Returning to Simplicity

The potential of the song "Life Like Summer Flowers" is much higher than many in the industry expected.

In the following days, the download count for the song kept rising, and Sahara Entertainment lost all hope of making a comeback—

Starlight Entertainment completely dominated.

However, with the Rookie Chart becoming predictable, internal discussions about Xian Yu within Starlight began to die down.

Lin Yuan wasn't bothered by all this.

Recently, his favorite daily activity was checking his own popularity.

With the increasing downloads of "Life Like Summer Flowers", his current reputation had risen to 15,000!

However, he was still far from the one million reputation points required by the system.

Lin Yuan knew that the reputation gained from "Life Like Summer Flowers" would eventually plateau. He would need to seize the right opportunity to release a new work to keep gaining reputation.

...

The 21st.

Another weekend arrived.

By the time Lin Yuan returned to the composition department for work, his colleagues were able to treat him as an ordinary colleague.

The head of the composition department, Old Zhou, even assigned a more mature colleague to guide Lin Yuan.

This colleague, named Wu Yong, might seem mature mainly because he had thinning hair, giving off the aura of a veteran in the industry, trustworthy and reliable.

Wu Yong had also produced some notable works. While they didn't compare to the success of "Life Like Summer Flowers", they were prolific and met the company's standards—

In fact,

70% of the composers at Starlight were of Wu Yong's caliber.

"Lin Yuan,"

After Old Zhou assigned him, Wu Yong greeted, "We're colleagues. If you have any questions, just ask. You can call me Old Wu or Brother Yong."

"Brother Yong, please guide me."

Lin Yuan could clearly hear Wu Yong emphasize the term "Brother Yong", so he played along.

In the Blue Star workplace, hierarchy and seniority were very important.

But if there was a large gap in ability between seniors and juniors, impoliteness could be explained away as "character", which was the same everywhere.

"Sure thing!"

Hearing Lin Yuan's address, Wu Yong warmed up considerably.

With the success of "Life Like Summer Flowers", Lin Yuan, who just entered his second year of university, was considered a young prodigy in composing. However, such young prodigies often tended to be arrogant.

Wu Yong initially feared that Lin Yuan might be like that too.

But now it seemed that Lin Yuan wasn't arrogant. He just spoke less and seemed a bit introverted.

"By the way, you haven't joined the group chat yet, right?"

Wu Yong smiled and said, "Give me your contact, and I'll add you to our group. All of Starlight's composers are in this chat. Even senior executives can't enter. We have a great atmosphere in the group. Sometimes, song daddies in. If you get advice from them, it's like striking gold."

The term "Song Daddy" was rather broad.

For some, Lin Yuan was a Song Daddy.

When the audience hears a superb song, they like to call the composer "Song Daddy", but this was just a form of praise.

In the entire composition field,

Lin Yuan's achievements were far from being at the "Song Daddy" level. A real "Song Daddy" is someone revered by the entire industry!

Such top-level figures, even within Starlight Entertainment, were few.

...

After adding Lin Yuan's contact, Wu Yong added him to the large composer group named "Starlight".

Notification: "Lin Yuan has joined the group chat."

The group's size exceeded Lin Yuan's expectations, including him, there were 953 members!

Seeing Lin Yuan's surprise,

Wu Yong laughed, "These are all composers of the company. The Starlight building has fifty floors, and floors nine to twenty are all our composition department. What you see is just the tip of the iceberg. I'll give you a tour when we have time."

"Mmm."

Lin Yuan thought for a moment and then felt at ease. He had unintentionally used his Earth experiences as a reference.

This wasn't Earth.

Qin state was one of the eight major continents on Blue Star, known as the land of music. Starlight was one of the three major entertainment companies in this land. It wouldn't be odd if the composition department had a thousand composers, especially considering that composing wasn't just about writing songs. Real composition encompassed many categories.

"Huh, why isn't anyone talking?"

Wu Yong noticed that after Lin Yuan entered the group, only a few members sent "Welcome Newbie" messages.

This made him a bit awkward.

He had just mentioned the good atmosphere in the group, yet when a newcomer joined, very few came forward to welcome him.

After thinking for a moment, Wu Yong said, "Change your group nickname to Xian Yu."

Upon hearing this, Lin Yuan complied.

The moment he changed his nickname, the group chat suddenly came to life, as if the earlier silence had never happened—

"Is this the real Xian Yu?"

"The one who composed 'Life Like Summer Flowers'?"

"Welcome, newcomer!"

"Whoa! Welcome to the group, Xian Yu!"

"Ah, it's Xian Yu! Welcome!"

"Welcome, welcome, a hearty welcome!"

In a show of friendliness, someone even sent a red packet with the words "Welcome Xian Yu" – a whopping 200 units!

"A bunch of bandwagon jumpers."

Wu Yong muttered to himself, then cleared his throat, "Didn't I say? The atmosphere of this group... is really good."

Lin Yuan nodded.

He too felt it was pleasant.

At this moment, someone named [Zheng Jing] in the group suddenly tagged Lin Yuan's ID and said, "Xian Yu, I've listened to 'Life Like Summer Flowers', it's impressive."

"Song Daddy! Song Daddy!"

"Wow, hello Sister Jing!"

"Li Zi greets Sister Jing!"

"Today, we're blessed to see the Song Daddy comment, Sister Jing, you're amazing!"

"I'm here to admire the elegance of Sister Jing!"

"Sister Jing has spoken!"

"I'm here to get some luck from Sister Jing!"

The moment Zheng Jing appeared, the group atmosphere could no longer be described as just lively - it was boiling!

"Holy cow!"

Even Wu Yong found it hard to contain himself, his hands trembling with excitement, "Hello Sister Jing! Long live the Song Daddy!"

A thought flashed through Lin Yuan's mind.

The original host's memories did contain this figure named Zheng Jing. She was indeed a Song Daddy, well-regarded not just in Starlight but throughout Qin state.

It's not just men who are called "Song Daddys".

Top female composers are also referred to as such.

Maybe the title "Song Mommies" didn't sound right?

Lin Yuan could even sing some of the songs composed by Zheng Jing.

So, he asked Wu Yong, "Is Zheng Jing the composer of 'Red'?"

"Yes, that's her!"

Wu Yong's excitement was evident, his face turning red, "'Red' is just one of her representative works. She also has 'Blue' and 'White'! Five years ago, Zheng Jing's Color Trilogy made a superstar. Before singing Sister Jing's song, that singer was almost relegated to performing in bars! So, Sister Jing in our industry is legendary. This is the first time I've seen her comment! You getting praise from her – there are probably many in the group who'd cry out of envy."

"So, it really is her."

Lin Yuan nodded, and then tagged Zheng Jing, replying, "Thank you, your compositions are also good."

"…"

There was a sudden silence in the group.

Wu Yong's excitement froze on his face, making it almost look distorted. He stared at Lin Yuan with a blank look—

Your compositions are also good?

This is... a compliment, right?

It's a compliment... right?

But why... does it feel a bit off? What exactly is off?

Wait a minute!

This isn't right!

This is Zheng Jing we're talking about!

A true Song Daddy!

When a Song Daddy like her praises you, shouldn't you be like us, showing utmost reverence and humility towards Sister Jing?

And what are you saying?

Are those even the words of a mortal?

Wu Yong was lost for words, yet his heart roared. He could swear that everyone in the group shared his thoughts!

He had initially thought Lin Yuan wasn't one of those arrogant young prodigies!

Where is this non-arrogance?

This clearly exudes arrogance, a pinnacle kind of arrogance—so subtle that it's almost returning to simplicity!

However...

The chat room quieted down, but Zheng Jing didn't find anything amiss. She tagged Lin Yuan again, saying, "Looking forward to your new song."

Lin Yuan responded, "Hmm."

The silence in the group deepened at that moment.

Wu Yong found himself at a loss for words to describe the Lin Yuan before him.

If you said he was rude, the earnest expression he had when typing portrayed a profound respect towards a highly esteemed senior like Zheng Jing.

This sincerity couldn't be faked, even across a screen. Only Wu Yong, who sat beside him, could witness it.

But if you said he was polite...

Wu Yong examined the brief sentences Lin Yuan had typed. What kind of audacious statements were these!?

Did he even realize whom he was talking to?

Wu Yong ran his fingers through his hair, unintentionally pulling out a few strands.

While feeling a slight pang of regret for the lost hairs, he finally understood the crux of the issue.

The exchange between Lin Yuan and Zheng Jing felt like a conversation between two composers of the same high caliber.

Lin Yuan's tone was so composed, so serene, as if he too was a top-tier composer on par with Zheng Jing!

But the truth was...

When compared to Zheng Jing, where did Lin Yuan even stand?

What baffled him even more was that Zheng Jing didn't seem offended.

It was as if, in her eyes, the way Lin Yuan spoke... was perfectly acceptable?