I woke up to find I had gotten my marriage certificate with a female celebrity.

What makes a good song?

"Does something that sounds good count?"

Qin Yi didn't know how to answer this question.

Upon hearing this, Cui Xing immediately laughed and scolded.

"You think a song is good just because it sounds good, but I think a song that sounds good isn't a good song?"

"Then what you're saying is no different from farting!"

Cui Xing casually opened a short video platform and selected one of the most popular "divine songs" at the moment.

After listening to it, I clicked on the video of the top music charts for this year.

The three of them ate and listened for more than twenty minutes, and it was a story that was hard to put into words.

"Did you hear that? This is what music is like these days."

"The chords are always the same few, and the melodies are all cut from the same mold."

"Only your few songs are refreshing, but look at this so-called ranking, your best is only twelfth."

"Are the songs ahead of yours considered good? I certainly don't."

Just then, Jiang Mo, who had been silent for a long time, spoke for the first time.

"Uncle..."

"I don't understand what you two are talking about."

"What kind of popular award? Is Teacher Qin going to win one?"

Just as Qin Yi was about to explain to her, Cui Xing spoke first.

"Stop calling me Teacher Qin all the time, there are no outsiders here."

"You can call him Qin Yi, or you can call him brother. He's a year older than you, so there's nothing wrong with that."

"And Xiao Qin, why don't you call me Uncle too? It sounds so friendly."

Qin Yi ignored him and continued to call him "Director".

However, after the conversation just now, he understood some things to some extent.

"Director, I understand what you mean."

"Nowadays, everyone making music is chasing traffic and speed, completely ignoring quality."

"We want to filter out pop songs and fast-food style content and set things right."

"So that's why you're preparing to reopen the pilot program?"

Cui Xing tapped the bowl with his chopsticks.

"You're smart, I like that smartness of yours."

"People who are serious about making music can't gain fame these days, while those with money and connections are flocking to chase after popularity."

"Last year's music industry report stated that traditional musicians face immense pressure to survive, and the atmosphere for creating high-quality works urgently needs to be strengthened."

"Plagiarism and song rewriting are intensifying, and data-driven approaches are deviating from artistic value."

"Value judgment standards tend to be singular, and users' aesthetic tastes are narrowing."

Cui Xing then cited the example of "Know Me," which is a very obvious typical example.

"Let's talk about your song."

"If you hadn't shone brightly on those variety shows, how many people would even know who you are, Qin Yi, now?"

"They only know that my song is good, but nobody cares who the musician is."

Cui Xing gave another example, and that example was Chen Xiran.

"You've worked with her, so you must know something about her situation."

"What did Tianxing Entertainment give her?"

"Commercial performances, endorsements, shows—it's all business."

"Was there any specific training or development of her musical skills? Probably not at all."

"I've mentored quite a few students, and you can tell how good her skills are just by listening to her."

"That's how music companies are these days; they don't care about the development of your artists."

"I only care about whether I can make money. If I can, I'll cooperate. If I can't, I'll abandon the project. At worst, I'll just find someone else to feed the new traffic."

Cui Xing's speech became noticeably faster, and a hint of anger could be heard in his voice.

"If this trend continues, let alone a few years..."

"After your class graduates, how many of you will be willing to seriously pursue music?"

"However, this brings up another issue."

"The lowest level of musicians are those who have just entered the industry and don't have many connections."

"Lyrics, music, arrangement, recording, mixing—all done in one go. Do you know how much a song like that can sell for?"

Qin Yi looked at him as he held up five fingers and couldn't help but whisper.

"Five thousand?"

Cui Xing burst into laughter, but his laughter betrayed his disappointment.

"Five thousand? I'd be lucky to get fifty!"

"If a song sells for 500 copies, it can surpass 70-80% of the people."

"When you first sold a song, do you remember how much they offered and what kind of contract they gave you?"

Qin Yi nodded: "1,500 yuan per song, buyout system."

Upon hearing this, Cui Xing was taken aback.

"Sold for 1,500 on the first day?"

"Whose family is so kind as to offer you such a high price?"

"I thought you'd just give me a few hundred."

Qin Yi had no idea about this, so Yun Fan really did offer him a high price back then?

"Even high-quality products can't fetch high prices?"

Without moving his head, Cui Xing said, "That's right, that's the current trend."

"If you can't even afford to eat while making music, you might as well work on an assembly line; at least you can fill your stomach."

"If you put in the effort to polish your music, it won't be as good as those catchy pop songs that are hyped up by popularity. Who wants to make good music anyway?"

"I haven't seen such an outstanding young person as you in a long time."

"I don't want you to go down this old path again, which is one of the reasons I pushed you."

Cui Xing did indeed think that way, but he felt that these words were too pretentious.

No matter how thick-skinned an old man is, he'd still be too embarrassed to speak up in front of a young man.

After the voice faded, Jiang Mo finally understood the logic behind it.

She recalled the previous conversation in her mind and suddenly said something.

"Brother, your works are all excellent. I support you. Keep it up!"

Qin Yi was still deep in thought when he heard these words, and his first instinct was to think it was Qin Wangwang.

He habitually reached out and touched his head, then habitually said, "Go to the side."

Suddenly feeling something was wrong, Jiang Mo pulled back, her face already flushed.

"Oh? So this kid likes this kind of thing?"

Cui Xing looked on with amusement, and Qin Yi quickly offered an explanation.

He turned to apologize to Jiang Mo, only to find that she didn't even look up and just mumbled "uh-huh" in response.

Seeing the awkwardness on both of their faces, Cui Xing broke the silence.

"Ultimately, it's because newcomers don't have a way to get ahead. Without joining a platform or music company, no matter how good their work is, they won't get much traffic."

"Without traffic, there's no buzz; without buzz, no one will invest."

"Without investment, there is naturally no positive feedback, and all enthusiasm will eventually be dampened."

"Among the younger generation, you are a rare exception."

"If you can become a role model for the new generation of musicians."

"Whether it's for you personally or for the music industry as a whole, that's fantastic news."

Qin Yi nodded very seriously.

Once the main topic was over, the rest of the conversation consisted of everyday matters.

It wasn't until he saw the two off that Qin Yi realized he hadn't explained his situation to the director.

Once home, I opened the door.

The moment the light was turned on, Qin Yi was startled.

Dressed in white, with disheveled hair.

Chen Qianyu sat on the edge of the bed, looking like a female ghost, her puffs up in anger.

Her arms were crossed in front of her chest, and her eyebrows were almost twisted into a pretzel.

"Honey, I'm not leaving tonight."

"If you don't give me a proper explanation, you can forget about sleeping with me!"

After standing there for a while, Qin Yi finally dared to approach her.

The moment my hands touched her shoulders, I was photographed.

"Hmph~"

"You're not allowed to touch me until we've explained things clearly!"

Looking into her eyes, Qin Yi immediately understood her little scheme.

The loose pajamas were empty underneath.

Her hair was still slightly damp, clearly indicating that she had just taken a shower.

If you were really angry, why would you dress like this?

However, Qin Yi did not directly expose her, but instead explained it to her in a gentle voice first.

I carefully sat down next to her, and then slowly moved closer.

Until their arms touched, then he gently took her hand in his.

Chen Qianyu still puffed out her cheeks, but her fingers clenched up in a very cooperative manner.

"Hey, you can't touch me! I haven't given my permission yet."

Seeing that she was still pretending to struggle, Qin Yi simply stopped pretending.

He pinned her down on the bed and spoke with a wicked grin.

"Didn't you say you wanted to discuss cooperation with me?"

"Then I'll cooperate with you right now!"

Their lips touched, and Chen Qianyu's body instantly went limp.

He gently scratched Qin Yi's back with his ten fingers.

The two were pressed tightly together, and could even feel each other's heartbeats.

"The cooperation I'm talking about isn't this kind of cooperation."

"Ah~"