Chapter 8: Chapter 8

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Knowing he would make an appearance at the company that day, Song Qianming had gone over his contract, scrutinizing the terms in great detail. Fortunately, things were not as bad as they could have been.

Although the original body’s owner was eager to become famous and was duped by Tao Kang into signing a contract while still in college, he was still rational enough not to sign a contract with unfair terms or one of a length spanning ten years. Otherwise, restitution would have been a nightmare, and he would not have had the ability to look for jobs outside the company.

Tao Kang had not wanted to sign him on for a five-year contract because a large source of the company’s income came from those in breach of contract.

However, Song Qianming’s looks were too good. Tao Kang had been very optimistic that the original body’s owner would quickly rise to fame, so he agreed on a five-year contract instead.

While the contractual length had been reduced to five years, Tao Kang insisted the other terms had to be amended, making them more demanding. Food, accommodations, training fees, and so on would be deducted from his pay, and any commission he earned was reduced by over 90%.

Tao Kang had promised plentiful resources in return should the original owner agree to the terms of the contract. Eventually, the original owner agreed, albeit with gritted teeth. Those promised resources never materialized, and the company’s promises to help him achieve stardom faded into the background, worsening his popularity ratings in the past two years.

Two years of hard work – all for nothing. The original owner regretted signing the contract with the company. He had planned to resign, but the penalty for breaking the contract was something he could not afford. Even if plenty of companies were recruiting new talents, how could any of them guarantee that he would succeed? Would they gamble on someone like him just because of his good looks?

With these doubts floating in the head of the original body’s owner, he decided to stay put and wait for his contract to expire.

The original body’s owner may have given up on the company, but the company was not done exploiting him. Seeing the pots of money several other companies were earning by relying on male and female idol groups, the company grew greedy, wanting a slice of the pie.

The company believed it would be a waste not to milk the original body for all his worth, so they arranged for him to be part of a new group.

A new group entailed a new contract, so the original body acted cautiously.

The body’s original owner knew the company would not agree to anything excessive since he was an artiste of no renown. Therefore, he had made just one request: Unless the company was disbanding the group, they could not ask him to leave of his own volition. Otherwise, the company would have to compensate him.

The company probably had not thought much about his request. After all, why would they want to fire someone so soon upon forming a new idol group? The contract was iron-clad. It stipulated a series of things artists could and could not do. If the artist did not act in breach of contract, why would they fire one of its members for no reason?

Tao Kang had thought the original body’s owner was at his wit’s end, afraid of being fired, so he agreed with no small amount of disdain. How could he have known that it would one day come back to bite him?

Seeing Song Qianming fishing out the contract from his bag, Tao Kang sneered. “Do you think you can fool me so easily? Song Qianming, the contract states that an artiste under the company cannot be in a relationship, get married, or create scandals that would harm the group’s reputation – begetting illegitimate children falls under this category. The company is already doing you a service by not suing you for breach of contract. Don’t bite off more than you can chew.”

“Is that so?” Song Qianming flipped to the page stating the terms and conditions an artiste under the company had to abide by. “Please look closer. It says that an artiste in the company’s employ cannot do these things during the contractual period. I was already in a relationship when I signed up with the company, and my partner was already pregnant with my daughter.”

Tao Kang read the terms, and his face grew darker. The company had cheated plenty of artists of their money, forcing them to buy their freedom. He never expected that the company would one day find itself on the back foot because of a contractual term they had drawn up.

Song Qianming stowed away the contract and smiled. “Brother Tao, I’m not in breach of contract. You can’t ask me for my resignation.”

At this moment, Yuan Fei spoke, “Qianming, what’s the point of you insisting on staying in the group? Do you want to drag all of us down with you?”

“So… You want the fame, not the scandal tied to it. Is that how it is?” Song Qianming was not a fool. The company had turned a blind eye to the fans calling for him to retire from the entertainment industry. How could he not understand the company’s intentions?

The company probably thought renewing his contract would be a waste of resources. Since he had less than a year left and had not risen to fame as they had expected even after so many years, the company wanted to take advantage of the situation to get rid of him while allowing the rest of his groupmates to stand out.

It was a good plan, but he was no sacrificial lamb. Everything rested on whether he played along.

Looking at the self-righteous Yuan Fei, he sneered, “If the company detests my continued presence in the group so much, I’m more than happy to discuss conditions for my leave. First, I’d like the contract the company promised to give me for the variety show; second, I also want a role as a supporting male lead.

“With your current popularity, why would the company waste resources on you? Stop daydreaming!” Tao Kang slammed the table with his fist and said.

Song Qianming retrieved his contract and said, “I’m not dreaming. Isn’t it written as clear as day in the contract I signed with the company?”

“Impossible!” Tao Kang ground his teeth. “The company will not waste its resources on someone like you.”

“Then, it might be in the company’s best interests to suppress my supposed scandal. Who knows what would happen to our group if everyone is implicated in this mess,” Song Qianming shook his head mournfully.

Ji Tong’s eyes burned with hatred, and even his words sounded oddly distorted as he spoke, “Brother Song, what’s the point of you staying in the group? The fans would not be pleased if you remained. Brother Song, you’re so talented! I’m sure you can make a name for yourself. If we continue as we are, we’d only be dragging each other down. Can’t we part on good terms?”

“Hah! You’re only saying this because you want to use me as a stepping stone. The interview you gave the other day was truly a sight to behold. Not only did you say you weren’t familiar with me, but you also said I bullied you during our rehearsals. Now you want us to part on good terms. Don’t you think that’s a ridiculous request? Ji Tong, you’re a two-faced man. I wonder what your fans would say if they found out.”

“You…” Ji Tong’s face was bright red, though it seemed like he did not know whether to be angry or scared.

“Other than that, is there anything else you want? Song Qianming, I know you want to continue in this industry. It isn’t wise to make enemies everywhere you go. What do you think the public will say when it’s our word against yours?” Yuan Fei did not want to waste any more time with Song Qianming.

“As expected of the son of a shareholder. Yuan Fei, you’re truly farsighted.” Song Qianming clapped enthusiastically. “Your threat was quite effective, but the same can be said about you. I know the company is strapped for resources, and I’m sure you wouldn’t want me to drag you down. I don’t want to continue as an idol, either. How about we each take a step back?”

Yuan Fei took a deep breath, “Fine, but don’t go too far.”