I Became an All-round Artist

The potential of the song "Life Like Summer Flowers" exceeded many industry insiders' expectations.

In the following days, the download count for the song steadily increased, leaving no room for Sahai Culture to make a comeback—Xingmang Entertainment had firmly secured its lead.

However, with the outcome of the Newcomer Chart now a foregone conclusion, internal discussions about Xianyu at Xingmang began to quiet down.

But Lin Yuan wasn't concerned with any of that.

What he enjoyed most during this time was checking his reputation points.

As the downloads for "Life Like Summer Flowers" rose, his reputation points had climbed to 15,000! However, there was still a long way to go to reach the million points required by the system.

Lin Yuan understood that the reputation gained from "Life Like Summer Flowers" would eventually plateau. He knew he needed to find the right opportunity to release a new work to continue building his reputation.

...

On the 21st, another weekend arrived.

When Lin Yuan returned to work at the Composition Department, his colleagues had gradually learned to treat him with a semblance of normalcy.

The department supervisor, Lao Zhou, even assigned an experienced colleague to mentor Lin Yuan.

This "experienced" colleague was probably considered as such mainly because he had thinning hair, a telltale sign of being a seasoned professional in the industry—someone reliable.

This experienced colleague's name was Wu Yong.

Wu Yong had a few decent works to his name. Although none of his signature pieces could rival "Life Like Summer Flowers," he was highly productive, consistently meeting the company's standards.

In fact, 70% of the composers in Xingmang's Composition Department were like Wu Yong.

"Lin Yuan."

After being assigned by Lao Zhou to assist Lin Yuan, Wu Yong greeted him, "We’re all colleagues here. If you have any questions, just ask. You can call me Lao Wu, or Brother Yong."

"Brother Yong, I look forward to learning from you."

Lin Yuan could easily hear the emphasis Wu Yong placed on "Brother Yong," so he obliged this small wish.

In Blue Star's workplace, seniority and etiquette are taken seriously.

Of course, if the gap in ability between senior and junior is too large, even impoliteness might be excused as a sign of character—this is true everywhere.

"You're too kind!"

Hearing Lin Yuan call him "Brother Yong," Wu Yong’s attitude became noticeably warmer.

Thanks to the immense success of "Life Like Summer Flowers," Lin Yuan, who was just a sophomore, was already considered a prodigy in the field of composition. However, many young prodigies tend to be arrogant.

Wu Yong had initially worried Lin Yuan might be the same.

But it seemed Lin Yuan wasn’t arrogant—he just didn’t talk much, like a bit of a loner, with a somewhat introverted personality.

"By the way, you haven’t joined our group chat yet, have you?"

Wu Yong smiled, "Give me your contact ID. I’ll add you and pull you into the group. All the composers at Xingmang are in this chat. Even the higher-ups can’t get in. The atmosphere is great; people often chat, and sometimes even top-tier composers pop in. If you can get guidance from one of them, it’s like hitting the jackpot."

"Top-tier composers" is a broad term.

To Sun Yaohuo, Lin Yuan was a "top-tier composer."

When faced with an excellent song, listeners might also call the composer a "top-tier composer," but this is really just high praise.

In the entire field of composition, Lin Yuan’s current achievements are far from reaching the level of a "top-tier composer." The true top-tier composers are the ones revered by the entire industry!

And even in a company like Xingmang Entertainment, there are only a handful of such individuals.

...

Wu Yong added Lin Yuan’s contact and then pulled him into a group chat called "Xingmang Composers."

System notification: "Lin Yuan has joined the chat."

The number of members in the group far exceeded Lin Yuan’s expectations—there were 953 people, including Lin Yuan!

Noticing Lin Yuan’s surprise, Wu Yong chuckled, "All these nearly a thousand people are company composers. Xingmang’s building has fifty floors, and from the 10th to the 20th floor, it’s all our Composition Department’s territory. What you see now is just the tip of the iceberg. I’ll show you around when there’s time."

"Alright."

Lin Yuan thought about it and realized he had been too presumptuous, subconsciously using his Earth experiences to judge.

This isn’t Earth.

Qinzhou is one of the eight continents of Blue Star and is renowned as the land of music. Xingmang is one of the three major entertainment companies in this music-rich land. If the Composition Department didn’t have over a thousand composers, that would be strange. Besides, composing isn’t just about writing songs—there are many subfields within the discipline.

"Huh, why isn’t anyone talking?"

Wu Yong noticed that after Lin Yuan joined the group, only a few people sent "Welcome, newcomer" messages, making the situation a bit awkward.

He had just boasted about how lively the group was, yet only a few people welcomed the newcomer.

After a moment’s thought, Wu Yong said, "Why don’t you change your nickname to Xianyu?"

Lin Yuan did as he was told.

The moment he changed his nickname, the chat suddenly became lively, as if the previous quietness had never existed.

"Is it really Xianyu?"

"The one who composed 'Life Like Summer Flowers'?"

"Welcome, newcomer! Welcome, welcome!"

"Oh wow! Welcome, Xianyu, to the group!"

"Wow, it’s Xianyu! Welcome!"

"Welcome, welcome! A warm welcome!"

To show their friendliness, someone even sent a big red packet with the words "Welcome Xianyu," worth a full two hundred yuan!

"Bunch of opportunists."

Cursing inwardly, Wu Yong cleared his throat and said, "See? I wasn’t lying—the atmosphere in this group is pretty great."

Lin Yuan nodded.

He agreed that the group seemed nice.

At that moment, a user named 【Zheng Jing】 suddenly mentioned Lin Yuan’s ID: "Xianyu, I listened to 'Life Like Summer Flowers.' It’s excellent."

"Top-tier composer! Top-tier composer!"

"Wow, greetings, Sister Jing!"

"Little Li warmly welcomes Sister Jing!"

"Today, I’m honored to witness the presence of a top-tier composer. I’m so blessed. Sister Jing, you’re amazing!"

"Admiring Sister Jing from the front row!"

"Sister Jing is here!"

"Let me bask in Sister Jing’s aura!"

The moment Zheng Jing appeared, the chat's atmosphere couldn’t be described as just lively—it was outright boiling over!

"Whoa!"

Even Wu Yong couldn’t help but blurt out an expletive, his hands trembling with excitement: "Hello, Sister Jing! Long live the Songfather!"

Lin Yuan’s heart skipped a beat.

The original owner’s memories included someone named Zheng Jing, who indeed held the title of Songfather. In Xingmang, and even across the entire Qinzhou, she was one of the top composers—

And no, not only men are called Songfather.

Top female composers also earned this title, possibly because "Songmother" just doesn’t have the same ring to it?

Some of the songs Zheng Jing wrote were ones that the original owner could sing from memory.

So Lin Yuan asked Wu Yong, "Is Zheng Jing the composer of 'Red'?"

"It’s her, it’s definitely her!" Wu Yong’s face flushed with excitement. "’Red’ is just one of her representative works, along with ‘Blue’ and ‘White’! Five years ago, Zheng Jing’s ‘Color Trilogy’ turned a singer into a superstar. Before he sang those songs, that singer was nearly reduced to performing in bars! So Sister Jing is practically a legendary Songfather in our industry. This is the first time I’ve seen her show up in the chat! You’ve received her praise—there are probably people in this group who are crying with envy right now!"

"As expected, it’s her."

Lin Yuan nodded and responded to Zheng Jing in the chat: "Thanks, your work is pretty good too."

"..."

The chat went dead silent.

Wu Yong’s excitement froze on his face, his expression twisting in confusion as he stared at Lin Yuan—

"Your work is pretty good too"?

Was that… a compliment?

It was a compliment… right?

But why… does it feel a bit off… Something’s not right…

Ahhh!

Something’s definitely not right!

This is Zheng Jing we're talking about!

An actual, bona fide Songfather!

When a Songfather in the industry praises you, how can you casually respond with, "Your work is pretty good too"?

Songfather above!

Shouldn't you be, like the rest of us, bowing in reverence and trembling with awe?

But what did you just say?

Are you even speaking human language?

Wu Yong was dumbfounded, though internally, he was screaming. He could swear on the heavens that everyone else in the chat was thinking the same thing!

And to think, just moments ago, he believed Lin Yuan wasn’t one of those arrogant young prodigies!

How is this not arrogance?

This is arrogance at its peak, to the point where it’s subtle and almost transcendent—reaching a state of simplicity and purity!

However…

While the group fell into silence, Zheng Jing didn’t seem to mind. She @-ed Lin Yuan again: "Looking forward to your next song."

Lin Yuan replied: "Okay."

The group chat grew even quieter.

Wu Yong could no longer find the words to describe Lin Yuan.

You could say he’s rude, but his expression while typing was sincere, radiating respect for such a legendary figure.

It’s not fake, even across a screen, though only Wu Yong, sitting beside him, could see it.

But if you say he’s polite…

Look at the words he typed. What kind of audacious things are these!?

Do you even know who you’re talking to?

Scratching his head, Wu Yong yanked out a few more hairs from his already thinning scalp.

In the midst of this, he finally realized the core of the issue.

The conversation between Lin Yuan and Zheng Jing felt like it was between two Songfather-level figures.

Lin Yuan’s tone was so calm, as if he too was someone who could stand on equal footing with Zheng Jing!

But the problem is…

Compared to Zheng Jing, where do you even stand?

What’s even more baffling is that Zheng Jing wasn’t upset at all.

It’s as if, in her eyes… Lin Yuan’s way of speaking was perfectly fine?