This Star Only Wants More Money - Chapter 27

Translator: Diviner

“Is that so? Xu Feng, wait a moment while I ask.”

Cheng Zhao put down his phone and turned to Cheng Luan, asking cautiously, “Sis, I don’t know much about the entertainment industry, but I need to ask you something.”

Cheng Luan was still pondering her own matters and responded casually, “Ask away.”

“Well, if I want to invite someone to perform on stage and have them do their best, what’s an appropriate price range?”

This question left even the entertainment-savvy Cheng Luan momentarily stunned.

Inviting someone to perform and asking them to do their best—what kind of price would that require?

Wasn’t it standard that once a price and duration were agreed upon, a singer would perform to the best of their ability? After all, singing in front of so many people was a great opportunity to promote oneself—why wouldn’t they give it their all? That would be absurd.

And how could singing ability be so easily quantified? Could different levels of performance be precisely categorized based on whether the appearance fee was 30,000, 40,000, or 50,000? Was this something that humans could really do?

If this had been in the past, Cheng Luan would have dismissed such a question without hesitation, even mocking her silly brother.

But this time, it was different…

Her tone, for once, carried a hint of complexity. “Did Xu Feng say that to you?”

My idol… seems a bit unconventional.

That statement at the end of the live PK session wasn’t a joke after all—if you place an order, he’ll help you realize your dreams, right?

Cheng Zhao carefully checked the chat history and nodded affirmatively, “That’s pretty much what he meant.”

Cheng Luan rubbed her eyes, “Then just tell Xu Feng how much you can offer directly, and let him suggest… well, a package deal. This kind of thing might be unique in the entire entertainment industry, and only he can figure it out.”

Ask directly? Sure, it could work. The first time, he had managed to get Xu Feng to perform just by offering a barbecue meal, so it shouldn’t be a problem this time either.

Cheng Zhao pulled out his phone and tallied up the funds collected for the event, then sent a message to Xu Feng, “Brother Xu Feng, I can offer 46,817.57 yuan—what can you do with that?”

Seeing this precise amount down to the last cent, Xu Feng couldn’t help but chuckle.

This chubby kid just laid all his cards on the table like that?

Xu Feng didn’t reply immediately. Instead, he checked with the system to see what kind of temporary abilities he could obtain with this commission amount and task difficulty.

To his surprise, the abilities he could gain from this were even higher than the ones he got from Lin Shenghuan’s commission!

That commission was worth 150,000 yuan, much higher than what Cheng Zhao offered this time.

“But thinking about it, it does make sense.” Xu Feng didn’t stay surprised for long and quickly understood, “Securing a top-five spot in a variety show versus delivering a standout performance at a college graduation ceremony are on completely different difficulty levels.”

After assessing the potential temporary abilities, Xu Feng replied, “At this price, I can arrange a top-tier package that guarantees our department will be the most outstanding in this performance.”

“I might even release my new song during this show.”

Cheng Zhao was overjoyed at the reply, “A new song? Is it the one from the livestream? A lot of people online are waiting for the official release!”

So many fans had been eagerly waiting for this song, and now it would debut at a university graduation event?!

This was huge for the department!

After the PK session ended, countless fans mesmerized by Xu Feng’s performance flooded the comment sections, hoping he would quickly release the full version of “The Wind Rises,” or at least sing it once.

Some bloggers and influencers were even speculating that this song might sound better played on the piano.

If Xu Feng were to debut his new song at the graduation ceremony, even the best talents from the Art School wouldn’t stand a chance.

Choosing such a high-expectation moment for a campus performance?

Xu Feng quickly responded, “I won’t sing that song at the graduation.”

The system evaluates the completion percentage of commissions, and the previous two commissions reached 100% because they highly aligned with the client’s requests and presented increasingly spectacular results.

If Xu Feng didn’t go all out—if he casually handled the commission in a deserted corner—the completion rate would certainly not be as high.

Moreover, “The Wind Rises” had already been used once and didn’t quite fit the theme of a graduation party.

Sure, he could use it again, but he still had points to redeem for new works. Releasing those to build fame and convert points into cash was the smartest move.

What’s the point of hoarding points?

Compared to new works, commissions are a rarer resource.

A piece of music will eventually be monetized, sooner or later.

Using “The Wind Rises” for two different commissions would be a terrible waste.

Plus, the song’s style might not match a graduation ceremony’s theme well; it could affect the commission’s completion rate.

The ever-obliging Cheng Zhao was about to flatter him when he suddenly realized something: “Wait, Brother Xu Feng… If you’re not releasing ‘The Wind Rises,’ what song are you singing? Is it an old song from the show?”

Xu Feng, feeling amused by the innocence of college students, patiently replied, “No, it’s a new song.”

“A new… new song?!”

Already having two high-quality songs, and now there’s a third one? Most singers might not produce a hit even after years, and Xu Feng has three in such a short time?

While feeling amazed, there was also a bit of concern.

Cheng Zhao’s hand shook as he held his phone, “Brother Xu Feng, uh… the school leaders will be supervising this time, so maybe we should play it a bit safe?”

If the money were spent but the job wasn’t done right, he might not survive the fallout.

It wasn’t that Cheng Zhao didn’t trust Xu Feng; he was just worried that Xu Feng might slack off for a campus performance.

Could miracles happen twice, or even thrice?

Xu Feng knew his reputation wasn’t fully established yet, but he didn’t bother explaining. His tone was relaxed, giving off a sense of confidence: “We’ve done business before. Don’t you trust me by now? I promise it’ll be spectacular.”

Cheng Zhao glanced at his sister’s increasingly unhappy expression and could only suppress his doubts, “Well… then we’ll leave it all to you, Brother Xu Feng. How do we pay?”

Xu Feng typed back, “So, you’re confirming the job, right? Let’s sign a contract, and you can pay after the graduation performance. As long as it’s not covered by confidentiality, you can say whatever you want, no need to ask me.”

Cheng Zhao felt a surge of excitement. “Then we’re counting on you, Senior Xu! Our department’s glory rests on you!”

If Xu Feng agreed to payment after the performance, he must be confident. This new song couldn’t be any worse than the previous originals!

As this message was sent, Cheng Luan’s voice came from the side, “Got it settled?”

Cheng Zhao nodded. “Yeah, I think there shouldn’t be any issues. We’ve been at the bottom for too long; with Brother Xu Feng’s help, we should be good to go.”

“Good.”

Cheng Luan merely replied with one word, then picked up her phone, opened Weibo, and went to Xu Feng’s account.

The only post there was the resignation announcement from a long time ago.

Xu Feng’s performance on “Tomorrow’s God of Song” had already won him quite a few fans. After his victory in the PK battle, his overwhelming superiority in both skill and strategy had even started to solidify his fan base.

However, fans soon realized a fatal flaw—there was no way to interact with Xu Feng.

The official account was inactive, there were no songs released on any platform, not even a fan group or any merchandise.

Looking at the countless fans going crazy in the zombie comment section of the zombie account, Cheng Luan couldn’t help but sigh.

Without her, this fanbase would fall apart.

She quickly typed a comment and posted it in the comment section.

“On July 3rd, Xu Feng will officially debut his new song at the Luohe University graduation party!”