199: Chapter 199 The Punishment of Skinny Jeans

The next morning, at nine-thirty.

Jiang Fan sat in his executive chair, looking at the computer screen in front of him.

The backend page of Tencent Music was displayed on it.

Less than twenty-four hours after "Wukong" went online, the number in the play count column had surpassed one hundred million.

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 head over to the set to keep an eye on things first."

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

Song Siyi took two steps forward.

Today, she was wearing a blue French academic-style polo knit sweater.

On her lower half, she wore a pair of dark blue tight jeans.

The fabric clung tightly to her skin, clearly outlining the contours of her legs, and she wore a pair of flat white shoes on her feet.

Jiang Fan's gaze shifted from the computer screen and landed on her legs.

Song Siyi felt very uncomfortable under his gaze. She pulled out the chair opposite the desk, sat down, and placed the leather handbag in her hands on her lap to block his view.

She had thought about it for a long time last night, truly afraid that Jiang Fan might mess around in the office at any moment.

This morning, she had rummaged through her closets and chests specifically to find this pair of tight jeans, which was the hardest to take off.

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

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

Jiang Fan reached out to take it and flipped it open to read.

An initial print run of one million copies, with distribution channels covering large physical bookstores in all first-tier cities across the country.

Jiang Fan sneered. As soon as the wind shifted online, these people came running.

When the Writers Association issued its statement earlier, Xinghua hadn't uttered a single word.

He flipped further back, his gaze stopping on the last line of the final page.

Royalty split: eighty percent for Xinghua, twenty percent for the author.

Jiang Fan closed the document and casually tossed it back onto the desk.

"They certainly aren't being polite."

"Xinghua's Vice President Zhou called personally." Song Siyi leaned forward slightly.

"They said that the entire internet is boycotting journey to the west right now, and apart from Xinghua, no other publisher in the country dares to take it. He factored all the risk costs into the split."

Jiang Fan leaned back in his chair. Xinghua was certainly calculating.

Using the ban orchestrated by Vice Chairman Liu Qingshan, they thought they had backed Jiang Fan into a corner.

Then they would appear as saviors and swallow up most of the profits.

They felt Jiang Fan had no choice.

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

Song Siyi replied, "I did. Mr. Zhou said that a hit song doesn't mean the book will be a hit. Netizens are just joining in on the hype; when it actually comes to shelling out cash for physical books, very few will buy it. Besides, they also have to bear the pressure from the Writers Association, so an eighty-twenty split is already their bottom line."

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

Song Siyi shrank back warily.

Jiang Fan leaned against the edge of the desk and looked down at her.

"Sister Siyi, what do you think?"

Song Siyi looked up at him.

"From a business perspective, Xinghua's channels are indeed top-tier in the country. If we can use them to distribute the book, it would be very beneficial for the subsequent film, television, and game adaptations of journey to the west. However, the split is too low. I think we can negotiate further and aim for a sixty-forty split."

Jiang Fan interrupted her. "Reject them directly."

Song Siyi froze on the spot.

Taking advantage of Song Siyi's daze, Jiang Fan reached out, hooked his index finger around the first button of her knit cardigan, and flicked it open.

"I wrote this book, and I generated the hype myself. They're only providing the distribution channel, so why should they take such a big cut of my money?"

Song Siyi slapped his hand away.

"Without them, it'll be very hard to distribute it just by selling online. Without the exposure from physical bookstores, it'll be hard to break into the mainstream."

Jiang Fan's fingers moved down, undoing her second button.

"Who said I was going to sell it in the first place?"

Song Siyi's mind went blank, not understanding what he meant.

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

"We'll print one million copies for the first batch. Not for sale, but to give away."

Song Siyi gasped, her body tensing up.

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

"Give them away? One million copies would cost several million just in printing costs, and you're giving them away?"

Jiang Fan's hand continued to explore further inside.

"Think bigger. Consider this few million as advertising expenses."

Song Siyi completely failed to keep up with Jiang Fan's train of thought.

Jiang Fan looked at her. "Give them to primary and secondary school libraries across the country. Ten sets for each school."

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

Primary and secondary school libraries!

Vice Chairman Liu Qingshan's crowd kept shouting online every day that journey to the west was poisoning the youth.

Jiang Fan was going to put the books directly into the hands of the nation's youth for free.

This move was incredibly ruthless.

The Ministry of Education had always had supportive policies for free book donations, encouraging all sectors of society to enrich school libraries.

As long as the content passed review without violations, the Writers Association couldn't interfere at all, and no matter how long Vice Chairman Liu Qingshan's reach was, he couldn't extend it into the education system.

Furthermore, once these books entered schools, the students' word-of-mouth propagation would be terrifying.

If one person read about The Monkey King wreaking Havoc in Heaven today, all the boys in the class would be holding sticks and mimicking The Monkey King tomorrow.

When that time came, physical book sales wouldn't stop at just five million copies.

These few million in printing costs would buy precise marketing targeted at tens of millions of students nationwide.

Song Siyi swallowed hard.

Previously, she had only thought Jiang Fan was talented in creation.

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

Song Siyi sat on the chair, her mind still digesting Jiang Fan's plan.

Jiang Fan's hand had already reached the metal button of her jeans.

Song Siyi hurriedly snapped out of it and covered her waistband with both hands.

"Jiang Fan! This is the office!"

"Who told you to be disobedient?"

"It's broad daylight, what if someone knocks on the door?"

Jiang Fan ignored her and pried with his fingers.

The metal button popped open with a crisp click.

The zipper was pulled down, but the tight denim did not loosen much.

Song Siyi's breathing grew ragged. She indeed wore the hardest pants to take off today, and pulling them down was extremely difficult.

Jiang Fan gripped 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 yanked them twice, but they could only bunch up above her knees, getting stuck there.

Song Siyi was wearing white lace underwear underneath.

Jiang Fan glanced at them. "Nice taste."

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

Jiang Fan pressed her back down onto the desk.

Footsteps came from outside the office, along with the voices of two women talking, getting closer and closer.

Song Siyi's body instantly tensed up.

Jiang Fan's movements 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 the crook of her arm.

Her teeth bit down on her own thumb.

The desk made a faint friction sound.

Song Siyi even stopped breathing, her fingers desperately clawing at the edge of the desk.

Only after the footsteps outside faded away did Song Siyi let out a long breath, her forehead covered in fine beads of sweat.

Seeing her nervous state, Jiang Fan changed the rhythm of his hands.

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

More than an hour later.

Song Siyi sat on the sofa, using a tissue to wipe the sweat from her forehead.

Her jeans were put back on, and the button was securely fastened.

Her hair was somewhat messy, so she combed through it with her fingers.

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

Jiang Fan sat in his executive chair and picked up his cup to take a sip of water.

A translucent virtual panel appeared before his eyes.

[Ding.]

[Deep communication with Song Siyi detected.]

[Obtained Lifespan Value: 300 points.]

As Song Siyi took over Qitian Culture, once the physical books of journey to the west were fully distributed and her status as the boss was solidified, the rewards should increase by a tier.

Jiang Fan closed the panel.

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

Song Siyi stood up and smoothed out the hem of her clothes.

"What about Xinghua? Should I just reject them directly?"

"Reject them. No need to save face for them."

Song Siyi nodded. She picked up her leather bag from the sofa and walked out.