

From the painter's dialogue, he suddenly realized that Zhang Yang seemed to have stolen something from him and had committed copyright infringement!

Hearing this...

Zhou Yang's heart skipped a beat!

Fraud and copyright infringement!

Such matters could be big or small. For an ordinary person, it would at most end with some financial compensation.

However, when involving an artist of international caliber, this was not something that could be resolved simply by paying damages. If things went poorly, it could ruin one's reputation worldwide and even escalate to damage the national image of China.

And Zhang Yang!

He would be finished.

Manager Li Ziwen immediately showed him the signboard of Zhang Yang's company and some content Zhang Yang had posted on Tieba.

Roughly speaking, he understood!

Zhang Yang had tricked Mendeleev into writing things and drawing a logo, and then blatantly used Mendeleev's work as his company signboard.

This was simply...

How could Zhang Yang do such a thing? How could he lose his mind at such a crucial moment?

Thinking of this, not long after Mendeleev and his lawyer barged in, manager Li Ziwen grabbed Zhou Yang's hand and motioned for him to leave immediately.

Once tainted by such an affair, even if it had nothing to do with you, you would still end up stinking to high heaven.

No matter how good the songs Zhang Yang wrote were, it would all become meaningless!

If things went south, Zhang Yang might be banned by Chinese art authorities and face lawsuits as well...

Under such circumstances...

Shouldn't they stay as far away as possible?

However, Zhou Yang did not leave.

Instead, he tried every possible way to put in a good word for Zhang Yang.

He felt that Zhang Yang did not do it on purpose; perhaps he was just momentarily muddle-headed.

Someone who could write such lyrics would absolutely never intentionally commit copyright infringement or anything of the sort. There had to be a misunderstanding.

He was so talented!

Surely...

Could those two songs also be plagiarized?

"Sister Li, why don't you contact a lawyer..."

"What!"

He gently pulled Li Ziwen's sleeve, even considering hiring a lawyer for Zhang Yang, hoping at least to suppress the matter as much as possible.

At the very least...

He couldn't let the situation escalate any further...

Li Ziwen was dumbfounded.

At a time like this, Zhou Yang still dared to speak up for Zhang Yang? He even wanted to hire a lawyer for him?

Wasn't this sheer madness?

But!

Shortly after...

The two of them watched as Zhang Yang and Mendeleev shook hands and hugged...

They froze.

What on earth was going on here?

"What is happening between them?!"

...

The night of July 10.

It was late.

Liu Weiping had been stuck in a creative bottleneck for a very long time.

Ever since he wrote the song "Prosperity" for Zhou Yang last year, which became a massive hit, Liu Weiping had been trapped in the dilemma of being unable to find a new entry point.

Starting from last month,

Zhou Yang's manager, Li Ziwen, had been calling him almost every few days to ask for a song.

He knew Zhou Yang was releasing a new album and needed a lead track!

However, he simply couldn't write it.

Many things required inspiration.

He had written numerous things, but in the end, he crumpled them all into balls and tossed them into the wastepaper basket, turning them into scrap.

What kind of garbage was he writing?

It even made him want to vomit.

A masterpiece is born of heaven, attained by a stroke of genius...

Many things cannot be forced.

That was the truth.

Right at eight o'clock in the evening...

By chance, he saw an antique appraisal show broadcasting on television!

His eyes suddenly lit up, and instantly, inspiration flowed like a spring. He grabbed his pen right away and composed a song in one go.

After finishing it, he looked at it for a long time and was extremely satisfied!

He suddenly felt that the future of China belonged to the realm of national-style music!

If Zhou Yang sang this song, it would definitely spark a craze for the national style and perhaps even establish a new genre!

He grew excited.

He emailed the song to manager Li Ziwen and called her immediately afterwards.

However, after the call went through, he blankly listened to the apology over the phone.

He froze.

"There's already a song?"

"The one I wrote is a national-style song, a trend. Zhou Yang is very suited for this genre. Some songs look nice textually, but they aren't appropriate..."

"Ah, is that one also national-style?"

"..."

After hanging up the phone, Liu Weiping stared fiercely at his phone.

What kind of song did Zhou Yang actually get his hands on?

He really wanted to know!

Yet at the same time, a trace of reluctance stirred vaguely in his heart...

How could something created through an inspiration he obtained only after enduring such a long dry spell end up like this?

He remained silent for a long time, then dialed the number of the manager of another rising singer, Zhao Hailu...

...

The setting sun cast a rosy glow outside the window as Sun Lili watched everyone busily packing their things.

Some were organizing the contents of the "big-headed computers," copying all important data onto hard drives to bring to the new company's computers.

President Zhao Hang was enthusiastically daydreaming about the future with the newly joined recruits. They chatted about planning, about art composition, and about how the company would soon venture into 3D games, letting those foreign gaming companies see that Chinese games could just as brightly blind their eyes.

Every single one of them held an autograph from Zhou Yang.

Some were on paper, some on albums, and others on their clothes...

Zhou Yang had no airs; as long as they were employees of the company, he gave an autograph to everyone.

She had also gotten an autograph and even a group photo.

What she never even dared to dream of was that she would even have the chance to make a brief appearance in Zhou Yang's new album!

Though...

It was only a single short sentence, but to a fan of Zhou Yang like her, this was supreme glory!

Outside the house came the roaring sound of a large truck.

The company was moving!

Moving right now!

However...

She felt as if she were in a dream, enveloped everywhere by an unreal sensation.

What kind of company had she actually joined?

She shook her head fiercely, making sure she wasn't dreaming!

Right at that moment...

"Our company made the entertainment news!"

"Oh my god, our company made the entertainment news!"

"President Zhang is so handsome!"

"Oh my god!"

Someone pointed at a computer news screen and suddenly cried out in excitement.

Sun Lili instinctively looked over.

"Shocking: Zhou Yang actually patronizes such a small company!"

"Zhou Yang rejects Lianzhong Computer and chooses Bluebird instead; the reason behind it turns out to be him!"

"Mendeleev's painting turns out to be..."

"..."

Shortly after, she saw that the news everywhere was filled with reports about Zhou Yang visiting their gaming company.

Aside from news about Zhou Yang, there were also reports about Mendeleev's new painting, "The Fallen Painter"...

There were even internal rumors suggesting that Mendeleev's painting was also related to the "Universe Technology" gaming company!

Everyone acted as if they had taken drugs, roaring and shouting in excitement!

...

Zhang Yang stared dazedly at the two contracts.

One was a contract for the free, uncompensated gift of computers, desks, and chairs.

The another was the signing contract for Zhou Yang's two new songs.

Then...

He heard the deafening cheers of excitement from outside the room.

However, he did not feel very excited.

He merely let out a long sigh, leaning against his chair as if thoroughly exhausted.

This exhaustion seemed to originate from the depths of his soul!

After checking the balance in his account, he relaxed as if a heavy burden had been lifted.

He had money!

He could finally pay off all his debts!

No one had ever seen him wear such an expression before.

Excitement still echoed outside the room.

Inside the office, he gently pulled out his phone and sent a text message.

Then, taking out an account number from the pocket of another jacket,

He hesitated for a moment...

And prepared to transfer four hundred thousand through online banking to this account.

Just at that moment...

He suddenly received an unfamiliar call.

Shortly after...

His expression changed drastically!

From the initial relief, it transformed in a split second into unprecedented anger, and then he forced himself to regain calm through gritted teeth.

He clenched his fists tightly without letting loose any outburst.

After completing the money transfer, he pushed open the door...

His face resumed its smile.

"All right, everyone's had enough excitement, let's get to work and start making games!"

"Strive to get the game released early!"

"..."

...

Liu Ruohan, preparing to return to China, received a message.

Everyone from top to bottom in the company firmly opposed acquiring shares in or buying out "Universe Technology."

When Liu Ruohan read the contents of the text message...

She froze.

"How could this person be a deadbeat debtor?"

"He's only just turned twenty!"

"How could he possibly be..."

"A deadbeat?"

"..."