Chapter 87

In the third-floor CEO's office of LAD Entertainment, Song Shizai leaned against the desk with a bitter smile, while Li Jingming lay on the oversized sofa, his legs resting on the coffee table, dozing off with his eyes half-closed. Li Jingming had come here to avoid the noise. Woken up by the need to urinate at six in the morning, he had enjoyed the cool morning breeze and then carefully considered his options, deciding to slip out first. He would have to go through a series of formalities in Suwon, eat a breakfast he couldn't possibly finish, and endure an hour of nagging before he could leave. To save his ears from the torture, Li Jingming simply fled.

Not returning to LK, Li Jingming feared that if Jin Runshu found out, he would face an even worse outcome, so he drove straight to the small building of LAD Entertainment. Strictly speaking, he was driving while fatigued, having sat on a plane for over ten hours without rest, and only getting to sleep at two in the morning, waking up at six. Fortunately, nothing happened on the road; otherwise, the next day's headline would have been about his fatigue-induced car accident.

"I'm a year older than you, so even if you don't call me 'Brother,' you should at least show me some respect," Song Shizai said, frustrated. With someone sleeping in his office, how could he work? Since eight o'clock, he had spent two hours online because of Li Jingming, and he couldn't continue being idle.

"Why don't you learn something good instead of these things that you pick up so easily?" Li Jingming mumbled without opening his eyes, truly feeling a bit tired.

"How can these be bad things? Respecting elders isn't part of your Korean tradition?" Song Shizai, a genuine American, wasn't wrong to say "your Koreans."

"It's all superficial. In this world, the one with the biggest fist is the grandpa." Feeling a bit cold, Li Jingming curled up, shrinking into the sofa. "It's only June; it's not that hot. Turn off the air conditioning."

Song Shizai shook his head helplessly. Li Jingming's words were true. Now, because Li Jingming had the biggest fist, he had to deal with this "grandpa." He obediently turned off the air conditioning. "You say you're not planning to seriously pursue a career in the entertainment industry, but you should at least set up your team. You don't even have a manager. I've been filling in for you."

"Who says I'm not planning to be serious? It's just not the right time yet." Li Jingming waved his hand. "As for the others, you don't need to worry. My main focus is still on the U.S. side. Bringing a bunch of people here would just be a waste."

"Do you lack the money to hire makeup assistants and wardrobe assistants?" Song Shizai sneered. This guy could spend money like a waterfall, yet now he was talking about not being able to afford idle people.

"I don't lack the money, but I don't want to." Li Jingming thought about LAD Entertainment's positioning. "Have we received any outsourcing work recently?"

Li Jingming hoped LAD Entertainment could take on more outsourcing projects or album production to boost its reputation and credibility. If they did well in this area, it would be easier to gain influence in the entertainment industry than by launching a few popular artists.

"It's not that easy. The good programs are already contracted to other companies, and the bad ones would be a lot of trouble for us to handle." As the head of LAD Entertainment, Song Shizai was well aware of all the company's affairs. "There are a few requests for song recordings, and we're coordinating them."

The reason they were only getting song recordings was that when it came to albums, the artists usually had their own companies and fixed music studios to handle the recording, so they wouldn't come to LAD Entertainment. These requests were for OSTs from TV dramas. After all, LAD Entertainment had only been established for a little over a week, with Li Jingming as the only artist and "Confession" as the only song. LAD Entertainment was known not for its production capabilities but for its promotional skills, which had left a deep impression on other companies.

"This won't do." When it came to serious matters, Li Jingming sat up abruptly. This wasn't the situation he wanted, even though the business was just starting and needed time to grow. "Tomorrow, find some columnists and introduce our company, including the team members."

"The focus should be on two aspects: one, our people, all young talents from the top three universities, who are both capable and energetic; second, our equipment, which is the best in Korea, providing the best recording quality. You can even hint that my success is partly due to this leading-edge recording quality." Li Jingming was essentially placing an advertisement, a very professional one. If the big companies saw such reports, they would be interested. Everyone was trying to figure out the secret behind Li Jingming's success, and even the slightest hint would draw their attention. Although everyone understood that his success was due to a combination of timing, location, and people, they would still be curious about any other secrets. By publicly revealing that he used better and more advanced recording equipment than other companies, others might think this was a factor, and some companies with less solid foundations might entrust their artists' albums to LAD Entertainment for recording.

Every day, the internet was filled with discussions about Li Jingming. Many netizens compared him to an onion, with layers upon layers to peel. The nickname "Mysterious Onion" had started to spread. Netizens were like this; they were all experts at finding entertainment in their free time.

After Jin Taehee's photo was uploaded, the rumors about their relationship subsided, but another long-dormant question resurfaced: Who is Li Jingming?

Jin Taehee and Li Jingming had been close since childhood, which was worth pondering. Normally, a sixteen-year-old girl wouldn't play with a ten-year-old boy, suggesting that family connections were the reason. It was clear that there was some relationship between the two families that brought the children together and formed a sibling-like bond. The exact nature of the relationship was unknown, but one thing was certain: the friend of a tycoon is also a tycoon. Li Jingming's family must be at least on par with Jin Taehee's, which explained their connection.

This meant that Li Jingming was definitely from a wealthy family. Some imaginative young girls began to speculate: his family must have been against his career in the entertainment industry, and Li Jingming was struggling to pursue his music dreams, which was why he could only appear occasionally and why his album was so "hastily" produced, fearing discovery by his family. Didn't he even go to America to pursue his dreams?

There were many people surnamed Li in Korea, and many wealthy people were also surnamed Li. Finding Li Jingming's background with such limited clues was extremely difficult. However, netizens, with their vast free time, were powerful. Yesterday, a photo of a photo was posted. What is a photo of a photo? It's a photo that captures another photo. This was a photo of Li Jingming placed in LK, showing him reading a book in the afternoon sunlight, wearing a white shirt, straight trousers, a cup of coffee by his side, and a hint of melancholy in his eyes, exuding a literary aura. Immediately, countless older literary women fell to their knees, considering him their lifelong pursuit, a complete god.

The Li Jingming in the photo was younger but lacked any trace of immaturity. "Some people's aura is innate," his fans said. "Some people's faces are also innate," others added. In a country like Korea, where Kim Hee-sun is the "first beauty" and Jin Taehee is the "first natural beauty," Li Jingming's face, which had never changed from childhood, was truly remarkable. However, what everyone was more curious about was where this photo of a photo was taken.

After half an hour, the楼主 (forum poster) finally posted the rest of the content after enough replies and threats of being "tracked down and leg chopped" (a playful threat). The楼主, whose real name was Chae Yijin (a cameo by a book fan), had no third leg. She was a third-year student at Hankyang Women's University who often visited LK and had a comfortable family background. On the day she bought the album, she happened to sit in the spot below the photo, holding the album and looking up at the photo, realizing it was the same person.

Initially, Chae Yijin didn't think much of it. She was called back by her father and left in a hurry without a closer look. Since LK had been playing "Confession" those days, she assumed the owner was a fan of Li Jingming and had put up his photo. The photo had a signature, which the owner must have obtained through someone, framed and treasured, making her find it a bit amusing. She also liked Li Jingming but thought framing his photo was a bit excessive. However, on the afternoon of the Dragon Boat Festival, after a tiring day out, she came to LK for a rest and ordered an ice cream. She wanted to sit in the spot below the signed photo but found it occupied by two beautiful and elegant women. She didn't want to ask them to move, so she sat nearby. Through their quiet conversation, Chae Yijin learned their names were Minji and Sujin (mentioned in Chapter 13), regulars at LK. They had just returned from a shopping trip in Paris, France, to celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival. This wasn't what surprised Chae Yijin; what shocked her was that they revealed a stunning secret: the owner of the photo was the owner of LK.

Minji and Sujin had gone shopping in Paris together and, upon returning, chose LK, their favorite spot, to rest. They had three other close friends, and this place had almost become their regular hangout. They had left just before Li Jingming released his album and returned for the Dragon Boat Festival, so they hadn't been online and didn't know about Li Jingming. Sitting in their usual spot, Sujin started talking about her "dream lover," which Chae Yijin overheard. After the two women left, Chae Yijin examined the photo closely. Not only was the Li Jingming in the photo younger, but the date was clearly written: 2004.

LK was well-known in the literary world (the world of literary youth) for its "expensive but elegant" atmosphere. It was a chain with nine unique branches nationwide, and many people had visited all nine, finding them luxurious, high-end, and sophisticated. The cost of the decor alone was astronomical, regardless of the property value.

Jessica was very discreet and never mentioned that Li Jingming was the owner of LK. Jin Taehee was a quiet person and rarely spoke to others, while Tiffany, though talkative, was very protective of Li Jingming and Jessica's relationship. She thought that if Li Jingming's wealthy background were revealed, Jessica would face many competitors, so she never mentioned that Li Jingming was the owner of LK. This was the first time Li Jingming's ownership of nine "luxurious coffee shops" was revealed. Many Korean artists dream of opening a coffee shop, and they struggle in the entertainment industry to achieve this dream. Jiang Hudong's 678 BBQ only had six branches, and the decor was far from the level of Li Jingming's coffee shops. This made Li Jingming's family background even more intriguing.