I really didn't intend to make a living based on my looks.

The three of them sat down, and the crayfish arrived.

Tong Liya's eyes lit up, and she put on her gloves and got to work without saying a word.

Halfway through the meal, Jiang Chen put down his gloves, wiped his hands, and looked at Chen Sicheng: "Director Chen, there's something I'd like to discuss with you today."

"you say."

"I'd like to recommend myself for the theme song of 'Beijing Love Story'."

Chen Sicheng, who was peeling shrimp, paused, looked up at him, and asked with interest, "Oh? You can write songs too?"

Tong Liya chimed in from the side: "Old Chen, you don't know, he wrote 'The Power of Love.' It's the song from 'Palace,' which was played everywhere."

Chen Sicheng raised an eyebrow and looked Jiang Chen over again.

He certainly knew about "The Power of Love," it was incredibly popular lately, you could hear it everywhere.

He put down the shrimp in his hand, wiped his hands, and leaned back in his chair: "You wrote that song? Okay, let me listen to it."

Jiang Chen didn't pick up a guitar or play any accompaniment; he simply cleared his throat and began to sing a cappella.

The private room quieted down, with only the steam from the crayfish slowly rising under the lights.

"Let me look at you one more time, from south to north..."

His voice was not loud, and it was a little hoarse, slowly spreading out in the quiet private room.

There was no accompaniment, no reverb, just a dry, unfiltered vocal performance, yet it possessed a strange power.

"Like being blindfolded by the Fifth Ring Road..."

"Please tell me again, about that day..."

"A girl holding a box, and a man wiping away sweat..."

Chen Sicheng's eyes clearly changed.

He listened to the whole thing, remained silent for a moment, and then asked, "What's the name of this song?"

"Anhe Bridge".

Chen Sicheng stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly laughed: "You've got something, kid."

He wasn't someone who didn't know what he was talking about; the melody and lyrics of "Anhe Bridge" were almost a perfect match for the tone of his film "Beijing Love Story".

Drifting in Beijing, youth, love, regrets—these are the things he wanted to film in his songs.

He made the decision on the spot: he wanted the song.

Tong Liya was egging Jiang Chen on from the sidelines, her words implying that she was speaking up for him.

Chen Sicheng is pursuing her very hard, so it's not appropriate to try and lower the price in front of her...

The final agreed price was 30,000 yuan for the rights to sing the OST for the TV series "Anhe Bridge," with Jiang Chen to sing it.

The copyright still remains in Jiang Chen's hands.

This price is nearly four times higher than the price of "The Power of Love" that was originally sold to Yu Zheng.

This naturally leads to a rise in prices...

Jiang Chen has a clear plan for himself; he has never thought about becoming a professional singer.

He sings okay, but only okay...

At that time, the Chinese music scene was dominated by Jay Chou, Eason Chan, Wang Fei, Stefanie Sun, and JJ Lin, with each artist taking turns to dominate the charts – a battle of the titans.

It's too difficult for him to break through by releasing an album...

But film and television OSTs are another path.

The chances of a song becoming a hit are much higher if it's associated with a popular TV series than if it's released as an album without any promotion.

"The Power of Love" is a perfect example. Without "Palace," that song wouldn't have been played everywhere, and he wouldn't have received hundreds of thousands of ringtone revenue shares later.

OSTs earn more than just money from selling songs; they earn the long tail of copyrights.

Thirty thousand yuan isn't a lot, but he needs to ignite the fire of "Anhe Bridge" first.

……

In late March in Shanghai, the plane trees were just sprouting new buds.

The area outside the auditorium of Shanghai University's Baoshan Campus was bustling with activity.

The preliminary rounds of the CJ Cover Coser Contest are being held here, and the square is packed with colorful cosplayers.

Rem, Hatsune Miku, Saber, Kirito...

Anime characters jump from two dimensions into three dimensions, with wigs and prop swords swaying in the wind.

Jiang Chen wore a faded GAINAX commemorative T-shirt and held a copy of Newtype magazine as he strolled around in the crowd.

On the third lap, he finally saw three young men wearing glasses squatting on the steps of the side door of the auditorium.

Found it!!!

The three of them, each holding a takoyaki (octopus ball) and with a design draft spread out in front of them, were having a heated debate.

Jiang Chen went to the side to buy an iced Coke, walked over, squatted down, and put the Coke down.

"Dude, got thirsty after chatting for so long?" He took a sip. "I heard you guys talking about the AT fields in EVA and couldn't resist coming over. Is the beast mode in the new theatrical version, *Rebuild of Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance*, a personal touch from Hideaki Junko or a legitimate continuation?"

The man in the plaid shirt pushed up his glasses and looked him over: "GAINAX staff style? It's fake, it's been discontinued for years."

"I've been lurking on eBay for three months, and the shipping cost is more than the clothes themselves." Jiang Chen waved the magazine around. "So, it's a beast mode?"

"The true continuation!" The round-faced girl with the headband exclaimed excitedly, almost knocking over her dumpling. "There's a hint in the comics!"

"But the timeline doesn't add up," the man with the black-rimmed glasses muttered. "Asuka's eyepatch..."

The four of them started chatting.

From discussing Fate to Type-Moon's retconning of books, from Galgames to queuing for six hours at Comic Market to snag a limited edition Touhou Project book, and then to the original work of Steins;Gate, Jiang Chen accurately stated the core D-mail setting of Hououin Kyouma.

The three people's expressions changed.

"What do you do, buddy? You don't seem like a typical otaku..."

"From Beijing Film Academy, studying acting," Jiang Chen put down his milk tea, "working in the film and television industry, and writing songs on the side. Have you heard 'The Power of Love'? I wrote it."

The three of them were stunned.

"Holy crap!" the headband-wearing, round-faced girl exclaimed. "You wrote 'The Power of Love'? My mom uses it as her ringtone!"

"...My apologies," Jiang Chen's lips twitched, then he changed the subject: "I made a little money writing songs, so I have some spare cash. I don't have many hobbies, just playing games and watching anime. What about you guys? Judging from how professionally you're talking, are you in the game industry?"

The man in the plaid shirt pushed up his glasses, a hint of pride in his voice: "Yes, we made our own game called 'FlyMe2theMoon,' and it's still in development."

He took out his phone, opened a rudimentary demo, and handed it to Jiang Chen.

Jiang Chen took the phone, swiped it carefully for a few seconds, and nodded: "The graphics are good, but the feel needs some tweaking. I think the anime/manga/game (ACG) market has potential. It seems niche now, but it's definitely going to be a hot trend. Keep up the good work, and if you ever need funding, you can talk to me. I'm not a big boss, but I can still come up with a few million."

Of course, he was just bragging, but just because it doesn't happen now doesn't mean it won't happen in the future.

If that's not enough, he can borrow from Zimei or Damian...

The three exchanged a glance, their expressions shifting from surprise to seriousness.

The man in the plaid shirt extended his hand: "My name is Cai Haoyu, and these are Liu Wei and Luo Yuhao. Our company is just starting out, and we've rented a small office in Shanghai. If you're really interested, you can come and take a look later."

Jiang Chen grasped his hand. "Jiang Chen, okay, I'll definitely go!"

These three young men are now holed up in a small office in Shanghai, playing mindless games that no one pays attention to.

No one could have imagined that a few years later they would create "Honkai Impact 3" and then "Genshin Impact"!

That monster that swept the globe and earned billions annually.

Right now, they are going through the toughest and most financially difficult time. They are barely surviving on a 100,000 yuan interest-free student loan. Their first game sold poorly, and they are struggling to cover rent and their meager salaries. They are being rejected by investors everywhere because the anime/manga/game (ACG) market is a niche market.

Once they establish themselves with "Honkai Impact 2" and gain fame with "Honkai Impact 3", their cash flow will be completely stable, and they will never lack funds again, nor will they easily accept investment from outsiders.

This is the only chance to get in; once you miss it, you'll never have another.