“Team Leader Zheng, Director Zhuo just said that Lin Rui is not in good health and needs to recuperate. He can hardly withstand long hours of stage work.”

“Xiao Zheng, why don’t you consider giving the song to Yang Qing? I guarantee he won’t disgrace it.”

"Hey, Lao Xu, what do you mean by this? Are you trying to steal business from Mu Bai? President Zhou has already decided that Mu Bai should be heavily promoted during graduation season."

"That was before. Now, who can say for sure who will win?"

"Old Xu! What do you mean by that?"

…

A commotion arose in his ears, and Lin Rui slowly woke up.

The room was clean and tidy, with a faint smell of disinfectant in the air.

Lin Rui didn't rush to get up, but instead checked the system.

[Congratulations, host, on completing the rookie mission: your debut performance]

[Quest Reward: Reputation Lottery]

[Reputation Lottery Feature Now Available...]

Lin Rui's decision to sing a song at Tianrui Entertainment was not to show off, nor to make Zheng Jing look good, nor to try to become a popular celebrity.

It was simply a new user task issued by the system.

squeak…

The door was pushed open, and Zheng Jing's expression was a little unpleasant. Seeing Lin Rui staring blankly at the ceiling with his eyes open, she immediately smiled and said, "Awake?"

"Just woke up."

Once he was sure Zheng Jing couldn't see the virtual interface in front of him, Lin Rui glanced calmly towards the door and asked, "What's going on with them?"

"I'm sorry to have made you laugh."

Zheng Jing was a little embarrassed: "Your performance at the company just now was quite wonderful. May I ask..."

"Original".

Lin Rui wasn't stupid; he naturally guessed what Zheng Jing wanted to say.

"You Are the Apple of My Eye" was transported from Earth by the system. Before that, no one but him had ever seen or heard of it.

Instead of racking your brains to explain the origin of the song, you might as well shamelessly say that it is your own original work.

Although she was mentally prepared, Zheng Jing's eyes still lit up when she heard Lin Rui admit it himself.

Noticing that Zheng Jing was already daydreaming and had an expression of witnessing the rise of a grassroots, Lin Rui couldn't help but pour cold water on her enthusiasm: "But I have no plans to sing, nor do I have any intention of going on stage."

"ah?"

Zheng Jing's expression changed drastically, and she looked at Lin Rui in confusion: "Why?"

"I am not in good health and cannot stand on the stage for a long time."

Regarding his physical condition, Lin Rui had already communicated with the system. To summarize the system's concise statement, he was a sickly person who was extremely weak.

That's understandable; a normal person's health score is 50, but what about his?

It's a miracle that she can walk upright at less than 30 years old!

"Moreover, the spotlight makes me feel apprehensive..."

Lin Rui only said these words to himself.

Although many memories of her past life have become blurred, some lingering effects have not been eliminated.

Being exposed in public would instill fear in him.

"That's such a pity."

Zheng Jing looked disappointed, unsure whether she felt sorry for Lin Rui's appearance or his talent.

Or both reasons may apply.

Zheng Jing was actually quite helpless. She thought she could completely revitalize Group 4 with Lin Rui's help, but who would have thought that he would back down at the last minute, and she couldn't find any words to refute him.

After all, he was physically weak and simply couldn't withstand the long hours of work on stage.

This is still the diagnosis given by the hospital. Where can I reason with this?

I can't explain it!

Furthermore, Lin Rui was originally supposed to sign a contract with Tianrui Entertainment today, but before the contract documents were ready, Zhou Rongze convened four groups for selection.

Perhaps due to recent stress and a desire to save face in front of Zhou Rongze, Zheng Jing inexplicably pushed Lin Rui, who hadn't yet signed a contract, into room number 7, leading to the scene described earlier.

To be honest, she never had any hope for Lin Rui from the beginning, but who would have thought that this guy would be so amazing when he finally made a move!

Life is truly unpredictable, like a large intestine enclosing a small intestine!

Because of this mess, Zheng Jing was severely reprimanded by Zhou Rongze, who even gave her a strict order: if she couldn't sign Lin Rui, she would be fired!

Of course, the laws regarding copyright in this world are extremely strict. No one plagiarizes, nor would they dare to. So even after listening to "Those Years," no one within Tianrui Entertainment dared to have any crooked thoughts; that would be a foolish act.

"Sister Zheng, can I change the way I sign the contract?"

"Sure! Of course!"

As if grasping at a straw, Zheng Jing burst forth with an extremely strong will to survive: "Xiao Rui, what are your thoughts? You can talk to me about it."

"I know my own physical condition. If possible, I would like to join the composition department."

This was Lin Rui's well-thought-out idea.

With his memories fully integrated, he was aware of his terrible family situation in this life. He had been in poor health since childhood, and his parents had already incurred huge debts to pay for his treatment.

He needs to earn money to help ease the financial burden on his family.

In Xiazhou, although Tianrui Entertainment is not large in scale, it has never been involved in any scandals of exploiting its employees. In addition, his previous performances have won the approval of the company's senior management, so he can have a certain degree of initiative in contract negotiations.

Moreover, he is not yet a composer. To obtain a certificate, he must either successfully graduate from the composition department of a music academy and participate in the qualification examination the following year.

Alternatively, the guarantee must be provided by an entertainment company that has been established for at least five years and has assets exceeding one billion, and the certificate must be directly issued by the government.

This kind of certificate is called an honorary qualification certificate.

In terms of the certificate's intrinsic value alone, the latter may not be as prestigious as the former, but its potential value far exceeds that.

Since the honorary certificate relies on the reputation of the entertainment company, few companies are willing to go through this back door to avoid unnecessary negative impacts.

If a composer is granted this certificate but fails to demonstrate the corresponding ability, the consequence is that they will be ridiculed by their peers and become the subject of their gossip.

To put it bluntly, they're afraid of losing face.

Besides Tianrui Entertainment, it would be a pipe dream for Lin Rui to apply for a position in the composition department of another company in the short term.

After all, no company's composition department would interview a student who hasn't graduated yet.

So he was gambling that Tianrui Entertainment would recognize his talent and be willing to give him special treatment!

"The composition department?" Zheng Jing was a little surprised, but quickly understood: "Okay."

She's not stupid; on the contrary, she's quite shrewd. Otherwise, Zhou Rongze wouldn't have let her form Group Four.

She probably guessed Lin Rui's intentions, and after thinking for a moment, she went to the balcony and made a phone call to Zhou Rongze.

The call was short, but when Lin Rui saw Zheng Jing walking over with a relieved expression, he knew the answer.

He made the right bet!

"General Manager Zhou agreed to use the company as guarantor to pull some strings and get you an honorary certificate."

"However, he made a condition."

"What are the conditions?"

"Besides the previous song, you also need to provide a high-quality song this year."

“I don’t deny that creation requires inspiration, but Mr. Zhou said that if you can’t even do that, he wouldn’t risk being laughed at by your peers by giving you this special treatment. The honorary certificate is also known as the genius certificate, but can a genius without inspiration still be considered a genius?”

After Zheng Jing finished speaking, she stared intently into Lin Rui's eyes.

The eyes do not lie.

"Can."

Without hesitation, Lin Rui nodded.

Are you kidding me? Does he need inspiration?

All he needs to do is his job as a porter, that's all.