Perfect Superstar.

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In Shenhai City, High-Tech Park Building B3, 15th Floor, at the headquarters of Whale Technology Company.

Whale Technology Co., Ltd. was established in 2007 and is a local internet technology company primarily engaged in online games, video, animation, and other projects. In June 2012, it officially launched ''Whale TV'', becoming one of the first online live-streaming platforms in the country.

At that time, online live streaming was still in its pioneering phase. With strong support from Whale Technology, ''Whale TV'' developed rapidly, especially in the area of game live streaming. 

Leveraging the popularity of the top three games— CKG, Heroic City, and Planet Dominator—''Whale TV'' quickly captured over 70% of the market share and nurtured a large number of excellent streamers.

However, as the online live-streaming market grew larger, more industry giants set their sights on this lucrative sector. ''Whale TV'' faced intense competition, with many popular streamers being lured away by higher salaries, leading to a decline in its popularity.

In this situation, the executives of ''Whale TV'' clung stubbornly to game live streaming, neglecting the importance of entertainment and lifestyle live streaming programs. This caused a continuous decline in market share, and the platform was even mockingly referred to as ''Salty Fish TV''.

Of course, ''Whale TV'' was unwilling to be seen as just a "salty fish," so the executives took decisive action. They replaced a group of ineffective middle and lower management staff and made a concerted effort to compete for resources with rivals like ''StarryLive'' and ''Sky Live Streaming'', managing to slightly stabilize the decline.

''Whale TV'''s revenue accounted for more than 65% of Whale Technology's total revenue. As a result, the website's branch and headquarters were located on the same floor, with over a hundred employees.

Although it was nearing evening, many employees in the operations management department were still busy in front of their computers, none of them taking a break to stretch their legs or get some water. The atmosphere was tense yet orderly.

"Yes!"

Suddenly, a woman in a white professional dress jumped from her seat, raising her clenched fist and waving it excitedly.

A young colleague nearby noticed and curiously asked, "Shanshan, did you find something good?"

The woman, named Shanshan, responded with a smile: "I've discovered a new streamer with great potential!"

Her voice was loud, and soon more colleagues gathered around, all eager to inquire.

"Congratulations, Shanshan!"

"Which company did you find them in? What's their name?"

"Really have great potential? Nowadays, many new streamers are inflated. Don't just look at the appearance data!"

"What type are they? Games? Singing? Lifestyle show?"

"Shanshan, treat us!"

Shanshan laughed: "Treating is no problem. I'll first report to the supervisor and let you know after the contract is officially signed!"

She hurriedly made her way to the deepest part of the operations management department.

There was the office of ''Whale TV'''s operations supervisor, Wu Hongming. When Shanshan burst in like a tornado, Wu Hongming was still focused on reviewing work reports.

"Boss!"

Shanshan's excited call made Wu Hongming put down his documents. He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, and scolded, "Shanshan, how old are you? Acting like a child, so careless!"

Shanshan's surname was Wu, just like Wu Hongming's. They were relatives, which made Wu Hongming's expectations even higher to avoid accusations of favoritism.

Shanshan had been out of college for three years and had joined ''Whale TV'' not long ago. Her lively and exuberant personality often gave Wu Hongming a headache, leading to frequent scoldings.

However, these had little effect, and Shanshan was very well-liked among her colleagues.

Facing her uncle's scolding, Shanshan quickly stuck out her tongue and said submissively, "Boss, I've found a new streamer with great potential. I'm here to discuss the contract now!"

Despite being relatives, business matters had to be handled professionally, so in the company, Shanshan addressed Wu Hongming like any other employee, simply as "Boss."

Wu Hongming was one of the founders of ''Whale TV'' and a senior figure in Whale Technology.

"I'm not deaf just because you shouted so loudly!"

The veteran said grumpily, "Is this one reliable? Don't let it turn out like the last one."

Mentioning her previous mistake made Shanshan blush slightly.

Last time, she had also recruited a new streamer, but unfortunately, the person turned out to be a data inflator. Thankfully, Wu Hongming's rigorous review caught the issue before it caused any damage to the company.

As an established live streaming platform, ''Whale TV'' faced significant business pressure, but it was still very cautious in recruitment, maintaining a style of "better to have fewer than to have bad" in hiring.

She tried to explain, "Boss, this streamer is really exceptional. He was blacklisted by StarryLive because of a contract issue. If I hadn't happened to be in his fan group, I probably wouldn't have discovered him!"

"StarryLive? Contract issue?"

Wu Hongming furrowed his brow and said, "Let me see his information."

It was indeed a good thing to poach talent from an old rival like ''StarryLive'', but the person had to be reliable. If they were arrogant or short-sighted, Wu Hongming wasn't interested, even if they had talent.

Shanshan quickly responded, "I've saved everything in the file folder. You can open it and have a look."

Wu Hongming nodded and accessed Shanshan's shared folder directly via the local network, a privilege he had as a supervisor that others didn't.

Shanshan had already set her sights on Lu Chen, so she was well-prepared, including Lu Chen's follower count, popularity, total donations, fan circle, and WeChat group data from ''StarryLive''.

Most importantly, she had two recorded live-streaming videos!

At first, Wu Hongming frowned again when he saw Lu Chen's basic data. 

Lu Chen had only been streaming for two or three days, and while his follower count was rising quickly, such data could easily be fabricated and shouldn't be taken at face value.

As for the popularity, donation value, and number of fans, Wu Hongming couldn't see much potential for stardom.

Could a pure rookie streamer be blacklisted by ''StarryLive'' due to a contract issue?

He wondered if his niece had made another mistake.

With a responsible attitude, Wu Hongming clicked to open one of the live-streaming videos.

"I'm going to play an original song I wrote, called My Old Classmate. I hope you all like it!"

Lu Chen's voice instantly came through the computer speakers clearly.

An original song?

Wu Hongming's eyes lit up with interest, and he turned up the volume on his computer.

"Will you remember tomorrow the diary you wrote yesterday,

Will you still think about the you who used to cry the most?"

As the melody of "My Old Classmate" filled the room, accompanied by Lu Chen's clear, clean, and slightly melancholic voice through the high-quality speakers, the entire operations management department fell silent.

The sound of mouse clicks ceased, and the tapping of keyboards disappeared. The song seemed to have a magical quality, drawing everyone in and transporting them back to their youthful memories.

Most of the employees in the operations management department were young, with vivid memories of middle school, high school, and college, so they instinctively resonated with the song, even after just hearing it once.

Listening to the song stirred up feelings of nostalgia and longing, making them forget about their work.

As the song ended, silence ensued.

Wu Hongming turned off the video.

Shanshan, anxious, said, "Boss, there's more to it. Keep watching!"

"This song alone is enough!"

Wu Hongming's furrowed brow relaxed, and he asked, "Are you sure this is Lu Fei's original work? Do you know the specific terms of the contract with ''StarryLive'' that led to his blacklisting?"

Just one original song might not be enough to convince Wu Hongming, but Lu Chen not only had exceptional singing skills but also good looks, with talent, skill, and potential for stardom all in one. 

He was confident that ''StarryLive'' had missed out on a rising star!

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(End of Chapter)