Naivety

The company's new song ranked third on the Rookie Chart!

As soon as the Rookie Chart was announced, the news quickly spread throughout Starlight Entertainment. The entire staff was rejuvenated.

"Damn, finally a big shot has come out to save face."

"I guess our music department won't be having its bonus cut this year, huh?"

"Ugh, our film and TV department got the task. Everyone in every department has to download 'Life Like Summer Flowers'. We finally got a third place this year, seems like the higher-ups are keen to maintain it."

"Exactly."

"After all, Starlight is ranked among the top three entertainment companies in Qin state. Poor performance on the Rookie Chart will tarnish our company's reputation. You know, many fresh graduates from Qin state's music academies choose companies based on these rankings..."

There are countless entertainment companies in Qin state.

The three most renowned ones are undoubtedly Starlight Entertainment, Sahara Entertainment, and Brilliant Silver Flame.

In past newcomer seasons, the fresh talents introduced by these three companies would always dominate the top spots of the Rookie Chart.

However, over the recent years, while Sahara and Brilliant Silver Flame remained consistently strong, Starlight had been underperforming, causing the public to question its authority in the music industry. This had a very negative impact.

Hence, the company's senior executives put pressure on Zhao Jue, who was in charge of the matter.

Under normal circumstances, a rookie season wouldn't be significant enough to upset the company's boss.

With the company staff's discussion,

The name Xian Yu was widely spread.

In contrast, discussions about Sun Yaohuo were few and far between.

In an era where even the general public would be interested in composers, the significance of composers within the ecosystem of an entertainment company cannot be overstated.

Composers are held in much higher regard than singers.

Isn't that why they're affectionately called "Song Daddies" within the industry?

Everyone knows one thing:

The success of a song often lies in the composer's ability to write melodies that resonate with the heart.

In other words,

Xian Yu's composition, "Life Like Summer Flowers," isn't very picky about the singer.

Even if the company hadn't chosen Sun Yaohuo and picked someone else, as long as their vocals were good, they could have made the song a hit with company promotion.

This is why, after a song becomes popular, composers are often more favored.

Of course,

There are exceptions for singers with uniquely enchanting voices. These are rare gems in the music industry with unparalleled vocal skills, comparable in status to the renowned composers.

Some of these exceptional singers collaborate with top-tier composers, resulting in mutual success. Both are indispensable.

Not every singer can handle every song.

For instance, you can't just pull any singer into a studio to perform an opera.

That being said, the difficulty of singing a song doesn't determine its quality. Some songs can be sung by anyone, but their brilliance cannot be denied.

...

Meanwhile, outside,

The atmosphere of the Newcomers Talent Season, fueled by the Rookie Chart, spread throughout Qin state.

The attention of major companies shifted momentarily from Sahara Entertainment, which had a stronghold on the top spot, to Starlight Entertainment, one of the big three.

"Wow, Starlight's newcomer is back in the top three."

"After all, it's one of the old big three entertainment companies. Starlight can't possibly underperform every year."

"It's tough competing against the big three. Sahara is unshakable at number one, Brilliant Silver Flame is steady at number two, and now Starlight is back in glory at number three. They get the big pieces, and we smaller companies just get the crumbs."

"..."

Aside from the entertainment companies, music critics, of course, were also closely watching the Rookie Chart, especially the top three songs.

On Weibo,

Music critics actively recommended their favorite Rookie Chart songs.

Surprisingly, a majority of them recommended the third-placed song, "Life Like Summer Flowers"!

This trend piqued the interest of many netizens in "Life Like Summer Flowers," and numerous comments sprang up beneath the recommendations:

"The song title is beautiful."

"To live as brilliantly as summer flowers, to die as gracefully as autumn leaves, even without listening to the song, judging from its title, it must be the best."

"Out of the ten music critics I follow, seven of them recommended 'Life Like Summer Flowers'. I must give it a listen."

"I've heard the song. Pretty good. Downloaded in support."

"I listened to it too. Personally, I think it's just average."

"Indeed, personal taste matters the most. Either way, from the first time I listened to 'Life Like Summer Flowers', I was deeply moved. It's the first time a song without high notes has had such an impact on me."

"Wow, this song really has something special."

"Thanks to the music critics for recommending. This song might be my biggest find of this newcomer season. No more words needed, added to favorites and playlist."

"..."

Such is the custom in Qin state.

Every newcomer season, almost all music critics ride the wave of its popularity.

Some recommend their favorite songs, while others, fewer in number, might accept bribes from entertainment companies, posting pre-written promotions.

Qin state, among the eight continents of Blue Star – Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, Han, Zhao, Wei, and the "capital" Central State – has its own unique charm.

Qin state, in particular, is recognized across Blue Star as the "Land of Music"!

A plethora of musicians hail from here.

Adjacent to Qin state is Qi, known as the "Film Paradise".

Yet, official data suggests that most of the soundtracks for Qi's movies are crafted by composers from Qin state.

Meanwhile,

Eighty percent of composers active on the Blue Star artistic stage come from Qin state. This includes various genres of songs, as well as piano, violin, symphonies... and so on.

All forms of musical arts have a significant commercial space in Qin state.

From a very young age, Qin state residents pride themselves on their "high musical taste". When they bring up musical topics in front of people from the other seven continents, they exude a supreme confidence.

...

Zhao Jue called Lin Yuan.

When the call connected, the excitement in the chief manager's voice was palpable. "Lin Yuan, you'll soon move to the composer's department. Also, congratulations on ranking third on the Rookie Chart!"

"I'm in third place?"

Lin Yuan thought for a moment and asked, "Considering it's a newcomer season, isn't that rank decent?"

"..."

Zhao Jue was momentarily taken aback. "Didn't you follow the Rookie Chart today?"

"My classmate might have," Lin Yuan replied.

Zhao Jue was both amused and bewildered. Lin Yuan's nonchalance contrasted sharply with her enthusiasm.

She ended the topic, "When you're free, come to the company for some paperwork. Also, your earnings from the song will be transferred to your card by the end of the month."

"Thank you, Sister Zhao."

Lin Yuan always had respect for Zhao Jue.

Zhao Jue, amused, laughed and shook her head after ending the call. She then turned her gaze back to her computer.

Displayed on the screen was the Rookie Chart's interface.

Ever since lunch, Zhao Jue had been glued to the screen, not daring to move an inch.

She was anxious, fearing that the third-place ranking might be snatched away if she blinked.

Yet, as time went on, Zhao Jue felt something was off.

Not that the fourth place was catching up. Its downloads were just under 30,000.

In comparison, the download count for "Life Like Summer Flowers" had surged to a staggering 50,000 since morning!

What was more puzzling was the speed of this surge.

The song in second place was from Brilliant Silver Flame.

"Aries," sung by Zeng Yi and composed by Li Da, had 53,000 downloads.

Initially, when the chart opened, "Aries" was at 43,000. So, it increased by 10,000.

But "Life Like Summer Flowers" started at 33,000 and had gained almost 20,000 since!

What could this signify?

Could it be that Starlight was about to overtake Brilliant Silver Flame?

The thought, once planted in Zhao Jue's mind, grew uncontrollably, making her heartbeat race.

Refresh!

Refresh!

Refresh!

Frantically, Zhao Jue kept refreshing the page. And then she saw it - the gap between "Life Like Summer Flowers" and the second place grew slimmer, making her heart race even faster...

At 6 PM, just before quitting time,

Zhao Jue refreshed the rankings yet again and this time, she clearly saw that the song in second place on the Rookie Chart was:

"Life Like Summer Flowers"!

Downloads: 59,800!

The third-place was taken by Brilliant Silver Flame's song "Aries," with downloads lingering at 59,100, thus being pushed out of the top two!

In this moment,

Zhao Jue almost let out a triumphant scream.

While she was concerned about holding onto third place, "Life Like Summer Flowers" had quietly surpassed Brilliant Silver Flame and clinched the second spot!

Under any other newcomer season in the past, with such an achievement, "Life Like Summer Flowers" would have swept the entire Rookie Chart and won outright!

Just then, her phone rang.

Zhao Jue answered, feigning ignorance, "Old Zhou, what's up?"

A voice from the other end replied, "Open the door."

Zhao Jue hesitated briefly before opening the door.

Standing outside, a middle-aged man, beaming with excitement, exclaimed, "Sister Zhao, second place… I mean... we haven't dined together in ages. Tonight, order whatever you fancy, it's on me! Also… when is Xian Yu reporting to the composer's department? Our department is short on people."

"Oh."

Seeing Old Zhou's fawning demeanor, Zhao Jue felt a rush of amusement, thinking he was truly not worldly-wise.