Chapter Ninety-Nine: The First Meeting

Every day, the new company incurred significant expenses. While participating in the competition was important, Liao Yuan would not allow himself to lose focus on the bigger picture.

If a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing well.

Two days later, the four management staff members who had passed the interview, along with two interns serving as bodyguards, were all on board. The first full-scale executive meeting of Little Yellow Croaker Culture was officially underway. Though the temple was small, it was fully equipped; all the essential positions were filled.

Public Relations Director Xu Beihong looked at this young team, still in a state of bewilderment. From time to time, she cast glances at Liu Hai, her eyes filled with confusion, anger, and—just a tiny bit—curiosity.

"My apologies, Director Xu." Liu Hai noticed her expression and smiled slightly. "Does this not match the team you were expecting?"

Xu Beihong took a deep breath. "It is indeed a bit different. Assistant Liu, didn't you say this company was founded by President Fu? Surely you didn't mean Fu Yuntao?"

"This person is also President Fu!" Liu Hai pointed to Fu Xiaoci, who was sitting at the table, and winked. "She is the younger sister of Director Fu. She is now the Vice President of Little Yellow Croaker Culture, Fu Xiaoci."

Fu Xiaoci held her head high and said earnestly, "That’s right, I am President Fu!"

Xu Beihong was left between laughter and tears. She realized she had fallen right into the trap Liu Hai had set for her.

In the entertainment industry, most people who start as PR specialists have deep connections, and Xu Beihong was no exception. In her early years, she studied in Japan and later moved to South Korea to work as a team leader for an artist management group at a large entertainment conglomerate. Eventually, due to a mismanagement incident involving an artist and the group’s intense anti-Chinese sentiment, she decided to return home and start from scratch.

She had collaborated with Fu Yuntao on business matters years ago. Upon returning to China, she had hoped to use his connections to find a suitable position. However, Fu Yuntao was no longer the man he once was; he had become a godfather of the domestic variety show scene, and ordinary people could not easily reach him. Consequently, she had returned home disappointed several times.

Liu Hai was aware of this situation. After being assigned to work at Little Yellow Croaker, he used his influence to lure Xu Beihong—who possessed extensive experience in artist training from large overseas agencies—to the obscure Little Yellow Croaker company. Naturally, Fu Yuntao was fully aware of the ins and outs of this arrangement, and in principle, he had given his tacit approval.

Little Yellow Croaker was just starting out, and everything needed to be built from zero. This fit Xu Beihong’s current status, yet looking at the scattered few people before her, she could not fathom the future of this company.

"This is our Financial Director, Gu Shulian."
"This is our General Manager, Tian Xingde."
"This is our Operations Director, Yi Zheng."

After Liu Hai introduced the executives, he pointed to himself. "My name is Liu Hai, and I am the acting Administrative Director."

The people in the room exchanged greetings and practiced smiles before everyone turned their eyes toward Liao Yuan, who was sitting in the center.

Liao Yuan smiled faintly. "Hello everyone, welcome to Little Yellow Croaker Culture. I am Liao Yuan, the Creative Director of this company. Of course, I have another identity: I am the President of Little Yellow Croaker."

Xu Beihong studied the young Liao Yuan, feeling increasingly pessimistic about the company's future.

"Wait? You... Liao Yuan? Are you the streamer Liao Yuan from Weibo?" Suddenly, Financial Director Gu Shulian remembered something and asked in surprise, "The author of *Ghost Blows Out the Light*?"

"That’s right! President Liao wrote *Ghost Blows Out the Light*!" Fu Xiaoci said, clearly proud.

Xu Beihong was stunned. A while back, when Fu Yuntao purchased the film and television rights to *Ghost Blows Out the Light* and announced his entry into the industry, she had shared the news on Weibo to offer her congratulations. She naturally had a deep impression of the work.

But beyond that, she was not unfamiliar with the name Liao Yuan. Two weeks ago, the minor streamer’s public confrontation with the superstar Han Yu had not only caused a massive stir in China but had even been reported by foreign media. Because the incident involved Han Yu, the impact was significant. Xu Beihong hadn’t remembered Liao Yuan’s name, but she remembered the event.

She hadn't expected her new boss to be one of the parties involved... and the one who had acted beyond his capabilities at that. Xu Beihong could already feel how dark the road ahead was—it was pitch black, as if she couldn't even see her own fingers!

"Today's first meeting is mainly to discuss and plan the future of the company." Liao Yuan stood up, picked up a remote, and clicked it toward the projector above the meeting room. A blueprint for the company's development appeared before everyone.

Liao Yuan smiled. "Little Yellow Croaker is a talent agency, focusing on artist development. Therefore, the company must discover new talent and train the best trainees for their debut in the shortest possible time..."

"How will they debut?" Xu Beihong couldn't help but ask. "Does the company have any resources?"

Liao Yuan pointed to himself. "I am the resource."

Xu Beihong and the others looked puzzled. Fu Xiaoci hummed, "President Liao is a walking creative workshop. He has plenty of resources in his head."

Xu Beihong was left speechless. "President Fu, I am referring to substantive resources. If your brother, Fu Yuntao, were sitting here, I certainly wouldn't ask this. After all, the industry knows your brother's connections and capabilities. But the question is, how much of a substantive connection does our company actually have with Director Fu Yuntao?"

Fu Xiaoci looked hesitant.

Liu Hai coughed. "Director Xu, let me put it this way: from now on, any artist from Little Yellow Croaker Culture will have the opportunity to appear on Director Fu's variety shows or film and television projects. As long as there is a suitable role, our artists will absolutely be the first choice..."

Xu Beihong’s spirits lifted. "If that is the case, then I am relieved."

The others also showed satisfied smiles.

Liao Yuan looked at Liu Hai, neither confirming nor denying the statement, and continued, "Artist training will be divided into two directions: actors and singers. These are the two most lucrative professions in the industry..."

"For actors, as long as they have the acting skills and we have script resources, development is not too difficult. This primarily relies on the artist's foundation; as long as their acting is recognizable and their ability is solid, the chance of success is quite high."

Xu Beihong spoke up again. "But what about singers? There are thousands of singers at home and abroad. People only see how dazzling they are on stage, but behind every famous singer are countless people handling the logistics. First and foremost is the songwriting. Without good works, a singer cannot become famous. So, where will these good works come from?"

"Here," Liao Yuan pointed to himself again.

Xu Beihong looked at Liao Yuan’s young face, ignored his gesture, and continued, "Good works are worth more than gold. In the age of the internet economy, a phenomenal song can sweep the world, but such songs and their authors are almost always controlled by major industry giants. Ordinary companies can hardly get close to them, let alone have the financial backing to support their development. As a result, we see thousands of companies dreaming of becoming the next Lemon or Hualong, only to fall one after another on the beach..."

"Hey, that’s enough!" Fu Xiaoci couldn't help but slam the table and stand up, scolding, "Can’t you see the President is speaking? You keep interrupting—do you have any manners at all?"

Xu Beihong took a deep breath and forced a smile. "I apologize, President Fu. Please forgive my loss of composure, but from the very beginning, I have not been optimistic about this company's ability to rise!"

"Then you can leave!" Liu Hai said coldly. "Whether you are here or not, it makes no difference."

Xu Beihong’s expression changed. She opened her mouth to speak but ultimately remained silent. Although she had been a team leader at a large agency abroad, she was alone in China with very few resources at her disposal. Liu Hai himself was not frightening, but the person standing behind him—Fu Yuntao—was. Such a godfather of variety shows could extinguish her career with a single word.

She felt cheated, which caused her to lose her temper. Seeing how incredibly young Liao Yuan and the others were, her impulse to assert her seniority was understandable. Yet, the current awkward atmosphere was not what she wanted.

At this moment, Liao Yuan finally spoke. "I understand what you mean, but a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. No great company is built overnight. Why not give yourself a chance to try? Even if we fail, at least we tried. In my opinion, that alone is worth more than anything."

Xu Beihong sighed, feeling a sense of helplessness.

Just then, General Manager Tian Xingde pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses, turned his laptop toward the others, and smiled. "I disagree with Director Xu. I believe the future of Little Yellow Croaker is full of infinite possibilities!"

Everyone looked over in confusion.

The laptop screen displayed Liao Yuan's personal profile. It had been compiled by netizens, starting from his book *Ghost Blows Out the Light*, to the subsequent sale of film rights, the massive success of the simplified Chinese publication, the emergence of songs like *The Rest of My Life*, *If There Is an Afterlife*, *Memorial*, and *Nobody*, the massive popularity of *Nobody*, and finally, the confrontation with Han Yu two weeks ago—all were recorded in detail.

Furthermore, *Exit from the Western Regions*, the theme song for *Emperor Han Wu*, was prominently listed. Clicking on the *Emperor Han Wu* section, one could see that it was a large-scale historical drama directed by the famous director Zhang Yichi, featuring over a dozen first and second-tier veteran actors, and it was airing during primetime on CCTV-1.

When she saw the news link of Zhang Yichi praising Liao Yuan and *Exit from the Western Regions*, Xu Beihong’s eyes nearly popped out of her head.

Zhang Yichi! This was Zhang Yichi!

If Fu Yuntao was an insurmountable trench in the variety world, then Zhang Yichi, the bearded director, was one of the most unreachable mountains in the film and television industry. His status in the circle was that of a titan whose every movement could trigger an earthquake. No other director could consistently take on project after project with hundreds of millions in investment and have them aired one after another on CCTV-1.

This was the gap. And such a director actually praised Liao Yuan as a rare young talent?