The Dreams of Two People

The five members of the band were gathered together, discussing the arrangement for their new album. Suddenly, the door swung open, and their manager rushed in, holding a laptop.

"What's going on?" the lead singer asked, feeling uneasy at the manager's flustered appearance.

"Look at this quickly! I just found a video. At the Hong Kong Olympic Gala, an athlete sang a song," the manager said, placing the laptop in the center of the group and playing a video. This was a clear video that the manager had painstakingly found.

"When I am different from the world, then let me be different. To me, persistence means fighting hard against all odds.

If I compromise with myself, if I lie to myself, even if others forgive me, I cannot forgive myself.

…"

"What? How is this possible? The lyrics are exactly the same!" the lead singer exclaimed. As the songwriter, he had memorized every word of the lyrics.

"And the song's name is the same too, it's called 'Stubborn,'" the manager added.

At that moment, everyone had a thought: Did their new album get leaked?

"Could our new album have been leaked?" the guitarist asked.

"Impossible," the drummer, the oldest in the band, replied. "We specifically came to Japan for this new album. We selected ten out of twenty-seven original songs, and the Japanese company is producing them. The media doesn't even know our album's progress, let alone that it was leaked."

The drummer then turned his gaze to the lead singer. This song was written by the lead singer only a few months ago, and the band members had heard it for the first time only after arriving in Japan. If it was leaked, the primary suspect would be the lead singer, the song's author. However, as a team member, the drummer didn't suspect the lead singer. They had been in the band for several years and had a close relationship. He knew the lead singer wouldn't deliberately leak the new song.

The lead singer watched the video again and then said, "Listen carefully, the arrangement is different from ours."

The group listened attentively. The singer's melody and rhythm were the same as their work, but the arrangement, while partly similar, was different from theirs.

For a song, the arrangement is clearly its soul. If the arrangement is different, it means the song has a different soul. To professional musicians, it's considered a different song. For example, many cover artists change the singing style, lyrics, or even translate the lyrics from English to Chinese or from Cantonese to Mandarin, but as long as the melody remains unchanged, it's still considered a cover.

"This arrangement is really good, definitely first-class," said the guitarist.

The lead singer nodded in agreement. In terms of style, this arrangement was clearly more mature than his own. He could sense that the song conveyed deeper life experiences and insights.

"The arrangement is superb, top-notch," the lead singer said with a furrowed brow. "This level of arrangement is better than ours, so it's unlikely they copied our work."

"So, what do we do now?" the drummer asked.

The lead singer hesitated for a moment and then said, "Let's change the song. We have a dozen more songs to choose from."

"But this song is our album's title track and your labor of love. Can you bear to give it up?" the drummer asked. "And it's only the lyrics that are the same. Our arrangement is different from theirs."

"But fundamentally, there is no difference!" The lead singer shook his head. "You all know what I went through earlier this year. My grandmother passed away, and some personal matters were exposed by reporters. At that time, I fell from heaven to hell. I felt the whole world had abandoned me, and everyone was scolding me. I almost wanted to give up, but I knew I couldn't, and I wouldn't. That's why I wrote this song. It's my heartfelt voice, my pursuit of music, and my commitment to my dreams."

"If it were someone else singing this song, I might have stopped them. I'd be worried they would desecrate my music and my dreams," the lead singer paused, took a deep breath, and continued. "But Zhang Guan is different. He's an Olympic champion and a world record breaker. I understand that as an Asian, to get to where he is today, he must have faced hardships and pain, setbacks, and failures. His singing is not just a song; it's a dedication to his dream. We're all on the path of pursuing our dreams. Perhaps on this path, he is more determined and persistent than we are, but regardless, we and he will walk this path stubbornly, without retreating!"

…

Manager Wang was the primary business manager at Nike responsible for athletics. Last winter, he had gone with officials from the Athletics Center to meet Zhang Guan, hoping to sign him as a spokesperson, but Zhang Guan refused. Soon after, the athletes began preparing for the Olympics, and all commercial activities were suspended, so Wang had put the idea of signing Zhang Guan aside.

But just a few days ago, when news of Zhang Guan breaking the world record and winning the Olympic 100 meters gold medal came back to China, Manager Wang was stunned! As a Chinese national, he was thrilled to see such a significant breakthrough in the 100-meter sprint. However, he also regretted not pushing harder or offering a slightly higher price at the time. Signing the "world's fastest man" for tens of thousands would have been a major achievement, earning him the admiration of CEO James and significantly increasing his chances for future promotions and salary increases!

But there was no use in regretting now. He received new instructions from CEO James, asking him to quickly secure a contract with Zhang Guan. The company had learned that managers from several competitors had already moved in, hoping to sign Zhang Guan to boost their market share in China.

So Manager Wang went to the Athletics Center, not to meet the leader responsible for athletes' commercial operations, but to find Director Sun. Director Sun was the one who had gone to Zhang Guan last winter with the contract in hand.

The leaders wouldn't handle every task personally; their job was to guide, make decisions, and the specifics were mainly managed by someone at Director Sun's level.

In the office, Director Sun was sipping tea, smoking the soft-pack cigarettes Manager Wang had handed him, and with his legs crossed, he said, "Signing Zhang Guan won't be easy! To be honest, several sports brands have contacted us, and there are also many other industries interested. So, our center has to consider carefully and be strict in our selection. This is also our responsibility to our athletes!"

Director Sun then changed his tone, saying, "Of course, your company is one of the most well-known sports brands internationally, and we have a deep relationship with your company. There should be no issues regarding qualifications."

Manager Wang smiled and nodded but felt very annoyed inside. Despite Director Sun's eloquent words, which sounded nice, based on Manager Wang's understanding of these officials, the more they speak so grandiosely, the more they intend to pass the buck. If this continues, today's visit would be in vain.

"Director Sun, our company is very sincere, and we've decided to increase the signing fee. Last time, we talked about 300,000 yuan; this time, the company is willing to increase it tenfold to 3 million yuan a year!" Manager Wang held up three fingers, deliberately making an exaggerated expression as if 3 million was an astonishing number.

In reality, Manager Wang knew the company's negotiation ceiling wasn't just 3 million. CEO James had told him that anything under 5 million could be agreed upon directly, and anything over that should be reported to him. As long as the price wasn't too outrageous, it wouldn't be a problem. However, saving money for the company was always good, so Manager Wang made an exaggerated expression on purpose.

"Three million..." Director Sun smiled slightly and then said, "From what I understand, our leaders are not very satisfied with that figure. Signing Zhang Guan for three million will be challenging."

Director Sun then leaned forward, lowered his voice, and said, "Let me tell you a little secret, but keep it to yourself. Other companies have offered more than your price!"

"Just as expected, those competitors have indeed made their moves!" Manager Wang thought, while outwardly showing a grateful expression.

"What price does the leadership prefer?" Manager Wang asked.

"Hehe..." Director Sun smiled meaningfully, stubbed out his cigarette, and said no more. Indeed, a conversation often ended with a "hehe."

Director Sun knew that these multinational corporations, though wealthy, were all about making sure they got their money's worth. Manager Wang couldn't hope to get any information from him without showing some tangible incentive.

Manager Wang immediately understood. Judging by Director Sun's attitude, getting something for nothing was impossible. Wang straightened up and took out another cigarette, offering it to Director Sun. He said, "Director Sun, tonight, let's go to the Regal Hotel. I've booked a spot for the premium Buddha Jumps Over the Wall."

"Premium Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, huh..." Director Sun thought for a moment. The premium Buddha Jumps Over the Wall at the Regal Hotel cost 2,666 yuan per person, nearly his monthly salary. Usually, he only heard the name, never got the chance to eat it.

"Alright, since Manager Wang has extended such a gracious invitation, I'll accept!" Director Sun smiled and added, "I've also heard that the spa on the sixth floor of the Regal Hotel is very good."

Manager Wang silently cursed a few times but still said, "Don't worry, it's all included. After dinner, we'll go up to the sixth floor!"

…

In the early hours, Manager Wang saw Director Sun into a car and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Having played the subordinate all night, Manager Wang had obtained information on the competitors' offers from Director Sun. More importantly, he learned that the center's leadership had set Zhang Guan's endorsement fee for sports brands at 5 million yuan!

"Five million a year is a reasonable price for Zhang Guan's achievements. Although it's slightly high by domestic athlete endorsement standards, it's still within an acceptable range," Manager Wang thought with a smile of triumph.

Nike had always maintained a good cooperative relationship with the Athletics Center. Now that he knew the bottom line set by the center and had information on competitors' offers, he would have a significant advantage in the upcoming negotiations. Although he had spent over 10,000 yuan tonight, Manager Wang believed he could earn back hundreds of times more at the negotiation table.

"If I can save on the endorsement fee, perhaps I'll get an extra year-end bonus!" Manager Wang thought to himself.

He was just an ordinary person. For him, working hard, getting promotions, and raises to provide a better life for his family was his biggest dream. For this, he could forgo his dignity and do things he didn't want to do.

However, neither Manager Wang nor Director Sun knew that Zhang Guan's management team, Champion Team, had already begun their organized operations.