From A Producer To A Global Superstar-Chapter 353: Suprise

Dayo just got back from the office he noticed the darkness before he even stepped out of the car.

The driveway was quiet, the windows were black, and the whole house looked too dark. It didn’t make sense. At this hour, Abisola should be home. The kitchen light should be on. Janet should be arguing with somebody inside or at least inside the seating room. Even Jeffrey, if he wasn’t out training, should have left some noise behind.

Dayo killed the engine and sat for a second, eyes narrowed, listening.

Nothing.

He shrugged it off, grabbed his keys, and walked to the door with that calm, even when something felt off.

The lock clicked.

The door opened.

He stepped in.

And the house exploded.

Lights snapped on in every direction and voices rose at once, loud enough to feel like they hit his chest.

"Surprise!"

Dayo froze.

For half a second, his brain didn’t catch up with what his eyes were seeing.

His living room was full.

Not just family.

His world.

Ulrich stood near the center with a grin that looked too satisfied. Valerie was beside him, holding her phone up like she’d been waiting to record the exact moment Dayo’s face changed. Jang-Wook was there, Min-Jae was there, Min-Ji was there, Wayne was there, Sharon was there, and even faces from the movie side and JD Label staff were scattered around the room, laughing and clapping like they had been holding this secret in their chest for hours.

And right in the middle of it all was a cake.

White icing.

Clean writing.

One big message in bold.

ONE BILLION.

Dayo blinked once, then slowly looked around like he was checking whether he had entered the wrong house.

"What... what is this?"

The room laughed harder.

Abisola pushed forward first, eyes bright, arms already opening.

"You’re asking what it is?" she said, voice full of warmth. "Come here."

Dayo stepped into her hug, and for a second, the whole noise faded behind her perfume and the feeling of home. He hugged her tighter than he meant to, because even after all the stadiums and numbers and headlines, this was still the only place that made him feel like he could breathe properly.

His father followed, patting his back, smiling like a man who had been proud for weeks and just finally got the chance to show it.

Janet rushed in next, nearly jumping on him.

"Brother Dayo!" she shouted like she couldn’t help herself. "You finally came back i waited for more than two hours, thought you would not come back today! Do you know what you’ve done? Do you know what you people have been doing to us online?"

Dayo laughed under his breath. "You too, welcome."

She hugged him anyway, then stepped back and pointed at him like she was about to scold him.

"You’re wicked. You know that?"

Dayo’s eyes moved to Jeffrey, expecting him to be in the middle of the chaos too, but Jeffrey wasn’t there, and that detail flashed through Dayo’s mind quickly. He didn’t overthink it. Jeffrey was training most of the time. If he wasn’t here, it was probably because he couldn’t afford to be.

Almost immediately, he felt a tug on his trousers, and it was Deborah Sharon’s daughter Dayo smiled as she jumped and hugged Dayo.

Then Ulrich stepped forward, holding a glass like this, which was a toast he had been waiting to make since the beginning of everything.

"You left the office and vanished," Ulrich said with a smirk on his lips. "We thought you were heading straight home."

Dayo finally remembered it.

The coach call.

The sudden "come see me" that had pulled him off the direct route.

He looked at Ulrich slowly.

"You people..."

Valerie laughed. "Yes, us people."

Min-Jae walked closer, smirk on his face.

"You really thought you’d dodge a celebration?" he asked.

Dayo stared at the cake again and exhaled.

"One billion," he muttered.

Jang-Wook raised his brows. "Say it louder. Let it enter your spirit."

The room laughed again.

Dayo shook his head like he couldn’t believe he was standing in his own house being ambushed by joy.

Sharon came forward with her usual careful energy, smiling like she was trying not to act too excited.

"Congratulations, Dayo," she said.

Dayo looked at her and nodded once, genuine.

"Thank you."

Then Min-Ji stepped in with that soft smile she always wore when she was watching something bigger than herself.

"You did it," she said quietly. "You really did."

Dayo didn’t reply with a speech. He just looked around, letting the faces settle into his memory the same way he did with numbers.

It wasn’t just a party.

It was proof that people around him were growing with him too.

Someone started cutting the cake before Dayo could protest, because nobody in that room was going to wait for his permission to celebrate him.

They ate.

They talked.

They laughed loud.

Wayne told a story that had everybody screaming with laughter about a studio session that almost went wrong years ago.

Valerie kept calling Dayo "problem" like it was a compliment.

Jang-Wook kept exaggerating how close he came to fainting from spreadsheets.

Min-Jae kept acting like he was not impressed, while his face clearly said he was.

Even Dayo’s father, who usually stayed quiet, laughed more than Dayo had heard in a long time.

And Abisola watched it all with that calm pride of a woman who already knew her son was destined, but still enjoyed seeing the world finally agree.

Time moved.

The party thinned slowly.

One by one, people started leaving, hugging Dayo, tapping his shoulder, promising to see him soon, promising to rest now that the madness had cooled.

Min-Jae left with the movie and label people, still laughing.

Jang-Wook left too, but not before saying, "Please don’t start anything again for at least two days. I want to sleep like a human being."

Dayo just smiled. "No promises."

Valerie waved at him and left with Ulrich after reminding him again, "We still have work, billionaire."

Dayo rolled his eyes, lying through his teeth. "I’m not a billionaire."

After all, he had other businesses like the chain of family restaurants, the tech companies, the chocolate bar, and not to mention the label.

Valerie pointed at the cake. "Argue with icing."

Eventually, only one guest remained.

Alice.

She stood near the doorway like she was waiting for the room to empty before she moved.

Dayo noticed her when he turned and saw she hadn’t followed the others.

"You didn’t go with them," he said.

Alice shrugged lightly. "I wanted to say congratulations properly. Without noise."

Dayo nodded once. "Thank you for coming."

She tilted her head. "That’s it?"

Dayo looked at her like he was confused.

"What else do you want me to say?"

Alice stepped closer, lowering her voice slightly. "Maybe ’thank you for staying’ the way you told me to. Maybe ’thank you for keeping quiet’ the way I did. Maybe ’thank you for not making me talk to the media’ when you knew I was tired too."

Dayo stared at her for a second, then smiled faintly.

"You’re still keeping score."

Alice smiled back. "Always."

Dayo gestured toward the door. "Let me walk you out."

They stepped outside together.

The night air was cool, quiet, normal, like the world hadn’t been screaming for them for weeks. The driveway light painted soft shadows across the ground. For the first time in a long time, Dayo’s house felt like a house, not a stop between chaos.

Alice adjusted her bag strap and glanced sideways at him.

"So," she said, "how does it feel? One billion."

Dayo exhaled slowly. "Heavy."

Alice’s brows lifted. "Not happy?"

"I’m happy," Dayo said, then looked at her. "But I don’t want to get addicted to numbers. That’s how people lose themselves."

He lied again.

Alice hummed like she understood.

Then she leaned in slightly, playful now, voice low enough to feel like a secret.

"You know... you looked shocked when the lights came on."

Dayo glanced at her. "I was shocked."

Alice smiled wider. "It was cute."

Dayo scoffed softly. "Don’t start."

Alice lifted her hands innocently. "I didn’t start anything. I just observed."

Dayo’s eyes narrowed with amusement. "You enjoy provoking people."

Alice tilted her head. "Only when they pretend they don’t have feelings."

Dayo looked at her for a beat, then shook his head, smiling.

"Go home."

Alice laughed. "You’re dismissing me."

"I’m protecting myself from bouncing on you right now," Dayo replied, deadpan.

Alice stepped backward toward her car, still smiling.

"Congratulations again," she said, softer this time. "You deserve it."

Dayo nodded. "Thank you."

Alice paused like she wanted to say more, then decided against it.

She opened her door, got in, and waved once.

Dayo watched her drive off, then turned back toward his house.

Inside, the living room was quieter now. The cake was half gone. Plates were stacked. The smell of celebration still lingered.

Abisola was there, collecting things slowly, like she was not in a hurry to end the night.

Dayo walked into the kitchen area, grabbed a bottle of water, and took a drink.

Then Abisola spoke, calm but purposeful.

"Dayo."

He looked at her. "Yes, ma?"

She wiped her hands lightly and faced him fully.

"I have something to tell you."

Dayo blinked. "What is it?"

Abisola hesitated only briefly, then smiled.

"Your aunt called me. My sister."

Dayo nodded, already listening.

"She said her daughter is getting married."

Dayo’s face softened immediately. "Ah. That’s good news."

Abisola nodded, but her eyes carried more.

"She wants us to come."

Dayo paused. "Come where?"

Abisola said it plainly.

"Nigeria."

The word landed differently.

Not because it was shocking as a place, but because it had been a long time since they had spoken about going back like it was real.

Janet appeared from the side like she had been waiting for that word.

"Nigeria?" she repeated, eyes wide. "We’re going to Nigeria?"

Dayo’s father stepped in too, expression thoughtful.

Abisola continued, voice steady.

"She wants the family there. She wants it done properly. She wants us present. Not just sending money. Not just calling. Present."

Dayo leaned his shoulder against the counter, processing it.

He hadn’t been back in a long time.

Not because he didn’t care.

Because life had been moving too fast and the world had been demanding too much.

But hearing it like this, from his mother’s mouth, made it feel like something he didn’t want to delay.

Janet clapped suddenly. "I’m going. I’m going. I don’t care. I’m going."

Dayo smiled. "You’ll calm down."

"I won’t calm down," Janet insisted. "Do you know how long I’ve been wanting to go? Do you know how many outfits I’ve been planning in my head?"

Dayo laughed quietly.

His father spoke, calm and firm. "If your mother is going, I’m going."

Abisola nodded like that was already obvious.

Dayo looked at her. "So you want us all to go."

"I do," Abisola said. "Not only you. All of us. We’ll treat it like family time too. We’ll show face. We’ll celebrate properly. And it will do you good."

Dayo held her gaze for a moment, then nodded.

"Alright," he said simply. "We’ll go."

Abisola’s shoulders relaxed like she had been holding that request inside her chest for a while.

Janet squealed again and ran off like she was already packing.

Dayo’s father shook his head with a smile.

Dayo stood there with his water bottle, suddenly feeling something he hadn’t felt in weeks.

Just a strange sense of direction.

A wedding.

A trip home to his ancestors’ land.

And for the first time since the numbers started rising, Dayo realized something.

The world could wait a little.

Family couldn’t.