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

He Lan and Chen Jianxue were both taken aback for a moment, then burst out laughing.

"See, it's all your fault for being such a bad actor!" He Lan patted Chen Jianxue on the shoulder. "Your son saw through it!"

Chen Jianxue snorted: "I think it's your acting that's lacking! When I was young, I was an arts and culture soldier in our army, and my acting in plays was superb!"

"Who isn't!" He Lan rolled her eyes at him. "I was a pillar of the performing arts troupe back in the day!"

"Alright, alright," Chen Ming interrupted with a laugh on the other end of the phone. "Gentlemen artists, let's get serious."

"What's so serious?" He Lan asked.

"I transferred 100,000 yuan to your account," Chen Ming said. "You two should go out and enjoy some good food! You absolutely must!"

He Lan and Chen Jianxue were both stunned.

One hundred thousand yuan?

"Son, where did you get so much money?" He Lan asked instinctively.

"It was given to me by the company," Chen Ming said casually. "Your son's song became a hit; he's a little rich now."

The income from Brilliant Galaxy was originally paid out monthly.

"Big City, Small Love" is a song released in May.

The income won't be available until at least June.

But this morning, the company directly gave him 200,000 yuan in advance, with the note stating that it was the advance payment of song revenue.

Chen Ming asked Anya.

Anya said that the company's general manager, Song He, considered that Chen Ming's new song was now popular and he would definitely need to share the good news with his parents and family. However, it wouldn't be good if he was short of money when sharing the good news, so Song He had the finance department give Chen Ming 200,000 yuan in advance.

Chen Ming's voice carried a hint of amusement: "So, this 100,000 is your son's gift to you. No matter how you spend it, you must spend it, and it must be spent on yourselves, understand?"

Suddenly, Tang Yuan's voice came from the other end of the phone: "Brother Ming! The cafeteria is almost out of food!"

"Coming, coming!" Chen Ming responded, then said into the phone, "My classmate called me. Remember to go to the restaurant for dinner. I'll hang up now!"

"Oh, son..." He Lan wanted to say something more.

The call has ended.

The shop quieted down.

Only "Big City, Small Love" is still playing, and it just so happens to be singing the line "Small love is so sweet in the big city".

He Lan held her phone, stunned for a long while.

After a few seconds, Chen Jianxue spoke first, his voice a little hoarse: "The child has grown up."

He Lan nodded, wanting to say something, but her throat tightened.

She looked down at her phone, and a bank notification popped up on the screen:

[Your savings card account ending in 3476 has received a deposit of RMB 100,000.00. Balance...]

He Lan stared at the string of numbers for a long time.

Then she looked up, took a deep breath, and smiled again.

"Let's go," she said, her voice regaining its usual crispness, "let's go eat."

......

Tuesday noon, dormitory 512.

Chen Ming had just finished lunch and returned to his dorm room when his phone rang.

It's Lin Wei.

"Junior, the recording is finished!" Lin Wei's voice came through the receiver, filled with obvious excitement and a hint of barely perceptible nervousness. "I've sent the full version to your email. Listen to it and give it your feedback."

"Okay," Chen Ming replied, walking to his desk and opening his laptop.

Tang Yuan and Zhou Xu were sitting in their respective chairs, one scrolling through his phone and the other reading a book.

Upon hearing what Chen Ming said on the phone, the two exchanged a knowing glance.

Chen Ming logged into his email, downloaded the attachment, and put on his headphones.

The intro came through my headphones; the pure piano sound was like raindrops hitting the surface of water, rippling outwards.

Then came Lin Wei's voice, a gentle voice with a husky, grainy quality, slowly rising to the surface:

Write to me and tell me what color the sea is today...

Chen Ming closed his eyes and listened attentively.

Tang Yuan and Zhou Xu exchanged a glance as they listened to the faint singing coming through their headphones.

They were actually very curious.

They had glimpsed the sheet music for "Listen to the Sea" on Chen Ming's computer screen last week.

But we only heard Chen Ming play a few simple chords on the guitar, and we don't know what the full version will sound like.

Lin Wei has now finished recording, and the song will soon be released.

Neither of them spoke, nor did they move closer.

Tang Yuan put down his phone, stood up, and gently patted Zhou Xu on the shoulder.

Zhou Xu closed the book and nodded.

The two walked out of the dormitory quietly, one after the other, and gently closed the door behind them.

Tang Yuan leaned against the wall, and Zhou Xu stood opposite him.

"Tell me," Tang Yuan lowered his voice, "Do you think Ming-ge's song will work?"

Zhou Xu pushed up his glasses: "Lin Wei waited half a year before choosing this title track, what do you think?"

"Yeah, I guess so." Tang Yuan scratched his head. "I just feel like it's a little unreal."

Yes, it's not real.

Two weeks ago, the three of them were just ordinary freshmen, attending classes together, eating together, and playing basketball together every day.

Now, Chen Ming's new song has topped the newcomer chart, and he has also written album title tracks for popular singers.

Meanwhile, they are still worrying about their music theory exam next month.

This disparity isn't about jealousy, but rather an indescribable feeling.

Just like before, they instinctively chose to avoid it.

It wasn't that Chen Ming asked them to avoid the situation, but rather that they themselves felt they shouldn't be present during moments involving business collaborations and artists' work.

That was Chen Ming's world.

Their world revolves around dormitories, classrooms, and basketball courts.

"But then again," Tang Yuan suddenly laughed, "Ming-ge is still Ming-ge. Look at him yesterday, he was playing basketball with us, and when that kid from the next building bumped into him, he was cursing and swearing."

Zhou Xu smiled and said, "Yes."

Just then, the dormitory door opened.

Chen Ming came out, still holding his phone in his hand.

"Yes, Senior Lin Wei sang very well," he said into the phone with a faint smile on his face.

On the other end of the phone, Lin Wei visibly breathed a sigh of relief: "Really? That's good. When I was recording this time, I always felt like something was off, so I recorded it many times."

"It's already very good," Chen Ming said. "The emotion was spot on, and those few vocal transitions were handled particularly well."

"Phew—" Lin Wei let out a long breath, and her voice finally had a hint of laughter. "Since there are no problems, I'll have to start promoting my new album today."

Chen Ming was somewhat surprised: "Are you in such a hurry, senior?"

"Hmm." Lin Wei's voice became serious. "The fans have been waiting for too long, half a year. Every time I post on Weibo, the comments are all urging for the album. It makes my heart ache."

At this point, her tone softened: "And this song gave me a lot of confidence, I felt it was time."

Chen Ming listened quietly, then smiled: "Then do as you please."

"Okay," Lin Wei said. "That's all for now. I'll go prepare the promotional materials. Oh, and thank you for the song, junior."

"You're welcome."

After hanging up the phone, Chen Ming looked up and saw Tang Yuan and Zhou Xu standing in the corridor.

The two looked at him with complicated expressions.

There was genuine joy for him in his eyes, anticipation for the future, and a hint of bewilderment that was hard to define.

Chen Ming looked at them and suddenly said, "There's something I want to tell you."

"What is it?" Tang Yuan asked.

"I might have to move out," Chen Ming said calmly.

The corridor was quiet for a few seconds.

Tang Yuan and Zhou Xu were both taken aback for a moment, but soon, expressions of understanding appeared on their faces.

"That's true," Zhou Xu said first. "You have a lot on your plate these days, so it's not very convenient for you to stay in the dorm."

Tang Yuan nodded: "Yes, you see, we had to hide just now. If there are any more business calls like this in the future, or if you need to write songs or something, having us around will only get in the way."

He said this in a very natural tone, without the slightest hint of dissatisfaction.

Chen Ming felt a slight warmth in his heart.

He knew that his two brothers genuinely cared about him.

"But Ming-ge," Tang Yuan suddenly leaned closer, winking, "why don't you go into the cultural studies field?"

Chen Ming shoved him irritably: "Get lost."

He's currently ranked number one on the newcomer list!

Let him pursue a career in culture!

Is that even acceptable?!

The three chatted for a few more minutes, and then went to the classroom together.

There is a composition class in the afternoon.

After class, Professor He collected the melody assignments that he had given the previous week.

Chen Ming handed over the sheet music for "A Person Like Me".

The strength of this song actually lies in its lyrics; the composition isn't particularly strong.

But it's definitely more than enough for a college student's homework.

......

At 2 PM, Lin Wei's official Weibo account was updated.

"The countdown to the new album 'Wei' has officially begun! The title track 'Listen to the Sea' will be released on all platforms on Saturday, May 9th at 12:00 noon."

"Special thanks to teacher Chen Ming for composing this song, 'Listen to the Sea'."

The accompanying image is a concept poster: a deep blue sea, moonlight shining down, and the silhouette of a girl standing on the beach, her long hair blowing in the wind.

Within ten minutes of the Weibo post being published, the number of comments and reposts began to surge.