Chapter Sixteen: Overwhelmed by Favor

Morning, clear and bright.

A tea house in Taipei.

“I noticed you quite like tea. Shall we order a pot of our local Taiwanese oolong tea?”

“Sure, I’m good with anything.”

“Then oolong it is, and the usual for the rest. Thank you!”

The order was placed quickly. Once the small private room’s door was closed, a tranquil atmosphere settled in. Located on the third floor by the window, it offered a splendid view of the bustling street below, yet closing the window allowed for an elegant and intimate conversation.

Chen Shuhua had evidently made an effort to dress up today. Compared to their previous meetings, she appeared much more serene and refined, yet within her delicate beauty, a hint of glamorous charm remained.

She wasn’t exactly the innocent type. Her face bore the hallmarks of traditional Eastern classical aesthetics, perfectly proportioned, and at this moment, slightly slimmer, clearly having succeeded in weight control. This gave her a pure and fresh air, whereas a few pounds heavier would have softened her features into a more matronly, authoritative presence.

A good girl, indeed.

Yet… after subtly inquiring with Old Xue Xue Zhongding, Lin Jianlu was startled to learn that Chen Shuhua was actually born in 1958!

This meant she was genuinely thirty-eight years old.

In their previous encounters, Jianlu had guessed her to be around twenty-six or twenty-seven, assuming she rose to fame near the late ’80s. A rough calculation suggested she was likely over thirty, but never did he expect she was actually thirty-eight!

She looked nothing like it.

Thirty-eight! No kidding—if she were from a rural area with early marriages, she might have children as old as Jianlu himself. Yet, it was almost universally known in Taiwan that this young woman had never even had a proper romantic relationship.

Not only did Old Xue know, but almost everyone in Taiwan was aware.

She was a child star, rising to fame at the tender age of eight, beloved across the island.

In her early twenties, rumors said she fell for a young singer who reciprocated her feelings, but before their relationship could develop, her mother intervened. Chen Shuhua had resisted, and the mother-daughter quarrel became quite notorious within industry circles. Her mother bluntly told the young man he was unworthy of her daughter. The young singer, discouraged, soon left the country and vanished from the scene. Thus, this budding romance was abruptly extinguished.

Chen Shuhua was somewhat of a mama’s girl. Almost all aspects of her work, performances, and business dealings were entrusted to her mother. Though she briefly rebelled in her youth, she eventually gave in.

Perhaps, though the control was stifling, being cared for by her mother relieved her of all worries except singing, which in her eyes was quite comfortable.

As she approached thirty, her mother, satisfied that they had earned enough money, believed Chen Shuhua could semi-retire to focus on love, marriage, and children, confident their fortune would sustain her family happily for life. Coincidentally, at age thirty, she moved to Rock Records.

Upon arrival, she landed Lao Li’s song “Awakening from a Dream.” Her voice was clear and melodious—not a rock powerhouse like Su Rui—but deeply expressive. Coupled with her striking appearance, she was already famous, but this song catapulted her to stardom!

It was Taiwan’s first local album to sell over a million copies.

Though she had been famous for two decades before thirty, none of her previous earnings matched the revenue from this album or that year.

Next came Luo Da You’s “Rolling Red Dust,” followed by Li Zongsheng’s “Laughing at the Red Dust”…

From 1988 to 1993, she was unstoppable, her influence surpassing veterans like Su Rui, Qi Yu, Tsai Chin, and Xu Xiaofeng, rivaling even Mei Yanfang. She was an undisputed super diva!

In terms of overall album sales, two albums surpassed one million copies. “Tell You, Listen to You,” which featured “Awakening from a Dream,” sold over 2.4 million copies worldwide, outpacing Mei Yanfang!

Therefore, even without considering her personal life or time constraints, after reaching her thirties still single, it was understandable she harbored little expectation for love…

In short, this maiden remained single all along.

During prior gatherings, Lin Jianlu had sensed this, but now, in private conversation, it became even clearer: outside of music, she seemed somewhat naive—transparent and innocent to the point of simplicity.

So they talked music, and R&B.

Everyone enjoyed themselves.

At noon, they had lunch right there in the tea house, and Jianlu’s appetite astonished her once again. “I told my mother that Alu can easily eat four full plates of barbecue in one sitting. I even showed her the plate sizes, but she wouldn’t believe it—said no one could have such a big stomach…”

…

“Hello? Sister Aijia? Ah, I just got back to the hotel…”

A morning full of delight, crowned by a wonderful lunch, put Lin Jianlu in high spirits. No sooner had he returned to the hotel than Aijia Zhang’s call came through.

She got straight to the point this time. “You’re not planning to sign with me, nor with Old Ge, right? You’ve given one favor to me and another to her? So who do you plan to sign with?”

Wait… you two are exchanging information behind the scenes?

A little awkward.

That question sounded somewhat confrontational.

“I have no choice, Sister Aijia. You both put me in a tough spot! I’m a newcomer from the mainland—I don’t want to offend anyone. I’d rather not have an agent at all!”

Aijia laughed heartily on the other end.

In fact, even before Jianlu ended the call in the morning, she had already realized this, but his approach made it difficult to say anything. The matter stood as it was, both sides politely declined but exchanged favors to keep the peace. Jianlu’s handling was perfectly balanced, offending no one.

Yet what he couldn’t foresee was that things would not proceed as expected.

By midday, the news had leaked to both parties. Neither was petty; in fact, this was common in the industry. They often collaborated and had no grudge. After a few minutes of disappointment upon losing Jianlu, Ge Fuhong called Aijia Zhang to congratulate her on acquiring a rising star and openly offered support, saying that if Jianlu needed anything in the future, Aijia should be contacted.

The two veterans quickly connected.

Upon learning Jianlu’s way of handling things, both were impressed—a mere twenty-year-old showing such foresight and tact was rare. Rather than being disappointed, they were more eager than ever to sign Jianlu.

He was already famous and poised for even greater success!

But now it seemed this was just the beginning.

With talent in writing, singing, and good looks alone—if he avoided any disgraceful scandals—he was set for a decade of good fortune. On top of that, he possessed emotional intelligence and a maturity beyond his years.

Good heavens, no way to lose with that!

Thus, these two veterans exchanged a few words, swiftly reaching an agreement. While Jianlu was making Chen Shuhua laugh in the private room at noon, Aijia Zhang’s call came through again at the hotel.

This was the third call.

“I’m not putting you on the spot, Alu. I discussed with Old Ge, and we both see great potential in you. If you don’t mind, we can be your joint agents. Though joint agencies aren’t common here, they’re quite normal in Hollywood.”

“Ah?”

“What’s there to be surprised about? We both believe in your future and want to serve you! Specifically, I’d handle Taiwan, she’d manage Hong Kong, and for Southeast Asia, Japan, and Korea—I admit she’s more experienced there, so she’d lead there. Of course, she’d still be your agent in Taiwan, and I in Hong Kong. Whoever manages the region takes 70% of the commission, with shared expenses split evenly. Our combined fee would only be 10%. How about it? Interested?”

“That’s… quite flattering.”

“Hahaha! Also, we talked. You want Ah Ying to star in ‘Fairy Tale,’ so you’ll need a director, right? Let me direct it. How about that?”

“Well… certainly! That’d be perfect!”

With sufficient budget for the MVs of “Fairy Tale,” “Ten Years,” and “Flower Field Mistake,” it was no longer just Jianlu relying on intuition and telling Gu Changwei what shots he wanted. Now, a director was needed to truly command the crew and filming.

Aijia Zhang could write, direct, act, and sing. She understood both music and film, a true polymath. Her last movie had just made her protégé Liu Ruoying famous. Having her direct an MV was a privilege Jianlu wouldn’t dare to ask for otherwise.

An MV for just one song? Worth inviting Aijia Zhang?

“Regarding ‘Ten Years,’ I’ll leave that to Old Ge. From what I hear, if you sign with us, she plans to get Wang Jing or Wang Jiawei to direct it. If you don’t mind, after I hang up, I’ll head to your hotel. You can call her, and she’ll come by, probably bringing a stack of photos for you to choose from. The three of us can sit down and have a good chat.”

“Sounds great!”

***

A quick note: Many typographical errors in the text, especially in proper nouns and names, were intentionally left as is per editorial requests, so please forgive them.

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