This business card was given to Lin Tian by the middle-aged man he had run into after finishing his performance at the restaurant two days ago.
To his surprise, Gan Yan Yu, standing beside him, read the name aloud.
"SYC?"
"You know it?"
"It's a music agency. It's very famous in Qingzhou and has signed a lot of outstanding musicians," Gan Yan Yu said. "At last year's national violin competition, there were violinists signed with their company."
"They're that capable?"
The middle-aged man had been so overly enthusiastic around Lin Tian that Lin Tian had immediately started doubting the company's standards.
That was human nature.
The easier something was to get, the more mediocre you thought it was.
Wait until you wanted in and they put you through three rounds of interviews. Then you'd behave.
"But how did you get this business card?" Gan Yan Yu asked.
"I added him when I was playing piano at the restaurant before."
Lin Tian said it casually, but it stirred a flicker of surprise in Gan Yan Yu's heart.
To catch SYC's attention, just how well did he have to play?
"What's the difference between a music agency and the celebrity agencies we usually see?"
Remembering that Gan Yan Yu had previously signed with a music agency herself, Lin Tian asked.
They were both agencies, but no matter how he thought about it, Lin Tian felt that—
Signing musicians should be a little classier than signing celebrities, right?
It was like how the term "actress" clearly just meant an ordinary performer, yet plenty of people still associated it with actresses in more "sacred" action films. After all, everyone liked to assume something was on a higher level.
"The difference is in the direction of their work."
Seeing that Lin Tian was unusually interested in a question like this, Gan Yan Yu raised her index finger and began explaining seriously.
"The celebrity agencies people generally know are mainly responsible for packaging, managing, promoting, and arranging collaborations for celebrities."
"As for music agencies, while they do have those functions too, they focus more on music creation, production, distribution, and promotion, as well as handling recording, music production, competitions, and performances for musicians."
"I see."
Lin Tian summed it up.
The former mainly handled marketing and lived off traffic.
The latter seriously made music, because they genuinely made their living from music.
Then they were definitely the right people to contact!
Lin Tian dialed the number on the business card.
"Who is this?"
"Lin Tian. We met at the SWING restaurant the day before yesterday."
"Oh, it's you."
Upon hearing Lin Tian introduce himself, Zhong Wei'an's voice clearly became more excited.
"What is it, Mr. Lin Tian? Have you decided to officially become a professional pianist?"
"Not yet. I wanted to ask whether your company's recording studio can be rented. I can pay."
"May I ask what you need it for?"
"To record my work and shoot short videos."
Lin Tian felt a little embarrassed as he said it.
After all, the company's recording equipment was used to release music.
And he wanted to use it to shoot freaking Douyin videos? Wouldn't a phone do the job? How ridiculous!
It was like paying a fortune to hire a photographer, saying you wanted to edit the pictures yourself, then taking photos shot with their camera worth tens of thousands and opening Meitu XiuXiu on your phone.
"Sure," Zhong Wei'an agreed readily.
"Really?" Lin Tian was somewhat taken aback.
"How about this? Since you're making short videos, it'll cost quite a bit every time you rent our recording studio. Why don't I send you a set of recording equipment in my personal capacity? That way, you can record at home. It'll be more than enough for shooting short videos."
"Since you're still a student, I won't charge you. Just mention in the video description that the equipment was provided by us whenever you post a video. Once you have the money to buy new equipment in the future, send the equipment back to us. Does that sound alright?"
After Zhong Wei'an finished speaking, Lin Tian was stunned.
What?
Students could actually get things for free?!
The middle-aged man's reasoning was simple. He would provide Lin Tian with equipment, and Lin Tian would promote them a little when posting videos.
It looked like an equal exchange, but the middle-aged man was clearly the one getting the short end of the stick.
Recording equipment worth tens of thousands in exchange for a harmless little text ad in Lin Tian's video descriptions—no matter how he calculated it, it was a loss.
Lin Tian knew this was Zhong Wei'an's way of deliberately trying to win him over.
But he was happy to make this deal.
"Deal!"
"Alright, add me on WeChat and send me an address."
"Mm-hmm."
The call ended.
Gan Yan Yu looked at Lin Tian cautiously and asked nervously,
"How did it go?"
"I got it. Recording equipment."
"How much did it cost?"
"It was free."
"Wow!"
Gan Yan Yu shook her little fists, instantly becoming excited.
Then, the next second—
"Cough, cough—"
Gan Yan Yu coughed twice and moved aside, covering her mouth.
"What's wrong?"
Seeing this, Lin Tian immediately stepped over in concern.
"It's nothing. My throat's been a little inflamed lately. Some medicine will take care of it."
As Gan Yan Yu spoke, she returned to the sofa.
The girl opened her cello case and reached into its smallest compartment, feeling around until she found a red plastic bag.
Perhaps she was in a hurry, or perhaps she did not want Lin Tian to see something. Gan Yan Yu tore open the plastic bag inside the cello case, but she used too much force.
The bag split open, and a large number of medicine boxes flew out, scattering across the sofa and floor.
"Ah!"
Gan Yan Yu hurriedly began picking them up.
"It's alright, I'll help."
Lin Tian walked over, then froze.
Aside from common cough medicines such as Fufang Gancao Pian and Su Huang, there were also large quantities of antidepressants such as Fluoxetine and Paroxetine, all kinds of hormonal drugs and regulators for treating asthma—
As well as a great many medicines whose uses Lin Tian did not know and whose names he could not even identify.
It was packed full.
Just looking at it made his scalp tingle.
Lin Tian knew that people who were usually in poor health or had sudden illnesses would keep some commonly used medicine in their bags when going out.
But he had never seen such an outrageous quantity of medicine stuffed into the compartment of a cello case.
"Are all of these for you to take?"
Lin Tian picked up a box of antidepressants, his expression serious.
"No, actually, I haven't taken antidepressants since yesterday."
Gan Yan Yu pinched her little finger and quietly gathered the boxes herself, not looking Lin Tian in the eye.
"What about the other medicine?"
"They're all backup medicine. I'm just stocking up, so I won't have to go buy them again if I get sick."
"What kind of person stocks this much medicine? What, are you some Medicine God?! Do you know selling medicine privately is illegal??"
Lin Tian could not hold it in anymore. He admitted that he was anxious.
Seeing a girl who needed to take so much medicine every day, anyone would be worried.
He tried hard to adjust his mindset, then asked again,
"By the way, when are you supposed to return to school?"
"The Academic Affairs Office said I need to get a physical examination report from the hospital first, confirming that there's nothing wrong with my health," Gan Yan Yu said guiltily.
"So that's how it is."
Lin Tian held his forehead. In fact, with the system's godlike perspective, he had long expected this situation to arise.
He slapped a hand onto Gan Yan Yu's shoulder.
"Gan Yan Yu!"
"Ah?!"
Gan Yan Yu straightened up again in panic, like a recruit whose name had been called by a military training instructor.
"Starting tomorrow, you're coming with me. We're eating nutritious meals and working out!"
Before you continue