I Became an All-round Artist

For the second-year performance exam, the students had to produce a song. This song would influence the selection of exchange students for the third year. Naturally, many of Lin Yuan's classmates approached him to help with the piano accompaniment for their compositions.

While his classmates were busy recording, Lin Yuan had his own project to focus on. He also had his sights set on becoming an exchange student, so he had specially chosen the song “The First Dream” from the system.

“Are you recording at Starlight?”
Lin Yuan needed a vocalist for this song. Since there were plenty of talented people at Starlight, he could easily pick one. But after a moment's thought, he changed his mind. There was someone by his side who was perfect for this song's vocal style—his friend Xia Fan.

Although this might reveal his secret identity, it didn’t matter much anymore. Since Xia Fan was on the path to becoming a singer, she would find out sooner or later. There was no need to keep hiding it.

He called her up. After the call, Lin Yuan decided to also invite Jian Yi. The three of them met at the cafeteria for lunch.

Lin Yuan handed the sheet music for “The First Dream” to Xia Fan.
“You wrote this?” Xia Fan asked in surprise after glancing at the music.

Lin Yuan nodded and sent the demo of the song to Xia Fan’s phone.
“Give it a listen.”
“Sure,” Xia Fan responded. She wasn’t surprised Lin Yuan wrote a song—after all, he’d been studying composition for a while. She assumed he was just looking for feedback and was already preparing to offer some encouragement, even if the song wasn't particularly great.

“Give me one of those,” Jian Yi said, snatching one of Xia Fan’s Bluetooth earphones to listen as well. He was curious to hear Lin Yuan’s work.

After a few minutes of listening, both of them were stunned.
“This is really good!” Jian Yi exclaimed. He wasn’t an expert in music, but he knew when something sounded amazing. From the first line, Lin Yuan's song had impressed him.

Lin Yuan ignored Jian Yi’s praise and looked at Xia Fan.
“This is for our composition exam. I plan to submit this song, but I still need a singer. Would you like to be the vocalist?”

“You’re really giving this to me?” Xia Fan asked, her expression complicated. “You’ve studied music long enough to know this song has incredible value…”

Of course, she wanted to sing it. But the song was too good. If it were performed by a professional singer, it could become a huge hit. Xia Fan didn’t want to take that opportunity away from Lin Yuan.

“What’s wrong with you?” Jian Yi chimed in. “Why are you hesitating? Lin Yuan wrote such a great song, and you’re just going to push it away?”

Ignoring Jian Yi, Xia Fan stared intently at Lin Yuan.
Lin Yuan smiled. “No need to worry. You’re the perfect fit for this song. Also, there’s something I need to tell both of you.”

“What is it?” Both of them suddenly grew serious.

Lin Yuan said, “Actually, I’m Xianyu.”

Jian Yi froze, the name sounding vaguely familiar but he couldn’t quite place it. Xia Fan, on the other hand, widened her eyes in shock.
“Are you joking?”

Lin Yuan, serious, replied, “Sorry, I didn’t tell you earlier.”
“That’s not the point!” Xia Fan practically shouted. “Are you really Xianyu?”

Lin Yuan nodded. Before Xia Fan could respond, Jian Yi suddenly slapped his forehead as it all clicked. Xia Fan had mentioned Xianyu several times before, especially with the success of songs like Big Fish that were all over the charts recently.

This guy, Lin Yuan, was Xianyu? He was that good at songwriting?
Jian Yi was still processing when Xia Fan suddenly covered her face with both hands.
Jian Yi panicked. “What’s wrong, Xia Fan?”
Lin Yuan also looked at her with concern.

Xia Fan dropped her hands, her face flushed with excitement. “One song isn’t enough!”

Lin Yuan chuckled. “I’ll give you more when I write them, but this is the only one for now.”
After all, songs from him weren’t cheap.

Jian Yi patted his chest. “You really scared me there. But Lin Yuan, you’ve been keeping this secret for so long. How do you plan to make it up to us?”

Xia Fan grinned. “According to the law, you owe us a big meal. No, make that two!”
Lin Yuan, keeping his composure, replied, “Dinner at the Oriental Restaurant tonight.”

The Oriental Restaurant was the best in their area. Lin Yuan had been there once before with his classmates, and they had some incredible desserts.

“Deal!” Xia Fan and Jian Yi high-fived, celebrating. Everything suddenly made sense—why Lin Yuan had been given such good housing and why he received such preferential treatment from his company. It was because he was Xianyu.

Lin Yuan reminded Xia Fan, “We’ll need to record the song at Starlight in a few days.”
Xia Fan grinned. “I’m all in. But won’t this song get you into trouble with the company?”

Lin Yuan paused. He had almost forgotten. According to company rules, he couldn’t just give songs to outsiders—it had to go through official channels.

“What if Starlight signs Xia Fan?” Jian Yi suggested, uncertain whether Lin Yuan had the influence to make that happen.

Lin Yuan turned to Xia Fan. “Would you want to sign with them?”

“Of course!” Xia Fan responded without hesitation.

Lin Yuan thought for a moment. “I’ll talk to Director Zhao about it. It shouldn’t be too hard, but the contract terms won’t be great at first.”

“Huh?” Xia Fan blinked in surprise. Did newcomers even think about contract terms?

Lin Yuan explained, “If you make it big through Bloom, then when you sign with Starlight, you’ll likely get a much better contract.”

Just like Zhao Yingguo had done before. Once someone became famous, the deals would naturally improve.

Xia Fan smiled wryly. “Lin Yuan, your standards are too high. I’d be happy just to sign with Starlight. Why bother thinking about all that?”

“Got it,” Lin Yuan said before dialing Zhao Jue. After explaining the situation, he trusted Zhao Jue to handle things discreetly.

Zhao Jue agreed after some thought. “I’ll take care of it. You want her to get a better deal, right? That’s possible. We can sign an intent contract for now. If she does well before the official signing, we can bump up the contract level. Just remember, though—don’t use Xianyu’s name publicly until after she’s officially signed.”

“Thanks,” Lin Yuan said before hanging up.
Xia Fan and Jian Yi, watching with anticipation, asked, “How’d it go?”

Lin Yuan smiled. “Get ready to record. But keep it quiet—don’t tell anyone the song is mine, or it’ll cause trouble.”

“Got it!” Xia Fan responded, her excitement barely contained. Jian Yi also smiled, happy for his friend.

They recorded the song a few days later at an off-campus studio, avoiding Starlight’s facilities to stay under the radar.

By now, May had passed.

At midnight on June 1st, the new season of Qinzhou’s music industry officially kicked off.

Confident and determined, Chen Zhiyu opened the music app, ready to see his new song dominate the charts.

“Top recommended track,” he muttered as he saw his song in the most prominent spot. The placement was perfect, and Chen Zhiyu was satisfied.

Then, something caught his eye—a song called Red Rose was being promoted too.

It was a song from Starlight, performed by Sun Yaohuo, the singer who had replaced Jin Shuyu. The composer’s name was…

“Oh my God!”
Chen Zhiyu’s hand suddenly slipped, nearly sending his mouse flying.

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