Main Quest Activated

Inside the teahouse.

After the waiter brought over the freshly brewed tea, turned to leave, and gently closed the door behind him, Song Dao looked at his Senior Brother, whose handsome, rugged features carried a faint air of worldly weariness, and suddenly felt like laughing.

As the senior, Hu Wei was several years older than him, yet he seemed somewhat restrained at the moment.

He was nothing like how active he had been chatting on Carrier Pigeon. Other than saying, "Sorry, Junior Brother, I kept you waiting," when he arrived, he did not know what to say after sitting down.

Song Dao lifted his teacup and took a small sip. "Thank you for boosting my traffic that day, Senior Brother."

Hu Wei was not actually that shy. He was quite lively around people he knew.

It was just that the moment he saw this junior brother, he suddenly felt a little nervous.

This young junior brother, five or six years his junior, carried an unusually mature air about him.

It was not exactly a powerful presence, but he was exceptionally composed.

Hu Wei also found it a little strange. How could someone so mature and steady have been manipulated by a gold-digging woman for so long?

People online said he had been a simp since high school?

Sure enough, appearances could be deceiving.

Everyone was equal before love.

"Don't mention it, Junior Brother. That day, I really related to it and felt compelled to speak up, so there's no need to thank me. I even regretted it a little afterward."

Hu Wei's voice had a pleasing magnetic quality to it.

For a musician, that kind of voice was an innate advantage. Even without technique, it had strong recognizability.

At the same time, though, it could also somewhat limit the types of songs he could perform.

But as the saying went, a small hit relied on promotion, while a huge hit relied on fate.

He looked at Song Dao. "Don't misunderstand. I don't regret spending the money. It's just that the video blew up a little too much, and I was worried it might bring you trouble."

"The video going viral also made that song popular, so it isn't a bad thing for me," Song Dao said, looking at Hu Wei. "Did Senior Brother come today because of something?"

"After hearing that song, I felt that you were very talented and had a strong urge to get to know you. Also..."

Hu Wei smiled a little sheepishly. "I wanted your permission, Junior Brother, to sing this song at the bar."

"That's it?"

Song Dao paused, then smiled. "Senior Brother sings at a bar, right? Of course. It would've been fine even if you hadn't asked."

There were countless streamers online covering songs, and Song Dao had no objection to it.

Let them sing it. The more people who sang it, the more popularity it would gain.

In fact, even if some unknown singer took the song out to perform at commercial gigs, there was not much he could do about it.

Not just him—even the big names who had already made it turned a blind eye to this sort of thing.

As long as they did not go too far, and did not tell their livestream viewers, "This is an original song of mine."

"Then thank you, Junior Brother!" Hu Wei said.

After that, the two began discussing music, and Hu Wei gradually started talking more.

He spoke about his musical dream, as well as his story with his girlfriend.

"What money could young people possibly have? It's not like we came from some awesome rich second-generation family..."

He sounded emotional, but also calm. "I had almost forgotten about it. I thought I had already let it go and did not care that much anymore, until I heard the song Junior Brother wrote."

"A good song can resonate with people and instantly pull them back into the kind of scene they experienced back then."

"Junior Brother, you really are talented—far more than I am. I hope you can keep walking this path."

Song Dao asked curiously, "Senior Brother can write songs too, right? Why not try becoming an independent musician?"

"Haha, do you think everyone is as amazing as you? Going viral online with just one song?"

"There are simply too few independent musicians who make it!"

"And I'm no good at writing that stuff either!"

Hu Wei gave a bitter smile. "Like I said, I tried for a few years before. Now that I'm nearly thirty, I've finally understood my own limits. I'm not cut out for it."

Song Dao said, "I've only released one song myself."

"Junior Brother has talent! I may not be good at writing, but I understand music!" Hu Wei said with certainty. "You're so young, yet you were able to write a song like See Through Love, See Through You. Your songwriting ability must be very strong!"

Hu Wei looked at Song Dao. "That's why I especially hope you'll keep going down this path. Singer-songwriters are still very popular in this day and age."

"Find a good company and let them package and promote you properly. You'll definitely have a chance to become famous!"

"I've approached some producers with a bit of a reputation before, but they looked down on me completely and would not even give me the time of day."

It was a very strange era.

On one hand, many lyricists and composers said there was no room left to survive and that music was dying. On the other hand, people like Hu Wei, who genuinely loved music, could not find good collaborators.

Forget lyricists and composers with some fame—even those without any fame were unwilling to work with an equally unknown Hu Wei.

They racked their brains trying to find ways to hand their work over to people who were already famous to sing.

But those who had already made it either had fixed collaborators or were desperately crafting a singer-songwriter persona that covered lyrics, composition, and vocals, while their companies frantically promoted them behind the scenes.

So it was awkward.

Without outstanding singers, lyricists and composers saw their status and influence decline further and further.

It had become a vicious cycle.

Just then, the system suddenly issued a prompt.

[Main Quest Activated]

[Earth Music Culture Propagation]

[In addition to developing himself, the host must seek out singers suited to performing Earth's classic songs for training, or bring suitable retired singers back into the spotlight]

[Copyright must remain in the host's hands. It may not be gifted to others or sold outright]

[Each completed stage objective will grant the host rewards such as treasure chests and reputation]

[The popularity gained from songs performed by collaborating singers will be converted into the host's personal reputation at a ratio of one thousand to one]

[Main Quest Branch: Train Hu Wei, a young singer with a musical dream who loves music but has suffered repeated setbacks]

[Activation Reward: Premium Bronze Treasure Chest x1]

[The quest will officially begin once the singer passes the host's assessment]

The stream of notifications left Song Dao stunned for quite a while.

At the same time, he was somewhat speechless.

What the hell was a frustrated young man who loved music?

Earlier, he had thought the system would issue a quest because of Lin Fei, but there had been no response. Instead, it had activated one because of Hu Wei.

Was it because he had not met her?

Or had Lin Fei, who had been retired for years, already stopped loving music?

The thought flashed through Song Dao's mind before he looked at Hu Wei in front of him.

Senior Brother really is lucky!

Then again, Hu Wei gathering his courage and taking the initiative to meet him today happened to prove how important communication was.

There were many talented people, but those who were both talented and good at communicating often found success more easily.

If some big shot claimed he was introverted and disliked communicating with people, just smile and take it with a grain of salt.

He simply did not communicate with people who were of no use to him.

But Song Dao did not say anything directly to Hu Wei.

After all, they had only just met.

Hu Wei had not even brought it up himself.

Besides, the system had said that he needed to pass the host's assessment.

Before fully understanding the other party, Song Dao would not rashly bring up something like, "I can write songs for you; let's work together."

He planned to observe him for a while first.

In any case, the system had merely activated a Main Quest because of Hu Wei. It had not given a time limit.

Nor had it imposed any rigid requirements on what he had to do.

The two chatted casually for a while longer before Hu Wei finally stood to say goodbye.

Just as he had said, he simply admired this junior brother's talent and had wanted to come over and get acquainted.

He was not good at making friends, but when it came to someone he genuinely admired from the bottom of his heart, he could still take the initiative.

"Junior Brother, come by my place when you have time. I'll buy you a drink!"

Song Dao smiled and nodded. "Sure, definitely next time!"

The two left the private room and reached the front desk, only to discover that Hu Wei had already paid the bill when he arrived.

He had such a burning passion for music and was so considerate in dealing with people.

Song Dao's first impression of this senior brother was quite good.

Hu Wei seemed to be in a great mood as well. He waved goodbye to Song Dao at the entrance, unlocked a shared bicycle, and pedaled off with a whoosh.

In truth, he was not feeling nearly as relaxed as he appeared.

Singing at bars could support him, and the income was not bad, but it was still far too distant from his musical dream!

This was no longer the era when singing in a bar could get you discovered by some amazing producer and carried all the way to becoming one of the Heavenly Kings and Queens.

Forget anything else—even a song like See Through Love, See Through You, which mainstream musicians looked down on, was beyond his reach!

He had wanted to ask Song Dao for a song and seek a collaboration.

But their relationship had not reached that point. Bringing it up rashly would only make him seem presumptuous and abrupt.

The reason he had this impulsive thought was that one of his dorm brothers had suddenly messaged him last night.

Asking if he knew his ex-girlfriend was getting married...

"She's marrying an executive at a film and television company. She sent invitations to a lot of classmates she knows, and the wedding is set for late July..."

The news left him unable to come back to his senses for half the day.

She was getting married next month?

More than two years had passed. Marriage... was normal too.

They had never contacted each other after the breakup. He had thought she was still being kept by that investor.

He hadn't expected her to find herself a new backer.

An executive at a film and television company—his circumstances certainly wouldn't be bad.

Of course, that wasn't important.

What mattered was that he had excellent resources in his hands!

Wasn't that exactly what she had always wanted?

After singing at the bar, he returned to his rented place alone, drank two bottles of beer, and lay awake the entire night.

Today, he had finally gotten his Junior Brother's contact information. In a moment of rashness, he immediately made this choice.

I, Hu Wei, refuse to spend my whole life singing in bars!

He wanted to ask Song Dao for a song.

He wanted to stand on a bigger stage and let that woman he had once deeply loved, yet who had chosen to betray him, see with her own eyes that he could make it!

But after meeting up, the calmed-down Hu Wei immediately felt that he had been somewhat impulsive.

Junior Brother himself was a singer-songwriter, and he possessed a great voice with an extremely distinctive quality—something most singer-songwriters lacked.

He could perform the songs he wrote himself brilliantly and maximize the benefits!

Theoretically, there was no need to let someone else sing them.

Having thought it through, he wasn't too disappointed. It was enough if he could leave a good impression on Junior Brother today.

As for the future, he would deal with it when it came.

After seeing Hu Wei off, Song Dao returned to his place and immediately opened the treasure chest he had received when the system activated the Main Quest.

"A Premium Bronze Treasure Chest appeared for the first time. I wonder what kind of song it'll give me?"

As the treasure chest emitted a ceremonious glow visible only to Song Dao, a line of words slowly appeared before him.

Holy crap!

Song Dao froze.

He hadn't expected it to be this song?