Chapter 3

"When the main melody of a song is relatively long, you can break it down into several smaller segments, which we often refer to as phrases. Each phrase will have slight variations in its performance, for example, this part..."

The next morning.

Composition class.

Lin Yuan listened to the teacher's explanation while taking notes in his notebook.

Although the original owner had transferred from the vocal department to the composition department and was not particularly talented in composition, music-related fields were still within his interests.

And now, Lin Yuan, like the original owner, was also deeply interested in music.

He did not want to end up with a bunch of songs in the future and not even be proficient in reading sheet music.

What Lin Yuan did not expect was that taking professional classes seriously would bring unexpected rewards—

A notification suddenly sounded in his ear: "Ding, detected that the host is learning composition knowledge, triggering a beginner task."

Then,

A few lines of faintly glowing blue text appeared before Lin Yuan's eyes:

[Task Name: A Student's Duty is to Learn]

[Task Content: In the next professional class exam, score in the top twenty-five of the class]

[Task Reward: Obtain a Bronze Treasure Chest]

Although the beginner task came unexpectedly, Lin Yuan was not too surprised.

Is a system that doesn't issue tasks still a system?

Then he began to consider the difficulty of the task:

Qinzhou Music Academy's composition department alone has ten classes, each with about fifty students, and Lin Yuan's class has exactly fifty students.

But this was not relevant to Lin Yuan.

Because he did not need to compete with students from other classes.

The beginner task only required Lin Yuan to be in the top twenty-five of his class in the next exam.

This was not a big problem for Lin Yuan.

Because his usual ranking in professional classes was around thirtieth, and with a bit more effort, he should be able to enter the top twenty-five.

"What happens if I fail the task?"

Lin Yuan curiously asked the system in his mind: "Will I be electrocuted by the system? Or erased by the system? Wait!"

Lin Yuan's face changed slightly: "It wouldn't be a fine, would it? No, no, no, right?"

[System's First Rule: Never harm the host]

[Additionally, a friendly reminder: electrocution, erasure, each is more terrifying than a fine. Please prioritize correctly]

"As long as there's no fine."

Lin Yuan sighed in relief, but then he suddenly realized that even if the system wanted to fine him, he had no money to pay...

This realization made him somewhat disheartened.

...

After class.

Lin Yuan did not return to the dormitory but found a quiet place and dialed a number from his phone. The contact was labeled:

"Agent Zhao Yu."

The phone was answered after two rings.

On the other end, a somewhat tired woman's voice said, "Lin Yuan? What's up?"

Lin Yuan said, "I have a song I want to release."

The voice on the other end immediately became more excited: "You want to release a song? Has your voice recovered? Can you sing again?"

"No."

Lin Yuan said, "I've transferred from the vocal department to the composition department. I have a song recently and I want to see if the company can help find a singer to perform and release it."

"Is that so."

Zhao Yu sounded a bit disappointed, her voice becoming low again: "You also want to participate in the November Newcomer Season, right?"

"Yes."

"I have to remind you, you are a singer signed to Starlight Entertainment, not a songwriter. The company has a dedicated department for songwriters to work with singers, and most singers have their own collaborators..." Zhao Yu refused gently.

But Lin Yuan did not give up: "Can I transfer to the songwriting department now?"

He needed the company's distribution channels.

Without the company's resources for promotion, even an excellent song could easily be lost in obscurity. Every newcomer who made a name for themselves during the Newcomer Season had the backing of an entertainment company.

"No!"

Zhao Yu flatly refused.

The air was silent for about ten seconds, then Zhao Yu sighed, somewhat helplessly: "Forget it, use the company's internal channel to encrypt and send me the song. If the quality is good, I'll find someone to help you release it. If it's not, we'll pretend this never happened."

"Thank you."

Lin Yuan sincerely thanked her.

Zhao Yu was the one who signed Lin Yuan, and she had once had high hopes for him. Unfortunately, Lin Yuan's voice was damaged, and he lost his value.

Under these circumstances, Zhao Yu was still willing to help Lin Yuan, which was a significant favor.

"That's it, I'm hanging up."

Zhao Yu cut off the call somewhat irritably.

...

Zhao Yu's irritation was not directed at Lin Yuan, but it was caused by him.

It was also because the Newcomer Season was next month, and Zhao Yu had a lot to do.

She had a few newly signed artists who she wanted to push during the annual Newcomer Season.

Originally, Lin Yuan should have been one of these newcomers.

Zhao Yu had even considered inviting the company's top songwriters to create a few songs tailored for Lin Yuan, hoping to make him stand out during the Newcomer Season, as his vocal talent was truly remarkable.

But things did not go as planned.

"Since the path of a singer is blocked, you want to switch to songwriting?"

Zhao Yu shook her head with a bitter smile. If songwriting were that easy, why would some top-tier singers not write their own songs and instead hire professional songwriters?

Is it because they don't want to?

No, it's because they can't write songs that the audience loves.

In today's era, a song's composer holds a higher status than the singer, especially in the current pragmatic industry.

The composer is the boss!

Because a company with a top composer can support a group of singers.

In fact, in recent years, listeners have started paying more attention to the composer's name.

Clearly, the public has begun to realize that the composition is the soul of a song, and performance is secondary!

Other aspects, such as lyrics and arrangement, are also important, but the core of a song is the composition, which is even more important than the performance—

A good composition sounds great even with simple instrumentation!

Whether it's a guitar, piano, bass, or oboe, a creative person can make the composition shine in various ways.

"This kid is also a pitiful one."

Recalling some past events, Zhao Yu sighed.

When Lin Yuan was hospitalized, Zhao Yu, as his agent, had actually visited him, but she stopped at the door of the ward.

Because she heard a hoarse, sobbing cry from inside, a sound like an injured puppy...

Everyone has compassion.

This was why Zhao Yu was willing to help Lin Yuan.

Regardless of success or failure, at least she wanted to give the kid a chance, to let him know that many things in this world are not as simple as they seem.

"But, you've caused me a lot of trouble."

Zhao Yu sighed, her face filled with worry, which was the root of her irritation—

The annual Newcomer Season is when all major companies push their new artists.

During this period, the competition is fierce.

Even in the global entertainment industry, Starlight Entertainment is a well-known company.

In Qinzhou, Starlight Entertainment's overall strength ranks among the top three!

But Starlight Entertainment has performed poorly in the Newcomer Season for three consecutive years.

The best performance in the past three years was two artists making it into the top ten, but they were at the bottom of the list, ranking ninth and tenth...

Compared to other companies of the same level, this was a significant setback.

What upset Starlight the most was that their rival, Sahara Culture, had four artists in the top ten last year, including the second and third places, which were highly valued.

This made the executives at Starlight lose face, as the major entertainment companies in Qinzhou were very competitive. The executives naturally put pressure on the company's chief agent, Zhao Yu.

Under duress, Zhao Yu made a pledge in front of all the executives:

This year's Newcomer Season must produce a top-three artist!

If she failed, she would request a demotion.

The reason Zhao Yu dared to make this pledge was not only because of the pressure from the executives but also because she had just signed a young man with a voice that amazed her, Lin Yuan, and she was eager to make a big move—

She believed Lin Yuan could help her achieve this goal.

But now Lin Yuan's voice was ruined, and the pledge remained in effect.

The executives only cared about the results, not the circumstances.

So Zhao Yu was frantically searching for someone to replace Lin Yuan and help her fulfill the pledge, and she had already submitted nine new artists.

But Zhao Yu was also very clear.

These nine new artists had a chance to make it into the top twenty, but making it into the top ten would depend on luck.

Aiming for the top five or even the top three?

Forget it, it's better to go to bed and dream about it.

The company could allocate ten slots, and now only one remained, but Zhao Yu still hadn't found a suitable replacement for Lin Yuan.

She was almost in a state of giving up.

So she eventually agreed to Lin Yuan.

After all, it was just the last slot. If Lin Yuan's song was of acceptable quality, why not give the pitiful kid a chance?

At that moment,

Her phone rang.

It was an email notification, sent through the company's internal encrypted channel, from Lin Yuan.

Opening the email,

Zhao Yu decrypted it and saw the audio file Lin Yuan had sent, titled: "Life as a Summer Flower."

"Life as a Summer Flower?"

Zhao Yu didn't understand the meaning but could vaguely sense some imagery.

She put on her headphones and played the audio.

Immersed in the music, she finished the song.

Zhao Yu's expression was a mix of surprise and astonishment.

Unlike rough demos, Lin Yuan's song was complete, with a fully developed melody and even the arrangement was done—

This was not something that could be done in a short time.

The vocal part was a pure hum, synthesized by a machine.

But the sound was not as stiff as typical machine-generated sounds, appearing quite natural.

However, Zhao Yu could judge from experience that if the hum was replaced with a human voice, it would have a lot of potential.

"Interesting."

Zhao Yu was an agent.

While she might not be an expert in composition, her years of industry experience gave her a good sense of judgment.

Her eyes gleamed, and she felt that "Life as a Summer Flower" could be a very good song, as she was already somewhat captivated, even with just the melody and synthesized hum.

"Does this guy really have a talent for composition?"

Raising an eyebrow, Zhao Yu made three phone calls in quick succession.

The first call was to the review department: "I have a song, review it urgently, and give me the results by tonight."

This was a necessary step.

Technical review was to prevent Lin Yuan's "Life as a Summer Flower" from being too similar to other songs on the market, which could lead to accusations of plagiarism, a serious blow to the company's reputation.

The second call was to one of her agents.

As the chief, Zhao Yu's voice was firm: "Record the song tonight. The last slot for the Newcomer Season, find someone reliable, and don't make it too difficult for the sound engineer."

For Zhao Yu, a new artist with a less-than-perfect voice was not a big issue.

It just meant more work for the company's sound engineers.

The third call was to Lin Yuan, her tone much softer than the previous two: "When do you finish class today? I'll pick you up at your school, and we'll record the song."

"Okay."

Lin Yuan replied.

His tone seemed... not surprised?