Chapter 13: Chapter 13: Reset to Zero!
A perfectly fine group chat was almost ruined by Lin Yuan and Zheng Jing.
After Lin Yuan and Zheng Jing ended their conversation, the group remained silent for two full hours.
Not only inside the group chat.
But even in the department, many colleagues occasionally glanced at Lin Yuan with strange looks.
Evidently, these people were also members of the Starlight Composer's Group Chat and had seen Lin Yuan's messages.
"You've unknowingly offended many people," Wu Yong kindly reminded Lin Yuan.
Although Wu Yong found Lin Yuan's way of speaking in the group chat a bit off, he believed that Lin Yuan wasn't deliberately trying to gain attention.
"Why?" Lin Yuan asked, still puzzled.
Faced with Lin Yuan's confusion, Wu Yong didn't know how to explain and could only smile helplessly, saying, "I can only say that many people might not like your way of talking to Sister Jing."
"Why?" Lin Yuan still didn't understand.
Wu Yong could only shrug and say, "I'm afraid I can't explain it any better. It's because you're different from others."
"Okay."
This time, Lin Yuan didn't press for more information. Although he still couldn't understand why being different from others would offend people.
"It's not a big deal, at least in our 10th-floor Composer's Department, everyone is quite friendly to you."
Wu Yong offered words of comfort to Lin Yuan. "Furthermore, in this field, everyone is involved in creative work, and personal motives are not very common. People won't bear ill will just because they don't favor someone. Keep dedicating yourself to your work. Writing a song like 'Life Like Summer Flowers' while you're still a sophomore demonstrates your considerable potential. As you continue to produce more outstanding songs in the future, people will come to appreciate your talent. In Blue Star and in any industry, it's your accomplishments that make the most significant impact."
"Okay."
Lin Yuan nodded.
Noticing that Lin Yuan's attitude hadn't changed much, Wu Yong felt reassured. While he consoled Lin Yuan, he knew that crafting a song as exceptional as "Life Like Summer Flowers" was a challenging endeavor. Creative inspiration came and went for everyone.
The timeline for Lin Yuan to compose another song of that caliber remained uncertain. There was a possibility that he might never surpass the brilliance of "Life Like Summer Flowers." This was a common occurrence in the industry, where an artist's career was often defined by a single masterpiece.
Just at that moment, Old Zhou walked into the room with a somewhat displeased expression, and his voice carried a trace of anger. "All of you, put down what you're doing immediately and come to the meeting room!"
After saying that, Old Zhou led the way into the adjacent meeting room, and the sound of the door slamming echoed through the room.
"What's going on?"
"Who made the boss unhappy?"
"I wonder if it has to do with Lin Yuan's recent comments in the group chat."
"I don't know, but I rarely see the boss in such a bad mood."
"Even though Lin Yuan's comments in the group chat were not appropriate, it doesn't seem like it should be this serious. He's just a second-year university student, so it's normal that he lacks some worldly experience."
"That's true."
"Don't think about it, let's go to the meeting."
The sound of chairs scraping on the floor filled the room as the members of the composition's department got up one by one and followed Old Zhou into the meeting room.
Lin Yuan also followed them.
However, someone was worried that Old Zhou's anger was directed at Lin Yuan for his recent comments in the group chat, so to avoid any consequences, nobody wanted to sit on Lin Yuan's left or right.
Wu Yong hesitated for a moment and chose to sit on Lin Yuan's left.
Immediately after, a man with long hair sat on Lin Yuan's right and extended his hand toward Lin Yuan. "I'm Zheng Han, a graduate of the 20th class of the Composition Department at the Qin Prefecture Art Academy."
"Hello, senior."
Lin Yuan politely shook hands with Zheng Han. Although he didn't talk much, he could still pick up on some details.
"Is everyone here?"
Old Zhou spoke with a deep voice. "I've called you all here because I want to talk about something. The music for 'Dance of the Fish Dragon' has been rejected again."
"What?"
The group of people was taken aback.
It seemed that Old Zhou's anger had nothing to do with Lin Yuan.
"Let's hear your suggestions. What should we do?"
Old Zhou's gaze swept across the room, sharp and determined. "This commission belongs to our 10th floor. Don't make me hand it over to other floors."
No one dared to meet Old Zhou's gaze directly. However, they couldn't pretend to be dead, so they each tried to avoid his eyes and voiced their opinions:
"Boss, isn't 'Dance of the Fish Dragon' setting the bar too high for the music? It's not a high-budget production, just a medium-budget animated film."
"They've already rejected our work fourteen times, right?"
"Is it possible that they want our Music Dad from the 10th floor to handle this commission?"
"The problem is, our Music Dad on the 10th floor would not be interested in this commission."
"If that's the case, maybe we can involve other floors, or perhaps they could find another company to do it. Sahara, Dazzling Silvefire, there are many talented musicians in the Qin Prefecture music scene."
"Why would the company approve of it? If Sahara or Dazzling Silverfire could achieve it, it would make our team at Starlight appear incapable. In that case, we might as well allow other departments to join in."
"..."
Lin Yuan looked puzzled. He didn't understand what everyone was discussing.
Wu Yong had been assigned to accompany Lin Yuan, so he explained, "Here's the situation. There's a large-scale animated film called 'Dance of the Fish Dragon' in Qi Prefecture, and the post-production is almost done. They need a core soundtrack, so they commissioned Starlight to create it. The task ultimately fell on the 10th floor, but we've already sent them fourteen songs, and they've all been rejected."
"The key point is..."
On the right, Zheng Han stepped in. "These fourteen songs that were rejected were all written by our aces on the 10th floor. Although the strength of these people is not up to the level of Music Dad, the quality is still quite good. Many popular artists often work with these ace composers."
Lin Yuan now grasps the situation. Yet he decided to stay quiet because he doubted his ability to handle this particular client, who had posed challenges even for the ace composers on the 10th floor.
He possessed songs, but the commission had specific requirements. The soundtrack and mood needed to align with the film's atmosphere. If the movie portrayed a heartwarming love story, offering a rap or rock song wouldn't be suitable, regardless of its quality.
"Enough talking."
Old Zhou rubbed his temples, appearing somewhat stressed. "Let's try again, and this time you have one month. I'll send you the client's requirements. Maybe someone will have an idea. If that doesn't work, according to the company's rules, we'll have to give this project to another floor."
Inspiration was an elusive thing.
A song created by a Music Dad wasn't always the best.
Sometimes, there are song assignments that a Music Dad finds challenging, and a composer who may not be as skilled as a Music Dad could unexpectedly get inspired and create a song that pleases the client.
This kind of thing happens occasionally in the composition circle.
Just like Lin Yuan was able to compose "Life Like Summer Flowers" in his sophomore year.
He possesses great skill in composing. Additionally, it's conceivable that Lin Yuan had a strong inspiration and managed to capture it well, allowing him to write this song.
This was what Wu Yong believed could be the reason Lin Yuan might not create another song on the level of "Life Like Summer Flowers" in the future. Inspiration was a chance event.
Old Zhou adopted a broad approach because he had no other options left. The 10th floor had already exhausted its best composers. They couldn't afford to hire a Music Dad, especially with the current budget for "Dance of the Fish Dragon."
However, the client's budget for this project was limited, and the current offer wasn't worth the fee of an ace composer.
Soon, everyone received a sheet of paper with the soundtrack requirements for "Dance of the Fish Dragon."
Lin Yuan received one as well. Because of the secrecy surrounding the plot, the paper only provided a vague overview of the story:
This is a fantasy tale about a girl who saved a fish many years ago. Years later, the girl and her family find themselves in danger, and the fish, now transformed into a powerful white dragon, returns to reunite with her.
There are just three criteria for the soundtrack.
It should be ethereal, artistic, and beautiful.
Right after getting the request, the conference room was filled with lamentation.
"Could the client's requirements be more vague? Ethereal, artistic, beautiful—aren't these criteria too broad?"
"I have no idea how to approach this."
"And the time is too short. Just one month? With my composing speed, there's no way I can meet the deadline."
"It's a fantasy story, so should the music be more whimsical?"
"It's about a fish that turns into a dragon, so perhaps it should feel like soaring in the sky? Some clarinet would be suitable."
"I believe the music should have a somber tone and convey a sense of sorrow. How about incorporating some bamboo flute elements?"
"Forget it, this task is too difficult. I can't do it."
"All these considerations aren't the point! The point is, they've rejected our previous submissions, and we've already tried to capture the feel they wanted. But it seems like our previous attempts haven't matched what they're looking for."
"..."
For composers, achieving an ethereal, artistic, and beautiful composition wasn't particularly challenging.
However, creating a song that truly moved people was a different matter.
It was similar to being asked for a very upbeat and energetic song.
Many could compose songs fitting that description, but out of a thousand, perhaps only one or two would truly ignite the listener's passion.
Lin Yuan had a realization. Besides his piano compositions, he currently has two songs. "Flammable and Explosive" was clearly unsuitable, but what about his other song, "Big Fish"?
The style of that song seemed to align with the requirements.
Could it be that the system had foreseen this?
As Lin Yuan was deep in thought, he overheard Wu Yong's frustration. Wu Yong said, "This client from Qi Prefecture is very demanding! It's just a five million yuan commission, and they want our Music Dad from the 10th floor to handle it. If they can't afford a Music Dad, why are they setting such high expectations?"
Lin Yuan immediately asked, "What did you just say?"
Wu Yong paused, "If they can't afford a Music Dad, why are they setting such high expectations?"
"And the previous sentence?"
"Are they expecting our Music Dad from the 10th floor to handle it?"
"No, the sentence before that?"
"For a mere five million yuan commission..."
"That's it," Lin Yuan affirmed. He had received the information he wanted. He rapidly pressed the calculator on his desk and exclaimed,
"Reset to zero!"
The calculator's tiny speaker made quite a noise, abruptly silencing the room. Everyone turned their attention to Lin Yuan, including their supervisor, Old Zhou.
Lin Yuan, however, was oblivious to the curious stares. His fingers worked quickly with the calculator as the little speaker reported the results, "5,000,000 times 0.2 times 2 divided by 3 equals 666,666.666666667."
A deafening silence filled the room.
Only the sound of the calculator's report echoed.
Everyone knew what Lin Yuan was calculating, but the fact that they knew made the atmosphere all the more peculiar.
Is it divided into over six hundred thousand?
As the calculator completed its report, Lin Yuan cheerfully turned it off and looked at their supervisor, Old Zhou.
Slowly and deliberately, he said,
"I'll take this commission."
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Shang2naii
Shang2naii Remember: Blue Star had eight continents, and Qin Prefecture was one of them, along with Qi, Chu, Yan, Han, Zhao, Wei, and the "capital" continent, Zhong Prefecture.
T/N: Music Dad is higer than Ace Composer.
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