When Yu Hai went to work at Xinhai again this Saturday, he was somewhat surprised to run into Zhou Mingxuan at the company entrance once more.
The difference was that this time, it was no coincidence.
Zhou Mingxuan had specifically come to the company early today to wait for Whale Fall.
In truth, he was not sure whether Whale Fall would come to the company today. It was a well-known fact among the company's singers that composers kept irregular hours.
Especially Grandmaster Composers and gold-medal composers; the company gave them a great deal of leeway.
Otherwise, clever singers would easily be able to figure out when these teachers came to the office and tailor their approach—with a bit of luck, they might land a song that very day.
Zhou Mingxuan had run into Whale Fall last Saturday morning, so waiting here this Saturday morning was purely an attempt to try his luck.
And he was very lucky. Unless something special came up, Whale Fall was accustomed to living a structured routine.
That was why he had been coming to work on weekends lately. Although Old Xu had never explicitly mentioned it, he was clearly very satisfied with Yu Hai's diligence.
Catching sight of Whale Fall in the distance, Zhou Mingxuan hurried over with a radiant smile, clutching a paper box in his hands. "Good morning, Teacher Whale Fall."
Yu Hai didn't quite remember him at first, but still nodded, smiled, and greeted him back, "Good morning!"
With a touch of awkwardness, Zhou Mingxuan handed over the box he was holding. "Teacher Whale Fall, I am truly grateful that you entrusted *Drowning Sorrows* to me to sing. I—I didn't really know how to express my thanks, but these are the best apples I've ever tasted. Could you please accept them?"
Only then did Yu Hai connect the face with the name. He thought about it for a moment, finding himself a bit curious about what the best apple in the world tasted like, so he reached out and took it. "Alright. Thank you!"
Zhou Mingxuan scratched the back of his head happily. "Give them a try! If you like them, let me know next time and I'll buy some more! Well... I won't disturb Teacher Whale Fall any longer."
Yu Hai nodded.
As if a weight had been lifted from his mind, Zhou Mingxuan waved goodbye to Yu Hai and quickly left the company.
In reality, because of the massive popularity of *Drowning Sorrows*, his manager had booked him for quite a few commercial performances, and he had been rather busy lately.
The fact that he was able to carve out time to specifically wait here for Whale Fall was proof enough of his sincerity.
Yu Hai could sense that the kid's gratitude towards him was genuine and his emotions pure, without too many ulterior motives, which was why he hadn't hesitated much in accepting the apple.
Back inside the company, Yu Hai washed an apple and took a bite. It was very crisp and sweet, with a honeycore—truly delicious.
Before he had even finished the apple, Supervisor Old Xu called him into his office with a beaming smile.
Sitting in the sofa chair, Old Xu leisurely brewed some tea and smiled. "Including *Drowning Sorrows*, you already have four songs with over five million downloads. Are you planning to release another one in December?"
"Mm." Yu Hai nodded. If he became a gold-medal composer this year, he should be able to get a new contract next year and make even more money.
Even though he knew this would be the answer, Xu Nanshan still offered a reminder. "Don't forget, December at the end of the year is known as the Clash of Gods."
Yu Hai looked blank. "What is the Clash of Gods?"
Xu Nanshan was astonished. "How can you, of all people, not know about the Clash of Gods? Are you even in this industry?"
Yu Hai simply shook his head. "I don't know."
Xu Nanshan explained with a helpless sigh, "Because the Literary and Art Association tallies all data from the past year every January and updates the individual rankings, every December is when singers, composers, and lyricists from all the major companies scramble to push their numbers up."
"So?"
"So, every December is the month when all the Grandmaster Composers, Best Singers, and Divas release music most aggressively. Good songs that are rarely seen on ordinary days might all appear in this single month, so netizens jokingly call it the Clash of Gods."
Hearing this, Yu Hai looked thoughtful. "So, songs released in December must be of sufficiently high quality."
Xu Nanshan nodded. "Right, the quality has to be top-notch, and the singer's fame can't be low either. So I think you could actually hold off for a bit. Becoming a gold-medal composer next year is just the same, and you're still so young—there's no need to rush at all."
Yu Hai thought it over and shook his head. "I think I'd like to try and take on the challenge."
Seeing not a trace of retreat on the young man's face, Xu Nanshan stopped trying to persuade him.
In his view, Whale Fall had achieved fame at a young age, attaining accomplishments before turning twenty that many people in their thirties or forties might never reach, so a slightly swollen ego was only natural.
Letting him bump heads with those big shots and take a few knocks would help him understand the truth that there are always people better than you, and skies beyond skies.
Only by straightening out his mindset could he go further down the road ahead.
Xu Nanshan thought very highly of Whale Fall; he certainly didn't want to see him burn out like a prodigy.
"Alright then!" Xu Nanshan poured Yu Hai a cup of tea. "Have you chosen a singer you want to collaborate with?"
Yu Hai shook his head. He had never paid much attention to the company's singers, but he was well aware that in this Clash of Gods, he couldn't afford to collaborate with a minor singer again. While that wouldn't necessarily guarantee a loss, it would definitely impact the download numbers.
And download numbers meant little piles of cash.
So he asked Old Xu directly, "Do you have any recommendations?"
Xu Nanshan thought for a moment. "Our company's Bai Yan actually wanted to make a run for the title of Diva this year, but I heard she hasn't been able to find a suitable song. If you have a suitable track on hand, you might want to consider her. She mentioned to me before that if the song quality is high enough, she can waive her royalty cut."
Yu Hai's eyes lit up. Such a good thing existed?
He had heard of Bai Yan; she was a hugely popular A-list female singer right now. If she sang the song, its reach would spread much faster. Most importantly, she was willing to waive her royalty cut!
That was the textbook definition of a tool person.
He loved using tool persons the most.
Naturally, Yu Hai had no reason to refuse such a collaboration.
"Great, I'll send the song to you in a couple of days."
Seeing the confident look on his face, Xu Nanshan decided not to dampen his enthusiasm.
The two drank a bit more tea before Yu Hai left the office.
Sitting at his workstation, Yu Hai immediately searched the company's internal network to listen to Bai Yan's vocal tracks. He discovered her voice possessed that ethereal and clean quality, and her vocal technique was exceptional!
That made things easy.
Yu Hai flipped through his system interface and redeemed *May We All Be Blessed with Longevity*.
This song was composed by Liang Hongzhi and had been sung by both Teresa Teng and Faye Wong on Earth.
Most importantly, the lyrics were written by Su Shi.
With a piece like this, he should be able to put up a fight in the Clash of Gods.
Could lyrics by the immortal Su Shi possibly lose?
Once he released this song, his lyric-writing ability should be firmly proven as well.
That's right, Yu Hai had quietly set a small goal for himself in his heart: to become both a Grandmaster Composer and a God of Lyrics.
He had to grasp both hands, and both hands had to be strong.
With the matter settled, Yu Hai slacked off until quitting time and left in high spirits.