I Became an All-round Artist

Leaving the company, Lin Yuan was ready to head home. Just as he stepped out of the office building, a familiar voice called out, "Over here, junior!"

Lin Yuan turned his head and saw it was Sun Yaohuo.

Sun Yaohuo had already opened the front passenger door of his car, gesturing for Lin Yuan to get in. "I didn’t have much to do today, and I heard you were back in Qinzhou, so I thought you might need a ride."

Lin Yuan had a tendency to get carsick, so he preferred sitting in the front passenger seat. Even though Sun Yaohuo didn’t need to write this down in a notebook, it was something he'd never forget.

"Thanks, senior," Lin Yuan said as he got in the car.

The interior was spotless. Lin Yuan couldn’t help but admire Sun Yaohuo’s attention to detail—his car was always as clean as new.

"No need to thank me. I had no work today anyway," Sun Yaohuo said as he got into the driver’s seat. "Heading straight home or grabbing a bite first? My hotpot restaurant is open now—your sister’s been there a few times with her colleagues."

"Home first," Lin Yuan replied. He had already told his sister he’d be back today, so his younger sister would likely be home as well.

"Got it." Sun Yaohuo hit the gas, driving smoothly down familiar roads.

Halfway there, Sun Yaohuo’s phone rang. He glanced at the caller but didn’t pick up.

"Not going to answer?" Lin Yuan asked.

Sun Yaohuo chuckled, "Not convenient while driving."

With that, he ended the call and switched his phone to silent mode.

Right after he did, Lin Yuan’s phone rang. He answered it.

"Is this Mr. Xianyu?" a polite voice on the other end asked.

"Who’s calling?"

"I’m Liao, a manager from Qixing Entertainment. If you’re available, we’d love to have you visit our company sometime..."

"You’re trying to poach me, aren’t you?" Lin Yuan cut straight to the point.

There was a brief pause before the person on the other end chuckled. "Mr. Xianyu, you really get to the heart of the matter. Yes, we greatly admire your talent. Given the current situation, you must be aware of the opportunities..."

"Sorry, I’m not interested in leaving Starlight."

"You must be quite loyal. But please reconsider—we’re open to any terms, and we’re even willing to cover your breach of contract fees. I hope you can trust in our sincerity."

"No need."

"Alright then..." The voice on the other end sounded disappointed.

Lin Yuan hung up without giving it much thought. Meanwhile, Sun Yaohuo, having overheard part of the conversation, asked cautiously, "You’re not thinking about leaving?"

"No," Lin Yuan replied.

Sun Yaohuo nodded, clearly relieved and a bit pleased.

After dropping Lin Yuan off at his apartment building, Lin Yuan invited Sun Yaohuo to come up, but Sun Yaohuo quickly declined. "No need, junior. You go on ahead."

Lin Yuan didn’t press further.

Once Lin Yuan had gone upstairs, Sun Yaohuo finally pulled out his silenced phone, which now showed eight missed calls—all from his manager.

He called back.

The moment the call connected, a furious voice roared, "Sun Yaohuo! What the hell? You disappear just before the event! Are you trying to sabotage me?!"

"I had something to take care of," Sun Yaohuo replied calmly.

"I don’t care what it was! Do you know how furious the event organizers were? I’m the one apologizing, not you!"

"Xianyu just came back to Qinzhou," Sun Yaohuo said matter-of-factly.

There was a three-second pause on the other end. Then, his manager’s tone shifted instantly, becoming calm and understanding: "Oh, well, that changes things."

...

When Lin Yuan got upstairs, he rang the doorbell.

The door was opened by a petite figure—his sister, Lin Yao, who said in a flat tone, "Long time no see, bro."

"Long time no see," Lin Yuan replied, feeling slightly guilty. Lin Yao had just gotten into Qinzhou Academy of the Arts when he left to be an exchange student. That must’ve made her pretty unhappy.

He should’ve bought her some study materials on the way home.

"Hey, you’re back!" his older sister, Lin Xuan, called from the living room, looking up from the TV. "Why didn’t you call me? I could’ve picked you up from the company."

"Senior Sun drove me home," Lin Yuan explained.

Lin Xuan smiled. "That’s good, though his car’s a bit messy. I rode with him once before."

"You’re too picky, Sis," Lin Yuan said. He’d never seen a cleaner car than Sun Yaohuo’s.

Not wanting to linger on that topic, Lin Xuan asked, "So, are you going back to Qizhou again?"

Lin Yao, too, turned to look at him.

"Yeah, but I’ll probably be back in a month. I won’t need to go next semester."

"As expected," Lin Xuan nodded. "With the recent merger, the exchange student program has changed as well. When are you leaving?"

"Tomorrow night," Lin Yuan answered. He had taken time off to come back, but he still had a few classes left this semester.

"Got it." Lin Xuan smiled. "By the time you come back, our villa should be fully renovated."

For now, they were still living in their old place, but it wouldn’t be long before they moved into the new villa.

Lin Xuan’s attention returned to the TV. "Anyway, I’m watching a movie now. Qizhou movies are available for streaming here now, and they’re way better than our Qinzhou films. I watch one every day when I get home. I’ll cook after this one’s over."

Lin Yao was already heading to her room.

Sensing her annoyance, Lin Yuan tried to reassure her, "I’ll be back next semester."

Lin Yao paused for a moment and said, "I’m not mad about that."

"Then what?" Lin Yuan asked.

"You ate egg yolk pastries without me," Lin Yao said, her voice full of accusation.

Lin Yuan’s expression changed. "I did not!"

"I found the packaging under your bed when I cleaned your room."

Lin Yuan: "..."

In this household, he had no "egg yolk freedom."

Lin Xuan laughed, "I’ll buy a whole batch next time for both of you."

Lin Yao said seriously, "The issue is that my brother ate my egg yolks."

"You weren’t here," Lin Yuan countered.

"You could’ve saved some for me," Lin Yao replied.

Lin Yuan shook his head. "By the time you got to Qinzhou, they’d have gone stale."

Pouting, Lin Yao went back to her room.

Just as Lin Yuan was about to say more, his phone rang again. It was yet another call from a company in Qizhou—one he had never even heard of.

He rejected the offer once more.

That night, Lin Yuan barely had a moment of peace. He received over a dozen calls from different companies, all trying to poach him.

By dinnertime, he had to switch his phone to "Do Not Disturb."

"Are they all poaching offers?" Lin Xuan asked, overhearing bits of his conversations.

Lin Yuan nodded.

Lin Xuan chuckled, "It’s the same with Silver Blue Publishing. Every industry is in chaos right now, with companies poaching talent left and right. After this talent war, it’ll be a full-on market battle."

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