Chapter 51: Deathmatch

Qin Prefecture was vast, with numerous cities.

The place where Lin Yuan resided was called Su City, one of the bustling main cities in Qin Prefecture. His hometown, on the other hand, was a place called Cloud City.

After a six-hour high-speed train journey, Lin Yuan finally arrived in Cloud City.

"See you when school starts," Lin Yuan bid farewell to his companions Jianyi and Xiafan.

After seeing them off, Lin Yuan didn't immediately head home. Instead, he took a bus to the mall and bought a bunch of things—gifts for his mother and sisters.

Exiting the mall, Lin Yuan, laden with bags, found it inconvenient to take the bus and opted for a taxi.

His home was located south of the county town, similar to a village within the city.

Arriving at the familiar doorstep from his memories, Lin Yuan knocked on the door. It was opened by a beautiful girl in a fluffy pajama.

"Sis."

Lin Yuan greeted with a smile. This was Lin Yuan's sister, Lin Yao, who inherited the family's good looks. She was a senior in high school this year.

"Brother."

The girl nodded with a smile.

Lin Yuan entered the house, changed into slippers, and shouted into the house, "Mom, I'm back."

"Finally back."

Mom came out wearing an apron with bloodstains on her hands. "I'm making braised fish for you."

"Great."

Lin Yuan said, bringing the things into the house. He took out a set of clothes and shoes for his sister, saying, "This is for you."

"Thank you."

Lin Yao took the gift from Lin Yuan, opened it, and found a pink down jacket, wrinkling her brows. "I don't like pink."

"What color do you like then?"

Without hesitation, Lin Yao replied, "White."

Lin Yuan took out another set. "Like 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 study materials? I have a discount coupon. It was supposed to be 120 yuan, but it's 20 yuan off for purchases over a hundred."

"Sure."

Lin Yuan readily agreed. "I also got a discount coupon for a grilled fish restaurant at the mall. Let's go eat together later."

Lin Yao nodded. "Okay."

Mom looked at the interaction between the siblings with a mix of laughter and tears. "No wonder people used to say you two have peculiar personalities..."

"Why?"

Lin Yuan and Lin Yao simultaneously looked at their mother.

Mom smiled and waved, even though both siblings were of a reserved nature, unlike their lively sister. She knew that the bond among the three children was strong.

Lin Yuan rested on the sofa.

Lin Yao, a high school senior this year, was at the table working on her assignments.

This was a two-bedroom, one-living-room home with subpar lighting and simple furnishings. For instance, the sofa beneath Lin Yuan had several holes, yet despite the simplicity, the house was clean and well-organized.

Once the salary is received, buying a house is on the agenda.

This thought crossed Lin Yuan's mind.

Soon, lunch was ready. Lin Yuan had called Mom before coming back, so it was a hearty meal of four dishes and a soup.

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

"Let's eat."

The three sat around the table, and Mom lamented, "It's a shame your sister's vacation hasn't started yet; if she were here, we could finish all these dishes for sure."

Lin Yuan nodded.

His sister was the biggest eater in the family.

In comparison, Lin Yuan and Lin Yao were somewhat picky eaters, preferring meat.

Mom smiled and reminded, "Eat more vegetables."

So, Lin Yuan and Lin Yao tacitly picked out a piece of green vegetable each, sharing it between them.

"..."

Mom chuckled, "Yao Yao, now that your brother is earning, you can tell him if you need anything."

"Okay."

Lin Yao's eyes lit up as she looked at Lin Yuan, "Brother, can you help me finish this piece of vegetable?"

"Those who eat vegetables are the real heroes!"

Lin Yuan refused, "It's said that people who eat vegetables stay young. I have a friend who eats vegetables regularly, and he's forever eighteen."

Lin Yao: "..."

Lin Yuan reminded, "Forever eighteen."

Lin Yao puzzled, "Brother, are you telling a joke?" She faintly felt that Lin Yuan seemed to be joking, but the atmosphere and tone didn't quite match.

Lin Yuan didn't answer, just thought with some regret, it seems he's not inherently humorous; it's just that Sun Yaohuo, the senior, has a low resistance to his jokes.

...

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

The vocal department.

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

And just at that moment.

Old Zhou appeared in the vocal department and found Zhao Jue: "There's some bad news; we might need to adjust our plans for the Spring Festival."

"How so?" Zhao Jue furrowed his brows.

Old Zhou sighed, "For this year's Spring Festival, the company had a plan for ten songs. However, there's an issue with one of them. The review department found that the melody of that song is too similar to a song from Chu Prefecture."

"Plagiarism?"

"Not exactly. I know the composer, and he probably heard that song accidentally, leading to unintentional similarities in the melody. This isn't the first time such a thing has happened in the composition department."

"Can we proceed with nine songs this year?"

Collisions in melodies from different composers are quite common, especially in popular songs, where commonly used chords often have little variation.

"No, we can't." Old Zhou was equally troubled. "We've already arranged promotional resources for this song. If we don't use it, it would be a waste. However, we can't just replace it with any other song; otherwise, we'll waste these excellent promotional resources."

"Then whose song do we use?"

The two looked at each other and, without coordination, turned to the bewildered Jiang Kui.

"Me?"

Jiang Kui's mouth hung open, instantly understanding their meaning. She began to complain, " 'Balloon' is the song I prepared for March..."

"I understand," Zhao Jue sighed. "The quality of 'Balloon' is good; releasing it in March might secure a good position on the charts. However, the problem is that we still lack one song for February."

"But February is the deathmatch, with so many A-list singers competing."

Jiang Kui felt wronged; the deathmatch in February meant intense competition on the charts. "Big Fish" was released in December and didn't secure a good position.

That's the terror of the deathmatch! Songs that could top the charts in other seasons might not even make it to the top ten when released in February.

"That's true," Old Zhou consoled, "but we need one more song in February, and the quality of your song is comparatively better. What if it becomes a hit?"

Zhao Jue nodded.

Jiang Kui hesitated, "..."

She didn't dare to ask, didn't dare to say.

Caught between a rock and a hard place, she could only use Lin Yuan as a shield. "You guys talk to Mr. Xianyu."

"I'll make the call."

Old Zhou spoke and then dialed Lin Yuan's number. At this moment, Lin Yuan was outside with his sister, buying study materials. Upon receiving the call and understanding the situation, he said, "Alright."

Old Zhou hung up and said, "Lin Yuan has no problem. So, we've decided."

Is Mr. Xianyu also succumbing?

Jiang Kui's eyes were filled with despair.

Why do I always encounter the deathmatch?

Indeed, "Balloon" is a good song. Releasing it in March would likely achieve good results. But in the deathmatch in February, is it destined to be cannon fodder?