Chapter 140 Losing Money
The mall was cleared out, but employees were not restricted from using their mobile phones. Before long, photos of the Zhou couple shopping together were posted online.
[Damn it, Jay Chou fooled me again! Who said finance guys don't understand love? What is this???]
Okay, okay, so you'll have to spend the whole mall trying to appease your wife, right?
His wife shopped ahead, and he followed behind. When she picked out clothes, he stared intently. He was being playful, he was laughing… Waaaaaah, so what they say in novels is all true!
[Look at that pile of shopping bags! Our Mianmian bought a lot; Jay Chou's credit card must be maxed out by now!]
[Fun fact: According to the fourth-quarter financial report, Kepler Group's net profit this year is 203.6 billion yuan—note that this is only the profit within the Chinese region. As far as I know, Kepler's business has been shifting overseas in recent years, meaning they are making much more profit abroad, two to three times higher. Furthermore, based on equity penetration, Mr. Zhou directly or indirectly holds 58% of Kepler's shares; you can roughly calculate how much he will receive. The most alarming thing is that this is only for one year!]
[Hundreds of billions... Are you talking about RMB or Happy Beans? I don't even have that many Happy Beans!]
[Damn it, I'm going to fight you rich people to the death!]
For a time, netizens were blinded by money, but they quickly regained their senses when they saw the beautiful image of the Zhou couple standing together, and they were completely captivated.
Meanwhile, in the dimly lit room, Tan Jingcheng sat on the floor by the bed, his face as green as if he had just vomited bile, with the curtains closed and the lights off.
He hasn't washed up since he came back yesterday. His hands still have bloodstains from yesterday's cuts, which have scabbed over and are covered in dust, making them black and dirty.
His hair was incredibly oily, sticking to his face, making him look more like a greasy ghost than a human.
The phone he smashed was placed about a meter away. It was of pretty good quality; the screen was cracked but it was still usable and could be used to browse Weibo.
Tan Jingcheng stared blankly at the photos that were constantly being updated on Weibo. The main characters in the photos were a perfect couple, and just standing together was enough to conjure up countless romance novels in one's mind.
Xia Mian, in particular, was always wearing Zhou Pingchuan's coat, but Zhou Pingchuan wouldn't even let him get in the car.
So he... still lost to Xia Mian, right?
Tan Jingcheng's face was contorted in pain. Just then, his phone screen suddenly changed—someone was calling.
He was the regional manager of a brand he endorsed. Tan Jingcheng covered his head and ears, as if that would make him unable to hear or see.
After calling twice and seeing no one answer, the regional manager finally gave up. Silence returned to the room, and Tan Jingcheng slowly lowered his hand, only to have his phone ring again.
This time it was his agent, Liu Yu. He hesitated for a moment before answering the call.
"Jingcheng, are you home?" Liu Yu asked.
"What are you going to do?" Tan Jingcheng asked back.
“Jingcheng, running away is not the solution. Find a team to talk to each party properly and see how to minimize the losses for both sides, so as to avoid going to litigation.”
Tan Jingcheng angrily retorted, "I told you, I don't have enough money! I really don't have enough money! What else do you want from me? Huh? Are you trying to force me to my death?"
Liu Yu sighed helplessly.
Tan Jingcheng was blacklisted by a powerful figure, which is considered an unforeseen circumstance. This has happened before, and in the end, the agency, the brands that endorsed him, and the parties that offered him the contract could only accept their bad luck and didn't pursue the actor for compensation.
As a result, Tan Jingcheng was dishonest and went out to spread false information. He even mobilized online trolls to spread the information widely, which angered Xia Mian. She was then nailed to the pillar of shame as a "mistress" and a "high-class gigolo" by a series of audio and photo leaks.
In this way, being "blacklisted" turned into a "scandal," severely impacting the brand image he endorsed. The brand withdrew its advertisements and removed its products overnight, resulting in incalculable losses. The "force majeure" was directly transformed into "the fault of the party he represented."
How could the brands possibly let him off the hook? Fewer than twenty endorsements still under contract came knocking on his door demanding compensation.
Tan Jingcheng completely broke down. He initially answered the phone, but later simply hung up.
When the brands couldn't find anyone, they turned to Liu Yu.
“Jingcheng, I’m saying this for your own good. You usually have a good working relationship with the brand, so talk to them properly. They should be able to understand your difficulties and lower the compensation, or pay it in installments. Maybe you can make a comeback in the future. But if you default on the payment, you’re doomed in the industry, and you can forget about ever making a comeback.”
"Why should I pay compensation? What do you mean by 'walked to death'? Liu Yu, don't curse me!"
“I’m not cursing you,” Liu Yu understood his breakdown, “I’m trying to find a solution for you.”
"Your so-called solution is to retire from the industry and pay back the money, leaving me with nothing but a mess after all these years of hard work? Liu Yu, do you think I'm stupid, or are you just trying to squeeze one last buck out of me by teaming up with those brands after I'm finished? Do you think I don't know about your disgusting shady dealings behind the scenes! You pimp! You brothel owner!"
Upon hearing this, Liu Yu's eyes gradually turned cold.
Being an agent isn't something anyone can do. Tan Jingcheng is right. To maintain relationships within the industry, he has often taken his artists to entertain wealthy clients and profited from it.
But he really didn't take Tan Jingcheng out much. Tan Jingcheng became famous early, so there was no need for him to.
Moreover, he had been quite good to Tan Jingcheng, and had been mediating for Tan Jingcheng these past few days, but he never expected to receive this kind of evaluation in the end.
Ungrateful wretch.
"Yes, you're right, I am a madam, but you're not much better, just a duck that charges a bit more."
Liu Yu sneered: "Oh right, there's another way to make money and pay off your debts. You can continue being a gigolo and keep hooking up with sugar daddies for money. But at your age, I'm afraid you won't be able to get any good jobs. For example, Xia Mian, one of hers is worth ten or a hundred of yours, isn't it?"
"You, you..." Tan Jingcheng was so angry that his face turned red and his neck bulged. He couldn't get a complete sentence out. He couldn't take it anymore and slammed his phone to the ground again.
He hadn't eaten since yesterday. He threw his phone too hard just now, his legs went weak, and he fell headfirst to the ground.
His face slammed against the shattered glass of the screen, and blood spread.
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