11: Chapter 11 The Author is Dead

Ruan Xingyu looked at the WeChat name "Lin" on her phone, feeling very curious.

Proficient in Songwriting, composition, and arrangement? There aren't many such people in the industry.

Originally, she suspected it might be the alias of some big shot, but seeing the profile picture of a big-faced tabby cat wearing a straw hat, she was a bit confused.

Xingxing: "Hello, Teacher."

Lin: "Hello, what should I call you?"

"Ruan Xingyu. Teacher, you can just call me Xingxing."

"Hello, hello. Don't be so formal, no need for 'Teacher' or 'you'. Just call me Lin Mo."

Ruan Xingyu decided to be obedient.

"Okay, Teacher Lin Mo. Shall we talk about this song? I really, really love it!"

Lin: "Haha, thank you."

Lin: "Ah, wait, you said you are Ruan Xingyu?"

"Yes, that's right, Teacher Lin Mo."

Lin Chuyan exited the chat interface and scrolled through her Moments...

It really is Ruan Xingyu?

Tsk, and she's a mature woman.

She has a great figure.

His fingers swiped, looking through photo after photo, and a few minutes passed before he realized it.

[Friends can only view Moments from the last six months]

Oh no, she won't think he's a pervert, right? It's not his fault her Moments are too good-looking.

In other words, unless the contact information he gave out was obtained by Tianxing Entertainment and they were suddenly and inexplicably trying to prank him... this person really should be Ruan Xingyu.

Lin: "I thought some staff member would add me. In other words, you are the one singing this song?"

"Yes, is that okay? Please, please. jpg"

"Well, to be honest, it depends on whether you sing it well."

He has tasks to complete; even if she's a diva, she can't just take the song away.

Fortunately, she seemed very reasonable.

Xingxing: "That's for sure. Should I record a version right away? Do you want to come to the recording studio? You could give me some guidance."

Guidance my foot.

Lin: "...Just record a version and send it to me to listen. Also, don't call me Teacher. Just call me Lin Mo."

Lin Chuyan was getting embarrassed by her calling him Teacher every other sentence—honestly, it was all rewards from the system; he was no teacher.

Ruan Xingyu decided to continue being obedient. After all, she didn't know what kind of personality Lin Mo had. What if she accidentally offended him over some trivial matter?

"Okay, Brother Mo."

Not bad, very sensible.

Lin Chuyan was very satisfied.

Why? Although she was 3 years older than him, he had lived two lifetimes; surely that added up to more than her age?

Nothing wrong with that.

Xingxing: "So, are there any parts of this song I need to pay special attention to? For example, in terms of emotional expression."

Lin Chuyan naturally wouldn't tell her that the original MV of this song was about same-sex love. In his view, the emotions expressed in the lyrics applied to all love.

Besides, the more you say, the more you err. One had to remember, she was a professional.

He thought about it and decided to act profound, because he discovered that this world didn't seem to have this concept yet.

"The work is complete; the author is dead. Different people have different understandings. Once a literary work is completed, it has nothing to do with the author. I don't think I should be the one to define 'Similar to Love'. Perhaps you have a better interpretation?"

The work is complete, the author is dead...

On the other side, Ruan Xingyu pondered these eight words. She suddenly had some insights and felt that his simple sentence really spoke to her heart.

As a Singer, she naturally knew what this meant. But when it was condensed into eight words, it inexplicably felt very impactful.

No wonder he is so talented.

A talented person always earns her respect.

"I understand, thank you, Brother Mo."

Very good, the admiration has begun.

"Glad you understand. Sing well, I'll wait for your news."

...

Tianxing didn't make him wait long. A few hours later, Ruan Xingyu sent over the recorded demo.

Lin Chuyan opened it alone in his apartment and silently listened to the whole song.

Ruan Xingyu sang it beautifully, so beautifully that it made him feel a bit dazed, as if he had just opened this song on NetEase Cloud Music on some ordinary night, but the completely different yet equally wonderful timbre reminded him that everything had changed.

Lin Chuyan squeezed his fingers hard. At this moment, he truly hoped that the works given by the system could shine brightly on Blue Star and not be buried by him, a nobody in the entertainment industry.

Lin: "It sounds great, thank you."

"Thank you?"

"A good song also needs the right person to sing it, and you are that right person."

Ruan Xingyu looked at the message, the corners of her mouth lifted, her eyes curving into crescents.

She was complimented.

...

The next steps were relatively simple. Lin Chuyan added the producer Zheng Hai on WeChat, and both parties hit it off immediately and prepared to sign the contract, though Lin Chuyan also put forward two requirements.

First, "Similar to Love" must be released as the title track of Ruan Xingyu's new album; this also served as an extra layer of insurance for the system task.

Second, he refused a one-time buyout and chose to share profits through royalty income.

Zheng Hai readily agreed to everything.

"Similar to Love" being the title track was acceptable, and as for the copyright, a buyout would have been better, but most songs picked by Ruan Xingyu used the copyright sharing model. Both of Lin Chuyan's requests were easy to accommodate.

Soon, Aiyue.com sent a text message notification.

[You have a contract pending confirmation...]

Lin Chuyan logged into Aiyue.com and opened it.

[Song Copyright Licensing Agreement...]

[This contract is an electronic contract. Copyright protection platform: Aiyue.com...]

[Confirm?]

He clicked confirm.

The contract Lin Chuyan signed with Tianxing Entertainment was for 10 years. The 10-year usage right for "Similar to Love" was 500,000, and the copyright would automatically revert after 10 years. However, Ruan Xingyu had priority usage rights for the song; as long as Tianxing could afford it and Ruan Xingyu hadn't had a scandal, Tianxing had the right to prioritize renewing with him.

As for the song's profit sharing, it was much more complicated than Lin Chuyan had imagined.

Generally, the songwriter, Singer, record company, music distributor, and copyright agency all take their share, and in practice, it can even involve more stakeholders. Fortunately, Lin Chuyan handled the Songwriting, composition, and arrangement all by himself, so the profit-sharing ratio he could get was quite high.

It was finally decided that for commercial performances, Lin Chuyan and Tianxing Entertainment would split 20/80, and for other revenues, it would be 40/60.

Lin Chuyan expressed his satisfaction with this.

As for Zheng Hai inviting him to guide the recording, he politely declined again.

However, the "cooperate with Ruan Xingyu's new album promotion" part they proposed was worth looking into.

Ruan Xingyu's new album had actually been in pre-promotion; every time a new song was recorded, the news would be released to keep raising expectations, and this time was no exception.

Tianxing's idea was to push the aesthetic concept of the title track while marketing him, this new songwriter, as a gimmick.

Lin Chuyan planned to open a Lin Mo alt account to cooperate properly.

Tianxing very thoughtfully helped him pull some strings; his newly opened Weibo account immediately gained a "Songwriting" verified status.

The next morning, the promotion from Tianxing began.

Tianxing Entertainment official Weibo:

"Very happy to share some good news with everyone. The last title track of Xingxing @Ruan Xingyu's new album is already being recorded. Everyone can start looking forward to it! Thanks to Songwriting Teacher @Lin Mo for tailor-making 'Similar to Love' for Xingxing."

Look at how well they speak.

"Tailor-made specifically for her"

Meanwhile, Ruan Xingyu's new Weibo post didn't say anything; she just posted a photo of a handwritten card, with only one sentence written on it:

"I am crossing the road, where are you?"

Then she wrote in the comments: "Thank you @Lin Mo."

Lin Chuyan also posted a Weibo using the Lin Mo account:

"Very honored, happy to cooperate. Newcomer Lin Mo, please treat me well."

...

Half an hour later, Weibo trending searches began to be dominated.