Chapter Nineteen: "The Mysterious" Goes Live

After this period of effort, the manuscript for "The Mysterious" had grown to over 400,000 words. Including what had already been published, the total neared 600,000 words.

Chen Jiang took a moment to check readers’ reviews of the book.

"Thrilling! It’s been ages since I’ve read something this satisfying—no fluff at all, strong writing, and a complete world-building!"

"Author, please update quickly! My roommate is about to lose his mind. Before he leaves, he wants to read more of 'The Mysterious'!"

"So entertaining! This book is truly amazing. As a decade-long bookworm, I now look forward every day to the protagonist’s grandiose schemes and tricks!"

The online literature scene in this world was somewhat underdeveloped, and "The Mysterious" was a disruptive force, causing readers’ excitement to soar. The early popularity even surpassed its previous incarnation by an entire level.

In truth, the book’s true breakout point would be after the release of the second volume, "The Faceless Man." That’s when the story would truly come alive.

The beginning was merely an appetizer. Now that readers were already this thrilled, Chen Jiang dared not imagine the level of popularity the book would reach once volume two began updating.

Without a job, Chen Jiang had ample time to write daily, keeping a full schedule.

As days passed, the song "Encounter" steadily climbed the charts.

Within a week, it reached the top spot on the popular song list, dominating two charts simultaneously.

The song had become widely sung. Whenever Chen Jiang visited lively places, he would hear its melody everywhere.

Yi Yunxue’s voice echoed through every street and alley.

On that Wednesday, at noon, Chen Jiang’s novel "The Mysterious," penned under the pseudonym "Rivers and Miles," finally went live on YueDian Reading!

Countless authors, readers, and editors at YueDian Reading were filled with curiosity.

How high would the initial subscription numbers climb?

Everyone was eagerly awaiting the results. As the author, Chen Jiang, as usual, uploaded the promised 10,000-word update before the launch, then went upstairs to Yi Yunxue’s home for a meal.

He wasn’t overly anxious about the initial subscription results. The pre-launch pre-orders had already exceeded 100,000, so it couldn’t possibly drop much lower.

Meanwhile, far away in the magic metropolis at YueDian Literature, Da Xian anxiously monitored the backend data.

“Da Xian, time to go eat!” Lan Tian urged.

“You guys go ahead. I’ll keep an eye on the book’s data,” Da Xian waved them off without interest.

He planned to watch the first-hour subscription numbers closely, as the 24-hour total usually exceeded the first hour’s by three to four times.

This had been confirmed by countless novel data analyses.

“Sigh, no need to worry. The follow-up subscription data is already solid. Your performance is guaranteed!” Lan Tian envied him a little.

“Before, your performance was even worse than mine. Turns out you were quietly preparing a big move!”

“I think by the time this book finishes, you might even be promoted to chief editor.”

Da Xian smiled as he watched the subscription numbers refresh on the screen. “Not that extreme. After all, my experience is still somewhat limited...”

He glanced at the clock in the lower-left corner—12:10 PM.

Ten minutes had passed since the launch.

The latest subscription numbers for chapter one had already surpassed 10,000!

The first ten minutes saw the steepest surge, which would gradually slow down afterward.

At 1 PM, just as a colleague returned from lunch and stepped into the office, a shout rang out:

“Holy crap! Over 30,000 subscriptions in the first hour, 100,000 is guaranteed!”

Da Xian jumped up, dancing with excitement.

Remember, the launch data for "Shattered Sky" had only just passed 80,000 subscriptions.

Now it was just a matter of waiting.

...

That noon, Yi Yunxue invited Li Jie to her home again to announce a major decision.

After eating, the three sat on the living room sofa.

Yi Yunxue’s expression was serious as she shared her plan: “I’ve decided to personally invest 35 million RMB to establish my own music studio.”

Chen Jiang glanced at her, surprised at how wealthy this girl was.

“You called us here because...?” he asked, puzzled.

“I want to ask if you want to invest,” Yi Yunxue’s eyes scanned the two with hopeful anticipation.

Li Jie smiled and nodded: “I’m joining Yunxue’s studio as a former top agent from Tianxing Entertainment.”

She had resigned from Tianxing Entertainment last month.

She had sensed the company atmosphere was off, so like Yi Yunxue, she refused to sign a long-term contract, opting for a two-year agreement instead.

The contract would expire one week earlier than Yi Yunxue’s.

“Also, if you need it, Yunxue, I’m personally investing one million RMB into the studio. You can decide the shares as you see fit,” she added.

“Great! Welcome, Li Jie!” Yi Yunxue’s gaze then shifted to Chen Jiang, her eyes sparkling. “Chen Jiang, do you want to invest with your skills?”

“Ah?” Chen Jiang was taken aback. He hadn’t been particularly interested in investing in Yi Yunxue’s studio.

He hadn’t expected such an olive branch, especially with an offer to invest through his technical talents.

“I really believe in your potential! If you agree to provide songs for our studio, I’ll give you shares!” Yi Yunxue promised.

“Do you really trust me that much?” Chen Jiang was surprised. “Aren’t you worried I might just be a flash in the pan and run out of steam later?”

“I believe in your talent. You wrote ‘Encounter’ and ‘Dandelion’s Promise’—two hit songs. That’s definitely not a one-hit wonder!” Yi Yunxue’s beautiful eyes locked onto Chen Jiang, full of faith.

Hearing this, Chen Jiang suddenly laughed. “Alright, I’ll invest with my skills. But first, let me be clear—my talent isn’t cheap. I want 30% of the shares!”

“Besides that, I want extra royalties for each of my works, though I can be flexible. Also, I must approve every song you contribute. I don’t want my songs to be ruined by someone like Han Mei.”

“Fine, I agree!” Yi Yunxue didn’t hesitate to accept his terms.

“Yunxue,” Li Jie poked her and said seriously, “this isn’t child’s play. This is starting a company, not a game.”

She was a bit helpless. How could this girl trust Chen Jiang so blindly?

Just based on two songs, one of which she hadn’t even heard, to demand so many shares—it seemed impossible.

She looked at Chen Jiang. “Do you have any other works? At least let us see your value.”

“Wait a moment, I’ll find them.”

Chen Jiang had already prepared several songs for Yi Yunxue, with the sheet music saved on his phone, planning to compile them into an album.

Today was the perfect time to show them.

Opening the sheet music of the first song, Chen Jiang handed his phone to Yi Yunxue.

“Here, take a look and see what you think.”