noveldepot Chapter 45, "Encounter," is about to be released.
Chapter 45, "Encounter," is about to be released.
Goodness, this woman is incredibly efficient. He hasn't even let her hear the song yet, and the promotional plan is already underway?
Wang Bo knocked on the door.
"Come in," came Su Xiaoxiao's voice.
Wang Bo pushed open the door and saw Su Xiaoxiao frowning at the computer screen, her fingers clattering on the keyboard.
Today she wore a black suit with a burgundy silk shirt underneath, her hair was styled in a high bun, revealing her slender neck and a pair of gold tassel earrings.
"Sit down." Su Xiaoxiao didn't even look up. "Wait two minutes, then I'll send this email out."
Wang Bo sat down on the sofa in the reception area and looked around the office. Compared to last time, there was a record rack next to the sofa, with various vinyl records on it. The most conspicuous place was the framed handwritten lyrics of "Once Upon a Time".
"What are you looking at?" Su Xiaoxiao looked up after sending the email, following Wang Bo's gaze. "That was Su Yiyi's idea, saying it was to create an artistic atmosphere. I think it's tacky, but she's my sister, so I tolerated it."
Wang Bo nodded: "Professor Su has excellent taste."
"Alright, stop flattering me." Su Xiaoxiao stood up, walked to the sofa area, sat down, crossed her legs, and stared sharply at Wang Bo. "I heard you and Chen Mo were 'cultivating immortality' in the recording studio last night? You even said that if I listened to your new song and it still made you feel 'deep', your child would take my surname?"
Wang Bo was speechless. This woman really liked watching the recording studio surveillance footage.
He said seriously, "President Su, you need to be more precise with your words—what I'm saying is, if you still feel uneasy after hearing this, I'll let my child take your surname, but the premise is that I have to have a child, and right now I don't even have a girlfriend, so this is essentially an ineffective threat."
Su Xiaoxiao laughed: "Give me the USB drive, let me hear what kind of amazing song makes you so arrogant."
Wang Bo handed over the USB drive.
Su Xiaoxiao took it, plugged it into her laptop, opened the folder, and found two audio files: "Encounter (Full Version)" and the school song demo.
She first clicked on "Encounter".
When the piano intro began, Su Xiaoxiao's expression didn't change much—she had heard the a cappella version and the demo of this song, so she knew what it was like.
But as the strings laid the foundation and the drums joined in, the layers and emotional tension brought by the complete arrangement made her unconsciously sit up straight.
When Wang Bo sang the line "Who will I meet and what kind of dialogue will we have?", Su Xiaoxiao's fingers stroked the sofa armrest, her eyes focused.
Three and a half minutes later, the song ended.
The office was silent for a few seconds.
"Who arranged the music?" Su Xiaoxiao asked.
"I did it, at the Rain Princess Recording Studio," Wang Bo said.
Su Xiaoxiao nodded, offered no comment, and directly opened the second file.
The moment the guitar intro started, Su Xiaoxiao frowned.
It's not that I'm dissatisfied, it's just... too unexpected.
This was completely different from the school song she had imagined.
There are no empty, grandiose inspirational slogans, no deliberately sentimental melodies, only honest, almost cruel lyrics, accompanied by simple yet powerful chord progressions.
When the chorus burst out, she jumped up from the sofa.
The air in the office seemed to freeze.
Su Xiaoxiao stood there, her back to Wang Bo, staring at the tall buildings outside the window, motionless.
Wang Bo was a little uneasy—was this reaction a sign of liking or disliking?
After a long while, Su Xiaoxiao turned around, her eyes shining brightly.
"Wang Bo," her voice was a little hoarse, "did you write this song... yesterday?"
"After reviewing the song request requirements again, I suddenly had an inspiration," Wang Bo said. "Chen Mo and I stayed up until 2 a.m. to make this demo."
Su Xiaoxiao sat back down on the sofa and played it again.
This time, she closed her eyes to listen.
After listening, she opened her eyes, looked at Wang Bo, and asked with a complicated expression, "Do you know what this song means?"
"A...school song?" Wang Bo asked tentatively.
Su Xiaoxiao shook her head: "This is a song that could blow up short video platforms... I can't feel it myself, but I've heard that times are tough, and it's perfect for people who watch short videos—they're all suffering people, and there are hundreds of millions of short video users!"
"Life is indeed tough, and people like you can hardly understand it. Otherwise, there wouldn't be all sorts of unreliable experts spouting nonsense like 'Why don't they eat cake?'" Wang Bo said.
Su Xiaoxiao remained calm and composed, her expression serious.
"Encounter" must be released," she said decisively. "This week, we can't wait any longer. The quality of this song is absolutely worthy of release, and the timing is perfect—take advantage of the popularity of 'Once Upon a Time' and that poem to solidify your image as a talented artist."
She paused, then pointed to the computer screen: "As for this school song... it can't just be the school song. We can make two versions, a simplified version for them, and the full version for your single. But we need to be careful about releasing this song. It can't be released right after 'Encounter,' there should be at least a two-month gap in between, and it needs to be accompanied by a large-scale promotion."
Two months later?
Wang Bo wanted to roll his eyes. You have a huge misunderstanding about me. I have billions in my pocket, but you treat me like a wage earner with a monthly salary of three thousand.
Wang Bo didn't say much, just nodded: "I'll listen to President Su."
"Don't just listen, tell me your thoughts." Su Xiaoxiao looked at him. "What are you planning to do about the copyright of this song?"
Wang Bo repeated the ideas he had shared with Chen Mo the night before.
After listening, Su Xiaoxiao was silent for a few seconds, then smiled: "Okay, I support your intention. Free licensing of the school song version and donating the proceeds to the education fund will not only solidify your image but also earn you a lot of goodwill. However, Wang Bo, I have to remind you that doing this might mean earning a lot less money."
"Enough money is fine," Wang Bo said. "Besides, Mr. Su, if this song really becomes a hit, the long-term value it brings may be more important than the copyright revenue."
Su Xiaoxiao raised an eyebrow: "Oh, so you're thinking long-term now? Okay, it's settled then. I'll call the publicity department over for a meeting right now. 'Encounter' must air this week, and I already had them start working on the publicity plan this morning."
She picked up the intercom: "Lin Meijia, notify the entire publicity department to meet in the main conference room in ten minutes. Also, call Chen Mo in."
After hanging up the phone, Su Xiaoxiao looked at Wang Bo: "You should also participate. After all, you are the creator and singer of the song, and there are some details that you need to communicate with personally."
Ten minutes later, the conference room was full of people.
Wang Bo sat to Su Xiaoxiao's left, and Chen Mo sat to her right. Across from them were seven or eight employees from the publicity department, all with serious expressions and notebooks in their hands.
"Everyone," Su Xiaoxiao got straight to the point, "Wang Bo's new single 'Encounter' is scheduled for release this week, no later than Saturday at midnight. I've roughly reviewed the promotional plan, and there are a few things that need to be adjusted."
She turned on the projector and began her explanation.
Wang Bo listened from the side, secretly admiring him.
This woman works like a perfectly functioning machine, taking every single detail into account.
From pre-release promotional materials to release schedule, from press releases to fan interaction, from buying trending topics to securing music platform recommendations…