Winter Has Come

The director was eating popcorn on set.

He hadn't expected that Pei Heng would mention Zhao Sheng wanting to poach someone one moment, and the next, he would receive a call from Zhao Sheng himself.

The director instantly—

looked even more eager for the drama.

After clearing his throat, he set his sunflower seeds aside and answered the call, thoroughly unconcerned about making matters bigger—

"Hello, Agent Zhao!"

Xie Li's jealousy-filled eyes shot straight over.

[Damn! He really is here to poach someone!]

[Hahahahaha, the face-slapping plot from a power fantasy is here.]

Zhao Sheng looked at the director speaking to him through the livestream, then at the barrage of comments.

No matter how he looked at it, something about this call felt strange.

Even stranger, Xie Xun, who had always been indifferent to everything, actually put down his match-three game and looked over at him.

Zhao Sheng: ...

He shot Xie Xun a glare, then said to the director, "Director Wang, it's like this. I watched some of your show and found it really interesting. I wanted to ask whether Shen Yan has terminated his contract with his agency.

"If he has, could you do me a favor and introduce me to Shen Yan?"

Director Wang immediately covered the receiver and smiled at Shen Yan. "Zhao Sheng called. He wants to know whether you've terminated your contract with your agency. He wants to meet you."

Zhao Sheng stared at the livestream: ...

What was the point of covering the receiver, then?

Before Shen Yan could answer, his agent raised a hand. "No. Shen Yan still has two years left on his contract with our company. According to the contract he signed, if Shen Yan leaves in breach of contract, he'll have to pay one billion yuan in damages. On top of that, he won't be allowed to work as an artist for three years."

[Damn, what kind of freak company is this?!]

[Shen Yan signed that kind of contract? Did he lose his mind?]

The instant the agent said that, the comments erupted in curses.

Zhao Sheng heard every word clearly and sneered. "But didn't you just say that Shen Yan had to pay damages for withdrawing from the show, and that you would terminate his contract? Please tell him for me, Director Wang: if Shen Yan wants to hire a lawyer, then as a gesture of sincerity, I can recommend a suitable one."

Director Wang had no intention of relaying the message.

He immediately switched on speakerphone.

Zhao Sheng watched helplessly as his own voice came through the livestream.

Luckily, he was wearing headphones while watching the stream. Otherwise, there would have been an accidental duet.

Shen Yan's agent shot Lu Xingchuan a quick, unpleasant look before saying, "It was all a misunderstanding. The director just said that if Shen Yan can settle his own issues, he is still willing to let him continue recording the show.

"Now that the misunderstanding has been cleared up, there are no disputes on our end either."

Zhao Sheng said, "But Shen Yan's reputation has been harmed. I think Shen Yan may want to file a lawsuit? I can recommend a lawyer, and we can also investigate who exactly released that video."

Lu Xingchuan's eyelid twitched. He gave the agent a warning look.

The agent shuddered inwardly and forced himself to say, "I was the one who released that video. Shen Yan had posted on Weibo several times without my permission before, and it made me very angry. I originally just wanted to teach him a lesson."

The agent glanced at Pei Heng.

Things had already reached this point. He might as well go all out.

"I never expected Shen Yan to find someone to back him up and have President Pei step in to help him..."

The agent wanted to steer the narrative.

He wanted everyone to think Shen Yan had managed to turn things around only because of Pei Heng's capital manipulation.

Even if the matter was settled now, it could still be dragged up again later and spun anew.

But Shen Yan immediately cut him off. "Bullshit! The reason I could explain myself was because of the video recorded two years ago, and because Lu Xingchuan is shameless enough to want to be a whore and still have a memorial arch built for himself. You're dragging something from two years ago onto someone in the present? You people are really fucking impressive!"

The agent snapped, "Shen Yan, don't forget that you still have two years left on your contract with the company. If things turn ugly, it won't be good for anyone."

Pei Heng stood nearby with his phone held up for the livestream. He turned to look at the weather outside. "Winter has come."

[HAHAHAHAHAHA!]

[President Pei really gets memes.]

[President Pei is protecting his husband live on stream.]

[Two years left on the contract, right? Easy. Buy that shitty little company for me.]

The moment Pei Heng spoke, the agent shuddered.

Uneasily, he looked toward Lu Xingchuan.

[Why does he keep looking at Lu Xingchuan?]

[I heard from someone in the industry that the company Shen Yan is with was bought by Lu Xingchuan's family.]

[Damn, for real?]

[If that's true, then was Shen Yan being forced to apologize on Weibo before also Lu Xingchuan's doing?]

[Fuck, what a disgusting man. He mooches off Shen Yan and still does this to him? So disgusting. Just die already!]

Lu Xingchuan nearly couldn't hold it in any longer. He immediately shivered and looked at Pei Heng.

He couldn't figure out when Pei Heng had gotten to know Shen Yan.

Why was he helping Shen Yan so much?

But with things having developed to this point, he could only wrap it up quickly. The longer it dragged on, the harder it would be to clean up.

Cutting through the mess decisively, Lu Xingchuan said to the agent, "You were clearly the one who did something wrong. Why are you still threatening him? If you hadn't meddled back then and made me misunderstand Shen Yan, things wouldn't have reached this point today.

"You're narrow-minded. Just because an artist didn't follow your arrangements, you actually retaliated like this.

"I happen to know several senior executives at your company. I'll personally call them about your issue."

This was Lu Xingchuan telling the agent to take all the blame while he made other arrangements.

The agent didn't dare argue and hurriedly said, "It was all my fault. Shen Yan, please be the bigger person and overlook my mistakes. I was possessed by greed. Because you wouldn't listen to me, I developed thoughts of revenge. Shen Yan, please forgive me."

The agent insisted that everything was his fault.

Shen Yan knew that even if they kept pressing the matter, they wouldn't be able to drag Lu Xingchuan into it.

Although he couldn't make Lu Xingchuan's career collapse outright, his reputation would definitely take a serious hit.

So—

"It's not impossible for me to forgive you, but my reputation was indeed harmed. How about this? My reputation is currently worth only two million. If you give me the money, I'll let it go. If you don't, then I'll borrow Agent Zhao's lawyer and we'll handle this properly."

The agent swallowed hard.

How much?

Two million?

Why didn't he just rob someone!

Shen Yan: ...

Hehehehehe!

If I can take advantage of a crisis, why would I rob anyone?

I never do anything illegal.

In the end, the agent borrowed money on the spot and transferred two million yuan to Shen Yan.

Generously, Shen Yan said to the phone Pei Heng was holding up, "First thing in the morning, someone was practically begging to give me two million yuan. I'm almost embarrassed. If anyone wants to frame me in the future, make sure you have the money ready first."

As he spoke, Shen Yan looked at Lu Xingchuan with ill intent. "So, Lu Xingchuan, didn't you say you know the higher-ups at my agency? Why don't you give them a call? Am I continuing to record the show now, or am I getting the hell out of the production?"