"Stop talking nonsense, get ready to record."
The Fatty agent turned around, pressing hard on his temples; his blood pressure was probably a little high.
The young man let out a breath, wiped the sweat from his forehead, his expression simultaneously tense and excited. When he looked up, he suddenly saw a boy staring at him up ahead—
"Lin Yuan?"
He took a few steps closer, examined Lin Yuan carefully again, confirmed he hadn't made a mistake, and instantly broke into a grin: "It's really you! What are you doing here? Oh, I get it, you're working a part-time job, huh?"
Lin Yuan: "..."
*He was seriously trying to figure out who this person was. Judging by the original owner's memory, this guy did look somewhat familiar.*
The young man clearly had no idea what Lin Yuan was thinking.
He raised his chin, puffed out his chest, and clapped Lin Yuan on the shoulder: "You, kid, always live up to being the most outstanding junior in our Vocal Department! Only a sophomore yet already landing a part-time job with Starlight... Oh, working in the recording studio, huh? If that's the case, it's fair to say we're half-colleagues now!"
He pulled out a thermos cup from his pocket and handed it to Lin Yuan.
The young man waved his hand and said, "Go pour some water for your senior. I ran all the way here just now, and boy, I'm wiped. But this kind of tiredness doesn't matter—once I record this song, your senior is finally debuting!"
Lin Yuan: "..."
*He finally remembered who this young man was.*
This guy was Sun Yaohuo, a student from the Vocal Department of Qin Continent Art Academy, now already graduated.
The Vocal Department hosted events where some alumni would return to perform as part of a tradition, and that's how this guy met the original owner, so technically, he was indeed Lin Yuan's senior.
Moreover, because Sun Yaohuo was pretty talented, he had signed with Starlight Entertainment right after graduation. Many juniors and seniors in the Vocal Department admired him greatly, seeing him as a shining example—a senior destined to become a star singer.
While Lin Yuan had also signed with Starlight Entertainment, he had never publicized the matter. Due to his unique health condition, only Xia Fan and Jian Yi knew; no one else was aware.
"Why are you spacing out?"
Sun Yaohuo joked, "Go pour me water quickly. Your senior has to record a song. You can watch on the sidelines and learn from it—there's plenty for you to gain."
"Alright."
Lin Yuan went to get the water.
The surrounding recording studio staff wore peculiar expressions on their faces.
Fatty, Sun Yaohuo's agent, had just turned his head and was greeted by the scene of Sun Yaohuo bossing Lin Yuan around. His blood pressure, which had just subsided, shot right back up:
"Sun Yaohuo, who the hell do you think you are!"
He stormed over and swung a hefty chop on the back of Sun Yaohuo's neck: "The song you're singing was written by that person—call him Mr. Lin!"
After speaking, he turned to Lin Yuan, who was filling water nearby: "Apologies, Mr. Lin. Sun Yaohuo doesn't have much of a brain..."
Lin Yuan sincerely replied, "It's true that drinking water before recording is a good practice." He didn't seem to mind at all and promptly handed the filled thermos to Sun Yaohuo.
Sun Yaohuo's hands limply received the thermos.
Fatty, still fuming, turned and reprimanded him: "Show some respect to Mr. Lin. Don't act so damn arrogant."
"..."
Sun Yaohuo opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but was at a loss for words. *His mind reeled in confusion.*
He's several academic years younger than me!
Nearby staff fought hard to suppress their laughter and asked, "Newbie, got the melody memorized? If you do, let's sing through the lyrics once to find the vibe, shall we?"
"Memorized, sir."
Sun Yaohuo quickly replied.
The staff looked toward Lin Yuan.
Lin Yuan said, "Alright, let's start."
In the booth, Sun Yaohuo began singing according to the lyrics.
He was skilled; otherwise, he wouldn't have been signed by Starlight straight after graduation.
But since Lin Yuan had the original owner's expertise in vocals, his expectations were naturally high. If this guy was going to use his song and share the profits, even as a mere tool, he had to show some ability. Lin Yuan quickly picked up on flaws:
"The humming in the opening wasn't natural enough."
This meant they'd have to redo it, and Sun Yaohuo nodded in agreement.
The music played again but was quickly halted by Lin Yuan: "Your pronunciation is too forceful. If you soften it, the emotions will come through stronger."
"Alright..."
*Sun Yaohuo felt awkward, being casually bossed around by his junior. It seemed like he was being intentionally targeted, and if he were a touch more sensitive, he'd be suffering from social death right now.*
*This might have impacted his mindset.*
*And while he ultimately managed to record a few takes, none of them were up to par with Lin Yuan's standards. Lin Yuan was forced to call a break:*
"Let's pause for ten minutes and then resume."
*As a tool person with singing duties, Sun Yaohuo clearly had the ability to finish the song. It was his own mental stress that was holding him back.*
That wasn't a huge issue.
*A little time to calm down would fix everything.*
Sun Yaohuo let out a breath of relief, sat on a chair outside the booth, and guzzled down the water in his thermos cup.
Just as he set the thermos down, Lin Yuan casually took it, refilled it at the water dispenser, and brought it back to him.
*Is he mocking me?*
Sun Yaohuo muttered in frustration, "Uh... sir... Mr. Lin..."
"Just call me junior."
Lin Yuan spoke up, setting the cup down.
Sun Yaohuo chuckled awkwardly, swallowing his pride. Deep down, this debut opportunity mattered too much for him to blow it.
A bit stiffly, he tightened the lid of his thermos and said, "Hey... Lin Yuan... Turns out you can write music too, huh?"
Lin Yuan explained, "I fell ill earlier, which caused problems for my voice. So from sophomore year, I switched to the Composition Department at school."
Sun Yaohuo froze.
After a moment, he shook his head and gently sighed, patting Lin Yuan's shoulder with genuine sympathy: "Such a shame... Such a shame... Really such a shame..."
He repeated "such a shame" three times.
Losing one's voice was an almost unimaginable pain.
He found himself unable even to fathom what it would be like if he couldn't sing anymore.
Then Sun Yaohuo realized his choice of words and actions wasn't quite right—he was behaving excessively condescending.
The boy before him wasn't just a junior anymore; he wielded significant power as a composer of lyrics and melodies. This was why Lin Yuan had the authority to dictate the terms just now!
In other words.
If Lin Yuan insisted on kicking him out and replacing him in "Life Like A Summer Flower," Sun Yaohuo would have no grounds to argue. His agent's deferential attitude toward Lin Yuan already made that abundantly clear—
The debut opportunity he had waited years for now rested entirely in Lin Yuan's hands.
Realizing this, the hand Sun Yaohuo had placed on Lin Yuan's shoulder hung awkwardly in midair.
"It's no problem."
Lin Yuan hadn't noticed Sun Yaohuo's gestures, and even if he had, he wouldn't care. He simply said earnestly, "Thank you."
Sun Yaohuo froze in place.
Looking into Lin Yuan's clear, straightforward eyes, he suddenly realized his junior wasn't harboring any of the convoluted thoughts he had imagined. Lin Yuan simply saw him as a collaborator, nothing more.
*The problem was his own mental immaturity.*
*Although he hadn't debuted after years in a company environment, he'd been subconsciously dividing people into hierarchical categories, assigning them ranks based on perceived status.*
*First, he thought of Lin Yuan as his highly talented junior, believing he could boast and play the big shot. Even if the intention was to take care of Lin Yuan, it carried shades of arrogance and smugness.*
*Later, viewing Lin Yuan as the big-shot composer, Sun Yaohuo instinctively dropped himself down several rungs, afraid Lin Yuan had the leverage to manipulate him. This led to a servile attitude.*
*But the truth was, all this internal strife was completely unnecessary.*
"Lin Yuan!"
He took a deep breath, then resolutely placed his hand back on Lin Yuan's shoulder, his movements no longer stiff: "Let's start recording again. This time, I'm ready."
"Alright."
Lin Yuan nodded, standing up with anticipation.
*Although he wasn't sure why his tool senior was suddenly so fired up, the second session of recording went incredibly well. Lin Yuan was thoroughly satisfied—even feeling like it was perfectly fair to share profits with the tool guy.*
*After all, the senior had put in extraordinary effort.*
And as the recording wrapped up, Lin Yuan finally received a system notification:
[Mission Complete: First Song]
[Reward Unlocked: One Bronze Treasure Chest]