On the way home from school, Zhou Rui walked alongside Li Wenqian, checking his system messages as he went.
The test was over. No matter how nervous he was, nothing could change the results. He might as well focus on his experience points.
The most important thing for a centaur is to be happy!
"Quest entry: Self-disciplined, experience value +1, current progress (80/100)"
"Quest entry: Inspiration, experience value +1, current progress (34/100)"
"Quest entry: Perseverance, current progress (1/100)"
The experience points for "Self-disciplined" were steadily increasing. Zhou Rui had indeed been very self-disciplined, especially the day before and today, making good progress.
However, the experience gained from the "Inspiration" entry was still something that could only come by chance.
What frustrated Zhou Rui most was the "Perseverance" entry.
He had been working hard for two days and only gained a tiny amount of experience!
He earned it while reviewing until 2 a.m. the previous night, almost exhausted.
If the "Inspiration" experience points came by chance, the experience for "Perseverance" could only be described as "a little is good, but too much is harmful."
Zhou Rui's brain had nearly fried during his late-night review session. He had activated "focus time" to earn a tiny bit of experience. He realized that to level up this skill, he would need to work really hard.
But if he pushed too much, he might end up in the hospital.
In other words, earning "Perseverance" experience through studying wasn't efficient. Physical exercise might be a better option when he had time.
After confirming his system's progress, Zhou Rui took out his phone, slid it sideways, and opened the N97's full keyboard.
The unique structure caught the attention of several junior high school girls from Qinghe No. 1 Middle School.
Zhou Rui ignored them and logged into his email.
There was actually an email!
Zhou Rui's eyes lit up. After a day of test-induced stress, could this finally be good news?
He had only used this email address once, to submit a manuscript for "Starry Sea," so it was most likely a reply from them.
When he opened the email, he found a very long message. The first half was full of formalities, thanking him for his participation and celebrating his birthday.
The second half was the key!
Due to its extremely high quality, "Starry Sea" had been successfully selected for the "National Day Tribute, 60 Years of Singing" event, and it would become part of the song library for the "60th Anniversary Celebration of the Motherland."
Of course, over 30 other songs had been selected, but Zhou Rui wasn't too excited. He thought it was only natural for this song to be chosen. Just like in later generations, it fit the genre very well.
The musical concept and expressiveness of "Starry Sea" were ahead of its time in 2009, making it eye-catching.
But it wasn't too advanced—its focus on emotion and melody aligned with the mainstream aesthetic of the time.
It was ahead of its time, but still accessible and relatable.
It was, in short, a "stunning" work.
If Zhou Rui had composed something like the "rap songs" or "electronic music" of later generations, it would have likely been considered heresy.
But the email wasn't over yet. The real details came at the end.
First, they hoped Zhou Rui would prepare all the copyright documents to confirm whether it was an original piece.
Second, "Starry Sea" would be included in the "Singing in Celebration of the Birthday" CD, which would be distributed across the country. This wasn't a commercial record but rather an internal compilation, distributed to various enterprises and institutions along with souvenirs.
This would incur a one-time copyright fee, though it wouldn't be substantial.
Third, although the song was already high quality and complete, they hoped Zhou Rui could visit the best recording studio in northern Beijing to perfect the song.
Round-trip airfare, hotel meals, and accommodation could be reimbursed, and the singer "A Qian" and producer "A Bin" could also accompany him.
Fourth, "Starry Sea" would be promoted to enterprises and institutions across the country in the coming months. It would become a popular song for related activities, sung by choirs from state-owned enterprises and local departments or played in local celebrations and shopping malls.
These uses would incur copyright fees. The unit price wasn't high, but the quantity would be enormous, and the song would be played everywhere.
Fifth, they hoped to meet with Zhou Rui in person, preferably in northern Beijing, as there were many matters to discuss. The sender hinted that the four points mentioned above were just the beginning. The takeoff of "Starry Sea" had just started, and they were also interested in other works from "Arui."
Signed: 60th Anniversary Literature and Art Guidance Working Group.
Zhou Rui rubbed his chin.
It was impossible for him to go to Beijing immediately.
But when he saw the usage fees table below, Zhou Rui's eyelids twitched.
It wasn't a big deal. Just make money.
All over the country, governments, enterprises, and institutions would hold celebration activities for the 60th anniversary. Some were mandated by higher authorities, and others were organized spontaneously.
Music, being the most popular art form, naturally took center stage. If someone asked a large state-owned enterprise to organize a painting event, hardly anyone would show up. But if they organized a chorus, hundreds of people would participate in minutes.
Even a community could form an overcrowded senior citizens' choir.
In addition, shopping malls and squares would start playing celebratory music on a loop from now on, with frequency increasing as October approached.
All of this, including in public promotional videos produced by various organizations, would incur a copyright fee as long as "Starry Sea" was used.
1,000 yuan.
It didn't matter how many times or where it was used, and it was valid for one year.
It may not seem like much, but it was actually quite impressive.
The main reason was that no other songs could collect this copyright fee.
Celebration songs could.
In recent years, the country had been emphasizing intellectual property rights to improve its global competitiveness and image. Music copyrights were one of the focuses, especially with the "60th Anniversary" theme. Enterprises and institutions at all levels had no problem affording this small fee.
It was also a way to set an example for society, showing that all departments could afford this.
But the total amount would likely be enormous.
Think about it: if a community senior choir performed it, Zhou Rui would earn 1,000 yuan.
Well. Before tax.
This kind of situation would continue for almost half a year.
Zhou Rui couldn't estimate the final total, but it should be a significant amount.
The most important thing was that the copyright remained in his hands, not sold to the government.
As "Starry Sea" was played everywhere in this special way, other income would also flow into Zhou Rui's pocket like a tide.
Platform fees, commercial performance fees, other TV programs wanting to feature it, and even other celebrities requesting to perform it would all incur considerable fees.
If a street choir sang it for 1,000 yuan, the price would be even higher when it was performed on a TV show.
Celebrities' desire to perform it would increase as the song's popularity reached its peak.
Not a single drop of oil was wasted in this song; it soared with the wind and squeezed out every last drop.
Zhou Rui immediately shared the good news with Li Wenqian. The little girl didn't fully understand the subsequent developments, but she knew that the song "Starry Sea" she sang was selected, and that was enough for her to jump for joy.
Her tiny legs kicked back, and her whole body bounced up and down like a little rabbit, clinging to Zhou Rui's arms.
"Zhou Rui! Success! Your song was chosen!"
Zhou Rui scratched her nose and corrected her, "It's our song. It's about you, me, and Song Bin. I'll text the fat guy and tell him the good news."
But little did he know, a small episode awaited him ahead.