Chapter 26

Seeing Li Haoyan, who looked expressionless and seemed to have made up his mind, Li Xianjing couldn't help but plead, "Brother, don't be impulsive. We've weathered so many storms with DSP over the years. I believe that with our joint efforts, DSP can still hold on for a while. There's no need to debut Jin Yufan right now."

Realizing that his words seemed to have no effect, Li Xianjing couldn't help but continue, "Brother, you must know that Jin Yufan is the most outstanding and versatile trainee we've seen, and perhaps the best in the entire history of Korean pop music. Without a doubt, Jin Yufan will become the ace and pillar of our DSP Entertainment. Think about Jin Yufan's progress over the past year. In this world, only Jin Yufan can achieve excellence in singing, stage performance, acting, and dancing within a year."

In the year since joining DSP Entertainment, Jin Yufan had dedicated every day to practice. Apart from the mandatory eight hours of rest each day to maintain his physical and mental energy, the rest of his time was spent practicing.

The results were particularly significant. Over the year, Jin Yufan underwent numerous evaluations in singing, stage performance, acting, and dancing, with weekly checks, monthly exams, and major exams every three months. The final results shocked the entire DSP Entertainment. Jin Yufan, who had been with DSP Entertainment for about eleven months, had undergone a total of fifty-nine evaluations.

In these fifty-nine evaluations, Jin Yufan achieved the top score in all four areas, which is to say, he was the number one in all of them.

Jin Yufan's monopoly in the evaluations at DSP Entertainment stunned everyone. His all-around dominance in all four areas was so remarkable that everyone called him a prodigy.

Yes, a prodigy. Within DSP Entertainment, Jin Yufan was known and referred to as a prodigy. It seemed that no one else could achieve such a feat.

You must understand that DSP Entertainment was able to launch Sechs Kies and Fin.K.L to compete with S.M. Entertainment's HOT and SES, even without the support of a conglomerate, and still hold its ground in the music industry. This not only proved that DSP Entertainment's talent scouts were highly effective in continuously finding excellent trainees but also that the company's management and requirements for trainees were extremely strict.

If DSP Entertainment did not have such strict management and requirements for its trainees, it would not have been able to compete with S.M. Entertainment in the Korean music industry.

Jin Yufan's ability to monopolize all the top scores in the evaluations, despite the strict requirements, and to excel in all four areas, was indeed worthy of the title "prodigy."

"Brother, Jin Yufan is indeed very, very excellent. I also believe that even if Jin Yufan debuts hastily, he will still achieve success. But Brother, it's only been a year. Isn't it too early and too hasty? If we give DSP another two or three years and give Jin Yufan another two or three years, imagine how much more he could achieve. Have you thought about that? Debuting Jin Yufan now would be a huge loss."

Seeing Li Xianjing's agitated expression, Li Haoyan sighed helplessly. He was well aware of the situation, but what could he do? If it weren't for being in a desperate situation, Li Haoyan would have been willing to give Jin Yufan more time to practice, but this was unavoidable.

"Xianjing, calm down. Let me ask you a few questions first." Li Haoyan stood up, gently pressing Li Xianjing back onto the sofa, and then sat down himself, placing a hand on Li Xianjing's shoulder.

Seeing that Li Xianjing nodded without speaking, Li Haoyan continued, "DSP Entertainment is something we two brothers have built from scratch with great effort. If we were to hand it over to someone else, you wouldn't want that, right?"

This time, Li Xianjing nodded without hesitation. It was natural; no one would willingly hand over a business they had worked hard to build.

"Right. This also means that we cannot accept the entry of large conglomerates and wealthy families into DSP Entertainment. Compared to them, we are far inferior. Once we open that door, it's only a matter of time before we lose DSP Entertainment. So, I want to ask, is the biggest problem for DSP Entertainment currently the lack of funds?"

Li Xianjing nodded again, and Li Haoyan continued, "Since we cannot and do not want to accept large, risky investments into DSP Entertainment, the only way for us to sustain ourselves is to continue launching new artists."

At this point, Li Xianjing seemed to understand Li Haoyan's intentions and plans. He opened his mouth to say something but, seeing Li Haoyan's serious expression and considering the current state of DSP Entertainment, he could only nod helplessly.

"That's right. Whether it's the discussion about disbanding Sechs Kies, it's all about conserving resources and funds. As for launching new artists, the most suitable person in DSP Entertainment right now is undoubtedly Jin Yufan, don't you think?"

Li Xianjing nodded helplessly again. The current situation at DSP Entertainment was dire. The company had expanded too quickly, and the income and benefits from Sechs Kies were decreasing. The company needed to maintain its large operations, which required a significant amount of funds.

More importantly, DSP Entertainment was in a period of transition, especially since the Click-B group did not achieve the expected results. The lack of talent was becoming increasingly apparent.

At least for now, DSP Entertainment had no outstanding, excellent trainees ready to debut. The oldest trainee was only fifteen and would need another two to three years before being ready.

This was a severe consequence of DSP Entertainment's planning failure. The original plan was for Click-B to take over from Sechs Kies and carry the company for a few years until the next generation of trainees matured and could debut.

But plans didn't keep up with changes. Who knew that Click-B wouldn't achieve the desired results, and DSP Entertainment had expanded too quickly. The company needed to pay the salaries of numerous excellent and professional staff, and if it couldn't, they would leave. DSP Entertainment didn't want to lose these talented professionals, as it would weaken the company's strength, and they would join other agencies, strengthening potential and direct competitors.

There was no choice. To retain these excellent and professional staff, the company had to pay salaries, and the staff needed to live. But the current financial situation of DSP Entertainment was poor, and it couldn't afford the various expenses.

The only thing DSP Entertainment could do was to continue launching new artists, and they had to succeed. Otherwise, the company would face severe consequences due to the lack of funds.

After a few minutes of silence, Li Xianjing sighed helplessly, "Alright, Brother, you don't need to say more. I understand the company's problems and that the only thing we can do to save the company is to continue launching new artists. The company's financial situation means that this new artist absolutely cannot fail; they must succeed. Considering the current state of the trainees, Jin Yufan is indeed the most suitable."

Seeing that Li Xianjing had come to terms with the situation, Li Haoyan breathed a sigh of relief. He cared deeply for Li Xianjing, not only because they had grown up together but also because Li Xianjing's family had some influence in the upper echelons of Korean society.

"Alas, I know it's too hasty, but we have no choice. We can only choose Jin Yufan. Moreover, according to the previous plans for Jin Yufan, even if he goes to China to develop, we cannot sit idly by. We are not familiar with the Chinese entertainment industry and cannot guarantee how long it will take for Jin Yufan to succeed. We need to continue to maximize the value of Sechs Kies, Fin.K.L, and Click-B. Although this will cause dissatisfaction among the members, we have no choice for the sake of DSP."

Indeed, Li Haoyan followed through on his words and maximized the value of the three groups. His predictions were correct. Faced with the endless schedules and physical and mental exhaustion, the members of the three groups developed significant dissatisfaction with the agency.

This directly led to the sudden disbandment of Sechs Kies, which was already on the verge of disbanding, and the subsequent disbandment of Fin.K.L. Click-B, unable to bear the busy schedules and lack of rest, saw three members leave.

Although DSP Entertainment managed to weather this crisis, it directly led to the disintegration of the first generation's three glorious groups. It was unclear whether this was a gain or a loss.

"Alas, there's no other way. Let's decide on this." Li Xianjing sighed helplessly, finally agreeing with Li Haoyan's decision.

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