After hanging up the phone last night, Lu Zhixian didn't leave the female vice president waiting in the underground garage.

He had Old Zhao go downstairs to invite her to a five-star hotel outside the residential area, booking a presidential suite for her to rest, and scheduled a talk at his apartment for the following morning.

No matter how anxious capital was, he still needed to sleep.

10:00 AM the next morning.

Lu Zhixian's apartment.

Sunlight poured through the massive floor-to-ceiling windows into the spacious living room.

Su Lan, Vice President of Yitian Media, sat upright on a pure white leather sofa.

She was thirty-five years old, dressed in a well-tailored dark gray business suit, and was a well-known iron-fisted figure in the internet circle.

Usually, others waited for her, but today, she rang the doorbell half an hour early.

At this moment, her hands were on her knees, her posture ramrod straight.

Beside her sat the legal director, equally stiff and formal, clutching a black briefcase tightly, with fine beads of sweat even appearing on his forehead.

Lu Zhixian, wearing a simple white cotton T-shirt and gray casual pants, brought out two cups of freshly brewed Da Hong Pao from the open kitchen.

He walked over and gently placed the teacups on the coffee table in front of them.

"President Su, it was too late last night, so I didn't have you come up. Please don't take offense. Have some tea." Lu Zhixian smiled gently and took a seat on the single sofa opposite them.

He put on no airs, acting as if he were hosting ordinary friends.

Su Lan was overwhelmed by the favor and hurriedly picked up the teacup to take a sip.

The tea was very hot, but she didn't care at all.

"Teacher Lu, you're too kind. It was presumptuous of us to come and disturb your rest in the middle of the night. The situation is truly exceptional."

Su Lan put down her teacup and tilted her head toward the legal director beside her.

The legal director immediately opened the briefcase and handed over a thick document with both hands.

"Teacher Lu, this is the residency contract drafted by our Yitian Short Video platform. It's the only S+ level for the entire site." Su Lan leaned forward, her tone extremely sincere. "Please take a look first."

Old Zhao sat next to Lu Zhixian, his neck stretched long, his eyes fixed on the document.

Lu Zhixian took the contract and flipped it open casually.

Su Lan began reporting the terms, her voice carrying a hint of tension: "The signing fee is 150 million. After tax. As long as you sign, the finance department will make a one-time transfer to your personal account within the day."

Old Zhao suddenly sucked in a breath of cold air. He gripped his thighs tightly with both hands, forcing himself not to cry out. 150 million! And after tax! Among all the residency fees in the Chinese entertainment industry, this was absolutely an unprecedented astronomical price. Many A-list stars might not earn this amount even after working for ten years.

"Furthermore," Su Lan's speaking speed increased, fearing Lu Zhixian would interrupt.

"There are no follower growth KPIs, no update frequency requirements, and absolutely no mandatory indicators for live-stream sales or commercial product placement."

Old Zhao's eyes bulged like copper bells. This wasn't signing an artist; this was practically inviting an ancestor back to be worshipped.

"As long as you nod, Yitian's site-wide splash screen recommendations and the highest-level traffic pools will all be open to you indefinitely." Su Lan played her final trump card.

Lu Zhixian's hand flipping through the pages stopped. He looked up at Su Lan.

"President Su, with these terms, what is Yitian after?"

Su Lan gave a bitter smile. She took out her phone, opened a background data monitoring page, and pushed it in front of Lu Zhixian with both hands.

"We're after you."

The screen was covered with soaring red line graphs.

"The clip of your acapella performance at the Penguin Gala last night broke 100 million views on our platform overnight." Su Lan took a deep breath, calming her excitement. "This morning, the active traffic of the entire internet is converging on you. Our CEO issued a death order: even if we have to dump Yitian's entire marketing budget for the year into this, we must get you to join."

Su Lan looked at Lu Zhixian, her eyes full of expectation: "Our only request is that you release your first exclusive video on Yitian as soon as possible."

Old Zhao coughed frantically on the side. He kept glancing at Lu Zhixian, winking crazily.

These terms are basically free money, sign it quickly!

Lu Zhixian closed the document. He pushed the contract back onto the coffee table.

Su Lan's heart instantly jumped into her throat. The legal director also clenched his fists nervously.

"The terms are very good," Lu Zhixian leaned back against the sofa, his tone relaxed.

Su Lan was just about to breathe a sigh of relief.

"But I have a bottom line." Lu Zhixian looked at her.

"Please say it! Any condition can be added to a supplementary agreement!" Su Lan immediately declared without hesitation.

"I will only post videos of my daily life," Lu Zhixian's voice was steady.

"I won't do scripts, nor will I establish some 'devoted lover' persona. I'll film whatever I want, and your platform cannot interfere with the content."

Su Lan was stunned.

She had imagined Lu Zhixian would ask for a higher revenue share or demand that Yitian fully sponsor his world tour.

She had even prepared contingency plans. The only thing she hadn't expected was that the request would be so simple.

"Just that?" Su Lan asked uncertainly.

"Just that." Lu Zhixian nodded.

Su Lan suddenly turned to the legal director: "Change the contract immediately! Add this clause! In bold!"

The legal director hurriedly pulled out his laptop, connected it to the portable printer he carried, and modified it on the spot.

Ten minutes later.

The new contract was placed on the table.

Lu Zhixian picked up a pen and signed his name on the last page.

Su Lan looked at the flamboyant signature and let out a long sigh of relief.

She felt the shirt on her back was completely soaked. This negotiation was more tense than when she handled multi-billion dollar mergers and acquisitions.

"Teacher Lu, it's a pleasure to work with you." Su Lan stood up and shook Lu Zhixian's hand with both of hers.

"Pleasure working with you." Lu Zhixian's attitude remained gentle.

Su Lan sat back down. She took a tablet from her bag and handed it to Lu Zhixian.

"Teacher Lu, since the contract is signed... This is the debut video script tailored for you overnight by our hundred-person operations team. There are over a dozen plans in total; please pick one."

Lu Zhixian took the tablet.

Old Zhao immediately leaned in to look.

Plan One: Rent out all the Aurora screens on the Shanghai Bund. Lu Zhixian standing on the bow of a luxury yacht with the Huangpu River night view behind him, holographic projections accompanying a live symphony orchestra performance. Budget: 15 million.

...

Old Zhao was dazzled, his mouth almost watering. "Old Lu, this yacht one is awesome! This kind of spectacle is absolutely unprecedented! If this gets posted, the servers will crash again!"

Lu Zhixian's fingertip slid across the screen.

He slid to the bottom.

He turned off the screen and handed the tablet back to Su Lan.

"None of them will do," Lu Zhixian said.

Su Lan was stunned for a moment: "What do you find unsuitable? We can change it. You don't need to worry about the budget at all; the platform will cover everything. Just say the word, and the team will start work immediately."

Lu Zhixian shook his head. He stood up, walked to the bar, and poured himself a glass of warm water.

"President Su, these scripts are too exaggerated." Lu Zhixian took a sip of water and turned around.

"I only post daily life. These kinds of flashy, grand scenes are too low-class. The audience will get aesthetic fatigue if they see too much of it."

Su Lan was a bit hesitant. She stood up, her tone anxious: "But Teacher Lu, this is your debut. Tens of millions of people across the internet are watching. If we don't do something big and only post ordinary daily life, I'm afraid it won't hold the floor. Your current status is too high, and the public's expectations are already through the roof."

"Holding the floor isn't done by throwing money around." Lu Zhixian put down the water glass and smiled.

"Don't worry, I'll film the video myself. I'll send it to you at 8:00 PM tonight sharp."

Su Lan looked at Lu Zhixian's confident eyes.

She knew that this newly ascended Godfather had his own absolute principles of conduct.

The contract stated clearly that Lu Zhixian had absolute control over the content.

"Alright. Then we'll wait for your video at the office. The platform's splash screen recommendations and site-wide pop-ups are ready. We'll clear the way for you at any time."

Su Lan took the legal director and took her leave.

Lu Zhixian saw them to the door.

The door closed.

Old Zhao couldn't hold it in any longer. He paced around the living room like an ant on a hot griddle.

"Old Lu! You're being foolish!" Old Zhao clutched his hair with both hands. "They're spending over ten million to build momentum for you, why refuse it! Do you know how hard it is to get approval for those Bund screens? What a great opportunity to show your face!"

Lu Zhixian ignored him. He walked straight to the open kitchen and opened the double-door refrigerator.

"What kind of daily life are you going to film?" Old Zhao followed behind, stomping his feet in anxiety.

"You're a Godfather now! The whole internet is waiting to see how you'll subvert the music industry next. If you don't do something big and just post a video of eating or sleeping, how are you going to shock the whole internet?"

Lu Zhixian took a piece of bone-in beef short rib from the refrigerator.

He tossed the short rib onto the solid wood cutting board.

He turned around.

Lu Zhixian casually pulled a gleaming silver boning knife from the metal knife rack in the kitchen.

He skillfully performed a knife flourish in his hand. The movement was so fast that Old Zhao couldn't even see how he spun it.

Lu Zhixian tilted his head. He looked at the stunned Old Zhao, a casual smile curling his lips.

"To shock the whole internet, must it be through singing?"