Superstars of Tomorrow

After hearing that Fang Zhao wouldn’t be coming back to celebrate the new year with the two old Fangs, many veterans in the retirement facility guessed that Fang Zhao’s absence was the reason why Great-grandfather Fang appeared so listless.

Elsewhere, Fang Zhao didn’t have much hope from keeping the truth from the two old Fangs. After all, those two were experienced with this sort of situation. The two old Fangs had pretended to not know, so Fang Zhao had also played along. There were many things that couldn’t be spoken explicitly, but the simple understanding was good enough. Going into details would just cause excess worry.

In the one month of quarantine on Whale Island, Fang Zhao wrote his thesis, amended his compositions and made preparations for graduation. He had also read quite a few books recommended by Mo Lang. After completing each book, he had jotted down his afterthoughts.

Because he was isolated from all the various online disturbances, an extremely peaceful month passed by for Fang Zhao. For him, this month hadn’t been tough at all.

When Fang Zhao came out from the quarantine apartment, he was called over for a meal by the other Whale Island guards who had been released to celebrate getting over this hurdle. Those who had spent their quarantine period watching “Founding Era” also wanted autographs and photographs with Fang Zhao.

“You are very lucky,” research facility’s unit one manager Nick said when he saw Fang Zhao.

Many people felt that Fang Zhao had been really fortunate not to have been infected despite being in such close proximity to the contagion.

Whale Island Region was already much emptier, and the restrictions had been relaxed. Tourist and sightseeing areas had opened up again.

In order to avoid tourists, Fang Zhao left Whale Island through an exit point. Nanfeng and the other two were already waiting for him there.

The car had been borrowed from a friend of Nanfeng’s. After Fang Zhao boarded the car, Nanfeng spoke about matters during the period. Previously, it hadn’t been too convenient to speak too much through the communications device when Fang Zhao had been on the island. Now that he was finally out, Nanfeng could give a more detailed report. He could prove that this assistant hadn’t been slacking off and had also partly assumed the role of a manager.

“Boss, what arrangements do you have in mind? Fiery Bird personnel have called me a number of times asking about your decision,” Nanfeng said.

“Graduation from Advanced Studies is still the priority. Are Fiery Bird’s new products coming out soon?” Fang Zhao asked.

“Yes. To commemorate the discovery of the Alkaid, there are plans to have some Alkaid features on the product. The tentative name will be the Diting·η series. Fiery Bird has already released the information, and many people know about it.

The partnership with Fiery Bird would continue. Since Fiery Bird had shown their sincerity and Fang Zhao had no reason to reject, Fang Zhao had contacted the relevant parties on Fiery Bird’s side to discuss the endorsement of the new product. He also set a date for more comprehensive talks for the contract.

After Fang Zhao was done speaking with Fiery Bird’s representative, Nanfeng studied his boss’ expression. Seeing that Fang Zhao didn’t seem unhappy, he took the opportunity to suggest, “Boss, is it time for us to get an MPV?”

The vehicles they had previously used were company vehicles specially rented for certain events. When they had needed flying transport, it also had to be applied for.

Aside from flying transport, they ought to purchase a car for daily use, right?

Nanfeng continued to analyze it for Fang Zhao. “You see, boss, your status has risen, and it will surely continue to rise in future. We also aren’t putting on a show of extravagance. However, the company cars should be for the company’s newcomers to fight over, right? Even if we don’t use the company’s resources, renting cars using our own expenses is also troublesome. Also, I have already asked around. Won’t you have to consult the tutors and professors regarding your thesis and other school related matters from time to time? You’ll need to travel from place to place. Your reputation in Huangzhou is also high now. What will you do if you are recognized by people in public? It is very troublesome, and you can’t bring a dog. If you attend events, there isn’t any place to change or rest. Of course, all of this can be resolved, but you also do not have a quiet place to compose. Running around often wastes a lot of time. Don’t you think so boss?

“That’s true.” Fang Zhao nodded his head. He could tell that Nanfeng already had some ideas, so he asked, “Do you already have a model in mind?”

“Oh, we don’t have to be too unconventional. Staying low-profile will be the best. Simply getting the model of MPVs that most celebrities normally use will do. I have a friend whose team specializes in licensed and lawful modifications of cars and flying transports.”

“Alright. We will check it out after negotiations with Fiery Bird are done.”

Fang Zhao first returned back to HuangArt. His dormitory was still the same as ever, just that the dog feed was empty. Curly Hair rushed over and whined. First, he was very happy to see Fang Zhao. Secondly, he wanted to remind Fang Zhao to order more dog food. Finally, he wanted to remind Fang Zhao about his unfulfilled promise to let him play new games!

Fang Zhao surveyed his dormitory once. The “rabbit” was still alive and well in its water tank. Fang Zhao went online to order dog food and contacted Muzhou’s farm to send another batch of food over.

On his first day back to school, Fang Zhao didn’t leave the campus. He downloaded a few new games for Curly Hair, discussed issues on composition with a few teachers, submitted his thesis to Mo Lang and submitted his application for graduation.

Fang Zhao was the first person in his cohort to submit his application for graduation from the Advanced course.

An application had to be submitted before the graduation certificate could be received. Only with the qualitative works and a satisfactory thesis would the application be successful. Fang Zhao’s quality of his thesis and works were already sufficient, so it gave considerable pressure to the others in the same batch as him.

After the application was accepted, a time would be arranged for the student to defend their dissertation. There would also be a graduation concert. However, all of these were matters that would happen in June. The earliest Fang Zhao could defend his dissertation was at the end of May. It was only February now, and there seemed to be sufficient time. Still, Fang Zhao would need a lot of effort to prepare for his concert, especially since the academy would be more stringent for Fang Zhao given his reputation.

On the second day, Fang Zhao didn’t have any classes, so Fang Zhao set a meeting with the relevant Fiery Bird representatives to discuss the collaboration terms.

Fang Zhao would be the ambassador of their new line of Diting·η series products. Besides this, Fiery Bird also hoped that he would advertise it during his graduation concert.

The concerts of graduating HuangArt Advanced Studies students always had an advertising area. Still, the focus was still mainly on art, so the area wouldn’t be too big. It was easy to miss if one wasn’t attentive. However, many people had their eyes on Fang Zhao’s graduation concert. Even if it was just a small ornamental billboard, Fiery Bird was still willing to invest in it.

The Fiery Bird personnel had their own ideas. Even if they didn’t believe in Fang Zhao’s music standards, they ought to believe in Mo Lang, right? Behind Fang Zhao stood the great master Mo Lang!

Of course, Fang Zhao was also very talented and hadn’t relied on his managing company to rise up. Besides, the managing company didn’t have that ability. Was the Twelve Tones Advanced Studies Course something that could be entered that easily?

Also, it was important to consider the strength of the professors of the Twelve Tones Advanced Studies Course!

There were many mentors to seek guidance from. Those great master-ranked artists and mentors wouldn’t withhold any knowledge as long as the student wanted to learn and improve. The student could learn much more in this one year than the majority of people did in their entire university life!

However, the Twelve Tones Advanced Studies Course was difficult to enter and difficult to exit. There were qualifying tests to enter, and a good dissertation and a sufficient number of quality works were needed to obtain the graduation certificate. Staying for too long was also useless. The great master-ranked tutors and mentors only spent one year with the student. After a year, only students having joint projects with them would still have much contact with them. Others who weren’t able to smoothly graduate wouldn’t receive the same treatment from before.

After discussing the details with Fiery Bird, Fang Zhao returned back to his dormitory to put his files away. Then, he brought Curly Hair to the place where Nanfeng’s friend did vehicle modifications.

Nanfeng had already bought the car. Just as he had said, the exterior of the car didn’t seem special in any way. At any film set, eight out of ten cars used by actors and actresses would be this model. This model of MPV was frequently seen a lot on the roads and was also frequently used for delivering goods or moving furniture as well.

At the moment, Nanfeng’s friend was confirming the modification requirements with Nanfeng.

“We will do modifications for the engine, chassis and other parts according to your requirements. Take a look at the additional items. These haven’t been confirmed yet. Also, you said that you will purchase your own sound system, right? You have to let us know what sort of system you are getting. If you haven’t gotten it yet, inform us of the type. We have to have a rough plan in order to make the appropriate modifications.”

“Sound system? Fiery Bird’s Diting Z series.” Nanfeng replied. He had already discussed this with Fiery Bird beforehand. They could get it at half price from Fiery Bird, and it would come along with freebies. This was the benefit of being an endorser. When the Diting Z series vehicle sound system first came out, there were people who said that Fang Zhao himself didn’t use it, so how could he endorse it? But now, they could finally use it!!

The person in charge of taking down notes eyed Nanfeng. The Diting Z series sound system didn’t come cheap. The amount one such sound system cost could be used to purchase a few of these MPVs. Their garage rarely saw this grade of sound system being fitted onto an ordinary car.

Nanfeng’s friend had some insider information, so it wasn’t out of his expectations. He continued asking, “What about the grade of bulletproofing?”

“Fit it with the highest level,” Nanfeng answered.

“What does your boss do that requires such a high grade of bulletproofing?” The friend asked with a laugh.

“Heh, the worries of a celebrity,” Nanfeng said jokingly. Of course, he couldn’t disclose the truth.

As they were speaking, a luxurious car drove in from the outside.

A youngster with dyed gray hair got out of the car in a distressed manner. “Mend the dents on the car.”

The flashy luxury car was full of dents, probably because something had smashed into it.

A kid wearing a bear-printed shirt came out from the backseat playing with a small black ball. He said nonchalantly, “You were the one who said I could play any way I wished. You said your car was sturdy enough.”

The son of the Inter-planetary Fund General Diretor, Danke Assis, was full of regret at the moment. He had thought that the bear child was only playing with a squishy elastic ball. Little had he known that it would cause such dents! His beloved car! Disfigured just like this!!

At this time, yet another car was driven in. It didn’t get close and stopped at the car park.

The car door opened, and Curly Hair jumped down from the seat. His fur bristled as he studied the surroundings curiously.

Little Bear’s unbridled attitude disappeared instantly. He jumped behind Danke and observed Curly Hair carefully.

When Danke saw this, he laughed deep down. This little kid normally acts like he isn’t afraid of anything in the world. So it turns out he is afraid of dogs!

Even though he was delighted deep down, Danke put on a caring and protective front. “Ah ha, don’t be scared. What is there to be afraid of? This dog doesn’t eat humans.”

Fang Zhao, who had just gotten out and heard this: “…”

When he saw the person who came out, Danke’s smile gradually froze. He remembered that his father had said to keep this bear child far away from Fang Zhao!