Chapter 38: Let Me Show You Something Good (Please follow, please monthly tickets)

The moment she stepped onto the RV, Chen Yao immediately regretted it.

She really was stupid! Really!

Something so obvious to everyone else—how had she failed to see it?

And she'd come aboard all cheerful and happy.

Now, sitting beside Bai Liang, she didn't even dare to say a single word!

Because Cai Yinong didn't even do a warm-up—straight off she pulled out a contract and placed it in front of Bai Liang.

That contract was very familiar to Chen Yao; she'd signed one just last year. The term was awfully long, and the penalty for breach was steep.

These kinds of business contracts, especially the rookie-exclusive version, had terms so long they felt like signing one's life away.

The one in Bai Liang's hands had a relatively shorter term.

Eight years.

Compared to those ultra-long contracts of ten or fifteen years, it actually counted as fairly "reasonable."

Chen Yao didn't dare speak a word now, barely dared to breathe, shrinking back as she secretly watched Bai Liang's expression.

But she found he merely showed a hint of curiosity, picking up the contract and reading it carefully.

Could he actually understand it?

The contract had quite a lot of content—Chen Yao herself hadn't really understood it at the time—but she knew rookies didn't have much "bargaining power."

Cai Yinong thought the same. Seeing Bai Liang reading so attentively, she frowned. "Want me to call your little agent, the one called Yanzi, to come help you look it over?"

"No need, I should be a bit better than her in this area," Bai Liang said modestly.

Bragging~

Cai Yinong naturally didn't believe it, but two minutes later, Bai Liang asked a rather pointed question.

"President Cai, I'm curious—about the revenue split in this contract..."

"Sixty-forty. The company only takes forty percent. For a brand-new artist, that's already quite generous, and the split ratio will be adjusted gradually later on—it mainly depends on how you develop."

"Both the company and I personally think very highly of you, otherwise we wouldn't offer a contract like this. As long as you agree, we'll arrange at least one or two leading-man projects for you every year..."

As she finished, Cai Yinong glanced at Chen Yao. Little girl, why don't you give him a real-life example.

Chen Yao could only say softly, "My split is the other way around..."

Bai Liang gave her a somewhat sympathetic look—not about the contract itself, because unlike him, Chen Yao didn't have many choices.

The Tang Ren brand name carried weight; even the long-term rookie contracts had poor splits at the start, yet people still flocked to them in droves.

His sympathy was mainly because the contrast Cai Yinong had laid out was so stark—after hearing the terms of Bai Liang's contract, surely this Miss wouldn't shut down on the spot?

But then~

"The difference between a management contract and a commission contract is still quite significant." Bai Liang crossed his arms, ready to start showing off. "Besides, this is a conscience-driven industry—many promises simply can't be written into a contract. Even the revenue split... President Cai, the upfront training costs, project returns, the company's profit requirements—none of that is spelled out clearly in this contract, but shouldn't those be factored into the split?"

Oh no!

He really knows his stuff!

Cai Yinong suddenly regretted having called Chen Yao over to "help out."

After Bai Liang's little "tutorial," Chen Yao's eyes seemed to clear up considerably!

So there were all these hidden twists and turns!

She hadn't known any of this before—that the money reaching her hands still had a whole series of "costs" deducted from it.

The accounts in this area were tricky to figure out; sometimes it really did come down to whatever the company said.

So Bai Liang's line about "this being a conscience-driven industry" was spot on.

Seeing the puzzlement on Cai Yinong's face, Bai Liang went ahead and answered her questions for her.

He pulled out his phone and showed her.

"President Cai, this is my bar exam result I just passed—not bad, right~"

What the heck? What exam?!

Cai Yinong stared at the image on the phone in disbelief, her first thought being that this kid must have photoshopped a picture to fool her.

And it was even a Class A professional qualification certificate!

Running a company meant dealing with legal professionals plenty of times, especially now that Tang Ren's lawsuit with Jiang Jinfu was still ongoing.

Cai Yinong happened to know quite a bit about this, but the more she knew, the more absurd it seemed.

Why on earth would an actor take this kind of exam?

So that in the future, when suing the company, he could stand at the defense podium and blast his former employer?

Thinking about it that way, it did seem kind of satisfying...

Beside them, Chen Yao's eyes had widened to their absolute limit. Forgetting that Cai Yinong was still right there, she craned her neck to sneak a peek at the phone screen.

After seeing it clearly, the way she looked at Bai Liang was completely different from before.

It was exactly the way a struggling student gazes up at a top student—with that look of looking up to Gaoshan in awe...

So impressive!

Things were thrown off, completely thrown off—Cai Yinong felt her rhythm was completely disrupted.

She took a deep breath!

Passing some exam was no big deal—kids these days just love to mess around... knowing a bit of law, could he take off or something?

At this moment, the professional competence of a veteran film and television professional was on full display.

Instead of worry, she was delighted. A smile of admiration and emotion appeared on her face. "Xiao Bai, you've given me a surprise! I really haven't seen anyone like you in the entertainment circle~ Very special!"

Nine-tenths of that sentence was completely sincere.

Cai Yinong even imagined hyping Bai Liang as a genius-student persona in the future... his was the real deal!

That kind of persona was on a whole different level from those pure-and-innocent jade girls or innocent boy-next-door types.

She already had a pretty face that attracted young girls, and now she even drew in intellectual romantics.

Bai Liang: Don't rush, the big one's still coming.

"Chief Cai, I think you're a decent person, so I might as well be straightforward."

"Mm, go ahead. Don't think I'm old—I still have a young mindset and really enjoy chatting with the company's artists."

You're right~

Bai Liang tapped the contract, "Actually, this isn't the first agency contract I've seen. A certain Miss Yang offered even better terms."

Cai Yinong opened her mouth but couldn't speak, frantically searching her mind for who this "Miss Yang" could be!

Before she could even connect the dots with the man she'd met on the plane, Bai Liang eased her tension: "But I turned down her contract too—it wasn't necessary. I can repeat my reasons to you again..."

How to put it? Two words: honesty.

Showing sincerity carries more power than any clever lie or excuse.

Cai Yinong could never have imagined this guy was here to "experience life."

Usually, actors choose to experience life to portray certain roles.

But Bai Liang directly came to experience the life of an actor.

It was ridiculous—but coming from him, it sounded surprisingly convincing.

Chen Yao had fully believed him; Cai Yinong believed him mostly too.

That Class A professional qualification certificate after passing the judicial exam was just too damn convincing.

Chen Yao even imagined that if she ever needed a lawsuit in the future, Bai Liang might already be a very powerful lawyer by then.

She had just watched the hugely popular drama "He With the Flute and the Zither" a while back.

She immediately got immersed in it!

"I never expected you'd tell me all this..." Cai Yinong, once so confident, helplessly rubbed her temples.

But that didn't mean she'd give up.

On the contrary, she wanted Bai Liang even more!

At that moment, Bai Liang said something unexpected: "I've talked this much partly because of Na Zha—I don't want to make things hard for her."

After all, it was Na Zha who got Bai Liang in through the back door to Tang Ren's drama set.

If I made things look too ugly, wouldn't that make that young lady suffer?

Cai Yinong:... Don't give me this idol-drama nonsense!

"You're really setting me a tough challenge..." Cai Yinong truly wanted to fly into a rage and rip off Bai Liang's "Zhang Xianzong" costume right then and there.

But looking at the boy's calm, unflinching face, the words stuck in her throat—she couldn't say them.

The considerate Bai Liang naturally offered her another way out.

"Chief Cai..."

"Call me Sister Cai."

"Oh, Sister Cai, let me show you another treasure~"