Chapter 46

Following the Blueberry Music Festival, Infinite enjoyed a brief surge in popularity.

Although they had only performed two songs and reached a live audience of about a hundred people, the subsequent ripple effects gave their little, obscure group a genuine foothold in the domestic entertainment circle.

And unlike before, where the songs were famous but the artists were not, this time, the people themselves became the talk of the town, while the songs served as powerful evidence of their strength.

The catalyst for all of this was Tao Zui’s online promotional strategy.

The videos filmed by Gu Nan’s assistant, Li Shengping, and the artist promoter, Chen Lu, were edited immediately after the performance and uploaded to the official Infinite account, which had been activated in advance. On top of that, Tao Zui thoughtfully attached rehearsal footage and high-definition look-test photos. In short, regardless of whether anyone was watching, anything other stars had, Infinite had too—and in four different versions: solo shots, group shots, and edited highlights of everyone’s “highlight moments” during the stage performance, ensuring all fan needs were met.

These materials were distributed across the three major social platforms, ensuring comprehensive, 360-degree coverage so that anyone interested in Infinite could find relevant content, no matter where they were.

Of course, the prerequisite for all this success was that Infinite possessed the strength and potential to actually be popular. Not only was their talent undeniable, but their looks were striking enough; paired with a cool stage presence, sweeping the domestic entertainment scene was well within their grasp.

It was precisely because of their outstanding abilities that they were able to spread their fame with the momentum of a single spark.

When they first received the invitation to the Blueberry Music Festival, the trio’s appearance fee was only a few thousand yuan—not even enough to cover the cost of their makeup and styling. bailiantales.com One month after the festival, the latest invitations they received saw their appearance fee hiked up to ninety thousand yuan for the three-pack, excluding travel and dining expenses.

“I should have waited. If I’d waited until now, the quote for Songs of the Years wouldn’t have been so low,” Zhang Ling muttered as she helped the three boys pack their luggage.

Tao Zui, watching from the side, laughed: “You can’t put it that way. Didn’t the show’s production team agree to modify the script and carve out a performance slot for us? Besides, who could have predicted that the Blueberry Music Festival performance effect would be so good? Such a lousy opening time slot with barely a hundred viewers, yet it still managed to spread word of Infinite’s stage—nobody saw that coming.”

Long Feifei, who was also helping pack, chimed in: “I heard an influencer helped promote them?”

Zhang Ling nodded: “An influencer named ‘Aiyao Punk.’ She posted pictures of Infinite on Xiaohongshu with the caption: ‘The Chinese boy band scene is finally saved.’ She also said her friend fell down the rabbit hole on the spot—one moment she was spending big money pulling blind boxes of her previous idol, the next she was shouting ‘Oppa’ at Infinite on stage. Her friend seems to be an influencer too, and she even reposted our official note.”

Long Feifei nodded thoughtfully: “That’s truly lucky, that an influencer happened to be at the music festival…”

“Indeed,” Tao Zui smiled. “When Infinite first released songs, we carried cash and begged these influencers to help promote them, and they wouldn’t even bat an eye. Now? They’re all fighting to be the first to help. Either they’re doing dance covers of Diwu Zou’s solo or cover-singing Zeng Yinuo and Chen Xing’s highlight clips. This is the result of proper online promotion.”

He paused before adding: “Of course, you still need the actual talent to back up the hype, otherwise you’d easily end up as a laughingstock.”

Once the luggage was packed, Tao Zui told Zhu Zheng and Li Shengping, who were also there to help: “I’ll have to trouble you two to accompany them on the flight to Nanshi. Don’t forget to pick up Chen Lu on the way. The styling will be handled by the production crew; Zhang Ling, remember to keep a close eye on things and stick to the direction we discussed in our meeting—don’t let the production crew get sloppy.”

Zhang Ling nodded and handed the luggage to Li Shengping: “We’re heading out [unauthorized copy]then. Leaving early gives us more breathing room and avoids missing the flight.”

According to the schedule, recording would start at 3:00 PM tomorrow, but makeup and styling had to be done in advance, and they needed time for rehearsal, so they had to leave on Friday evening.

“Alright,” Tao Zui nodded, then turned to the three boys huddled at the dining table: “Did you finish your homework? If not, bring it with you and squeeze in some time to finish it over there.”

Watching the three boys obediently stuff their unfinished homework into their backpacks, Long Feifei wore an indescribable expression—

Having a boss like this… I can’t tell if it’s the artists’ luck or their misfortune…

After sending them off, Tao Zui chatted with Long Feifei about the “Suspense Theater” project on Panda Video.

“Even though we gained the inside track opportunity through Yao Qiang, we still can’t rest easy. Whether it’s Fangyuan or Panda, they both have plenty of contracted artists waiting for opportunities. We don’t have the strength to fight others for them, so we have to be clever. In terms of role selection, don’t ask for screen time, but the role must be eye-catching. Don’t worry about the artist’s image. This is the stage for seeking exposure and laying the foundation; as long as the audience remembers them, nothing else matters.”

Long Feifei nodded repeatedly, in total agreement with Tao Zui’s philosophy. It was moments like this that she couldn’t help but marvel that this boss truly had more foresight than average—he wasn’t someone who only cared about his own little plot of land.

However… perhaps it was just her imagination, but did the paths he laid out for Su Jiqiu and Gu Nan seem… a bit too drastically different?

Putting everything else aside, Gu Nan was already starring in his second movie, while Su Jiqiu was still spinning his wheels in supporting roles for TV dramas. This disparity made it hard not Read on BaiLianTalesto suspect the boss was playing favorites…

Long Feifei glanced at Gu Nan, lowered her head, and assumed a submissive posture. By the time she left, she hadn’t voiced the questions in her heart.

Tao Zui raised an eyebrow as he watched the closed door, turning around to meet Gu Nan’s gaze. Gu Nan and Su Jiqiu were sitting at the dining table looking over a script and writing character biographies. Earlier, they had been helping the three younger ones with their homework, which meant they had seen everything that transpired in the living room.

Su Jiqiu was likely just finishing switching his brain from high school homework back to his craft and hadn’t noticed what Tao Zui and Long Feifei were talking about at all. Gu Nan, however, who kept a constant eye on Tao Zui, had witnessed it all.

Sensing Gu Nan was about to speak, Tao Zui hurriedly held a finger to his lips in a “hush” gesture, pulled him into the room, and closed the door behind him.

Snap!

The soft sound of the door closing rang out like thunder in Gu Nan’s ears. The words he had been bursting to say now felt out of reach. He could only watch Tao Zui, who was wearing blue fleece pajamas, walk over to the lazy sofa and sit down.

“I know what you want to say. Actually, it’s normal for Feifei to think that way. After all, Qiu-qiu is the artist she manages; it’s a good thing for her to plot for her own artist… Why are you standing there? Sit.”

Gu Nan: “……”

Gu Nan glanced at the bedside Tao Zui was gesturing toward, then scanned stolen contentthe small bedroom, failing to find a better spot than the bedside. He ultimately chose to perch on the edge of the mattress.

The softness of the mattress left him speechless for a second before he found his voice: “……It’s normal for outsiders to misunderstand without knowing the facts. But as the company’s agent, she can access all the projects. If she still can’t see the reason for this, it just shows she’s overly utilitarian and doesn’t trust you.”

Hearing Gu Nan’s blatant defense, Tao Zui felt wonderful, yet he spoke up for Long Feifei: “Regardless of the process, the result is that you’ve been playing the male lead since your debut, while Qiu-qiu is still spinning in circles in supporting roles. Same starting point, different fates—it’s only natural that people would think I’m playing favorites.”

“My ability to play the protagonist, strictly speaking, is a low-probability event caused by a series of coincidences. She only saw the result—why doesn’t she stop to consider the risks you took behind the scenes?”

Putting aside everything else, for just The Afterlife project alone, Tao Zui had shouldered the risk of bankruptcy. And yet, Long Feifei actually thought he was playing favorites? Who would play favorites while holding the risk of bankruptcy? Only a brain-dead person could think of that, right?!

Gu Nan grew angrier the more he thought about it: “We should just make things clear in front of Qiu-qiu, so he knows what kind of person Long Feifei is!”

As he stood up, Tao Zui lunged forward, grabbed Gu Nan’s knees, and shoved him back down.

“What are you rushing for! Don’t you dare say a word of this to Qiu-qiu! If you say it, how is he supposed to get along with his own agent? How can they cooperate in the future? No matter what Long Feifei thinks of me, at least she respects our relationship and won’t blatantly sow discord.

“As for Qiu-qiu, you know what kind of person he is, right? Sensitive and earnest. If you leave him with the impression that Long Feifei is untrustworthy, their relationship will be completely ruined! Both your careers are still in the starting stages; these are minor issues, there will be plenty of opportunities to resolve them later. Please, do not turn minor issues into irreconcilable conflicts during such a critical period, understand!”

Gu Nan: “……Understood.”

“Good, glad you understand,” Tao Zui exhaled, releasing Gu Nan’s knees and tilting his head back to look at him with a slight smile. “But thank you anyway, thank you for standing up for me. To receive understanding and support when I’m misunderstood—I’m very happy…”

Before he could finish, Gu Nan sprang up again, scurrying to the door in three short steps. He dropped a “I’m going back to my room” and left, closing the door behind him.

The near-simultaneous sounds of the closing doors proved just how hurried Gu Nan’s escape had been, leaving Tao Zui dazed and staring.

The next second, he suddenly slumped onto the lazy sofa, burying half his face in the soft fabric. On the half of his face that remained exposed, a fox-like craftiness lingered.

Oh my, behaving like this… how is one supposed not to overthink it!

But very quickly, the smile vanished bit by bit, leaving only a hint of lingering warmth in those beautiful phoenix eyes.

Not yet. Have to wait a little longer… just a little longer.