Ch72 - You'll Pay Sooner or Later

Lu Xu told Tao Yingbo about the director’s invitation, and the other’s first reaction was one of surprise.

“Master Lu Xu, is what you said true? The director likes my composition?” It had to be said that Tao Yingbo had not written a song in ten years, and he had floated around for so many years without being on stage, so he was not very confident in his own abilities.

“Of course it’s true, why would I lie about this?” Lu Xu shrugged and took out his phone for Tao Yingbo to see the netizens’ comments.

Seeing that there were so many people who liked “Instructor Tao’s” compositions, Tao Yingbo was somewhat moved. “There are actually people who like me?”

Lu Xu smiled but didn’t say more, only confirming again, “So, are you going to be a guest composer instructor?”

“I’m willing, super willing. Tao Yingbo loved music to a tragic point. He immediately nodded as quickly as a little chicken pecking for millet, fearing he might miss the opportunity.

To have the opportunity to write songs here was something that made Tao Yingbo very happy. He subconsciously wanted to tell his three close brothers about this, but when he returned to his senses, he realised they had already left.

“Ai…” Tao Yingbo sighed. Seeing Ji Xiunian exit a door and come their way from afar, he couldn’t help but raise his hand to greet him, eager to share this good news.

“I know, congratulations.” Ji Xiunian had opened up two little cans for Ba Mei again, and he didn’t forget to fill up the food bowl with cat food. He put in more effort than Lu Xu, the owner himself.

Having suddenly been looked at by both Lu Xu and Ji Xiunian like this, Tao Yingbo felt a little embarrassed.

He hadn’t had a chance to get used to the feeling of being in the spotlight yet. Other than singing quietly to himself, he didn’t know what to do with his limbs in this kind of situation.

Ji Xiunian looked at Lu Xu and smiled, inexplicably feeling like this “Instructor Tao” was a bit cute.

Thinking of how Lu Xu had mentioned that person, Ji Xiunian was curious and asked, “Instructor Tao, who exactly is the person you mentioned last time who took your song and became famous?”

The Tao Yingbo who was originally a bit abashed immediately froze when he heard this. He hesitated for a long time before letting out a long sigh. “He’s still pretty popular now. I feel like I couldn’t get justice when I was alive, now that I’m dead I have no way…”

“Just because you don’t have a way doesn’t mean we don’t.” Lu Xu merely smiled, his eyes carrying a hint of attitude, making others feel like he was very reliable. “Just tell us directly who it is, and it’ll be fine.”

If anyone else had said this, Tao Yingbo would have perhaps found it very exaggerated. But since it was Lu Xu who had said it, he instead immediately felt rather reassured. Although he knew that the grim reaper couldn’t just randomly take people away, but a grim reaper was still a god, and his words naturally had a reliability to them.

Tao Yingbo couldn’t help but feel a little agitated. After sighing deeply, he said, “It’s Qu Dehui.”

When Ji Xiunian heard this he was rather surprised. Although he knew the person was someone of fame, he didn’t think it would be Qu Dehui.

If one said Zhang Jiamu was a legend, then the other who could contest this name with him was Qu Dehui.

He was born well-off and had a good family background. He had studied economics abroad and had gone to a top university.

If he had followed this trend, he would have probably entered his family’s business and eventually taken over a huge industry.

But who could have thought, when Qu Dehui was 25, he suddenly showed interest in music and signed with an entertainment company to produce an album.

Rumour had it that he had made a deal with his family that if his album wasn’t satisfactory, he would obediently leave the entertainment circle and go into his family’s business. But who knew his album was explosively popular, setting that year’s sales record? The album won all sorts of awards and swept all the music charts. The entire album contained ten songs, all of them gold.

The most incredible thing was that the lyrics of the album were entirely written by Qu Dehui. He alone had produced the entire album, and it could be said that his existence was a powerful thing.

Even if Ji Xiunian didn’t really pay attention to news of other celebrities, he wasn’t unfamiliar with Qu Dehui.

One of them was a Film Emperor, one of them was a Song God, and they had been on the same stage many times. Qu Dehui had given the impression of a polite gentleman, who would have thought that he was actually this kind of person?

Tao Yingbo seemed to have become a chatterbox, and couldn’t help talking a lot. “At that time, I submitted my work to the company he’s at now, and not long after they notified me and said they would sign me on, but hoped that I could compose the lyrics and songs myself. The company originally said that they wanted to try something new, to see if they could create a talented person…”

“I didn’t think much about it at the time, and immediately said that I could…” After wandering for so many years, Tao Yingbo must have been suffering a lot, and the chance to sign on with a company was hard to come by, so naturally, he had been extremely happy.

Although he had written many songs before, if it was about his very own first album, Tao Yingbo had naturally been very hardworking.

For an entire half a month he had locked himself inside a dark room, if he wasn’t writing songs, then he was rearranging them. Just like that, he had forgotten to sleep and eat for a long time and finally put together an album.

He very excitedly sent the demo to the company, and they listened and said it was okay to use, and let him quietly wait for recording.

He initially thought it would be smooth sailing. He didn’t think that at this time, the heavens still didn’t care for him.

Tao Yingbo waited and waited, and what came wasn’t him being able to become a singer that had made his own album, but it was someone else taking his songs as their own.

Tao Yingbo was of course unwilling, and wanted to go to the company to clarify this. The company started to say that there was no opportunity this time, and they should work together next time, even wanting to send him 10,000 or 20,000 dollars to dismiss him.

This sudden change was difficult to accept, and the money that had been thrown at him was shameful. Those were songs he had written with his blood, works that he cherished like his own child. In the end, they wrote their own names over it like it was nothing, and even wanted to use that dirty money to shut him up.

Tao Yingbo naturally didn’t agree, even if he went broke, he would keep his dignity.

He didn’t want money, he just wanted his rights back, but when the company heard his request, they changed their tune and said that he was taking things for granted.

In the end, there was no money, and he didn’t even get the rights to his songs back.

Tao Yingbo wanted to sue them, but because there wasn’t enough evidence, it was unresolved and didn’t make it to court.

Qu Dehui used his work as his first album, it became a hit, and Tao Yingbo was unable to get his justice.

After that, he drank and hazily went up to the rooftop and fell off the building. Because this issue wasn’t reconciled, he stayed in the living realm for ten years.

“Basically, Qu Dehui used your songs to be able to get on the road to fame.” Ji Xiunian listened and then said, “No wonder that a lot of people said his debut was the cream of the crop, but they have no idea that it’s because he isn’t able to steal Instructor Tao’s songs anymore.”

What Ji Xiunian said wasn’t an exaggeration, and everyone agreed.

It could be said thatQu Dehui was a mystery, gaining the title of ‘Song God’ after one album. However, the quality of his newer works didn’t match up. Some were not bad, but there weren’t any songs that could surpass the very first ones.

No one could understand why that was, but now the answer was obvious.

“You really can’t judge a book by its cover.” As Ji Xiunian said this, he felt a little complicated.

Lu Xu’s emotions were calm, he was busy thinking up a new plan—

Those who went out and messed around had to pay sooner or later.