I Became an All-round Artist

Qinzhou is vast, with many cities.

Lin Yuan lived in Sucheng, one of the most prosperous cities in Qinzhou, while his hometown was a place called Yuncheng.

A six-hour high-speed train ride later.

Lin Yuan finally arrived in Yuncheng.

“See you at school,” Jian Yi and Xia Fan, who had traveled with him, waved goodbye.

After sending them off, Lin Yuan didn’t go home immediately. Instead, he took a bus to the mall and bought a bunch of stuff—gifts for his mom and younger sister.

As he stepped out of the mall with bags in hand, he realized that taking the bus with so many things would be inconvenient, so he decided to take a taxi instead.

His home was located on the southern edge of the town, in an area similar to a village within the city.

When he arrived at the familiar front door, he knocked. The one who opened the door was a pretty girl in fuzzy pajamas.

“Sis,” Lin Yuan greeted with a smile. This was his younger sister, Lin Yao. She was very beautiful, having inherited the best features of their parents, just like Lin Yuan. She was in her final year of high school.

“Hey, bro,” Lin Yao smiled back and nodded.

Lin Yuan walked inside, changed into slippers, and called out, “Mom, I’m home.”

“You finally made it,” his mom came out of the kitchen wearing an apron, with traces of blood on her hands. “I’m making braised fish for you.”

“Sounds good,” Lin Yuan replied as he carried the bags into the house. He took out some clothes and shoes and handed them to his sister. “These are for you.”

“Thanks,” Lin Yao accepted the gifts and opened them, only to find a pink down jacket inside. She frowned, “I don’t like pink.”

“What color do you like, then?”

“White,” Lin Yao answered without hesitation.

Lin Yuan took out another set. “How about this?”

Lin Yao looked at him in surprise, “Mom said you’ve been making money lately. I guess she wasn’t lying. Can you give me a hundred yuan to buy study materials? I’ve got a coupon—originally it was 120 yuan, but with the discount, I can get 20 yuan off.”

“Sure,” Lin Yuan agreed easily. “I also got a coupon for a grilled fish restaurant at the mall. Let’s go eat there later.”

Lin Yao nodded, “Okay.”

Their mom watched the sibling exchange with an amused smile, “No wonder people used to say the two of you are a bit quirky…”

“Why?” Lin Yuan and Lin Yao looked at their mom simultaneously.

She laughed and waved it off. Even though her two younger children were more introverted compared to their outgoing older sister, she knew that the bond between all three of them was strong.

Lin Yuan sat down on the sofa to rest while Lin Yao, a senior in high school, worked on her studies at the table.

It was a small two-bedroom apartment with poor lighting and simple furnishings. The couch beneath Lin Yuan was worn out with several holes, but the place was tidy and well-organized despite its modesty.

Lin Yuan had a thought: I’ll buy a house once I get my salary.

Soon, lunch was ready. Lin Yuan had called his mom before arriving, so the meal was extra hearty—four dishes and a soup.

Braised fish, sweet and sour ribs, spicy chicken, stir-fried greens with mushrooms, and a bowl of tomato egg soup.

“Let’s eat,” his mom said as the three of them gathered around the table. She added regretfully, “Your sister’s vacation hasn’t started yet. If she were here, we’d definitely finish all this food.”

Lin Yuan nodded. His older sister was the biggest eater in the family. By comparison, both he and Lin Yao were picky eaters, only really enjoying meat.

“Eat more vegetables,” their mom reminded them with a smile.

So, Lin Yuan and Lin Yao, with great coordination, each picked up a leaf of green vegetables with their chopsticks, then split it between them.

“...”

Their mom shook her head with a smile. “Yao Yao, your brother is earning money now, so if you need anything, just let him know.”

“Okay,” Lin Yao’s eyes lit up as she looked at Lin Yuan. “Brother, can you help me finish this vegetable?”

“Those who eat the food are the wise!” Lin Yuan refused. “It’s said that eating vegetables keeps you young. I have a friend who eats vegetables all the time, and he’s always 18 years old.”

Lin Yao: “...”

Lin Yuan added, “He’s forever 18.”

Yao Yao was confused, “Are you telling a joke, brother?” She had a feeling he was joking, but the atmosphere didn’t quite match.

Lin Yuan didn’t answer, though he couldn’t help thinking that maybe it wasn’t his sense of humor, but that his senior, Sun Yaohuo, simply had a low threshold for humor—he found everything Lin Yuan said hilarious.

...

While Lin Yuan started his vacation early, Star Mang Entertainment was still bustling with work.

In the artist department, Jiang Kui had just finished recording her song “Balloon” and was excitedly reporting the good news to Zhao Jue.

At that moment, Lao Zhou, the head of the department, walked in to speak with Zhao Jue, “I’ve got some bad news. We may need to adjust our plans for the Spring Festival.”

“What happened?” Zhao Jue frowned.

Lao Zhou sighed, “We had a plan to release ten songs during the festival, but one of the songs was flagged by the review team. They found its melody too similar to a song from Chuzhou.”

“Plagiarism?”

“Not exactly. I know the composer. He must have heard that song somewhere and accidentally wrote something similar. It’s not the first time this has happened in the composition department.”

“Can’t we just go with nine songs instead?”

Zhao Jue knew that similarities in melodies were common, especially with popular songs using similar chord progressions.

“We can’t,” Lao Zhou looked troubled. “We’ve already arranged promotion resources for ten songs. If we don’t release all of them, it’ll be a waste.”

“So whose song should we replace it with?”

Both of them glanced at each other, then simultaneously turned to the puzzled Jiang Kui.

“Me?” Jiang Kui’s mouth dropped open as she realized what they meant. “But ‘Balloon’ is my March release…”

“I know,” Zhao Jue sighed, “but ‘Balloon’ is a good song. It could chart well in March, but we’re short a song for February.”

“But February is the ‘Group of Death’—so many top-tier artists are competing!” Jiang Kui was distressed. The “Group of Death” meant fierce competition on the charts during February, and songs that might top other months could struggle to even break into the top ten.

“That’s true,” Lao Zhou tried to comfort her. “But we’re missing a song for February, and your song is good quality. Who knows? It might just become a hit.”

Zhao Jue nodded in agreement.

Jiang Kui: “...”

She didn’t dare protest further. Realizing she couldn’t win against the higher-ups, she used Lin Yuan as a shield. “Talk to Teacher Xianyu about this.”

“I’ll call him,” Lao Zhou said, then dialed Lin Yuan’s number. Lin Yuan, who was out with his sister buying study materials, picked up. After hearing the situation, he agreed, “Sure.”

Lao Zhou hung up and said, “Lin Yuan’s fine with it. So, it’s settled.”

Has Teacher Xianyu also succumbed?

Jiang Kui’s eyes filled with despair.

Why do I always end up in the Group of Death?

Sure, “Balloon” was a good song and had a strong chance of doing well in March, but releasing it in February’s Group of Death? It felt like setting it up to fail.

Enjoying this story? Support me on [Patreon](patreon.com/aiden_connor) to unlock more chapters early and get exclusive content!