Chapter 22 I'm the male lead's backer, I don't want to be a backer! ...
"Xiao Qi, I want to try my best to make a living outside by relying on my own abilities."
Si Qi looked up and saw a young man sitting on the sofa opposite him.
Based on this statement and comparing it with the original plot, Si Qi knew that the person opposite him was most likely the male protagonist from the book.
The male protagonist was dressed in a very sophisticated designer casual outfit, every detail from his hair to his fingers was perfectly styled. Even just sitting there, with a relaxed and casual posture, he still exuded the radiant aura of an upper-class person.
From a first impression, this person's appearance, speech, and the feeling he gives off are all the kind that immediately evoke the image of a noble young master.
However, based on the other party's emphasis on appearance and the description in the original plot, it becomes clear that this seemingly wealthy "young master" is actually just a top star in an entertainment company under Si Qi. Thanks to his outstanding looks and the company's strong support in recent years, he finally became a nationwide sensation this year, becoming a household name in China.
Today, he came to discuss terminating his contract with Si Qi.
This is something that not only the original owner found difficult to understand, but also something that outsiders would absolutely find unbelievable once they knew about it.
Following the original owner's tone, Si Qi spoke frankly: "You haven't been in the industry for long, and it will be very tough for you to set up your own studio and work hard in the entertainment industry on your own."
The young man smiled slightly, his tone brimming with confidence, "It's alright, you know I'm never afraid of any difficulties!"
Upon hearing this, Si Qi, just like the original owner, revealed a knowing smile. His expression showed no anger at his ungrateful subordinate running away, only concern for his friend.
This reaction relieved the young man who had been secretly observing Si Qi's reaction. He was pleased that his friend was indeed as tolerant of him as he remembered, unlike what his girlfriend had said, that she only treated him as a money-making tool or a private object that was not allowed to have its own thoughts.
He smiled and said, "Xiao Qi, you are my best friend! Knowing you is the luckiest thing that has ever happened to me!"
Before transmigrating, Si Qi had already read through the original novel's plot. Now, having accessed the memories left behind by the original owner, he slowly picked up the teacup in front of him and sipped it without replying.
For Zhou Wu, the protagonist of the book, being able to meet the original owner of the body was indeed the luckiest thing that happened to him in his life.
He lost his father at the age of three and was raised by his mother from a young age. When he was five, he accidentally fell into the water and almost drowned. The original owner of the bodyguard who happened to be passing by saved him. From then on, he followed the original owner in the name of repaying the life-saving grace and became the original owner's playmate.
The original owner liked this friend very much. Knowing that the friend's family was so poor that they couldn't even afford toys, the owner asked her mother for help.
The original owner's mother was naturally a soft-hearted person to raise such a kind-hearted son. After hearing her son's request, she readily introduced Zhou Wu's mother to a good job and, under the guise of thanking her for playing with her child, gave Zhou Wu a lot of food and supplies.
Zhou Wu, being the protagonist of a novel with an inspirational and positive theme, naturally possesses a good personality when interacting with others. Knowing that the original owner of this body saved his life and helped him and his mother change their lives, he was extremely grateful to the original owner. Even though he couldn't do much, he would try his best to take care of the original owner in every aspect of life.
The original owner's mother saw Zhou Wu's good intentions and took a great liking to this pretty and well-behaved child. She, who often sponsored children in welfare homes, would also include Zhou Wu in her son's schooling and extracurricular activities, saying that "children are more likely to persevere when they study with friends."
It can be said that Zhou Wu was almost another child raised by Si Mu, which is the fundamental reason why Zhou Wu, despite coming from an ordinary family, developed the temperament of a noble young master.
Except for the first few years when life wasn't very good, Zhou Wu never had to worry about making a living after he turned five. He enjoyed the best service in everything he needed, from food and clothing to shelter and transportation, and the social circles he came into contact with were things that were difficult for others to access.
People raised in such an environment naturally possess extraordinary eloquence and insight. This, in turn, shaped his outward appearance into that of a noble, snow-capped lotus, while his inner self was filled with the tenacity of someone from the grassroots who, having witnessed wealth and glory, yearned to strive and fight for upward mobility.
This contrast between his outward appearance and inner character easily appeals to fans. Fans love the privileged, untainted rich kid, and they also adore the handsome, hardworking, and ambitious young man. These two seemingly incompatible attributes are perfectly embodied in Zhou Wu, creating a persona that is difficult for most people to emulate and is highly sought after in the entertainment industry.
In addition, the entertainment company he signed with was managed by his best friend Si Qi. Therefore, Zhou Wu never lacked resources in film, television, variety shows, and even brand endorsements. He didn't have to worry about public relations or publicity, nor did he have to fear being used, abandoned, or even betrayed by the company. From the beginning of his career, he enjoyed the generous treatment that ordinary stars could only dream of.
The novel begins with Zhou Wu signing a contract with the original owner of the body and entering the entertainment industry. The premise aligns with the popular "power fantasy" genre of the time—the protagonist has a cheat code, but it's not overly exaggerated; he's highly capable but still a novice in the entertainment industry, with ample room for growth; his ordinary background makes him vulnerable to backstabbing and suppression, but his friends' connections give him the power to retaliate; through his own efforts, he becomes a top star adored by fans, even winning a global Best Actor award and consistently promoting Chinese culture and bringing glory to the nation in public…
The story is about an ordinary person's rise to power and his dramatic transformation, depicting Zhou Wu's journey through the entertainment industry and his eventual ascent to the pinnacle of his career.
There is indeed a part of the story where Zhou Wu establishes his own studio and peacefully terminates his contract with the original owner.
But that was when he won his first Best Actor award, successfully gained the favor of international directors, and became a well-deserved superstar.
At that time, he had been in the entertainment industry for ten years and had a considerable reputation both domestically and internationally. He was inundated with endorsement deals and renowned directors were eager to work with him.
He amicably terminated his contract with the company upon its expiration, receiving unanimous blessings from netizens. The original owner, as a friend, even posted a private message on Weibo outside of the company's announcement, sincerely and touchingly recounting their shared experiences and wishing Zhou Wu a brighter future after his departure.
This incident once again brought the friendship between the two to the top of the trending searches. Fans enthusiastically discussed a series of stories about how the two supported each other and became each other's strong backing, talking about the life-saving grace in their childhood, growing up together as teenagers, how Zhou Wu became the pillar of the company and helped the original owner break through the encirclement of a group of illegitimate children to successfully inherit the company, and how the original owner let go for Zhou Wu's future and wished his friend a brighter future...
In this entertainment-obsessed environment, any two people who have interacted can be paired up by fans, not to mention the appealing pairing of the original owner and Zhou Wu, a wealthy and domineering CEO and a movie star, childhood friends and business partners. Of course, there will be no shortage of fans who ship them.
The original author used this topic to tease Zhou Wu several times in the story. Readers found the way these two friends got along so sweet that they created all sorts of fan fiction and fan art, making it even more popular than other male lead x manager or male lead x senior celebrity pairings.
Of course, for every thing that some people like, there will definitely be someone who hates it.
This is a male protagonist leveling up story, and according to the genre, it's a no-romance novel, meaning the male protagonist will never have a girlfriend.
Some readers like to pair up their two favorite characters and create content about them to promote them everywhere. Others only like the male lead and reject any character who takes up too much space in the story or has too deep a relationship with the male lead.
Some die-hard fans even develop a dislike for a character just because someone pairs the character with the male lead. They find the character unpleasant and try every means to smear him in the comments section, saying things like "Homosexuality is disgusting," "If this guy hadn't been lucky enough to know our Zhou Zhou, he would have been killed by his illegitimate child long ago," and "Can't this vampire just die already?"
These people can harbor such malice towards a character who has done nothing wrong, even through a screen. If this happened when the novel had just evolved into a small world, and the barrier of that small world was not yet stable, making it easy for reincarnated individuals, transmigrators, or superhumans to appear within it—then the result would be just like what we see now.
Using the plot of the book, the other party easily got close to Zhou Wu, and at key moments stole the scenes from other supporting characters. They appropriated all the dialogues that could evoke the male lead's soul resonance for themselves, and stole all the credit for encouraging the male lead to cheer up and for his inspiration to break through his acting breakthrough.
In exchange for the fact that those characters who would become the male protagonist's help in the future would become strangers to him, the male protagonist and this time traveler hit it off immediately, and the two quickly went from being mentors and friends to inseparable lovers.
When the people around the male protagonist found out about this, it was understandable that his agent would object, as he was a popular celebrity who was currently on the rise in his career and suddenly had a girlfriend who was relatively unknown in the industry.
The time traveler had long been annoyed by the manager who seemed to have feelings for the male lead in the original story and spent every day with him. Using her precognitive abilities, she falsely accused the manager of sabotaging her behind her back and complained to the male lead.
Because the "evidence was conclusive," the male protagonist and his agent had a violent conflict, which even reached the original owner of the body.
The original owner wasn't the type to domineeringly order her friends to forbid them from dating just for the sake of her career. If the transmigrator was inherently good and wouldn't harm Zhou Wu, the original owner didn't intend to overstep her bounds and interfere, putting her friend in a difficult position.
The transmigrator harbored too much malice towards the original owner. In front of Zhou Wu, the transmigrator acted like a kind and innocent little flower, saying that he was very happy to meet Zhou Wu's friend. But behind the scenes, the transmigrator spoke sarcastically to the original owner, saying that the original owner was clinging to Zhou Wu and only wanted to use Zhou Wu to make money, which made the original owner very angry.
The original owner, like her agent, strongly opposed her being with the transmigrator, saying that the transmigrator was scheming and not at all as gentle and harmless as she appeared. She said that if she really had no tricks up her sleeve, how could she, as a nobody in the entertainment industry, have "coincidentally" met top celebrities one after another, and even fall in love with Zhou Wu in just a few months, making Zhou Wu argue with his agent for her sake?
Zhou Wu wouldn't listen.
He believed what he had seen with his own eyes and didn't think his girlfriend, who could say such profound things and resonate with his soul, could be some kind of despicable person looking for shortcuts. Especially since his girlfriend had a keen eye and knew many inside stories of the industry, she would definitely have ways to become famous if she wanted to. How could she be as despicable as the original owner of this body described?
The situation was very awkward for both sides. The original owner was caught in the middle, being both the boss and the friend. She couldn't say anything or not, and she had to work with her agent to hide Zhou Wu's relationship with the transmigrator. Because the transmigrator was bragging about it everywhere, she had to clean up his mess and wipe away the rumors about the two of them circulating online. Her agent lost her temper countless times and said she didn't want to work with Zhou Wu anymore.
Today's situation is obviously more serious. Zhou Wu suddenly came over and said he wanted to terminate the contract, and even went so far as to say that he "wanted to try to make a living on his own".
That sounds really awkward.
Is there something your company has done wrong that made you want to start your own business?
Or have you grown too big for your britches and want to go solo? The company spent so much effort to make you famous, and now that you're famous, you want to terminate your contract, leaving all the money and resources we invested before we even recoup our investment to go down the drain?
In the original story, the male protagonist waited until his contract expired, when he was already making his mark on the international stage and the company could no longer offer him much support. He only proposed terminating the contract after years of supporting the company and mentoring new employees. This approach was perfectly reasonable; both sides had helped each other for many years, so neither owed the other anything, and the peaceful separation allowed them to maintain friendly cooperation in the future.
But now, the male lead has just had a falling out with his company because of his girlfriend, and then he comes to the company to terminate his contract. Anyone would call Zhou Wu an ingrate and a scoundrel.
But Zhou Wu clearly didn't think so.
He was used to the original owner's help since childhood, and didn't think there was anything wrong with his friend helping him and giving him resources in his company—why let the good stuff go to outsiders? He felt that after he became independent, he would definitely find a way to repay his friend, just like they did when they were young. Right now, he was just being sent to work in a place where his private life wouldn't be interfered with. What was wrong with that?
Outsiders might think he's acting unfairly, but he and his friend are family, so there's no need to be so clear about the distinction.
Of course, while he said it was nothing, his girlfriend had already instilled in him a lot of things like "many friendships change as we grow up," "good friends shouldn't work in the same company, let alone work together, otherwise it's easy to break up," and "Si Qi definitely won't let you leave so easily. He treats you as a cash cow for the company and uses you to fight against those illegitimate brothers." After hearing so much, Zhou Xu was actually a little worried that Si Qi would refuse to let him terminate the contract.
He had all his talking points ready: that he would still help the company with filming and endorsements after leaving, that they would get along comfortably even though they were no longer in a superior-subordinate relationship, and that Xiaobai really wasn't as naive as he was described...
To everyone's surprise, as soon as he entered the office and spoke, Si Qi readily nodded in agreement, saying "Sure." This left Zhou Wu speechless, feeling both happy and a little awkward.
"You used to say you'd groom me to be the company's top star and that we'd climb to the top of the entertainment industry together, but you just let me go like that," Zhou Wu joked.
“Some things can’t be forced,” Si Qi said with a meaningful smile.
In the original timeline, the original owner knew that Zhou Wu's foundation was not deep and that he would encounter difficulties in fighting alone in the entertainment industry. Fearing that he had been misled by that innocent girl, the original owner insisted on persuading Zhou Wu to stay.
Because of his girlfriend's brainwashing, and because he didn't think there was anything wrong with terminating the contract, Zhou Wu was unhappy that the original owner insisted on keeping him in the company and having his private life interfered with, so he demanded to terminate the contract with a very strong attitude.
Terminating a contract is a perfectly reasonable and legal matter. Zhou Wu was adamant about it, and the original owner couldn't really break ties with her best friend of over ten years over this. Even though she was angry, she still agreed in the end. However, before terminating the contract, she advised Zhou Wu not to trust his girlfriend too much, as she was not a good person.
Zhou Wu had a deep relationship with the original owner, so even though he didn't like hearing these words, he still paid some attention to them.
But his suspicions were no match for the transmigrator who had the script. The transmigrator quickly dispelled Zhou Wu's wariness by relying on the original plot. She even took advantage of Zhou Wu's guilt towards her and his feeling that he shouldn't doubt her to say more provocative things.
For example, the agent wanted to use him to get away from the patriarchal family of bloodsuckers, which is why she kept demanding that he become a big star to make money for her and wouldn't allow him to date and affect her career—this was confirmed when the male protagonist discovered that the agent's family relationships were indeed terrible.
For example, the original owner was actually gay. He had a crush on Zhou Wu since childhood and would secretly take away Zhou Wu's belongings and put photos of the two of them on the bedside table. The reason he didn't allow Zhou Wu to date was because he liked Zhou Wu and treated Zhou Wu as his possession. That's why he harbored such malice towards Zhou Wu's girlfriend, going so far as to fabricate lies to speak ill of her and find various excuses to break them up.
Zhou Wu was naturally shocked by this. In the following interactions with the original owner, he subtly probed the original owner, asking about the whereabouts of a certain item and peeking into the original owner's bedroom to see if there was a photo of him.
These are all evidence used by the author in the original work to prove the deep friendship between the two. The things that Zhou Wu used and the photo of the two of them on the bedside table actually have a very touching story about friendship behind them, which is not as dark and twisted as the time traveler said.
What should have been a touching moment was misunderstood by the male protagonist and taken as evidence that his girlfriend was secretly coveting him.
The male protagonist was deeply shocked by this, unable to accept that his best friend would look at him that way, and also unable to forgive his friend for hurting an innocent girl out of selfishness and saying so many hurtful things.
He had no choice but to keep his distance from the original owner, using work as an excuse to refuse to meet in private. Even when they met, he would constantly show affection in front of the original owner, trying to make the original owner who "liked him" give up.
The original owner was unaware of the male lead's misunderstanding and only thought that the male lead's strange attitude towards him was because of his girlfriend. This made him very unhappy, and he repeatedly expressed that he didn't want to hear about the male lead and his girlfriend, which made the male lead more convinced that the original owner had impure intentions and that the original owner shouldn't have such a big prejudice against his girlfriend.
The two argued about this matter repeatedly, and the male protagonist even said to the original owner, "She is indeed more important than you," which made the original owner extremely sad.
The original owner had treated the male lead very well in the past. Even though his position in the company was not very secure, he still gritted his teeth and agreed to the male lead's request to terminate his contract, taking on a series of responsibilities for him. This made the company's shareholders very dissatisfied with him, and a group of illegitimate brothers instigated his father to cause trouble for him, making him extremely anxious.
He also considered their long-standing brotherhood and felt that even if the male lead established his own studio, he would still cooperate with the company. He worried that his friend would have no connections in the entertainment industry and would definitely struggle and get no reward by working alone. So he continued to arrange scripts and resources for the male lead and handled public relations and publicity issues for him.
He thought the male lead would be as sentimental as he was, maintaining a relationship that was closer than family no matter where they were. However, while the male lead said he would continue to work with him and treat him as his best friend, he gradually distanced himself from him. He was ruthless when it came to acquiring resources, but when it came to helping out, he would say, "I'm not your artist after all," repeatedly refusing the work the original owner arranged for him. Finally, he even said, "My girlfriend is definitely more important than you," warning the original owner not to bother him.
The original owner's sincere feelings were wasted, and she suffered setbacks in both friendship and career. Not long after, due to the innocence of a scheming woman spreading rumors behind her back, she was somehow rumored to be "love-struck and neglecting the company's development for the sake of her sweetheart" and "attempted to sexually harass Zhou Wu, but luckily Zhou Wu escaped quickly."
When someone asked Zhou Wu to verify the truth, Zhou Wu remained silent, tacitly agreeing, which made the original owner a laughing stock in the circle for a time.
It can be said that the more unlucky the original owner was back then, the more smoothly the innocent girl and Zhou Wu rose to power thanks to the plot's cheat codes.
The original owner couldn't help but confront Zhou Wu, who seemed unwilling to talk and just wanted to leave. The original owner pressed him, asking why he had treated her this way.
A fan filmed the scene of the two arguing and uploading it online. The illegitimate child took the opportunity to fuel the flames and amplify the impact of public opinion. As a result, fans across the internet were filled with righteous indignation and launched a cyberbullying campaign against the original owner.
A sasaeng fan, having learned of the original owner's whereabouts through a leak from a seemingly innocent woman, impulsively chased after her in his car, attempting to ram her car from behind to force her to stop. This resulted in a serious car accident for the original owner. Although she survived, she was paralyzed from the neck down, becoming completely useless.
After the news spread, it caused a huge uproar. Zhou Wu posted that it was all a misunderstanding and remained tight-lipped about the original owner's harassment. He then paid off the compensation for the obsessive fan, which moved the fans and indirectly confirmed the "fact" that the original owner had brought it upon herself.
The original owner and his mother were so angry when they heard the news that they almost died in the hospital room. The company was also completely taken over by the illegitimate son not long after. It can be said that the mother and son did not get a good reward for their good deeds. They sincerely helped Zhou Wu so much, but in the end, they got such a result.
Now, time has turned back, and Si Qi has received the wish left behind by the original owner, becoming the original owner.
Looking at his "friend" who wanted to terminate the contract, he readily agreed to let him leave and watched him walk out of the office.
Shortly after, the secretary arrived with the contract, looking indignant and puzzled: "Mr. Si, are you really going to let Xiao Zhou leave like this?"
The secretary is a long-time employee of the company, having worked there for over ten years. She has practically watched the original owner grow up and has deep feelings for her.
He understood that Si Qi had a good relationship with his friend and had taken good care of Zhou Wu at the company. But now that Zhou Wu had finally risen to prominence after receiving so many of the company's resources and was able to repay the company and bring in profits, he immediately turned his back and proposed to terminate the contract—this was just too unreasonable, both professionally and personally! He didn't directly call Zhou Wu an ungrateful ingrate, which was a way of saving face for Zhou Wu and not putting Si Qi in a difficult position.
Si Qi said calmly, "He's determined to leave, what can I do? You can't force a relationship, after all, we've been friends for so many years."
"Only you consider him a friend..." the secretary muttered under her breath, taking the opportunity to sow discord between Si Qi and others: "Don't assume everyone knows how to be grateful. Those who can share hardship aren't necessarily those who can share wealth!"
Seeing his secretary's disappointed expression and her long-standing disapproval of Zhou Wu, Si Qi couldn't help but laugh: "I've finally come to my senses now, haven't I?"
The secretary asked in surprise, "You really think so?"
Some things are clearer to outsiders. Many things in the original work that were glossed over with "they are good brothers, there's no need to be so calculating" are actually quite unreasonable in the real world.
For example, some things that would lower the male lead's image, like thanking Si Qi for the many resources he received in front of outsiders or admitting that he owes his current success to Si Qi, are never mentioned in the original work. It only says, "The male lead is grateful to his friend in his heart and is determined to repay him in the future." Readers believe the male lead will definitely do it, but outsiders only see it as the male lead taking Si Qi's contributions for granted and showing no gratitude whatsoever.
After all, who can be sure they'll become a huge star in the future, or that they'll definitely be able to repay their friends? This is the real world, not a wish-fulfillment novel centered around the protagonist's rise to fame!
Making money through a friend's connections, then sharing the money with the friend according to the contract, claiming it was money earned for the friend and a way of repaying them—isn't that ridiculous? Isn't this just following the rules? Not sharing the money is illegal, okay?
The original owner helped other celebrities rise to fame. Couldn't those other celebrities earn the same amount of money? In the book, the original owner was a business genius handpicked by the author. He was a force to be reckoned with and solved countless problems for the male lead. Would it be difficult for someone like him to cultivate one or two stars with the same potential as the male lead?
What kind of repayment is this?
From beginning to end, it's the male lead who benefits the whole thing. He's born with a cheat code called "Original Owner," making his path smooth sailing. Meanwhile, the original owner just runs her own business normally, occasionally stepping in to support the male lead, shielding him from trouble and resolving his problems. The original owner's ability to inherit the company in the book is entirely due to her own skills and sound investment decisions; she wasn't swindled by the ungrateful male lead. What does the male lead have to do with it?
In the novel, the original owner is the author's handpicked tool, good buddy, and powerful backer. She has a good personality, is loyal, has a saintly heart, and her interactions with the male lead are pleasant from beginning to end. The male lead uses so many of her resources, but she accepts it without complaint. She helps her friend out and they cooperate for mutual benefit, and she never complains.
But now the novel has become reality, with a transmigrator entering the story and constantly stirring up trouble in the male protagonist's ear. Given the male protagonist's nature of only receiving from the mother and son for over a decade without ever giving anything in return, he certainly wouldn't be inclined to do anything for the original owner after leaving her.
After all, not all goodwill is reciprocated.
It is not uncommon in reality that some people who have received help from donors for many years but never communicate with them will call the donors for the first time after the donors encounter difficulties and have to stop providing assistance, and they will question why the money was not transferred on time.
The male protagonist immediately distanced himself from his friend because he misunderstood that his friend liked him. He said to his friend's face that his girlfriend was more important than his friend, and let others deepen the slander against his friend. He even publicly paid compensation for the obsessive fan who almost killed his friend in order to maintain the cohesion of his fans... All of these things are enough to show what kind of person the male protagonist really is.
They can share wealth and prosperity but not hardship; if they immediately distance themselves from the other party in times of trouble, they are nothing but ingrates.
Seeing that Si Qian remained silent and showed no intention of refuting him after she finished speaking, the secretary couldn't help but laugh, repeatedly saying, "Okay, okay, okay!"
For a moment, they even forgot about Zhou Wu's distressing plan to terminate the contract.
Si Qi, pleased with his secretary, took the termination agreement from the table, glanced through it, and agreed, saying, "Let's proceed according to the contract."
Upon hearing this, the secretary smiled even more broadly.
Si Qi knew why the other person was laughing like that.
In a contract, unilateral breach of contract requires the breaching party to pay the other party a huge sum of compensation.
In the original timeline, the original owner considered that Zhou Wu had not been famous for long and had not earned much money, so he reduced the huge compensation to a level that would not be a major blow to Zhou Wu even if he paid it off.
Zhou Wu was naturally overjoyed, repeatedly saying that he would definitely repay Si Qi in the future and would never let Si Qi suffer any loss.
But what happened next was obvious; it's safe to say that not a single word of what he said could be believed.
Therefore, Si Qi certainly couldn't consider Zhou Wu's feelings like the original owner did, and the contract had to be exactly what it stated.
The secretary walked away happily, clutching the contract.
The contract was slapped in front of Zhou Wu, and when Zhou Wu saw the compensation amount on the contract, his face was so shocked that it looked like he had seen the end of the world.
"I won't agree!" He slammed the contract on the table and said angrily, "You don't need to force me with this. I've already said I won't stay at the company! If you're so capable, take this contract to Xiao Qi and see what he has to say!"
The secretary smiled, not at all intimidated by the threat in Zhou Wu's words, and said bluntly, "I didn't mean to force you to stay. This contract follows company policy, and it's the same no matter who comes. Whether President Si looks at it or not, it won't change. This is in accordance with the law."
"Your demands here are clearly designed to prevent me from leaving!" Zhou Wu angrily retorted. "Where am I supposed to get so much compensation? You're just deliberately making things difficult for me!"
"You're overthinking it," the secretary sneered. "When you signed the contract, it was clearly stated in black and white that the party breaching the contract would have to pay this much compensation. It's the same everywhere. Why is it that this is the procedure for everyone else terminating a contract, but when you do, it's the company deliberately making things difficult for you?"
Zhou Wu remained silent with a dark expression, while his secretary continued her sarcastic remarks: "Are you implying that the company invested so many resources in you, finally making you famous, and then you turn your back on us, demanding to terminate your contract after becoming popular, and the company is supposed to spare you a single penny out of respect for you? Do you think you're some kind of god? That the law has to yield to you, and everyone has to do what you say? That whatever you say must be done?"
"I—" Zhou Wu wanted to get angry, but this involved things that were clearly written in the law, leaving him with nowhere to vent his anger.
He thought the biggest problem coming here would be persuading Si Qi, but he encountered no resistance from Si Qi at all. Instead, it was the breach of contract penalty that he hadn't taken seriously that caused him to suffer a major setback.
"But this is too much money..."
Losing his confidence, Zhou Wu softened his tone, "Talk to Xiao Qi, I can pay compensation, but it's just a symbolic thing, there's no need to make the amount so high, the company doesn't lack this little bit of money."
"If it's just a little money, why don't you pay?" The secretary didn't mince words with Zhou Wu: "You can't be unaware of President Si's current situation in the company, can you? Everyone is watching his performance. You've let him invest so many resources in you, and even let him allow you to terminate your contract and leave when you finally became famous. Don't you know how the company's directors will make things difficult for President Si because of this? President Si must have told you all these things, right? After all, you are his best friend!"
"..." Zhou Wu was completely speechless. Of course he knew about Si Qi's family affairs, but he just... just hadn't thought that much about it. After all, Si Qi was the president of the company. What was firing one person? People left the company every year!
"I'm not trying to be mean, but don't always go to President Si for everything," the secretary said, arms crossed, scolding Zhou Wu, who still looked unconvinced. "The company's resources are limited, and people will complain no matter who they're allocated to. President Si has been working hard to develop you and has put all the resources on you, which has already made many people unhappy! You don't even repay President Si for his efforts, and you don't even try to find fault with him, but you just leave like that, without considering how much trouble President Si will face! Now you're asking President Si to make an exception for you over such a small matter as breach of contract fees. Are you afraid that those people don't have enough dirt on President Si? Do you want to cause him even more trouble?!"
“…I don’t want to hear what you have to say. I’m going to talk to Xiao Qi.” Seeing that his secretary was determined to force him to agree to this outrageous contract, Zhou Wu became annoyed.
He wanted to talk to Si Qi privately about this matter and see what the best way to handle it was.
"If you have any conscience at all, don't go to President Si about this again," the secretary said, stopping him.
"I can't—"
"Then don't terminate the contract!"
"I--"
Like a deflated balloon, Zhou Wu said irritably, "Don't push me!"
"How could I dare to force you! After all, you were the one who brought this up from the beginning. I just brought the company's template contract for you to sign. It's a standard procedure that every company follows. It's not like someone is deliberately targeting you!" The secretary sneered, "You wanted to terminate the contract but refused to follow it, so you insisted that President Si give you special treatment and make him take all the responsibility for you."
Zhou Wu hated hearing this last thing. "Xiao Qi and I are friends, we never make such distinctions. As for using connections, I'll repay you later—"
"Then I'll wait and see!" The secretary interrupted directly, her face full of disdain: "I don't understand either. You've finally managed to earn money for President Si since your debut, but you insist on opening your own studio at this time. What kind of repayment is this?"
This is clearly repaying kindness with enmity!
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