The following day was Saturday.
Lin Yuan arrived at the company's composition department at nine o'clock.
Upon entering, he noticed his colleagues' peculiar glances.
Approaching him discreetly, Wu Yong asked in a hushed tone, "Do you know Daddy Yang?"
"Who?"
"Senior Yang Zhongming!"
"I've heard of him," Lin Yuan replied. Yang Zhongming's works were familiar to him.
Wu Yong breathed a sigh of relief. "That's why he didn't seem upset. If you knew him, it would make sense..."
Lin Yuan didn't dwell on Wu Yong's words too much. Lin Yuan's interpretation of "knowing" differed greatly from Wu Yong's understanding of the term.
At that moment, Zhou Ruiming entered. Sporting a somewhat cheerful expression, he spoke as soon as he stepped in, "Lin Yuan, come to my office."
"Sure."
Lin Yuan followed him into the office.
Old Zhou gestured for Lin Yuan to take a seat. "Have a seat."
Lin Yuan nodded and settled onto the office sofa.
Old Zhou handed him a form. "Take a look at this."
Lin Yuan accepted the form.
It listed four of Lin Yuan's songs, along with their respective download numbers.
"Born as Summer Flower" had been downloaded 3.33 million times.
"Big Fish" had 5.01 million downloads.
"Inflammable and Explosive" boasted 4.21 million downloads.
And "Balloon" had been downloaded 3.57 million times.
Suddenly, Lin Yuan realized why he had received an unusually high royalty payment yesterday, exceeding 600,000 yuan.
The download counts of his previous songs had been steadily increasing, surpassing even their initial release months.
"I'm sure you were aware," Old Zhou said excitedly, "that over the past few months, the potential of these songs you've written has been exceptionally high. Download numbers have been steadily climbing, with most songs showing the potential to surpass 10 million downloads. This morning, I saw this data sheet from the department below, and I was amazed by your performance!"
Lin Yuan: "."
He hadn't paid much attention.
However, he gleaned a valuable lesson from the download trends: Immediate results weren't everything. Some songs were chart-toppers right out of the gate, while others gained popularity over time. The true value of a song lies in its long-term potential, not just its initial performance.
This was dictated by the Qinzhou environment.
With a plethora of new songs flooding the market every month, it was difficult for listeners to keep up with chart changes. Many people might only discover songs from several months ago or later on.
For some songs, the download surge in their debut month might not be sustained. Listeners might tire of them quickly.
Such songs were well-suited to charting, relying on short-term appeal.
Even "Balloon," despite its initial success upon release in February, hadn't seen a significant increase in downloads in March. This indicated that some songs enjoyed brief popularity before fizzling out.
Qinzhou's audience was discerning, and with only five free trial listens permitted per song per month, listeners were selective about which songs they chose to download.
Lin Yuan nodded.
Old Zhou beamed. "Alright, with just one more song reaching over a million downloads, you'll become a senior composer—a new star in our 10th-floor composition department!"
Unspoken was the fact that if Lin Yuan achieved senior composer status this year, he'd be the youngest star in the entire company.
Lin Yuan nodded again.
Old Zhou smiled. "Okay, you may go. By the way, I have some good news for you. The company has started taking notice of you recently, which bodes well for your future."
"Alright."
Lin Yuan rose to leave.
As he reached the door, he heard Old Zhou call out, "Yang Zhongming has returned from Qizhou. I plan to send someone to fetch him."
Send someone to Qizhou?
After a brief hesitation, Lin Yuan exited the office.
Returning to his seat, Lin Yuan pondered silently:
Just one more song, and he'd become a star. Should he rush it?
Considering he hadn't released a song last month, waiting another month wouldn't hurt, right?
Becoming a star would grant him a larger share.
This was what Zhao Jue had said. For Lin Yuan, it made perfect sense. So, on his way back to school that evening, Lin Yuan finally made a decision.
Walking along the street, he pulled out his phone and dialed Sun Yaohuo's number.
Sun Yaohuo answered promptly—Lin Yuan's calls were always answered within seconds. "Hey, what's up?"
"I need you to come to the company to record some songs later," Lin Yuan said.
He intended to entrust "Red Rose" to Sun Yaohuo. It was the last song he had, and it was perfectly suited for high downloads. Sun Yaohuo's vocal range was also ideal for the song.
"What?"
Sun Yaohuo thought he had misheard.
After a moment's thought, Lin Yuan added, "We'll split the profits."
With that, Lin Yuan ended the call, leaving no room for negotiation.
Sun Yaohuo happened to be walking down the street at that moment. Upon hearing the news, he was dumbfounded for several seconds.
It wasn't until Lin Yuan hung up and the busy signal sounded from his phone that Sun Yaohuo snapped back to reality and comprehended what Lin Yuan had just said.
He was suddenly overjoyed, almost dancing in the street. He nearly flung his phone in excitement. "I'm about to make it big again!"
The crowded street around him paid him no mind as Sun Yaohuo sang joyously, "I'm the moment of brilliance, the flame streaking across the sky..."
Onlookers quickly gave him a wide berth.
A passing little girl asked her mother in surprise, "Mom, what's wrong with that man?"
Her mother sighed and replied knowingly, "Life drives us all. Study hard, and you won't end up like him when you grow up."
"Oh."
The girl nodded in understanding.