I Became an All-round Artist

Most of Shuiyun's songs don't have fast tempos. In fact, it's hard to speed up the pace in lyrical songs. However, since the order requested a work that would differentiate itself from her previous style, there had to be something different.

What could be different?

It was only after accidentally listening to Shuiyun’s performance in fast-forward that Lin Yuan suddenly realized: the best way for Shuiyun to stand out from her past style was for her, someone accustomed to slow, lyrical songs, to suddenly bring some energy to her performance!

And that’s when Lin Yuan thought of the song “Everywhere Kisses.”

The system’s music library had plenty of upbeat songs, but finding one that both energizes and retains Shuiyun’s unique character narrowed the options significantly. Lin Yuan wasn’t entirely sure that his choice perfectly matched the order's requirements, but he felt that "Everywhere Kisses" was at least a solid choice.

After all, this song was one that could showcase Shuiyun's strengths. While it carried the common theme of love, it wasn't the typical melancholic love song. Instead, it was a playful critique from a girl's perspective, teasing and confronting a heartbreaker.

In short, it had a lot of personality.

This was the kind of song that makes you want to tap your foot to the beat. Paired with a music video, the effect would be even stronger.

The song’s information revealed that the lyrics were written by Lin Xi, a renowned lyricist who needs no further introduction—anyone unfamiliar can simply search his name online. The composer was Raymon Tsang, an equally respected figure in the world of composition, on par with Lin Xi in the field of lyrics.

In short, it’s a fantastic song.

But great songs come at a price. When the system quoted the price, Lin Yuan almost backed out.

“Customization price: 2 million.”

Out of a 3-million-yuan contract, the system was charging 2 million! Lin Yuan couldn’t tell if it was the song that was incredibly valuable or if the system was just hiking up the price. Either way, it felt like the system was getting greedier by the day. "Why are the customized songs getting more expensive? Can’t you give me a discount—how about 100,000 yuan?"

Lin Yuan tried to negotiate.

The system ignored him. "Do you wish to proceed with the customization?"

The system wasn’t one for negotiations, and after some hesitation, Lin Yuan finally decided to customize “Everywhere Kisses.” This order was special—since it was a personalized request, there was no additional royalty split for the singer.

In other words, Shuiyun wouldn’t charge a fee. She was the one paying for the song, after all.

Makes sense—I'm customizing a song specifically for her; when she sings it, why would she still charge a fee? That wouldn't make any sense.

Additionally, the revenue from song downloads would belong to Star Sound Music.

The order is one thing, but the download revenue had always been part of Lin Yuan’s default rights. Without this, the Qi Province music industry wouldn’t be able to survive.

Seven Stars spent 3 million purely to secure Shuiyun’s right to perform the song. This performance right was part of the contract's licensing terms, which meant Lin Yuan felt the deal was fair.

“Ding.”

Just as the song customization was complete, the system suddenly said, “The host is now capable of independently selecting songs. For all future orders, the host will have to choose the song yourself.”

“Oh.”

Lin Yuan remained indifferent.

The system’s message implied that his selection of “Everywhere Kisses” was good enough. As for choosing songs on his own in the future, as long as the system provided access to the song library, Lin Yuan was okay with that. He didn't find selecting songs particularly difficult.

Take this time, for instance.

The only professional considerations he needed to account for were the singer’s vocal range and style, along with his own musical understanding. Lin Yuan felt confident that he could handle it.

It’s like taking a test. While I can’t see the answer key, the reference book is right next to me. As long as I’m flipping through the book while taking the test, I should score pretty well.

Now that he had the song, should he send it over immediately?

Definitely not.

It had only been a few days since the order was placed. Lin Yuan had already completed the task pretty quickly, and rushing it even more would seem suspicious. Timing was something Lin Yuan had to manage carefully.

Another Saturday.

Lin Yuan returned to the company. He had barely settled into his seat when Gu Qiangyun came in with a grin. “Would you like to check out the new orders, Lin?”

“Hmm.”

Lin Yuan nodded.

Gu Qiangyun's smile widened. He had only come to test the waters. If Lin was still fixated on the Seven Stars order, he wouldn’t be interested in the new ones. But if Lin showed interest in these, it meant he had already moved on from the Seven Stars project!

It looked like Lin had indeed moved on.

Good! Letting go is a relief! Fixating on one order would only delay things.

In no time, Lin Yuan was presented with a stack of new order details. It seemed the company had been receiving significantly more orders recently.

But even with the increase, none of the orders caught Lin Yuan’s interest. “Why aren’t there any 3-million-yuan orders?”

It was the same as before—the highest offer was only 2 million.

Gu Qiangyun gave a wry smile. “Are you only interested in orders worth 3 million now, Lin?”

Lin Yuan replied, “Not exactly.”

Gu Qiangyun perked up at this.

Lin Yuan added, “I prefer orders over 3 million.”

Gu Qiangyun's energy deflated instantly, his smile now tinged with helplessness. “Lin, while there are plenty of clients in Qi Province, orders worth 3 million are pretty rare. Even top production companies like Red Moon or Lone Wolf mostly handle contracts ranging from 1 to 2 million…”

Seeing that Lin Yuan remained silent, Gu Qiangyun continued:

"As for orders over 3 million, only the top 10 production companies in the industry usually take those on. The two times we did it were special cases: once because of an incredibly tight deadline—Thunder only gave us a month—and the other because it was a competitive bid. You've seen how troublesome those competitive bids can be. To win, we had to snatch the deal from Red Moon and Lone Wolf."

Lin Yuan frowned.

The system’s customization fees were steep. If the client was only offering 2 million, spending an additional 2 million on system customization wouldn't make much sense.

"Maybe you could consider a 2-million-yuan order?" Gu Qiangyun suggested, looking hopefully at Lin Yuan.

Lin Yuan shook his head. "Let's wait a bit longer."

Gu Qiangyun hesitated for a moment but eventually nodded in agreement. Lin Yuan had just completed two major orders and understandably needed some time to recover. It didn’t matter how long Lin stayed in the Qi Province; even a top-tier composer needed rest. No one could churn out one hit after another without a break.

"Oh, by the way," Gu Qiangyun said as he was about to leave the office, "thanks to your recent work, our company has now entered the top 100 music production companies in Qi Province. If you're interested, you can check out the ranking."

After Gu Qiangyun left, Lin Yuan turned on his computer to look up the ranking list. As expected, he found Star Sound Music listed at exactly the 100th spot.

At that moment, the system popped up again. "Congratulations to the host for leading Star Sound Music into the Qi Province’s B-list production company rankings. A new mission has been triggered: Reform the Branch Company!"

[Mission Name: Reform the Branch Company]

[Mission Description: Star Sound Music was a company on the verge of collapse. Thanks to the host’s efforts, the company has been saved. However, if the root problems within the company aren’t resolved, it will still decline. The host is tasked with reforming the company as the representative of the headquarters.]

[Mission Reward: A Silver Treasure Chest]

Lin Yuan found the mission description a bit vague. It didn’t outline any specific goals, just that he had to "reform" the branch company. But how exactly was he supposed to do that?

"Do you accept?" the system prompted.

"Accept the mission," Lin Yuan replied, feeling curious about what he would need to do to complete this task. "Is there any guidance for the mission?"

"Please explore on your own," the system responded without further explanation.

When in doubt, ask the internet. Lin Yuan thought for a moment and opened the search engine on his computer: “How to reform a company?”

Instantly, a flood of suggestions appeared. Apparently, plenty of people had faced similar issues. As Lin Yuan sifted through the advice, he quickly identified a few key terms:

"Talent."

"Systems."

"Layoffs."

All simple, straightforward words.

First, there was talent. The system had already tasked Lin Yuan with training apprentices, which seemed to tie into this area. So it looked like this mission was connected to his previous teaching mission.

Next came systems.

This was an area Lin Yuan wasn’t particularly experienced in.

And lastly, "layoffs." Lin Yuan understood this clearly—it just meant firing underperforming employees.

Keep the hardworking ones. Let go of the lazy ones.

Lin Yuan figured these three concepts—talent, systems, and layoffs—would be the core focus for reforming the company.

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