Chen Gu cursed, "You're even trying to fleece your own dad?"

Gorilla gave a few dry laughs. "How about a friendship discount then?"

"In your dreams!" Chen Gu said. "If you want that song, no problem, but pay me the standard royalty fees, fair and square."

Gorilla replied helplessly, "You're so rich, and yet you care about this little bit of money?"

Chen Gu snorted. "You know I have plenty of places to spend money."

"Alright, I'll have to discuss this with the others in the company."

After hanging up, Chen Gu went online to check. Sure enough, classics always possess a powerful magic; that song, "A Man Should Strengthen Himself," had also blown up online, rapidly becoming the top background music choice for giant beast battle videos.

By that time, the buzz from last night's competition, the giant beast combat skills, and the song had all fermented together, pushing Chen Gu's fame to new heights.

Moreover, Chen Gu found a link. On the largest social platform of the era, someone had dug up the fact that Chen Gu was a high school valedictorian, leading countless people to wail in the comments: Feeling the pain of being crushed by a genius!

Good looks, ability, and they're extra hard-working—these kinds of people should all be burned! Do they even leave a chance for others to live? 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Chen Gu felt that his entire day would be cheerful.

He was asking Gorilla for money because the company was surely not owned by Gorilla alone. It was no problem for his silly friends to take advantage of him, but why should the other shareholders of the company benefit as well?

The price should be what it is; business is business. As for him and Gorilla, he would help his silly friend when it came to promotions.

For Gao Mengjiu, things were a bit fantastical. Gao Mengjiu was Chen Gu's manager, and Chen Gu's external contacts were almost entirely through him.

Many record companies that wanted this song had to contact Gao Mengjiu first.

Gao Mengjiu himself also wanted the song. In the span of just one day, he had received dozens of phone calls from competitors looking to buy it, driving the price higher and higher.

Gorilla urgently convened a meeting. After internal discussions within the company, Gorilla decided to offer Chen Gu a very high price: 1,200 Starshields!

It was an astronomical price in the industry, surpassing all other companies' offers.

Then, in the evening, Gorilla directly wired the money into Chen Gu's account. He followed up with a blunt and direct phone call, "Kneel down! Daddy's going to smash you to death with money!"

Chen Gu laughed and obediently said, "Okay."

Gorilla didn't need to tell Chen Gu all the "twists and turns" of what happened in between, nor did Chen Gu want to know. Between silly friends, there was this kind of trust and understanding.

But, feeling good, Chen Gu casually said something that he would later regret terribly. "'A Man Should Strengthen Himself' isn't suitable for Man Suling. I've also sorted through some classic songs from the Home Planet era, and some of them would fit her. I'll pick one out for you later."

After discussing this with Gorilla, it was also time for Chu Zheng's training session. The instructor was calling the flat-chested girl over to announce the end when, suddenly, a DING-DONG notification sound rang out. Chen Gu casually pulled it open and got such a shock that he hurriedly closed it again.

You little she-wolf, getting bolder and bolder!

Man Suling had sent him an extremely provocative photo. The top had a very low neckline, and the bottoms were cut very high! Although nothing was explicitly exposed, the pose was full of temptation.

Chen Gu's heart began to pound fiercely. I wonder where all that extra blood being pumped is going.

Then he suddenly noticed Chu Zheng looked somewhat downcast. After saying something to the instructor, she walked away, her spirits drooping.

She had caught a glimpse of that photo. Comparing herself to the future queen of pop, Chu Zheng felt a bitter sense of inadequacy. She looked down, only to see her own ankles!

Feeling a little guilty, Chen Gu returned to his room, sticking close to the walls all the way. He couldn't help but open the photo again and critically reviewed it with an artistic and critical eye for several minutes.

Then he used his hacking skills to hide the photo deep within his email.

Just then, DING-DONG, DING-DONG, DING-DONG! A series of notification sounds rang out, showing the sender was Man Suling. Chen Gu swallowed and gritted his teeth. Looks like I need to intensify my criticism to thoroughly wipe out this crooked influence in the entertainment industry!

Then, with a righteous stance, he opened the messages.