I Became an All-round Artist

November 7th.

Taking advantage of the school’s double holiday, Zhao Jue  drove to Qinzhou Art Academy to pick up Lin Yuan and take him to Xingmang Entertainment to handle his transfer to the composition department.

Carrying his textbooks for the professional courses, Lin Yuan took the front passenger seat this time.

During the drive, Lin Yuan listened to music, and the song playing in the car was "Life Is Like a Summer Flower," set on a single-track loop—

Over the past week, Zhao Jue  had been playing this song in the car every day, and surprisingly, she never got tired of it. Occasionally, she would hum along to the melody in a good mood.

This song probably had a special significance for Zhao Jue ’s life.

“By the way,” Zhao Jue  suddenly said to Lin Yuan as they were about to arrive at the company, “Although 'Life Is Like a Summer Flower' is second place, its download growth over the past week has been higher than the first place. So after today’s morning meeting, the company has officially decided to compete with Shaihai for the top spot on the Newcomer Chart!”

“Second place?” Lin Yuan said, a bit pleased.

Zhao Jue , however, was a bit taken aback and speechless.

She wanted to grab Lin Yuan by the ears and emphasize: Can you please pay more attention to the performance of your own song?

But in the end, Zhao Jue  managed to hold back.

She just gave Lin Yuan a heads-up: “However, the situation with this first place is a bit special, so I can’t guarantee that we will definitely succeed.”

Lin Yuan nodded.

He didn’t know that, in fact, Xingmang hadn’t initially planned to let "Life Is Like a Summer Flower" compete for the top spot. After all, being number one had a strong presence, and the cost of competing for the chart was too high.

But…

Lin Yuan’s song was truly outstanding, with download growth consistently surpassing that of the top song;

In addition, Zhao Jue  had found a senior company executive who could make the decision, and used her persuasive skills to say something very compelling:

“We can give Shaihai some trouble!”

This was Zhao Jue ’s shrewd strategy.

If she directly said she wanted to increase the promotion resources for "Life Is Like a Summer Flower" to compete for the number one spot on the Newcomer Chart, the senior executives might not be willing.

After all, it was just a new artist and a new song, and spending too much money on promotion wouldn’t be cost-effective.

But if it could cause trouble for Shaihai?

The senior executives would only hesitate for a moment before agreeing.

It was just about spending a little more money, and making life difficult for the competition was also very satisfying.

After all, the three major entertainment companies in Qinzhou were not harmonious, with Shaihai and Xingmang having a particularly strained relationship.

The exact reasons were no longer traceable.

Anyway, all industry peers were rivals.

Most importantly, after this decision, the promotion for "Life Is Like a Summer Flower" had been fully rolled out across the internet, boosting the song’s popularity!

Upon arriving at the company entrance, Zhao Jue  handed the car keys to the security guard and directly took Lin Yuan to the composition department.

“Hi, Zhao Jie.”

“Hi, Zhao Jie.”

As they walked through the company, there were even more staff greeting Zhao Jue  compared to when Lin Yuan first visited the company, and everyone’s attitude was even warmer.

Some people also glanced at Lin Yuan.

However, Lin Yuan was very young, and unless one had seen him in person, few would connect this college student-like young man with the recently much-discussed figure "Xian Yu."

The elevator button was pressed for the 10th floor.

Soon, they arrived at the composition department.

Standing at the door, Lin Yuan looked around the interior of the composition department.

The department was larger than Lin Yuan had imagined, with a spacious and refined environment, decorated with a somewhat cultured atmosphere.

Between the desks, there was a considerable distance, with rows of bookshelves in between to ensure privacy. The bookshelves were filled with various music-related books—

This working environment reminded Lin Yuan of the school library and felt very comfortable.

“Zhao Jie.”

The department head, Old Zhou, had been waiting at the door with a beaming smile, but when he saw Zhao Jue  and Lin Yuan, his smile suddenly faded slightly, and he asked:

“Where is Xian Yu?”

The members of the composition department also stopped their work and looked curiously at the door.

In the morning, the department had held a meeting, and everyone knew that the composer of "Life Is Like a Summer Flower," Xian Yu, was coming to report to the composition department today. Now they were curious about what Xian Yu looked like.

“Isn’t he here?”

Zhao Jue  gracefully introduced Lin Yuan.

Old Zhou was momentarily stunned. He had naturally seen Lin Yuan following Zhao Jue , but judging by Lin Yuan’s appearance, he thought this was a new artist Zhao Jue  had brought along. He never expected that this student-looking young man was the legendary Xian Yu.

Zhao Jue  smiled happily.

She understood Old Zhou’s surprise.

When she first signed Lin Yuan, she was confident because Lin Yuan not only had an exceptional voice but also had a face that was irresistibly attractive. Such talent was born to be a star.

And because of this.

Zhao Jue  hadn’t expected that Lin Yuan would also have excellent composing talent, creating a song like "Life Is Like a Summer Flower." If not for the damaged voice, he would have been a child favored by heaven.

At this moment.

Not only was Old Zhou surprised, but the members of the composition department were also collectively stunned, looking at each other—

This young man with an idol-like appearance was actually Xian Yu?

“Ha ha!”

Old Zhou’s smile suddenly reappeared as he warmly approached Lin Yuan, extending his hand: “Welcome, welcome!”

Xian Yu was young?

For Old Zhou, this was not a bad thing at all but rather a great advantage, because the younger the age, the more it showed Xian Yu’s exceptional talent!

He just needed to give Lin Yuan space to grow!

In the future, as Lin Yuan’s experience matures, he might be able to write even better songs than "Life Is Like a Summer Flower," so after being surprised by Lin Yuan’s youth, Old Zhou’s mood improved even more!

“Thank you.”

Lin Yuan shook hands with him.

Zhao Jue , standing beside them, reminded, “Old Zhou, this kid’s real name is Lin Yuan. He’s currently a second-year student at the Composition Department of Qinzhou Art Academy, so he won’t be able to come to the company regularly due to his classes. I wanted to let you know in advance. Also, regarding his treatment, I hope Lin Yuan will be on the same terms as the other members of the composition department.”

“No problem,” Old Zhou agreed immediately. “We’ve had cases of signing students before. Besides, everyone knows that the composition department is the most relaxed department in the company. There are a few senior composers who come to the company less than five times a year. What can I do? I just have to keep them happy.”

Zhao Jue  frowned. “Don’t use such language in front of the kid.”

Old Zhou chuckled awkwardly and nodded repeatedly, but in his heart, he was slightly moved.

It was the first time he had seen Zhao Jue  stand up for someone so much in the company. It seemed that Lin Yuan was quite special in Zhao Jue ’s eyes.

However…

If this kid can write songs of the level of "Life Is Like a Summer Flower" after joining the composition department, then he could also become a cherished talent under my protection.

Don’t underestimate Old Zhou.

As the head of Xingmang’s composition department, Old Zhou had considerable prestige, with some of the strongest composers in the company working in his department.

It’s just that these top composers rarely come to the office.

Don’t ask, they’re out seeking inspiration.

As long as these composers continue to write hit songs that bring enough revenue to the company each year, even the company’s boss won’t have any complaints about them not coming to work.

“Alright then.”

Zhao Jue  patted Lin Yuan on the shoulder and instructed, “From now on, you’re part of the composition department. If you run into any issues, you can contact me. If you need transportation to the company, just give me a call. I’ll come to pick you up if I’m available, and if not, I’ll send someone.”

“Are you entrusting him to me?” Old Zhou joked, “Alright, Xiao Zhao, you can trust him with me. Go ahead and get busy!”

Zhao Jue : “……”

You calling yourself ‘Brother Zhou’ is one thing, given your age. But for me to go from ‘Zhao Jie’ to ‘Xiao Zhao’ just after sending a talent over?

How real.

She turned, waved her hand, and walked towards the elevator.

Lin Yuan also waved at Zhao Jue , though she had already turned away and didn’t see him.

Next, Old Zhou led Lin Yuan to sign a few contracts.

The contracts had many clauses, and Lin Yuan focused on the key points.

For example, the basic salary for the composition department was 10,000 yuan per month, with additional royalties for works; also, although composers retained the copyright for their works, the company had the right of first use, etc…

Overall, the terms followed industry standards, and Xingmang’s reputation in this regard was quite good.

After half an hour, Lin Yuan finished reading and signing the contracts, officially becoming a member of Xingmang Entertainment’s composition department.

“This is your seat,” Old Zhou said, assigning Lin Yuan a seat by the window.

It was one of the best seats in the company, offering a great view outside.

Seeing Lin Yuan sit down, the other members of the composition department felt a pang of jealousy.

“That’s Yang’s spot.”

“It doesn’t matter. The few senior composers in the department rarely come to the office anyway. The seat has been empty for years and won’t be ours to sit in for a while.”

“……”

Then, Lin Yuan opened his backpack and took out a few books to study.

After all, he had an upcoming exam.

The graduate students in the composition department, who had been out of school for years, couldn’t help but sneak peeks at Lin Yuan. When they saw the books he took out, they were surprised, even rubbing their eyes in disbelief.

The books Lin Yuan took out were: Basic Composition Techniques, The Theory and Practice of Composition, and Simple Chord Explanations.

“Uh…”

“Isn’t that…”

“A sophomore’s coursework?”

Lin Yuan was unaware that the others were staring at him. He was deeply engrossed in reviewing material that might appear on his exam, quietly reciting:

“The melody position of a chord is determined by which note is in the highest voice.”

“The three melody positions of major and minor chords are: the root position, the third position, and the fifth position.”

“In practice, neither close spacing nor open spacing of major and minor chords should have voice crossing, where the alto is higher than the tenor, the bass is higher than the alto, or the soprano is lower than the tenor.”

“……”

Is this the Xian Yu who wrote "Life Is Like a Summer Flower"?

Facing this somewhat unusual scene, the atmosphere in the composition department turned strangely awkward.

Then everyone suddenly felt a mix of “inferiority” and “pride” simultaneously.