SED Chapter 9: Sir, Are You Selling the Copyright? Chapter 9: Sir, Are You Selling the Copyright?

By the time Liu Zixia came out of the private room on the second floor, it was already past two in the afternoon. With Zhang Minghao's help, Liu Zixia successfully registered the copyright for "Just Happened to Meet You" on the copyright association's website.

After that, Zhang Minghao introduced Liu Zixia to a friend’s recording studio to record the song for uploading to Penguin Music.

As Old Zhang said, such a good song should be heard by more people.

However, Liu Zixia was still puzzled as to why Zhang Minghao, who had just met him, was being so enthusiastic.

"Daddy, Daddy, there's a strange lady over there!"

As Liu Zixia was pondering Zhang Minghao's motives and walking out, Yueyue's voice rang in his ear.

"Huh?"

Liu Zixia snapped back to reality and followed Yueyue's finger:

In the restaurant's waiting area stood a trendy young person with long, straight black hair and an attractive face wearing sunglasses, holding a phone and looking around as if searching for something.

When the young person saw Liu Zixia, he quickly walked over and asked, "Sir, is that song you sang just now your original? Do you own the copyright?"

Whoa, turns out it’s a guy!

Hearing the voice, both Yueyue and Liu Zixia were momentarily stunned. It was quite a surprise.

A guy who dressed so trendily, looked so delicate, and had long, straight black hair?

“Yes, it’s my original song. May I ask what you need?” Liu Zixia looked the young man up and down, a bit puzzled.

“Oh my god, it’s Han Xi!”

“It really is him! I need to take a picture for my social media!”

Just then, several clear female voices rang out, and a few girls in their early twenties rushed over like a gust of wind.

Han Xi?

Hearing the girls’ exclamations, Liu Zixia took another look at the young man and finally recognized him.

Han Xi, a fourth-tier domestic celebrity, had been quite popular recently, starring in several TV dramas and participating in a few variety shows with widespread coverage.

But Liu Zixia wasn’t interested in him. First, Han Xi had just started his career and wasn’t very famous. Second, his effeminate style made Liu Zixia worry he might negatively influence Yueyue.

Being recognized, Han Xi relaxed and cheerfully took off his sunglasses, revealing a pair of slender peach blossom eyes. He skillfully signed autographs and took photos with the girls.

“Daddy, it turns out he’s an uncle!”

Yueyue realized it, but she couldn’t understand why the girls were so fond of this ambiguously gendered uncle. “Daddy, let’s go. Yueyue is sleepy and wants to go home and nap.”

“Alright, let’s go home and nap.”

Liu Zixia responded and was about to squeeze past the girls.

There was no other way; they had blocked the restaurant’s door entirely with their photo-taking and autograph-signing. Without squeezing through, he couldn’t get out.

“Hey, sir, don’t go yet. I still need to talk to you!”

Seeing Liu Zixia leaving, Han Xi hurriedly wrapped up with the girls and quickly blocked Liu Zixia’s path.

“Mr. Han, I have other matters to attend to. Please, if you have something to say, make it quick!” Liu Zixia turned and looked at Han Xi.

“It’s like this, sir. The song you sang earlier was very beautiful,” Han Xi hurriedly explained. “I want to buy the copyright for it. Rest assured, the price will satisfy you!”

“I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed, Mr. Han. I don’t plan to sell the copyright for this song.”

Liu Zixia shook his head. To him, any song from his past life was a priceless treasure. Selling it like this felt like a waste.

“Sir, we can discuss it further. I really like this song,” Han Xi said anxiously. “How about 200,000 yuan?”

Liu Zixia continued shaking his head, holding Yueyue as he walked out.

“300,000 yuan!” Han Xi shouted. “Sir, I am genuinely sincere!”

300,000 yuan was a high price for any pop song’s copyright at the time, especially for an unknown songwriter.

“Mr. Han, please remember!” Liu Zixia turned back. “Money isn’t everything. Goodbye!”

Liu Zixia was indeed in need of money, but that didn’t mean he would let his dignity be trampled.

300,000 yuan to buy the copyright for "Just Happened to Meet You"? Dream on.

Even if it were one or two million, he wouldn’t sell this song!

“Sir, 300,000 yuan is already very high. Only with a professional singer can this song achieve its full value,” Han Xi said desperately.

Liu Zixia didn’t reply, only quickened his pace.

Watching Liu Zixia walk away, Han Xi sighed after a long time and took out his phone to dial a number: “Senior brother, I’m sorry, I couldn’t get the song…”

...

More than ten kilometers away at Jinghua University, in the male dormitory for the class of '13, Zhou Haining was typing away at his keyboard, feeling very excited.

It was close to midnight, and his roommates had all gone to bed, leaving Zhou Haining as the only night owl still working at his computer.

“Done!”

After working for hours, Zhou Haining finally uploaded a carefully edited video to Jinghua Sky and gave it a highlighted title: Big Star Spotted at the Tree Under the Tree Restaurant!

Jinghua Sky, one of the earliest music forums in the industry, had significant influence domestically and was extremely popular in the Jinghua area. It was a haven for many Beijing drifters.

Zhou Haining was a gold member of Jinghua Sky. With his extensive knowledge and keen sense for pop music, he had posted many threads on Jinghua Sky’s various music sections, many of which were pinned and highlighted.

Counting it all, Zhou Haining was someone who could stir up a storm on Jinghua Sky.

As fate would have it, Zhou Haining had lunch with his girlfriend at the Tree Under the Tree Restaurant at noon. When Yueyue finished playing the piano, he and his girlfriend were the only ones in the restaurant who applauded.

When Liu Zixia picked up his guitar, Zhou Haining instinctively grabbed his phone and started recording.

“Just Happened to Meet You” amazed Zhou Haining. It was so good that it gave him goosebumps.

Returning to school, after finishing his afternoon classes, Zhou Haining dived into the dormitory and began editing the video he had shot at the Tree Under the Tree Restaurant.

Finally finished, Zhou Haining waited eagerly, sitting at his computer, refreshing the Jinghua Sky page repeatedly, waiting for responses from his fellow forum members.


NEXTNEXT