Chapter Forty-Nine: How Did You Know Today Was My Birthday...

At one o’clock in the afternoon, after finishing a chapter, Chen Jiang stretched out with a big yawn.

He checked the Penguin Music Chart; the album sales rankings from the day before yesterday had just been updated.

"Starting Point of Dreams" had sold two million copies within twenty-four hours, generating more than thirty million yuan in revenue, securing the top spot.

“Is it really this lucrative?” Chen Jiang’s pupils suddenly contracted.

Although albums only sell during the initial release period, these figures were achieved despite the influence of advertising models!

Most listeners bought the album out of pure love and support.

Adding in sales from other platforms, the total could approach three million copies!

After deducting platform and artist shares, Chen Jiang’s final earnings from this album would be at least ten million yuan!

Including profits from advertising traffic, the total would be close to fifteen million yuan.

This alone was nearly a fifth of his entire net worth!

Even after taxes, it was still a significant sum.

Thinking about his monthly seven-figure income from writing online novels, it suddenly felt insufficient.

Last month, Chen Jiang’s post-tax royalties were less than two million yuan, with overseas channels not yet profitable; relying solely on readers from the YueDian site capped his earning potential.

Chen Jiang had asked Hongshu, who earned over four million yuan after tax last month—more than twice his own amount.

It was clear that channel websites were more profitable!

Now, unexpectedly, the song he casually wrote for Yi Yunxue had generated more income than his diligent writing.

Indeed, although Chen Jiang took up web novels merely to pass the time, he worked seriously every day, often churning out tens of thousands of words.

“Well, since it’s just to kill time, I don’t mind not making much money,” Chen Jiang thought to himself.

He searched online for past album sales of other singers and found that Yi Yunxue’s sales far surpassed those of previous top-tier artists.

In fact, her sales were even higher than theirs.

Yi Yunxue had released albums before; Chen Jiang checked her previous sales, noting that her last album sold only two hundred thousand copies on its first day—this time was ten times that number.

“This girl’s career is really taking off,” Chen Jiang thought happily.

He sent Yi Yunxue a message: “Congratulations, your album sales exceeded thirty million yuan on the first day.”

Ten minutes later, Yi Yunxue finally replied.

Yi Yunxue: “Huh? The data’s out already?”

Yi Yunxue: “I didn’t even know.”

Chen Jiang: “Were you busy?”

Yi Yunxue: “No, I just fell asleep earlier.”

...

Upstairs.

After replying to Chen Jiang’s message, Yi Yunxue looked at the finished cake before her and smiled contentedly.

She was planning a big surprise for Chen Jiang!

“Let me make him a bowl of noodles too!” Yi Yunxue muttered.

She took out the freshly rested dough and began kneading it.

Longevity noodles had to be handmade to carry the proper meaning!

Every year, her father had made them for her this way.

...

At six o’clock.

Chen Jiang received a message from Yi Yunxue: “Chen Jiang, dinner’s ready~”

“Already so early today?” Chen Jiang was a bit surprised.

Usually, Yi Yunxue finished cooking around six-thirty in the evening.

Sometimes he would go up early to help prep ingredients.

But today, before he even went upstairs, Yi Yunxue had already finished the meal.

Arriving at Yi Yunxue’s home, Chen Jiang used his fingerprint to unlock the door.

“Click.” The door opened.

They had recently exchanged fingerprints for each other’s smart locks.

Being upstairs-downstairs neighbors, it made it convenient to come and go, especially since Chen Jiang often came over for meals.

As he entered, Chen Jiang was immediately greeted by a delightful aroma.

Seeing the table full of dishes, he was puzzled. “Is there a special occasion? Why such a feast?”

The table was laden with luxurious dishes.

There were complex preparations, a large platter of seafood, and some exquisite Huaiyang cuisine, beautifully presented.

Clearly, Yi Yunxue had put a lot of effort into this.

“So you spent the whole afternoon prepping ingredients?” Chen Jiang asked in surprise.

“Hehe, Chen Jiang, wait for me!” Yi Yunxue said mysteriously as she walked into the kitchen, returning with a bowl of delicate noodles.

“Ta-da!”

She placed the bowl in front of Chen Jiang. “Longevity noodles!”

Chen Jiang was taken aback, curious. “How did you know today’s my birthday?”

“I accidentally saw your birthdate on the copy of your ID when submitting the contract last time. Seeing the calendar today reminded me,” Yi Yunxue said, her cheeks flushed like a ripe apple, silently thinking:

“I really didn’t peek, it was just an accident...”

“Thank you!” Chen Jiang felt a warmth in his heart and sincerely said.

But today was actually his lunar birthday…

He looked at Yi Yunxue with mixed feelings.

“Hurry up and eat, the noodles will clump if you wait too long,” Yi Yunxue urged.

Chen Jiang picked up his chopsticks and twirled the noodles, noticing how long they were.

“Are these noodles made from a single continuous strand?”

He looked amazed.

“Longevity noodles have to be unbroken strands,” Yi Yunxue explained.

“My dad has made them for me like this every year.”

“Your uncle really loves you,” Chen Jiang said with admiration.

Indeed, if he ever had a daughter as beautiful as Yi Yunxue, he would surely cherish her, holding her gently as if she might break, protecting her like a precious treasure.

And he’d definitely watch out for those blond-haired troublemakers…

No, wait!

Chen Jiang shook his head, feeling uncertain.

Why was he thinking about this now?

After finishing the noodles, Yi Yunxue happily took the dishes to the sink.

They then began to enjoy dinner together.

“This dish is just as good as your senior apprentice brother’s!” Chen Jiang brightened after tasting the lion’s head meatball.

“I actually have more talent than a few of my senior brothers, but since I’m a girl, my dad didn’t want me to pursue this career. He said a girl being a chef wasn’t ladylike,” Yi Yunxue explained.

“So he never trained me systematically, only taught me the necessary skills.”

“This dish I learned later from my first senior brother,” she added.

“You’re really impressive. You can succeed at anything. Even without formal training, your cooking tastes amazing,” Chen Jiang praised.

“Chen Jiang, I don’t like crab roe, you can have it,” Yi Yunxue said, placing a crab shell filled with roe into Chen Jiang’s bowl.

“Okay.” Chen Jiang scooped up the crab roe and ate it, then remarked, “I never thought there were people who disliked crab roe. I always thought it was the best part of the crab.”

“I think crab roe tastes too fishy,” Yi Yunxue said with a slight grimace.

“Haha, when I was little, there were lots of foods I didn’t like, like mushrooms and chives—I would even throw up,” Chen Jiang recounted.

“But at some point, I started to find them quite tasty.”

“I was the same, except crab roe, I also disliked egg yolks, cilantro, and onions. Now I only still can’t eat crab roe; the rest I’ve come to accept,” Yi Yunxue responded.