"This… this is way too exaggerated, isn't it?"
Chen Xiaoxi's voice trembled slightly, her eyes shimmering with disbelief.
Zhang Yichen's lips curved into a calm smile. "It was within expectations."
"You're way too confident!" Li Yue complained, though her grin was impossible to hide. "But honestly, this time… you two really deserve it!"
Chen Xiaoxi took a deep breath, her eyes reddening slightly. "I didn't expect this… I really didn't expect results like this."
Zhang Yichen stepped to her side and gently patted her shoulder. "This is just the beginning. The road ahead will be more stressful… but also more exciting."
"Mm!" Xiaoxi nodded firmly, her confusion gradually replaced by determination.
"Huh?" Li Yue suddenly reacted again. "Wait—didn't we just earn a LOT of money?"
"Not that much," Zhang Yichen replied casually. "Xiaoxi earned a little over ten million in gross revenue. I earned more than twenty million. You earned eight or nine million."
On the music platforms, each song was priced at two ren—a unified rate.
But of course, they didn't receive the full amount.
The platform took its cut.
Zhang Yichen and Li Yue had signed standard newcomer contracts—50/50 splits.
Xiaoxi, as an established singer with her own platform account, had a 70/30 split.
And after that… taxes. Another twenty percent gone.
So although Yichen's gross revenue exceeded twenty million, he only took home a little over eight million.
Xiaoxi ended up with around six million.
Yue received just over three million.
"Good lord… we earned nearly ten million in such a short time? If it's ten million a day, that's three billion a year!"
Yue counted on her fingers, stunned.
No wonder…
No wonder so many people want to become celebrities.
Money came THIS fast?!
For a moment, she didn't even want to be a CEO anymore.
Luckily, she didn't dare act on that impulse. Otherwise, she knew she would regret it immediately.
"Is that a lot?" Zhang Yichen glanced at her indifferently. "After the split and taxes, you only earned three million."
"Uh… right…" Li Yue looked awkward. As a CEO, she had momentarily forgotten something so basic.
Their company treated its livestreamers the exact same way.
"By the way, are we continuing the hype tomorrow?" she quickly changed the subject.
"Of course," Zhang Yichen said without hesitation. "Tomorrow's push will help us break into the overall charts."
"Tomorrow's hype… won't it be too extreme?" Xiaoxi's tone wavered.
Zhang Yichen lifted his head. His eyes were sharp, his smile faint.
"Too extreme? In this industry, the only thing to fear… is having no fire."
His voice was steady and absolute.
"We're already at the center of attention. One step back—and we fall straight off the cliff."
Xiaoxi frowned, struggling. "But… people will say you're living off a woman," she muttered softly.
Tomorrow's campaign would "expose" her identityand the "truth" about her illness.
It would clean up her image.
But the one who would suffer… was Zhang Yichen.
Both sets of photos had been taken that same morning.
In tomorrow's release, she would be wearing that light-purple dress.
Yichen would be wearing the light-purple shirt he had just bought.
The two of them looked unmistakably like a couple.
So whether they hyped it or not, he would be labeled a "kept man."
A stain he might never wash away.
Originally, she had agreed to the hype to boost his popularity.
But now… he was already famous.
She worried that more hype would only create unnecessary noise.
That wouldn't be worth it.
"Alright, stop thinking about it. It's not a big deal."
Zhang Yichen turned to her, eyes calm.
"Since I chose this path, I made peace with everything that comes with it."
He paused, lips curling slightly.
"Besides… what's wrong with being a kept man? If someone offered me soft rice to eat, why would I force myself to chew hard, undercooked rice?"
Xiaoxi's fingers tightened around her bowl, her knuckles turning pale. Her expression grew complicated.
"It's still not fair to you…"
"What's unfair?" Yichen cut in gently. "This industry is a battlefield of fame. People only care about the spectacle."
Xiaoxi fell silent for a long moment before whispering, "Your reputation… doesn't it matter to you?"
"Does caring change anything?" Yichen chuckled, a faint coldness flashing through his eyes. "This world only cares about results. Who cares about the process?"
He paused, his voice softening.
"Besides… your success is my success. Isn't that enough?"
"You… you're such an idiot." Xiaoxi's heart trembled, her nose stinging slightly.
Li Yue, who had been listening quietly, finally spoke.
"To be honest, I also think this move is risky. If public opinion spins out of control, you two might get roasted alive."
"I'll release one song a day. I'll dominate the top ten every month. If I block the entire chart myself, what kind of public opinion can't I control?"
"And if that's not enough, Xiaoxi can release songs daily too. If the two of us wipe out the entire industry's rankings together, I refuse to believe public opinion won't bend."
"And if that's STILL not enough, you can release songs too. I can write three to five thousand songs. If we go all out, we'll become the final bosses of this era's music scene."
Yichen's tone remained calm, but the weight behind his words was undeniable.
"So cool!" Li Yue immediately gave him a thumbs-up.
"But seriously… can you really write three to five thousand songs? That's a LOT of money!"
"I can compose on the spot. You've seen my ability," Yichen replied evenly.
Li Yue narrowed her eyes. "I still don't completely believe that. Should I test you again?"
Xiaoxi looked at him expectantly.
They obviously just wanted to stir up trouble.
Yichen sighed helplessly.
"Fine. Go ahead. Test me."
"Then answer this—what do you think is the most romantic thing you can do for Xiaoxi?"
"Yue! Don't be ridiculous!" Xiaoxi blushed, flustered—yet secretly curious.
"The most romantic thing?"
Yichen froze for a moment.
To be honest, at this point, not copying would feel wrong.
"Well, since you asked for 'the most romantic thing,' the song title will be—'The Most Romantic Thing.'"
He didn't feel the slightest guilt.
He had copied so much already.
Not copying now would feel strange.