I Became an All-round Artist

Although it was just him and Lin Yuan having dinner, Sun Yaohuo still ordered enough food to cover the entire table. Even Lin Yuan couldn’t help but comment:

“Stop ordering, we won’t be able to finish it.”

Sun Yaohuo chuckled, “No need to hold back, junior. How about some wine?”

Lin Yuan shook his head.

“Then we won’t drink,” Sun Yaohuo said with a grin.

Lin Yuan nodded and turned to the waiter, “Two bowls of rice, please.”

Sun Yaohuo waved his hand, “I’m on a diet, no rice for me.”

Lin Yuan gave him a puzzled look, “I ordered for myself.”

Sun Yaohuo: “...”

As soon as the rice arrived, Lin Yuan began eating heartily, determined not to waste the feast in front of him.

Sun Yaohuo laughed, “Nutritionists say people who eat less rice age slower. You should have more vegetables, junior.”

Lin Yuan glanced at him seriously, “I had a friend who didn’t eat for ten days. Now he’ll be eighteen forever.”

Sun Yaohuo: “...”

Lin Yuan frowned, “Wasn’t that joke funny?”

He thought he was being witty.

Sun Yaohuo was stunned for a few seconds before suddenly bursting into laughter, “Hilarious, absolutely hilarious! You’re killing me! Hahaha!”

Isn’t this a bit too desperate?

The waiter gave Sun Yaohuo a strange look, finally understanding what it meant to laugh through the pain.

“Ahem.”

After a while, Sun Yaohuo quietly returned to his meal. He had actually been wondering how to comfort Lin Yuan, since he hadn’t realized it was a joke. Seeing Lin Yuan’s dead-serious expression, Sun Yaohuo had genuinely thought his friend had suffered some terrible fate from not eating.

“Only a wise person knows when to eat.”

Lin Yuan asked a few seconds later, “Was this one funny?”

Sun Yaohuo, confused, looked up before bursting into laughter again, this time slapping his thigh: “Hahahaha, too funny, hahaha!”

Oh right.

Lin Yuan suddenly remembered—there was no Romance of the Three Kingdoms in this world, so naturally, no one would know the phrase “A wise man submits to circumstances.”

So, what was Sun Yaohuo even laughing at?

Lin Yuan gave him a sympathetic glance.

Looks like the senior’s sense of humor is... unique.

And so, for the first time, they shared a quiet understanding, both focusing on their food.

Halfway through the meal, Sun Yaohuo finally broke the silence, trying to liven up the mood again, “I’ve listened to your latest two songs, junior. I really loved them!”

Though he was trying to make conversation, Sun Yaohuo’s praise was genuine.

When Life as Brilliant as Summer Flowers became a hit, there had been some talk within the company that Xianyu’s success might have been a fluke, just a stroke of luck with that one song. Sun Yaohuo himself had wondered if Lin Yuan had just gotten lucky.

But then, Lin Yuan released two more songs, both of which became huge hits as well. His junior was undeniably a genius, and Sun Yaohuo now felt like stumbling upon Lin Yuan was the luckiest break of his life!

“Thank you,” Lin Yuan replied politely.

Sun Yaohuo smiled wistfully, “I bet from now on, only the company’s top-tier artists will have the chance to work with you. The minimum standard for collaborating with you is probably someone like Zhao Yinghong these days.”

Lin Yuan shook his head, “Too expensive.”

Sun Yaohuo blinked in confusion, “What’s too expensive?”

Lin Yuan explained, “Didn’t you know? Big-name artists take a huge percentage of the profits.”

Sun Yaohuo chuckled, assuming Lin Yuan was joking again, “Don’t tell me you want to keep collaborating with newcomers? The rookies in the company would be way too lucky! If I could work with you again, I wouldn’t even ask for a cut. I, Yaohuo, don’t need a share!”

Don’t need a share? That’s the true spirit of a supporting character.

Lin Yuan’s eyes lit up, “Really?”

Sun Yaohuo became even more convinced that Lin Yuan had a great sense of humor, “Of course it’s true! Don’t tease me, though. There’s no way you’d be interested in working with someone like me again. But it’s fine! I’m already so grateful you helped me debut. Thanks to you, I’m doing alright now. I may not be a superstar, but at least I get occasional gigs.”

“Senior.”

Lin Yuan studied Sun Yaohuo carefully, “Can you hit three octaves?”

“Huh?”

Sun Yaohuo blinked and then answered, “My comfortable range is from D2 to A4, but I can extend my chest voice from C2 to C5, and my falsetto goes up to A5.”

Lin Yuan nodded thoughtfully, “That’s good enough.”

Sun Yaohuo was confused, “Good enough for what?”

“Nothing. Let’s just eat,” Lin Yuan said.

It wasn’t the right time yet—he needed to wait before releasing a new song. However, Sun Yaohuo might just be the perfect fit for Red Rose. His vocal range and tone met Lin Yuan’s requirements, and his emotional delivery was on point.

But that wasn’t the deciding factor.

…

A few days later, at Yinlan Publishing House.

The editor-in-chief looked at Yang Feng, “I’ve read the manuscript you submitted for Prince of Tennis. Honestly, it’s very well-written. The character development and the writing are both so polished that it hardly feels like the work of a newcomer. But the issue is, this type of story has too niche of an audience.”

“But it stands out for its originality,” Yang Feng argued. “Judging from the first 100,000 words and the outline the author submitted, it has the potential to be a really good story. Maybe readers are ready for something different—after all, the market’s been oversaturated with the same themes, and readers are bound to feel fatigued.”

“What do you think, Old Shen?” the editor-in-chief turned to the deputy editor.

The deputy editor pondered, “Since the subject matter is so niche, I agree it’s not the most commercially viable. But the story itself is too good to pass up. How about a compromise?”

“What do you have in mind?” the editor-in-chief asked.

“After reviewing all the submissions, we could rank Prince of Tennis fifth in this year’s New Star Awards. For publication, we can start cautiously—print 100,000 copies for the initial run, while the top four titles can still get the usual 500,000 copies.”

The New Star Awards only select five novels. Normally, the initial print run for each winning title is 500,000 copies, but since the future of Prince of Tennis seemed uncertain, the deputy editor suggested a more conservative approach by starting with just 100,000 copies to test the market.

“I agree,” the editor-in-chief nodded after some thought, then smiled wryly. “Let’s use this novel as an experiment. I, too, want to diversify the kinds of stories we’re publishing. The market’s oversaturation with similar themes is a problem the entire publishing industry has to face. Other major publishers in Qinzhou have already started experimenting with new genres, and even though most of those attempts have failed, we can’t afford to fall behind. I’m sure that’s what you’re thinking too, right, Yang Feng?”

Yang Feng nodded. He acknowledged that Prince of Tennis might not sell as well as the top four New Star titles, but the market needed new genres to thrive. Publishers had to lead the way in signaling that they were open to fresh ideas. Only then would aspiring writers stop flocking to the same overused genres like fantasy adventure.

From this perspective, Chu Kuang was getting a rare opportunity. Based purely on its niche appeal, Prince of Tennis probably wouldn’t have been published otherwise. So, getting an initial run of 100,000 copies was already a win for this novel.

“Alright then,” the editor-in-chief concluded, “Yang Feng, get in touch with Chu Kuang and have him send over another 100,000 words or so. We’ll announce the top five New Star Award winners at the end of January, and the five novels will be published in February.”

“Got it,” Yang Feng nodded.