Lottery Draw

Yan Yu's equipment was indeed far better than the stuff near the school gates.

What caught Song Dao's eye even more was that this beautiful senior not only excelled at several instruments, but also had unique insights into arranging.

Even though the system had already provided the song's complete arrangement, following her suggestions and making a few minor adjustments still made it feel slightly improved.

In Yan Yu's words, hiring people was too expensive, so she could only learn a bit of everything herself.

Song Dao thought she was full of it. Though he did not know much about the value of recording studio equipment in this world, even an ordinary setup would cost at least one or two million.

Hers was obviously no ordinary setup.

Several of the brands were top-tier names in the original owner's memories—absurdly expensive.

The recording process went smoothly.

With the boost from Versatile Voice and all his various painful past experiences, Song Dao easily found the right feeling.

He barely paused at all and nearly finished it in one go.

After recording two or three versions, Yan Yu gave him a thumbs-up and told him it was enough.

When it came time to pay, Yan Yu only charged him one thousand yuan.

Normally, her starting price was two thousand.

It was equivalent to the owner personally handling everything herself, then giving him a fifty percent discount.

Song Dao was naturally delighted.

Great equipment and low prices—he had a place to record songs from now on.

Afterward, the group began preparing lunch.

Hot pot was probably the easiest way to cook when eating at home.

--Back to basics: one "big cauldron" to cook everything.

They only needed to wash the vegetables and slice up some luncheon meat and the like.

They said they would have a little to drink, but they did not drink much. Yan Yu especially did not let the eager Kong Xi touch any.

But Yan Yu was actually a woman who drank baijiu.

When she tentatively asked Song Dao, his eyes immediately lit up.

Few young people liked baijiu, especially young, beautiful women who drank it.

It felt like this senior had a story too.

Yan Yu was equally pleasantly surprised. She rarely met peers who enjoyed baijiu.

So they each poured themselves about a hundred milliliters and chatted as they drank.

The more they talked, the more they clicked.

Yan Yu was talented and spoke with grace; Song Dao had lived past middle age and possessed abundant life experience.

Kong Xi quietly focused on eating beside them.

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Song Dao called a taxi and said goodbye first.

Kong Xi said to Yan Yu enviously, "Sister Yu, you're amazing. You can get along with him so well!"

Yan Yu's cheeks were faintly flushed after drinking, but her gaze remained clear as she revealed a thoughtful expression.

"For someone like him to be fooled by a gold-digger for years is really strange. Maybe people really need to experience certain things before suddenly waking up..."

As she spoke, she laughed self-mockingly. He was several years younger than her and had already figured things out, while she was still trapped here.

But there were some things she would not tell anyone.

No matter how close she was with Kong Xi, she still only saw her as a little sister.

What life was there to discuss with a little girl who had never even dated?

"You don't mind the advice I gave you today, do you?" she asked Kong Xi.

"Of course I don't mind! Sister Yu only meant well! Besides, I'm not that foolish. Senior Song can handle songs in two completely different styles at once, so he clearly has real substance!"

Kong Xi said earnestly, "I was just lucky. One song made me famous, but my foundation is actually very weak.

I'm more of an internet celebrity than a singer.

So I can't blame those famous veteran producers for looking down on me.

Being able to become friends with Senior Song definitely means I got the better deal. Plenty of people in the industry could sing that song!

And people who are older and have more experiences and insights would definitely perform it better than I could!"

Yan Yu smiled happily.

That was why many people's success seemed lucky, but it truly was not accidental.

Even if she had not been involved today, Kong Xi would still have made concessions in order to obtain a song like "Always Been Quiet," the kind of work that could elevate someone.

After all, she needed it too badly right now!

But not many people could truly see things that clearly.

Song Dao took a taxi back to his rented room and carefully put away the first music contract he had signed since coming to this world.

After taking a shower, he sat at the desk and, with a sense of ceremony, opened Tencent Music again.

He entered the Music Pavilion and clicked on the rankings—

Twenty-second on the Soaring Chart, seventeenth on the New Song Chart, and it had actually shot straight to fifteenth on the Original Ranking!

At this rate, breaking into the top ten was not impossible.

He then opened the creator platform, where non-member purchases had surged to fifteen thousand!

Based on the revenue split, he could already earn nine thousand yuan in less than twenty-four hours.

And that was only part of it.

The real big money was actually in member downloads!

The unit price might be low, but there were simply too many people!

Song Dao had been a little sleepy, but after seeing these results, he immediately became wide awake.

Honestly, if this song had been released in an era when immortals battled immortals, it could never have achieved these results.

All he could say was that everything had come together at the right time, in the right place, with the right people.

Without ringtone songs, Two Butterflies and Mouse Loves Rice could not have succeeded. Without the livestreaming era, Guangdong Love Story could not have been born.

Song Dao then contacted the platform's customer service and sent over the latest version he had recorded.

Their attitude was unexpectedly good!

"Hello, Teacher Song. This really came at the perfect time! People have already started saying the audio quality is average today, and we were just about to contact you. You've already recorded a new version—this is wonderful!"

The customer service representative sent him a thumbs-up.

They then said that Tencent Music was willing to maintain a long-term partnership with young and talented creators like Song Dao.

If all the songs he created afterward were released exclusively through the platform, it would offer him a higher revenue split and more promotional support.

Song Dao naturally would not refuse such a good deal.

As the Xia Kingdom's largest music platform, Tencent Music had more than five hundred million active users.

If he could truly get hold of a classic hit song, he could earn a considerable income from the platform alone.

After the other party said they would review the audio source and put it online as soon as possible, Song Dao exited the platform and silently said, Check reputation.

[Host Reputation: 354976]

Seventy draws!

He could already draw seventy times now!

Song Dao was thrilled.

After silently saying lottery draw, a virtual roulette wheel appeared before him.

The dazzling array of radiant treasure chests on it nearly made Song Dao dizzy.

Exquisite Bronze Treasure Chests, gleaming Silver Treasure Chests, golden Gold Treasure Chests, and even sparkling Diamond Treasure Chests!

Song Dao stared in shock, thinking, Is this really something I'm qualified to see right now?

After quickly calming down, he immediately spotted the trap.

The Dog System had deliberately made those treasure chests extremely exquisite and dazzling, making people instinctively focus their attention on them.

But in reality, the virtual lottery wheel had over a hundred slots!

His eyesight was already excellent, yet he still could not clearly see what was written on them.

He had originally thought that with his current "overwhelming reputation," he could at least draw one or two good songs. Now, he was not so sure.

He looked at the options for one draw and ten draws.

Gritting his teeth, he chose a ten-draw pull.

It felt like the odds of getting something "top-tier" would be higher that way.

The pointer started slowly. Perhaps it was an illusion, but whenever it passed those bright treasure chests, it seemed to pause for a moment, making Song Dao's heart pound wildly.

Then it spun rapidly like a helicopter rotor.

A few seconds later.

It came to an abrupt stop at one position, then repeated the process.

About thirty seconds later, ten prizes appeared before Song Dao in text form.

[Throat Lozenges x3, lightly sweet, mint flavor, can quickly restore vocal fatigue]

[Beginner Suona Skill x1]

[Beginner Erhu Skill x1]

[Beginner Flute Skill x1]

[Beginner Bel Canto Skill x1]

[Intermediate Arrangement Ability x1]

[Throat Lozenges Plus x2, lightly sweet, orange flavor, can quickly restore vocal fatigue and enhance explosiveness]

"Fuck."

Song Dao could not help cursing the Dog System under his breath.

These prizes were not bad.

Whether they were Throat Lozenges or Throat Lozenges Plus, they were both highly practical.

For singers, they were genuinely good items.

Those instrument abilities, bel canto skill, and arrangement ability went without saying. They were all things musicians dreamed of.

Especially after obtaining Advanced Guitar Skills from the Newbie Gift Pack, he understood their value even more clearly.

But the problem was that he wanted treasure chests!

Gritting his teeth, he did another ten-draw pull.

Maybe because he had badmouthed it, this draw result nearly made Song Dao black out.

He only got three Throat Lozenges and one Beginner Suona Skill.

All the rest were fucking "Thank You for Participating"!

Looking at it this way, the first ten-draw pull giving him ten prizes had still been part of some newbie buff?

Song Dao checked the description. It took a hundred beginner skills to advance to intermediate!

The system really understood games!

Unwilling to accept it, Song Dao selected another ten-draw pull.

This time, he won six times.

One Throat Lozenge, one Emotion Stabilizing Candy, and three skills.

This time there was something new: Emotion Stabilizing Candy—

Gummy candy, lightly sweet. After eating it, one could maintain emotional stability for two and a half hours.

Mm, it was for easing nervousness. This was not bad either.

He drew again and won five times.

Then, just as he was becoming like a gambler, he used a ten-draw pull for the sixth time. Finally, a shiny... Bronze Treasure Chest appeared before him!

Song Dao nearly cried.

Fuck you!

Three hundred thousand reputation!

Even deducting the previous hundred thousand, those remaining two hundred thousand reputation had still been exchanged for twenty million popularity points.

It would probably be difficult to gain that kind of popularity again anytime soon.

He looked at the tens of thousands of reputation he had left.

Song Dao chickened out. He needed to leave himself a cushion.

"A person has to know when enough is enough."

"At least it's better than getting no treasure chest at all!"

Muttering to himself, he first placed the Throat Lozenges, Throat Lozenges Plus, and Emotion Stabilizing Candy, which he could take out anytime, into the System Inventory.

Then he used all the various beginner skills.

Just like before, a huge amount of related knowledge instantly appeared in his mind.

For example, Beginner Suona Skill made him feel like he could take on funeral jobs right away...

Finally, he took a deep breath and opened the Bronze Treasure Chest!

The instant he saw the song title, Song Dao froze for a moment before becoming somewhat speechless.

So I'm destined to sing this kind of sad love song?