Chapter 302: Submitting the Draft

P. S. It's the end of the month again. I'll take my usual day off tomorrow—no update for one day…………

Main text:

After eating the candy, Luo Quan walked out alone with her backpack.

Lunchtime was still a while off; using this time, she was going to visit Engineer Zheng's office.

During the summer break, Engineer Zheng had personally summoned her to school and assigned a "national-level" creative task. He gave her six months, but for Luo Quan, half a day was more than enough.

Yet since this task was so important, submitting the draft in less than half a day might seem disrespectful. After all, it was a national commission, so Luo Quan deliberately delayed submission until today.

Luo Quan printed out all the sheet music, stacked it together—a thick pile, resembling an epic masterpiece.

But the song itself wasn't particularly long—just over five minutes. Still, in terms of grandeur, it was undeniably epic; from the opening notes, a sweeping, soul-stirring feeling surged forth, one of the most favored opening BGMs for Chinese historical documentaries.

Holding the sheet music, Luo Quan knocked on Engineer Zheng's office door.

Everyone was busy since the semester started; Luo Quan had worried he might be in a meeting somewhere else.

Fortunately, Engineer Zheng hadn't gone anywhere—he was just organizing documents at his desk.

"Oh, it's Luo Quan. What brings you here?" Engineer Zheng looked up and asked.

"Engineer Zheng, I've finished the piece you assigned me last time. Here's the sheet music… and also the demo recording I made." Luo Quan placed the printed sheet music on the desk, then switched her phone to the music player interface.

"So fast?" Engineer Zheng was surprised.

Although Luo Quan had previously said she could finish it within a day, to ensure quality, Engineer Zheng later messaged her, telling her not to rush—take time to refine it, polish it well—and extended the deadline to the end of the year.

He'd assumed she'd at least wait until after October, but she'd brought it to him right after summer break ended.

Luo Quan said earnestly: "I feel it's already complete. Only minor details need tweaking. I brought it to you to see if there's room for improvement."

"Then play it," Engineer Zheng said, putting on his reading glasses and picking up the sheet music, while Luo Quan tapped play.

At the song's opening, the room fell utterly silent—only the rustling of paper as Engineer Zheng turned pages.

But if you listened closely, you could hear a delicate melody. Though his vision was poor, his hearing remained sharp—and the sound was gradually growing louder.

It was a gradual build-up: after accumulating enough stillness, the grand music erupted like thunder from a clear sky—deep, powerful percussion shook the listener's soul.

Though it was only music, it effortlessly conjured in Engineer Zheng's mind an image of a glorious imperial palace—its massive gates slowly opening to reveal a vast, sweeping landscape.

Stone bricks, palaces, moats, the Golden Throne Hall, carved beams and painted rafters, magnificent and grand!

When the song ended, Engineer Zheng, still in deep listening, remained with his eyes closed. Long moments passed before he finally opened them.

"Excellent!" Engineer Zheng's voice was even more powerful than the song itself: "This piece is bold and majestic, exuding the style of a master—truly rare!"

Luo Quan smiled: "With your approval, I can rest easy."

"But if you replaced some of the instrumental parts with traditional Chinese instruments, it would be even better," Engineer Zheng mused, considering which instruments to swap in.

"I think suona, taoxun, and bianzhong would work wonderfully."

Engineer Zheng nodded: "Indeed. But the Western effect still needs multiple experiments. Still, your composition is definitely outstanding—its completion level is extremely high!"

Luo Quan asked curiously: "So will it be used directly, or will it first be compared with other student submissions from the school?"

Engineer Zheng smiled awkwardly: "You know, this composition is open to the entire Art Academy. Many of our teachers have submitted works—some even collaborative. Even though you're the first to finish, we can't just halt their creative process."

"I understand. I was just asking. Such an important piece will surely be judged against all submissions to pick the best one." Luo Quan sounded supremely confident—as if the comparison didn't matter, because the outcome was already decided.

Youth is wonderful.

Engineer Zheng sighed inwardly, then said to Luo Quan: "In a few days, the official announcement for the Forbidden City's 600th Anniversary Music Competition will go out. Our school will open a special section on the website to display student entries for public viewing. Your work will be uploaded too—first compared among students, then against the faculty."

"No problem," Luo Quan nodded. "Then I'll head back if there's nothing else."

"Go on. Study hard—your future is limitless!" As she left, Engineer Zheng reminded her once more.

Back in her dorm, she saw a message Lin Lin Yizhu had sent minutes earlier:

"We're going to the main cafeteria for lunch. Join us?"

Luo Quan replied quickly: "I'm on my way!"

There were three cafeterias on campus, all three-story buildings with cafés attached.

The main cafeteria was the oldest, largest in area, and closest to the Science Building—students' top choice after class.

Although there was a third cafeteria near the dorms, it had only recently opened, offered fewer food options, and was relatively basic—its only advantage being better decor.

Since the semester had just started, everyone had spare time, so Lin Lin Yizhu and the others preferred walking farther to the main cafeteria.

Mostly for novelty—after a month or two, they'd likely stop making the long trip.

Luo Quan, backpack on her back, headed toward the main cafeteria.

Along the way, she chatted briefly with Seeing Wen Xia and learned she'd already finished signing up and gone off-campus to eat with her roommate.

On her way, Luo Quan encountered many upperclassmen trying to approach her for WeChat.

Unlike the green freshmen, these upperclassmen clearly had experience in flirting—bold, persistent, shameless.

The upperclassmen who approached Luo Quan came in all types: rich or poor, handsome or not, fit or not.

Of course, the tall, rich, handsome ones appeared more natural; ordinary ones fumbled for her WeChat, hands trembling as they held out their phones.

But Luo Quan treated them all the same—uniformly polite refusals.

While she wouldn't give out her WeChat, her QQ account was probably already leaked—so many people added her today, it was bound to happen.

Fortunately, she barely used QQ anyway; if it leaked, it leaked.

As for WeChat, she barely used it either—only as a payment tool. Her daily updates were always posted on Bilibili.

Luo Quan's social life was simple: if you wanted to know what she was up to, just follow her Bilibili. She never posted anything on Moments, but frequently interacted warmly with fans in Bilibili's comment section—or fiercely debated trolls on Weibo.

Still, despite constant rejections, there were far too many boys in the throes of first love.

Although the Art Academy had relatively few students overall, its programs were diverse, covering nearly every popular and niche art form. With four undergraduate years plus graduate students, the total was nearly ten thousand.

With Luo Quan's current popularity, her sudden appearance on campus would cause a sensation—let alone becoming their classmate?

If no one approached her, that would be strange.

In short, people kept coming up to her the whole way.

Now Luo Quan understood why Seeing Wen Xia chose to eat off-campus.

She couldn't show impatience—even when rejecting boys, she had to smile, or someone might film it and post it online, slapping her with the label "arrogant diva."

She'd thought that by the time she reached the cafeteria, everyone would be focused on eating, and things would calm down—only to find a group of boys waiting right at the entrance.

About five or six of them, dressed fashionably, chins tilted up, eyes defiant—like protagonists from a Badaozongcai novel.

Luo Quan genuinely feared they'd step forward and say: "Woman, you've successfully caught my attention."

"Luo Quan, can I add you on WeChat?" The leader stepped forward. "I'm Shen Shen Siyao."

Maybe he was handsome. Maybe he wasn't.

But after being hit on so many times, Luo Quan was mentally drained—she had no energy to care what they looked like.

Whatever they looked like, could they just leave her alone?

Though a thousand curses swirled in her mind, for the sake of her goddess image, she forced a smile: "Sorry, I hardly use WeChat. I won't be adding new friends."

"You look unwell. Are you sick?" The boy showed concern, noticing her pale face.

"Hungry," Luo Quan answered weakly.

Shen Shen Siyao beamed: "Then let me treat you to lunch! I'll order the best steak, the finest wine!"

At the mention of wine, Luo Quan's headache worsened. She frowned slightly: "Sorry, I don't drink. Also, I've already made plans with my roommate—we're eating together."

"Ah, this…" Shen Shen Siyao had intended to invite her, but now hesitated.

But his hesitation didn't mean his companions would hold back.

One boy, bulky and rough-looking, blurted out: "Luo Quan, we heard you were coming to the cafeteria. We all rushed here from our dorms. Can't you at least give us a little face?"

Luo Quan glanced at him, treating them like fans: "Thank you for your support, but idols have personal lives. Let's respect each other's space, okay?"

The rough boy laughed: "We're not your fans."

"If you're not my fans, then I have even less reason to eat with you," Luo Quan replied firmly.

"Don't be so rude!" A skinny, monkey-like boy squawked in a shrill voice.

Shen Shen Siyao frowned at his companion: "What are you doing?!"

That was exactly what Luo Quan wanted to say.

Judging by their appearance, these boys were clearly the classic "second-generation rich kids" from novels—spoiled heirs.

In today's era, many second-generation rich kids had decent upbringing—raised with proper values, if not noble ideals, at least a basic moral compass.

But not all of them were like Senior Senior Jinggong, Leon, or Fred—gentle, refined, courteous.

After all, they were rich, raised in luxury, and grew up arrogant and dismissive—common everywhere, domestically and abroad. Just look at the previous case of Iwasaki Eishi.

In the past, Luo Quan might have exploded—she wouldn't have cursed outright, but she'd have thrown out some sarcastic remarks.

But now, her self-control was exceptional. This kind of nonsense wouldn't make her lose composure. If they kept harassing her, she'd just have to ask Engineer Zheng to handle it.

Interestingly, these guys were arguing among themselves over a few misunderstood words!

"Shen Shen Siyao, what are you pretending to be? Think standing in the middle makes you the boss?" The skinny boy clearly didn't respect Shen Shen Siyao. After being scolded, he snapped back immediately.

"Bu Lun, don't you think your words to Luo Quan were extremely rude?" Shen Shen Siyao frowned at him, regretting ever coming out with this group.

He'd only been introduced by a friend, joining a small circle of rich kids from the Art Academy—three of them he didn't even know.

Though all were rich kids, there were still differences among them.

"Who are you pretending to be? Don't you know why we're here? We're all here to hit on girls—stop talking about manners." Bu Lun stepped right up to Luo Quan, pulled out his phone: "Why is it so hard to just have dinner with us? We're not bad people. Do you think eating with us lowers your status?

Fine, name your price—how much would you charge to have dinner with us?!"

Luo Quan pinched her brow: "Are you sure your money can match mine?"

She opened her phone and pulled up her bank account balance.

"You're a singer—how rich could you possibly be…" Bu Lun's voice trailed off as he saw the balance on Luo Quan's screen.

The zeros weren't many—but the number of digits matched his phone number.

The royalty payments for the third season's album have been deposited into her account, plus the income from the first half of this year and the second half of last year.

Luo Quan's net worth has long surpassed one billion RMB, even after donating all her domestic income to charity.

Given the sales momentum of her albums overseas, by the end of this year her net worth may very well exceed two billion.

In cash, Luo Quan might have more liquid cash than the fathers of these second-generation heirs can even access!

P. S. Thank you to the reader Liuli Liuli Bingcan for the book coins—appreciated!