Chapter 101: Finished? Are You Kidding Me?

After Wang Mo downloaded the song from the email, Yuan Xiong had already come out of the kitchen.

“Dinner’s ready!”

Three dishes and a soup.

Spicy stir-fried pork, braised eggplant, pan-fried tofu, plus a seaweed egg soup.

Simple, yet filled with the comforting taste of home.

Especially since Yuan Xiong was quite skilled in the kitchen, Wang Mo ended up eating three big bowls of rice. Only then did he rub his belly, sigh contentedly, and voluntarily stand up to wash the dishes.

Yuan Xiong took on mopping the floor.

One couldn’t help but say, if Yuan Xiong were of the opposite gender, this scene would be extraordinarily heartwarming.

But as it was, it felt somewhat awkward and out of place.

They didn’t mind that there wasn’t enough paper.

After dinner, while picking his teeth, Yuan Xiong skimmed through the request for the advertising song for Gao Niu. Shaking his head, he said, “Little Wang, I still suggest you change this gig. It’s too difficult, prone to failure.”

Wang Mo smiled. “No need to change.”

Yuan Xiong said, “You really have confidence.”

Wang Mo blinked. “Mainly because I’ve already finished it.”

The moment he said this, Yuan Xiong’s hand holding the toothpick froze mid-air.

Only the television’s sound filled the living room.

A few minutes of silence passed.

Then Yuan Xiong tossed the toothpick into the trash bin. “Big brother, don’t joke about this.”

Although Wang Mo liked to tease him usually, this was a matter to take seriously.

To Yuan Xiong, it felt like Wang Mo was teasing him again.

Finished already?

You’re telling me you wrapped up this order that’s been troubling the entire Chinese composition circle for a whole month, all while I was cooking?

That’s nonsense, isn’t it?

Yet Wang Mo’s expression remained unchanged, a faint smile lingering.

Watching him, Yuan Xiong’s heart began to race.

Tentatively, he asked, “Are you… serious?”

Wang Mo: “What else?”

“…”

Yuan Xiong took a deep breath. “Alright, I’ll take your word you finished it. But are you messing with me on purpose?”

From cooking to finishing, it was barely over an hour.

Even with a surge of inspiration, that time frame wasn’t enough.

So in Yuan Xiong’s eyes, Wang Mo was either talking nonsense or had slapped together some music sheets to joke around.

Wang Mo didn’t explain further but pushed the laptop toward Yuan Xiong. “Just in time for you to listen and give some feedback.”

Yuan Xiong looked deeply into Wang Mo’s eyes and found no trace of mockery.

Only then did he nod, put on his headphones, and open the digital sample.

Even though he had witnessed many miracles created by Wang Mo, Yuan Xiong still remained skeptical.

After all, the last time Wang Mo wrote the ending theme for “Timeless Fate,” it took him two whole days.

Two days to create a song was already astonishing.

But now…

Wang Mo had taken less than two hours.

He glanced at the song title: “Sour and Sweet, That’s Me.”

Yuan Xiong nodded; the title suited the characteristics of the yogurt drink product well enough, so it was acceptable.

He hoped the song wasn’t some kind of parody.

The electronic female voice was a bit unusual but didn’t affect his judgment.

At first, he couldn’t tell if the singing was good or bad, as he wasn’t a professional musician.

But soon, when the chorus began:

“I like sour and sweet,

That’s truly me,

Every day feels fresh and new,

My picky taste buds

Have the most unique distinction.”

Yuan Xiong suddenly sat up straight, every hair on his body standing on end.

Especially seeing the lyrics alongside the clear image of Gao Niu’s yogurt product, and then hearing the singing at that moment, he felt electric currents surge through him, his body nearly tingling.

“This song… fits the product way too perfectly, doesn’t it?”

Yuan Xiong swallowed hard, his gaze growing serious.

When the song ended, he listened again.

While listening, he naturally replaced the electronic female voice in his mind with that of a sweet young girl.

This substitution made his heart tremble even more as he listened.

Finally…

After the second replay, Yuan Xiong sat quietly savoring it for a while before removing his headphones and looking at Wang Mo with an incredulous expression.

“This song… you really wrote it in the time it took me to cook a meal?”

Wang Mo replied, “Time doesn’t matter. Brother Xiong, why don’t you give your comments first? Does this song meet the requirements for the advertising theme?”

Yuan Xiong, however, didn’t answer directly, sighing, “Two million… that’s a bit of a loss.”

Wang Mo, quick-witted, immediately understood what Yuan Xiong meant and smiled brightly.

Yuan Xiong rubbed his temples and pondered for a moment. “Little Wang, selling this song to Gao Niu for two million is such a pity. I’ll see if I can persuade them to raise the price.”

Wang Mo’s eyes lit up. “Is that possible?”

Yuan Xiong: “That’s my job.”

…

The next day.

Just after nine in the morning, Yuan Xiong dragged Wang Mo to Liu Zhengwen’s office.

Yuan Xiong’s expression was serious. “General Manager Liu, let’s have a proper discussion about the order Wang Mo took on yesterday.”

Liu Zhengwen read the room, stood up immediately, and explained, “Brother Yuan, hear me out first. Wang Mo chose the Gao Niu advertising song order on his own. I told him from the start that it was very difficult, but he insisted. Don’t put the blame on me.”

Yuan Xiong’s expression twisted oddly.

Liu Zhengwen hurried on, “If you didn’t agree with his choice, you could have switched it anytime. Yesterday’s film and TV orders, game music orders, none of them were bad.”

As he spoke, he opened a drawer to look for documents.

“Wait,” Yuan Xiong stopped him, a half-smile playing on his lips. “General Manager Liu, I’m not here to ask Wang Mo to change orders.”

Liu Zhengwen breathed a secret sigh of relief, then smiled warmly. “See? Wang Mo is a composing genius. A mere advertising song won’t faze him. And this order pays the most, which suits him best. Personally, I’m very optimistic that he’ll produce a good song.

By the way… Little Wang, have you carefully studied Gao Niu’s requirements? Need more detailed info? I already had a word with them, said we have a top composer on the job, asked them to be patient, and offered ongoing support. But I didn’t say it was you—‘Silent’—who took the order.”

Wang Mo smiled. “No need for more materials, General Manager Liu.”

Liu Zhengwen held a thick stack of files. “I think you still should have them. The more detailed the info, the easier it might be for you to find inspiration.”

“No,” Wang Mo explained, “I’ve already finished the order. The song’s in your email. You can check it.”

With a clatter, the files slipped from Liu Zhengwen’s hand.

He stood frozen for a moment before asking, “What did you say?”

Wang Mo repeated himself.

Liu Zhengwen stood there dumbfounded again, then hurriedly grabbed his laptop, opening the email at lightning speed.

He downloaded the song file, put on the headphones, clicked play.

Minutes later.

When the song ended, Liu Zhengwen took off his headphones, looking at Wang Mo as if he were a monster.

His mouth opened, wanting to say something, but all he managed was: “Freak!”

Those two words were all he could think of to describe Wang Mo.

Beside him, Yuan Xiong saw Liu Zhengwen’s reaction and smiled faintly, thinking, If I told you this song was made in the time it took me to cook dinner, you’d probably faint!

After a long moment, Liu Zhengwen looked at Yuan Xiong. “Brother Yuan, since Wang Mo already finished the song, why did you want to discuss this order with me?”

Yuan Xiong’s voice was low. “Because of the price.”

Liu Zhengwen was slightly taken aback, then quickly realized. “It’s too low?”

Yuan Xiong: “What do you think?”

Liu Zhengwen immediately nodded firmly. “Definitely too low!”

Yuan Xiong smiled. “Great minds think alike. That’s why we need to negotiate properly.”

…

Gao Niu Group.

This dairy conglomerate, now valued near one hundred billion yuan, was experiencing booming success in China.

Especially as the living standards of the Chinese people improved, many parents increasingly cared about their children’s nutrition, buying various milk products. This drove the sales of Gao Niu’s brands ever higher.

However,

Despite the many brands under Gao Niu, none had a proprietary theme song.

In this diversified era, that was considered outdated.

So the company decided to start with their “Yogurt Drink” brand and commission a custom advertising theme song to boost product influence and align with international trends.

Yet, over a month after sending out the order, they still hadn’t received a satisfactory piece.

One day,

The director in charge of Yogurt Drink’s promotion looked displeased. “Our product is about to launch, but we still haven’t nailed a theme song. What’s going on?”

“We’re working on it,” said the advertising manager, wiping sweat from his brow. “In the past month, we received over a hundred song submissions, but none matched our product’s theme, hence the delay. The good news is… the Composition Department Manager at Yunhai Media said they have a heavyweight composer working on it now. We should hear good news soon.”

“Hmph!”

The director sneered coldly. “Didn’t Yunhai Media already take the order before? But all three songs they delivered were no good. And you still trust them? Are you making excuses to dodge responsibility, or have you completely given up?”

“Well, um…”

The advertising manager’s forehead was beading with sweat.

Just then,

His phone rang.

He was about to hang up when the director narrowed his eyes. “If it’s work-related, answer it!”

The manager wiped his forehead and picked up.

After a few words, his expression darkened.

Hanging up, he cautiously said to the director, “Director Luo, it’s a call from Yunhai Media. They said they can definitely do the order, but the two million yuan price is a bit low. Unless… the price goes up, they can’t promise to create a satisfactory piece.”

“Raise the price?”

The director’s brow furrowed, his tone colder. “Are they trying to hold us ransom? Fine. Tell them price is no object. If they can deliver a satisfying advertising theme song, I’ll give them three million! But if the quality’s no good, not a cent.”

“Okay… understood.”

The manager took a deep breath, redialed, and conveyed the message.

Only then did he hang up.

The meeting continued.

Half an hour later, his phone rang again.

Instantly,

The room fell silent.

Everyone, including the director, fixed their eyes on the manager.

He looked at the caller ID and answered once more.

Moments later, his face turned utterly incredulous.

When the busy signal came through, he said in a trembling voice to the director, “Director Luo, Yunhai Media said that after the price increase, their composer’s inspiration exploded immediately. They’ve already finished the song, and… they’ve sent it to my email.”

“…”

“…”

“…”

Everyone in the conference room wore expressions of disbelief.

The director stared at the manager and after a moment said slowly and clearly, “Manager He, are you kidding us?”

(The End of This Chapter)