Chapter 43: Write a Song!

Yuan Hong stared wide-eyed, "Is this *Xiao Fang*?"

Shen Yan nodded, "Yeah... a rock version..."

Liu Shishi looked at Yuan Hong, who wore a deep, pensive look, and asked with some uncertainty, "The original doesn't go like that, does it?"

"If I sang the original, how would I show off my skills?" Shen Yan chuckled, "I could even sing the *Butterfly* version of *Desk Mate*!"

Before Shishi could speak, Shen Yan had already started singing: "Tomorrow, will you recall the diary you wrote yesterday~ Tomorrow, will you still care about the one who cried the most? The teachers can't even remember~"

Yuan Hong couldn't help himself: "...Is that Lao Lang's *Desk Mate*?"

"...Yeah!"

Shishi chimed in, "This is clearly *Digimon*!"

Shen Yan was surprised: "...You even know *Digimon*?"

"I'm not allowed to watch *Digimon*? Agumon evolve—Greymon!"

"Then let me test you, what is Agumon's ultimate evolution?"

"WarGreymon, obviously," Shishi waved her hand, "Actually, the part that left the deepest impression on me was Mimi's hat..."

That legendary hat-flying scene!

When Palmon came to see her off and tripped, Mimi was so startled that her hat flew right off... and then the background music kicked in.

Shen Yan immediately belted out: "Mugandaina yume no ato no yurusenai yo no naka ja, sou sa konshiki hazure mo waruku wa nai kana, Stay shisou na imēji wo sometai gikochinai tsubasa demo~"

"...You actually sing really well... Do you know Japanese?"

Shen Yan shook his head, "No, I just memorized it by brute force!"

"Huh? You can memorize it like that?"

"Listen to it a few dozen times, and it sticks..."

Shishi was dumbfounded: "You can remember all that?"

"My memory is pretty good..." After a moment of thought, Shen Yan asked Yuan Hong, "Brother Yuan, is there something you need?"

"Nothing much, just wanted to check in..."

"Then once my EP is released, please help me promote it on Weibo."

"Small matter!"

Shishi asked, "Why aren't you asking me to promote it?"

"...I just didn't think of it yet," Shen Yan immediately buttered up, "When it launches next month, please help me promote it, Shishi!"

"We'll see when the time comes. Let me hear if it's any good first!"

"It should be pretty decent. Five songs, three folk and two rock... I wrote all the music, lyrics, and arrangements myself!"

<div>"...Wow, all by yourself?"</div>

Shen Yan gave a wry smile, "I couldn't afford to hire anyone..."

"Then sing one for me to hear~"

"I don't have an instrument with me... Oh, right," Shen Yan pulled out his phone, "I saved them on my phone, have a listen!"

Shen Yan found the tracks and hit play directly...

The first song was *Light*, with no intro, the vocals coming straight through: "The light falls on your face, as cute as always, every inch of you, filling up the desire~"

Then *Little Half*... also with no intro: "Daring not to look back, glancing left and right, an unnatural secret affection, secretly striking up a conversation with endless restlessness, testing the waters by saying goodnight—so empty yet heartbreaking..."

*Roaming Horse* had an intro featuring piano and guzheng...

Liu Shishi had initially approached the listening session with a casual attitude, ready to offer a few polite words of praise regardless of the quality...

After listening to all three songs, she fell somewhat silent!

Even without any formal knowledge of music theory, she could tell that the standard of these three songs was not low.

Though she couldn't quite catch the lyrics, the emotional delivery was spot on...

And it was very pleasant to the ear!

Once *Roaming Horse* finished playing, Shishi asked, "...What does *Roaming Horse* mean?"

"Strolling on horseback to view flowers—riding past things quickly. The whole song expresses a single idea: you thought I was indifferent and didn't love you enough. But only after you grew up did you realize I had been waiting on the opposite shore for you to become mature and brave... But times have changed, and what's missed is missed."

"Oh!"

Shen Yan took back the phone she handed back: "There are two more rock songs... do you want to keep listening?"

"...Send them to me via Bluetooth..."

Bluetooth file transfer...

Tsk tsk, such a distant operation!

Yuan Hong chimed in, "Send them to me too..."

Shen Yan nodded, "Sure!"

……

As the third volume of *Throne of Magical Arcana* approached its finale, the activity in the comment section had already ranked in the top three across the entire internet... The monthly ticket ranking was second only to *Soul Land*, *Coiling Dragon*, and *Otherworld Magical Doctor*, placing fourth...

Next month, *Yang God* was entering the ticket battle!

The ranking would probably drop even further...

Still, Shen Yan didn't really mind. The average serialized subscription for *Throne of Magical Arcana* had already surpassed 6,000...

It had been serialized for three months, and the monthly income was already over 40,000.

From Qidian alone, the monthly royalty payouts exceeded 30,000.

Additionally, his editor had discussed simplified Chinese publication and comic adaptation rights with him.

Taibai Literature Publishing House had a very close partnership with Qidian; many of Tang Jiasanhao's books had publication agreements signed with them...

Basically, all books in the top ten of Qidian's monthly ticket rankings had sold their simplified Chinese publication rights.

The sales figures for *Soul Land* were exceptionally high, with cumulative sales exceeding 35.5 million copies. Furthermore, the paperback and collector's editions of the *Soul Land* comic had sold a combined 2.45 million copies...

In the original timeline, the physical books for *Throne of Magical Arcana* also sold quite well, with total sales exceeding 2 million copies—though that was largely due to the author's own fame.

And it was primarily thanks to the smooth IP development!

Actually, once Shen Yan became famous, *Throne of Magical Arcana* would sell very well too.

There was no rush for that.

You can't grow fat in a single bite; just taking things step by step was fine!

……

On the set of *Weaving Love*, the morning shoot concluded, and lunch was served at noon.

Shen Yan chatted with director Li Guoli about taking leave... Director Li approved it, and by the way, asked him to write a song suitable for *Weaving Love*...

Suitable for *Weaving Love*...

Damn it, that was hard...

Mainly because the show's style and genre were difficult to categorize~

Never mind, he'd think about it later!

(Asking for recommendation votes)

The weather was still scorching hot, and Shen Yan didn't feel much like eating...

Seeing his lack of appetite, Shishi asked, "What's wrong? Why don't you want to eat?"

"...Not really hungry right now..."

"Should I get you some chili paste?"

"...Alright!"

Shen Yan perked up and managed a box and a half of rice with the chili paste...

Shishi handed him an apple: "Did you just go ask for leave?"

Shen Yan didn't hide it: "Yeah... asked for five days off!"

"Why are you taking leave?"

"I have to go cameo on the neighboring set of *Holy Monk Ji Gong*..."

"Huh? A cameo?"

"...A big sister introduced the gig to me before!"

"A big sister?" Liu Shishi immediately perked up: "Who?"

Shen Yan: "Yang Xue... Jiang Yuyan from *The Proud Twins*... the one who killed everyone in the entire cast until only the title was left..."

"How do you know her?"

Shen Yan explained, "We crossed paths when I was on the crew of *The Stages of Youth*. She heard I was struggling to make ends meet, so she recommended me to the crew of *Holy Monk Ji Gong*. Since things are looking up for me now... I negotiated with the crew to swap to a guest role..."

Liu Shishi roughly figured it out and teased, "Are things really looking up for you?"

"Wow, I'm acting alongside Liu Shishi now, and in two shows at that. What do you think?"

Liu Shishi almost reached out to cover his mouth, feeling a mix of embarrassment and anger: "...Smooth-talker, you just love making fun of me~"

Shen Yan stared at her face, and unable to resist, leaned in to steal a kiss...

Liu Shishi noticed his movement, hurriedly dodged, and threatened, "...What do you think you're doing? Careful or I'll hit you!"

"I want to!"

"What?"

"Nothing..." Shen Yan pointed behind her: "Yuan Hong is coming!"

Shishi immediately turned her head, while Shen Yan leaned forward. Sure enough, when she turned back, she bumped right into a kiss with him...

Before she could speak, Shen Yan took the initiative: "Wow, what are you trying to do? Coveting my good looks?"