Chapter 71

On September 11th, at noon, Liao Liao returned.

She had left Shuntianfu on August 12th to start recording programs and promoting across the country. By the time she returned, a whole month had passed!

During the month she was away, since its release on August 6th, the album "Liao Liao" had created wave after wave of sales frenzy.

On August 6th, Friday, "Liao Liao" officially went on sale, ranking 19th on the Dongguan Bookstore's record sales chart that week, with 1,128 copies sold. According to sales statistics a few weeks later, the album sold 18,933 copies nationwide that week. In the same week, He Runqing's new album "Starry Sky," which was in its third week of release, sold 7,433 copies, ranking fifth on the chart!

From August 9th to 15th, the second week of "Liao Liao's" release, it sold 4,386 copies, quickly rising to ninth place on the Dongguan Bookstore's weekly chart. Later statistics showed that the album sold 72,188 copies nationwide that week. On Wednesday, August 11th, in the China Voice's weekly hit song chart, two songs from "Liao Liao" made the list: "My Passionate Hometown" at seventh place and "Persistence" at tenth place.

In the same week, He Runqing's "Starry Sky" sold 6,104 copies, firmly holding the sixth place on the Dongguan Bookstore's sales chart. Although sales had dropped, they remained stable, within the normal range of decline.

From August 16th to 22nd, the third week of "Liao Liao's" release, the album, despite facing nationwide shortages and stockouts, still sold 11,484 copies, firmly occupying the second place on the weekly sales chart, just 1,800 copies behind the first-week sales of Liu Liangming's new album. Later statistics showed that the album sold 133,875 copies nationwide that week, historically making Liao Liao the fifth female singer to break the 100,000 single-week sales mark.

Moreover, in the same week, "Liao Liao" had five songs on the China Voice's hit song chart, with "Persistence" and "Cheers, Friends" taking the first and second places, shocking the domestic music industry.

Meanwhile, He Runqing's "Starry Sky," which was expected to continue selling well, saw a significant drop in sales in its fifth week, ranking tenth on the Dongguan Bookstore's sales chart with only 4,322 copies sold.

As "Liao Liao" continued its explosive sales, "Starry Sky's" sales never recovered, steadily declining. Eventually, when the year-end statistics were released, it was discovered that the Queen of Sweet Songs, He Runqing, had suffered a major setback, with her album sales plummeting significantly compared to previous years.

From August 23rd to 29th, the fourth week, "Liao Liao" began to receive a limited supply of stock, but it still sold 14,827 copies, firmly holding the second place on the Dongguan Bookstore's sales chart. This time, it was only 831 copies behind Liu Liangming's new album, which was in first place.

Shortly after Liao Liao returned to Shuntianfu, the national sales data for the week showed that "Liao Liao" sold 195,840 copies, almost reaching the 200,000 mark, which was the ceiling for female singers. In fact, the album's sales for the week were almost equal to the total supply from Changsheng Records.

In the same week, on the China Voice's hit song chart, the five songs from "Liao Liao" that had made the list the previous week still occupied half of the chart, with some even advancing in rank. For example, "Unfinished Love" advanced four places to sixth, and "Wildflowers" entered the top five!

As a result, in the hit song chart for the week, "Liao Liao" alone occupied five of the top six positions!

From August 30th to September 5th, the fifth week of "Liao Liao's" release, although Changsheng Records had increased production and distribution, a significant number of pirated copies began to flood the market, greatly affecting the sales of the original album. Despite many people still willing to buy the original, the album's upward momentum was forced to stop.

When the Dongguan Bookstore's weekly report came out, "Liao Liao" sold 13,385 copies, surpassing Liu Liangming and historically taking the top spot on the sales chart, making Liao Liao the second female singer after Zhen Zhen to achieve this. However, a few weeks later, when the national sales data was released, the album, which should have been in a peak sales period, only sold 161,289 copies due to the impact of piracy.

In the following week, although "Liao Liao" still held the top spot on the Dongguan Bookstore's weekly sales chart, firmly surpassing the King of Pop, Liu Liangming, and its national sales still exceeded 150,000 copies, making Liao Liao the third female singer after Zhen Zhen and He Runqing to achieve three consecutive weeks of sales over 150,000 copies, it no longer had the strength to break the 200,000 single-week sales ceiling. It was a significant regret that "Liao Liao" failed to break this ceiling, given its long-lasting popularity.

Of course, even so, with the album's explosive sales, excellent reputation, and significant social impact, Liao Liao had firmly established herself as a top-tier figure in the domestic music industry.

On September 11th, when Liao Liao returned to Shuntianfu, although her three consecutive weeks of sales over 150,000 copies had not yet been officially recorded, and her best achievement was only the second time a female singer had topped the Dongguan Bookstore's weekly sales chart, and no one knew if her next album would continue the success, she was already being hailed as a new Queen of Pop in the media as early as the beginning of September!

Many people believed that even if Zhou Moo returned, it would be difficult for her to compete with the now highly popular Liao Liao. Among the current female singers, Zhen Zhen, He Runqing, Feng Feifei, and Liao Liao were considered the four major Queens of Pop!

Thus, when Liao Liao returned to Shuntianfu after her nationwide promotional tour, the grand welcome and the impact were unimaginable.

On that day, at 10:00 AM, Zheng Changsheng had already led a team to the airport, welcoming the new Queen of Pop with the highest honors! At the same time, at least 30 to 40 media outlets from Shuntianfu and across the country gathered at the airport, capturing the moment of Liao Liao, wearing sunglasses, discreetly walking out of the arrival gate.

...

The next day, at 6:00 AM.

As soon as it was light, Liao Liao opened her eyes.

Yesterday, after returning to the company in Zheng's luxury car and receiving everyone's congratulations, she was so exhausted that she left Huang Wenjuan at the company to be questioned by Zheng and the others, while she returned to her rented house, took a shower, and fell asleep.

In the middle of the night, she vaguely felt Huang Wenjuan enter the room, but she was too tired to even open her eyes, only briefly waking up before falling back asleep.

When she woke up, she felt refreshed.

Although the physical and mental fatigue would take more than a day or two to recover, there was no doubt that after a good, eleven-hour sleep, her energy was starting to return.

Opening her eyes, everything seemed bright and clear.

Liao Liao got up, grabbed a shirt from the bedside and put it on casually, leaving the buttons undone, and walked to the window to open it.

In mid-September in Shuntianfu, the early mornings and evenings were already starting to feel a bit chilly.

With the window open, a gentle breeze blew in.

Liao Liao felt more refreshed.

Downstairs, elderly people were already exercising, and early risers were heading to work. According to the old customs of Shuntianfu, people often greeted each other loudly in the morning...

Liao Liao smiled and closed the window.

Then, she went to the bathroom to take care of her personal hygiene and prepared to go out for a walk.

Just before leaving the bathroom, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and couldn't help but step back to look again. Apart from still looking a bit tired, she didn't notice anything wrong.

Hmm, touching and looking in the mirror, it seemed her chest had shrunk?

Sigh, what to do?

Eating less, drinking less water, or even being a bit tired could all cause her chest to shrink... In short, no matter what she did, the first thing to shrink when she lost weight was always her chest!

Looking in the mirror, she reached out and grabbed both sides, rubbing hard—really, it had shrunk!

Well, from now on, she wouldn't go anywhere; she would focus on regaining her chest.

She left the bathroom, buttoned up her shirt, and carefully opened the door to the other room. Standing at the door, she heard the soft snoring and couldn't help but smile, then closed the door and stepped out.

Then, she put on pants and shoes... Thinking about it, she took off her shoes, walked back barefoot, took off her shirt, put on a bra, and went out.

Even at 6:00 AM, the air in Shuntianfu was not as fresh as in the south.

However, she was quite content with the freedom to wander leisurely, something she hadn't done in a long time.

Wearing just a shirt and jeans, she went out without even wearing sunglasses, wandered around the neighborhood, bought breakfast for two, and then leisurely returned.

When she got home, the sound of the door opening and closing finally woke Huang Wenjuan, who emerged from her room with messy hair, only to be startled by Liao Liao, who was dressed neatly and carrying breakfast.

"Did you just go out like that?"

"Huh? How else would I go out?"

Huang Wenjuan helplessly patted her head: Well, despite being very famous, Liao Liao really didn't see herself as a star! Fortunately, it was early in the morning, and there were few people around...

She also went to the bathroom to freshen up, and then the two of them sat down to