Chapter 2: Newcomer Season

"You're hiding here, I see."

A voice reached Lin Yuan's ears, and immediately, a handsome and fair-skinned face blocked his view of the starry sky.

"Jianyi."

Lin Yuan instinctively called out the person's name.

This handsome, tall guy has been Lin Yuan's classmate since elementary school.

A true friend of his.

And now, this friend had reached out and helped Lin Yuan up from the ground.

Immediately afterwards, Lin Yuan felt a weight on his shoulders, and a woman's coat had been draped over him.

He turned to see a beautiful smiling face.

This was a girl with long hair and makeup that enhanced her natural beauty.

"Xia Fan."

Just like when he saw Jianyi, Lin Yuan also called out the person's name.

Xia Fan, like Jianyi, has been his classmate since elementary school too.

Another true friend of his.

"It's windy tonight, remember to put on your coat before going out," Xia Fan reminded Lin Yuan, although she and Jianyi, as well as everyone running on the field, were dressed in summer-appropriate short sleeves.

"Alright."

Lin Yuan replied.

But as soon as he said a word, Jianyi and Xia Fan looked at him with a sense of doubt.

"Why do I feel like something's not right with you?" Jianyi asked.

Although Xia Fan didn't say anything, her expression clearly conveyed that she shared Jianyi's sentiment.

"Because I'm not entirely Lin Yuan anymore," Lin Yuan said with a smile. He considered his words objective. He was still half the original host—his feelings for family and friends, his physical characteristics were the same as the original host's.

"Have you been possessed by a ghost?" Jianyi chuckled, dismissing the notion.

Xia Fan's expression also seemed to relax for no apparent reason.

Lin Yuan breathed a sigh of relief.

This way, he could deceive them without guilt.

Xia Fan and Jianyi had grown up with Lin Yuan, so they knew everything about his condition.

Thus, they had been taking care of Lin Yuan since childhood.

In terms of emotions, Lin Yuan didn't want to deceive them, but he had to, to some extent.

"Mr. Lin, let me be objective," Jianyi said seriously. "Being a 'novelist' is one of the top ten dream jobs selected by young people across the continents online. There are countless people striving for this goal in our Qin Prefecture alone. You, with just a momentary interest, aiming to make a name for yourself in this industry, is extremely challenging. So, there's no need to question life on a dark and windy night on the field."

"A novelist..."

Lin Yuan's gaze flickered slightly.

Jianyi mentioned novelists for a reason.

Just a short while ago, the original host had the idea to write a novel and put it into action. He submitted a manuscript of a hundred thousand words to a certain online writing competition with the ambition of making his debut as a novelist.

This type of writing competition was quite popular.

Because once you succeeded as a "novelist," not only would your winning work get a precious opportunity for publication, but if the sales reached a certain standard, there could be adaptations into anime, movies, or even games.

This was the dream of countless people who aspired to be novelists!

Most importantly, it was very profitable!

But sadly...

Due to the intense competition, and the original host's mediocre talent for writing, his submitted work was eliminated in the first round of the competition.

Jianyi deduced from this that Lin Yuan must be upset about the failure of his writing competition.

However...

Both Lin Yuan and the original host didn't really care about the outcome of this writing competition.

The original host had chosen to end his life, but it had nothing to do with the failure of the competition. After all, he participated in the competition just for fun.

What if he made money?

He approached this endeavor with that mentality.

The original host was someone who constantly aimed to graduate early and earn money. He always carried a sense of guilt toward his family.

He believed that his family, especially his elder sister and his mother, had sacrificed too much for him. He wanted to compensate them as much as he could.

Becoming a singer was not just about his dream; it was also about achieving financial stability.

Other people are saying, "Please don't say things like, 'Don't let money taint your dreams'." But for the original host, if money could corrupt his dream, he hoped his dream would be corroded to the point of no return—

So he could buy a beautiful dress for his younger sister.

Free his elder sister from her struggles.

Ease his mother's hard work.

"Don't listen to Jianyi," Xia Fan said, thinking that Lin Yuan was upset about the failure of the writing competition.

However, she didn't discourage Lin Yuan; instead, she encouraged him to persevere: "Actually, there are many similar opportunities. For example, every January, the top-ranking publishing company, Silver-Blue Library, hosts the 'Super Rookie' Novel Award. You can try participating in that."

"Come on, Xia Fan," Jianyi said, rolling his eyes. "Lin Yuan can't even pass a random writing competition, and you want him to challenge 'Super Rookie'?"

"The key is to participate," Xia Fan said evasively, even though she didn't expect Lin Yuan to succeed. She simply hoped he could find something to do. Ever since his voice problems and his transfer to the composition department, Lin Yuan has been in low spirits.

Jianyi wasn't as subtle as Xia Fan.

He was enthusiastically educating Lin Yuan: "Even someone like me who doesn't pay attention to the world of novels knows how terrifying 'Super Rookie' is. Most participants are experienced authors who have been struggling for years to achieve their dreams. Occasionally, even authors who have already made their debut but aren't doing well in their career also participate. For them, a change of pen name is all they need to become so-called newcomers..."

In summary: 'Super Rookie' is a fierce battleground.

"Got it, got it," Lin Yuan said, cutting off Jianyi's explanation but quietly noting the information about 'Super Rookie.'

In a world with a strong artistic atmosphere, there seemed to be many channels to gain recognition.

However, Lin Yuan didn't have a novel yet.

He had to wait for the system to provide one.

What about the song "Life Like Summer Flowers"? Lin Yuan couldn't help but look at Xia Fan.

Xia Fan was a student in the vocal department.

When Lin Yuan hadn't transferred departments, they were classmates. In terms of professional ability, Xia Fan was undoubtedly capable. Her singing talent was almost as good as Lin Yuan's was before he lost his voice.

However, Xia Fan was just a student.

For a student to release a song, would it have to go through online channels? Without proper promotion, the song could easily go unnoticed.

"What's wrong?" Xia Fan saw Lin Yuan staring at her strangely. "Are you hungry or thirsty? I can get you something."

"No," Lin Yuan said. "I have a person in mind... Well, a friend. He's written a song and wants to release it, but he doesn't know how. Do you have any recommendations for channels?"

"Are you out of your mind?" Jianyi scoffed. "Didn't you sell yourself for fifty thousand yuan? If you have a song, then you should go to Starlight Entertainment, where you sold yourself. It's a big company, and it's a waste not to use it."

Lin Yuan was momentarily stunned, but then he realized.

After Lin Yuan was accepted into Qin Prefecture Art Academy, he displayed an amazing talent for singing, and an agent noticed him in his freshman year, signing him to a decent-sized and reputable entertainment company.

The signing fee was fifty thousand yuan.

The original host needed money so badly that, even though he knew the signing fee of fifty thousand yuan was extremely cheap, he signed an eight-year contract without hesitation. The signing fee he received was immediately given to his mother!

However, no one expected that...

The boy with the incredible singing talent was unable to sing shortly after signing the contract.

In such a situation, the company that signed Lin Yuan could only consider themselves unlucky and let Lin Yuan be. The company assumed Lin Yuan had forgotten about the contract, perhaps knowing about his family's situation and deciding not to ask for compensation or to release him from the contract.

Moreover, the company probably already forgot that they had a signed artist named Lin Yuan.

"You've never mentioned any friends that we don't know," Jianyi said, suddenly returning to his senses.

"Just a friend I just made up," Lin Yuan replied with a smile.

Xia Fan giggled, then said, "If you want to release a song, you have a chance right now. In a few days, it will be the annual 'Newcomer Season' in the music industry. All major entertainment companies will make an effort, but the condition is that you must meet the company's entry requirements."

"I understand," Lin Yuan said, smiling.

This was the utopia for artists—a world where the entertainment industry thrived!

As long as you had the ability, the path to stardom was like a red carpet rolled out, extending to your doorstep.

The Newcomer Season was one of these paths. It was specifically created by Starlight Entertainment to foster musical talent:

Every November, Starlight holds the Newcomer Season event in various regions!

During that time, the industry's senior artists would unofficially stop releasing albums or singles, giving newcomers some space. Some senior artists might even help new talents make their debut.

Various entertainment companies also seized the opportunity to promote their newcomers. Young talents would work hard during this time to make a name for themselves.

Originally, Lin Yuan had the opportunity to debut during the upcoming Newcomer Season.

But, unfortunately, he could now only debut as a lyricist and composer.

However, Lin Yuan was no longer the original host, so he was even happier to debut as a lyricist and composer.

In Starlight's music industry, the distribution model was as follows:

For profits generated from song downloads or listens, the company typically took 80%, while the remaining 20% was divided between the singer and the lyricist/composer. Arrangement and production costs were often covered by the company.

The exact split depended on the contract, but the singer and the lyricist/composer usually got the lion's share.

Besides the majority taken by the company, Lin Yuan didn't have to split the money with many people. After all, he handled both the lyrics and the composition, and the arrangement was effectively done by the system. What he needed now was for the company to provide an opportunity for him to debut and...

A workhorse.