RED Chapter 29

Li Yuan’s first reaction was that the company hadn’t informed them, and he immediately started checking the data. But the numbers he saw seemed way too high! Although it’s common for people to fake their data nowadays, starting with such exaggerated numbers without a solid fan base can easily lead to mockery.

It even surpassed the sales of the previous single by Bohang!

Li Yuan had accumulated a large fan base during the talent show, and the fans, especially the girls, were eager to boost his sales on the release day. The sales exploded, becoming the highest in the same period, leaving the second place far behind.

However, Chi Feiran was different. He didn’t have the early fan base, and after his debut, he went on to act in a movie. Despite the company’s efforts in promotion, there was still a gap.

The subsequent programs had a good effect, but then Bohang stirred up some trouble, and although the popularity skyrocketed on Weibo, the monetization of this popularity shouldn’t have happened so quickly!

But thinking carefully, Li Yuan felt that even if the company started manipulating the numbers, it shouldn’t look so unattractive. He was just worried that the big boss might be pushing for excessive data to make his son happy, regardless of the current situation.

Li Yuan glanced at Chi Feiran, hesitating to speak.

Chi Feiran also saw the data and frowned even more. He took out his phone and called Chi Jun.

Normally, he avoided disturbing Chi Jun at work, and if needed, he called Han Hengliang’s phone instead. So, calling Chi Jun directly was a first.

Chi Jun answered quickly, but Chi Feiran straightforwardly asked, “Dad, did you fake the sales for me?”

Chi Jun felt a pang in his heart and quickly signaled Han Hengliang not to start anything yet, to wait for a moment.

Chi Jun replied calmly, “No! Absolutely not!”

He hadn’t even started on his end, and his son was already calling!

Chi Feiran, not completely convinced, said seriously, “Dad, don’t lie to me.”

Chi Jun, feeling a bit vulnerable, replied, “I did have that intention…”

But he quickly added, “But your call came before I even started!”

Chi Feiran looked at the still rising data and, although still skeptical, said, “Really?”

Chi Jun swore, “Really! Dad would never lie to you! You must believe me, Ranran!”

Now convinced, Chi Feiran said, “Okay, Dad, you go on with your work. Remember to take care of yourself. I have something else to attend to; I’ll hang up now.”

Listening to the busy tone, Chi Jun quickly told Han Hengliang, “Alright, stop it. No need to go on with this. Ranran is not happy!”

Han Hengliang acknowledged and exited the interface.

On the other end, Chi Feiran called A Country again, and Chris answered the phone.

Chi Feiran asked, “Did you fake it for me?”

Chris remained silent.

The usually stoic young man handed the phone to his father, indicating that it might be better for him to handle this matter.

Edmond almost burst into laughter, took the phone, and told Chi Feiran, “Darling, you have to trust us. We only bought ten thousand copies; I don’t think it will make much difference.”

Chi Feiran glanced at the sales quantity. Well, at least he secured physical sales equivalent to a tenth of that. But what about the digital album, which had almost reached a million in less than half an hour since its release?

Chi Feiran sighed, “Edmond, I don’t like this.”

Edmond casually replied, “That’s why we only bought ten thousand copies.”

Feeling powerless, Chi Feiran knew arguing about it wouldn’t help. He emphasized, “Don’t do this in the future; I don’t like it.”

Edmond said, “Darling, there’s nothing wrong with family support.”

Chi Feiran almost reflexively retorted, “But it’s not fair!”

Edmond disagreed, his tone gentle, “Ethan, there’s no absolute fairness in this world. Of course, if that’s your request, we’ll comply.”

His tone made it sound like he was indulging a child making unreasonable demands.

Chi Feiran felt a bit uncomfortable but realized the harsh reality. Conflicted, he said, “I’m not blaming you… I just…”

Edmond gently interrupted, “Darling, no need to apologize. Just know that we love you, and we always want you to be happy.”

Chi Feiran held his phone, feeling warm and fuzzy inside. “Edmond, I love you all too.”

Edmond smiled, “Say hi to Victoria and get busy. I assume you’re not free right now, right?”

Chi Feiran replied, “Yes,” and then greeted Sheman, who had the phone, and after a brief conversation, he hung up.

He continued to search for reasons on his end, while the three in A Country hadn’t gone to rest yet.

Edmond sighed, saying, “It seems that this matter has a significant impact on Ethan. I wish he could see that he is genuinely outstanding.”

Xie Man, as a mother, also felt a headache. “If I had known, I shouldn’t have…”

Edmond held her hand. “No, we haven’t done anything wrong in this matter.”

Xie Man knew that her worrying thoughts only added to the trouble, but when it came to her son, she couldn’t help but blame herself.

Before marrying Edmond, they had discussed the issue of children. Edmond himself wasn’t very fond of kids, so he had no objections to her desire not to have more children.

However, Edmond, out of love, had always demanded excellence from their stepson according to the standards of an heir.

But one piano competition almost ruined everything. After losing, a child yelled at the young Feiran, who was much younger at the time, saying, “Why are you so bad! Stealing Chris’s dad! Stealing his inheritance! Even trying to take my prize! Your playing isn’t better than mine at all! You’re just relying on being a Bennett! Otherwise, no one would choose you!”

Xie Man and Edmond would never forget the expression on their son’s face at that moment, a mix of shock and sadness.

Even though he remained outstanding afterward, things were different.

He continued studying music, but he no longer participated in prestigious competitions. He continued with the courses Edmond arranged for him, but he lost interest in management-related subjects.

It was like he drew a boundary in his heart and avoided touching those things.

As parents, how could they not see this deliberate avoidance?

They had tried to make up for the damage caused by that incident, but the children of the Bennett family were always special, and things never went as they wished.

Perhaps making the eldest son the heir in this situation was a better choice. But this involved Xie Man, the source of his love, and Edmond had to make a biased decision.

Fortunately, the eldest son did not disappoint him.

Edmond looked at Chris beside him and comforted Xie Man softly, “As long as he’s happy, that’s all that matters. We worry about him because we’re afraid he’s suppressing himself too much. If he’s happy, that’s good. Now we have each other, and in the future, we have Chris. Darling, don’t worry too much.”

Chris also timely added, “Yes, I’ll take care of him.”

Xie Man was confident in her eldest son. She took his hand and patted it gently, saying, “You’ve worked hard.”

Chris shook his head, indicating that it was not hard. Family matters, after all, weren’t burdensome.

Meanwhile, Chi Feiran, unaware that his casual remark had caused his family in A Country to worry excessively, continued to search for the abnormality in the data.

On the side, Chen Mengyang swallowed his saliva and said, “I… I probably know the reason.”

For a moment, everyone looked at him.

Chen Mengyang turned his phone over, signaling them to look at the screen.

The screen displayed a Weibo post, more precisely, a reposted Weibo post, posted half an hour ago.

The reposted content was Chi Feiran’s announcement of the album release, and the one who reposted it was—Rong Jin.

Rong Jin V: Sounds good. //@Chi FeiranV: The EP “Secret Love” will be on sale soon.

Rong Jin’s fans were having a field day these past two days, it’s like they were celebrating the New Year, no, even happier than the New Year!

First, their beloved Rong Rong recommended delicious candy to them! Now he’s promoting an album!?!?

“Rong Rong said it sounds good!!! I want to buy it, buy it, buy it!!!”

“Husband!!! Tell me!!! How much should we buy!!!”

“Oh my, am I hallucinating? Has his account been hacked? Is this real? Rong Jin promoting an album?”

“Really? They follow each other!”

“Oh my god, I can’t remember the last time my male god reposted a Weibo post!”

“I rushed to buy the digital album and listened to it, cried… ”

“Wu wu wu wu, it’s really good, but after listening, I feel so sad, I want Rong Rong to kiss and hug me…”

What’s the most delicious kind of promotion in the world? It must be the promotion by an idol!

Rong Jin’s fans rushed to savor the promotion. Even if they weren’t fans of Chi Feiran, just seeing Rong Jin, who usually only posts once in eight hundred years, promoting an album, they couldn’t help but be curious and join in the excitement.

Chi Feiran’s appearance in the video of the music awards was dug up again, and the preview point of the album songs also surged in popularity.

With the almost flawless production of this mini-album in terms of composition, performance, and production quality, how could the sales not explode!

Others usually experienced an initial surge in sales after release, followed by a sharp or gradual decline. But the sales trend for this album was increasing!