A bronze treasure chest?

Lin Yuan looked at the system’s warehouse grid, feeling a bit apprehensive for no reason: “There won’t be a bomb in this chest, right?”

The system ignored Lin Yuan.

To be safe, Lin Yuan found an excuse to go to the bathroom before opening his first bronze treasure chest.

[Task Reward: Professional-Level Piano Skills]

The moment the bronze treasure chest opened, countless piano techniques suddenly flooded Lin Yuan’s mind.

Arpeggios, chords, trills, leaps, octaves, and even scales in thirds and sixths, and so on.

“Is that it?”

Lin Yuan wasn’t very satisfied.

Because the original owner already had a level ten piano skill on Blue Star, which wasn’t a difficult achievement for a child aspiring to pursue music from a young age.

It would have been better to reward a song or a novel or something.

The system seemed equally unimpressed with Lin Yuan’s attitude, responding in a mechanical, emotionless voice: “Treasure chests are divided into four levels: bronze, silver, gold, and diamond. But even the lowest level bronze chest contains items of certain value.”

“So what level is professional?”

Lin Yuan needed to understand what the system’s standard for “professional” was.

The system responded: “The piano level you now possess is one that most ordinary people cannot reach. Even some exceptionally talented piano prodigies would need to practice diligently for over ten years to reach this level. As for the so-called level ten piano skill, isn’t that something even elementary school students can pass?”

“Alright then.”

Lin Yuan accepted the result, ignoring the system’s faintly mocking tone: “What’s the level above professional?”

“Above professional is top-tier, followed by master level, and then perfect level, corresponding to silver, gold, and the precious diamond chests, respectively.”

“When will I get these chests?”

“You need to rely on your own strength and luck to draw them. Generally, there are two ways to obtain them: the first is by completing tasks issued by the system; the second is by reaching a certain standard of reputation points, such as your total reputation exceeding ten thousand.”

“What’s my current reputation?”

As soon as Lin Yuan finished speaking, a few lines of light blue text appeared before him:

[Age: 19]

[Lifespan: 22]

[Painting: 45]

[Literature: 105]

[Music: 2509]

[Overall: 2659]

[Others: Awaiting Unlock]

The painting and literature categories hadn’t changed, but the music category had increased significantly.

It was probably due to the piano skills he just acquired and the bit of reputation gained from recording the song “Life Like Summer Flowers.”

It seemed that to break ten thousand in total reputation, he would have to wait for the official release of “Life Like Summer Flowers.”

Lin Yuan washed his hands and walked out of the bathroom.

At this time, people from the finance and legal departments of Starlight Entertainment came to have him sign a contract, a signing contract regarding “Life Like Summer Flowers,” which was a routine procedure.

The contract stated—

After the release of “Life Like Summer Flowers,” eighty percent of the song’s revenue would belong to the company, with the remaining twenty percent split between Lin Yuan and Sun Yaohuo.

Sun Yaohuo would receive 0.5 percent.

Lin Yuan, having written both the lyrics and music and completed the arrangement on his own, would receive 1.5 percent.

Sun Yaohuo had no objections.

He kept a low profile, not treating the performance of “Life Like Summer Flowers” as a money-making opportunity but rather as his debut opportunity, so he signed without hesitation.

Lin Yuan also had no objections.

Although he wanted a larger share, like Sun Yaohuo, he was a newcomer. Newcomers weren’t qualified to negotiate terms with the company; the company would decide the distribution.

Only industry veterans could make the company concede on profit sharing.

After signing, the finance department reminded Lin Yuan: “The song will be released on November 1st, and the audio will be available on all major channels cooperating with the company.”

“Okay.”

Lin Yuan nodded.

After signing the contract, the resource promotion department staff also came to Lin Yuan with a form to sign, asking him to fill in some information.

“First, your name.”

The resource promotion department staff guided Lin Yuan in filling out the form: “In the lyrics and composition section, you can write your own name or use a pseudonym, but once you write it, don’t change it casually.”

“Xian Yu, is that okay?”

“You’re not planning to use your real name?”

Lin Yuan nodded, preferring to stay low-key if possible.

“That’s fine.”

The staff had no objections.

Lin Yuan then wrote “Xian Yu” in the lyrics and composition signature section.

Although his memories from his past life were vague, Lin Yuan could still recall some classic poetic lines, like this one:

“Instead of envying fish by the abyss, better to retreat and weave a net.”

But “Xian Yu” sounded a bit like “Salted Fish,” didn’t it?

Next, the form required Lin Yuan to write the background of the song’s creation.

Lin Yuan pondered.

Seeing Lin Yuan’s hesitation, the staff said skillfully: “No need to overthink it, just write something casually. Other lyricists and composers do the same; no one really cares.”

“Okay.”

Lin Yuan thought for a moment and wrote: “Life is as splendid as summer flowers, and death is as serene as autumn leaves.”

This was the origin of the song’s title.

After writing, he turned and left.

The staff took the form Lin Yuan left behind, looking at the line he wrote, momentarily dazed—

“Life is as splendid as summer flowers, and death is as serene as autumn leaves.”

In a world without Tagore, such a short poem had quite a powerful impact.

Even those without literary insight could sense a profound, life-like texture in these exquisite words.

Coming back to his senses, the staff smiled and murmured: “Looks like the promotion team won’t have to worry about a headline this time.”

…

Lin Yuan sent a message to Zhao Jue before leaving, and seeing no reply, he took a taxi back to school.

Meanwhile, in the general manager’s office at Starlight Entertainment, Zhao Jue was facing pressure from the company’s boss, too busy to check her phone.

“This year, Sand Sea plans to debut Qian Xingyu during the newcomer season. How do you plan to respond to this?”

The boss’s voice was calm.

But Zhao Jue could hear the displeasure hidden behind it.

There was a reason to be displeased because Qian Xingyu wasn’t really a newcomer; he was the second male lead in a popular drama last month—

What are the unwritten rules of the newcomer season?

Any newcomer to the music scene can release songs during this time.

So if an actor like Qian Xingyu wants to release a song, he can be considered a newcomer to the music scene.

After all, he’s only acted before and never sung.

But this is unfair to other newcomers.

So there was a proposal in the industry to prevent actors from debuting as new singers during the newcomer season because it’s an opportunity for pure newcomers in the entertainment industry!

But the proposal wasn’t adopted by the higher-ups.

However, the proposal wasn’t entirely useless.

Many established actors cherished their reputation, so even if they had ambitions in the music scene, to avoid industry controversy, they wouldn’t release songs during the newcomer season, competing with pure newcomers.

But new actors weren’t in this category.

Before this year’s popular drama, Qian Xingyu hadn’t acted in anything, making him a newcomer in the entertainment industry!

So his situation was unique.

Even if he competed with pure newcomers for the newcomer season charts, it wouldn’t cause much controversy. After all, he suddenly became popular just before the newcomer season.

This gave Qian Xingyu a significant advantage.

With a popular drama as a foundation, promoting him was easy. Even if the song’s quality wasn’t great, his fans could help boost the charts!

Thinking of this, Zhao Jue carefully prepared her words: “Qian Xingyu is definitely aiming for first place. With him securing first, the value of second and third places will also increase…”

“You are indeed meticulous.”

The boss, a middle-aged man with a scholarly demeanor, appeared quite amiable.

But everyone in the company knew not to judge by appearances.

This seemingly amiable boss could become a demon king when angry.

Tapping his fingers lightly on the table, the boss said softly: “Your military order this year was rather hasty… aiming for the top three in the newcomer season! If the target isn’t met, even I can’t cover for you… I’ll have to demote you for a while, and you might have to endure a year or so before returning to your position as chief agent.”

“Understood.”

Zhao Jue took a deep breath. She had mentally prepared for this since Lin Yuan’s voice incident.

“Additionally…”

The boss reminded: “Even if no one reaches the top three, try to secure several spots in the top ten and improve our newcomers’ highest ranking. Only then can I speak for you in front of the higher-ups.”

“Understood.”

Zhao Jue knew the boss was quite supportive of her. Becoming the chief agent was due to his years of mentorship.

“You may leave.”

The boss waved her off.

Zhao Jue nodded, left the office, adjusted her mindset, and then took out her phone to call Lin Yuan: “Where are you? I’ll drive you back to school.”

“I’m already back at school.”

Lin Yuan said: “I sent you a message earlier; you might not have noticed.”

Zhao Jue was momentarily stunned, then said: “Alright, then. Be safe on your way back. When the newcomer season in November arrives, I’ll see if I can get you some good resources to aim for the top ten. Personally, I think your song is good and has potential.”

“Thanks, Sister Zhao.”

Even if Lin Yuan was slow, he could feel Zhao Jue’s care for him. Many details showed that Zhao Jue genuinely appreciated the original owner.

“Thank you for what? Bye.”

Zhao Jue said with a smile, though her smile was somewhat bitter.

Helping you is also helping myself. If we can secure another spot in the top ten, perhaps the thunderstorm over my head will be a bit lighter…