Surviving the Crisis

The class group was just the tip of the iceberg.

Compared to the small class group, the Qin state Art Academy's internal forum was buzzing even more at this moment—

"The Newcomers Talent Season has officially begun! Everyone, please support Sun Yaohuo's new song titled 'Life Like a Summer Flower'. I've added links to the song on various music platforms below."

"This song is unexpectedly good!"

"Those of us in the composition program should also support our senior. By the way, he's quite lucky. The composition and arrangement of this song are quite profound."

"The composition and arrangement are both by someone named 'Xian Yu'. This dude is a legit 'Song Daddy'."

"The composition department supports Sun Yaohuo. PS: Not to toot our own horn, but the song really took off thanks to our 'Song Daddy'."

"I'm looking forward to seeing the rankings at noon tomorrow. Wondering where 'Life Like a Summer Flower' will place."

"Don't worry, with the quality of this song, it will definitely rank high."

"Who is this Xian Yu? I've never heard of him before."

"Record Label: What requirements do you have for the singer? Song Daddy: As long as they have a mouth, it's fine."

"As a vocal major, I don't mind being just a tool. I just want to produce under Song Daddy's guidance."

"Why are you all night owls still up?"

"Long nights are coming. I'll be on guard from now till the end. Every night."

"Go to sleep, or you might just drop dead."

"..."

Every November, the Newcomers Talent Season is a feast for music students.

If there's a senior from their school participating, it's even more perfect.

Many alumni blindly download "Life Like a Summer Flower" just because Sun Yaohuo is a graduate of Qin Art Academy.

...

7:30 the next morning.

After Lin Yuan got up and washed, he had breakfast in the cafeteria and then leisurely headed to class.

The first lesson hadn't begun yet.

However, Lin Yuan was already engrossed in his book.

But the ambiance this morning felt different. The classmates were not engrossed in their phones like usual, but were whispering about something.

Lin Yuan frowned slightly.

The chatter was affecting his reading efficiency.

Still, he couldn't help but overhear the discussions.

"Have you listened to 'Life Like a Summer Flower'?"

The one asking this question was sitting right behind Lin Yuan.

"Of course. For this Newcomers Talent Season, I stayed up until 2 a.m. last night. After listening to the song, I even downloaded and saved it. This song is blowing up on our internal forum." A girl lamented her dark circles.

"The song is indeed good. The composition level is high and worthy of the external title of 'Song Daddy'."

"You wish. Not every composer deserves the honor of 'Song Daddy'. Take you for instance, even if you were to offer your songs for free to new artists, they wouldn't want them."

"I don't particularly like the style of the song, but I admit the composition is incredible."

"Of course you wouldn't, you electronic music lover. How could you appreciate folk music?"

"..."

So, they were discussing "Life Like a Summer Flower".

From their discussions, it seems the song was well-received?

Lin Yuan's frown gradually faded, and he soon forgave the surrounding disturbances.

The girl from earlier mentioned downloading the song. Each song was worth one yuan. The company took 0.8 yuan, the singer took 0.05 yuan, and in the end, he would receive 0.15 yuan—

Lin Yuan suddenly felt that the girl, despite her pronounced dark circles, had delicate and charming features.

...

On the first day of the Newcomers Talent Season, November 1st was bound to be a special day.

On this day, all the entertainment companies in Qin state participating in the Newcomers Talent Season were probably feeling the tension. Everyone awaited the exact moment when the rookie rankings would be officially announced at noon.

Even when the rankings were revealed, if a company's new artist did not meet the expectations, the heavy atmosphere might linger for a whole month—

Until the Newcomers Talent Season ended.

The nervous and restless atmosphere was even more pronounced at Starlight Entertainment. From the start of the workday, greetings between colleagues seemed much softer than usual, especially within the music-related departments.

This was mainly because the company hadn't been doing well in terms of new artists topping the charts in recent years, and the higher-ups were quite displeased about this. The big boss had exploded in anger multiple times over the issue.

Because of this, many related department's quarterly bonuses were cut. Thus, for everyone's sake, the company genuinely hoped to shine this year.

Rumors within the company spread:

Chief Manager Zhao Jue vowed in front of the higher-ups that the company would definitely have a newcomer in the top three of the Rookie Chart this year. If not, she would voluntarily demote herself.

This was no small matter.

If Zhao Jue really did face a demotion, it would be considered a major personnel change within Starlight, given her considerable power and influence.

As the subject of these rumors, Zhao Jue had locked herself in her office since morning, lying in her chair with eyes tightly shut.

She was in a state of self-isolation, afraid to look at her phone or computer, due to her lack of confidence in this year's newcomers.

"Ding ding ding ding..."

Noon eventually arrived.

The sound of the alarm seemed particularly piercing today, pulling Zhao Jue out of her cocooned state.

"It's judgment time."

Zhao Jue opened her eyes, sighed deeply, and took another deep breath before opening her computer.

Not just Zhao Jue.

The entire Starlight Entertainment, and even the entire music industry, were now fixated on the freshly updated official chart:

The Rookie Chart.

But when they saw the first name on the Rookie Chart, everyone simultaneously let out sighs, their moods oddly similar—

Rookie Chart 1st place:

"True Love", singer Qian Xingyu, composer Li Ran, company: Sahara Entertainment.

Downloads: 886,000.

In past years, the top spot on the Rookie Chart had always been a brutal competition between major companies.

But this year was different.

Qian Xingyu, as a "newcomer", was an anomaly.

Being able to debut and achieve massive success with his very first TV show just a month before the Newcomers Talent Season and having such a massive following from the get-go?

Who could compete with such a "newcomer"?

Everyone could only lament, "With Qian Xingyu as their trump card, Sahara Entertainment will probably dominate the top spot for the whole month."

Zhao Jue also felt the same, filled with envy and jealousy.

She decided to view the results from the bottom up.

After all, the Rookie Chart only displayed the top 100 rankings. It wouldn't take long to scan through 100 names.

As for not having a newcomer in the top 100?

That would be a joke. After all, Starlight Entertainment was one of the top entertainment companies in Qin state with its abundant early-stage resources. If a newcomer couldn't make it to the top 100 even with the massive backing of Starlight, then such a newcomer would definitely be dismissed.

Zhao Jue's judgment wasn't that poor.

At 73rd place, Zhao Jue saw the first name from the company, causing her to slightly frown.

At 55th place, she saw the second name, making her frown deepen.

By the time she reached 12th place, Zhao Jue had seen the names of eight newcomers from the company.

The 11th place wasn't from the company.

So, only two spots were left.

Did this mean Starlight Entertainment secured two spots in the top ten this year?

She bit her lip. After seeing the ninth place, where the ninth newcomer from her company was listed, only one spot remained.

8th place... 7th place... 6th place... 5th place...

Finally.

Zhao Jue found the tenth name.

Rookie Chart 3rd Place:

"Life Like a Summer Flower", singer Sun Yaohuo, composer Xian Yu, company: Starlight Entertainment.

Downloads: 666,000.

Zhao Jue's eyes widened in surprise as she stared intently at the third spot on the Rookie Chart. Her breathing became rapid, and in that moment, she felt an overwhelming sense of relief as if she had just survived a catastrophe:

Top three!

Actually in the top three!

As the Chief Manager, Zhao Jue was well aware that Xian Yu was the pseudonym used by Lin Yuan. But what she didn't expect was that the very person who almost caused her downfall, Lin Yuan, was the one who pulled her back from the brink.

Fate truly worked in mysterious ways.

Not bothering about the ranks of others, Zhao Jue's confident smile returned, "Now no one can bring me down. As long as we secure Lin Yuan's third place, I don't have to step down!"

The consequences of a demotion were too grave.

She still had a loan on her standalone mansion at home.

Suddenly standing up from her seat, Zhao Jue dialed a number quickly, "Get in touch with the heads of several music apps immediately. I want their front-page promotion streams, the highest tier that Starlight can get!"

"Understood... Congratulations, Manager Zhao."

The person on the other end seemed to understand what had transpired.

Zhao Jue smiled, "Thank you. Your resources department needs to put in more effort now, after all, this is just the first-day ranking."

The first-day ranking did not indicate the final outcome.

There were still twenty-nine days of competition ahead.

However, for a major company like Starlight, if they focus on defense after securing the top three on the first day, there's basically no chance of slipping. If things go south, they can always resort to the "Nine Protect One" strategy as a safety net.

What's the "Nine Protect One" strategy?

It's about sacrificing resources for the other nine songs and maximizing exposure for "Life Like a Summer Flower". This tactic is commonly used by smaller companies when they have a top-performing song.

Typically, Starlight wouldn't resort to such tactics, given they aren't some small company.

After finishing the first call, as if struck by another thought, Zhao Jue dialed another number, "Old Zhou, does your composition department still need people?"

"Don't joke around, Zhao."

A stiff male voice responded on the other end, "For the Rookie Chart, the company forced me to recruit a bunch of newcomer composers. Can such a thing be resolved with a numbers game? Don't give me more headaches; my department is already bursting at the seams."

Zhao Jue smiled, "Not even if it's Xian Yu?"

The attitude at the other end changed instantly, "Manager Zhao, where is Xian Yu? I can sign him personally! Our composition department truly needs people now!"