Perfect Superstar.

The resignation process went smoothly.

Lu Chen had informed the manager of his decision by phone the previous day. Since he was an hourly-paid temporary worker without a formal contract, there were few guarantees or restrictions, making it easy for him to leave whenever he wanted.

The manager was a bit regretful, as Lu Chen had worked diligently at the KFC branch on Happiness Road for over half a year. He had always been punctual and never left early, demonstrating exemplary performance.

Unfortunately, it's rare for young people to be willing to stay long-term in a fast-food job, delivering food and cleaning.

So, the manager didn't make things difficult. After a few unsuccessful attempts to persuade Lu Chen to stay, he quickly settled the salary for the month.

With a thin stack of cash in hand, Lu Chen left without a trace of reluctance.

"Lu Chen, Brother Lu!"

As he stepped onto the sidewalk, a worried voice suddenly called out from behind.

Lu Chen turned around to see a young woman in a KFC uniform hurrying toward him. She was calling out, "Wait!"

Lu Chen was surprised. "Chen Xin, is that you?"

Chen Xin, his colleague, was younger but had been with the company longer. Though not particularly close, Lu Chen knew she was from Sichuan and had been in Capital City for two or three years. They only exchanged greetings occasionally.

Chen Xin, breathless and with a healthy flush on her round face, stopped in front of Lu Chen. She avoided making eye contact and asked, "You're leaving?"

Lu Chen smiled. "Yes, I've found another job, so I won't be working here anymore."

Chen Xin finally looked up, her eyes clearly showing disappointment. She bit her lip and asked softly, "Will you still be staying in Capital City?"

Lu Chen was taken aback.

He wasn't oblivious, and Chen Xin's demeanor was quite clear. How could he not understand?

It was just that Lu Chen hadn't expected Chen Xin to have feelings for him!

From what he remembered, he had very little information about her, mostly just work-related conversations.

After a moment of hesitation, Lu Chen nodded and said, "Yes, if nothing unexpected happens, I'll be staying in Capital City. My new job is also based here!"

A smile of joy appeared on Chen Xin's face. "Could you give me a way to contact you?"

Although Lu Chen didn't have any particular feelings for her and considered her just an ordinary colleague, he didn't want to disappoint her. So he agreed, "Sure, add me on WeChat. We can stay in touch."

Lu Chen gave Chen Xin his WeChat ID.

After she noted it down on her phone, Lu Chen waved goodbye.

However, as Lu Chen walked away, he glanced back and saw that she was still standing there, watching him.

In a city with a population of thirty million, people's meetings and separations are always so fleeting!

...

Back in his small apartment, Lu Chen washed his face.

The cold water was piercingly cold. He needed to cool down and think carefully about his future path.

Quitting his job at KFC wasn't a spur-of-the-moment decision. The part-time income wasn't very high, and it occupied an entire day's time, so it was no longer necessary to continue.

To Lu Chen, the most important job now was to organize the treasures from his memories: the thousands of classic songs and countless touching stories.

These memories came so suddenly. Although they were etched in his mind, Lu Chen couldn't be sure if one day they would suddenly disappear, leaving him with nothing but a fleeting dream.

So, organizing, recording, and preserving these memories was undeniably crucial!

After washing his face, Lu Chen's mind became exceptionally clear. He sat down at his desk, opened his computer, and took out a pen and paper.

He started by sketching a simple chart on a blank sheet of paper.

Lu Chen categorized the songs from his memory into broad categories: love songs, rock, folk, film themes, Chinese style, and fast songs.

Under each broad category, he further divided into specific subcategories. For example, love songs could be categorized by emotion— tender, nostalgic, melancholic, sad, happy, and duets.

Folk songs could be divided into campus folk, city folk, rural folk, independent folk, and so on.

Rock and fast songs also had various styles.

As he wrote more on the paper, his thoughts became clearer.

Lu Chen's current task was to create a broad framework for the memories, with numerous labeled sections within the framework. This way, he could gradually fill in the sections instead of writing whatever came to mind haphazardly.

This approach would help minimize errors and omissions in his memories.

Creating the framework was just the first step; the real challenge lay ahead.

Each song needed to be composed and written, and while it was relatively simple for those he could play and sing, rewriting was more challenging for those he had only heard once or twice. This required a great deal of effort to restore.

And then there was composing music.

Someone once said that merely knowing how to write melodies without understanding music composition isn't truly considered songwriting.

This statement might be a bit extreme, but it's not without reason. Music composition is precisely Lu Chen's greatest weakness on his musical journey— his understanding of music composition is quite limited.

His limited experience in music composition comes from the memories of Xu Bo, the vagabond singer from his dreams. Xu Bo had musical talent, but his skills were primarily in singing and playing instruments. He could write a song, but he didn't excel in composing music.

In Lu Chen's memories, many of the classic works have exquisite compositions, some of which are perfect. Brilliant compositions make melodies more captivating and are an essential factor in achieving timelessness.

The rich accompaniment that involves numerous instruments would be impossible for Lu Chen to recreate accurately.

While Lu Chen could delegate the task of music composition to others—there are many talented composers in the flourishing domestic music scene, including renowned figures— those musicians might not meet his specific requirements perfectly.

Thus, he preferred to learn and master music composition himself to complete these classic works.

Lu Chen never considered living a comfortable life simply by exploiting the memories from his dreams without effort.

He is still young, with grand ideals and ambitions, and he hopes to achieve his goals through hard work and perseverance!

Of course, for now, music composition had to be set aside. Even if he wanted to learn, it wasn't something he could master immediately.

Controlling the mouse, Lu Chen opened "Song Creator" and began his work for the day.

Time passed silently in his small apartment. The only sounds were the tapping of the keyboard, the clicking of the mouse, and occasionally the hum of the old computer's cooling fan.

One song after another was remastered by Lu Chen and saved according to their categories.

For a few important songs, he sent them directly to the "Great China Music Library" for copyright inquiry and registration, ensuring there were no legal issues with the copyrights.

This was crucial. Copyright disputes are common in the pop music industry, and one must be cautious.

The fees for inquiries and registrations with the Great China Music Library are quite high, to the point where many in the music industry have expressed strong dissatisfaction, though no one questions its authority and credibility.

Lu Chen could have saved money easily by posting his songs on large music forums or websites and paying a small fee for copyright registration, which would also protect his rights as a creator.

But the value of these songs was too high!

Lu Chen was not shortsighted. Just as he didn't sign contracts that would disadvantage his original copyright earlier, he paid more attention to long-term development needs. Moreover, he now had the money for copyright registration.

The earnings from Daylily Bar and the tips from online live streaming were his confidence!

He was so engrossed in his work that he didn't realize his stomach was protesting with loud growls.

It was only then that Lu Chen snapped out of his focus and rubbed his empty stomach.

Looking at the time on his computer, he was surprised to see it was already past noon!

Lu Chen was at a loss for words, both surprised that he had sat for so long and amazed at how quickly his stomach had become so hungry, far exceeding normal.

He had had breakfast around 8 AM, and it was twice the usual amount!

Mental labor consumes a lot of energy!

Lu Chen shook his head, stood up to stretch his stiff body from sitting for so long, and decided to go out for lunch.

At that moment, his phone on the table suddenly rang.

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(End of Chapter)