Chapter 471: 495 Goo Hara's Path to Becoming a

Just as the group was chatting more and more enthusiastically about this topic, with subjects popping up one after another, the restaurant waiter walked out from the interior carrying a tray.

The food is served.

The dishes the group had just ordered were brought out by the waiter one plate at a time and placed onto the table covered with a white tablecloth.

The entire table was soon filled to the brim, and the knives, forks, and napkins had to be shifted back and forth between the plates and dishes several times before everything was finally set.

Seeing that all the dishes had been served, Lin Xiuyuan said, "Let's eat first. These things can't be finished in a moment; we need to plan slowly."

After saying this, he picked up his fork, speared a few french fries, dipped them in the ketchup dish on the side, and then popped them into his mouth.

While chewing, he used his fork to draw a small circle in the air, meaning to put this topic aside for now and talk about it after they were full.

Upon hearing this, Goo Hara and Sulli both nodded in agreement.

After all, the things they had been discussing really couldn't be settled in the time it takes to eat a meal; it involved too many directions, and each one could be discussed for an entire evening if broken down, so there was no need to rush at this very moment.

Thus, the two of them also picked up their own cutlery and officially began to eat.

However, the fine tradition of not talking while eating or sleeping still hadn't taken root in these three people.

So, as soon as they finished chewing their first bite, they started chatting away again.

It was just that this time, the direction of their conversation had changed, talking about some lighthearted topics of the moment to see if there were any fun places worth visiting.

Or if there were any delicious restaurants to go check in at.

It wasn't until dinner was completely over and the food on the plates had been wiped clean that the three of them finally paid the bill, stood up, and left the restaurant.

After coming out of the restaurant, they didn't go straight back to the Jiudian, but instead walked slowly along the wooden boardwalk leading to the beach in the night.

In the distance, the surface of the sea shimmered with a layer of fragmented silver light under the moonlight, and the sound of the waves hitting the sand was softer and slower in rhythm than during the day.

They found a corner of the beach with no one around.

Then, Sulli and Goo Hara kicked off their sandals again, carried them in their hands, and walked side-by-side with Lin Xiuyuan on the beach; the three shadows were stretched long under the moonlight, overlapping in a crooked way on the sand.

As they walked, the topic that had been temporarily shelved at the dinner table naturally floated back up.

And Goo Hara, who had been turning Lin Xiuyuan's suggestion over and over in her mind while eating, also turned her head to look at him and asked, "Xiuyuan, if I follow your idea, what kind of songs do you think I should choose?"

"Categories? What do you mean?" Although Lin Xiuyuan had a direction in his mind, his professional knowledge regarding music production and distribution could only be considered half-baked; he wasn't entirely clear on many terms and subdivided genres.

So much so that he didn't quite understand the question Goo Hara asked.

"I mean there are many types of song categories, especially over in Nihon." Goo Hara gestured with her hands as she walked, counting them off one by one.

"There are Idol-oriented ones, the kind that are more energetic and cute. There are also those with fast rhythms and simple, catchy melodies. There are City Pop or rock-style ones, and then there's Electronic Music or R&B. The audience for each route is quite different, so I want to hear your thoughts."

After listening to the categories Goo Hara explained, Lin Xiuyuan didn't answer immediately.

He walked a few more steps on the beach, pondered for a moment, and then suddenly thought of a name, so he stopped abruptly and turned around to look at Goo Hara.

"By the way, Hela, do you know a person named Lisa?"

"Hmm?" The first thing that came to mind for Goo Hara when asked was the name of a girl group member she had seen in short videos from that other space-time.

A Thai Idol, excellent at singing and dancing, extremely popular, and with high name recognition globally.

Goo Hara thought that was who Lin Xiuyuan was talking about, so she said what she had in mind.

But it was met with Lin Xiuyuan shaking his head; after a smile, he waved his hand gently and explained, "Not that one. I'm talking about a singer from Nihon, also named Lisa, or rather, Oribe Risa."

Seeing that he had said the name, Goo Hara searched her mind, but still had no impression of her.

She knew quite a few divas in Nihon, but she didn't know them all, and there were many she had only heard of, with even fewer she could remember.

So she shook her head very honestly, "I really don't know her."

Then she followed up, "Xiuyuan, who is this person you're talking about? Will she be very famous in the future?"

"How should I put it? Actually, she already has some fame now."

Lin Xiuyuan started walking slowly forward again as he spoke, the three of them resuming their stroll along the beach, his voice interweaving with the sound of the waves.

"And the path she is taking, I think you can take it too, Hela, and perhaps even go further."

Seeing Lin Xiuyuan speak so seriously, Sulli, who had been holding Goo Hara's arm and listening quietly to the two discuss, couldn't help but speak up.

"Oppa, since that's the case, don't keep us in suspense. Tell us about it. If it's really possible, Unnie can start preparing when she goes back to Tokyo this time."

Seeing both of them staring at him for an answer, Lin Xiuyuan didn't keep them in suspense any longer.

He organized his thoughts from beginning to end and then began to lay them out one by one.

"Actually, it's nothing much; I just want Hela to see if she can find some resources like an Anime opening theme. Of course, not just any Anime will do; you have to find those with good reputations that can become hits."

He paused here and glanced at Goo Hara.

"That is, according to the guidance of the future, find those good resources in advance. For example, which Anime will explode next year, which theme song will become a phenomenal hit—you can know this information in advance from the year 2025. So as long as you can get it, the ready-made song library is right there; you just take it and use it."

When Goo Hara heard this, her eyes had become very focused, and her steps on the beach slowed down, moving almost inch by inch.

"Then you can use the influence of the Anime to stabilize your national affinity first."

"You have to know that besides having a wide audience, Anime fans actually have very high stickiness. A good opening theme can make a singer's name be remembered for many years along with that work. If this step is taken well, your foundation in Nihon will be set."

After finishing this, Lin Xiuyuan suddenly extended his index finger and pointed forward.

"After stabilizing the base, we will slowly release some excellent little songs, just put out some high-quality singles, one by one. Let those who know you because of the Anime but don't understand you yet slowly open their memories and remember your name."

"Walk both paths together; the Anime path paves the way in front, and the single path follows behind, coordinating with each other."

"After a year or two, when you have a group of loyal Anime fans and some casual music listeners, and your national popularity has slowly stabilized, at that time, we will bring out a truly solid, classic hit song to top the charts, and suck in all the popularity and traffic accumulated over the previous two years in one go."

"By then, Hela, your path as a diva will be complete."

During the entire process of Lin Xiuyuan speaking, Goo Hara and Sulli both stopped in their tracks simultaneously, standing quietly on the beach, listening to him finish sentence by sentence.

The waves beside them were still washing over the beach in ripples.

But the two of them were no longer paying attention to that, because Lin Xiuyuan's words had laid out a complete path for a singer from zero to one right in front of them.

Every step had specific requirements, every stage had clear goals; it was no longer the empty PUA from before, but a practical operational plan that could be broken down and executed.

It was just that their first reaction after hearing it was surprisingly consistent.

Both of them felt that this plan sounded very direct, perhaps even a bit too simple.

So Goo Hara asked this confusion in her heart directly, her brows furrowing slightly; it wasn't questioning, she just felt it was a bit unbelievable, "Xiuyuan, can success really be this simple? Why does it sound so strange to me, like there's no difficulty at all?"

Xueli, who was to the side, nodded along; she felt the same way.

"Is it really simple?" Lin Xiuyuan looked at the two confused young women before him and laughed.

After laughing, he raised a finger, "First of all, the reason you think it's simple is because according to my idea, Hela has to be able to know which Anime are good, which will be hits, and which won't."

"But if there were no guidance from over there, no information brought back from the future, would you still think it's simple?"

"Every year, Nihon releases so many Anime; just keeping up with the new shows is impossible. Which one will explode and which one will flop, even the most experienced producers in the industry can't be sure. Do you think a person can hit the mark one hundred percent based on their own judgment?"

Goo Hara pursed her lips and didn't speak, but she had already taken it to heart.

Then, Lin Xiuyuan raised a second finger.

"And then there's the matter of songs; you know better than I do how hard it is to get a good song."

He swept his gaze between Goo Hara and Xueli, and both of them couldn't help but nod along.

As members of a girl group, they were very clear that the things happening every day in the circle where people fought tooth and nail for a good song were real.

Songs from those top-tier producers simply couldn't be obtained through hard work and sincerity alone.

Seeing the two nod, Lin Xiuyuan smiled again.

"But now, if Hela can find the resources, she can copy them directly from the future. Is this simple? Who else can do this?"

"Besides us, is there a second person in the whole world who can know in advance which song will be a hit next year, which producer will write the best song of their career three years from now, or which Anime theme song will dominate the download charts for half a year?"

Speaking to this point, Lin Xiuyuan looked at the two again, "So the premise of all this is built on us having a God's-eye view, which is why you think it's simple."

"If you really didn't know how the future would turn out, facing a fog, would you know if what lies ahead is an abyss, the ocean, or a bright path?"

The sound of the waves came crashing in, carrying white foam onto the beach, then slowly receding.

Goo Hara and Xueli looked at each other, both seeing the same thing in the other's eyes.

Shock, and the reflection that followed.

That kind of shock wasn't fear, but the sudden realization of what a terrifying cognitive blind spot they had been in for so long.

They seemed to have grown accustomed to the information and resources Lin Xiuyuan provided, accustomed to having the Anywhere Door to travel through time and space, knowing the various trends of the future in advance.

They were so accustomed to it that they treated these things as a matter-of-course background setting.

Yet they forgot what an unattainable premise this had.

Then Xueli spoke first, or rather, admitted her mistake, "Alright, oppa, I guess this year has been too smooth, and for a moment I didn't think about these things. I will reflect on this in the future."

"I wasn't scolding you, what are you reflecting on? This is just a fact." Lin Xiuyuan laughed when he saw Xueli's earnest look of admitting her mistake.

He immediately reached out and pressed lightly on the top of Xueli's head, his palm covering her soft hair with a very light touch.

"I said this just to let you not think only about relying on the people and things here; you can refer more to information from the future. Sometimes, ideas can be a bit crazier."

By broadening your horizons and incorporating the resources and information of both time and space into your daily considerations, the things you can do will be far more than you imagine.

At this moment, Goo Hara, who had been quietly digesting Lin Xiuyuan's analysis, suddenly asked a new question.

"Then according to what you said, Xiuyuan, why don't I just release a song that has been verified over there to be a big hit? Wouldn't it be faster to play a trump card right from the start?"

Her line of thinking was very direct: since she could copy homework, why not copy the most impressive page?

After hearing this, Lin Xiuyuan didn't immediately negate it, but just frowned, "The reason is very simple; I'm worried that the song will be a hit but you won't be, and personally, I think this possibility is quite high."

"Why?" Goo Hara didn't understand.

Regarding this, Lin Xiuyuan shook his head and then stated the point he was worried about.

"I don't know, I just feel that way. Because I've seen too many cases on short video platforms where a song is very popular, but no one knows who the singer is."

"That's why I thought I'd tell you to take it one step at a time. After you've established a firm footing in every circle, then bring out a good song to seal the deal. By that time, the person will be popular, and the song will be popular; the two combined will be the true ascent to the top. That would be better."

"Anyway, this path has already been walked by others and verified to be successful."

"In this situation, you only need to walk steadily step by step, and you will surely become a better existence."

"So I don't think there's any need to take a risky shortcut and try to reach the sky in one step."

"If the song becomes a hit but you don't, that's one thing, but if someone else takes it to cover, taking away all the traffic that should have belonged to you, it would really be a loss that outweighs the gain."

Speaking to this point, Lin Xiuyuan suddenly smiled, his tone becoming lighter, "So, take it slow, no need to rush."

Just as he finished that last sentence, his arm was suddenly held by someone from the side.

Without hesitation, without testing, she just held his arm quite straightforwardly.

Then, Goo Hara's voice came from the side.

"Mm, I'll listen to you."

Following that, his other arm was also held, and then came Xueli's laughter, "Hee hee, I'm looking forward to the day you become a famous songstress, unnie."