I Became an All-round Artist

"Summer break precautions..."

Lin Yuan was surprised that even as a college student, he still received a "College Summer Safety Guide" from his school. He hadn't seen something like this since elementary school.

The most bizarre thing was that the content was almost identical to the "Elementary School Summer Safety Guide":

Don’t play with fire.
Don’t swim near rivers.
Don’t run red lights, and so on.

If there was any difference, it was that the college version included advice like "avoid nightclubs and parties," a concept that was beyond elementary schoolers.

Either way, summer break was finally here.

Back at the company, Lin Yuan went straight upstairs to find his supervisor, Zhou Ruiming.

"You're here," said Old Zhou, smiling. "Tea?"

Lin Yuan nodded. Free premium tea? Of course, he wasn’t going to pass that up.

"So, what's up?" Old Zhou asked as he poured tea for Lin Yuan, thinking he was here to discuss The First Dream.

"I want to go to Qizhou during my third year," Lin Yuan replied.

Zhou was taken aback, but quickly composed himself. "Why?"

Lin Yuan explained his exchange student opportunity and reassured him, "I'll still write songs while I'm there and send them to your email."

He didn’t want his work to be affected.

Old Zhou looked at Lin Yuan thoughtfully. "Did you hear something about Qizhou?"

Lin Yuan was puzzled.

Seeing his reaction, Zhou chuckled. "You know about Yang Zhongming coming back to Qinzhou, right?"

Lin Yuan nodded. Yang Zhongming was a big name, a “song god,” often talked about in the office.

"Yeah." Zhou tapped his fingers on the table. "Our company actually has a small branch in Qizhou. Even though Yang Zhongming was mostly based in Qizhou, he didn’t really involve himself with that branch. But now that he’s back in Qinzhou, the situation at the Qizhou branch has worsened. The music market there is completely different from Qinzhou’s—it’s like night and day."

Lin Yuan nodded, though he wasn’t sure how this related to him.

"To be frank," Zhou sighed, "the Qizhou branch is in bad shape. HQ has been pressuring me to send someone there to help, but none of our top composers want to go. The work conditions there are rough. Since you’re one of our star composers now, I’d prefer if you didn’t go."

Lin Yuan remembered overhearing Zhou talking on the phone about sending someone to Qizhou before.

It seemed like he was being considered for that role.

"So, if I go, will I still just be writing songs?" Lin Yuan asked.

Zhou chuckled. "Of course."

"Then I’m okay with it," Lin Yuan nodded.

As long as it was about writing songs, he wasn’t worried about managing.

Zhou studied Lin Yuan for a moment before finally saying, "Alright, it’s only for about a year. Even if things don’t go well, it’ll be like I’m giving you a year off."

"So, I don’t need to send songs back?" Lin Yuan asked.

"No need. You'll have your hands full dealing with the chaos over there. We’ll give you the title of 'Head Office Special Representative,' so you’ll be at the same level as the branch manager."

"Got it," Lin Yuan replied, signaling that the decision was pretty much made.

...

Word quickly spread around the tenth-floor composition department that Lin Yuan was heading to the Qizhou branch.

His colleague, Wu Yong, rushed over. "Why are you jumping into the fire pit that is Qizhou?"

"Fire pit?" Lin Yuan was puzzled.

"Yeah, it's a nightmare over there," Wu Yong groaned. "Writing songs there is torture. The clients know nothing about music, but they love to micromanage. It's not like here in Qinzhou, where we have creative freedom."

"Oh." Lin Yuan nodded thoughtfully.

Wu Yong sighed and tried to reason with him. "Everyone avoids that place like the plague, and here you are volunteering for it. The Qizhou branch is falling apart. In two or three years, it'll probably shut down, and you’ll be stuck holding the blame."

"I’ll do my best," Lin Yuan said calmly.

Wu Yong rolled his eyes. If effort alone could fix things, the branch wouldn’t be in such a state. But seeing Lin Yuan’s determination, he gave up trying to convince him.

In the following days, Lin Yuan carried on with work as usual.

During his free time, he continued working on Jade Dynasty. Of course, for Lin Yuan, work was also part of his "free time."

Meanwhile, his sister Lin Yao had finished her college entrance exams and was waiting for her admission results.

Jian Yi had gone home for the holidays.
Xia Fan was busy rehearsing and competing on Blooming.

They all kept in touch occasionally in their small group chat, updating each other on their lives.

When Lin Yuan mentioned in the chat that he would be going to Qizhou as an exchange student, Jian Yi was thrilled.

He thought he’d be going to Qizhou alone, but now he had a companion.

"See you at Qizhou Arts!" Jian Yi messaged.

Qizhou Arts was the full name of the academy.

A few minutes later, Jian Yi messaged again: "I looked it up. Turns out Qizhou Arts separates its students. I’m in the Acting Academy, and you’re in the Music Academy, two kilometers apart. We might not see each other much."

"Be thankful for that," Xia Fan popped up. "Now with Lin Yuan leaving as well, I’ll be the only one left at Qinzhou Arts next year..."

Lin Xuan, Lin Yuan’s older sister, chimed in, "I’ll keep you company. By the way, is your competition over?"

Xia Fan responded, "It’s done! I’m officially in the top 20 nationwide! Don’t tell anyone though—it’s a secret for the viewers. You’ll see it on TV tonight!"

"Congrats!"
"Autographs!"
"Good luck!"

They all shared in Xia Fan’s excitement.

That night, both Lin Yuan and Lin Xuan watched the latest episode of Blooming.

Recently, Lin Xuan hadn’t missed a single episode, and Lin Yuan watched with her.

The show aired every Saturday.

When the host announced Xia Fan had advanced to the top 20, Lin Xuan jumped up in excitement. "Top 20! Top 20!"

Lin Yuan didn’t quite understand. They already knew the result from the group chat earlier in the day.

As a good friend, Lin Yuan had naturally been following Xia Fan’s progress. Online, discussions about Blooming were everywhere.

Xia Fan was one of the season's standout contestants and had already gained quite a bit of popularity.

From what Lin Yuan could see, she had a real shot at making it to the finals...