I Became an All-round Artist

Red Moon and Lone Wolf have taken on a competitive contract for Seven Stars Entertainment! The music industry in Qi Province has been relatively calm for a while, with no major headlines. So, when these two companies started mobilizing, it caught the attention of many within the industry.

"Red Moon and Lone Wolf?" "Are they at it again?"

Many exchanged knowing smiles. Typically, while Red Moon and Lone Wolf are reputable, they aren't at the level of top-tier music production companies that would draw significant attention. Usually, people would focus on the top ten companies when a real clash occurs. But the twist here is that there’s some bad blood between Red Moon and Lone Wolf!

The specifics have faded from memory for most, but people remember how, a few years back, Lone Wolf snatched a five-million-yuan contract right out from under Red Moon, which even drew the intervention of the Qi Province Music Association. It escalated to the point of legal action.

That was just the beginning. In the same year, Red Moon retaliated by stealing a three-million-yuan contract from Lone Wolf using the same tactic—offering fifty thousand yuan less at the last minute and completing the project with top-notch quality. This sparked a bitter rivalry between the two companies.

However, since both companies are driven by profit, they eventually made peace. The details of the reconciliation aren't well known to the public, but it’s clear they stopped sabotaging each other, and things stayed quiet for a while.

But now, Seven Stars Entertainment has stirred things up by giving both Red Moon and Lone Wolf the same competitive contract. It's almost as if they’ve set up an arena for the two to battle it out. While the companies may have publicly reconciled, there’s no way either would take this competition lightly—especially since their strengths are fairly evenly matched.

This is why people are so interested. There’s a natural fascination with conflict, and this competitive contract carries an undertone of unfinished business.

“Seven Stars sure knows how to stir the pot.” “This move was a stroke of genius.” “You can’t even accuse Seven Stars of being malicious. After all, Red Moon and Lone Wolf have supposedly made peace. So, how can we blame Seven Stars for setting up this competition?”

“Big corporations are careful to avoid anything that could be criticized.” “Plus, Seven Stars didn’t force them to accept the deal. If either Red Moon or Lone Wolf wasn’t interested, the competition wouldn’t have happened.” “It’s all about the balance of power between two close rivals.”

The industry was abuzz with discussions. Meanwhile, Star Sound Music’s historic entrance into the lower ranks of the secondary list seemed relatively insignificant in comparison. Some pointed out that Seven Stars had actually contracted five companies, not just Red Moon and Lone Wolf.

“The other three are just along for the ride.” “They’re probably just hoping to get lucky.” “One of those three is Star Sound Music. You’ve heard of Xian Yu, right? Don’t underestimate him.”

“Yeah, I’ve heard of him. His recent song, ‘Like You,’ is pretty popular.” “That was from Thunder’s three-million-yuan contract, and he delivered. That means there’s a chance he could pull off the Seven Stars project too.” “He could, but it’s unlikely.” “His company’s overall strength is the weak link.”

“Seven Stars probably included them to make it seem fair. They’re sending the message that they didn’t set this up just to fan the flames between Red Moon and Lone Wolf. Look, they contracted five companies in total. It’s all coincidental—just a matter of choosing partners based on strength.”

“That’s spot-on.” “But this project won’t be easy. It’s rumored to be a custom song for Shuiyun, and everyone knows how high her standards are for song quality.” “If you ask me, Seven Stars is being cheap with this deal.” “They’re clearly using Red Moon and Lone Wolf to lower costs. Otherwise, they could have gone with a top-ten company, or even contracted directly with Qin Province. But without at least four or five million yuan, Qin Province’s top composers wouldn’t even consider it.”

This much is true. While Qi Province’s composers are accustomed to working on commissioned projects for clients, their counterparts in Qin Province value creative freedom more.

As news of the Seven Stars competitive project spread, the companies ranked around the 90s on the list breathed a collective sigh of relief.

So, Star Sound Music is tied up with a competitive contract, huh?

They were temporarily safe. The reasoning was simple: within Star Sound, only Xian Yu had the credentials to take on this project.

Xian Yu, being the top talent, would surely be focused on the Seven Stars deal. Even if he was just trying his luck, at least for now, he wouldn’t be taking on any other jobs. And his chances of completing this project? Very slim.

That’s because he would have to outperform both Red Moon and Lone Wolf—two major powerhouses!

“Go all in, Xian Yu!” “Let him get completely tied up with Red Moon and Lone Wolf.” “As long as Xian Yu doesn’t complete any other projects, in two months tops, Firelight will kick Star Sound Music out of the top 100 again.”

“This is a real solo fight for Xian Yu.” “As long as he’s focused on this, the rest of Star Sound’s team poses no threat.” “He’s practically on a one-man mission here.”

And if Xian Yu doesn’t pull this off, within a few months, Star Sound Music will be back out of the rankings.

But what if he succeeds?

One company’s group chat fell silent for a moment before erupting with concern:

“What if Xian Yu actually pulls it off?”

The silence in the chat lasted a few seconds longer. Then someone broke it:

“You mean Red Moon and Lone Wolf both fail?”

“If Xian Yu manages to complete this project, the ones who should worry won’t be us. Do you think the companies ranked in the 80s are sitting comfortably?”

“If that happens, we’ll all go down together.” “But is that even likely?”

Then the department head chimed in: “If Xian Yu is smart, he’ll back out of this deal in a few days and focus on other projects. If that happens, we’re in trouble again.”

The chat fell silent once more.

Although being chased by Xian Yu might feel a bit embarrassing, everyone had to admit that the supervisor had a point. They couldn’t solely rely on Xian Yu being tied down by the Seven Stars contract. He was probably just testing his luck, and it was likely that he would give up in a few days.

So, Star Sound Music still posed a significant threat. If they didn’t seize this opportunity to produce results, it would only be a matter of time before they were knocked down a spot. And even a one-rank drop would affect both the volume and value of their contracts. That’s why everyone cared so much about the rankings.

Over at Star Sound Music, they were well aware of the industry chatter. The company might be a mess, but it wasn’t completely disconnected from Qi Province’s music scene. They had no issue accepting the label of being “underdogs.”

Even Gu Qiangyun himself admitted that this project was a long shot. But this didn’t dampen the team’s spirits. In fact, the company had been riding a bit of a high lately, thanks to finally breaking into Qi Province’s top 100 secondary list!

The impact of being in the top 100 was immediate. Almost as soon as Star Sound made it onto the list, several companies reached out, hinting at potential collaborations. Gu Qiangyun was more than happy to meet them with enthusiasm.

Star Sound Music had always been fragmented, not just because the company was weak but also because they never really had any opportunities. Many clients in the past wouldn’t even consider working with them. But now, with the increase in orders, Gu Qiangyun finally had some options to choose from.

Several of the company’s capable composers had already landed new contracts, a rare occurrence. Still, some potential deals fell through, just as they had in the past. Many clients were really only interested in working with Xian Yu. If he didn’t take on the project, they weren’t interested.

Because of this, Gu Qiangyun called a rare meeting, emphasizing one main point: everyone had to seize this opportunity! This was the chance that Lin had brought to the company. If it weren’t for Lin single-handedly pushing Star Sound into the top 100, they wouldn’t have all these orders coming in.

Lin Yuan, of course, didn’t attend the meeting. He was still at school. Not that he needed to focus much on his studies these days—thanks to Yang Zhongming's character card lessons, Lin Yuan had already mastered most of this semester’s material. He figured he could easily land in the top five of his class if there were an exam right now.

So, whether in class or after school, Lin Yuan’s mind was preoccupied with the Seven Stars contract. What kind of song would meet Shuiyun’s standards? It had to match her style while still distinguishing itself from her previous works.

Lin Yuan decided he needed some advice. He thought of Gu Dong and sent her a message—not so much to seek advice, but more as casual conversation: "What do you think of Shuiyun’s music?"

“When I listen to her songs, it’s like listening to a story,” Gu Dong replied immediately, clearly aware that Lin Yuan was thinking about the Seven Stars contract. She quickly added, “You really don’t need to stress about this contract, Lin. If it doesn’t work out, it’s fine. The company has been receiving new orders lately, and we’ll let you know if something suitable comes up.”

It was obvious that Gu Dong didn’t want Lin Yuan to get too fixated on this contract. Lin Yuan didn’t reply, as he found her evaluation unhelpful.

That evening, after returning home, Lin Yuan watched some of Shuiyun’s live performance videos. His hand accidentally hit the three-times speed setting. Normally, you wouldn’t listen to music at increased speed, but videos could be sped up.

Lin Yuan instinctively reached to change the speed back, but his hand paused halfway. In his ears, Shuiyun’s song was now playing at triple speed. It sounded strange—after all, Shuiyun’s music was usually slow and lyrical. Listening to such a slow, emotional song at high speed made it seem like the singer was just racing through the lyrics.

But as this odd sense of dissonance grew, an idea suddenly struck Lin Yuan. He realized that Shuiyun might need a song that wasn’t so slow and lyrical—one that had a faster tempo than her usual style.

"System," Lin Yuan said, "I want to customize a song: ‘Everywhere Kisses’."

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