A band, or a battleground?

Yi Yi Yi: [Shelved?]

Higgs Boson: [Yeah, haven't you heard of the worst kind of celebrity in the entertainment industry? They had a falling out with their company, signed a contract that practically sold them out, and can't even get commercial performances on their own. They're so poor they're barely surviving.]

Yi Yi Yi: [Even if I'm poor, I'm still better off than an ordinary person, right?]

Higgs boson: [But this industry is all about youth. Who's willing to waste their best years in obscurity? And when the contract finally expires, who's even remembering you?]

Meanwhile, on the table, Qi Yuan flipped through two pages and asked another question: "After signing the contract, will the copyright of the lyrics and music also be handed over to the company?"

Sun Man smiled and said, "It's not that I'm handing it over to the company; the company will just help you with the operations."

Qi Yuan stared at a line of small print in the corner of the contract and said, "The operating period is thirty years?"

After he finished speaking, the atmosphere in the private room became increasingly silent and awkward.

It was as if the air itself had frozen.

Sun Man finally spoke again, her face expressionless: "This is also an industry practice."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

053 This is our decision

Qi Yuan closed the dozens of pages filled with dense text.

Teacher Su Wan hesitated for a moment, then quietly withdrew her outstretched hand.

Sun Man remained expressionless and asked, "Aren't you going to watch anymore?"

Qi Yuan shook his head: "No need to look at it, we won't sign this contract."

Sun Man stared at him quietly for a few seconds, then suddenly laughed.

She asked, "Did you know that our company has a very close working relationship with the production team?"

Qi Yuan: "I know. So if we don't sign, they won't give us any screen time?"

Sun Man opened her mouth, but couldn't say anything for a moment. Because what she wanted to express tactfully had been bluntly stated by the young man in front of her.

Teacher Su Wan said, "With our band's strength, I believe that in addition to Jufeng Music, other companies will want to sign us."

Sun Man finally dropped the pretense and scoffed, "We're the only company that dares to offer contracts in the first round. The others won't act until they see results. They won't sign new artists until the semi-finals. Who knows if a newly signed band will be eliminated in the next episode?"

“Oh…” Su Wan drawled, “So it seems your company can directly decide which band advances and which is eliminated?”

Sun Man stared at her and asked, "Are you recording?"

Su Wan smiled and shook her head: "How could that be?"

Sun Man joked, "Recording won't help. We only have a partnership with the production team, so of course we can't interfere with the judges' decisions, let alone say who advances or who is eliminated. However, I believe there's no need to say more; you all understand."

At this point, Qiu Mengxue could no longer remain silent and said, "We understand. If your company really has absolute power, then it's fine to be eliminated. We'll go back to our studies."

Sun Man: "Ha, you're really willing to give up such a promising future?"

Qiu Mengxue said coldly, "You can still play music in your spare time, without the restrictions of a contract. Guess how many songs Qi Yuan can write?"

Sun Man smiled and shook her head: "Qi Yuan might be able to, but what about you and the others? If Qi Yuan becomes famous on his own in the future, will he take care of you all—"

Qiu Mengxue interrupted her directly, saying, "Auntie, you really don't need to say anything. We're together."

Jiang Yi also solemnly said, "His decision is our decision."

Ning Qianyu shook her head and sighed, "Alas, capital."

Sun Man's face stiffened: "You..."

Qi Yuan smiled slightly: "In any case, thank you for your kind consideration and for treating me to this meal. This Kung Pao Shrimp Balls are really delicious."

Sun Man said coldly, "Is it delicious? If you can't finish it, you can take it home."

"Really? Thank you then," Qi Yuan turned his head and said loudly, "Waiter, pack it up, this lady needs to pay!"

The three young girls and the two older women were all amazed by his smooth and fluid operation.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The stage lights in the studio were on, but the seats for the three mentors were empty; only the host, He Dong, was on stage, holding a microphone and speaking:

"Today is the draw ceremony for the second round of the competition. The second round is a themed competition, and each band's performance must have a theme, but each band's theme is different. Here are the theme words that will be distributed to everyone. This round is not limited to original songs or covers; everyone can freely improvise based on the theme words."

At this point, a staff member came up on stage carrying a box.

In the audience, one of the contestants shouted, "A lottery?"

"Yes, to be fair, the theme for each band's performance will be decided by drawing lots. Next, the bands whose names I call, please come up on stage! First up is... Titans!"

Five men with distinctive appearances went on stage.

Lead singer Zhao Xukun reached into the box, pulled out a piece of paper, and unfolded it.

Behind him, a camera set up on the stage was pointed at the paper, and the two words on the paper were displayed in real time on a large screen above the stage.

Looking at the screen, He Dong announced, "The theme of Titans' second performance is: Anger!"

This result angered many of the contestants in the audience.

"Damn it, which rock musician can't write angry songs?"

"Is there some kind of shady dealing involved?"

"The Titans are really well treated..."

"Stop letting them compete, why not just give the award to Titan directly?"

The Titans on stage looked a little awkward, but the host remained completely calm, saying, "The theme provided by the production team is certainly not meant to be difficult for everyone. We hope that every band can deliver their most spectacular performance. Alright, Titans, please leave the stage. Next up is Mud River Band."

Five people stepped off the stage, and then three people of similar age, two men and one woman, came on stage.

The female musician, who is also the lead singer and bassist of the Mud River Band, chose the theme word 'love'.

The three of them breathed a sigh of relief.

Anger is a common theme in rock music, but love is sometimes even more prevalent. Regardless of the genre, love songs are the most common.

This time, there were far fewer doubts from the audience.

Then the drawing of lots continued.

Freedom, rebellion, friendship, family, dreams, nostalgia, history, mythology, youth, peace...

Arranging different themes for sixty bands involved a wide range of topics. By the later stages of the draw, no one questioned whether it was rigged anymore.

Because most bands, after drawing their assigned song, can immediately think of a suitable song. Even if they haven't written anything related to that theme, they can always find suitable works to cover.

Until the sixtieth band.

"Finally, it's the Spring Shadow Band. Please come up and draw a theme word. Let's see what the last word will be!" He Dong looked at the four young men and women coming up on stage and asked with a smile, "Who do you plan to draw the word?"

The three girls pointed at Qi Yuan in unison.

Qi Yuan stepped forward, reached into the box, and then frowned.

Seeing this, He Dong asked, "Is there a problem?"

Qi Yuan: "There's only one sheet left in the box."

He Dong smiled and said, "That's right, sixty bands, sixty themes. But I don't know what the final theme is. How about we take a look?"

Qi Yuan already had a bad feeling.

He took out the paper, unfolded it, and saw that the word on it was—science fiction.

When these two images appeared on the big screen, a few sighs and whispers arose from the audience:

What sci-fi songs are there?

"It seems like not many of them sound good..."

"Actually, there are some. I can think of two right now, but they are both quite difficult to perform."

"They're so unlucky..."

After their performance in the group stage, no one dared to underestimate this youngest band in the entire event, but this limited-time theme made it even harder for people to have high hopes for them.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

054, well done! Keep it up, don't embarrass yourself!

"Our topic selection even includes science fiction! Did the teacher who set the topic make a mistake somewhere?"

Among the many people on and off the stage, the most shocked expression appeared on the face of the host, He Dong.

The staff member standing next to the box remained expressionless, simply shaking his head to indicate that there was nothing wrong with the theme.

He Dong sighed and looked at the four young men and women in Chunriying. However, unexpectedly, he saw no sign of frustration or anger.

Qi Yuan's expression remained calm, just as before. Although this kid was only sixteen, many contestants twice his age didn't possess such composure.

The three girls behind Qi Yuan behaved rather strangely.

Qiu Mengxue's lips trembled.

Jiang Yi kept her head down, making it impossible to see her expression.

Ning Qianyu was the strangest; she was supporting Jiang Yi with one hand, while covering her own face with the other, as if trying to hide something...

What was he covering? All we can guess is that he was probably covering his mouth and swearing.

He Dong quickly said, "I'm so sorry, Qi Yuan. I didn't expect our question setter to give such a tricky question. But, a science fiction theme can still be explored, right?"

Qi Yuan nodded: "I'll start creating when I get back."

"Original work?" He Dong asked in surprise. "I thought you would choose to cover songs."

Qi Yuan countered, "Which science fiction-themed song is suitable for performance on this stage? Considering our band's lineup, is there one?"

He Dong paused for two seconds, then slowly shook his head: "Sorry, I don't know much about music."

Qi Yuan smiled nonchalantly: "At least I find it hard to think of which song to cover, so I'll write one myself."

He Dong quickly reminded him, "But the next round of the competition is going to start recording the day after tomorrow."

Qi Yuan: "Yes, so we need to hurry."

As soon as he finished speaking, someone in the audience shouted, "Well done!"

Qi Yuan glanced at it; it seemed that the one who called out was a stranger.

However, someone immediately started clapping, and Su Muluo was the one leading the applause.

Although Qi Yuan thought this guy was being a bit deliberate, everyone else felt that the applause wasn't out of place at all.

Regardless of what kind of performance they can deliver the day after tomorrow, just the fact that they dare to say they still want to create original works at this time is quite rock and roll.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"Cheer up!"

Sun Man sat on the sofa with her legs crossed, looking at the five big men in front of her with a slight frown.

These five men were wearing leather jackets, some with tattoos, some with dreadlocks, but standing in front of her, they looked like a group of students facing their homeroom teacher.

Of course, the facts are pretty much the same.

As a senior manager at Jufeng Music, Sun Man is also considered the manager of the Titans band. However, she is the kind of manager who wields considerable power and is exceptionally assertive.

For the Titans, it's like having their livelihood in someone else's hands; they have no say in the matter.

That single word, "Cheer up!" made the five people stand up straighter.

Sun Man continued the conversation: "Tell me the truth, what's going on between you and Chunri Ying? Zhao Xukun, they're all watching you, what's going on?"

Lead singer Zhao Xukun scratched his head: "It was just a little argument, nothing serious, just a minor thing."

Guitarist Li Qiye chimed in, "It's really a small matter, Sister Man. That Qi Yuan is really arrogant, but we're not going to bother with him..."

“I know Qi Yuankuang,” Sun Man said, her gaze intense. “I’m asking, how did he offend you?”

At this moment, the drummer with dreadlocks, Afei, said, "Zhao Xukun wants to pick up girls. All three girls in Spring Day Film are pretty, and he likes the guitarist the most."

Zhao Xukun and Li Qiye glared angrily at Afei, but the next second, they couldn't use their eyes to condemn their teammate's unfairness.

Sun Man slammed her hand on the armrest: "Those three girls are all minors! What the hell are you trying to do?"