I Became an All-round Artist

Lin Yuan wasn’t particularly skilled at mingling with others, so even though he had been frequenting the company over the past few days, the only people he was relatively familiar with were Gu Qiangyun and his daughter. However, Lin Yuan had quickly gotten acquainted with his surroundings.

He had tried all the restaurants near the company in rotation. Compared to Qinzou, the food here was different. It wasn’t as spicy, and the dishes tended to have a lot of sugar added. Lin Yuan preferred stronger flavors, so he wasn’t entirely used to it. Nonetheless, he could still find food he liked, so it wasn’t unbearable.

One thing worth mentioning, though, was the local desserts, which were quite good. Occasionally, before heading home from work, Lin Yuan would buy some to enjoy later.

By now, the start of the new semester at Qiyi was approaching fast, and with just three days left before school started, the company had finally secured a potential new deal!

This was considered very fast, as it usually took the company one or two months to land a deal. The person who brought in the lead was Gu Dong. However, this success wasn’t really the company’s doing; it was all thanks to Xian Yu. Initially, the other party had been unwilling to work with Xingmang Music, but when Gu Dong mentioned that Xian Yu, the company's star composer from the Qinzou headquarters, would personally create a theme song, they finally became interested.

The company took this matter very seriously. When the client came to discuss the collaboration, Gu Qiangyun, as the branch manager, personally went out to greet them.

“Your company’s situation is even worse than I expected,” remarked the client, a representative from a film company. They were producing a movie and needed a theme song.

Gu Qiangyun awkwardly chuckled, “Well, the important thing is the talent. Our company is full of it, especially Xian Yu, our star composer, who is a genius from the music capital! It took a lot of effort to convince headquarters to let him come here.”

The client coolly responded, “If it weren’t for Xian Yu, I wouldn’t have come at all. ‘The Big Fish’ was a decent song.”

“Yes, yes, exactly,” Gu Qiangyun said, accustomed to such attitudes from clients.

After entering the office, Gu Qiangyun and Gu Dong led the client to the meeting room. The client, sipping the tea that Gu Dong had prepared, began outlining their requirements, “We need a song centered around urban romance…”

Their demands were quite detailed, and Gu Qiangyun listened intently. Once the client finished speaking, Gu Qiangyun rubbed his hands and said, “There’s one thing we need to discuss.”

“I understand,” the client responded. “Is it about the price? If necessary, we can adjust it.”

“That’s not it…” Gu Qiangyun hesitated. “Our composer, Xian Yu, has one condition: after the song is completed, he insists on having control over choosing the singer and overseeing the recording.”

The atmosphere froze for several seconds.

Gu Dong’s eyes widened. She had no idea about this!

After the tense pause, the client stared at Gu Qiangyun and asked, “Are you serious?”

“Yes,” Gu Qiangyun replied, helpless. He knew this was a high-value deal, but he had spoken to Lin Yuan several times over the past few days, and Lin Yuan had remained firm on this point. So, he had no choice but to bring it up.

“In such a small company, you sure have big demands,” the client said, standing up. “Sorry for the trouble, we’ll be leaving.”

Gu Qiangyun panicked. “Please reconsider. For ‘The Big Fish,’ Xian Yu also handled both the singer selection and recording…”

“One thing is letting him participate in the recording, but we’ve already chosen our singer. Are you saying we need your approval for whether they can sing or not?” one of the client’s associates snapped, clearly annoyed.

Gu Qiangyun quickly explained, “Xian Yu is highly professional!”

The client glared at him. “Do you think our music department isn’t?”

“That’s not what I meant…”

“Either way, we won’t accept such conditions. I doubt there’s any client in Qi State who would. It’s almost like you think you’re the ones in charge.”

With that, the client stormed out, muttering, “This is the first time I’ve ever seen a subcontractor make such ridiculous demands. Who do they think they are?”

“Apologies, apologies…” Gu Qiangyun said as he escorted them out. Once they were gone, his face fell.

Beside him, Gu Dong looked at him and asked, “Is this for real? Did Lin Yuan really…?”

“It’s real,” Gu Qiangyun sighed.

Gu Dong was frustrated. “We worked so hard to land that potential deal. What a shame. Maybe you should talk to Lin Yuan again?”

Gu Qiangyun shook his head. “I’ve already talked to him several times. If I keep pushing, he’ll get angry.”

“I see.” Gu Dong gritted her teeth. “Well, I’m sure someone will agree eventually. I’ll go find some more leads. Xian Yu’s reputation is still a strong asset!”

“…”

Gu Qiangyun remained silent. He knew how tricky this would be. Clients in Qi State were used to being treated like kings. They wouldn’t accept buying a song only to be dictated by the composer on how to handle it. Xian Yu’s reputation wasn’t big enough to pull that off.

The client they had just met had been relatively polite. A more hot-tempered one might have exploded right there in the meeting room.

Gu Dong tried to comfort him. “Don’t worry, it’s just that this client didn’t recognize the value. Look, the Menglong deal went through, and they even specifically thanked Lin Yuan! I’m heading out to get us more leads. Just wait for the good news.”

After saying that, Gu Dong left.

Gu Qiangyun felt bitter. When it came to stubbornness, Lin Yuan was even more difficult to deal with than Qinzou’s top producer, Yang Zhongming, had been.

The matter quickly spread throughout the company, and everyone was stunned when they heard about Lin Yuan’s demands.

“Is this for real?”

“Lin Yuan wants the client to give up control over the singer and the recording process?”

“Would any client agree to that?”

“I’m currently negotiating a new deal, but even if I close it, I doubt they’d accept Lin Yuan’s terms.”

“This is going to be tough.”

“I highly doubt any client in Qi State would agree to such conditions. I get where Lin Yuan is coming from—no one wants their hard work to be ruined by someone else’s decisions—but this is Qi State. The clients here call the shots.”

“Remember that deal I did last year? The song was clearly meant for a male singer, but the client insisted on using a female vocalist. It was infuriating! They even blamed me for the song not working out, but the singer couldn’t do the song justice.”

“…”

Everyone vented their frustrations, and in the end, all they could do was sigh.

“What else can we do? We’ll just have to keep pushing for more deals.”

At that moment, everyone realized the long road ahead.

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