Chapter 10

After some time, while he was engaging with social media and acknowledging new connections, a message from someone named Alex Santos caught his eye.

Alex introduced himself and offered generous compliments, praising Edward's talents and hinting at further room for growth.

The message extended an offer to join Alex's record company, suggesting a potential collaboration that intrigued Edward.

The conditions presented by Alex were undoubtedly tempting: an annual salary ranging from ₱150,000 to ₱300,000, complete with benefits and health insurance.

Considering his previous yearly earnings in a different time and place were just ₱240,000, the possibility of potentially making ₱300,000 definitely excited him. It wouldn't be truthful to say that he wasn't influenced by the attraction of such a significant increase in income.

However, he hesitated when he saw the contract length: 10 years.

During this time, the company had the authority to terminate the contract. If the artist wished to cancel the agreement, they'd have to provide compensation.

This seemed fair; the company would invest years, time, and resources in nurturing the artist. It made sense to reimburse the company for their investment if the artist decided to withdraw unexpectedly.

Edward sighed and shook his head. "It's disappointing," he thought.

The contract was actually quite appealing, if he was being honest. If it had been offered in his past life, he would've accepted it without any hesitation.

But now, with his new chance at life...

Not even ₱5,000,000 would make him agree to be tied down to a small recording studio.

"Dear Mr. Alex Santos,

I extend my gratitude for your generous invitation to join the AXL Recording Studio.

After thorough contemplation, I regret to inform you that I am unable to accept this gracious offer at this time.

However, I remain open to potential collaboration with AXL Recording Studio on different ventures.

Thank you once again for considering me.

Sincerely,

Edward"

Edward carefully reviewed the sentence he had composed before deciding to send it.

He recognized the importance of responding to the formal invitation in a respectful manner.

At the same time, he wanted to express his interest in potential collaboration—an idea he had been contemplating for some time.

After all, he doesn't want to become a song cover producer all his life; he also wants to plagiarize—er, I mean to produce his own music.

He thought, "Since I can't fully remember the songs from before, why not team up with others?"

He envisioned sharing the parts he did remember with fellow musicians and working together to complete and refine the songs.

He intended to retain the song copyrights while offering them the distribution rights.

In his view, it was a mutually beneficial collaboration.

After hitting send, he dedicated the remaining time to flirt—oh, let's say, chatting with some interesting individuals.

At 2:00 in the afternoon, he exited the Internet cafe and made his way to the agreed meeting spot to catch up with his friends.

This time, they opted for a billiard hall not far from their old high school hangout.

Upon arrival, he spotted them in a corner of the hall, already engrossed in their activities.

'Yo, Ed, you're late again? " Jake greeted him with a fist bump and asked.

"Ah, just caught up with stuff," Edward replied casually.

"Yeah, yeah, 'stuff.' Can't you spill the beans on this mysterious 'stuff'?" Jake asked, genuinely curious.

"I know, right? What's the big secret? Come on, spill!" another friend chimed in, giving Edward a playful nudge.

"Hey, Alfred, curious too? I'll spill, but it'll cost you," Edward said with a wink, prompting Alfred to give him a mock disgusted look.

His name was Alfred, and he carried the image of the "bad boy" within the group.

Not the kind that girls obsessed with, but the one who fancied himself as tough, indulging in activities he deemed edgy—smoking, drinking, and adorning tattoos.

He was almost the archetype of a bad boy, except for his lack of height and a more muscular physique..

Anyway, as long as he's happy, others are too lazy to care.

At least he's a nice guy, and excluding Jake, he was the second guy he liked the most in the group.

"Eww, seriously, can you not? It's a bit weird," Alfred remarked, expressing his discomfort.

"Humph, killjoy," Edward retorted and then sat down on a nearby bench, but under the expectant gazes of his friends, he sighed and began to explain.

"It's not that I don't want to tell you guys; I just wanted it to be a surprise!" Edward clarified, and he wasn't being deceptive.

In reality, he was eager to share his YouTube video plans with them, but he realized disclosing it now might disrupt the video production. He thought it would be better to wait until he had enough capital to invest in better equipment and involve them in the process.

"Sure, sure," Jake responded, shrugging and dropping the topic.

"Fine," Alfred sighed, a tad disappointed.

Seeing that Jake had given up, he reluctantly followed suit.

Observing their expressions of uncertainty, Edward could only laugh wryly.

Shaking his head, he got off the bench and sat beside the loli who was engrossed in her phone, striking up a conversation.

"Something new?" Edward inquired.

"Well, there's this cute guy who's been pursuing me lately; we've been texting for days. What do you think?" the girl shared excitedly, showing a picture of the guy on her phone.

"Is he cuter than me?" Edward joked, adding a playful smile.

"..."

"Eh, what's with that look?" Edward asked.

"Nothing, I just think you're cuter," she replied.

"Thanks?" Edward questioned.

"That's sarcasm, not a compliment, idiot," she retorted, rolling her eyes.

After goofing around with Angela for a bit, Edward stood up from his seat to catch up with the others.

Danica, an average-looking girl who was obsessed with K-pop.

Ryan, the trash-talking Dota gamer.

Karren, a girl with obsessive-compulsive personality disorder.

Marc, the quiet guy in the group.

The mentioned individuals were the ones Edward was most familiar with. As for the others, he exchanged greetings and engaged in casual conversation.

Hours later, they continued to enjoy the afternoon discussing various topics, engaging in playful banter with Angela, and playing a few rounds of eight-ball (billiards) with Jake and Alfred.

Around 5 in the afternoon, the group dispersed, ending their time together for the day.

Edward headed back home to start preparing dinner for his parents.

At 10 in the evening, he found himself in his room, crafting a draft for his next song.

However, just as he delved into his work, his keypad phone rang suddenly, shattering his focus.

Edward's eyebrows twitched as he checked the message—it was from Angela, the girl they playfully referred to as "the loli," asking if he was still awake.

Angela: "Are you awake?"

Edward: "Yes, why?"

Angela: "Nothing."

Seeing her reply, Edward felt a surge of irritation, wanting to scold her for disturbing him at this hour with such a vague message after asking if he was awake.

Edward: "Are you messing with me?"

Angela: "No? Why?"

Edward: "Childish."

Angela: "(Laughing Emoji)"

Edward took a deep breath, forced himself to calm down, and decided to ignore her.

"Let's see how I deal with you later," he thought to himself, planning to address this playful annoyance when the time was right.