A perfectly good group was almost ruined by Lin Yuan and Zheng Jing—

Anyway, after Lin Yuan and Zheng Jing finished their conversation, the group remained silent for a full two hours.

Not just in the group.

Even in the department, many people occasionally glanced at Lin Yuan with somewhat peculiar expressions.

Obviously, these people were also members of the Starlight Composition Group and had seen Lin Yuan’s comments in the group.

“You’ve unknowingly offended a lot of people,” Wu Yong couldn’t help but kindly remind Lin Yuan.

Although Wu Yong thought Lin Yuan’s way of speaking in the group was somewhat inappropriate, seeing how earnest Lin Yuan was while typing, he didn’t think Lin Yuan was deliberately trying to attract attention.

“Why?” Lin Yuan was puzzled.

Faced with Lin Yuan’s confusion, Wu Yong didn’t know how to explain and could only smile wryly, saying, “Maybe a lot of people don’t like the way you talk to Sister Jing.”

“Why?” Lin Yuan still didn’t understand.

Wu Yong could only shrug helplessly, “I can only say it’s because you’re different from others.”

“Oh.”

This time, Lin Yuan didn’t ask further, although he still couldn’t understand why being different from others would offend people.

“It’s not a big deal. At least in our tenth-floor composition department, everyone is still friendly to you,” Wu Yong reassured, fearing Lin Yuan’s mindset might be affected. “Besides, everyone here is into art; they don’t have many tricks up their sleeves and won’t trip someone just because they don’t like them. Keep working hard. You’re still in your sophomore year and can write a song like ‘Life Like Summer Flowers,’ which shows you have great potential! Once you write more good songs, everyone will understand you. In Blue Star, in any industry, it’s all about results.”

“Okay,” Lin Yuan nodded.

Seeing that Lin Yuan’s mindset wasn’t too affected, Wu Yong felt a bit relieved.

However, even though he comforted Lin Yuan, he knew very well that a song of the caliber of ‘Life Like Summer Flowers’ wasn’t something that could be easily written.

Everyone has moments of inspiration.

When Lin Yuan will write another song of this caliber is unknown.

In fact, Lin Yuan might never write a better song than ‘Life Like Summer Flowers’ in his lifetime, and this song might become his only representative work, which is a common phenomenon in the industry.

If that’s the case, then being number one on the Newcomer Chart would be the highlight of Lin Yuan’s composition career.

Just then, Old Zhou suddenly walked in from outside, looking a bit grim, and with a hint of anger in his voice, said, “Everyone, put down what you’re doing and come to the meeting room for a meeting!”

After speaking, Old Zhou led the way into the meeting room next door, slamming the door a bit loudly.

“What’s going on?”

“Who made the boss unhappy?”

“Could it be because of what Lin Yuan said in the group…”

“I don’t know, but I rarely see the boss in such a bad mood.”

“Although Lin Yuan’s comments in the group were inappropriate, it wasn’t to that extent, right? He’s still a sophomore student; it’s normal for him to lack some social experience.”

“That’s true.”

“Stop guessing, let’s go to the meeting.”

The sound of chairs scraping against the floor echoed as the people from the composition department got up one after another and followed Old Zhou into the meeting room.

Lin Yuan also followed into the meeting room.

However, some people were worried that Old Zhou’s anger was directed at Lin Yuan’s recent comments in the group, and to avoid getting caught in the crossfire, they were reluctant to sit next to Lin Yuan.

Wu Yong hesitated for a moment and sat to Lin Yuan’s left.

Then, a man with long hair sat to Lin Yuan’s right and proactively extended his hand, “I’m Zheng Han, a 2020 graduate of the Composition Department at Qinzhou Art Academy.”

“Hello, senior,” Lin Yuan politely shook hands with him. Although he didn’t talk much, he could still notice some details.

“Is everyone here?” Old Zhou spoke in a deep voice, “I called you here to discuss something. The soundtrack for ‘Dance of Fish and Dragon’ has been rejected again.”

“What?”

Everyone was suddenly taken aback.

It seemed Old Zhou’s anger had nothing to do with Lin Yuan.

“Everyone, share your thoughts. What should we do?” Old Zhou’s sharp gaze swept across the room, “This is a project for your tenth floor. Don’t force me to give it to other floors.”

No one dared to meet Old Zhou’s gaze.

But since Old Zhou asked, they couldn’t just play dead, so they each avoided his gaze and started voicing their opinions:

“Boss, isn’t ‘Dance of Fish and Dragon’ asking too much of the song? It’s not even a top-tier investment, just a medium-budget animated film.”

“This is already the fourteenth time they’ve rejected our work, right?”

“Are they trying to get our tenth-floor Master Composer to personally step in?”

“The problem is, our tenth-floor Master Composer definitely isn’t interested in this project.”

“If it really doesn’t work, let other floors get involved, or simply let them find another company to do it. Sand Sea, Brilliant Silver Light, there are plenty of talented people in the Qinzhou music circle.”

“How could the company agree? If Sand Sea or Brilliant Silver Light manages to do it, wouldn’t that make us Starlight look incompetent? It would be better to let other floors get involved.”

“……”

Lin Yuan was confused.

He didn’t know what everyone was discussing.

Wu Yong, who was assigned by Old Zhou to guide Lin Yuan, explained, “Here’s the situation: there’s a large animated film called ‘Dance of Fish and Dragon’ from Qizhou. The post-production is almost done, but they’re still missing a core soundtrack. So they commissioned us at Starlight to create this soundtrack, and the task ultimately fell on our tenth floor. But we’ve already made fourteen songs for them, and they’ve all been rejected!”

“The key is…” Zheng Han on the right continued, “The songs that have been rejected were all created by the top talents on our tenth floor. Although these people aren’t at the level of a Master Composer, the quality is definitely not low. Many big-name singers often collaborate with these top composers.”

Lin Yuan understood.

However, Lin Yuan chose to remain silent. If so many people on the tenth floor couldn’t satisfy the client, he didn’t think he could either—

He did have songs.

But for a project like this, the music must match the atmosphere of the film. If they made a romantic movie and you handed them a rap or rock song, no matter how good your song is, it wouldn’t work.

“Enough talking,” Old Zhou rubbed his temples, looking a bit troubled. “Let’s treat this as a last-ditch effort. Everyone on the tenth floor should give it a try for the ‘Dance of Fish and Dragon’ soundtrack. The deadline is one month. I’ll send you the client’s requirements. Maybe someone will get inspired. If it still doesn’t work, according to company policy, this project will have to go to other floors.”

Inspiration is a mysterious thing.

It’s not guaranteed that a Master Composer’s work will always be the best.

Sometimes, a task that a Master Composer can’t handle might suddenly inspire a less accomplished composer to create a song that satisfies the client—

This occasionally happens in the composition world.

Just like how Lin Yuan, still a sophomore, managed to write ‘Life Like Summer Flowers.’

He has a natural talent for composition, and he might have had a moment of inspiration and captured it, resulting in that song.

This is also why Wu Yong believes Lin Yuan might not write another song of the same caliber as ‘Life Like Summer Flowers’ in the future.

Because inspiration is a matter of chance!

Old Zhou’s strategy of casting a wide net was out of necessity. Almost all the top talents on the tenth floor had tried, and he couldn’t really ask a Master Composer to step in, could he?

It’s not impossible.

But it would cost more!

Perhaps the budget for ‘Dance of Fish and Dragon’ is limited, and the price offered by Qizhou isn’t enough to entice a Master Composer to take on the project.

Soon, everyone received a sheet of paper with the soundtrack requirements for ‘Dance of Fish and Dragon’ printed on it.

Lin Yuan also received one.

Because it involved plot secrets, ‘Dance of Fish and Dragon’ only provided a general overview of the story:

It’s a story filled with fantasy elements. A girl saved a fish many years ago, and one day, years later, the girl and her family found themselves in danger. The fish had crossed the Dragon Gate and become a powerful white dragon, reuniting with the girl…

The soundtrack requirements were just three points.

It needed to be ethereal, have a sense of atmosphere, and be beautiful.

As soon as they received the requirements, the meeting room was filled with groans.

“Could the client’s requirements be any more vague? Ethereal, atmospheric, beautiful—it’s too broad!”

“I can’t seem to grasp the point.”

“And the time is too short, just one month. With my composition speed, I definitely can’t make it.”

“For a fantasy story, should the music style be more whimsical?”

“With fish and dragons, should it feel like soaring in the sky? Maybe some oboe would fit.”

“I think it should be more poignant and melancholic? Add some bamboo flute elements?”

“Stop guessing. This problem is too hard; I can’t solve it.”

“That’s not the main issue! The main issue is that we’ve all heard the previously rejected songs! They already had a good feel! But Qizhou still rejected them, which means we haven’t perfectly met their desired feel.”

“……”

For composers, creating something ethereal is easy, capturing atmosphere is easy, and beauty is easy.

Grasping these three qualities isn’t difficult.

But creating a piece that truly moves people is not easy.

It’s like when someone asks for a song that’s very energetic and intense.

Everyone here could probably write a song that’s energetic and intense, but that’s just a creative direction. Out of a thousand energetic and intense songs, maybe only one or two can truly make people feel excited.

Lin Yuan, however, had a sudden thought.

Besides piano pieces, he currently had two songs.

One was ‘Flammable and Explosive,’ which definitely wouldn’t work; the mood didn’t match.

But what about his other song, ‘Big Fish’?

The style of this song seemed to fit the bill.

Could the system have anticipated this?

While pondering, Lin Yuan suddenly heard Wu Yong complaining, “The clients from Qizhou are too difficult! For a mere five million project, do they expect our tenth-floor Master Composer to step in? If they can’t offer a price that entices a Master Composer, they shouldn’t have such high demands.”

Lin Yuan quickly asked, “What did you just say?”

Wu Yong was taken aback, “If they can’t offer a price that entices a Master Composer, they shouldn’t have such high demands?”

“The previous sentence!”

“Do they expect our Master Composer to step in?”

“The one before that!”

“For a mere five million project…”

That’s the one. Confirming the information he wanted, Lin Yuan nodded vigorously, then quickly picked up the calculator at hand and pressed a button.

“Reset!”

The little speaker on the calculator was quite loud, interrupting the groans in the meeting room, and everyone simultaneously looked at Lin Yuan, including Supervisor Old Zhou.

Lin Yuan, however, didn’t notice the gazes around him.

His fingers moved quickly, and the sound of the calculator’s little speaker echoed throughout the room:

“5000000 times 0.2 times 2 divided by 3 equals 666666.666666667.”

The room fell silent.

Only the calculator’s voice could be heard.

Everyone, of course, knew what Lin Yuan was calculating.

Precisely because they knew, in the midst of the silence, everyone’s expressions were quite peculiar.

Dividing it into over six hundred sixty thousand?

When the calculation was complete, Lin Yuan happily turned off the calculator, looked up at Supervisor Old Zhou, and said clearly:

“I’ll take this project.”