I Became an All-round Artist

After moving into their new home in Longjiang Garden, the four family members finally had their own bedrooms. Lin Yuan’s sister could study in the office during the day. There was no more waiting in line for the bathroom, whether for evening showers or morning routines. Most importantly, Lin Yuan's health was improving, sweeping away the gloom that had weighed on the family.

With the burden lifted, they could now genuinely enjoy happiness. However, the Lunar New Year holiday was short, and before they could spend more time in their new house, Lin Xuan had to return to work. Lin Yuan, too, had to head back to his company, as the days off he had requested from Old Zhou had come to an end, even though his winter break was still ongoing.

So, like his sister, Lin Yuan returned to Su City, amid farewells from his family and reminders to take his medicine on time.

By now, most companies had resumed operations after the holiday. At Xingmang, employees who had indulged too much during the break, each gaining a few pounds, were back at work as well.

"How was your Spring Festival?" Old Zhou, who had also gained a bit of weight, greeted Lin Yuan cheerfully when he came to report back.

"It was good," Lin Yuan replied with the usual politeness.

Old Zhou nodded, looking very pleased. “Your song ‘Balloon’ performed really well—it’s now solidly in fifth place this season. Excellent work!”

"Mm-hmm," Lin Yuan responded calmly, as was his nature.

Old Zhou chuckled, unfazed by Lin Yuan's reserved demeanor—he was used to it. “Alright, off to work you go.”

Lin Yuan left the office and returned to the composition department, where his colleagues also congratulated him. “Balloon” reaching fifth place in the highly competitive February rankings was a truly impressive achievement.

"Looks like the folks upstairs are pretty pleased this year," Wu Yong said sourly. “One of the stars from the 18th floor, Kong Zhen, snagged the top song of the year. I heard he got a special mention at today's senior management meeting.”

Top song?

This was the first Lin Yuan had heard of it, but it explained Old Zhou's good mood—it was a big deal for the company to secure first place in such a tough competition.

Lin Yuan felt no jealousy, though. Instead, he was curious and listened to the top song of the month. Afterward, he reached a firm conclusion: the win was well-deserved.

Lin Yuan had long accepted that Bluestar was full of musical talent, and he even welcomed it. A thriving market was a good thing for him.

That evening, after work, Lin Yuan returned to his place, opened the windows to air the room, and changed the bedding. A house left unoccupied for a long time always needed a bit of tidying.

Just as he finished, he received a phone call.

It was Yang Feng, and his first words were congratulatory: “The sales of The Prince of Tennis are doing very well. To show how much the company values you, we’ve decided to offer you a new contract. It’s already been sent to your inbox. Have a look.”

His sister had predicted this correctly: Silver Blue Library was indeed offering him a new contract.

After hanging up, Lin Yuan skimmed through the new contract. The royalty rate had increased from 5% to 7%. Though the increase seemed small, given the sales volume of The Prince of Tennis, this difference amounted to hundreds of thousands of yuan.

Aside from that, there were no major changes, and Lin Yuan double-checked to ensure the contract didn’t require him to publish his next book with Silver Blue.

"Alright," Lin Yuan thought. Pleased with the pay raise, he printed the contract, signed it, and sent it back. Now, all he had to do was wait for Silver Blue’s countersigned copy.

The next day, the new contract, already signed and stamped by Silver Blue, arrived—officially in effect. Lin Yuan also sent Yang Feng the third volume of The Prince of Tennis. With five volumes in total, this meant the series would be finished in a few months. Lin Yuan felt a bit reluctant, as he didn’t have a new long novel ready to take its place yet.

“Ding-dong.”

The system seemed to sense Lin Yuan’s thoughts and needs. "Now that you’ve cleared your debts and can generate some income, the system will open up the Customization Shop. From now on, you can spend money to customize things whenever you need."

“Customization?” Lin Yuan was taken aback.

The system explained, “If you need a specific type of novel or song, you can spend money to exchange for it. You can even specify the exact work, but that will cost more.”

“Oh,” Lin Yuan mused. “So if I want, say, a rock song, the system can provide it, but for a fee, right?”

“Exactly.”

Lin Yuan pondered. “Let’s say I wanted a rock song right now. How much would you charge?”

“500,000.”

“You’re really gouging me.”

The system responded, “It’s a voluntary exchange. The system won’t force you. But I can guarantee the quality of the song. It won’t be some generic piece of rock music.”

“Heh,” Lin Yuan scoffed but wasn’t opposed. He asked, “What if I wanted something specific, like a particular song or novel? How much would that cost?”

“For precise customizations,” the system said, “the price varies. If you want a simple song like Learn to Meow, it’ll be cheap. But for a well-loved classic, it could cost millions.”

“Thief!” Lin Yuan grumbled.

Still, he understood the value of this new function. It could come in handy, especially when he needed high-quality content to maintain his song inventory. However, he wouldn’t use it lightly—perhaps after becoming a senior composer with better profit-sharing terms...

Even though he criticized the system, Lin Yuan knew this customization feature was actually quite beneficial. It was like an investment, albeit one with a longer payback period. Overall, having this option was a good thing, especially for tackling high-profile projects like Big Fish, which were rare but vital.

Such opportunities were few and far between, like rare in-game bosses that only appeared occasionally and were fiercely contested by all players.

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