After they were out, Su Yue turned to face him.

  "What did you want to talk about?"

  "Actually, there's a favor I wanted to ask of you."

  She placed a hand on her chest.

  "You can ask me anything."

  Lin Feng scratched his cheek.

  "It's an issue with one of my businesses. We're thinking of expanding, and we wanted to sign a sponsorship contract with you for your return stream."

  He paused.

  "The thing is, by the time of your return stream, you'll already have debuted. We won't be able to afford you then."

  He had remembered this when talking to Li Jun earlier. After her debut, they really wouldn't be able to afford her rates.

  "So I was hoping we could sign a contract now, before you make your debut."

  Su Yue stared at him.

  Then she sighed.

  "It's just that?"

  Lin Feng blinked. "Huh?"

  She quickly recovered.

  "Ahem. Nothing."

  She waved her hand dismissively.

  "It's no issue. For you, I could do it even for free."

  "Then I'd be bullying you."

  She smiled softly.

  "Thank you for this," Lin Feng said. "I owe you one."

  Before she could respond, the door behind them opened.

  Mengqi and Yanzi stepped out.

  "Let's get going," Mengqi said.

  …

  Yanzi was behind the wheel, with Mengqi seated beside her in the front. Lin Feng and Su Yue sat in the back.

  Lin Feng looked around the interior of the vehicle.

  They really weren't skimping on anything.

  His eyes then landed on Su Yue.

  "Aren't you guys doing too much for just recording?" he asked.

  She was all dressed up - full makeup, styled hair, the works.

  This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

  Mengqi glanced back from the front seat.

  "We're also doing a photoshoot for the album covers and promotional material."

  Lin Feng nodded slowly.

  "Ah, so that's how it is."

  A moment later, Yanzi spoke.

  "We're here."

  …

  The photoshoot took place in a professional studio they had rented, Lin Feng could already feel his wallet screaming. White backdrops, softbox lighting, and a photographer who clearly knew what he was doing.

  Su Yue posed through several outfit changes - casual streetwear for the promotional shots, an elegant flowing dress for the album cover, and a more ethereal look with soft lighting for the inner sleeve artwork. Mengqi directed from the sidelines, occasionally stepping in to adjust Su Yue's posture or the angle of her chin.

  Lin Feng watched quietly from the corner. He had to admit - she looked natural in front of the camera.

  …

  The recording studio was a different atmosphere entirely.

  Soundproofed walls, mixing boards covered in switches and sliders.

  Su Yue stood in the recording booth, headphones on, eyes closed as she sang into the microphone.

  Take after take, Mengqi guided her through each track. Some verses were repeated a dozen times until the tone was just right. Others came out perfect on the first try.

  Lin Feng sat in the control room, watching through the glass as Su Yue poured herself into every note.

  …

  When they finally finished, Su Yue stepped out of the booth and collapsed into a nearby seat.

  "I'm so tired," she said, exhaling heavily.

  She looked toward the control booth where Lin Feng and Mengqi stood.

  "How did it go?"

  Lin Feng raised a thumbs up.

  "It's perfect."

  She smiled, relief washing over her face.

  Mengqi removed her headphones and set them aside.

  "It could still use some work," she said. "But this will do with some touching up."

  She ejected the disc from the equipment and carefully stored it in a protective case.

  "I'll work on it over the weekend," she said. "Should be ready for release by Monday."

  …

  Monday, November 9th.

  The four roommates wrapped up their usual morning meeting.

  Before anyone could dismiss, Lin Feng stopped them.

  "Hold on. I have something else to say."

  The others paused.

  Lin Feng leaned forward.

  "As you might've heard, Li Jun and I started a game studio."

  Chen Ming and Zhang Wei exchanged glances.

  "We've been working pretty hard on it," Lin Feng continued. "And our first game is actually almost done."

  Zhang Wei raised an eyebrow. "That quick?"

  "Well, yeah." Lin Feng shrugged. "It's not a huge game. Just a simple deck-builder type."

  He waved his hand.

  "Anyway, that's besides the point. What I wanted to discuss was collaboration."

  "Collaboration?" Chen Ming asked.

  Li Jun looked equally confused. He hadn't heard about this either.

  Lin Feng nodded.

  "Yes. Collaboration."

  He straightened up.

  "Our game is currently in the testing phase. I was thinking we could take advantage of this to mutually benefit each other."

  He looked around the room.

  "I want Xunfeng to run a special event in collaboration with Fool's Gambit. The game would be advertised all over the app. Those who test the game would receive store currency as a reward. They would also receive the store credits for completing certain in-game achievements."

  Since Xunfeng had almost completely captured the campus, Lin Feng felt he could take advantage of this audience for testing and gathering feedback. They could then work on any bugs that arise over the week, and release the following week."

  Chen Ming rubbed his chin.

  "That sounds interesting, but..."

  "What's in it for Xunfeng?" Lin Feng finished.

  The others nodded.

  Lin Feng held up a hand.

  "Don't worry.”

  While Li Jun and Lin Feng had ties in both businesses, they couldn't let the businesses exchange free favors. That would create a conflict of interest.

  He leaned back.

  "Of course, this isn't going to be for free. Starfall Studios is willing to pay one thousand yuan per day for the advertisement."

  He let that sink in.

  "That matches how much Xunfeng currently earns per day in gross profit. I want the event to run for five days - Monday to Friday. That's five thousand yuan."

  He held up a finger.

  "But that's not all. We're also adding an additional five thousand yuan as an incentive pool. From this, we'll distribute five thousand yuan worth of store credits to participants."

  He tilted his head.

  "Though to Xunfeng’s end, that's worth closer to three thousand in actual cost."

  He spread his hands.

  "With this deal completed, Xunfeng gains ten thousand in new capital. This instantly covers the Moon Fairy sponsorship. We can then use our savings to reinvest into the business - enough to expand by next month."

  He smiled.

  "Tempting, isn't it?"