Chapter 23 I'm the male lead's backer, I don't want to be a backer! ...
Zhou Wu was so angry at these words that he felt like the other person was pointing a finger at him and calling him heartless.
He wanted to explain but felt he couldn't reason with this person. He was angry and couldn't help but complain that Si Qi didn't just bring him the contract, so he wouldn't have to be harassed by the secretary like this.
But now his secretary is cornered here, insisting he either sign or stay at the company. He looked down and calculated his earnings since his debut, the properties he could mortgage, and the subsequent payments from various endorsements and variety shows. All in all, he could barely scrape together that amount. After much pleading and begging, he finally managed to get his secretary to agree to a few months' delay before settling everything, and only then was the matter finally settled.
Exhausted, Zhou Wu returned home to find his girlfriend standing at the door. She ran over to him with a big smile and hugged him, which gave him some comfort. He then told his girlfriend, "I've terminated the contract."
His girlfriend patted his back happily, but asked in a puzzled tone, "Why do you look a little unhappy?"
Zhou Wu then told his girlfriend what had happened, focusing on how the secretary had made things difficult for him and the exorbitant compensation he had to pay.
After hearing this, his girlfriend didn't care about the huge debt, because she knew that Zhou Wu could earn it back quickly with his abilities.
This nonchalant reaction greatly comforted Zhou Wu, especially since his girlfriend was indignant on his behalf: "So much money, they're deliberately making things difficult for you! Si Qi is going too far, what kind of friend is he!"
Zhou Wu sighed, equally puzzled, "I never expected him to do this."
Based on Si Qi's usual personality, he shouldn't make things difficult for him in this situation; he should have taken the initiative to change the amount on the contract for him.
"The company might have something to say about your contract termination, but it certainly won't cripple Si Qi. At most, it'll just make him lose face! On the contrary, he made you, someone who's struggling alone out there and desperately needs money, take on so much debt. What kind of brother is that? Not only did he not offer any help in your time of need, he made things even worse for you!"
His girlfriend's beautiful face was filled with anger towards Si Qi and heartache for her boyfriend: "I told you, he just treats you like a cash cow and has no sincerity towards you at all."
"Hey... stop talking..." Zhou Wu shook his head, feeling very tired.
It's impossible for him not to be disappointed with Si Qi's actions, but according to the contract, he couldn't say that Si Qi was wrong, since Si Qi was just following the rules.
But sometimes, following the rules is tantamount to damaging relationships. He clearly considered Si Qi a friend and thought Si Qi would help him, but Si Qi didn't consider his feelings or his situation at all...
Zhou Wu really felt hurt.
Seeing this, his girlfriend quickly came over and gently comforted him, saying, "It's okay, Zhou, you're amazing. You have acting skills and so many fans, you'll be able to pay back the breach of contract fee soon."
She knew better than anyone that Zhou Wu would soon receive a script for an ancient costume drama series that would bring him both career and reputation success, solidifying his status as a top star in the entertainment industry.
This will not only garner him a large number of fans, but also earn him recognition for his acting skills from renowned directors, who will then invite him to audition, guiding him from television to the big screen, and transforming him from a popular young actor into a respected and accomplished performer.
It was thanks to this script that Zhou Wu achieved complete financial freedom. Subsequent invitations to variety shows and advertising endorsements were easily worth millions of yuan. The mere compensation was nothing to Zhou Wu.
Strictly speaking, she should actually thank Si Qi. Thank you to Si Qi for not using connections to change the amount for Zhou Wu, but for acting according to the contract, allowing Zhou Wu to pay so much money. Otherwise, Zhou Wu would still be praising Si Qi to this day, feeling that his good friend would help him with anything.
Although Si Qi was indeed like that to Zhou Wu according to the original novel, now, she's the only person Zhou Wu can unconditionally trust. Si Qi should just obediently be his support and tool, and stay away from anything else involving Zhou Wu.
That's disgusting.
Gently resting her head on Zhou Wu's shoulder, the time traveler embraced her lover who had transcended time and space. She was absolutely certain that this was a gift from the gods, the fulfillment of her deepest desires. She would never allow anything tainted to defile such a wonderful person.
He belongs to her.
Zhou Wu responded to his lover's embrace, unaware of what his girlfriend, who was gently comforting him, was thinking.
Of course, he was unaware that, in the other party's expectations, he was about to receive a script that would propel him to the pinnacle of the entertainment industry, leading him down the path that fate had laid out for him.
Because that's destined to remain just a prediction.
Si Qi sat in his office, listening to his secretary say that Zhou Wu had signed the termination agreement. He added, "Notify all departments of this matter."
The secretary was taken aback, her mind instinctively turning to the people on the board of directors. She couldn't understand why Si Qi would deliberately spread such information that was detrimental to him.
Then he quickly remembered that just a short while ago, the entire company was still focused on nurturing Zhou Wu, this rising star.
If no notification is given, the project staff will definitely just pass on the contact information of the production crew and program team directly to Zhou Wu—the agent has completely broken ties with Zhou Wu.
The time interval between the two events might only be a day or two, but in the end, Zhou Wu still got the benefit for nothing.
The secretary wouldn't let that happen, and immediately took action upon hearing this.
When he arrived at the project team and handed over the instructions, one of the employees was holding a stack of documents, preparing to notify Zhou Wu to attend the TV series audition.
“This is a script that President Si picked out a long time ago and specially reserved for Brother Zhou,” the employee said, a little slow to react. He still had the idea in his mind that “President Si treats Zhou Wu very well. There are so many stars in the company, but we can’t afford to offend Zhou Wu, and we can’t afford to mistreat anyone else.” He cautiously confirmed again, “Are you really sure? This is the best TV series resource our company has obtained in recent years. President Si specifically instructed us to do so.”
The secretary snatched the documents from the employee's hand and said bluntly, "He's not even a member of our company anymore, yet we're giving him such good resources. What were you thinking?!"
The employee still insisted on his opinion: "I didn't know he had left the company. Even if he had, this was still handpicked by President Si. Brother Zhou and President Si have such a good relationship. If I didn't send this script to Brother Zhou, I definitely wouldn't be able to explain it to President Si."
Si Qi and Zhou Wu's close friendship is well-known throughout the company. Before Zhou Wu became famous, many established big names in the company were unhappy that Zhou Wu controlled so many good resources. They felt that it was no big deal if a minor star like him took their things; at worst, they could just drink a cup of wine as an apology at the dinner table.
Who knew that Si Qi would actually cause trouble for those big shots because of this minor celebrity, strictly forbidding anyone from taking away things that had been clearly allocated within the company—on the surface, it was to enforce discipline and punish artists with improper thoughts, but in reality, wasn't it just to vent Zhou Wu's anger?
In a novel, this would be a plot where a powerful backer appears to slap the cannon fodder in the face for the protagonist, which would be incredibly satisfying for the reader. In reality, however, it would make the employees remember Zhou Wu as someone not to be trifled with.
The cautious attitude of the employees now reveals why, in the original timeline, Zhou Wu was still able to receive help from his friends even after leaving the company. This is because, in the minds of many, including the original owner himself, Zhou Wu was still an artist affiliated with Si Qi, only now separated under the name of his own studio.
When it comes to allocating resources, isn't it just a matter of passing them from one hand to the other, regardless of which hand they're in?
The employee kindly advised the secretary not to take the contract too seriously, saying that some things can't be judged by what's written on paper, but by the reality of the situation.
“With such a long-standing friendship between President Si and Brother Zhou, how could we really just let Brother Zhou go and ignore him just because the contract was terminated? In the end, we still have to handle Brother Zhou’s resources, intelligence, and public relations,” the employee shook his head, not believing the secretary’s statement at all. “So what if we have to pay the penalty? Brother Zhou has already earned almost this much before, and he will only earn more in the future! This is just an act for those directors to see.”
The secretary was utterly speechless.
Even if Zhou Wu is forced to pay the money, everyone still has the same attitude. If it were really as Zhou Wu thinks, and he was only asked to pay a few million as a token gesture, wouldn't Zhou Wu's status in their eyes be sky-high?
The secretary raised her voice, her face cold, and solemnly reiterated to the people who had gathered around after hearing the commotion: "I want to reiterate to you, and to all of you, that Zhou Wu has terminated his contract with the company and is no longer our artist. All resources that were originally allocated to him are to be taken back. You must handle this matter according to the rules and regulations! If I find out that anyone has disobeyed the rules, leaked information to Zhou Wu, or allocated resources to him in private, you will bear all the losses!"
Everyone was taken aback by the secretary's words, exchanging bewildered glances, unable to believe that Zhou Wu had truly severed ties with the company so completely. After a moment's thought, fearing the responsibility more than the future blame from President Si, they nodded vigorously, assuring each other, "We understand, Brother Li, don't worry."
The secretary was satisfied when he saw that everyone had taken his words to heart. He waved for everyone to return to their workstations, thinking that he would have to personally go down and inform the employees for them to listen. He then turned and headed to the next department.
After running around doing all that, the secretary, who was no longer young, leaned against the tea room, holding her teacup for a while to catch her breath, before going to Si Qi's office, full of energy, to report the matter to him.
Si Qi was flipping through company documents when he heard this. He put down his work and recalled the events concerning Zhou Wu in the original timeline.
Given Zhou Wu's initial situation in the entertainment industry—with no connections or background, and the few kindred spirits and mentors he found were all snatched away by the transmigrator and placed in his body—his subsequent rise to fame, longevity, transition from television dramas to movies, and even his desired international career were all arranged for him by the original owner, this sucker.
As for calling the original owner a sucker, based on what Si Qi saw in his memories, that was absolutely true.
Since the transmigrator arrived, she has repeatedly relied on her "precognition" ability and outstanding "vision" to recommend many dark horses that are sure to become hits to Zhou Wu.
These dark horses are called dark horses because no one is sure what the final result will be. They were not favored at all in the beginning and were truly a makeshift team.
Compared to these uncertainties, the original owner would naturally arrange a safer job for his good brother with a more luxurious team, such as that ancient costume drama script, rather than those second-rate production crews.
However, Zhou Wu knew how good his girlfriend's judgment was, so he insisted on taking the job she recommended and talked to the original owner about it several times.
The original owner, as a company president and business elite, had a far superior eye for choosing projects compared to Zhou Wu. Of course, he wouldn't listen to Zhou Wu's ridiculous excuse of "my girlfriend said so." His girlfriend herself was just a nobody, how could she possibly have any outstanding abilities? He couldn't gamble with Zhou Wu's future at such a crucial stage of his career.
However, he was annoyed that Zhou Wu had repeatedly argued with him about his girlfriend, so he had no choice but to bring Zhou Wu all sorts of top resources in the industry to participate in, while also getting those so-called dark horse jobs into Zhou Wu's hands, thinking that once Zhou Wu realized that what he was doing was thankless and difficult, he would stop doing it.
Who knew the dark horse would truly be a dark horse? The project, which the original owner hadn't been optimistic about, became an unexpected sensation, just like in the original story. The few jobs the original owner had gone to great lengths to secure only provided Zhou Wu with some decent feedback, nothing compared to the success of the dark horse.
So, even though the original owner was the one who arranged all the business and got all the jobs for Zhou Wu, and had been busy with Zhou Wu's affairs for a long time, he ended up with the evaluation that "Si Qi has bad judgment and almost made me miss a good opportunity. Xiao Bai has a unique vision and she is my lucky star."
The transmigrator only had to talk, while the original owner ran around like crazy. In the end, it was Zhou Wu who benefited and the transmigrator who was grateful to Zhou Wu. The original owner, who truly gave the most and was wholeheartedly for Zhou Wu's good in every way, ended up being blamed for almost hindering Zhou Wu's development and became the biggest scapegoat in the whole affair.
Now things are much better. Just as Zhou Wu had hoped, Si Qi no longer helps Zhou Wu with all sorts of things, hindering his future development. There are no so-called high-end resources in the industry, no so-called blockbuster historical drama scripts, let alone those dark horses.
Let Zhou Wu, this future superstar, handle things himself. Let's see if he can manage these matters with his girlfriend's silver tongue.
Pulling himself out of his thoughts, Si Qi nodded, indicating that he understood. He put the documents in his hand aside, got up to pick up his coat from the hanger, and prepared to leave work.
The secretary exclaimed in surprise, "What is this...?"
"We're going back early today," Si Qi said.
Due to family circumstances, the original owner worked very hard from a young age, striving to do her best in everything, whether it was studying or working.
Only in this way could he, at the age of twenty-something, sit in the position of company president and use his skills to make the older employees in the company reluctantly shut up.
In the book, it's just something the author mentions briefly to give the male protagonist a reasonable backing; in the real world, however, it represents the countless hours of hard work and dedication behind the character.
According to the original plan, Si Qi should have worked at the company until eight or nine o'clock in the evening before taking the driver's car home.
But it's only four o'clock in the afternoon.
It's not surprising that the secretary was surprised.
Si Qi didn't explain much, but glanced at the wrinkles on his secretary's face that were no longer concealed, and the barely perceptible fatigue in his expression, and asked him, "Have you considered how long you want to continue working at the company?"
The secretary replied without hesitation, "That depends on you."
He had already earned enough money to live a wealthy life for several lifetimes, and he wanted to retire early and enjoy life. However, Si Qi had only been with the company for a short time and didn't have a strong foundation, so he had to stay and take care of Si Qi and handle things for him. Otherwise, Si Qi might encounter a lot of trouble due to his lack of experience.
In the original story and the original timeline, the secretary truly fulfilled his promise, doing everything in his power to assist the original owner. Even when the original owner lost everything due to Zhou Wu and his illegitimate son in the original timeline, he immediately resigned from his job, allowing the company he had maintained for so many years to be tormented by that group of filthy illegitimate sons, and went to the hospital to visit Si Qi, collecting evidence of others' slander and harm against Si Qi, and suing them.
This person was very, very kind to the original owner of this body.
So Si Qi thought for a moment and said to him, "I joined the company because of my grandfather's request and my own interest in acting."
The secretary's lips parted slightly; it was the first time she had heard about this.
“Now that Grandpa has passed away, and I’ve found that things aren’t going well at the company…” Si Qi paused, “I might have to look for another way out.”
In the original work, the story revolves around the protagonist and the people around him, not only telling the story of the protagonist's rise in his career, but also incorporating many other elements such as friendship, family, and close friends.
The friendship storyline mainly focuses on Zhou Wu and the original owner's childhood friendship, companionship, and mutual support. The original owner helps Zhou Wu with his affairs, allowing him to move forward without any worries. Zhou Wu proves the original owner's business acumen, slapping the faces of his illegitimate brothers who only know how to scheme and fight, as well as the company shareholders who only think about profit—who are actually the original owner's uncles and elders.
So it's actually a family business.
The shareholder structure predetermined from the beginning that no matter how well Si Qi performed, he could only receive an additional president's salary; the lion's share would come from shareholder dividends. His lifelong efforts, in the end, were still just making money for those particularly troublesome uncles and elders in the story, and he had to report to them and get their approval for every little thing he did.
It's equivalent to a highly skilled worker.
Si Qi suspected that even the original owner's love of acting was initially created to more reasonably support the protagonist.
He often visits the film set to watch his friend act, leading everyone to believe he's there to support his friend and prevent them from underestimating the newcomer; he praises and encourages his friend, saying his acting has great potential, that he has high hopes for him, and elevates the message by saying it's a noble profession that brings dreams to everyone...
These settings, which were only briefly mentioned by the author in the original work, became, in reality, that the original owner loved acting and was very interested in anything related to drama.
Otherwise, given the original owner's own abilities and the author's business acumen, which he repeatedly acknowledged in the text, he could have succeeded in any company. There was no need for him to stay in this company and, like in the original plot, encounter all sorts of people who would stand up for him and slap him in the face, as well as being harassed by his illegitimate son and uncles. After working hard for so long, he would have to give most of the money he earned to those people. Without reasons like "hobbies or dreams," many things would be hard to justify.
“I don’t want to work for someone else,” Si Qi said. “I can start a better company than this. Let them fight over it all. I don’t care.”
The secretary was surprised by Si Qi's words and remained silent for several seconds before slowly saying, "It's good that you've made your decision."
Si Qi smiled, put on his coat, walked over and put his hand on his secretary's shoulder, "Thank you so much for these past few days."
"You're too kind. I had a very pleasant time working with you." The secretary's eyes also held a smile. "Which field are you planning to explore next? Is it also the entertainment industry?"
It seems the Si family won't allow Si Qi to come and steal their cake.
Si Qi: "I haven't decided yet."
It depends on what Chu Feng is doing now; he should find a job that's close to his lover.
The original owner was a person who valued emotions, and he was also a person who valued "emotions".
After going downstairs and getting into the car, half an hour later, Si Qi arrived at the Si family home where the original owner had lived since childhood.
His timing was rather coincidental; it just so happened that the illegitimate son came to the door, gloating and complaining to the original owner's father that Si Qi had let Zhou Wu, this golden nugget, escape.
The original owner's father was not a person with a high moral standard, otherwise he would not have openly brought his illegitimate child home.
The original owner and her son were kind-hearted and had high standards for themselves. They were the type with a kind of mental fastidiousness, so they loathed the man who kept cheating on them after marriage. They rarely gave him a pleasant look and often embarrassed him.
The two sides loathed each other. Even just to make the original owner and her son feel uncomfortable, the original owner's father would pretend to unconditionally protect his illegitimate children in front of the original owner, deliberately letting those illegitimate children do bad things to the original owner.
The original owner was indeed outstanding, and unless deliberately framed, there was basically nothing that could be used to attack the original owner.
At this point, someone finally found fault with Si Qi, and of course, the original owner's father would not let it go so easily.
He pointed at Si Qi's nose and cursed, "You ignored the advice of so many veteran employees and arbitrarily decided to give all the resources to an outsider, wasting a lot of the company's financial and material resources! Many artists have complained to me, and a bunch of shareholders have called to question you about what you mean by this! You call yourself an intellectual, but all your education has gone to waste!"
The incessant cursing echoed throughout the house the moment Si Qi stepped inside, as if the homeowner was finally able to swagger back and flaunt his status, making everyone's ears hurt.
Si Qi didn't even blink, his expression unchanged as he took off his coat, walked into the house, and slipped into the living room in soft slippers.
"What top-tier celebrity? So many resources? Even if you poured them into a dog, the dog would become famous!" Knowing his son couldn't stand others hurting those he cherished, Mr. Si deliberately stabbed him in the back, his tone sarcastic and malicious, as if he were afraid Si Qi wouldn't be furious: "The guy I painstakingly cultivated is just an ungrateful wretch like you! He took so many benefits from the company, and then broke the contract like that. Does he really think the company is a charity? You're always siding with outsiders, using company resources to feed outsiders. I've wasted my time raising such a useless piece of trash..."
Si Qi didn't listen to a word. In front of the man, she walked up to him, casually tossed her briefcase into his arms, and said in a nonchalant tone, "I'm not going to worry about the company anymore. Do whatever you want from now on."
The man glared, about to curse, but then realized what Si Qi had said and froze: "What did you say?"
"I will submit my resignation via email tomorrow." Si Qi chuckled, completely ignoring how shocked the man in front of him was.
The man's expression changed completely. Ignoring the illegitimate son's gleeful and provocative words, he stared intently at Si Qi: "Do you think the company is a game, where you can come and go as you please!"
“My grandfather got me a job at the company back then, but now that he has passed away, I will not stay here any longer.”
Si Qi finished speaking coldly, but the man, unusually, did not respond with a sarcastic attitude. Instead, he carefully examined Si Qi with a complex expression, unable to understand why Si Qi was acting this way.
Although Si Qi had never had a heart-to-heart talk with him or discussed his future dreams, he had lived with Si Qi for so many years and knew in his heart that Si Qi had always wanted to inherit the family business when he grew up and had made preparations for it.
In his will, his grandfather requested that Si Qi take his father's place and work in the company. This was partly because he knew that his eldest son was not capable enough and that only his grandson Si Qi could manage the family business. The other part was because he felt guilty towards his old comrade-in-arms' daughter, Si Qi's mother, and hoped that the mother and son would have someone to rely on in the future.
But now, Si Qi suddenly said he didn't want the company anymore. Even though he had always disliked Si Qi, he was still bewildered by Si Qi's unusual behavior.
Did he really provoke you?
The illegitimate son was still whispering in his ear, accusing Si Qi of treating the company like a joke, saying that Si Qi was too naive and didn't know his limits. He frowned and waved his hand to interrupt the illegitimate son's kicking him while he was down, and said to Si Qi: "Do you really think so?"
Si Qi glanced at him coldly and pointed to the briefcase: "The handover documents are inside."
They had even finished preparing for their departure.
Si's father was indeed happy that Si Qi left the company, so that his shares would not have to be fully handed over to his son as his father had demanded, and he would no longer have to be at Si Qi's beck and call.
But now that Si Qi was really leaving, he felt a strange sense of unease. After all, Si Qi was undeniably capable; in just over a year, he had managed the company impeccably. He had also transformed Zhou Wu, a complete newcomer, into the hottest star of the moment. His incredible talent-making skills were the envy of many agencies in the industry.
Leaving aside Si Qi's numerous abilities to attract resources and innovate, his methods for handling internal company disputes were incredibly decisive and efficient. Without him taking the lead and absorbing so much criticism from relatives, Si's father wasn't sure he could have managed so many things.
After all, family businesses often have many chaotic and troublesome management issues.
While Mr. Si hesitated, his illegitimate son was the first to get restless and quickly tried to soothe him: "Dad, what are you worried about? With so many brothers and sisters, how could we possibly be less capable than Si Qi once we all join the company?"
He spoke with extreme confidence, "I've studied abroad, after all. Don't worry, I'm also very good at running a company. Just give me a chance, and I'll prove it to you!"
Mr. Si then remembered that he had so many sons and daughters. Among them, there were always some outstanding ones. They couldn't possibly all be worse than Si Qi alone. So he felt a little relieved and said with a smile, "Of course, didn't you say you wanted to join the company and help Dad? Dad will arrange it for you right away!"
The illegitimate child cheered and exclaimed excitedly, "Dad, you're so good! You're the best dad in the world!"
Father Si was pleased to hear this. Watching Si Qi leave alone, he deliberately said to Si Qi, "Of course, Dad has always loved you the most."
Unfortunately, Si Qi didn't stop or show any sadness as he had hoped. He went upstairs and left on his own, as if he and his illegitimate son were nothing more than insignificant specks of dust.
Si's father felt very frustrated.
He was most disgusted by Si Qi's self-righteous and aloof attitude. Despite being his child, Si Qi looked down on him as his father.
No matter what he thought, Si Qi had already gone far away.
Si Qi went upstairs, opened the door to his room, loosened his tie with one hand, and tossed his coat onto the sofa. He walked to the walk-in closet, opened the cabinet door, and prepared to take out a pair of loose and comfortable loungewear.
To everyone's surprise, once the door opened, a variety of clothing items, each with its own distinct features, were suddenly exposed to Si Qi's eyes.
Si Qi: "..."
Si Qi: "…………"
Si Qi stood there blankly for a long time, then slammed the door shut.
What, what are all these things?!
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Author's Note: --
The original owner had a little hobby of "acting"~ [Let me see]
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