"This is a rule in my family. Anyone who is certain to enter the family must show a bit of musical talent."
Eden pointed at the piano in the center of the hall as she spoke. Ye Chang'an walked over, sat down, and performed a piece to thunderous applause.
It was feedback for his performance, as well as a welcome for becoming part of the family.
In any case, musical families had plenty of strange rules. Fortunately, none of the customs were too outrageous.
Once the coming-of-age ceremony ended, they returned to their little private nest at school for a celebration belonging only to them.
"Eden, happy birthday."
He gave her a gift, but Eden tossed it aside without even looking at it, her golden eyes fixed unblinkingly on Ye Chang'an.
"Chang'an, where is my birthday present?"
"Uh, you threw it over there."
"That isn't the birthday present I want."
She had not even looked at it, yet she said it was not what she wanted. Unable to understand, Ye Chang'an simply asked, "What gift do you want?"
Eden curled a finger. He got up and leaned closer, only for Eden to cup his face and forcefully demand a kiss.
It was not exactly forceful, since he cooperated quite willingly.
"I want you."
Eden's cheeks were flushed, and her golden eyes hazy.
"Okay."
Ye Chang'an nodded, carried Eden upstairs, and entered a bedroom at random, staying there until dawn.
They were both eighteen.
Chapter of Creation: Journey to a New World: 13. The Adult World
At eighteen, Eden and you stepped onto the stairway to adulthood.
The simulation log remained as plain and unadorned as ever. Ye Chang'an only glanced at it before turning his attention to Eden's sweet sleeping face.
It was his first time seeing Eden asleep from this angle, and he could not help smiling.
"Good morning, my Eden."
Caressing her pretty face, he leaned close and whispered the greeting into her ear, unable to resist lightly biting her earlobe.
"Mm~"
Eden woke up and turned her head to see him so close to her. The confusion in her golden eyes gradually faded.
"Good morning, my Chang'an."
She answered with a smile and leaned over to give him a kiss as well.
It was a passionate greeting, though it did not last long.
"Let's get up and eat."
If they continued, someone would suffer.
He could not take it.
Ye Chang'an got up to wash, while Eden frowned as she tried to rise.
It hurt.
She already could not take it.
"You go out first. I'll get up in a while."
Even though their relationship had become more intimate, she still minded the limits. She was not that bold yet.
"Hehe, then I'll head out first. Take it slow."
Ye Chang'an smiled knowingly, ruffled Eden's hair, and went out to wash up before buying some food and returning.
Neither he nor Eden could cook. If the two of them entered a kitchen, they could not even put together three dishes that would not upset their stomachs.
By the time he came back, Eden had already gotten up and was sitting on the sofa. When she saw him return, she tried to stand and greet him, but frowned the moment she moved.
"Just stay seated. I bought buns, so we don't need to set the table."
"That's good, hehe."
Eden smiled. Once Ye Chang'an sat down, she leaned against him, picked up the remote, and turned on the television.
"Chang'an, when are we going to sign the contract?"
Eating as she watched, Eden brought up signing with a talent agency.
After confirming the possibility of debuting as a duo with the agent over the phone that day, she had told Ye Chang'an about it. Once he agreed, she had planned to wait until she came of age before signing.
Now that the time had come, it was time to put the contract on the agenda.
"Let's go once you've recovered. There isn't much going on at school anyway."
High schools on the Mu Continent did not follow an exam-oriented education system. Students were not required to take specific courses, but were instead allowed to choose the subjects they liked.
Their school focused on the arts, and most of the available courses were art-related.
As long as they achieved decent results on the end-of-term exams, it did not matter whether they attended class regularly.
So even though they still had several months before graduation, they had plenty of time to pursue their careers.
Eden was full of anticipation for debuting and naturally hoped to sign as soon as possible, so she liked Ye Chang'an's answer.
But when she thought of the word "recovered," she frowned again and said speechlessly,
"Then before we sign, you'd better go back to sleeping in your own room."
"(⊙o⊙)... This... all right."
He really did not want to agree, but he could only agree.
He did not want to force Eden.
Eden smiled at that, but she did not change her mind in the end.
She could not change it. If she did, she would not be leaving the house anytime soon.
In any case, she had not stepped out the door that day.
Only after staying home for two days was she finally okay. After arranging a meeting place with the agent, she dragged Ye Chang'an along.
This agent worked for Tianyin Media, a somewhat well-known company on the Mu Continent.
With Eden's background, she could have signed with a much larger company. For instance, any one of the media companies owned by her relatives would easily outclass Tianyin Media.
But Eden did not want to rely on her family's resources. She wanted to carve out a future through her own abilities.
She believed that as long as she continued polishing her own brilliance, she would surely win the public's affection.
So she had chosen a small company, one so small that no one from top to bottom had any right to know her family background, including the agent handling her contract.
"Eden, over here!"
Maris, the agent who had arrived first, stood and called out, though her gaze was fixed on Ye Chang'an beside Eden.
—It really was Chang'an, the Music Prince. I never thought he was truly Eden's boyfriend.
She had harbored doubts before, but only now that she saw it with her own eyes did she dare believe it. Her heart instantly began racing.
"Hello, sis. Let me introduce you. This is my boyfriend, Chang'an."
"Chang'an, this is the sister I told you about, Maris."
Eden walked over and introduced them to each other. Maris hurriedly stood and said,
"Hello, it's a pleasure to meet you, Chang'an. By the way, are you really sure you want to debut as a duo with Eden?"
"Hello, Miss Maris. Eden should have told you about the debut already. Is there any other issue?"
"No, no, I was just confirming it. Haha, just confirming it."
Maris waved her hands repeatedly. Once both sides were seated, she enthusiastically explained the specific arrangements after signing.
For example, what training they would receive and what form their debut would take.
Eden listened with great interest and nodded continuously, while Ye Chang'an had little reaction and simply listened quietly.
He had only come along as an extra. As long as he could stay by Eden's side, he did not care what he had to do.
But the longer he listened, the more something felt off.
Maris's debut plan was clearly treating him as the lead, while Eden seemed more like a supporting act.
"Excuse me, Miss Maris. Let me interrupt."
"That's fine. Is there something you find unsuitable? Tell me, and we can discuss it."
"Mm, then I'll be direct. None of the debut plans you just mentioned are suitable. Please come up with something more appropriate."
Ye Chang'an bluntly rejected everything. Maris was stunned, and Eden was somewhat confused as well.
"Chang'an, I thought that plan was quite good. Why don't you like it?" Eden asked.
"Because that plan was made for me, not for the two of us."
After explaining that, Ye Chang'an turned to Maris again. "Miss Maris, I'm debuting alongside Eden. Please center your plans around her instead of constantly building all sorts of messy things around me."
"Ah, well..." Maris was left speechless, and she found it strange that Ye Chang'an was so clearheaded.
Ordinary students did not listen carefully to the actual details when they heard a debut plan. They would usually hear a few grand promises, sink into fantasy, and start grinning foolishly.
Just like Eden.
Yet Ye Chang'an had not only listened, but understood. He was even dissatisfied with a plan that benefited him.
People like this were difficult to handle. With a headache brewing, Maris did her best to explain,
"Mister Chang'an, you've misunderstood. This plan was designed around the two of you as a duo. It merely distinguishes the lead from the supporting role a little within the group. That's perfectly normal."
She tried to reason with him, but that reasoning was not enough to refute Ye Chang'an's demand.
"It is perfectly normal. That's why I want Eden to take the leading position. Your plan still needs to change.
"If it can't be changed, then I'm sorry, but we'll have to consider another media company."
"It can be changed. Don't worry, I can definitely change it."
Maris immediately promised, hoping to stabilize Ye Chang'an before slowly discussing the plan.
But from the moment she yielded and agreed to revise the plan, she was no longer the one leading the discussion.
Because she had no choice but to follow Ye Chang'an's suggestions and expectations. In the end, they came up with a plan she viewed very poorly.
Performing classical music.
—What era was this? They were still singing classical music? That stuff was ancient.
—Young people nowadays liked pop music. Pop music!
Maris wanted to cry, but she held back her tears and signed the contract with them anyway.
After all, she still thought highly of Ye Chang'an. She could not let another company take this handsome guy.
Once the two of them hit a wall on the path of classical music, there should still be a chance to persuade them to revise the contract.
Chapter of Creation: Journey to a New World: 14. Let's Debut as a Couple Duo
"Hehe, Chang'an, you were so amazing just now~"
On the way back to school, Eden raised a thumb and praised him.
"It wasn't that I was amazing. You were just too foolish. You didn't even know what those things meant, yet you dared to nod along."
Before you continue