You Say You're a Newcomer?

"There's no need to choose the most expensive gift~

As long as it's the fallen leaves of Champs-Élysées~"

"Creating a romantic date, not afraid of messing everything up~

Having you means having the whole world~"

The song ended.

The group fell into a brief silence.

After listening once, someone was reluctant to let it end and reopened Love Confession Balloon for another listen.

Lin Chuan sent a message:

"A newly written song. I humbly ask you masters for your feedback."

Li Ming was the first to reply. "No, don't call me a master. You're the master, orz. This song's melody is just too powerful!"

The other musicians also popped up to speak:

"These lyrics, this melody—every beat hit right in my heart!"

"Even the title is so romantic. Love Confession Balloon."

"It may sound like a fresh, sweet little song, but it actually showcases the creator's profound skill. I alone heard six variations in the rhythm."

"This is the first time I've heard rap this soothing!"

"With this song out, the top spot on this month's new song chart is basically reserved."

"Good thing I wasn't planning to release a song this month!"

"To be fair, this song does have a flaw—namely that I wasn't the original creator. (dog)"

"The finer details could use a bit more polish, but it still completely crushes me!"

The moment Love Confession Balloon was released, it caused an uproar in the group.

Everyone in the group was a professional music producer, with first-rate judgment and hearing.

When ordinary people listened to a song, they might think the melody was nice, the lyrics interesting, and that it resonated with them.

But to these professionals, every shift in beat and every rise and fall in the melody was clear as day.

Simply put, if two songs had roughly similar results, ordinary listeners might not hear much difference.

But professionals could tell within three seconds whose skill was a level higher.

And now, Lin Chuan's Love Confession Balloon was considered exceptionally high-level by these professionals.

It even drew out quite a few lurkers:

"That's insanely good. Not only is the music great, it has such a strong sense of imagery that it makes me want to fall in love right away."

"How should I put this? If a girl sang this song to me before bed, even my dreams would be sweet."

"The person above, don't ever say you play music again. Embarrassing."

"Calling it the song of the year already."

"What a terrifying newcomer!"

The last to speak was Brother Seven, the group owner and a famous music producer in the industry.

Not only was he a music producer, he had also produced quite a few films and television dramas.

He had simply focused on music in recent years.

"Kid, after graduation, would you consider joining our Diehai Records? We can offer you first-class musician benefits!"

"Why not compose for our Hongtang Company instead? We happen to have an idol drama under production.

There aren't any Balloon-related scenes for now, but I can add one!"

"Our company's movie is about to premiere too, and it happens to be a youthful romance film!"

Watching the fight to recruit him unfold in the group, Old Zhou could barely suppress the upward curl of his lips.

He was genuinely happy for Lin Bai.

Although Old Zhou owned a recording studio, his musical attainments were no match for the professional musicians in the group.

Now that Love Confession Balloon had received their recognition, Old Zhou was once again certain that his eye for talent had not been wrong!

Songs were, in fact, highly subjective things.

You might think a song sounded wonderful, while I might find it lacking and somewhat clichéd.

A song worshipped as a masterpiece by one group of people might sound like trash to another.

But seeing so many musicians praise Lin Bai now,

Old Zhou's heart was filled with pride as well.

I was the one who pulled this kid into the group!

Go on, question me now, you brats!

Looking at the recruitment messages in the group,

Lin Chuan was quite happy too.

No one would reject heartfelt praise from others.

Of course, Lin Chuan had no plans to join anyone.

Nor had Lin Chuan forgotten why he had joined the group.

He tapped the screen, typed out a message, and sent it to the group:

"Actually, this is a promotional song for a movie.

The director of this movie is my cousin. It's his first time making a film, and all the funding went into production. There was no money left for promotion, and he's worried the box office won't even recover the costs.

I'm begging all you masters here to help promote the movie and repost it on Weibo, if you can!"

Brother Seven: "Sure. Posting on Weibo is no big deal. What's the movie called, and who's the director?"

Lin Chuan: "Balloon. The director's name is Lin Chuan.

Spoon Killer Demon was his first short film."

"Spoon Killer Demon? That name sounds familiar."

A moment later, the group exploded.

Wasn't Spoon Killer Demon that short film that had become hugely popular on Bika Net?

Quite a few of the musicians were already in their forties and rarely used Bika Net, but they had still heard about Spoon Killer Demon from people around them.

"I've watched Spoon Killer Demon. It's a very creative horror short."

"I used to be the type who didn't like horror movies, but after watching Spoon Killer Demon, I suddenly wasn't as scared of horror films anymore."

"I think Spoon Killer Demon was pretty terrifying. I had nightmares for several nights afterward."

Opinions about Spoon Killer Demon varied among the musicians, but praise was in the majority.

At the same time, everyone was puzzled:

"Spoon Killer Demon was so popular. Logically, Director Lin Chuan shouldn't be short on investment, right?"

Someone offered an explanation.

"Bika Net's video incentives only amount to a little money, and the creator didn't take any ads. His income is very limited."

"New directors are all proud. Some investors start pointing fingers after investing and randomly meddle with the plot, so it's perfectly normal not to want to accept outside investment."

"I recommend that you don't watch Director Lin Chuan's new short film. It's only a little over a minute long, but it's pretty scary."

"Then I absolutely have to watch it!"

Soon, someone raised another question.

"Spoon Killer Demon should count as a horror short, right? Love Confession Balloon is obviously a sweet little song. Could it be that the director changed styles?"

Someone found it rather regrettable. "I really liked Spoon Killer Demon's style. Rashly switching tracks might not succeed."

In truth, the principles behind all creative work were interconnected.

Some musicians were only good at a certain type of music—in other words, they had a particular style.

And once those musicians tried a new style, they often crashed and burned miserably.

Then they obediently crawled back to continue their original style.

When Old Zhou saw these messages, the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

Old Zhou thought, You're all still too naive.

How had Director Lin Chuan abandoned the horror genre?

He had clearly carried the horror style forward!

If not for Lin Bai's song, Old Zhou would have spent at least two thousand yuan hiring a master to cleanse his recording studio of evil spirits!

Unfortunately, Old Zhou had signed a confidentiality agreement and could not reveal a single word about Head Balloon.

He felt somewhat upset. Lin Bai was still too honest.

Even at a time like this, he was still promoting his cousin's movie.

Old Zhou was utterly certain that if Love Confession Balloon were separated from Balloon, it would absolutely still be a successful single.

But the reverse might not necessarily be true.

These days, a critically acclaimed movie did not necessarily sell well. A film could be high-quality without stopping some viewers from finding it boring.

But a good song would definitely attract listeners who appreciated it.

A song lasted at most five minutes, while a movie ran for an hour and a half—a full eighteen times the difference!

At the same time, Old Zhou felt rather relieved, because this just showed that Lin Chuan was a good kid who repaid kindness.

In the fame-chasing entertainment industry, it was not easy to find someone trustworthy.

"All right, I'll post on Weibo to promote it for you right now."

The owner of the music group, Brother Seven, unusually typed more than ten characters in one go.

As a middle-aged man in his forties or fifties, he did not type quickly. Usually, he only sent single-character messages in the group.

The others responded in unison as well.

"I'm in too!"

"Count me in!"

"Although I haven't watched the movie, I like this song. I'll repost it right away!"

"I support all bold original work. This world needs explorers!"

"I don't have Weibo. I'll promote it for you on short-video platforms."