Capital International Airport.
A Boeing 747 smoothly touched down on the tarmac.
Flight CA897 had just completed a 13-hour journey from New York City to the capital.
In the arrival hall on the first floor of Terminal 1, Lu Chen, Lu Xi, and Li Mubai stood among the crowd, waiting to pick someone up.
They were there to welcome Li Mubai's sister, Li Mushi, back to the country.
Moments later, a wave of travelers emerged from the corridor, filling the entire arrival hall with energy.
"Sis!" Li Mubai spotted a familiar figure in the crowd and waved excitedly.
It was a stunning woman in her twenties, with almond-shaped eyes and elegant willow-leaf eyebrows, bright eyes, and a radiant smile. She wore a chic beige Chanel autumn outfit, her graceful figure accentuated by particularly striking long legs.
The glances from the surrounding travelers made it clear just how remarkable she was.
Li Mushi, Li Mubai's second sister, a graduate of the Wharton School of Business!
Despite the long international flight, Li Mushi appeared vibrant and full of energy, showing no signs of fatigue.
Upon hearing Li Mubai's call, she turned and flashed a charming smile.
Dragging a deep blue suitcase, Li Mushi quickly passed through the gate and approached Lu Chen and the others.
"Little Bai!" She set down her suitcase and playfully grabbed Li Mubai's cheeks from both sides. Squeezing her younger brother's face, she laughed and asked, "Did you miss your sister?"
"It hurts, it hurts, it hurts!"
Li Mubai grinned in pain, not daring to struggle, and could only mumble, "I know I was wrong!"
Li Mushi released her grip, a teasing smile on her face as she asked, "What did you do wrong?"
With a mournful expression, Li Mubai rubbed his cheeks and said, "Sis, let's talk about this when we get home. First, let me introduce you to my good friend, Lu Chen."
"Hello!"
Li Mushi extended her hand to Lu Chen, smiling warmly as she said, "It's a pleasure to meet you!"
In front of Li Mubai, she was the queen-like older sister, but when facing Lu Chen, she transformed into a polished professional.
"Welcome back to the country!"
Lu Chen smiled and shook her hand, simultaneously introducing his sister: "This is my sister, Lu Xi."
Li Mushi's smile instantly became even more charming as she opened her arms and hugged Lu Xi tightly: "I was so curious about you while I was in America. Now that I've finally met you, I'm not disappointed!"
She leaned in and kissed Lu Xi on the cheek.
Lu Xi was taken aback by her enthusiasm and paused for a moment before responding, "Hello."
The two had already communicated several times over long-distance calls and discussed the crowdfunding website online.
Li Mushi and Lu Xi were the same age and studied the same major, so they naturally had plenty of common topics to discuss.
Thus, even though it was their first face-to-face meeting, it felt surprisingly familiar.
Lu Chen helped carry the suitcase, and they all left the terminal together.
Li Mubai drove up in his all-electric Porsche F17, a sleek four-door sports car.
Once inside the car, Li Mushi looked around at the luxurious interior and exclaimed, "Little Bai, this sports car must have cost several million, right? Now that your allowance has been cut off at home, you can't afford it anymore. Just give it to me for a third of the price, and we'll call it even."
Although the Porsche F17 is an electric vehicle, the regular maintenance and insurance costs are still quite high. If the paint on such a luxury sports car gets scratched, it could cost over a hundred thousand to repaint the entire car.
Li Mushi's teasing struck a nerve with Li Mubai.
He and Lu Chen had partnered to create the crowdfunding website, with all the funding coming from their family. However, as a condition, Li Mubai would have to become self-sufficient in the future. If the crowdfunding website turned a profit, he would receive dividends; if it lost money, he would have to face the consequences!
There was no room for negotiation; once Li Mubai was on board, he couldn't back out.
With a pained expression, he said, "A third is too harsh, Sis. If you want it, I can give it to you for half."
After the family cut off his allowance, the once proud Third Young Master Li really couldn't afford a sports car anymore.
If Li Mushi wanted it, he was genuinely willing to let it go.
But a third was just too much of a loss; it was practically a new car!
Li Mushi insisted there was no room for negotiation.
Sitting in the passenger seat, Lu Chen found this sibling dynamic quite amusing.
However, Lu Xi felt that Li Mubai's sister was a bit peculiar, though she couldn't quite put her finger on it.
But there was no denying Li Mushi's personality; she showed none of the spoiled airs of a rich girl, being straightforward, generous, and beautiful.
As they chatted and laughed, the four of them arrived at the creative park where Lu Chen's workshop was located.
Although the idea for the crowdfunding platform originated from Lu Chen, the registration of the website and the application for creative protection were all done under the workshop's name. However, after collaborating with Li Mubai, the crowdfunding website would be spun off to establish a separate company.
The Li family had significant resources and had even rented a 500-square-meter office on the 29th floor of the same building to serve as the headquarters for the new company, which was currently undergoing renovations.
Since Li Mushi had just returned to the country, she didn't rush to go home but instead expressed a desire to first visit the workshop and the new company.
According to the agreement reached by Lu Chen, Li Mubai, Lu Xi, and Li Mushi, Lu Chen would hold 51% of the shares on the crowdfunding website and serve as the legal representative of the company.
Li Mubai would invest 5 million in cash for a 49% stake and serve as the business manager of the company.
This meant that the Li family valued the crowdfunding website at 10 million!
Such a valuation could be considered very generous, fully taking into account the friendship between Lu Chen and Li Mubai.
Otherwise, Lu Chen's mere provision of an idea would not have garnered such a high valuation from any venture capital firm; it was more likely that he wouldn't even get a single cent of the investment.
Moreover, the Li family would also be responsible for applying for creative copyright protection.
As a condition of cooperation, Li Mushi would serve as the first CEO of the crowdfunding website, responsible for the daily operations and management of the site.
Lu Chen was actually very satisfied with this arrangement.
His original plan was to treat the crowdfunding website as a channel for his career, without intending to invest a lot of time, energy, and money into making it big.
Therefore, being a hands-off manager was his best choice.
After a brief tour, they returned to the workshop, where Li Mushi inquired about Lu Chen's album.
Lu Chen's first album would also be the inaugural project of the crowdfunding website!
"My album will be available on WeChat Music tomorrow,"
Lu Chen said. "Tomorrow is also the official launch of the crowdfunding website. I have a bit of confidence in this project; the pre-funding goal is 500,000, mainly targeting fans for crowdfunding."
"As long as you have confidence!"
Li Mushi nodded and said, "My big brother believes in you, and I also have high hopes for this crowdfunding platform. I hope we can work together happily in the future. I'll come back tomorrow."
Lu Chen smiled and said, "Okay, thank you for your hard work."
Li Mubai drove Li Mushi home, and before parting, Li Mushi held Lu Xi's hand and chatted for a while.
The siblings returned to the office.
Lu Chen noticed that Lu Xi's expression was unusual and couldn't help but ask, "Sis, what's wrong?"
Lu Xi smiled wryly and said, "It's nothing; maybe I'm just overthinking. Let's focus on the situation online for now!"
Lu Chen didn't think too much about it and logged into his blog on the computer.
In just over a day, his blog followers had increased by 300,000, and all were active followers.
This was the result of online promotion and hype.
Originally, Lu Chen didn't plan to invest much in promoting his album "My Old Classmate." However, the workshop's limited funds required wise spending.
On the other hand, media promotion costs are a bottomless pit. Since he wasn't taking gigs or performing, spending money on this area would not significantly raise the album's profile and might even lead to losses.
Lu Chen released the album primarily to enhance his image. A well-produced record would prove his strength and elevate his status in the entertainment community, giving him more leverage when collaborating with other companies.
Compared to online sales on WeChat Music, Lu Chen valued the physical CD release more.
The crowdfunding website was created specifically for the CD release!
However, Cui Zhengzhi's provocation successfully ignited his anger, or more accurately, his fighting spirit.
Having been slapped in the face, if he didn't retaliate, how could he talk about his status in the entertainment community?
Thus, Lu Chen sought help from Chen Jianhao to find a digital marketing company for promotion.
His actions were somewhat late; online marketing typically requires time to build momentum and with the album set to launch tomorrow, starting the hype now felt a bit like a last-minute effort, which would likely reduce its effectiveness.
The marketing company mentioned this, but Lu Chen had his own ideas and persistence, and he provided them with two materials for promotion.
The first material was the phrase "Come to War," which was used as an online buzzword. It directly revealed the conflict between him and Cui Zhengzhi to attract the attention of casual fans.
The second material was a graduation party video that Lu Chen obtained from the Jianghai University publicity office.
This video had been available for a while but had not been utilized until now.
He edited the segment where he performed at the graduation party and handed it over to the marketing company for promotion, focusing on major forums and discussion boards to attract the attention of young people, especially student groups.
In today's internet age, most trending events online have behind-the-scenes promoters; relying solely on Lu Chen's own efforts and the help of his fans would not be enough to promote his album widely in a short time.
As a result, the cost of Lu Chen's album increased by more than double!
However, the effect was indeed remarkable; both the "Come to War" buzzword and the graduation party video post spread like wildfire across blogs, forums, and WeChat groups.
With time, the promotional effect would only improve, ultimately boosting album sales significantly!
Of course, this was the ideal scenario, and the actual results remained to be seen.
Starting tomorrow!
At 7 PM on September 8th, Lu Chen's first personal album "My Old Classmate" will be available for sale on WeChat Music!
(End of this chapter)
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