A song called "The You of the Past" has prompted the entire internet to beg me not to leav

In the living room of the villa.

Professor Sun Changgeng and Chairman Li Mingchang, two old men whose combined age is nearly 150, were arguing fiercely about which department Lin Yan should belong to.

"He understands the I Ching and the Eight Trigrams! He understands geological calculus! It's a waste of national resources if he doesn't come to our archaeological team!" Professor Sun said anxiously, tapping his cane.

"Bullshit! He wrote 'Sorrow' in three minutes, and a guitar made the ratings break records! The Chinese music scene needs him to save it!" Old Li retorted without backing down, the veins on his neck bulging.

Lin Yan sat in the center of the sofa without speaking, while Shen Qingqiu stood not far away.

Looking at the man she had signed with a minimum guarantee of ten million, she felt a surge of immense absurdity.

Other celebrities would fight tooth and nail to toast these two big shots, but he was just sitting there with a lunchbox, watching the show.

"Ding-dong."

The doorbell rang for the third time.

Shen Qingqiu walked over and opened the door.

Standing outside the door was a middle-aged man around fifty years old with thinning hair.

The man was carrying two exquisite wooden gift boxes, and his nose was covered in sweat.

He saw Shen Qingqiu, paused for a moment, and then took out a handkerchief to wipe his sweat.

"Hello, Mr. Shen. I am Chen Desheng, the curator of Xinghai City Museum. I apologize for bothering you."

Shen Qingqiu stepped aside.

As Chen Desheng stepped into the room, he immediately saw the two big shots arguing on the sofa. Chen Desheng's legs went weak and he almost couldn't stand up.

"Old Sun? Chairman Li?" Chen Desheng's voice cracked.

As the director of a municipal museum, he usually only gets to sit in the back row when he goes to meetings in Beijing. Now, these two titans of the industry have gathered in this private residence.

Professor Sun stopped arguing and turned to look at him.

"Xiao Chen? What are you doing here?"

Chen Desheng snapped out of his daze, carefully placed the gift box on the coffee table, and turned to look at Lin Yan sitting in the middle.

Chen Desheng plopped down on the single sofa opposite him, his eyes reddening, and immediately launched into a complaining mode.

"Mr. Sun, Chairman Li, you must stand up for me! Since this is Teacher Lin Yan, I'll be frank. In the past few years, apart from school trips for elementary school students during holidays, we haven't seen a soul at the Xinghai Museum! Those young people would rather queue for three hours to buy blind boxes than spend thirty yuan to see a glimpse of the treasures left by our ancestors!"

Chen Desheng slapped his thigh, heartbroken and indignant.

"Recently, a document was issued from above. This year marks the centenary of Xinghai City's establishment as a city, as well as the 60th anniversary of the museum's founding. The bureau has given a strict order: we must come up with a cultural promotion project that can go viral. Otherwise, my tenure as the museum director will be over."

Chen Desheng stared intently at Lin Yan.

"I've seen the announcement online. Professor Lin Yan is not only a musical genius, but also a renowned historian! I've mustered up the courage to come to you today to ask Professor Lin for your help in composing a promotional song for our museum!"

After listening, Lin Yan put down his thermos.

"Director Chen, I've signed with the company. As for songwriting, it depends on the boss's opinion."

Lin Yan pointed at Shen Qingqiu; he didn't want to take on this kind of assigned essay at all—it was too tiring.

Shen Qingqiu stepped forward; she knew all too well the value of official projects.

"Director Chen, our Qingqiu Studio is very willing to cooperate with this kind of official publicity. It's just that Lin Yan has a heavy creative workload lately, and I'm worried that he won't have any inspiration."

The subtext is clear: official projects are acceptable, but what are the benefits?

Chen Desheng was a shrewd man. He immediately pushed the wooden box on the table over.

"Professor Lin, our museum is poor and can't afford the exorbitant production budget. But we have been granted the official title of 'Youth Cultural Promotion Ambassador' by the higher authorities. Also, this is just a small token of my appreciation."

The box is opened.

There was no money inside, only a jar of tea wrapped in sealed tin foil, and a tea set with minimalist craftsmanship but a warm, lustrous sheen.

Lin Yan's gaze swept over. Then it froze.

"Wuyishan mother tree Da Hong Pao? Thirty grams?"

Lin Yan recognized the special supply number on the packaging. This kind of thing is priceless on Earth, and only top big shots can get a small share.

Chen Desheng nodded repeatedly.

"Teacher Lin has a good eye! This was left to me by my father-in-law, and I've never been willing to drink it. And this tea set is a one-to-one replica of the museum's collection of celadon porcelain, made by a master craftsman from Jingdezhen. Only ten sets were made, and you absolutely won't find them on the market."

Lin Yan's initially resistant gaze changed.

He's a complete slacker, but he's also someone who thoroughly enjoys life.

With the finest tea and teaware, it seems like this job can be done.

"I accepted it."

Lin Yan pulled the mahogany box closer to himself.

"I'll take this job. But let me make this clear from the start: I'm not responsible for attending meetings or writing those reports."

Chen Desheng was overjoyed and bowed repeatedly.

"Just submit your piece! I'll have someone handle all the other formalities!"

Professor Sun snorted coldly from the side.

"Fatty Chen, you're trying to get something for nothing."

Chen Desheng wiped his sweat and smiled apologetically, not daring to refute. With the matter settled, the three big shots left the villa with satisfactory results.

at the same time.

Starry Entertainment Building, CEO's Office.

With a bandage still wrapped around his head, General Manager Zhao leaned back in his boss's chair, staring at the financial report on his computer screen with a livid expression.

The series of public relations disasters caused Xingyao Entertainment's stock to plummet for a full week.

Agent Wang pushed open the door and came in, his steps hurried.

"Mr. Zhao! I've found out! The higher-ups have specially approved a 30 million yuan publicity fund to boost visitor numbers at the Xinghai City Museum! And if we secure this project, we'll get an official press release praising us!" Brother Wang said in a low voice.

Mr. Zhao sat up abruptly. The wound under the gauze throbbed with pain.

Xingyao is now a pariah and desperately needs official backing to clear its name.

If they could secure the promotional song for a municipal museum and have their remaining popular artists sing it for free, they could turn around the online public opinion.

"Have you contacted Chen Desheng yet?" General Manager Zhao asked.

"I tried contacting him, but he's not answering." Brother Wang looked troubled. "I heard that quite a few entertainment companies came knocking today. Everyone wants a piece of this lucrative pie."

General Manager Zhao slammed his hand on the table.

"Hire an online army! Create hype online! Say that Xingyao Entertainment has donated ten million to a museum for the protection of cultural relics and is willing to provide the theme song for free. Make a big splash! Use public opinion to force that old fogey Chen Desheng to take our job!"

Mr. Zhao sneered.

As long as we get this official project, Lin Yan is nothing.

He will crush Lin Yan under his feet sooner or later.

Brother Wang nodded in acceptance and turned to leave to make the arrangements.

Xingyao's public relations department began operating at high speed.

Numerous online troll accounts began posting frantically on Weibo.

#StarShiningEntertainmentDonatesTenMillionToCharity#

#ShiningStarsSupportTraditionalCulture#

Soon, these terms were pushed to the top of the trending searches by spending money.

Looking at the data, Mr. Zhao revealed a smug expression. He believed that the authorities would definitely accept this windfall of funds and free labor.

Little did he know that just an hour earlier, this official promotional song had fallen into Lin Yan's hands.