Zhong Ziyan thought the sunglasses idea was brilliant—they blocked out most of the flashing cameras below. Just as Yu Qianshan had said earlier, all she had to do was show up, and sure enough, the entire press conference went smoothly without her needing to say a word. Yu Qianshan had arranged everything.
The event ended quickly, and Zhong Ziyan was the first to stand up, hands in her pockets, heading for the exit with Yu Qianshan close behind. By the time she stepped out through the side door of the conference hall, the ice in the assistant’s milk tea hadn’t even melted yet.
The group following Zhong Ziyan and Yu Qianshan out of the hall wore heavy expressions, especially the Bai brothers.
"Next is the shareholders’ meeting," Yu Qianshan said, hands still in his pockets. "Conference room is on the third floor—Ms. Zhong, will you be attending?"
Zhong Ziyan took a sip of her milk tea and shook her head.
She’d already made her appearance. No need to sit through a meeting.
After all, she’d already signed over her voting rights to Yu Qianshan.
"Then let me escort you to the parking lot," Yu Qianshan offered immediately.
"No need. I’ll finish my tea first," Zhong Ziyan declined. "Go to your meeting. Make lots of money."
Yu Qianshan: "...Got it. At least let me walk you to the elevator. Heading to the sixteenth floor?"
"Yeah."
Bai Shuangjiang walked with the crowd toward the elevator, fists clenched unconsciously.
He couldn’t shake the feeling that something unexpected was about to happen at the shareholders’ meeting.
Houtu Entertainment was the empire he’d built from scratch. Now, the largest shareholder was some woman he’d never even heard of—how could Bai Shuangjiang possibly accept that?
But the shares were indisputable. There was no way for him to falsify them.
The group waited at the elevator doors until the first ding sounded. No one moved except Zhong Ziyan and Yu Qianshan.
Zhong Ziyan stepped inside with her milk tea, and Yu Qianshan swiped his card to press the button for the sixteenth floor.
The shareholders, who had previously ignored Zhong Ziyan, now plastered on smiles and waved goodbye. "Goodbye, Ms. Zhong!"
Zhong Ziyan sucked up a big piece of pudding, thinking how wonderful money was.
When you had money, everyone smiled at you.
She killed some time on the sixteenth floor with Li Ye, though her main goal was finishing her milk tea before heading back to the car.
Li Ye scrolled through Weibo and paled when he saw the rapid-fire reports about the press conference. "So you’re the new boss everyone’s been gossiping about for days?"
He’d thought it was just a rumor to clear up, but this was a major corporate shake-up?
"Work hard, or I’ll dock your bonus," Zhong Ziyan said, tossing her empty cup into the trash.
Li Ye: "...If you actually looked at the company reports, you’d know I’m one of the most profitable employees here."
He stroked his chin, then suddenly grew wary. "Now that Houtu is your company, are you still going to compose?"
Even with a contract in place, Zhong Ziyan had only planned to submit work right before deadlines. Now that she had a thriving company making money for her, of course she’d—
"Probably not," Zhong Ziyan said breezily.
"No!" Li Ye immediately jumped up, ready to lecture her on the tragedy of wasting unparalleled talent, when Bai Ling burst through the door.
"—Zhong Ziyan, what the hell do you want?!" she shrieked. "Stealing the company my father built wasn’t enough? Do you have to drive my entire family into the ground before you’re satisfied?!"
Li Ye winced, rubbing his ringing ears, then refreshed his Weibo feed and instantly understood what had happened.
He showed his phone to Zhong Ziyan. "Bai Shuangjiang got reassigned." Pausing, he added, since Zhong Ziyan clearly didn’t know the details, "Bai Shuangjiang is her father."
Zhong Ziyan nodded. Summarizing: "Yu Qianshan fired her dad."
"It was you!" Bai Ling spat. "You’re the largest shareholder now. If you give the order, of course they’ll fire anyone you want!"
"Exactly," Zhong Ziyan arched a brow. "If you always thought this was your company to do as you pleased, why can’t I do the same now that it’s mine?"
Seeing Bai Ling’s face twist with even greater fury—clearly unwilling to let this go—Zhong Ziyan impatiently let a sliver of her killing intent seep out.
Those who survived the Infinite Space had clawed their way out of mountains of corpses. Someone like Bai Ling, spoiled since childhood and blinded by flattery, couldn’t withstand even a fraction of Zhong Ziyan’s aura.
Li Ye only felt the air around him grow thick for a second, but Bai Ling staggered back as if she’d seen something horrifying, eyes wide before she collapsed to the floor.
Li Ye: "..." The Bai heiress, who prized her image above all else, had just face-planted in the most undignified way possible.
Too terrified to care about appearances, Bai Ling let out a shrill scream, scrambled up using the door for support, and fled without even grabbing her phone—as if demons were snapping at her heels.
After a stunned pause, Li Ye picked up Bai Ling’s phone and eyed Zhong Ziyan suspiciously. "What was that about?"
Zhong Ziyan shrugged. She’d only meant to scare Bai Ling into shutting up. Who knew the troublemaker had such a weak nerve?
...
With connections in high places, things moved quickly. Once Houtu was in Zhong Ziyan’s hands, Luo Yin’s unfair treatment vanished overnight. His new album’s production sped ahead at breakneck pace—from recording to pre-sales in less than two weeks.
The pre-sales launched with a no-expense-spared marketing blitz, and sales skyrocketed, surpassing the month’s top seller in just two days.
Critics rushed to chime in—some shamelessly bashing it for clout, others jumping on the hype train, and a few offering genuine reviews.
But even the paid haters didn’t dare trash the mysterious composer, [Zhong Hui].
—The arrangements were god-tier. Anyone with functioning ears could tell. There was no angle to attack, and no one would back up such deaf criticism.
Yet Zhong Hui was a complete unknown, with no prior released works, making the debut all the more sensational.
In an entertainment-obsessed era, who wouldn’t want to collaborate with a genius composer for a chart-topping hit?
As waves of people tried to get in touch with Zhong Hui through Houtu, Li Ye lit a cigarette with a knowing smirk.
Collaborate? Ha. Zhong Ziyan’s next deadline was next year.
Thank god he’d secured a four-track deal early, Li Ye thought.
...
Zhong Ziyan’s greatest contribution to Luo Yin’s album was telling Yu Qianshan to "go all out" and buying five thousand physical copies for fan giveaways.
Beyond that, she had other matters to attend to.
Like picking out an engagement ring.
“What kind of diamonds do you prefer?” the designer asked softly, accompanied by her interpreter. “Most people opt for the pure diamonds from the Cape series, but colored diamonds have become quite popular among younger crowds in recent years.”
As she spoke, she swiped through photos on her tablet to show Zhong Ziyan the array of colored diamonds.
Zhong Ziyan skimmed through them absentmindedly—truthfully, she wasn’t particularly interested in diamonds.
Gold felt like a safer investment.
Though diamonds were undeniably beautiful.
Most importantly, even if she could keep the diamond ring after a divorce, it would just end up as a pretty decoration—practically worthless.
“This is a raw stone we recently acquired,” the designer enlarged an image. “It’s expected to yield a finished blue diamond of over fifty carats. It could be crafted into a full set of jewelry, including a ring, or cut as a whole piece for a necklace or display.”
She glanced at Zhong Ziyan’s expression, found it indifferent, and continued scrolling.
“Then there are these two green diamonds with a blue hue—exceptionally rare in color grading. The larger one is 3.42 carats, and the smaller is nearly 2. They’ll be auctioned off in a few days, with estimated bids around fifteen million and six hundred thousand dollars, respectively. If you’re interested, we can secure them for you.”
At the mention of the price, Zhong Ziyan immediately turned her attention to the images.
The two round-cut diamonds shimmered brilliantly, their color hovering between blue and green, their fire so dazzling that even an amateur could appreciate the flawless craftsmanship.
Wei Hanyun, who had been reviewing documents nearby, turned to look as well.
After a single glance, he made the decision: “These will make good earrings.”
Zhong Ziyan pondered—essentially, hanging a luxury yacht from each ear.
“Green diamonds suit Miss Zhong’s temperament perfectly,” the designer praised with a bright smile.
“Do they?” Wei Hanyun twirled his pen, studying Zhong Ziyan beside him. “I think red diamonds suit her more.”
Zhong Ziyan tilted her head at him in confusion, her eyes reflecting two Wei Hanyuns, like mirrors facing each other.
Wei Hanyun recalled how she could be just as delighted by a cup of cheap bubble tea as she was by a multimillion-dollar yacht.
Despite her constant money-loving demeanor, she somehow never came across as greedy.
Like a dragon from Western folklore, hoarding shiny treasures in its den—it was oddly endearing.
He was reminded of his niece’s childhood hamster, stuffing its cheeks with food at every opportunity.
“We’ll take the blue diamond you mentioned earlier as well,” Wei Hanyun told the designer gently. “And source some red diamonds for the wedding gown.”
Zhong Ziyan nibbled on a macaron, baffled. “…?” Wasn’t he just reviewing documents? How did he absorb more details than I did?
※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※
A friend joked that Wei Hanyun was playing “Shining Ziyan” like a gacha game—I nearly died laughing.
