Chapter 45: I’ll Pay for It

The voting wrapped up quickly. Everyone only paused to think for a moment before making their choice — time was running out, after all.

A film of this genre ideally should have been released during graduation season, but because the director insisted on perfecting the details, the premiere was delayed. Now half the summer vacation had already passed, and they still hadn’t finalized the theme song.

No matter what, even if they missed graduation season, they had to at least catch the back-to-school season.

The voting results were… delicate.

Among the key members of the directing team, more than half leaned toward choosing Lin Xiyue’s version.
But the representatives sent by the investors overwhelmingly preferred the safer, lower-risk choice: Lin Ziyu.

In the final tally, the votes supporting Lin Ziyu’s version exceeded the other by just one vote, making everyone glance awkwardly at each other.

A winner had been decided — technically — but a one-vote difference meant the division was severe. No matter which side they chose, many people would be displeased.

All eyes naturally fell on Director Li Yibai. At a time like this, whichever side he supported could be justified.

Li Yibai let out a slow sigh. He intended to accommodate the investors’ view. After all, because he had delayed the film for polishing, they were already pressuring him heavily. He could not afford to offend them further.

“Ding-dong—”

At that moment, his phone chimed, making him jump.

During a meeting this important, his phone was of course on silent. For a notification tone to play, it meant only one thing: the sender was on his personal whitelist.

Unable to decide anyway, he simply took out his phone and checked the message. It was from a contact saved as “Old Bai.”

“Old Bai” was Li Yibai’s closest friend, a real estate tycoon in Guangnan City, the biggest financial backer who had supported Li from obscurity to fame — and the largest investor in Back Then.

[I support using Lin Xiyue’s version. Count my vote.]

Just a short sentence, but with enormous weight.

Because he lived far away in Guangnan and was too lazy to attend meetings, Old Bai never participated in decision-making. He only invested money and left everything else alone. He never voted.

Yet today, he made an exception… for Lin Xiyue?

Shocked, Li Yibai immediately shared the chat screenshot with the meeting room. Everyone’s expressions changed subtly.

With this, the votes were now tied — and the tie-breaker was from the heaviest investor of them all. The situation had become even more tangled…

The room fell into silence. Everyone waited for the director to make the final call.

At that moment, the previously quiet Zhang Zheng suddenly spoke.

“How about this — we negotiate with Lin Entertainment. We keep the lyrics from this version, then hire an A-tier composer to rewrite the melody. The lyrics and singer remain Lin Xiyue, and the copyrights belong to Lin Entertainment. Our production team will pay the new composition fee.”

“With this, the song would not only retain its perfect thematic fit but also reach A-grade quality — not just any A-grade. Then there would be no more disagreements.”

The moment he finished, an investor representative immediately objected — because this meant the production team would need to spend even more money.

Hiring an A-tier producer, rush-order, full buyout of the composition rights… even with the production team’s name attached, it would cost at least several million. And it was extremely unlikely to earn that money back.

Zhang Zheng fell silent. He was a pure music person — he didn’t fully understand investment realities. Perhaps he had been too idealistic.

Still, the assistant followed procedure and logged the proposal, sending it into the group chat for record-keeping.

Then something completely unexpected happened —

The usually silent Old Bai suddenly sent another message:

“Do it. I’ll pay for the upgrade.”

In that instant, everyone in the room reached unanimous agreement. All differences vanished.
The proposal passed instantly.

“Alright then,” Li Yibai exhaled in relief. “Send an email to Lin Entertainment to inform them. As for Lin Ziyu’s version, don’t reject it yet — if Lin Xiyue doesn’t agree, we’ll need a backup.”

The meeting concluded.

*******************

Guangnan City — Bai Family Residence

“Lulu, why are you messing with my phone?” Father Bai called out from the living room sofa, stretching lazily while watching TV.

“Ah?! Um… well… I was looking through your photo album!”

Her daughter, Bai Lulu, answered from upstairs, her voice a little panicked.

“I accidentally deleted the group photo from last year’s trip to Jiangshang City. I was checking if you still had it~”

“Oh~ alright then,” he muttered, narrowing his eyes but too lazy to investigate further.

Ten minutes later, Bai Lulu came downstairs, trying to look casual as she sat beside him and watched TV.

“You’ve been working over at Lin Entertainment lately. How much are they paying you that you’re so dedicated?”

Father Bai opened one eye, half-teasing.

“Not that much. About eight thousand a month.”

“Eight thousand? That’s enough for the great Miss Bai? I offered to make you a department manager at our company for thirty thousand a month, and you weren’t interested.”

“Dad, think about it~ Money you give me is just moving from your left hand to your right. But money I earn myself, no matter how little, is mine.”

“Oh? Since when did you become so philosophical?”

“Hehe, obviously~ I’m Lady Xiyue’s loyal fan!”

“Alright, alright. But listen, you better behave yourself. Your dad still has some reputation in Guangnan. Don’t let people laugh at me when I’m old, saying Bai Yu’s daughter wants to marry a girl.”

“I know, Dad~ Don’t worry. Your daughter is the most well-behaved and modest!”

“Yeah, sure you are.”

He snorted.

Back in middle school, he already suspected his daughter’s orientation was… unusual. It only intensified over the years.

But though he grumbled constantly, he never tried to force her into anything. In his own way, he had accepted it.

*******************

Lin Entertainment

Ever since submitting the theme-song demo, Lin Xiyue had been restless.

Logic told her the chances were slim — extremely slim — but because the rejection hadn’t arrived yet, she still held on to some unrealistic hope.

What if?
What if by some miracle they chose her?

“Ding!”

The email notification sounded. She quickly opened the company mailbox.

It was from the film production team.

Her heart instantly sank halfway.

Alright… accepting failure gracefully is also a kind of skill…

But when she read the content, she froze.

No.

Something had changed—

The plan had changed completely.