Chapter 5

Being dropped by a major record company like Nian Dai, and especially because of poor sales, a newcomer's future in the industry is basically over, and no other record company would dare sign her.

Xu Nuo was deeply affected by this incident and once considered leaving the entertainment industry.

At that time, Du Xinghe, who had not yet had his car accident, heard about Xu Nuo's plight. He felt that Nian Dai Records was bullying the students of Huaguang Art School and wanted to help Xu Nuo.

Seeing that his father's assistant had left, Du Xinghe begged Du Shan to sign Xu Nuo to Yun World, making her his father's assistant while also working as a contracted singer part-time.

With no other options, Xu Nuo didn't think twice and joined this small, independent record company, which was like a sparrow with all its organs missing.

In the more than half a year since joining Yun World, Xu Nuo didn't get the chance to record songs as stipulated in her contract. However, working by Du Shan's side, she learned many songwriting techniques, which greatly helped her improve. So, she decided to focus on learning from Du Shan.

But no one could have predicted that Du Shan would die in a car accident, which left Xu Nuo extremely saddened. She felt like a floating weed, unsure of how to proceed with her future.

Two months ago, after learning from Lin Jianguo that Yun World would no longer continue, Xu Nuo cried all night.

After that, Xu Nuo picked up her guitar and prepared to start anew.

She participated in two singing competitions. In the first one, due to the many behind-the-scenes manipulations, she was eliminated in the first round.

Half a month ago, she joined another competition called "Youth Star."

This is a national-level youth singer competition with an eight-year history, held in Fugwan, one of the most famous singing competitions in this international entertainment metropolis.

All the winners of the Youth Star competition are now top-selling singers with over 5 million album sales.

In a sense, this youth singing competition is a cradle for superstars.

The competition has extremely high viewership in Fugwan and nationwide. Anyone who stands out in this competition has an unlimited future.

Xu Nuo only participated in this year's youth singing competition to try her luck, not expecting to achieve anything.

It's important to know that every year at this time, major record companies spare no effort to promote new talent in this competition. The participants in the Youth Star competition are almost all signed singers.

For a newcomer like Xu Nuo, who comes alone, it's impossible to achieve good results in this competition.

Even if the final judges are three veteran pop music masters who are not easily influenced by record companies, with Xu Nuo's current abilities, it would be difficult for her to make it to the final top 10.

Xu Nuo didn't even dream of making it to the top 10; she just wanted to make it to the top 50 to prove her worth.

As she wished, she successfully made it to the top 50 of this year's Youth Star with her new folk-style inspirational song "Starting Again."

Initially, she thought achieving this would be enough, but once she did, a new hope sprang in her heart.

If she could just work a bit harder and make it from the top 50 to the final top 10, she would surely attract the attention of record companies and might even sign a new contract!

With this mindset, Xu Nuo spent the past week thinking hard about which song to use for the weekend competition.

That night, she came to Yun World to practice her new song in the music room.

Passing by the recording studio, she saw the lights on and quietly entered.

She saw Du Xinghe playing the violin with great dedication, which gave her a shock!

She didn't remember that her mischievous junior, Du Xinghe, knew how to play the violin?

Putting on the headphones on the control panel, she found that Du Xinghe's violin playing was truly at a high level, almost like a hidden master!

Xu Nuo sat down to listen and appreciate.

Xu Nuo could tell that Du Xinghe was arranging and composing music for a song with a classical style. However, just listening to the accompaniment, she couldn't quite understand what Du Xinghe was doing.

She even wondered: Why not use more traditional Chinese instruments like the guzheng and xiao for this classical-style accompaniment?

When Du Xinghe came out of the recording studio, Xu Nuo immediately asked, "Du Xinghe, what are you recording?"

"I'm recording a demo for the closing theme of 'Bao Qingtian' for Huashì."

Du Xinghe then showed Xu Nuo the song he had composed, "Butterfly Dream," as they were in the same company, and he had no reason to hide it from her.

Following the rough score and lyrics on the paper, Xu Nuo instinctively hummed "Butterfly Dream": "Yesterday, like the east-flowing water, is gone and cannot be retained. Today, my heart is troubled with many worries. Cutting the water with a sword only makes it flow more. Drinking to forget my sorrows only makes them deeper. Tomorrow, the clear wind will scatter them all..."

The more she hummed, the more she found the song appealing. It had a classical style but also a modern feel, creating a wonderful blend of the two.

By the end, Xu Nuo finally understood why Du Xinghe used Western instruments for the accompaniment.

Du Xinghe wanted to use Western instruments to enhance the modern feel of the song, achieving a harmonious state.

If traditional instruments were used, the song would lean more towards a classical style, and it wouldn't have the current feel.

"Did you really write this?"

Just humming it once, Xu Nuo could feel the spirit in the lyrics and melody of "Butterfly Dream," and she found it hard to believe that Du Xinghe wrote it.

If it were written by Du Shan, she might have believed it. But upon reflection, Du Shan's previous closing themes were more traditional and not as lively as this song.

"Of course, I wrote it. I've been working on this song for three days straight." Rubbing his slightly heavy eyelids, Du Xinghe smiled.

"Only three days?"

Xu Nuo was even more amazed. To write a song, not counting the arrangement, sometimes it would take her one or two months just to write the lyrics and melody.

She never expected that Du Xinghe, the "Huaguang Wolf," could write a complete song in three days and even finish the arrangement and recording. He was truly a genius!

Two days ago, when she heard from Lin Jianguo that Du Xinghe was going to continue Du Shan's work and run Yun World, she thought it was a joke.

Now, seeing Du Xinghe's work, Xu Nuo's view of him changed completely, and even a hint of admiration appeared in her eyes!

After all, the handsome 1.8-meter-tall man in front of her had just lost his father not long ago!

She never expected him to stand up so quickly from his grief and unleash all his potential, which was truly admirable!

With a genius like Du Xinghe at the helm, Yun World might really continue!

The more Xu Nuo thought about it, the more excited she became, and she even forgot about preparing her new song for the Youth Star competition.

In fact, as long as Yun World could continue and give her a sense of belonging, she didn't care about the Youth Star competition anymore.

---

[AD begins]

[AD ends]