Chapter 14 The Puppy is Dejected
The door creaked open with a sound.
It was a very small room with dim lights. It was obvious that it was not a proper meeting room at all.
The cramped walls pressed down from all directions, and being inside them, one even felt a slight breathlessness.
A simple table, a few old chairs, and a water dispenser behind him making a "gurgling" sound.
Shu Ming turned around, closed the door, and then pulled out a chair with ease. He lowered his eyes out of habit and looked at the table.
Several contracts were spread out on the table in a somewhat messy manner.
As for the contents of the contract, he almost memorized it.
Two staff members from the program team were sitting opposite him with their legs crossed. They were said to be small leaders in the program team.
But it doesn’t matter, Shu Ming doesn’t want to delve into it.
He just wanted to sigh.
Yes, this is the fourth time the program team has talked to him.
Four conversations in just one week.
Shu Ming also wanted to ask, what virtue did he have to make the program team go through so much trouble?
Among these four conversations, even the most extreme one, Shu Ming was alone facing a table of staff, who took turns to persuade him.
This group of people has one and only one goal - to force Shu Ming to sign the contract.
After all, no one can remain unmoved by a traffic pool of over 100 million, not even Hongyu Entertainment.
Ever since Shu Ming became an instant hit, the top leaders could no longer sit still.
Not being able to sign people into the company right from the start is a definite work mistake!
What's more, they don't hold talent shows for charity. If they really help an amateur debut but don't make any profit - wouldn't they be so embarrassed?
The most urgent task is to hold this sweet commodity tightly in our hands!
"Think it over carefully."
The thin, bamboo-thin man impatiently shifted to his side, continuing to cross his legs. He snorted coldly, "The program team's resources will definitely prioritize us contestants who already have contracts—don't you want to stay on stage and be a big star?"
He leaned forward again, his tone seductive, "This contract is the best offer we've gotten for you. This is the kind of treatment only a popular young actor can get. The company will provide you with resources and split the profits 50-50. We're one of the biggest companies in the industry. Go out and ask—"
"How many people want to sign but can't? If you miss this opportunity, you'll never get it again!"
The fat man beside him also slowed down his tone: "Xiao Shu, you also climbed up from a small place, and I also struggled from a small place. Do you understand? This is a chance to change your destiny!"
"No one wants to come to a big city and then go back in disgrace. Don't we all want to live a good life for ourselves and our families?"
What a great show!
One plays the good guy and the other plays the bad guy, this trick almost always works.
Most contestants on talent shows are only in their early twenties. How could they have ever seen such a scene?
Even if it is a hard nut to crack, we can chew it after talking about it a few more times.
It’s a pity that the person they met this time was Shu Ming.
There was no expected reaction.
The boy sitting opposite was not moved at all.
It has been more than a month, and I have received several rounds of salaries, but I haven't bought myself any new clothes. I still wear a cheap T-shirt.
After being washed and dried repeatedly, the pattern on the chest turned into cracked fragments, and even a few pieces fell off at some point, making it impossible to piece together a complete picture.
The boy was neither excited nor nervous, nor did he refuse. Every time he was asked, he would answer without missing a beat: "I need to think about it."
There is no entry point, how can we talk about this?
The fat man and the thin man were met with disapproval from Shu Ming. They pushed their chairs away and walked away angrily: "We advise you to think about it again."
Then he slammed the door shut with a bang.
A little dust was kicked up by the door panel.
The footsteps were indistinct and there was only silence in the room.
Shu Ming's nose was itchy, but he didn't dare move because he didn't know that the two people had not gone far.
He quietly raised his eyes to glance at the door, then quickly looked away, fearing that the other party would make a surprise attack and he would be exposed for no reason - then all his forced calmness would be in vain!
The boy held back his tears for a while before he pulled out a tissue and sneezed violently: "Ah-choo!"
One sneeze and tears came out!
So embarrassing orz.
Look left, look right...make sure there's no one.
Shu Ming was deflated all of a sudden!
He rubbed his face first, then touched his red nose, drooped his shoulders in frustration, and reached out to flip through the contract on the table that was supposedly "specially" prepared for him.
It is said to be a signed contract, but to put it bluntly, it is a living indenture!
Hongyu Entertainment finally revealed its true face and opened its bloody mouth that seemed to be about to devour people.
Shu Ming sat alone in the conference room, his chin propped up, staring at the contract in a daze.
In fact, it would be completely false to say that I am not nervous and don’t care.
To put it bluntly, Shu Ming had just celebrated his eighteenth birthday.
Although he knew some common sense, he really didn't understand the overly professional legal provisions.
I don’t understand the twists and turns of the entertainment industry.
Besides, Shu Ming had never seen such a scene before.
Taking turns, psychological torture...
How could he not be afraid at all?
When he was summoned for the second interview, a group of people in the conference room were chatting and laughing, and he was left alone in the corner for more than an hour.
I felt embarrassed and at a loss. Thinking back on it much later, I realized I should have just turned around and left.
But Shu Ming was still just a student at the moment, after all, and he still had some inertia to obey the "so-called authority" obediently. He really didn't react!
This is almost a kind of mental torture and pressure, which does not affect the body, but makes people feel uneasy.
Then, there were rounds of bombings -
They talk to him one by one, taking up his practice and rest time, and the implication is very clear: they will not let you go if you don't agree.
Shu Ming's calmness at that time was completely fake.
It was not until late at night, when he was reluctantly let go, that he discovered under the dim street lights that his palms had been scratched without his knowledge.
He blew himself twice and then returned to the dormitory as if nothing had happened.
But no matter how much hardship he has to endure or how many times the production crew has to rub him against them, Shu Ming understands.
This contract cannot be signed.
Tens of millions of dollars in liquidated damages and a term of up to twenty years.
Shu Ming chewed over these two numbers over and over again, feeling both anxious and sober.
Once this pen is put down, there is no turning back.
It is not even known whether I will have to struggle in this quagmire every day in the future.
He can't sign.
But when Shu Ming was dreaming at night, he was still frowning and didn't sleep well.
What followed was the first warning given to him by the program team.
In the new episode, almost all the scenes with Shu Ming were cut out!
On the night of the broadcast, the discussion group almost exploded!
However, no matter what happened, Shu Ming was still that energetic and cheerful puppy in front of his fans.
Every day, I would briskly walk to and from get off work as usual, leaning over the railing to smile at them, then winking, and reminding them that the temperature had risen again recently and that they should be careful not to come or get heatstroke...
However, sharp-eyed fans can still notice that Shu Ming, who used to always have people around him, is increasingly going to and from get off work alone.
One day on his way home from work, Shu Ming stood under a street light, looked up at the glaring light of the bulb, then stretched out his hand, spread out his five fingers, and then clenched them.
But there is only air in the palm of your hand, and the light cannot be caught.
He thought he had hidden it well and that he was far enough away from his fans.
But someone still saw it.
So, what exactly happened?
**
"So, what happened?"
Jiang Yingtian rummaged through the plastic bag beside him. It was the drink bag they brought back from the barbecue restaurant last time.
It was probably the first time they went out to eat together, and they were so excited that they bought all kinds of drinks that could be purchased at the convenience store. So after the meal, there were still a lot left - Jiang Yingtian rummaged around for a long time, took out a can of soda from the bag and opened it.
A little brown foam gushed out of the opening of the can, followed by a lot of "gurgling" sounds.
Shu Ming rested his chin on his knees and said in a muffled voice, "They want to force me to sign the contract."
The two of them sat in a remote corner of the filming base, leaning against the wall, and no one spoke for a while.
Shu Ming felt that his mind was a little confused.
Thinking about it now, it really seems like a lifetime ago. I felt that the future was bright just last week, and that maybe hard work would be rewarded, but now I have to face the cruel reality.
well.
I really want to sigh.
But sighing seems too unambitious, so I have to hold it in, hold it in, hold it in...
Alas, I really can’t hold it back.
The puppy shed tears silently and looked dejected.
Shu Ming moved his chin from his knees to his wrists, but he felt really uncomfortable.
He has lost a lot of weight in the past month, and suddenly he feels like his body is full of bones, which is so uncomfortable!
I want to sigh even more!
Jiang Yingtian turned his head and saw Shu Ming changing several postures in a short period of time, and he became more and more frustrated.
I felt amused and wanted to sigh at the same time - I had never realized so clearly that Shu Mingming was indeed not that old.
If you calculate carefully, he is older than Shu Ming... almost five years older.
"Xiao Shu." Jiang Yingtian suddenly said, "You..."
What he wanted to say was, you have to be careful during the finals, because Hongyu Entertainment is going to trip you up.
You have to be careful during the finals, no team will take you in.
His agent has already told him that he cannot be on the same team with Shu Ming in the finals.
Jiang Yingtian applied a little force with his fingers, squeezing the can slightly concave: "If you want smaller..."
The rustling sound of plastic bags interrupted his words.
"……Heart……"
Shu Ming opened a can with a bang, his eyes shining: "Brother! Did you buy beer?"
beer?
What beer? Wasn’t the can of beer he bought left at the barbecue restaurant by Li Qixiang?
Wait! Have you ever had a drink?
Jiang Yingtian was startled and had forgotten what he had just said. He just frantically tried to grab the wine jar from Shu Ming's hand.
That's not beer, that's vodka!
But hey, it's totally too late.
Shu Ming tilted his head back and gulped down the drink.
She even took the can in her hand and clinked it with the soda can in Jiang Yingtian's hand with great interest, her cheeks flushed.
"Cheers~"
Okay, I've become a complete drunk.
How come it gets on your face right away, Shu Xiaoming?
Fortunately, this place is remote.
Jiang Yingtian looked around and confirmed that no one would pass by here in the short term. He was no longer in a hurry. He stood up and looked at Shu Ming quietly for a rare two seconds.
This kid is still looking up at himself.
The dog's eyes were wet and his eyelashes were very long. The look in his eyes showed a sense of complete trust - perhaps at this moment, he was truly trusted by Shu Ming.
No one doesn't like the feeling of being treated specially.
Jiang Yingtian hesitated for two seconds, stretched out his finger, and did something he had been thinking about for a long time, poking Shu Ming's face.
It's soft.
So cute.
Poke it again.
Then the drunk Shu Xiaoming grabbed his fingers.
The man's face was completely red, like a fully ripe apple or peach, the corners of his eyes were also red, and his palms were frighteningly hot.
Jiang Yingtian was helpless: "Can we still go?"
"Okay!" Shu Ming was unwilling to admit defeat. He stood up in two or three steps, and then... he took two crooked steps and tripped himself, falling flat on his face.
"Come up." Jiang Yingtian had no choice but to turn his back and squat down.
After waiting for a while, a warm body leaned over, and the hot breath blew on my neck. A certain puppy was still giggling and mumbling, "Thank you, Brother Jiang."
Jiang Yingtian actually has a lot more to say.
He wanted to say: There's a high probability that Li Qixiang and the others have also been asked not to team up with you; there's a high probability that you might face fraudulent voting, and there's a high probability that many things will happen that are not in your favor...
There were even two moments when he thought of persuading Shu Ming to withdraw from the competition.
Ordinary people cannot defeat capital.
As someone who has been working in the circle for several years, Jiang Yingtian knows too many things that Shu Ming doesn't understand, and has too much information that Shu Ming can't get.
He just…didn't know whether to say it or not.
Jiang Yingtian was really conflicted, so the distance he walked while carrying Shu Ming on his back seemed to be much shorter and passed by in a flash.
When he arrived at the dormitory, he was about to say something, but Shu Ming covered his mouth.
"Don't talk, it's noisy."
Shu Ming sat on the chair and shook his legs. He seemed to be much more sober and his eyes were clear.
If you are too hesitant, don't say it out loud.
Shu Ming understood this better than anyone else. He was just drunk, not crazy.
Shu Ming is also very clear about his alcohol tolerance.
He just gets drunk easily, not really drunk to the point of unconsciousness.
But Shu Ming would not tell Jiang Yingtian directly. He would just put his face in his palm and drawl out his words in a flattering manner: "Brother, give me some water. I'm so thirsty——"
Jiang Yingtian shook his head and helped him open a bottle of mineral water.
Shu Ming gulped down half the bottle, and after sobering up a little, he rushed into the bathroom.
It seemed as if all his worries would be washed away with the water, and Shu Ming washed for a long time this time.
When I came out of the bathroom and shook my hair, I was a good puppy again!
The topic was indeed lightly touched upon.
But the dilemma will not be circumvented so easily.
The situation is worse than Jiang Yingtian expected.
He originally thought that although the program team was obviously targeting Shu Ming, in this group match, Shu Ming was at least in Ye Liqing's group.
No matter what, Ye Liqing will protect him. Coupled with the fans' resentment after being treated unfairly and Shu Ming's own strength, there will be no problem for him to advance to the finals.
Jiang Yingtian's ranking has been very stable, basically in the top three. The company also intends to promote him.
So he doesn't worry about himself.
What he was worried about was the final that Shu Ming was going to play next.
But the turning point of fate came so unexpectedly——
The next morning, when someone knocked on the door urgently, Shu Ming was still asleep.
Maybe it was because of the alcohol, this kid was still awake at seven or eight o'clock.
Not only that, he even curled up in the quilt, feeling aggrieved, and curled himself up into a ball.
Jiang Yingtian glanced at him, not wanting to disturb his rare lazy sleep, so he tried to slow down his movements and opened the door quietly.
Then, the mineral water bottle in his hand fell to the ground with a "pop" sound.
Li Qixiang knocked on the door early in the morning and brought news that couldn't be worse:
Ye Liqing was injured!
His mentor Zhou Hebin was also sent to the hospital with him!
The author has something to say:
----------------------
Usually updated around 12 o'clock
Then, a certain brand of strong refreshing is indeed vodka. When I was shopping in the supermarket with a friend before, my friend mistook it for beer.
That's it.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
