"So you've been hiding here all this time."
A voice resonated in Lin Yuan's ear, followed by a handsome, fair face, obscuring the brilliant starry sky before him.
"Jian Yi."
Lin Yuan subconsciously called out the other person's name.
This dashing and lanky boy had been Lin Yuan's classmate in elementary school, middle school, and finally university—
A true confidant.
And now, this confidant had reached out, pulling Lin Yuan up from the ground.
Shortly after, Lin Yuan felt a weight on his shoulder, a feminine coat now draped around him.
He turned his head and saw a lovely smile.
A girl with long hair draped over her shoulders, slightly made up, an epitome of beauty.
"Xia Fan."
Just like Jian Yi before, Lin Yuan also found himself calling out her name without thinking.
Because this girl named Xia Fan was also Lin Yuan's classmate from elementary school, middle school, and university—
Another confidant.
"There's a breeze at night, remember to wear your coat when you're out."
Xia Fan cautioned Lin Yuan, even though she, Jian Yi, and everyone jogging around the field were all dressed in summer gear like T-shirts.
"Alright."
Lin Yuan replied.
In response, Jian Yi and Xia Fan stared at him, their gazes tinged with suspicion.
"Why do I feel there's something off about you?"
The one who said this was Jian Yi.
Although Xia Fan didn't say anything, her expression showed that she shared Jian Yi's suspicion.
"Because I'm no longer completely Lin Yuan."
Lin Yuan answered with a smile, reckoning his response as quite objective. He was half the previous Lin Yuan— at least his feelings for family and friends, his physical body, everything was just like the past Lin Yuan.
"Have you been possessed by ghost or something?"
Jian Yi burst into laughter, showing no doubt.
Xia Fan's expression also seemed inexplicably relieved.
Lin Yuan let out a sigh of relief.
He could now avoid any further explanation with a clean conscience.
Having grown up together, Xia Fan and Jian Yi knew everything about Lin Yuan.
Because of this, both had always looked after Lin Yuan, who had a frail physique.
From an emotional perspective, Lin Yuan didn't wish to deceive them, but he had to resort to some necessary deceit.
"Mr. Lin, let me point out this objectively."
Jian Yi said seriously, "Being a Novelist, is one of the top ten most coveted professions voted by young netizens across various continents. Just in our Qin Continent itself, countless people aspire to make a mark in this field. It's tough to stand out based on a whim, so you don't need to brood over life alone on a windy night on the lawn."
"Novelist..."
Lin Yuan's eyes flickered for a moment.
Jian Yi mentioned writing novels for a reason.
Not so long ago, the previous Lin Yuan developed a notion to write novels. He acted on it, participated in an online writing competition with a 100,000-word manuscript, and attempted to debut as a Novelist.
This writing competition was bustling.
If successful, the winner's work would get a rare opportunity for publication. If it reached certain sales figures, it could even be adapted into animation, movies, games, and more.
This was a dream come true for countless people aspiring to be novelists!
The most essential point, it was extremely profitable!
Unfortunately...
As this kind of competition was too popular and the previous Lin Yuan just an average talent at writing novels, his entry was eliminated in the first round of reviewing.
Jian Yi, therefore, deduced that Lin Yuan was sulking alone on the field due to the failed competition.
However...
Both the present and former Lin Yuan didn't really care about the outcome of the competition.
The previous Lin Yuan's decision to commit suicide had nothing to do with the failed competition. In fact, his participation in the competition was merely a fun experiment.
What if he made money from it?
That was his mindset while participating.
The previous Lin Yuan was a person who was always eager to graduate early and make money.
He carried a sense of guilt towards his family, always struggling to do better.
He felt his sisters and mother had sacrificed too much for him, so he wanted to compensate them as best he could.
Becoming a singer was not just about pursuing a dream.
More importantly, it was a profession where he could make a ton of money!
Don't go saying things like "Dreams should not be tarnished by money".
For the previous Lin Yuan, he hoped that his dream could deteriorate quickly so that he could make money—
So he could buy a pretty dress for his little sister.
To liberate his elder sister from the life she was living.
A job that will make my mother's life less tough.
"Don't listen to Jian Yi."
Xia Fan also thought that Lin Yuan was saddened by the failure of his manuscript's submission.
However, she didn't persuade Lin Yuan to give up, but encouraged him to keep going: "Actually, there are many opportunities like this. For example, every January, Blue Star's leading publisher, 'Silver Blue Books', will host the 'SuperStar' Novel Award, and you can participate then."
"Please, Xia Fan."
Jian Yi held his forehead: "Lin Yuan can't even pass an amateur writing contest, and you want him to take on the 'SuperStar'?"
"It's all about participating."
Xia Fan said guiltily. She didn't really expect Lin Yuan to succeed. She just purely wanted Lin Yuan to find something to do for himself. Ever since he lost his voice and moved to the composition department, Lin Yuan's mindset hasn't been great.
Jian Yi lacks the sensitivity of Xia Fan.
He was enthusiastically explaining the basic situation to Lin Yuan: "Even someone like me who doesn't follow the fiction circle knows how terrifying the 'SuperStar' is. The contestants are basically old-timers who have been striving for their dreams for many years, and even occasionally some authors who have debuted but aren't doing well will participate. Anyway, for many people, once they change their pseudonym and start over, they become so-called 'newbies'..."
In short, 'SuperStar' is like a battle of gods.
"I got it, I got it."
Lin Yuan interrupted Jian Yi with a laugh, but he secretly remembered the 'SuperStar'.
In this world rich with artistic atmosphere, there seem to be particularly many channels to gain recognition.
But he doesn't have any novels now.
He would have to wait for the System to provide it generously.
As for the song 'Life Like A Summer Flower', Lin Yuan needed to find a way to release it, and he couldn't help but look at Xia Fan —
Xia Fan was a vocal music major student.
When Lin Yuan hadn't changed his major, they were classmates. Speaking of professional ability, there's no doubt about Xia Fan's competency. Her singing talent was almost as good as Lin Yuan's before he lost his voice.
But Xia Fan is just a student.
Should a student release a song through the internet?
The speed of gaining recognition from that would be too slow, without some promotion, the song could potentially sink like a stone.
"What's wrong?"
Feeling odd that Lin Yuan was staring at her, Xia Fan asked: "Do you want to eat or drink something? I can buy it for you now."
"No."
Lin Yuan said: "I have a friend...uh, a friend, who wrote a song and wants to release it, but doesn't know how. Do you have any channels you could recommend?"
"Are you dumb?"
Jian Yi smirked: "Didn't you sell yourself for fifty thousand yuan? If you have a song, of course you should find the Starlight Entertainment Company behind you. It's a waste not to use such a big company."
Lin Yuan was stunned, and then suddenly realized.
After the original owner was admitted to Qin Continent Music Academy, he demonstrated an amazing vocal talent. So when he was a freshman, he was spotted by an agent and signed a contract with an entertainment company that was both reputable and of a reasonable size.
The signing fee was fifty thousand yuan.
The original owner was in desperate need of money, so even though he knew that a signing fee of fifty thousand yuan was indeed very cheap, he quickly signed an eight-year contract without hesitation. He immediately handed the signing fee he received over to his mother!
But who would have thought...
That the young man with an amazing vocal talent, shortly after signing the contract, would never be able to sing again.
Faced with this, the entertainment company that signed Lin Yuan could only consider itself unlucky and left Lin Yuan to his own devices.
Perhaps it was because they knew about Lin Yuan's family situation, the company did not ask him for compensation or brought up contract termination. They probably forgot that they had a signed artist named Lin Yuan.
"Wait a minute."
While Lin Yuan was deep in thought, Jian Yi suddenly came to a realization: "Mr. Lin, when did you have friends that Xia Fan and I don't know about?"
"Creating friends out of thin air."
Xia Fan covered her mouth and giggled, then said: "If you want to release a song, there's an opportunity right now because the annual 'Newcomers in Music' season is coming up in a few days. During that time, all major entertainment companies will be pushing hard, as long as you can meet the company's registration standards..."
"I understand."
Lin Yuan also smiled.
This is the utopia of artists, the ideal nation where entertainment flourishes!
As long as you have the ability, roads to fame are laid out in every direction, extending right up to your front door!
'Newcomers in Music' season.
This is one of the channels to fame, and it is also a rule specifically established by Blue Star to foster music talent:
Every November, 'Newcomers in Music' events will be held all over Blue Star!
At that time, music industry seniors will tacitly agree not to release albums or even singles, temporarily suspending business to give space to the juniors.
Even some seniors will promote budding artists whom they have taken a liking to during November.
Afterwards, major entertainment companies will seize this opportunity to fully launch their music newcomers, and waves of newcomers will sprint, trying to stand out!
Originally, Lin Yuan had such an opportunity to debut during the Newcomers season.
But unfortunately, now he can only strive to debut as a songwriter.
However, Lin Yuan is not the original owner anymore so he feels happy about debuting as a songwriter.
In Blue Star, the royalty distribution model for music newcomers is:
The profits generated from song downloads or streams are generally taken by the company as 80%, leaving the remaining 20% shared between the singer and songwriter. The remuneration for the arranger and the producer is usually settled by the company.
The specific ratio depends on what the contract says.
The singers and the songwriters usually get the lion's share.
Besides the company's cut, Lin Yuan wouldn't have to share his money with too many people, after all, he was handling both lyrics and composition, and the arrangement was already provided by the System. What he needs now is a platform from the company to be part of the Newcomers in Music season, as well as a money-sharing...
Tool-man who can sing.