Huayu 2002, I'm going to dominate the music scene!

Song Mo was actually a little dazed when he signed the contract.

Although he knew this day would come, it still made him feel a little emotional, as his plagiarism skills could finally be put to good use.

Bi Xiaoshi put the contract away, sat down, and said in a much more relaxed tone, "Xiao Song, you can start coming to the company tomorrow. We can discuss your debut album, and you can also take a look at the recording studio and instruments here. We're just starting out, and we don't have all the staff and equipment yet. If you need anything, just tell Lao Xu."

Xu Yuan also spoke up at the right time, saying with a smile, "You can come to me with any problems you have, and I'll try my best to help you solve them."

He paused, then added, "Oh, and we've also prepared an office for you."

Song Mo was taken aback: "The office?"

"Of course," Bi Xiaoshi laughed. "You're a signed artist with Ocean Butterflies now, you can't just stay holed up in that basement writing songs anymore, can you?"

The two had a certain understanding of Song Mo's living situation; otherwise, they wouldn't have offered Song Mo a signing fee.

Song Mo nodded and said, "Thank you, Teacher Bi and Teacher Xu. I'll come over in a couple of days."

"The sooner the album comes out, the better," Xu Yuan chimed in from the side. "The production cycle for an album is quite long, so the sooner we start, the sooner the album can be released."

Song Mo nodded; he certainly understood this principle.

From song selection, arrangement, recording, mixing, to final mastering and promotional strategy development, an album takes at least several months.

"Oh, right," Xu Yuan suddenly remembered something, "we arranged for the finance department to transfer the 300,000 yuan signing fee to you a while ago. You can go to the bank to check later."

Song Mo was surprised by their speed and paused for a moment before smiling, "Thank you, Teacher Xu. I really need this money right now."

Xu Yuan nodded and said, "Your current place might not be very suitable, it's a bit far from here. Why don't you change your place? There are a few newly opened residential complexes near our company, and the apartments there are quite nice. I can have someone take you to see them."

Now that Song Mo has officially become one of his own, Xu Yuan has naturally done a lot of work to build a closer relationship.

It's just that Yanjing Ocean Butterflies is only just starting out, otherwise he would definitely arrange something like an employee apartment for Song Mo.

Hearing Xu Yuan's words, Song Mo nodded. Now that he had money, he certainly couldn't treat himself badly. He had no choice but to live in a basement back then.

"Okay, I'll be checking out the area myself in the next couple of days, so there's no need to trouble everyone," Song Mo said with a smile.

Xu Yuan didn't insist. He glanced at An Ming and nodded.

They chatted for a few more minutes and agreed on a time to meet the day after tomorrow.

Song Mo stood up and shook hands with Bi Xiaoshi and Xu Yuan.

After leaving the conference room, I greeted Jinsha again.

Jinsha also stood up and smiled at him.

Even after stepping out of Ocean Butterflies' gate, the sunlight was still intense.

An Ming walked beside Song Mo and suddenly asked, "How are you feeling?"

Song Mo took a deep breath, looked back at Ocean Butterfly's large bungalow, and said with a smile, "It feels great. Come on, let me take you to meet someone."

"How about I help you with the house?" Anming was starting to feel like a real estate agent.

"No rush, I've been living in that basement for two months already, there's no need to rush," Song Mo said cheerfully.

The two hailed a car, and Song Mo gave an address. After making several turns, the car stopped in front of an internet cafe.

The internet cafe has a small storefront with a faded sign that reads "Starry Sky Internet Cafe".

Pushing open the door, a wave of smoky smoke hit him, making An Ming wrinkle his nose in disgust.

Dozens of computer screens glowed dimly, and most of the people sitting there were young people wearing headphones, either playing Counter-Strike or chatting on QQ.

Song Mo didn't even frown, leading An Ming straight to a private room inside.

"Why are you at an internet cafe?" Anming asked, puzzled. He had a computer at home, and it was a brand new one this year, with a Pentium 4 processor and a 17-inch flat-screen monitor, which was considered top-of-the-line at the time, so he rarely came to places like internet cafes.

"You'll find out soon enough." Song Mo walked to the end of the corridor and knocked on the door.

The door opened quickly, and a young man poked his head out. He was wearing glasses, had long hair, and was wearing a wrinkled T-shirt.

"You're here? So fast." He stepped aside from the doorway.

Song Mo squeezed in sideways, with An Ming following behind.

The private room wasn't big, and it contained four computers. Fortunately, it had a small window, so the air was much better than in the internet cafe lobby.

Several game posters were pasted on the wall, and several empty Coke cans and instant noodle boxes were scattered on the table.

Song Mo introduced, "This is my buddy, just call him Brother An." He then pointed to the young man, "This is Luo Hongming, a top student from the Academy of Fine Arts."

The two shook hands. An Ming glanced at Luo Hongming; he was tall and thin, and there was nothing particularly special about him.

"Hello, Brother An." Luo Hongming smiled, a little shyly.

An Ming nodded, but a question arose in his mind: What was Song Mo up to? Coming to an internet cafe to meet an art student?

Luo Hongming stepped aside and pointed to the computer screen in front of him: "Take a look first."

He opened a file, and a Flash animation popped up on the screen.

The scene is simple: a granary in the background, and a round, plump rat with big eyes and a goofy expression on the left side of the screen.

On the right is a grain of rice, white and plump, with two little feet, hopping forward.

The mouse chased the rice, running in circles.

The background music came from the computer's small speakers, and it had a slightly rough texture.

"I heard your voice, and it gave me a special feeling..."

The melody is simple, and the lyrics are straightforward.

Anming leaned back in his chair, watching the mouse chase rice in circles. Suddenly, he felt a sense of familiarity. This scene was somewhat similar to "Tom and Jerry."

The scene continues, with mice and rice running around on the screen, sometimes hiding in the grass, sometimes climbing up a small hill.

Although the art style is simple, the animation is quite smooth, and it's clear that a lot of thought was put into it.

When they got to the chorus, it went, "I love you, I love you like a mouse loves rice..."

Suddenly, a shower of pink heart icons exploded on the screen, floating from all sides towards the center, so densely packed that they completely obscured the mouse and the rice.

Song Mo looked at the screen, a slight smile playing on his lips.

This Flash animation is very crude and the art style is childish; no one would watch it in later generations.

But in this day and age, this kind of simple and straightforward thing has an inexplicable charm.

Funny, rough, but also quite interesting.

An Ming had already squinted his eyes when the mouse was chasing the rice in circles.

The melody of this song is so simple it couldn't be simpler; there are only a few chords that repeat over and over.

The lyrics are as straightforward as plain water: "I love you, I love you like a mouse loves rice." What kind of lyrics are these?

But he had to admit that it was still a bit catchy, and he felt like singing along.