Chapter 38 — The Company Nobody Believed In
Three days.
That was how long it took for the entertainment industry to learn that Li Chen was leaving Jinhai Entertainment.
Three days.
And apparently, that was enough time for everyone to decide they knew exactly what would happen next.
The headlines appeared one after another.
"Producer Li Chen Leaves Jinhai Entertainment."
"Ghost Producer Abandons Major Entertainment Company."
"Can Li Chen Survive Without Jinhai?"
But one headline attracted the most attention.
"Three Popular Artists May Follow Li Chen Into Uncertainty."
Li Chen read it once.
Then put his phone down.
"Uncertainty?"
Yara leaned over his shoulder.
"They're being polite."
Li Chen looked at her.
"What's the impolite version?"
Yara grinned.
"You're dragging three stars into a sinking ship."
Yueyin's expression immediately changed.
"Who wrote that?"
"Doesn't matter," Li Chen said.
Wanqing calmly took a sip of coffee.
"They are assuming the company doesn't exist yet."
"Technically, it doesn't."
Xiaoyu placed a stack of papers on the table.
"Technically, we don't even have an office."
Yara raised her hand.
"Can I suggest something?"
"No."
"You don't even know what I'm going to say."
"I know you."
Yara sighed.
"Fine."
Li Chen looked at the papers.
This was the first morning of their new company.
And they had almost nothing.
No office.
No employees.
No distribution network.
No legal department.
No marketing department.
No accounting team.
No official headquarters.
No established investors.
No corporate reputation.
And most importantly...
No money coming from an existing entertainment company.
Li Chen leaned back.
"Let's start with the office."
Xiaoyu nodded.
"I've already searched for several locations."
She opened her laptop.
"The cheap ones are too small."
"How small?"
"One room."
Yara raised her eyebrows.
"How many people?"
"Eight."
Yara looked around.
"There are already five of us."
Wanqing corrected her.
"Four."
Yara pointed at herself.
"I'm obviously counting myself."
"You said five."
"Because Li Chen counts twice."
Li Chen sighed.
"Let's focus."
Xiaoyu continued.
"The medium-sized offices are affordable, but most are in poor locations."
"And the expensive ones?"
"Expensive."
"How expensive?"
Xiaoyu showed him the numbers.
Li Chen stared.
"...That's not an office."
Yara leaned over.
"What is it?"
"Extortion."
Yara burst out laughing.
Even Yueyin couldn't suppress a smile.
For the first time in several days, the atmosphere became lighter.
But only for a moment.
Li Chen knew the reality.
They were starting from almost nothing.
And the industry was waiting for them to fail.
The First Meeting
That afternoon, Li Chen entered a small conference room rented by the hour.
Across from him sat a representative from a financial company.
The man was in his forties, wearing an expensive suit and carrying a thick folder.
He smiled politely.
"So you're really doing this."
Li Chen nodded.
"Nebula Entertainment."
The man opened the folder.
"I've heard the name."
"That's surprising."
The man chuckled.
"Not because of the company."
Li Chen understood.
"Because of me."
"Because of you, Lin Yueyin, Su Yara, and Mu Wanqing."
He looked through the documents.
"Three rising artists."
"Yes."
"One producer."
"Manager."
The man looked up.
"Producer, manager, songwriter, strategist..."
He smiled.
"Whatever title you prefer."
Li Chen didn't answer.
The man closed the folder.
"Let me be direct."
"Please."
"I don't think this company will survive."
Nobody moved.
Li Chen wasn't offended.
He had expected it.
"Why?"
"Because you're trying to compete against companies that have spent decades building distribution networks."
The man raised one finger.
"Money."
A second.
"Industry connections."
A third.
"Marketing."
A fourth.
"Legal teams."
A fifth.
"Platforms."
He put his hand down.
"You have none of those."
Li Chen nodded.
"Correct."
The man seemed surprised by how easily he accepted it.
"Then why start?"
Li Chen leaned forward.
"Because I already have the one thing you can't buy."
"What?"
"Artists people want to listen to."
The man smiled.
"That's not enough."
"Maybe."
Li Chen stood.
"But I'll find out."
He walked toward the door.
The man called after him.
"Mr. Li."
Li Chen stopped.
"If you change your mind, my company can introduce you to several established entertainment groups."
Li Chen turned around.
"At what cost?"
The man's smile became slightly wider.
"Everything has a price."
Li Chen smiled back.
"That's exactly what I'm trying to avoid."
And he left.
That Evening
The rejection didn't bother Li Chen.
What bothered him was the pattern.
Every conversation was the same.
Investors wanted control.
Distributors wanted exclusivity.
Marketing companies wanted contracts.
Platforms wanted guarantees.
Everyone wanted a piece of Nebula before Nebula had even been built.
Li Chen sat in the temporary meeting room alone.
A single sheet of paper was in front of him.
At the top:
NEBULA ENTERTAINMENT
Below it was a list.
Management.
Production.
Distribution.
Marketing.
Legal.
Finance.
Almost everything was crossed out.
Only one word remained.
Artists.
Li Chen stared at it.
Then laughed softly.
"Starting a company really is harder than writing a song."
The door opened.
Xiaoyu entered.
"You haven't gone home."
"Neither have you."
"I'm the assistant."
"You're also supposed to stop me from working too much."
"I resigned from that position."
Li Chen smiled.
Xiaoyu sat across from him.
"We received three offers today."
"Already?"
"Yes."
"From investors?"
"Two investors."
"And the third?"
"A company wants to acquire part of Nebula."
Li Chen immediately shook his head.
"No."
"You haven't even heard the terms."
"I don't need to."
Xiaoyu sighed.
"I knew you'd say that."
Li Chen looked at her.
"What did you expect?"
"Nothing."
She handed him another document.
"There is also something else."
Li Chen opened it.
It was an office proposal.
He looked at the location.
Then the price.
Then the location again.
"That's affordable."
"Exactly."
"What's wrong with it?"
Xiaoyu hesitated.
"It's not impressive."
Li Chen looked confused.
"An office needs to work."
"I know."
"But?"
"It's in an old commercial building."
"How old?"
"Very."
"How very?"
"Old enough that the elevator complains."
Li Chen laughed.
"Perfect."
Xiaoyu blinked.
"Perfect?"
"Nobody expects a major company to come from there."
She stared at him.
"That's your reason?"
"No."
Li Chen closed the folder.
"My reason is that we don't need to look successful."
He stood.
"We need to become successful."
The Next Morning
A photograph appeared online.
Li Chen standing outside an old commercial building.
A small sign had been installed near the entrance.
It read:
NEBULA ENTERTAINMENT
Nothing else.
No giant logo.
No luxurious office.
No flashy launch ceremony.
Just a small sign.
The photograph spread quickly.
Comments appeared within minutes.
Is this really their headquarters?
That's where they're starting?
Jinhai's old building is bigger than this.
Three artists and this office?
Li Chen really left Jinhai for this?
Some comments were even harsher.
The Ghost Producer has lost his mind.
He should have stayed at Jinhai.
Nebula will disappear within a year.
Li Chen read them.
Then closed the app.
Yara walked into the office.
"People are making fun of us."
"I know."
"Doesn't that bother you?"
"No."
Yara smiled.
"Good."
She put her bag down.
"Because I already have an idea."
Li Chen looked suspicious.
"What kind of idea?"
"The kind that makes people regret laughing."
Li Chen smiled.
"Now you're speaking my language."
At that moment, Yueyin entered.
"Li Chen."
"Yes?"
"My new song is still climbing."
Wanqing followed behind her.
"And my first independent recording session is scheduled for tomorrow."
Xiaoyu entered last.
"Also, the registration paperwork has been approved."
Li Chen looked around.
Four people.
One tiny office.
Three artists.
Almost no infrastructure.
And an entire industry waiting for them to collapse.
He looked at the small Nebula logo on the wall.
Then smiled.
"Good."
Yara frowned.
"Good?"
Li Chen nodded.
"Let them laugh."
He picked up a marker and walked toward the whiteboard.
At the top, he wrote:
NEBULA ENTERTAINMENT — FIRST YEAR
Underneath, he wrote the first objective.
Survive.
Yara stared at it.
"That's it?"
Li Chen added another word.
Then dominate.
Yueyin's eyes widened.
Wanqing smiled faintly.
Xiaoyu shook her head.
And Yara?
She laughed.
"Now that's a company I want to work for."
Outside the building, another camera quietly captured a photograph of the new Nebula sign.
The entertainment industry had already decided that Li Chen had made the biggest mistake of his career.
They hadn't realized something yet.
Li Chen wasn't trying to rebuild the company he had left behind.
He was building something completely different.
And the people laughing today...
Would eventually be the same people fighting for a seat at Nebula's table.
To be continued.