Life countdown begins, ice queen bursts into security room

The next morning, at 9:30.

Jiang Fan sat in the boss's chair, looking at the computer screen in front of him.

The Penguin Music backend page is displayed there.

Within 24 hours of its release, "Wukong" had surpassed 100 million views.

Just then, there was a knock on the door. Li Cheng pushed the door open and walked in, with Song Siyi following behind.

"Brother Fan, President Song is here. I'll go keep an eye on things at the film set first."

After saying that, he left and closed the door behind him.

Song Siyi took two steps forward.

She wore a blue French-style polo shirt today.

She wore a pair of dark blue skinny jeans on her lower body.

The fabric clung tightly to her skin, clearly defining the lines of her legs, and she wore a pair of flat white sneakers.

Jiang Fan shifted his gaze from the computer screen to her legs.

Song Siyi felt very uncomfortable under his gaze. She pulled out a chair opposite the desk, sat down, and placed her handbag on her lap to cover herself.

She thought about it for a long time last night, really afraid that Jiang Fan might do something reckless in the office at any time.

This morning I rummaged through my drawers and cupboards, and specifically looked for this pair of skinny jeans that are the hardest to take off.

"What are you looking at?" Song Siyi took a document out of her bag and pushed it across the table.

"Xinghua Publishing House called twice yesterday afternoon. I've compiled their terms; please take a look."

Jiang Fan reached out and took it, then flipped it open and looked at it.

The first print run was one million copies, and distribution channels covered major physical bookstores in all first-tier cities across the country.

Jiang Fan sneered. As soon as the online sentiment changed, these people came out.

When the Writers Association issued its statement, Xinghua didn't say a word.

He flipped through the pages, his gaze settling on the last line of the last page.

Royalties split: Xinghua 80%, author 20%.

Jiang Fan closed the file and casually tossed it back onto the desktop.

"They certainly weren't polite."

"It was Vice President Zhou from Xinghua who made the call personally." Song Siyi leaned forward slightly.

"They said that the entire internet is boycotting 'Journey to the West,' and apart from Xinghua Publishing, no other domestic publisher dares to take it on. He's factored all the risk and cost into the revenue sharing."

Jiang Fan leaned back in his chair, thinking that Xinghua was really good at making plans.

Taking advantage of the blacklist issued by Liu Qingshan, they thought they had cornered Jiang Fan.

Then it appears as a savior and swallows up most of the profits.

They felt that Jiang Fan had no other choice.

"Didn't you tell them the current viewership of 'Wukong'?"

Song Siyi replied, "They said so. President Zhou said that a hit song doesn't guarantee a hit book. Netizens are just joining in the fun; when it comes to actually buying physical copies, not many people will be willing to pay. Besides, they also have to bear the pressure from the Writers' Association; a 20/80 split is already their bottom line."

Jiang Fan stood up, walked around the desk, and went to Song Siyi's side.

Song Siyi shrank back warily.

Jiang Fan leaned against the edge of the desk, looking down at her.

"Sister Siyi, what do you think?"

Song Siyi looked up at him.

"From a business perspective, Xinghua's distribution channels are indeed top-notch in China. If we can use their resources to distribute the books, it will be very beneficial for the subsequent film, television, and game adaptations of 'Journey to the West.' However, the revenue sharing ratio is too low. I think we can negotiate it further and reach a 40/60 split."

Jiang Fan interrupted her. "I rejected him outright."

Song Siyi stood there, stunned.

While Song Siyi was distracted, Jiang Fan reached out, hooked his index finger on the first button of Song Siyi's cardigan, and unbuttoned it.

"I wrote this book, and I created its popularity myself. They only provided distribution channels, so why should I get so much of a cut?"

Song Siyi slapped his hand away.

"Without them, it's difficult to expand by selling online alone. Without the exposure of physical bookstores, it's hard to break into the mainstream."

Jiang Fan's fingers moved down and unbuttoned her second button.

"Who said I was going to sell from the start?"

Song Siyi's mind went blank; she didn't understand what he meant.

Jiang Fan's fingers slid inside the neckline of the undershirt.

"The first batch will be one million copies. Not for sale, but given away."

Song Siyi gasped, her body tensing up.

Her voice rose half an octave, and she forgot to slap Jiang Fan's hand away.

"Give them away? A million copies, the printing cost alone would be several million, and you're going to give them away?"

Jiang Fan continued to explore inside.

"Open your mind. Consider these millions as a 'GG fee' (a Chinese internet slang term for a payment for a failed attempt at payment)."

Song Siyi couldn't keep up with Jiang Fan's train of thought at all.

Jiang Fan looked at her. "We'll send ten sets to primary and secondary school libraries across the country."

Song Siyi stood frozen in place, staring at Jiang Fan, her mind racing.

Primary and secondary school libraries!

Liu Qingshan and his gang are constantly shouting online that "Journey to the West" is poisoning the minds of teenagers.

Jiang Fan simply handed out the books to teenagers across the country for free.

This move is too cruel.

The Ministry of Education has always had policies to support free book donations and encourages all sectors of society to enrich campus libraries.

As long as the content review does not violate regulations, the Writers Association has no say in the matter, and Liu Qingshan's reach cannot extend into the education system.

Moreover, once these books enter schools, the students' ability to spread them is terrifying.

If one person watches "The Monkey King's Havoc in Heaven" today, tomorrow all the boys in the class will be carrying sticks and imitating the Monkey King.

At that point, the sales of physical books will not be limited to five million copies.

The millions spent on printing resulted in targeted marketing to tens of millions of students across the country.

Song Siyi swallowed.

She used to think that Jiang Fan was only talented in creative work.

Now she understood that Jiang Fan's methods in business strategy were even more ruthless than those old foxes who had been in the business world for decades.

Song Siyi sat in the chair, still processing Jiang Fan's plan.

Jiang Fan's hand was already on the metal button of her jeans.

Song Siyi quickly realized what was happening and covered her waistband with both hands.

"Jiang Fan! This is the office!"

"Who told you to disobey?"

"What if someone knocks on the door in broad daylight?"

Jiang Fan ignored her and snapped his fingers hard.

The metal buckle popped open with a crisp sound.

The zipper was pulled down, but the tight jeans didn't loosen up much.

Song Siyi's breathing became erratic; she was indeed wearing the most difficult pants to take off today, and it was extremely difficult to pull them down.

Jiang Fan grabbed her waist with both hands, pulled her up from the chair, and made her lie face down on the large solid wood desk.

The jeans were very tight. Jiang Fan tugged at them a couple of times, but they only bunched up to above his knees before getting stuck.

Song Siyi wore a white lace-trimmed top underneath.

Jiang Fan glanced at it. "Good taste."

Song Siyi's face flushed red, and she reached back to pull up her pants.

Jiang Fan shoved her back onto the desk.

Footsteps and the voices of two women could be heard outside the office, growing closer and closer.

Song Siyi's body tensed up immediately.

Jiang Fan didn't stop.

"Don't make a sound," Jiang Fan whispered in her ear.

Song Siyi closed her eyes tightly and buried her face in her arms.

He bit his thumb with his teeth.

The desk made a slight scraping sound.

Song Siyi stopped breathing, her fingers gripping the edge of the desk tightly.

Once the footsteps outside had faded into the distance, Song Siyi finally let out a long breath, her forehead covered in fine beads of sweat.

Seeing her nervous expression, Jiang Fan changed the rhythm of his movements.

Song Siyi bit her finger and let out a muffled groan.

More than an hour later.

Song Siyi sat on the sofa and wiped the sweat from her forehead with a tissue.

He put his jeans back on, buttoning them up tightly.

Her hair was a little messy, so she combed it with her fingers.

She glared at Jiang Fan. "You're a bastard."

Jiang Fan sat in the boss's chair, picked up his cup, and took a sip of water.

A semi-transparent virtual panel appeared before my eyes.

【Ding. 】

[Detected that a deep conversation was completed with Song Siyi.]

[Lifespan gained: 300 points.]

With Song Siyi taking over Qitian Culture and the physical books of "Journey to the West" being fully rolled out, her status as the boss will be confirmed, and her profits should increase significantly.

Jiang Fan turned off the panel.

"Print one million copies in the first batch and ship them out as quickly as possible, directly to the donation collection points of the education bureaus in various provinces and cities. Donate them under the name of Qitian Culture," Jiang Fan arranged.

Song Siyi stood up and straightened the hem of her clothes.

"Should I just refuse Xinghua directly?"

"Refuse. Don't try to save face for them."

Song Siyi nodded, picked up her handbag from the sofa, and walked out.