Chapter 52: Snagging a Song

"My name is Zongtai, your name is Luoli, and we all have a bright future."

Zhou Le noticed that Han Han always came up with very interesting names for his characters.

In addition to those, there were also Tailang and Liuyi.

"I truly admire Director Han's talent, ever since *The Continent*."

This was also Zhang Benyu's exact sentiment.

Ever since those series of short web dramas by All-Media, Han Han had been the one leading the group, occasionally securing minor external acting gigs for them, but not many.

Previously, Zhang Benyu was also a corporate workhorse for the company, working in a trading company.

Later on, he joined Tudou Net and got to know Director C, which marked the beginning of his acting career.

*Surprise* and *Report Boss* were also among Zhou Le's favorite web dramas during his college days, and in terms of production value, Zhou Le felt they were even superior to *Diors Man*.

Thinking about it now, the thing that left the deepest impression on Zhou Le was Xiaomei's departure from All-Media.

Some people on the internet used to attribute it to a lack of capability, but after entering this circle, one realized it was actually due to emotional disputes.

Until now, while those people from All-Media were making their mark in films one by one,

Ge Bu gradually faded into obscurity.

However, just like Han Han's family background, this topic was not something to be spoken of casually.

That said, Zhang Benyu was from Inner Mongolia and was very straightforward when it came to drinking. At first, Zhou Le and Deng Chao drank in secret, but after discovering Zhang Benyu's capacity, they pulled him into their drinking circle as well.

And so, they had a small drinking session every three days and a big one every five days.

Before long, it was time for Zhang Benyu to leave the cast.

Han Han and the All-Media crew were old friends, so a farewell party was specially organized.

"Don't see me off, please don't see me off..."

In the KTV private room, several main cast members were singing.

Soon, the microphone was handed over to Zhou Le.

Although he had never formally studied vocals, thanks to his experience playing the drums, Zhou Le had a good grasp of rhythm and melody.

"Well sung!" Li Ronghao sat on the sofa, applauding and cheering loudly.

The original song was called *500 Miles*, an English song with a strong sense of parting.

Later, Han Han bought the copyright and had it adapted into the current version.

Han Han's initial intention was to have Li Ronghao sing it. After all, Li Ronghao was the only heavyweight in the music industry within the cast. Although he hadn't debuted as a singer for long, he kept releasing hit after hit.

The vast majority of them were composed and produced entirely by himself.

People in the industry called him "Nobody gets to earn a single penny from me."

However, after trying to sing it, Li Ronghao realized that his vocal timbre was not quite suited for the song.

In the end, he declined.

The version playing on the sound system was the original, but what they sang was the adapted version.

As soon as the song ended, one of Li Ronghao's own songs started playing on the machine.

However, Li Ronghao took the microphone and said, "I'm formally recommending that Le'er sing this song. I find his vocal timbre is a great fit for it, and anyway, Le'er is cheap right now. Director Han, what do you think?"

Upon hearing this, Deng Chao pondered for a moment and said, "I think it works."

Han Han considered it.

Actually, he had originally set his sights on Chen Hongyu, who was a folk singer.

His voice was deep and resonant, and his singing had a captivating, narrative quality.

However, Li Ronghao's professional judgment was unquestionable. Moreover, among the theme songs and interlude tracks he had prepared, Deng Chao, Dong Zijian, Gao Huayang, and even Zhang Benyu all had songs to perform.

Only Zhou Le was left out.

Thinking about it this way, it indeed seemed a bit biased.

Zhou Le was, after all, the second male lead.

Besides, this matter fell into a different category for now; only those who needed to sing knew about it.

Deng Chao saying this must have taken this aspect into consideration as well.

Coupled with the fact that the atmosphere had reached this point—although Li Ronghao hadn't been drinking, everyone else had.

"Alright! Let Le'er sing this song!"

Since those outside negotiations hadn't been finalized yet, giving the spot to anyone was ultimately just a matter of his word.

"Le'er, what do you think?"

Zhou Le naturally had no objections: "Thank you, Young Master Han. I'll finish this glass."

However, just as Zhou Le raised his wine glass, Han Han stopped him: "Hold on a second. You're an actor in the crew right now; singing is a different price tag. Even though we're brothers, I can't take advantage of you for free. Name a price, how much for you to sing this interlude?"

Hearing this, Zhou Le couldn't help but marvel at how shrewd Han Han was.

Calling him a brother while agreeing on the spot, preventing him from drinking, and having Li Ronghao and Deng Chao make the suggestion in the first place—

Would it be appropriate for him to ask for money after all that?

Obviously not.

If they were truly negotiating business outside, it would cost at least ten or twenty thousand yuan just as a token gesture.

And that would still be a discounted brotherhood rate.

Anyone else singing it would definitely not be offered this price.

Perhaps only someone like Zhang Benyu could do it for free.

"Since Young Master Han is asking me to name a price, and I don't really know much about this field, let's say... five hundred yuan. Ordering a song at a bar costs roughly around that price anyway," Zhou Le said.

Han Han breathed a sigh of relief.

During Zhou Le's dramatic pause, he had thought Zhou Le was going to make an exorbitant demand.

After all, dealing with Chen Hongyu was a commercial collaboration, and in his mind, since he was already offering this opportunity, asking for too much wouldn't be appropriate.

"Are you sure? Le'er, even if you asked for tens of thousands, I would definitely pay it."

Only then did Zhou Le toss back the beer in his glass in one gulp.

"Young Master Han, aren't you slapping me in the face with that? Five hundred means five hundred!"

"Great! So straightforward! I'm transferring the money right now!"

With that, Han Han picked up his mobile phone to initiate the transfer.

"Young Master Han, remember to add a note saying it's for singing fees, otherwise my company will find out later and accuse you of exploiting me for free. We need to have some evidence so I can easily help you talk back to my company."

"Haha, no need, I trust you guys."

Even so, after receiving the money, Zhou Le still replied with a text message reading "Singing Remuneration."

It was mostly just a formality.

Immediately afterward, Zhou Le transferred that exact sum of money directly to Li Ronghao.

"What do you mean by this?" Li Ronghao asked, puzzled.

"Brother, your eyes... the room is already dim, and with you squinting like that, I can't even see you clearly."

"I am already opening them as wide as they can go, damn it!" Li Ronghao retorted, quoting a line of his own from the movie.

"Hahaha, just kidding. Brother Hao was the one who spoke up for me just now, so this money has to go to you, Brother Hao. Don't tell me you're not short of money; everyone here except me is rolling in it, but this gesture... Brother Hao helped me out, and I'll always remember this favor... Brother Hao, sit down and listen to me first. Keep the money as a token of gratitude from your younger brother, seriously. Also, Brother Chao, Young Master Han, you guys must give me a chance to treat you all to a meal later..."

"My lord father, there's nothing else to say! Our hometowns are right next to each other, our accents are identical, let's get together whenever we have time and keep in touch."

"Come on, I'll have another drink."

With that, Zhou Le downed yet another cup.

Finally, he sat on the sofa, staring blankly at the screen.

"Sigh, Le'er is truly drunk, but the way he handles things really makes people feel comfortable," Han Han murmured softly to Deng Chao.

Meanwhile, Zhou Le was watching the slowly increasing experience points on his system interface.

Thinking to himself that socializing in the real world was truly exhausting.

He just wanted to go back and sleep.