The Girls' New Contract: Our Young Master Cao Spares No Expense

In the blink of an eye,

The nine-member group’s 46-stop Asia-wide concert tour came to a perfect close.

The finale was held at Zhonghai Stadium over two consecutive days, giving more fans and audiences the chance to attend in person.

Exhausting? Sure.

But the payday was massive.

For the nine girls, each concert meant a flood of gold coins—and a way to give back to their adoring fans.

For Cao Cheng, each show delivered an astronomical amount of emotional energy.

But things had changed quite a bit now.

With the "Core of the Pivot Realm" in hand, Cao Cheng no longer lacked emotional energy.

There was no need to put on deliberate performances anymore.

He could even emulate those secretive aristocratic families—playing low-key, embracing mystery.

Cao Cheng felt the timing of the "Core of the Pivot Realm" couldn’t have been better.

Had it appeared a few years earlier, he would’ve been stuck staring at it helplessly, unable to use it.

After all, the supporting technology wasn’t there yet.

They couldn’t even gather the materials needed to make the helmets.

Forget about anything more advanced.

Plus, 5G+ networks had only just emerged this year.

By the time the helmets were finished and production lines set up, 5G would likely be widespread.

Perfect!

……

The nine girls rested for a full week.

It was a well-deserved reward for their hard work over the past year.

And a chance to return home in glory.

These past few days had been their moment to shine.

Each went back to their hometown, reunited with family.

They bought houses and cars without batting an eye—million-dollar properties, no hesitation.

The cars they gifted their fathers started at half a million.

They made quite the splash in front of relatives and friends—and damn, did it feel good.

Luckily, none of the nine came from toxic families. No bloodsucking parents, no ungrateful younger siblings leeching off them.

So,

This break turned out to be a great one for all of them.

And their status at home had noticeably risen.

Before, the elders still treated them like kids.

But now… their opinions carried real weight.

Parents would instinctively ask for their daughters’ thoughts before making decisions. That was the change.

……

When the break ended and the nine regrouped in Zhonghai, it was obvious—everyone looked refreshed, glowing with health, the exhaustion from the tour completely gone.

Leader Ye Lan pinched Yang Laoliu’s belly: "Did you gain weight these past few days?"

"N-no way!" Yang Laoliu retorted, flustered.

"Don’t lie, there’s a layer of fat here."

"Ugh, it’s just the thick fabric, not fat…" Yang Laoliu kept deflecting.

To be fair, over the past year, the nine had been constantly on the move—touring, training.

Everyone had slimmed down.

But Yang Laoliu’s change was way too obvious. Who knew what she’d been eating these days…

Probably just eat, drink, poop, sleep on repeat…

How else could she visibly plump up in just seven days?

This was pure revenge relaxation.

Not just Yang Laoliu, though—the other eight had indulged a bit too.

But years of discipline kept some habits intact.

They still squeezed in daily workouts, stretching to keep their bodies limber.

Yang Laoliu? Not so much.

As the girls laughed and teased each other,

The conference room door opened.

Their manager walked in.

The nine immediately stood up politely: "Big Sis!"

The manager smiled, scanning the room: "Looks like you all had a great break. Spirits high, weight up—especially you, Yang Laoliu."

"……"

Yang Laoliu’s face burned with embarrassment.

The others burst into laughter—clearly, it wasn’t just them. Anyone could see she’d rounded out.

But,

The manager didn’t scold anyone.

Seven days off wouldn’t turn anyone into a balloon.

And a break was meant to be enjoyed.

From their energy alone, it was clear the girls had rested well.

That was all that mattered.

Once everyone settled back down, the manager took her seat and had an assistant distribute contracts.

"New contracts. Look them over, sign, then we’ll have a quick meeting."

No beating around the bush—after a year together, formalities weren’t needed.

And she knew no one would object.

Sure enough,

The nine reviewed the terms.

Where things were unclear, they discussed among themselves.

But overall, no complaints.

The changes weren’t drastic—mostly adjustments to profit splits.

Their cut had increased.

A year ago, they were rookies.

At debut, their best contract terms were 70-30 splits.

Now, it was closer to 50-50.

The specifics varied by category.

Merchandising and image rights? Still not much.

Live performances? Much better.

Endorsements? They took the lion’s share.

Then there were team salaries, manager cuts…

Plenty of fine-tuning.

But bottom line—they were winning.

Under this new deal, their earnings could jump by two-thirds, even double in some areas.

No wonder Miracle Media’s rep was stellar.

Or rather, Young Master Cao spared no expense.

Entertainment was arguably the least profitable sector under Cao Cheng’s empire.

Even with blockbusters like Nezha 2 every few years, it remained one of the lowest earners.

But that was only compared to his other ventures.

Real estate, cosmetics, gaming, drones, investments in food delivery, e-commerce…

Well,

Investments aside,

Just within Cao Cheng’s Miracle Group, every subsidiary thrived.

Cash cows, one and all.

Miracle Healthcare, Miracle Beauty, Miracle Real Estate, Miracle Media, Miracle Capital!

Stack them up,

And media was the runt of the litter.

But only by internal standards. Externally, Miracle Media had zero flops—a rising entertainment titan, acclaimed and lucrative.

Yang Laoliu couldn’t make heads or tails of contracts.

But after her sisters explained, it clicked.

She gasped: "Big Sis, are you serious? We’re about to get rich!"

The manager smirked: "Nope. Feel free to not sign."

Yang Laoliu grinned: "Sign, sign, sign! Only a fool says no to money."

She grabbed a pen.

The manager added: "No fancy autographs. Write properly, stroke by stroke."

"Got it!" Yang Laoliu nodded.

The others chuckled.

Yang Laoliu might be clueless, but they knew—their young master had always been generous.

His people were well taken care of.

Back when they were just dancing at the biotech park, their paychecks were already hefty.

Practically free money.