Sparkle's newest update looked obedient at first glance. The core line said Yang requested a song that avoided commercial formulas. Yang Ruoqian stared at it for several seconds, trying to decide whether this was finally the kind of ordinary mistake that could stay ordinary.
On paper, nothing about the worse-song request looked like an achievement. That was why Yang Ruoqian liked it. A dull, legal, operationally reasonable problem was far more beautiful to him than any public praise.
In the file, every cost had a respectable name: revision hours, mixing fees, unused takes, and the sort of professional patience that burned cash quietly. Respectable costs were the best kind, because they could lose money without looking like deliberate sabotage.
