040 The Key is the Persona
“What do you think? How was my singing?”
Pei Ningle stared at him, her small face filled with anticipation.
Wang Heng said calmly, “Very good.”
“Oh… is that it?”
“Yeah, I already said it was very good. What more do you want?”
The girl couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed. After all, while she was singing, she had secretly imagined what Wang Heng’s reaction would be. Would he be dumbfounded or full of praise? She was very confident in her voice, but Wang Heng’s reaction at this moment was just too ordinary, as if to say—this level is no big deal.
Pei Ningle said honestly, “I thought you would be very surprised.”
Wang Heng: “You said you were a bar singer in the Imperial Capital for a while, and before that, you ran away from home because you thought you could make a living with music. So logically speaking, your singing ability should be quite strong. I had high expectations before you started singing, so I really wasn’t that surprised.”
“Then what do you think?” A hint of anticipation returned to the girl’s eyes. “Can I make a living with this?”
Wang Heng thought for a moment.
If he were to judge based on the plot development of the first timeline, then Pei Ningle’s musical future was certainly not to be underestimated. Before the yandere tragedy, she had already broken into the entertainment industry and was considered a second-tier rookie singer with a promising future. Among the girls Wang Heng knew, besides Lu Qi who had started her own business, Pei Ningle had the highest net worth. But on second thought, her path had been quite bumpy, and there were many chance factors in her success.
However… if she had the help of a reborn person, it would be completely different.
Wang Heng said, “It’s hard to say. Even good wine fears a deep alley. If you’re just singing in a bar without any marketing and promotion strategy, it’s very, very difficult to become popular purely on talent.”
“What, what…” The girl tilted her head. “Strategy?”
“A music promotion strategy. You have to know that the entertainment industry is a business. Singing ability is just one influencing factor. The first problem you need to solve to become popular is how to attract others’ attention and make people who have never heard of you notice you.”
“Then what should I do?”
Wang Heng: “Don’t you go online? Of course, it’s through the internet.”
Pei Ningle: “But I’ve already posted songs online…”
Wang Heng shook his head. “Without a promotion strategy, no one will listen. First, you must establish a persona for yourself, then formulate promotion steps around this persona, and determine the focus of your marketing.”
“Persona?”
Pei Ningle blinked, a look of bewilderment on her face.
Wang Heng had already thought it through. If he could help Pei Ningle’s career take off, then when she became truly busy, she naturally wouldn’t have any ambiguous relationship with him.
So he explained with all his heart, “For example, Shen Siyu. She’s a young idol singer who takes the cute girl route. Besides the fact that almost all of her album selections are fresh love songs, she also gives her fans this feeling in her daily life. She can’t have scandals, let alone smoke or drink, because her fans will substitute themselves into the boyfriend role she sings about in her songs. But Ma Ying is a middle-aged powerhouse singer. Same gender, but her song style is completely different. So Ma Ying can be loud and boisterous on variety shows and often directly confronts people she doesn’t like, but her fans don’t care too much because her persona is that of a senior in the music industry, with both talent and popularity, and she’s also straightforward.”
Pei Ningle said thoughtfully, “Is that a persona?”
“Yes. The so-called character setting is a term from novel and script writing, but it’s also very suitable for the entertainment industry. Because every star relies on their fans. You could say that the way others see a star, the impression a star leaves on others, determines their value. So all entertainment activities must consider how to establish a persona.”
The girl pointed to her chest. “But I’m not famous at all right now.”
Wang Heng: “A small boat is easy to turn. The sooner you think clearly about this persona thing, the better. First, think about what kind of persona you want to establish, and then consider how to become popular through which channels. For example, a serious, traditional singer who takes the vocalist route would have to participate in official youth singer competitions, apply to top music conservatories, and align with the official channels. If you want to rely on your looks and take the cute route… Shen Siyu signed directly with an entertainment company back then, but these days, a better choice is to participate in a talent show. As long as your face is photogenic and your voice is pleasant, it’s not too difficult to become popular quickly.”
Just as Pei Ningle was lost in thought, the intro to the next song began to play. She quickly threw out a “We’ll talk later” and returned to the stage.
Wang Heng looked at the singing girl, then glanced at the entranced audience, and silently made up his mind.
“I must establish that kind of… idol, national girlfriend, absolutely-cannot-be-in-a-relationship persona for her!”
**
A little over two hours later, Pei Ningle’s first part-time job at this bar came to a successful end.
When Brother Tao saw Pei Ningle and Wang Heng out, he expressed his satisfaction. “It’s a deal then. You’ll come every night from now on, from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m., two hundred yuan each time. If you can’t make it, let me know before noon. No problem, right?”
Pei Ningle’s smile was exceptionally bright. “No problem!”
“Then you two head back. I still have things to do in the shop, so I won’t see you off.”
Brother Tao turned and went back inside.
Pei Ningle and Wang Heng walked out of the bar, and their ears were suddenly quiet. As it approached midnight, the streets were naturally much quieter than the bar.
The girl held out her hand, two hundred-yuan bills in front of Wang Heng. “Look, look! The fruits of tonight’s labor. Not bad, right?”
Wang Heng: “Don’t flash your wealth. Put it away.”
Pei Ningle shook her head. “I still owe you money. I’ll pay you back now.”
But Wang Heng refused. “You should keep it for yourself. You only found a job today, but you haven’t found a place to live. After you’ve rented a suitable place and paid the rent, it’ll be about time to pay me back then. If the rent isn’t enough, you’ll have to borrow from me again.”
“That’s true…”
The girl hesitated for a moment and put the money back in her pocket.
The two walked along the empty street for a while, and Wang Heng suddenly asked, “How’s the consideration of the persona thing going?”
Pei Ningle turned to look at him, frowning slightly. “I don’t want some kind of ‘young girl’ persona.”
“Huh?”
“I don’t want to become a pure commodity, where I have to get others’ opinions on what clothes to wear every day. I don’t want to act cute either. I just want to sing, and sing the songs I write myself.”
Wang Heng deliberately tried to scare her. “You have to think carefully. The price of this choice is very likely that you’ll never be popular in your life, you might not even be able to enter the entertainment industry, and you’ll only be able to sing in places like bars…”
“Then I’ll sing in bars for the rest of my life!”
The girl’s eyes shone brightly under the streetlight, with an unquestionable determination.
