Michael Bolton didn’t want to make things so high-profile, but little did he know, this already made Sarah Miller very curious. Who hasn’t heard of Rock Records? When it comes to Rock Records, there’s a long story to tell. Anyone who listened to Chinese pop music in the 80s and 90s has an unbreakable attachment to “Rock Records.” Over the past 20 years, Rock Records has represented not only the largest local record company in Taiwan, but also recorded the golden years of the entire Chinese music scene, capturing the glory and dreams of a generation.

Luo Dayou, Sylvia Chang, Bobby Chen, Jonathan Lee, Emil Chau, Winnie Hsin, Zhao Chuan, Richie Jen, Fish Leong, and so on are all current representatives and top artists of Rock Records, while the artists who have been under Rock Records in history are even more famous.

Zhao Chuan, Wu Bai, Chang Chen-yue, Jeff Chang, Emil Chau, Sarah Chen, Sandy Lam, Winnie Hsin, Tarcy Su—each one a superstar, a king or queen of the Chinese entertainment industry.

Chapter 14 Negotiation

Of course, people from Rock Records are naturally renowned, but companies of this level rarely have any interaction with ordinary people, let alone the general manager of the Beijing branch personally coming to find Michael Bolton. What did Michael Bolton do?

Although Sarah Miller had all sorts of questions, she didn’t feel comfortable asking, since neither of the two involved seemed willing to tell her.

Bringing Helen Reed out of the teaching building and onto the sports field, among the many students coming and going, Michael Bolton walked together with a middle-aged man in a suit, immediately attracting many curious glances.

“Student days are always something to reminisce about!” Helen Reed said with a smile. “Life in the ivory tower always makes one sentimental!”

“Well, actually, people inside the ivory tower don’t think that way! Maybe this is what they call not knowing how lucky you are!” Michael Bolton replied with a smile. At this moment, his feelings were the same as Helen Reed’s, only he was luckier—he had been reborn, while Helen Reed could not. That’s all there was to it.

“Hehe, Mr. Zhang, you see things very clearly!” Helen Reed didn’t call Michael Bolton “classmate Zhang” or anything else because of his young age, but instead addressed him as Mr. Zhang, showing great respect.

“Hehe!” Michael Bolton didn’t respond directly, but instead asked, “This time, Manager Reed traveled all the way from Beijing to Taishi, I suppose it’s for ‘The Pain That Breathes,’ right?”

“Exactly!” Helen Reed replied with a smile. Of course, he wouldn’t tell Michael Bolton that he just happened to be on a business trip nearby and decided on a whim to come over in person.

“Everyone in our company has listened to ‘The Pain That Breathes’ and really likes it. It’s truly a rare good song in recent years!” Helen Reed praised without reservation. “I came in person this time to discuss the buyout of the copyright for ‘The Pain That Breathes!’”

“One price, fifty thousand!” Michael Bolton said decisively.

“Oh, no, no, no. For this song, our company can offer at most twenty thousand. Mr. Zhang, perhaps you’re not aware of the current market—generally, for newcomers, the highest price is only about twenty thousand!” Helen Reed said.

“But as for the quality of their songs, I think General Manager Reed knows very well!” Michael Bolton said confidently. Having run a talent agency in his previous life, he naturally understood these things in the entertainment industry. If Helen Reed thought he could fool him, he was gravely mistaken.

“And as for my song, I don’t think I need to repeat its quality. Otherwise, General Manager Reed wouldn’t have traveled all the way from Beijing, right?” Michael Bolton said with a smile.

Helen Reed was taken aback. He hadn’t expected Michael Bolton to be so mature, completely lacking the inexperience a student should have. At first, seeing Michael Bolton’s age, although he addressed him as Mr. Zhang, he couldn’t help but look down on him a little. This is an old habit among Chinese people—thinking that someone young is unreliable. Michael Bolton was so young, maybe this was his first song to be sold, and twenty thousand yuan would be a huge sum for a student. He should have gladly accepted it.

And to be fair, twenty thousand yuan for a song is indeed the top price for a newcomer songwriter. But Michael Bolton acted like a seasoned business veteran, not flustered at all.

“But honestly, your reputation really isn’t high. We also have to consider the market’s acceptance!” Helen Reed casually brought up the market.

“Hehe, General Manager Reed, don’t think you can take advantage of me just because I’m a kid. For us songwriters, whether the market accepts us depends on whether the song is good, not on fame. Does the market refuse to listen to a song just because the songwriter isn’t famous? Most people don’t even look at who wrote the song!” Michael Bolton said with a smile, but without any annoyance. “My song is at least lead single level. With this song, plus a few other decent tracks and a suitable female singer, you can make a whole album. The sales definitely won’t be bad!”