I Became an All-round Artist

Five minutes later, Gu Qiangyun left.

Gu Dong entered Lin Yuan's office, holding a contract. "This is a commission for a theme song for a martial arts game. One of Qizhou’s most unique industries is its booming film and television sector, but aside from that, Qizhou also leads the gaming industry in Bluestar. Do you play games, Director Lin?" she asked.

"Occasionally," Lin Yuan replied.

He had played some games before with Xia Fan and Jian Yi. Lin Yuan found the most fun in playing co-op games with friends, but playing alone never quite appealed to him. Now that everyone was busy, he hadn't touched games in quite some time.

"I see," Gu Dong nodded, already accustomed to Lin Yuan's straightforward style.

It made sense for someone from the headquarters to be a bit aloof, given the vast difference between the head office and this branch. Plus, she imagined Lin Yuan might be a little frustrated about being sent to clean up the mess here in Qizhou.

She could empathize with that.

Lin Yuan took the contract from her but didn’t bother to open it. Instead, he stood up and said, "That's enough for today. Please drive me back to my residence, and let’s take a quick detour by Qizhou Art Academy so I can get familiar with the area."

"Alright…" Gu Dong was a bit disappointed. He didn’t even glance at the contract? But she kept her thoughts to herself. "Your luggage is still in my car, so we can leave right away."

"Okay."

As Lin Yuan headed downstairs, Gu Dong discreetly rolled her eyes but quickly followed him.

On the way to his residence, she briefed him on the surroundings. "There’s a scenic area to the east. If you're interested, you could visit when you have some free time. Shall we head to the academy first?"

"Just a look from the outside is fine."

Lin Yuan didn’t plan to enter the campus. The semester would start in a week, and the school wasn’t open yet. As a visiting student, he assumed the registration process would be cumbersome.

"Understood."

The academy was about six or seven kilometers from the company—far enough to seem distant but only a 20-minute drive.

"That's Qizhou Art Academy over there."

Lin Yuan looked in the direction Gu Dong pointed. In the distance stood a large university. Its architectural style was slightly different from Qinzhou's, but it was just as impressive in scale.

No wonder it was considered on par with Qinzhou Art Academy.

After circling the campus, Gu Dong drove Lin Yuan to his new residence—a beautifully landscaped neighborhood called "Pear Blossom Courtyard." It had a nice ring to it. The company had provided him with a well-furnished two-bedroom apartment. Though it couldn’t compare to his place back in Qinzhou, it was more than enough for one person.

The environment was peaceful, and Lin Yuan was quite satisfied. It was clear the person who arranged the accommodation had put some thought into it.

"Do you cook, Director Lin?" Gu Dong asked.

"Sometimes."

Lin Yuan occasionally cooked for himself in Qinzhou, and his skills were decent. However, since he usually ate at school or the company, he didn’t get many opportunities to cook.

"Then you should know there's a market about 600 meters left from the entrance of the neighborhood," she added, having already scouted the area herself.

"Got it."

Lin Yuan unpacked his things. Gu Dong hesitated before saying, "The room was cleaned yesterday, and I bought new bedding. It’s already washed and very clean. Is there anything else you need? If not, I should get back to the office—there’s still work to do."

She emphasized the "still work to do" part, though not too overtly, and looked a bit deflated when it didn’t seem to make an impact.

"You can head back. Thanks for your help," Lin Yuan said, starting to settle in.

There wasn’t much to unpack since the room had already been tidied. Most of it was just organizing his clothes.

After he finished, Lin Yuan lay down on the bed. It wasn’t that he wanted to leave work early—flying had simply worn him out. For someone who rarely flew, the experience left him feeling disoriented. Even though he’d managed to sleep for a few hours on the plane, he hadn’t shaken off the grogginess.

Half an hour later, Lin Yuan felt better. He sat up and finally took a look at the contract.

It was for a theme song for a martial arts game.

Though the golden age of wuxia novels had passed, martial arts-themed games remained hugely popular on Bluestar. After all, playing a game and reading a novel offered very different experiences.

The request was simple: write a song with a strong "jianghu" (martial arts world) feel.

The game’s story was fairly standard: a young man embarks on a journey through the martial world, eventually becoming a renowned martial arts master.

Of course, as with many wuxia stories, there was also a love interest.

The young man’s childhood sweetheart was killed when he first entered the martial world, fueling his desire for revenge. As he grew stronger and defeated his enemies, he met a girl who resembled his lost love. They fell in love and faced many trials together. However, when the girl discovered the truth—that she might only be a replacement for the sweetheart—she left him.

Ten years later, they met again. By then, the girl realized the young man truly loved her and had spent the entire decade searching for her.

By then, he had strands of white in his hair, but they still happily held hands.

The commission outlined this story in much more detail, running several thousand words. Lin Yuan had simply summarized it.

There were three key points the contract emphasized: the song should evoke a strong "jianghu" feel, convey some of the bittersweet romance between the characters, and be in Mandarin, since the game would be released globally.

Even though it was a Qizhou-based game, Mandarin was essential for a global launch.

Lin Yuan had expected to write a song in the local Qizhou dialect, so he was a bit surprised that his first commission here was still for a Mandarin song.

He called up the system and read the song requirements aloud. "How much will it cost to compose a song like this?"

The system responded, "Fifty thousand."

Though the requirements were somewhat specific, this type of song wasn’t rare, so the price wasn’t too high.

Considering both the commission fee and potential revenue from song downloads, Lin Yuan felt this was a good deal.

"Proceed with the commission?" the system asked.

"Go ahead."

Lin Yuan still had about one million in his account, so the fifty-thousand price tag was affordable.

"Random selection in progress..."

After about thirty seconds, the system announced, "Congratulations! You've acquired the song 'A Hero’s Smile.' Would you like to listen now?"

"Yes."

Lin Yuan recognized the song. It seemed to be from the Legend of the Condor Heroes TV adaptation in his previous world, performed by Zhou Huajian.

As the system played the song, Lin Yuan nodded in approval. It matched the game’s theme well—martial world conflicts, love, and tragedy—all captured in the lyrics:

"A hero’s smile… the grudges end… people clash… smiles conceal blades… love is lost… unshaken… unforgettable… your kindness… like flowers, like mist…"

The melody also fit the mood perfectly.

For this kind of commission, the song seemed more than adequate.

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