He really knows how to love

The conference room door closed, shutting out the commotion in the corridor outside.

Chen Zhi sat at the head of the long table. David sat on his right, and Dai Damai sat on his left. Opposite them were Taylor Swift, her manager Jeffrey, and two legal counsels.

The rest of the bodyguards and entourage were arranged in the lounge next door, and Pei Ningxue went to personally oversee the tea break.

Jeffrey opened his briefcase, took out a stack of documents, and got straight to the point: Mr. Chen, we are very interested in the global endorsement cooperation with Deep Space Technology, but before discussing the price, I need to confirm one thing.

Please go ahead.

What exactly is Moss? Jeffrey stared into Chen Zhi's eyes. We have done our background checks. Your AI product has indeed caused a massive reaction on the Chinese internet, but frankly, Silicon Valley remains skeptical. Many people believe this is a successful marketing stunt rather than a genuine technological breakthrough.

They admit you have taken the Chinese market by storm, but regarding the technology itself, there are widespread reservations. After all, your servers are still frequently busy even today, aren't they?

Because Deep Space Technology had just secured financing and the supercomputing center was not yet built, their business had not expanded overseas. Even domestic users frequently encountered server busy messages when using Moss.

So right now, to foreigners who did not know the full picture, Moss's AI was just a concept like the Metaverse before it. No one knew what direction AI would ultimately take. Aside from some well-funded companies that had deployed in the AI field early on, many other companies were still taking a wait-and-see approach.

Chen Zhi did not rush to answer; he turned and gave Dai Damai a look.

Dai Damai understood and turned on the projection system in the center of the conference table.

Mr. Jeffrey, a thousand words are useless. Let us just do a live demonstration.

The projection screen lit up, and Moss's virtual avatar appeared, featuring silver-white long hair, red eyes, and a mature older sister look generated by big data.

Taylor sat up slightly, studying the virtual figure on the screen.

Hello, Ms. Swift, Moss's voice came through the speakers in fluent English. It is an honor to meet you.

Taylor raised an eyebrow and politely nodded at the screen. It was clear she was well-traveled and experienced; a talking virtual avatar was not enough to shock her.

Chen Zhi spoke up: Moss, write a song for Ms. Swift.

About what theme? Moss asked.

About... Chen Zhi thought for a moment and looked at Taylor. Ms. Swift, would you like to pick a theme?

Taylor thought for a few seconds with interest: Losing a cat.

She owned cats; the whole world knew that.

And the style? Moss followed up.

Just use my style. Taylor leaned back in her chair, crossed her arms, and struck a let's see what you can come up with posture.

Code and text began scrolling across the screen.

Seven seconds.

Moss's voice sounded again: Creation complete. The song is titled The Last Sunbeam, with a duration of three minutes and forty-two seconds. It includes full lyrics, melody lines, chord progressions, and arrangement suggestions. Would you like to play the demo?

The professional smile on Jeffrey's face stiffened for a moment.

Seven seconds to write a complete song?

Play it, Taylor said.

A piano intro echoed through the conference room.

The melody unfolded gently, carrying a hint of a country folk undertone. The chorus transitioned into a pop-rock arrangement, with the emotion building up layer by layer. Moss sang it using a synthesized female voice. Although the tone lacked the grainy texture of a real human, the melodic progression and the artistic conception of the lyrics were already astonishing enough.

Chen Zhi secretly observed Taylor's reaction.

During the first verse, she maintained a scrutinizing expression.

By the chorus, her fingers began tapping lightly on the table in time with the beat.

By the second verse, a brilliantly clever modulation appeared in the Bridge, suddenly sliding from a major key into a minor key. The lyrics shifted from reminiscing about the cat's warmth to all departures are to teach you to cherish.

Taylor's fingers stopped.

She sat up straight.

The song ended, and the conference room was quiet for a full five seconds.

Jeffrey turned to look at Taylor. Taylor did not look at him; she stared at Moss's virtual avatar on the projection screen.

Play it again, Taylor said.

Moss replayed it.

This time Taylor listened even more carefully, even taking out her phone halfway through to record a snippet.

When the second playthrough ended, Taylor finally spoke, her speaking speed much faster than before: That modulation in the Bridge, what logic did you use? Why did you choose to switch from E-flat major to C minor at that specific spot?

She was actually discussing composition techniques with an AI.

Moss answered fluently: Based on a stylistic analysis of your past fourteen albums, you prefer to use parallel shifts of relative major and minor keys when handling emotional transitions, rather than traditional dominant key inversions. The Bridge placed after the second verse and before the final chorus is an emotional progression structure you used in the ten-minute version of All Too Well. I made a slight adjustment, bringing the modulation point forward by two measures to match the suddenness of the theme of loss.

Taylor put her phone down.

She looked at Chen Zhi, her expression devoid of her previous polite cooperation.

This is not a search engine. It understands music.

Chen Zhi nodded: It understands everything.

Jeffrey was rapidly jotting something down in his notebook beside her.

Taylor suddenly smiled and turned to Jeffrey: I think we can talk now.

Jeffrey closed his notebook, cleared his throat, and reverted to that shrewd commercial negotiator: Alright, since the technical demonstration has satisfied Taylor, let us talk details.

He opened another document: First is the endorsement fee. Based on Taylor's current global commercial value assessment, the base quote for an annual exclusive global endorsement is...

He quoted a number.

After hearing that number, Dai Damai completely froze. He lowered his head, quickly pressed a few buttons on his phone's calculator, and then looked up at Chen Zhi with an expression that said, Boss, are you sure?

Chen Zhi's expression remained unchanged.

Acceptable.

Jeffrey clearly had not expected the other party to agree so readily. He paused for a moment before continuing: Additionally, there are a few supplementary clauses in the contract. First, during the endorsement period, Taylor has the right to review all Moss promotional content that uses her likeness. Second, if any features involve the AI imitating Taylor's voice or creative style, a separate authorization agreement must be signed and additional fees paid. Third...

No problem. Our legal team will go over the details with yours, Chen Zhi interrupted his lengthy speech. I also have one additional condition on my end.

Jeffrey looked up.

After the endorsement contract is signed, Taylor needs to cooperate by participating in a Chinese music variety show. The time is mid-March, specific date to be determined. She only needs to attend for one night and sing one song.

Jeffrey frowned. "Which program?"

"The finals of Hunan TV's Singer Season Two."

Jeffrey and Taylor exchanged a look.

"This is not within the scope of our standard business itinerary," Jeffrey's tone became cautious. "Taylor's current tour schedule is extremely tight. Adding a television show in Asia at the last minute involves adjusting flights, redesigning security protocols, and coordinating with tour sponsors..."

"I know." Chen Zhi picked up the teacup in front of him and took a sip. "That's why this isn't for free. The appearance fee will be calculated separately. Taylor's team can propose a number, and we will evaluate it."

Jeffrey quoted another figure.

Dai Damai didn't even want to touch his calculator this time; he just buried his face in his hands.

Chen Zhi still didn't haggle. "Deal. But I have one condition. Before the show airs, the news of Taylor attending the Singer finals must be kept absolutely confidential. This is a mandatory clause in the contract, with a double penalty for breach of contract."

Jeffrey looked at Taylor.

Taylor shrugged. "We can accept the confidentiality clause. But I want to know, who are you helping by having me sing on this show?"

This woman's intuition was quite sharp.

Chen Zhi smiled. "A very talented young Chinese singer. She is one of the finalists, and I want you to sing a duet with her as a guest performer."

"What is her name?"

"Lin Wanwan."

Taylor took out her phone and searched it on the spot. A video loaded up, showing a live performance of Lin Wanwan in the Singer semifinals.

The meeting room fell silent, waiting for her to finish watching.

Two minutes later, Taylor put down her phone. "She has a good voice and a lot of talent. Is she your friend?"

"Girlfriend," Chen Zhi answered decisively.

Taylor smiled.

Jeffrey also smiled, the kind of smile that said, "So that's how it is."

"Alright." Taylor put her phone away. "A man who spends money for love proves, at the very least, that he is not a stingy business partner."

She stood up and extended her hand on her own initiative. "Mr. Chen, I look forward to our cooperation."

Chen Zhi shook her hand. "A pleasure doing business with you."

The door to the meeting room opened, and Pei Ningxue stood at the entrance holding a cup of coffee.

Her gaze swept over Chen Zhi and Taylor's shaking hands, but her expression showed no fluctuation.

"Ms. Taylor, your latte." Pei Ningxue handed over the coffee in fluent English with a perfectly polite smile. "I am Pei Ningxue, the CFO of Deep Space Technology."

Taylor took the coffee. "Thank you. Your CEO just said something very interesting."

Pei Ningxue tilted her head slightly. "What was it?"

"He said that the Chinese singer is his girlfriend." Taylor took a sip of the coffee. "I can tell he loves her very much."

Pei Ningxue's smile did not falter in the slightest.

"Yes," she replied softly. "He really does know how to love someone."

Chen Zhi stood three steps away, cold sweat pouring down his back.

Pei Ningxue turned to him. Her smile was still perfect, but Chen Zhi could read the message in those eyes.

When we get back tonight, we are going to settle this score.