He was in college, but his songs were at the Grammys.

Wednesday morning, ninth floor of the Brilliant Galaxy Entertainment Building, Composition Department.

Various posters were pasted on the wall.

The album covers of the company's artists, screenshots of popular songs on the charts, and promotional posters for some music festivals.

The aroma of coffee filled the air.

When Anya pushed open the door and came in, several composers who were discussing looked up.

"Good morning, Anya." A boy wearing black-rimmed glasses greeted her. He was composer A-Jie, who had just signed with the company last year and had written several minor hit OSTs.

"Good morning." Anya nodded and walked to the conference table in the common area. "Teachers, do you have a moment? Could you help me look at some sheet music?"

As soon as he said that, several composers nearby gathered around.

In the composition department, it's common for everyone to look at each other's scores and give feedback.

We are all creators, and sometimes those involved are blinded by their own perspectives, so we need an outsider to see things clearly.

"Who wrote it?" A-Jie asked curiously.

"A newcomer's work." Anya took a folder out of her briefcase and pulled out the three sheets of paper. "Take a look."

She placed the sheet music on the table.

Ah Jie was the first to pick it up.

He glanced at the title—"Listen to the Sea".

Then I started reading the score.

At first, his expression was casual, but after reading a few lines, his brows furrowed.

It wasn't that I was dissatisfied, but rather that I was too surprised.

"This melody..." Ah-Jie murmured, "It's so evocative."

The composer, Lao Wang, leaned over and said, "Let me see."

He took the sheet music from A-Jie and started looking at it.

Old Wang is a senior composer at the company, in his forties, who has written many popular songs and has a keen eye for talent.

As he looked at it, his expression changed.

"These lyrics are really well written." Old Wang pointed to one of the verses, "'Gray is not wanting to talk, blue is melancholy.' Using colors to describe emotions is clever and not pretentious."

The other composers also gathered around, passing the score around.

Whispers arose:

"The arrangement is also very interesting. The verses use piano as a base, and the chorus adds strings, but the overall arrangement remains simple..."

"The harmonic progressions are very comfortable and unconventional."

"Was this really written by a newbie?"

"Which newcomer? A newly signed composer?"

After everyone had finished reading, Anya spoke up: "You may have heard of the author. He's the student who recently sang 'Big City, Small Love' at school, Chen Ming."

"Chen Ming?" A-Jie paused, "That freshman from Jiang Yi University?"

"Yes," Anya nodded, "it's him."

There was a moment of silence in the composition department.

Then Old Wang spoke first: "Sister Anya, when did he write this score?"

"Yesterday," Anya said. "He went back to school yesterday afternoon, taught a class, and sent it to me last night. He was the one who mentioned finding inspiration in class yesterday."

"Yesterday?" Ah Jie's eyes widened. "How is that possible? It's only been an afternoon!"

Old Wang also shook his head: "Sister Anya, this must be something he had in reserve. It takes at least a few days to conceive a song and write the score. How could it be written in just one afternoon of class? Besides, what aspect of the lyrics and melody of this song has anything to do with class? I don't think it's possible."

The other composers also nodded in agreement:

"Yes, that's outrageous."

"Even if you have inspiration, you still need to polish it slowly, right?"

"The lyrics don't seem like they were improvised."

Anya listened to these doubts and actually felt the same way.

But she remembered Chen Ming's performance in the recording studio yesterday.

That composure beyond his years, that absolute control over the music.

Perhaps... there really are geniuses?

"Regardless of whether it was written in one class period," Anya said, "what do you teachers think of the quality of this song?"

After this question was asked, the composition department fell silent for a few seconds.

Then Lao Wang spoke first: "Judging from the sheet music alone, it is a very mature work. The melody is smooth, the lyrics are textured, and the structure is complete. If the arrangement and singing are done well, it has the potential to become a hit song."

Ah-Jie nodded in agreement: "It's better than the works of many established composers, especially the progression of emotions, which is very natural."

Other composers have given similar reviews.

Anya felt more confident.

Even if this song is an old one, it's enough to prove Chen Ming's creative ability.

To receive such unanimous praise from so many professional composers is itself a form of recognition.

"Oh, right." Old Wang suddenly remembered something, "Sister Anya, you mean this Chen Ming, is he the newcomer who's going to publish 'Big City, Small Love'?"

"Yes." Anya nodded. "That song will be released this weekend and will be aiming for the May newcomer chart."

"The new talent list..." Old Wang's expression became somewhat subtle. "That coincides with the release of the song that Xiao Zhang from our department wrote."

The "Xiao Zhang" he mentioned is another composer in the composition department named Zhang Ming, who is thirty years old this year and has written several good works.

He recently wrote a song for a new female singer in his company, and it's scheduled to be released in May, with the goal of topping the newcomer charts.

Anya knew about this and understood what the other party meant. She smiled and said, "Don't worry, we won't steal resources. For Chen Ming's song, the company is going the 'seed route'."

The moment the words "seed route" were uttered, a collective gasp filled the composition department.

In the vast universe, the "seed route" is the highest level of newcomer promotion strategy.

Simply put...

Regardless of cost, we will invest everything we have, aiming for the top three spots on the list, ideally number one.

"The seed route," A-Jie murmured. "Is the company going all out this time?"

"President Song made the decision himself," Anya said. "He said Chen Ming was worth it."

The composition department fell silent.

Everyone is still processing this information.

Those in the industry know best what the seed route means.

The best production team, the most aggressive promotional investment, and the most prioritized channel resources.

The company hasn't launched a "seed route" in a year.

The last person to follow this route was Wei Huaiqian, but he can actually be excluded because he was a self-funded "seed route".

He debuted at his own expense, which makes him quite an unusual person in the company.

Excluding him, the "seed route" has to be traced back to Lin Wei two years ago.

Lin Wei did not disappoint the company. Although she did not win the annual newcomer award, she won quite a few monthly awards that year.

So everyone knows that the company is pushing Chen Ming toward becoming "Newcomer of the Year".

Just then, the door to the composition department was pushed open.

Lin Wei's manager, Sister Li, walked in. She was currently looking for a title track for Lin Wei's album, so she often went to the composition department.

Seeing a large group of creators gathered around the city, she didn't even have time to go up and ask them anything.

Ah Jie's eyes lit up, as if he had remembered something, and he immediately pointed to the sheet music spread out on the conference table. "Sister Li! You've come at the perfect time! Come and take a look at this one, I think it's especially suitable for Lin Wei!"

"Who wrote this?" Sister Li's eyes lit up. As she asked, she habitually reached out and picked up the sheet music.

"It was written by Chen Ming," Anya's voice rang out from the side, with a hint of barely perceptible amusement. "It's the one where he recorded backing vocals for your Lin Wei before."

Sister Li paused slightly as she was about to read carefully.

Chen Ming?

That handsome, clean-cut freshman boy with excellent singing skills?

The image of the boy who had quietly and precisely helped Lin Wei complete all the harmonies in the recording studio last weekend immediately came to mind.

She even praised Anya at the time, saying that the newcomer had excellent singing skills and was a promising talent.

But he... can also write songs?

Moreover, what he wrote made A-Jie feel that it was particularly suitable for Lin Wei?

She looked up at Anya, her voice much clearer and stronger than when she came in: "Anya, could I take a picture of this sheet music and send it to Lin Wei?"

Anya smiled and nodded: "Of course."

Sister Li took a picture of the lyrics and music score and sent it to Lin Wei.

After the photos were sent, a subtle sense of anticipation immediately filled the composition department.

Everyone knows that Lin Wei was eager to get songs, and that she has a discerning eye. She waited a long time for this album.

Putting everything else aside, apart from the elusive composers in their entire composition department, no one else managed to win over Lin Wei.

I wonder if this young man, Chen Ming, is up to the task.

Time passed by, and it was so quiet that you could almost hear the ticking of the second hand on the wall.

Sudden.

The screen of the phone that Sister Li was holding lit up, accompanied by a clear notification sound.

All eyes immediately turned to that direction.

Sister Li immediately unlocked her screen and opened WeChat.

Her gaze lingered on the screen for a moment, and then the corners of her tightly pursed lips finally slowly turned up.

Everyone also saw the brief message on Sister Li's WeChat.

"Sister Li! Who wrote this?! I want it!!!"

The three exclamation marks conveyed Lin Wei's urgency and excitement even through the screen.