Qinzhou is vast, with numerous cities.

Lin Yuan is currently in Sucheng, one of the most prosperous main cities in Qinzhou, while his hometown is a place called Yuncheng.

After a six-hour high-speed train ride, Lin Yuan finally arrived in Yuncheng.

“See you when school starts.”

Jian Yi and Xia Fan, who traveled with him, bid farewell to Lin Yuan.

After seeing them off, Lin Yuan didn’t head home immediately. Instead, he took a bus to the mall and bought a bunch of things—all gifts for his mom and younger sister.

Exiting the mall, Lin Yuan found it inconvenient to carry all the bags on a bus, so he opted for a taxi.

His home is located on the southern side of the county, in an area similar to an urban village.

Arriving at the familiar doorstep from his memory, Lin Yuan knocked on the door. The one who opened it was a pretty girl in plush pajamas.

“Sis.”

Lin Yuan greeted with a smile. This was his younger sister, Lin Yao, who was very pretty and, like Lin Yuan, inherited their parents’ good looks. She was in her third year of high school.

“Big brother.”

The girl smiled and nodded.

Lin Yuan entered the house, changed into slippers, and called out, “Mom, I’m back.”

“Finally, you’re back.”

Mom came out wearing an apron, with traces of blood on her hands. “I’m making braised fish for you.”

“Great.”

Lin Yuan said as he carried the bags inside, taking out a set of clothes and shoes for his sister. “These are gifts for you.”

“Thanks.”

Lin Yao accepted the gifts from Lin Yuan. Upon opening them, she found a pink down jacket and frowned. “I don’t like pink.”

“What color do you like then?”

Without hesitation, Lin Yao replied, “White.”

Lin Yuan took out another set. “How about this?”

Lin Yao looked at Lin Yuan in surprise. “Mom said you struck it rich. Turns out she wasn’t lying. Can you give me a hundred yuan to buy some study materials? I have a discount coupon. It originally costs one hundred and twenty, but there’s a twenty yuan discount for spending over a hundred.”

“Sure.”

Lin Yuan agreed readily. “I also got a discount coupon for a grilled fish restaurant at the mall. We can go eat there together later.”

Lin Yao nodded. “Okay.”

Mom watched the exchange between the siblings, amused. “No wonder people used to say you two had peculiar personalities when you were kids…”

“Why?”

Lin Yuan and Lin Yao both looked at their mom.

Mom waved her hand with a smile. Although these siblings were both of the quiet type, unlike their lively elder sister, she knew the three children had a good relationship.

Lin Yuan sat on the sofa to rest.

Lin Yao, who was in her third year of high school, was doing exercises at the table.

This was a two-bedroom, one-living-room home. The lighting wasn’t great, and the decor and furniture were simple. For instance, the sofa Lin Yuan sat on had several holes. Despite its simplicity, the house was very clean and well-organized.

Once I get my salary, I’ll buy a house.

This thought flashed through Lin Yuan’s mind.

Soon, the meal was ready. Lin Yuan had called his mom before coming back, so lunch was a sumptuous four dishes and one soup.

Braised fish, sweet and sour ribs, spicy chicken, stir-fried mushrooms with greens, and a tomato egg soup.

“Let’s eat.”

The three sat around the table, and mom lamented, “Your sister’s annual leave hasn’t started yet. If she were here, these dishes would definitely be finished.”

Lin Yuan nodded.

His sister was the biggest eater in the family.

In contrast, Lin Yuan and Lin Yao were the picky eaters, preferring meat.

Mom smiled and reminded, “Eat more vegetables.”

So Lin Yuan and Lin Yao, in perfect sync, each picked a piece of vegetable and split it with their chopsticks.

“……”

Mom chuckled. “Yao Yao, your brother is earning money now. If you need anything, you can ask him.”

“Okay.”

Lin Yao’s eyes lit up as she looked at Lin Yuan. “Big brother, can you help me eat this piece of vegetable?”

“Those who eat are wise!”

Lin Yuan refused. “It’s said that eating vegetables keeps you young. I have a friend who eats vegetables all the time, so he’s forever eighteen.”

Lin Yao: “……”

Lin Yuan reminded, “He’s forever eighteen.”

Lin Yao was puzzled. “Big brother, are you telling a joke?”

Lin Yuan regretted a bit, thinking maybe it wasn’t his humor, but that Senior Sun Yaohuo had a lower threshold for jokes. He had no resistance to Lin Yuan’s jokes.

……

Lin Yuan started his vacation early, but the departments at Starlight Entertainment were still busy with work.

In the Artist Department.

Jiang Kui had finally completed the recording of “Balloon” and was happily reporting the results to Zhao Jue.

At that moment, Old Zhou appeared in the Artist Department and approached Zhao Jue. “There’s some bad news. We might need to adjust our Spring Festival plans.”

“What happened?”

Zhao Jue frowned.

Old Zhou sighed. “This year, the company planned to release ten songs for the Spring Festival. One of them has an issue. The Review Department found that its melody is too similar to a song from Chuzhou.”

“Plagiarism?”

“Not plagiarism. I know the composer. He probably heard that song by chance and unintentionally wrote a similar melody. This isn’t the first time something like this has happened in the Composition Department.”

“Can’t we just go with nine songs this year?”

It’s quite common for composers to have similar melodies, especially with popular songs where the commonly used chords are often quite similar.

“No.”

Old Zhou was also troubled. “The promotional resources for that song have already been arranged. It would be a waste not to use them. But we can’t just release any song; it would waste such good promotional resources.”

“Whose song should we use then?”

The two looked at each other, then simultaneously turned to the bewildered Jiang Kui.

“Me?”

Jiang Kui’s mouth opened slightly, instantly understanding their intention, and she began to complain. “I prepared ‘Balloon’ for March…”

“I understand.”

Zhao Jue sighed. “‘Balloon’ is of good quality and might do well on the charts in March, but the problem is we still need one more song for February.”

“But February is the group of death, with so many top singers competing.”

Jiang Kui was aggrieved. The group of death meant that February’s chart competition was extremely fierce. Back then, “Big Fish” was released in December’s group of death and didn’t achieve much.

That’s the terror of the group of death!

A song that could top the charts in other seasons might not even make the top ten if released in February.

“That’s true.”

Old Zhou consoled, “But we’re short one song for February, and your song is of good quality. What if it becomes a hit?”

Zhao Jue nodded.

Jiang Kui: “……”

I dare not ask, I dare not speak.

Unable to fight against the higher-ups, she could only use Lin Yuan as a shield. “You should discuss it with Teacher Xian Yu.”

“I’ll make the call.”

Old Zhou said, then dialed Lin Yuan’s number. At that time, Lin Yuan was out with his sister buying study materials. Upon hearing the situation, he said:

“Okay.”

Old Zhou hung up and said, “Lin Yuan has no objections, so let’s happily… ahem, let’s decide on this.”

Has Teacher Xian Yu also fallen?

Jiang Kui’s eyes were filled with despair.

Why do I always encounter the group of death?

Indeed, “Balloon” is a good song and would likely perform well in March, but releasing it in February’s group of death—is it destined to be cannon fodder?