After dinner, Li Yue finally began holding Zhang Yichen accountable.
Marketing stunts, imitations, donations—those were one thing.
But selling albums at a loss?
That was another matter entirely.
One idea after another—she genuinely couldn't understand what Zhang Yichen was thinking.
Working with him felt like riding a roller coaster, her nerves constantly stretched to the limit.
"Well… the album sold ten million copies," Zhang Yichen reported the results.
After all, Li Yue was the company's CEO. Respect was still necessary when it mattered.
"What did you say?" Li Yue shot to her feet. "Wasn't it five million?"
"Uh…" Zhang Yichen scratched his head and smiled awkwardly. "After you left, I sold for a few more minutes."
"But don't worry. With sales this high, there's absolutely no way we're losing money."
"Think about it—when you calculated the costs, didn't you base it on one million copies?"
"Now the costs are spread across ten million copies. How could we not make money?"
"And since it's online sales, there's no distributor, no warehouse costs, no labor—"
His fingers tapped lightly on the table as he explained everything step by step.
"That's true." Li Yue wrapped her fingers around her teacup, her expression complicated.
"But with sales this high, the follow-up workload will skyrocket. Logistics, after-sales service… everything needs to keep up. If our reputation collapses, the consequences would be disastrous."
"Exactly." Zhang Yichen nodded, his expression turning serious.
"We need to prepare in advance—speed up production and shipping, expand customer service. We can't keep fans waiting too long."
"Alright. I'll arrange everything first thing tomorrow morning."
Li Yue set down her teacup, her eyes filled with renewed determination.
Zhang Yichen's analysis made her realize that she hadn't been thinking broadly enough.
She'd gotten stuck in her own mental loop.
Now that ten million albums had been sold, her job was to manage everything else properly.
She believed she could handle it.
"Oh, right." Li Yue suddenly thought of something.
"Do we still continue the remaining two marketing pushes and the press conference?"
"No need for now," Zhang Yichen replied.
"If we keep pushing, it might backfire."
Initially, he'd planned so many stunts because he underestimated how fast Li Yue could grow the company.
He underestimated how quickly Chen Xiaoxi could record.
And most of all, he underestimated her position in the hearts of her fans.
At the same time, he'd overestimated how much damage her rivals could actually do.
To be honest, he hadn't even fully made his move yet.
And still, they'd achieved results dazzling even to himself.
Now, Chen Xiaoxi becoming the Song Queen was practically set in stone.
It was time for him to focus on his own goals.
To claim the title of Song King within six months, he needed six platinum albums.
He was currently releasing at least one new song per day—three albums per month.
The first album was already finished, filled with online hits from "Earth."
Every one of them had once been massively popular on Earth.
One song alone—Ten Thousand Reasons—had surpassed one hundred million ringtone downloads back in the day.
Now, with nine more added, Zhang Yichen was confident the sales wouldn't disappoint.
Most importantly, digital albums were cheap—only eighteen ren per copy.
He wasn't worried about selling them.
Compared to Zhang Yichen's confidence, Chen Xiaoxi appeared visibly uneasy.
"Ah Chen… I'm a little scared," she said softly.
"Everything happened too fast. I'm afraid I won't be able to handle it."
She lowered her head, fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of her skirt, her voice quiet.
Everything that happened today felt like a dream to her.
Ten million albums.
Once fans received them, those ten songs would dominate the annual charts.
She might even touch the overall rankings.
She knew herself well.
This sudden, overwhelming fortune… she wasn't sure she could bear it.
To say nothing of the future—just her resurgence alone would likely draw her family back to her doorstep.
And then there were the entertainment companies.
Some had underworld ties. Others were backed by powerful second-generation elites.
To acquire promising artists, they would stop at nothing.
If they couldn't have someone, they'd destroy them instead.
Right now, they were just getting started.
They were no match for those companies.
Zhang Yichen stood up and walked gently to her side, looking at her with warmth.
"Xiaoxi, this is only the beginning. You have talent and charm—the album sales already prove that."
"Besides, before the New Year, I don't plan to let you take unnecessary schedules."
"Just treat singing as something you enjoy. We're doing this for fun—we don't owe anyone favors."
"And if someone dares to cause trouble, aren't I your manager? And isn't Li Yue here too?"
Chen Xiaoxi walked to the window, the city lights flickering in her eyes.
She turned back to him, her voice light like drifting feathers.
"Ah Chen… I only hope we can all stay safe and happy."
She looked at him gently, turbulence faintly visible beneath her calm gaze.
Clearly, she was feeling conflicted—afraid of gaining and afraid of losing.
It was like someone who had just won a billion-dollar lottery—
afraid the ticket would be stolen, yet also afraid of being targeted after claiming the prize.
"Xiaoxi."
Zhang Yichen walked over and took her hand.
"If soldiers come, we block them. If water comes, we dam it. Don't think too much—sleep it off."
Then he turned to Li Yue.
"We're going to bed. Make yourself at home."
With that, Zhang Yichen held Chen Xiaoxi's hand with one arm and pushed the baby stroller with the other as they returned to the bedroom.
He could tell—Chen Xiaoxi needed comfort.
And the best way to comfort someone was to help them forget what troubled them.
So how do you forget?
By doing what you love.
Without unnecessary words, Zhang Yichen led Chen Xiaoxi straight into the bathroom.
This time, she didn't refuse.
Once in the morning, once at noon—she had already grown accustomed to his intensity.
And she seemed to have grown attached to that feeling.
Almost as if she were addicted to him.
Every time she got close, memories of what he'd done to her at noon resurfaced.
Besides, he had done so much for her.
She felt she should compensate him.
Financially, she couldn't.
So she could only use what she had.
Thunder met fire.
This time, Chen Xiaoxi took the initiative.
The moment they entered the bathroom, she clung to him.
And Zhang Yichen—standing tall and proud—would never allow himself to be outdone.
He counterattacked immediately.
Using every ounce of strength he had.
The battle was fierce.
So fierce they nearly tore the bathroom apart.
But at least—
Chen Xiaoxi felt much better afterward.