Needless to say, these two were JoyStream Video's editor Evie Su and the female chief editor.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the chief editor stated her purpose: JoyStream Video was willing to buy five of his piano performance videos at 100,000 yuan each, plus pay for the previous two videos, for a total of 700,000 yuan to Ian Song.
Hearing that he could suddenly earn 700,000 yuan, Ian Song was a bit surprised. But now, with his extraordinary intelligence, he quickly grasped their intentions after a moment's thought.
Right now, his performance videos were trending, and JoyStream Video would surely make a fortune in ad revenue. By acquiring another five of his videos while the iron was hot, they'd get even more clicks. Compared to the huge advertising profits, the 700,000 yuan they paid him was nothing.
He wasn't greedy—700,000 yuan was an unexpected windfall. So he didn't haggle and agreed right away, because what he valued wasn't the money, but the fame.
As long as JoyStream Video was willing to heavily promote him, he'd gain a massive amount of Fame Points. There were over a billion people in the country—if these six videos got one hundred million views, and even just a tenth of the viewers recognized him, he'd earn ten million Fame Points. And Fame Points were something money could hardly buy.
Seeing how straightforward Ian Song was in agreeing, the chief editor was a bit surprised—her bottom line was 150,000 yuan per video. She couldn't help but feel more appreciation and respect for Ian.
When the other party produced a contract, Ian Song realized they had come fully prepared.
"Ian, who are they?" Just then, Aunt Yvonne walked over.
Ian Song briefly introduced the two and explained why they were here. After hearing it, Aunt Yvonne was utterly shocked—she hadn't expected that a few piano videos could earn 700,000 yuan, enough to buy an apartment in a prime district of Riverstone City.
Suddenly, Ian felt a pang of guilt. It was because he’d offended Justin Nangong that his uncle was dragged into trouble. He turned to Yvonne Yang and said, "Aunt Yvonne, let me transfer this money to your account. Consider it my repayment for all the years you and Uncle Stephen have raised me."
Yvonne Yang was stunned for a moment, then her face lit up with joy. Her gaze toward Ian grew even more affectionate.
Of course, she didn’t accept immediately and politely declined a few times before finally agreeing.
Once the contract was signed, the chief editor of JoyStream Video immediately picked up her phone and ordered the finance department to transfer the money.
Normally, company policy wouldn’t allow such a quick payment—at most, a deposit would be paid first. But since Ian hadn’t bargained at all and accepted her price outright, as a gesture of goodwill, she had the full amount transferred immediately.
When Yvonne Yang received the payment notification on her phone, she felt a surge of happiness, even forgetting her frustration over her husband’s missed promotion. Her attitude toward Ian grew warmer—he seemed more pleasing to her with every passing moment. After all, 700,000 yuan was equivalent to more than half a year’s salary for her husband.
The chief editor and Evie Su didn’t linger. After finishing the business, they left, reminding Ian that a professional filming crew would come tomorrow and asking him to cooperate.
Ian agreed readily.
At three o’clock in the afternoon, the Riverstone City Piano Competition’s composition round officially ended. Ian Song took first place without question, while Shelly Song came in second.
It was announced that the finals would be held seven days later at the Riverstone City Sports Arena.
As they walked out of the auditorium, Aunt Yvonne said warmly to Ian, "Ian, you and Shelly go home first. I’ll go buy groceries and make a nice meal for you two."
Ian didn’t refuse and happily agreed. Now that his relationship with Aunt Yvonne and Shelly had fully improved, he felt genuinely happy.
Just then, Aunt Yvonne’s phone rang.
After answering the call, Aunt Yvonne’s face turned deathly pale. Her legs gave out and she almost collapsed, but Ian and Shelly quickly caught her from both sides.
Shelly asked anxiously, "Mom, what’s wrong? Did something happen?"
With his enhanced senses, Ian overheard the contents of Aunt Yvonne’s call. His face darkened and his chest tightened with anger—the Nangong Family had really gone too far!
Uncle Stephen had been taken away by the Anti‑Corruption Office earlier that morning.
The Anti‑Corruption Office is a special department in the Yanhuang Republic, dedicated to investigating officials for bribery and embezzlement.
Anytime an official gets a visit from the Anti‑Corruption Office, everyone turns pale. Ian had even heard a joke about an official fainting on the spot when the Office came knocking.
Ian knew Uncle Stephen’s character—he was definitely not a corrupt official. If the Anti‑Corruption Office had taken him away, there was only one explanation: the Nangong Family was behind it.
Soon, Aunt Yvonne steadied herself. She’d just been hit with too much at once and couldn’t process it immediately.
"Mom, what exactly happened?" Shelly asked again.
"Your dad was taken away by the Anti‑Corruption Office!" Aunt Yvonne said, her voice hollow with despair.
"How could that be?" Shelly blurted out. "My dad isn’t that kind of person—why would the Anti‑Corruption Office arrest him?"
Aunt Yvonne shook her head. "I don’t know either. Ian, you and Shelly go home first. I’ll go to your dad’s office and try to find out what happened." As she spoke, tears streamed down her face. Her husband was the pillar of the family—if he went down, the whole family would collapse.
"Aunt Yvonne, I’ll go with you," Ian said firmly.
"Me too!" Shelly said immediately.
Aunt Yvonne hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
Soon, the three arrived at the Education Bureau, but what they found was chilling. In the past, whenever Aunt Yvonne came, everyone would greet her warmly and call her "sister-in-law." Today, however, people dodged her as if she were the plague.
"Hey! Isn’t this the Song family’s lady? What brings you here today?" Just as Ian, Shelly, and Aunt Yvonne were about to leave, a mocking voice rang out.
The three turned and saw a middle-aged man, most of his hair gone.
"Director Xing, do you know what happened to Uncle Stephen? Why did the Anti‑Corruption Office arrest him?" Aunt Yvonne asked, looking at Xing.
Director Xing sneered, "Your Stephen Song had dirty hands—he embezzled two million yuan."
"That’s nonsense! My dad would never steal!" Shelly retorted, her voice trembling with anger.
Director Xing’s gaze swept over Shelly, a greedy look flashing in his eyes as a sly smile crept onto his face. "You’re Stephen Song’s daughter, aren’t you? Didn’t expect you’d grow up to be so beautiful."
Shelly felt extremely uncomfortable under Director Xing’s sleazy stare and instinctively moved closer to Ian.
Director Xing’s face turned cold. "You know what they say—‘You can know a person’s face but not their heart.’ Your dad may look honest, but he’s actually greedy. If he hadn’t taken bribes, why would the Anti‑Corruption Office arrest him?"
Hearing this, Aunt Yvonne’s face went pale and she nearly collapsed again. "Director Xing, my husband is innocent! Can you help him?" she pleaded desperately.
Director Xing narrowed his eyes, letting his gaze linger on Shelly’s chest before saying in a low voice, "Aunt Yvonne, why don’t we find somewhere private to talk?"
"Alright." Aunt Yvonne seemed to have grasped at her last straw, nodding repeatedly and asking cautiously, "Director Xing, where do you think would be best?"
If Ian were still the same as before, he probably wouldn’t have noticed Director Xing’s intentions. But now, just from Xing’s eyes, he could tell the man was up to no good. Still, since Aunt Yvonne had pinned all her hopes on Xing, Ian held his tongue for now, simmering with anger.