I Became an All-round Artist

The next day, when Lin Yuan returned to the company, more people in the department greeted him.

"Morning."

After responding to the greetings, Lin Yuan approached Wu Yong with a question: "Are there really fourteen top composers on the tenth floor?"

"Yes, there are," Wu Yong replied with a smile. "Top producers are the real masters of composition. Your old classmate, Lao Zheng, is one of them. He was the senior who sat next to you at the last meeting."

"Do top composers earn more?"

This was Lin Yuan's real concern.

Wu Yong nodded. "Of course, their salaries are higher than ours. They get a base salary of 30,000 yuan per month, but to be honest, top composers don't really care much about the base salary."

"I would care," Lin Yuan remarked.

Wu Yong chuckled. "Then aim to become a top composer. But the real advantage of being a top composer isn't just the base salary. It's that they have the right to negotiate with the company for a higher share of the revenue from their works."

"A higher share?" Lin Yuan asked.

"Well, 'top composer' is just our informal title for them. It sounds cool, like 'Track Gods,' but the official company title for top composers is 'Senior Composer.' They're on a higher level than us. We're just called 'Composers,' while a Senior Composer needs to have at least five representative works with over a million downloads."

Lin Yuan nodded, indicating he understood.

Wu Yong patted Lin Yuan on the shoulder. "I just checked the download numbers for 'Life Like Summer Flowers.' It's almost at 600,000 today. It’s only a matter of time before it hits a million. As for that custom track you did for Qizhou, who knows if it’ll reach a million... Custom tracks, especially theme songs, are often restricted by the original work and can become quite niche. Niche tracks usually don’t perform as well in terms of downloads, so don't get your hopes too high. But the commission for that track was good, so you'll still make a decent profit!"

"Got it," Lin Yuan replied thoughtfully.

Wu Yong continued, "Don't think too far ahead. You've already made a splash twice since joining the company, so you’ve got a good chance of becoming a Senior Composer in the future. Then you’ll be the fifteenth top composer on our floor."

"Yeah," Lin Yuan agreed, realizing he needed to speed up his song releases. Only by becoming a Senior Composer, or what they called a "top composer," could he make more money.

With this in mind, Lin Yuan asked Wu Yong another question: "Are the orders on the tenth floor available for everyone to take, like this time?"

"No," Wu Yong explained. "Orders are assigned by the boss, usually prioritizing the top composers in order. They don’t always go to the same top composer, so everyone gets a chance. Only when the assigned top composer can’t handle the order does it get passed down to the next one. The order for 'Dragon Dance' was particularly demanding, so it went through all fourteen top composers before the boss let the entire department try. But that’s rare. Typically, an order is fulfilled within the first five top composers, as their skills are top-notch."

"What about Track Gods?"

"Well, we only have one Track God on the tenth floor, and you haven't met him. He hardly comes to the office, maybe a few times a year. Track Gods don’t lack orders; unless the offer is close to a million, they usually won’t bother."

"Oh," Lin Yuan replied, gradually gaining more insight into the company. As a newcomer, there was still a lot he needed to learn, which is why the supervisor had asked Lao Wu to guide him.

...

By noon, most of the people in the composition department were heading to the cafeteria for lunch.

Having spent most of his money on coffee, Lin Yuan decided to find someone to treat him to a meal. He had already thought of someone: Sun Yaohuo.

Sun Yaohuo had become famous with a single hit on the Rising Star chart and was very grateful to Lin Yuan. He had mentioned more than once that he wanted to treat Lin Yuan to a meal, but Lin Yuan had been too busy to accept.

Today seemed like a good opportunity to cash in on that offer. However, when Lin Yuan arrived at the eighth-floor artist department, he found out that Sun Yaohuo had a schedule and wasn't in the company.

Just as he was about to leave, a familiar voice called out to him. "Lin Yuan."

"Ms. Zhao?" Lin Yuan turned around to see Zhao Jue.

Zhao Jue smiled. "I thought it was you. Are you here looking for someone?"

Lin Yuan nodded. "Yes, but Sun Yaohuo isn’t here."

"He’s out on business. Have you eaten yet? If not, why don’t you join me for lunch? You can also get a taste of the executive cafeteria."

Lin Yuan hesitated. "Isn’t the executive cafeteria expensive?"

Zhao Jue laughed. "You're with me. I wouldn’t make you pay. Come on, it’s on me."

"Thank you, Ms. Zhao!" Lin Yuan was grateful.

The executive cafeteria was different from the regular employee cafeteria. It was quieter, with fewer people. Several tables around Lin Yuan were empty. Most of the dishes here were prepared individually, with the executives pre-ordering their meals for the chef to cook by lunchtime.

"I often can't finish all this food," Zhao Jue said, pointing to the four dishes on the table. "You can help me out. If it's not enough, I’ll have them make more."

"This is plenty," Lin Yuan replied. He wasn’t greedy.

With the first bite, he understood why this was the executive cafeteria. The food here was indeed better than the regular cafeteria's, almost comparable to the restaurant with the ice cream buffet he had recently visited. The employee cafeteria, which he had considered quite good, suddenly paled in comparison.

Zhao Jue ate slowly, frequently taking phone calls. She seemed very busy, and her tone during the calls was often sharp and authoritative.

"Did that jewelry brand drop our artist? It’s not our artist’s fault, right? Fine, don’t push for it. Announce that from now on, Xingmang artists are banned from endorsing that brand."

"The MUSE fashion event organizer complained that Xingmang artists were late? Didn’t I teach them better? If they think they’re stars now, they’re wrong. Don't blame it on traffic. Fine them as necessary. Acting high and mighty with me, are they?"

"Li Li got caught in a wardrobe malfunction? Get PR on it, and track down the photographer. I want his boss to explain this."

After several calls, Zhao Jue finally looked at Lin Yuan with an apologetic smile. "Sorry, did I disturb you?"

"Not at all," Lin Yuan said. He hadn’t eaten breakfast, so he was quite hungry, and while Zhao Jue was on her calls, he had been focused on eating.

"You..."

Zhao Jue chuckled as she glanced at Lin Yuan and wiped away a grain of rice from the corner of his mouth. "Your mom called me the other day, asking about you. I didn’t expect you to lie to her. You haven't made ten thousand yuan yet, right? And your salary isn't even twenty thousand."

"Sorry for the trouble, Ms. Zhao," Lin Yuan replied.

Zhao Jue shook her head, having a good idea of why he might have done it. She didn’t blame him.

Just then, her phone rang again. This call seemed important because Lin Yuan noticed Zhao Jue's expression change, and she even stood up.

Not only that, her tone on the phone was entirely different—no longer commanding but rather cautious. "Yes, yes... I'm working on it... This girl is a bit difficult... I know... Boss, please don’t let them pressure me into making promises... My heart can't take it..."

Lin Yuan suddenly understood. It was the company boss—no wonder she was being so careful. Who wouldn’t show respect to their superior?

After the call ended, Zhao Jue seemed to lose her appetite, barely touching her food, and her face was clouded with worry.

"Is something bothering you?" Lin Yuan asked with concern.

Zhao Jue forced a bitter smile. "Even if I told you, what could you do? Just focus on your meal."

Lin Yuan took a sip of soup, then wiped his mouth. "I’m full. You can tell me now."

"..."

Zhao Jue put down her phone. "You’ve heard of 'Blooming,' right?"

Lin Yuan nodded. It was an annual talent show in Qinzhou. Xia Fan had dreamed of becoming an outstanding female singer but had failed twice in a row—it's a show with a very high bar.

"Then you must have followed the competition," Zhao Jue said, rubbing her temples. "This year's 'Blooming' produced a phenomenal winner named Zhao Yingchrome. She's beautiful, and her vocal talent is on par with yours in the past. The most important thing is, she doesn’t have a management company yet. So now, every entertainment company in Qinzhou, big or small, wants to sign her. But unfortunately, this girl is very proud. She’s made it clear that if you want to sign her, you have to provide a song that can become her signature piece. I asked Lao Zhou to help, and we had seven or eight top composers write songs for her, but none of them impressed her."

"She has high standards," Lin Yuan commented.

That morning, out of curiosity about top composers, Lin Yuan had listened to many of their representative works. He had to admit that the top composers were incredibly skilled; each of their signature songs was a classic. Lin Yuan was convinced that even in his previous world, these top-tier compositions would have been massive hits. This gave him a deeper appreciation for the talent of composers on Blue Star.

"But she's not just being difficult with Xingmang," Zhao Jue continued, her tone softening slightly as she seemed to find Lin Yuan a good listener. "Thankfully, neither Brilliant Silver nor Sand Sea have managed to impress her with their songs yet, so for now, we’re still in the running—she's only considering the top three companies."

Zhao Jue shook her head. "It's not that she looks down on the top composers’ songs; it's just that they're stretched thin. Most of them have long-term collaborations with other artists and sometimes take on custom work. So the songs they write on short notice may not be up to their usual standards..."

Another call came in. Zhao Jue didn’t want to answer it, so she declined the call and continued talking to Lin Yuan. "As a composer, you should understand that even when giving it your all, no top composer can guarantee that every song they write will be a signature piece. A signature piece represents the pinnacle of an artist's ability. Who can claim that every work they produce reaches their highest level?"

"Yes, everyone says top composers are incredible, producing nothing but great works."

"But that statement needs some context... They are amazing, no doubt. Every top composer at Xingmang has at least five classic songs. But if you average it out, you'll find that most of these composers are over thirty, and thirty is considered young talent!"

"In other words, except for a few prodigies, most of them take over ten years to produce a handful of signature pieces."

"Ten years, and just a few signature songs!"

"That's a production rate comparable to childbirth—it takes nine months to have a baby, but these top composers can't even guarantee a new hit in nine months. So Zhao Yingchrome’s demand for a signature piece isn't as simple as asking a top composer to whip up a song. It’s actually a very challenging request."

Lin Yuan nodded in understanding. Zhao Jue had provided him with a new perspective. He had only seen the strength of top composers but hadn’t considered the immense time and effort required to produce a signature song—just like how he had to work hard on system tasks to earn a treasure chest.

"Sigh," Zhao Jue suddenly laughed. "I've been venting to you for so long; you must be tired of hearing all this. Thanks for listening to my ramblings. If you're full, you should get back to work. I'll go see if Lao Zhou can come up with a few more songs to try out. After all, the other two companies haven't found a way to win over Zhao Yingchrome either, so we’ll just have to keep trying."

Lin Yuan asked, "So if she gets the right song, she'll sign?"

Zhao Jue almost laughed at his casual tone. "Yes, if she gets the right song. But it has to be a signature piece. You know what that means, right? 'Life Like Summer Flowers' is your signature piece—what, do you think you can just create a 'Summer Flowers' every day?"

Lin Yuan sighed, "But 'Life Like Summer Flowers' has already been released. She’s probably heard it."

Zhao Jue: "..."

Kid, are you serious?

Lin Yuan seemed a bit troubled. "How about 'Easily Combustible and Explosive'?"

Zhao Jue was confused. "What explosion?"

Lin Yuan fiddled with his phone, then said, "I just sent it to you."

Zhao Jue was even more puzzled. "Sent me what?"

Lin Yuan stood up and said, "Just consider it a thank-you for the meal."