280: trade

Yang Hyun-suk was angry, but he still had to coax her. Who told him that her creative ability was so strong that he couldn't afford to offend her in the slightest.

He adjusted his tone until he felt it was gentle, then slowly spoke: "Zoe, can we discuss Jennie's EP?"

"Discuss? The company doesn't even need to provide songs, so what is there to discuss?"

"At the very least, let Jennie try a solo first to test the waters. Releasing an EP directly without any data, isn't that a waste?"

Kim Jennie sighed when she heard this. She knew it wouldn't be that easy, alas!

Kim Ji-soo heard her sigh, patted her shoulder, and softly comforted her: "Having a solo is already very good."

Kim Jennie shook her head: "I understand, Unnie, don't worry."

Park Chaeyoung and Lisa exchanged glances, shrugging to show their dejection. This was the reality of being an idol; there was no freedom to speak of.

Xu Zhiyou was an anomaly; her complete freedom stemmed from her strong background, coupled with her strong personal ability.

If either of these conditions were missing, she would also have to follow the rules, otherwise, she would have no place in the entire industry.

Xu Zhiyou rubbed her temples, thinking, 'Here we go again with this routine, making it seem like I'm earning money for them... wait, it seems I am earning money for myself, huh.'

"Ew~"

She shook her head, shaking off these unfriendly thoughts. Anyway, everyone has something to gain, and besides, YG is making passive income. Want to trick me? No way.

"President Nim, I've already bragged about it. You're asking me to retract it. How will I ever get by in the future?"

"Besides, a bunch of people online are saying I'm faking a songwriter persona. They're practically riding my face. How can I tolerate this?"

Seeing her resort to joking around again, Yang Hyun-suk interrupted: "Did I say I wouldn't let you release a song?"

"Then you..."

Yang Hyun-suk cut her off: "My point is that you give the songs to other groups. This can create greater value, okay?"

Xu Zhiyou's eyes were practically rolling to the heavens. He was trying to pick her pocket in different ways, and talking about greater value.

He couldn't possibly be unaware of the true nature of YG's artists, acting like they were so amazing, but they were nothing.

She really wanted to scold him, but she had to hold back. She took a deep breath to control her primal urge.

"President Nim, let Jennie and the other three all have a solo to see the results. If they're not ideal, all sixteen songs from the four EPs will be handed over to the company for distribution. What do you think of that?"

Kim Ji-soo immediately thought, 'How can that be?' That's sixteen songs! Given Xu Zhiyou's popularity, how much would those songs be worth?

Giving them to the company like that, it really pained her. It would be better not to have a solo. This way is fine. With that in mind, she immediately planned to speak up and dissuade her: "Zoe..."

"Shh~" Xu Zhiyou raised her hand to stop her, signaling with her eyes for her not to speak.

Kim Ji-soo still wanted to say something, but Park Chaeyoung covered her mouth and whispered: "Jisoo, don't interrupt her yet. We can discuss any problems later."

Park Chaeyoung's main principle was trust. She firmly supported all of Xu Zhiyou's decisions, simply and directly.

Kim Ji-soo pried open her hand and sighed softly: "I wish I hadn't let her form a group back then, alas!"

"Hmm!" Kim Jennie and Lisa both nodded in agreement.

They always felt they were dragging Xu Zhiyou down. If Xu Zhiyou hadn't formed a group with them...

With her talent and looks, releasing songs and making appearances on singing shows, she would have been famous long ago. Why would she be like this now, alas!

Xu Zhiyou, however, felt that such obstacles could come more often. She was going to run away anyway. The more Yang Hyun-suk hindered her, the less burden she would have when she ran away later.

Yang Hyun-suk listened, thought carefully, and finally agreed. The four members of BLACKPINK already had solo plans.

If their four solos were a huge hit, releasing EPs would further solidify their popularity. If they weren't a huge hit, the company would get sixteen songs for free. No matter how he calculated it, he wouldn't lose out. He'd be crazy not to agree.

After hanging up the phone, Kim Ji-soo was the first to speak: "Zoe, how could you just..."

"Hey, hey!" Xu Zhiyou raised her hand to interrupt her, "Show Ge, think about it from another angle."

"If you release an EP, the solo would have to be canceled. Now, it's good because you not only keep the solo opportunity but also get an extra chance to release an EP. How great is that?"

"Uh???"

Seeing her stunned expression, Xu Zhiyou patted her shoulder: "You've forgotten the quality of the solo songs I gave you."

"If songs of that quality can't be a hit, not releasing an EP is also a timely stop-loss. Anyway, the copyright is in my hands, so I won't lose out no matter what. Done."

Lisa rubbed the back of her head, looking blankly: "It seems so, huh."

Kim Jennie and Park Chaeyoung both rolled their eyes at Lisa. She probably forgot that Xu Zhiyou herself was a very powerful singer.

Look at the results of her EP. Turning sixteen songs into a full album would be much better than giving them to others. She's such an airhead.

Lisa felt their disdainful looks and immediately became displeased: "Yah!"

Before she could finish, Xu Zhiyou went forward and put her arm around her neck: "No more 'yah's. Didn't we plan to go to the night market? Let's go."

Lisa grumbled unhappily: "Didn't you see? They're bullying me!"

Xu Zhiyou said indifferently: "So what if they're bullying you? You've been locked on the balcony before, do you still care about a look? You're right, aren't you?"

"That's true."

"Let's go!" Xu Zhiyou dragged her out.

This scene made Kim Ji-soo and the other two twitch. They seriously suspected if Lisa was brain-damaged, acting like a complete idiot.

"Alas!" Kim Ji-soo shook her head, looking at Park Chaeyoung, "Don't bully her so much in the future. Idiots need more care."

Park Chaeyoung shrugged: "Depends on my mood. After all, bullying an idiot is quite satisfying."

"Let's go, keep up." Kim Jennie shrugged and followed... The third episode of BP HOUSE gained even more popularity due to Xu Zhiyou's Instagram post, subtly showing a trend of rivaling national variety shows.

Running Man director Jung Chul-min drooled as he watched: "Aigoo, Zoe is simply a natural variety show contestant."

Must invite her. Thinking of it, he immediately did it, dialing Yoo Jae-suk's number. Yoo Jae-suk thought something was wrong with the show: "Chul-min, did something happen?"

"Jae-suk Ge, I remember last time BLACKPINK came on the show, you kept their numbers, right?"

Yoo Jae-suk knew what he wanted to do without even thinking and teased: "I did. You want me to send them to you."

"Jae-suk Ge, don't mess around. You've seen Zoe's popularity. Try to find a way to get BLACKPINK to come on the show."

This time, Yoo Jae-suk didn't tease him, after all, he had also invested in the show. He thought for a moment.

"Chul-min, I believe you've heard what kind of personality Zoe has. I can only say I'll try my best. If I can't invite them, don't blame me."

"Ge, I know I can't do it myself, that's why I'm bothering you. Don't worry, I won't have any expectations."

"Alright then, I'll try."

"Then I'll leave it to you, Ge."

The same operations occurred in various production teams. There was no other way; Xu Zhiyou was not only good-looking but also incredibly good at creating buzz.