The ancient return was exposed by his sister's live stream.

Li Na paused, turning to look at the source of the voice—her direct supervisor, Zhou Jianming, the content operations director.

Zhou Jianming, in his early forties, with a receding hairline and a beer belly, was leaning back in his office chair, smiling at her. His gaze was so greasy it was nauseating.

"President Zhou, there's an urgent matter I need to report." Li Na suppressed her nausea and tried to maintain a businesslike tone.

"What's going on? Tell me." Zhou Jianming slowly stood up, walked to her side, and leaned closer to look at her tablet. "Wow, this streamer's stats are pretty good. How many followers?"

"Seventy million."

Zhou Jianming's smile froze on his face.

"How many?"

"Seventy million," Li Na said, emphasizing each word. "And, there was no contract signed."

Zhou Jianming's face twitched, and he gave a dry laugh: "Seventy million? Are you kidding me? Since Douyin was founded, the highest-flying streamer has only had a little over fifty million followers. Where did you get seventy million?"

"Take a look for yourself." Li Na handed over the tablet.

Zhou Jianming took it, squinted at it for a while, and his expression gradually changed.

On the screen, the number of followers was clearly displayed as: 70,234,567.

Seventy million two hundred and thirty thousand.

He swiped the screen and saw the number of online users: 137 million. He saw the total value of gifts: 527 million. He saw three trending topics in the top ten.

His face turned completely dark.

"When...when did this happen?" His voice trembled slightly.

"In the next few days," Li Na said. "Mr. Zhou, I mentioned this anchor to you before. At that time, she only had 100,000 followers. I suggested giving her the highest possible contract. What do you think...?"

She paused, looked at Zhou Jianming, and said, "You said that these kinds of live streams are just riding the wave of popularity and will soon be over, so there's no need to waste resources."

Zhou Jianming's face turned a deep purplish-red.

Of course he remembers that incident.

Two weeks ago, Li Na approached him with data from this livestream, saying the streamer's growth was rapid and suggesting he sign a contract to secure her. He was annoyed by Li Na's rejection of his "kind offer" at the time and refused without a second thought.

"I've seen this kind of livestream countless times. It's popular for three days, then nobody watches anymore. What's the point of signing a contract? It's a waste of contract resources!"

These are his exact words.

Now, this live stream, which has been a hot topic for three days, has 70 million fans, more than one million viewers online, and is dominating the trending topics list.

He personally rejected the opportunity to sign the contract.

"Mr. Zhou, what should we do now?" Li Na looked at him, a hint of barely perceptible pleasure in her eyes.

Zhou Jianming wiped the sweat from his forehead and tried to remain calm: "This...this situation is rather complicated. Let me look into it first. You go back to work and wait for my notification."

"President Zhou, this can't wait." Li Na's tone hardened. "This streamer is currently a top influencer online, and countless platforms are eyeing her: Huya, Kuaishou, WeChat Channels—aren't they all eyeing her? If we don't act now, she'll be snatched away!"

Zhou Jianming's face darkened further: "I said we'd study it first! Can't you understand human language?"

Li Na looked at him, remained silent for two seconds, and then suddenly smiled.

"Okay, Mr. Zhou, please continue with your research. I'm going to the restroom."

She turned and left without hesitation.

But she wasn't heading towards the restroom.

This is the CEO's office.

---

Three minutes later, Li Na stood at the door of the president's office, took a deep breath, and knocked on the door.

"Come in."

She pushed the door open and went in.

Douyin CEO Zhang Weimin was sitting behind his desk, looking at documents. Seeing Li Na, he paused slightly, slightly surprised: "Li Na? Is something wrong?"

Li Na stepped forward and placed the tablet in front of him.

"Mr. Zhang, there's an urgent matter that I need your attention."

Zhang Weimin picked up the tablet, glanced at it, then glanced at it again, and then suddenly sat up straight.

"Seventy million followers? And no contract?" His voice rose eight octaves. "What's going on?"

Li Na took a deep breath and explained the whole story.

From the moment she discovered this livestreaming room two weeks ago, to her suggestion to sign a contract being rejected by Zhou Jianming, and then to the livestreaming room becoming a sensation in the last two days, dominating the trending topics and experiencing a surge in followers...

She didn't embellish anything; she was simply stating the facts.

But that's enough.

Zhang Weimin's expression grew increasingly grim. Finally, he slammed his tablet on the table, stood up, and paced back and forth in his office.

"Zhou Jianming... Zhou Jianming..." He gritted his teeth, repeating the name, "We found out half a month ago, and they still won't sign it? They have 70 million followers, and they still won't sign it? Has he lost his mind?"

Li Na remained silent.

Zhang Weimin walked to the window, looked at the city skyline outside, took a few deep breaths, and tried to calm himself down.

After a long silence, he turned around and looked at Li Na: "Li Na, starting today, you will take over Zhou Jianming's position as General Manager of Content Operations."

Li Na was taken aback: "Mr. Zhang..."

"Don't speak." Zhang Weimin waved his hand. "I'll handle Zhou Jianming's matter. Now, you only have one task—"

He stared at Li Na, speaking slowly and deliberately:

"Sign this streamer at all costs."

Li Na's heart raced: "Mr. Zhang, the signing fee..."

"Three hundred million." Zhang Weimin said decisively, "A three-year exclusive contract, three hundred million in signing fees. In addition, traffic support, resource allocation, a dedicated operations team, whatever he wants, we'll give him. In short, this person must stay with Douyin."

Three hundred million.

Li Na gasped.

In Douyin's history, the highest signing fee was 80 million. 300 million is more than three times that amount.

"Mr. Zhang, this number..."

"I know it's very high," Zhang Weimin interrupted her, "but you have to understand, what does it mean for a top streamer with 70 million followers, and that number is still growing rapidly? It means millions of views every day, it means a huge online buzz, it means a nightmare for competitors."

He paused, his gaze deep: "Moreover, there's an even more crucial figure behind this streamer—that Chen Hao. If we can keep him here, it's worth more than 300 million, even 3 billion."

Li Na was silent for a moment, then nodded emphatically: "I understand. Mr. Zhang, I'll take care of it right away."

"Go," Zhang Weimin waved his hand. "Remember, at all costs."

Li Na turned and left.

Zhang Weimin watched her retreating figure, then looked out the window, muttering, "Zhou Jianming, Zhou Jianming, you almost ruined my cash cow..."

"Yes, Mr. Zhao! I'll get on it right away!" Li Na took the letter of intent signed by Zhang Weimin, turned around and quickly left the office. As she went out, she bumped into Zhang Lei, who was running over in a panic.

Zhou Jianming had just received a demotion notice from the personnel department. He was completely stunned, his hair disheveled, and his face pale. When he saw Li Na, he immediately rushed over and tried to grab her arm, his voice humble and flustered.

"Li Na! Li Na, please put in a good word for me! I was wrong! I shouldn't have rejected your report! Please get General Manager Zhang to retract his decision! I can't be demoted!"

Li Na disdainfully stepped aside, her eyes icy, her tone filled with undisguised contempt: "Zhou Jianming, you've suppressed me for two years, your shortsightedness has delayed important company matters, and you deserve it. From now on, I'm your superior, and you'd better behave yourself."

After saying that, Li Na stopped looking at his deathly pale face and walked straight into the elevator, leaving Zhou Jianming slumped in the corridor, his face ashen, regretting it so much that he wanted to slap himself.