I Became an All-round Artist

Even without helping the Composition Department with piano accompaniment, Lin Yuan found himself visiting the Art Club less and less. He needed to carve out time to continue writing The Legend of Zhu Xian. Producing tens of thousands of words a day, even with his fast typing speed, took considerable effort.

As mid-May passed, the music departments of major entertainment companies had already begun preparing for the upcoming June season. At Starlight Entertainment, the release plan for "Life Like Summer Flowers" in June was confirmed.

At one of the top three entertainment companies in Qinzhou, in a lavish break room at Dazzling Silver Entertainment, the well-known singer Chen Zhiyu was also preparing to release a new song in June. He had specifically instructed his manager to check which strong competitors would be releasing songs next month.

“Good news!”
His manager, after conducting a thorough investigation into the upcoming releases from various companies, quickly contacted Chen Zhiyu with great excitement. “Incredible news—there’s no doubt you’ll be number one next month!”

“Don’t jinx it!” Chen Zhiyu replied irritably. “From what I know, Starlight Entertainment's Jin Shuyu is also releasing a song next month. Jin Shuyu’s strength and fanbase aren’t something to be taken lightly. I’m not confident I can easily beat him.”

Both being top-tier singers, they had their differences in popularity. Jin Shuyu had been on the rise since last year, and by now had solidified his position as a top artist, with a fanbase that even surpassed Chen Zhiyu’s. Thus, Chen Zhiyu saw Jin Shuyu as his number one competitor for June.

“That’s the great news!” his manager said gleefully. “I don’t know what Jin Shuyu did, but he’s been suspended by Starlight Entertainment for a month, and even his manager was punished. As a result, his plan to release a new song in June has been canceled!”

“Are you sure?” Chen Zhiyu was taken aback. “Could it be a smokescreen? How can Starlight cancel the release of such a hot, top-tier artist’s song just like that?”

“I’m not sure of the details,” his manager chuckled, but said confidently, “but I can confirm Jin Shuyu’s suspension is real. Several of his major events have been canceled in the past few days. He must have angered someone important. With him out of the way, you’re in the clear. None of the other singers next month pose any real threat to you.”

“What about Starlight’s replacement artist?”

“They’ve got someone named Sun Yaohuo stepping in, but he’s just a no-name. He’s not even as good as Zhao Yinglu, the last substitute they had. Starlight isn’t going to let any of their top-tier artists replace Jin Shuyu on short notice.”

“Heaven-sent!” Chen Zhiyu’s doubts vanished, and he finally smiled. It wasn’t his fault for being cautious—he’d been burned before. Back in January, his song had been crushed by the unexpected hit "Fragile and Explosive," which had scared him into not releasing anything for months.

This time, though, he was determined to claim the top spot and recover from his January embarrassment. He had carefully chosen June as his release month, aiming for nothing less than first place.

“There’s no way this can go wrong!” His manager clapped him on the shoulder. “There’s no chance someone like Zhao Yinglu will show up again. Even if she did, a non-top-tier singer can’t compete with you at your level.”

News of Jin Shuyu’s withdrawal from the June competition quickly spread beyond Dazzling Silver Entertainment. Soon, the entire industry knew about it. After all, Jin Shuyu was a major player in the music scene, and many wondered what he could have done to warrant a one-month suspension.

“Dazzling Silver lucked out.”
“No more showdown between the ‘Two Yu’s,’ huh?”

Because both Jin Shuyu and Chen Zhiyu shared the character "Yu" in their names and were both top-tier singers, the media had been hyping up the upcoming “Battle of the Two Yu’s” for the new song charts next month. Now, with one of them out, it was only Chen Zhiyu left in the race. The public found it less exciting now—who enjoys a competition with no real stakes? Only Dazzling Silver and Chen Zhiyu seemed pleased with this turn of events.

The most upset by all this, of course, had to be Jin Shuyu himself, or so people speculated.

At that moment, Jin Shuyu was holed up in a hotel near his company. During his suspension, he hadn’t stepped outside, spending his days in solitude, with only his manager, Tao Ran, for company. Occasionally, they would drown their sorrows in alcohol.

“It’s only one month,” Tao Ran said after a few drinks, trying to console him. “Once the company loses the June song charts, they’ll realize how important you are. Without you, how are they supposed to compete with Chen Zhiyu? Sun Yaohuo? He doesn’t stand a chance!”

“You think so too?” Jin Shuyu asked, staring at Tao Ran.

Tao Ran was puzzled. “Am I wrong?”

Jin Shuyu didn’t reply. He simply sighed and took another deep drink, seemingly trying to wash away his frustration with alcohol.

“What’s wrong?” Tao Ran frowned. “This isn’t like you at all, Jin Shuyu. It’s just a one-month suspension. If you’re upset, I can arrange something later to make sure Sun Yaohuo regrets it.”

“Tao!” Jin Shuyu suddenly became serious. “You can’t touch Sun Yaohuo!”

“Huh?” Tao Ran was taken aback. “Why not?”

Jin Shuyu spoke slowly, enunciating each word: “Promise me, you will not touch him!”

Tao Ran awkwardly relented, “Fine, fine, I won’t. But at least tell me why.”

“Why?” Jin Shuyu set down his glass. “As a manager, Tao, you’re talented, but when it comes to music, you’re an outsider.”

He let out a cold laugh and stood, gazing out the window. “Dazzling Silver must think they’ve hit the jackpot, but they don’t know what’s waiting for them.”

“You mean…”

“They want to win? It won’t be that easy. The company isn’t stupid. They could’ve delayed my punishment until next month, but they chose June on purpose. It’s their way of clearing the path.”

“For Sun Yaohuo?”

“For Xianyu. For ‘Red Rose.’”

Tao Ran opened his mouth, feeling a little dazed.

Jin Shuyu wasn’t exactly known for his temper. If anyone had sabotaged him this badly in the past, he would have sought revenge immediately. No top-tier artist got there by playing nice.

But this time, despite the major setback, Jin Shuyu wasn’t furious. Instead, he seemed to be reflecting on his situation.

This was definitely not like him.

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