Chapter 8: 《F*ck Your Mother》

Chi Ye looked at his phone, which was currently on a locked screen, and felt that things were far more complicated than he had imagined.

Yuenan’s attitude was unusually tough.

And the tougher they were, the more it indicated how dire the situation was.

"Keke, Keke."

Chi Ye recalled the look in Keke’s eyes and knew that the original owner’s personal assistant must know something.

"Chi, Brother Chi."

Keke walked in with small, hesitant steps, looking at him with concern: "Are you alright?"

"When are the fees for the promotional appearances I’ve done over the past few days usually settled?"

Chi Ye sat in his chair, staring at Keke’s cheeks.

"Settled..." Keke was startled, lowering her head and stammering: "I don’t know about such private matters, Brother Chi, you should... you should know yourself."

Chi Ye was silent.

Keke looked up, saw Chi Ye’s expression, and suddenly thought of something, her face turning pale: "Brother Chi... you wouldn't... are you okay?"

Chi Ye rubbed his temples and said nothing.

"There... there simply aren't any appearance fees, Brother Chi."

Chi Ye suddenly opened his eyes: "None?!"

Keke lowered her head again, muttering: "I... I only found out about these things by accident... I’m sorry, Brother Chi, I didn't mean to."

"Keep talking, I want to hear how much more you know."

Keke’s small face was deathly pale, and she didn't dare to speak.

"Go ahead, you should know just about everything regarding my situation by now."

Chi Ye gave a self-deprecating smile: "It’s just the two of us here, I won’t blame you."

"Really?"

Keke bravely looked up, her eyes actually turning a bit red.

Chi Ye was stunned, then nodded: "Of course."

"..." Keke was silent for a long while, then said: "Actually, it’s not that there are no appearance fees... Once, when I was bringing food to Brother Chi, I saw you crying alone in secret... I’m sorry, Brother Chi, I didn't mean to. Later, I found out that Brother Chi’s appearance fees were all used to pay back the company, so the money is never transferred to you; you’ve been paying off debts the whole time."

Chi Ye was silent again, and only after a long time did he ask: "Do you know how much money I owe?"

"It’s not that you owe..." Keke realized what she said and corrected herself: "At least I don’t think it’s something you owe... but it is true... you were swindled."

Chi Ye communicated with Keke calmly, but the more he heard, the worse his mood became.

By the end, he couldn't help but start cursing Yuenan’s ancestors to the eighteenth generation.

The original owner debuted as a trainee and was actually signed to a small company that specialized in idol cultivation before his debut.

This company was notoriously unreliable in the industry; it had no conditions or capability for actual debuts, and its main source of profit was earning and swindling breach-of-contract fees from children.

The original owner was young and ignorant; he only realized something was wrong after being tricked into signing, but by then, it was too late to leave.

It wasn't until three years ago that the company encountered some financial difficulties and sold the contracts of its artists in a bundle to Yuenan.

Yuenan Group.

This was one of the top talent agencies in the domestic entertainment industry. The boss was a former superstar from the 80s, and now it was backed by two massive capital giants; it was the big company every newcomer in the circle aspired to join.

The original owner was naturally happy to be sold here and trained even harder, wanting to stand out in the fiercely competitive Yuenan.

As it turned out, going from a small company to Yuenan was merely escaping a wolf’s den only to enter a tiger’s lair.

Compared to the small company, Yuenan relied on its powerful background connections and a legal department more proficient in the law to treat their batch of "black slaves" in a way that was even more seamless and despair-inducing.

They used the original "black slave" contracts to exert deeper control and blood-sucking exploitation over the original owner and the other unlucky ones.

The specific operation was: for any commercial activity, the company would set "targets" for them. These targets were ridiculously high and basically impossible to complete. If they couldn't be met, they would have to pay the "brand" astronomical compensation.

But the brands were all controlled by the two major groups behind the scenes.

It was similar to a gambling contract, but more like a scaled-down version, and it appeared with every commercial deal.

Consequently, let alone the fact that the original owner had little professional ability to begin with, even someone with outstanding ability would be unable to meet such targets.

Naturally, the money the original owner owed grew more and more, and he could only desperately run from one appearance to another, chasing trends and earning money to pay off debts.

But this kind of debt was never-ending because its fundamental logic was "the more you work, the more you owe."

Thus, a situation would arise where he could earn nearly five million in appearance fees over three days, yet end up with not a single cent for himself.

—It wasn't that there was no money; it was that the company "automatically deducted" it to pay off debts.

Of course, Yuenan wasn't stupid. While making the "black slave" original owner work, they didn't forget to provide periodic blood transfusions, chase trends, and market the original owner’s persona as the "Crown Prince of Yuenan."

Furthermore, because the original owner had "no income," Yuenan thoughtfully provided full room and board, allowing him to stop worrying about food and housing and focus on being a workhorse.

Oh right, I heard there was even a monthly bonus; if you worked well, you could make over a hundred thousand a year, putting you in the white-collar class!

That is truly... F*ck your mother.

Chi Ye listened, gritting his teeth, his hair standing on end.

He had seen a lot in his previous life, but hearing about such events still made him explode every time.

What’s more, the subject of this event was "himself."

Yes, this kind of model was extremely inhumane. There were actually very few artists who could become popular enough for the company to suck blood from, and most ended up in miserable states.

From this perspective, did the original owner take a "shortcut" thanks to this handsome face?

After all, Chi Ye should now be considered one of the few among those black slaves who actually had some popularity.

Ring-a-ling.

The phone rang.

Keke had already walked out, wiping her eyes. Chi Ye picked up the phone and saw it was a call from his manager.

He thought for a moment and answered.

"Hello? Have you calmed down now?"

"F*ck your mother."

Sister Ge: "???"

Jingcheng, Yuenan Group.

Ge Shuang heard that "kind greeting" from the other end of the line and was stunned for two seconds.

A moment later, she realized what happened, her face turning terrifyingly gloomy: "Chi Ye, my patience for you is limited. You had better be clear about who you are talking to!"

"F*ck your mother."

Ge Shuang: "You dare curse again?!"

Chi Ye repeated the same three words: "F*ck your mother!"

Bang!

Ge Shuang was trembling with rage and kicked a trash can, startling the clerks nearby.

She looked back, hurried into her office, and then lowered her voice: "Chi Ye, I don’t know what kind of madness you’re having again, but if you want to die, you have to pay back the money first!"

"That money isn't something I owe."

"Not something you owe?" Ge Shuang sneered: "Once you sign a contract, you have to acknowledge it. Who forced you to sign the contract back then?"

Chi Ye: "Those were all signed under your deception, and the so-called standards and compensation don't exist at all. They are all Yuenan’s own internal business and have no legal effect."

"Legal?" Ge Shuang laughed even more happily: "Let me tell you, the law can't save you, but it can kill you!"

She gritted her teeth: "You had better behave and keep running your appearances, otherwise, if you can't pay back that much money, don't blame me for sending you to prison."

Chi Ye paused: "Then go ahead and send me, because I am not going to run any more appearances."

In his previous life, due to his personality, even when he worked at one of the top marketing companies in the country, he resolutely chose to resign and go solo.

What was he afraid of now?

Moreover, he felt that as long as Ge Shuang wasn't an idiot, she shouldn't truly burn bridges.

Sure enough.

Ge Shuang, who had been aggressive on the other end of the line, fell silent.

After a long time, she seemed to have adjusted her emotions and spoke slowly: "What exactly do you want?"

"I want to terminate the contract."

"Impossible!"

The two were silent again.

"How about this, I’ll give you an extra ten thousand yuan a month."

Chi Ye still didn't speak.

Ge Shuang paused, her tone softening: "Chi Ye, ask yourself, I’ve been pretty good to you all these years, haven't I?"

"In the group, when they were all bullying you, who helped you solve it? Without me, do you think your teammates would be that 'gentle'? Not to mention the distant past, just look at that one million; without me, could you have paid it back yourself?"

"That was all paid back by me and the company for you!"

"And look at your life; how good is your life now? You get stable money every year, you don't need to buy a house or a car, you only need to work to get returns. Do you know how many people envy you?"

"Go back and run your appearances properly. Sister promises you, I’ll help you get some good resources later. Didn't we agree last time? In two more years, when the time is up, the company will let you go. You’ll definitely be even more famous by then... This is the best choice for you."

Click.

Chi Ye hung up the phone directly.

It wasn't for any other reason; it was just pure disgust.

In two more years? The original owner might have believed that naive nonsense, but he, someone with years of experience as a corporate slave, wasn't buying it.

PUA tactics taken to a new level?

Go to hell, you old witch!

……

"Ungrateful wretch!"

Having been "defied" by Chi Ye several times today, Ge Shuang was absolutely explosive with rage, wishing she could crush the phone in her hand.

After a moment of thought, she reopened her phone and dialed a number: "Hello... is this the Finance Department? Stop the funding for Chi Ye's team for now."

"Yes... hmm, we don't need that much for the time being. I'll call you if I need it."

"Yes, good, that's all. I'll treat you to a meal later."

……

Chi Ye was still unaware that his manager had already begun to crack the whip on him from behind the scenes.

After hanging up the phone, although he wished he could smash Ge Shuang's skull, the most urgent priority was still to figure out how to escape his current predicament.

First of all, honestly paying back the money was definitely out of the question.

The setup by Yuena was too outrageous; that money was simply not something he could pay off now, or even in the future, and there was no need—he didn't need to pay it back.

That left only one path.

——Through legitimate means: filing a lawsuit and creating public pressure.

On this point, he felt it was worth a try.

The original owner's personality was indeed too easy to manipulate, like a gentle little lamb, possessing a face of a top-tier visual with high aggression, yet ending up a naive pushover.

Yuena's legal framework was certainly perfected, but it must have loopholes.

At the very least, if it were truly exposed, he felt that public opinion alone would be a bonus.

But the original owner didn't dare to do this, because if things went wrong, his current "stable" life would turn into a prison sentence.

However, he was not afraid of such things.

"Fighting this kind of lawsuit will definitely cost a lot of money, so where will the money come from..."

Two days later.

Chi Ye had returned to his "home" outside the Third Ring Road in Jingcheng—a very old residential complex, which was the apartment the company had rented for him.

Over these two days, he had scoured the original owner's bank cards, Alipay, and other software, and as expected, he was indeed dirt poor.

As a second-tier traffic-driven celebrity, his total savings were actually less than one hundred thousand.

Even this was "pinched and saved" from his daily life, because although the company would periodically provide funding to Chi Ye's team, local officials are less effective than those in immediate charge.

Many times when it was too late, the original owner would use his own meager savings to cover the costs first; as for whether he would be reimbursed later, let's just say it was hit or miss.

Mostly miss.

In any case, Chi Ye had tightened his belt, even bringing home the disposable slippers, toothbrushes, and toothpaste from hotels.

Truly, worse than a beast of burden.

With this kind of financial situation, it was definitely not enough to fight a lawsuit.

Fortunately, over these two days, Chi Ye had found a new path.

——Someone owed the original owner money, and a lot of it.

Regarding what Ge Shuang had said earlier, "That one million was what I paid back for you," Chi Ye hadn't understood at the time, but later he specifically asked Keke and got a general idea.

It turned out that the original owner hadn't been without thoughts of resistance.

Two years ago, the original owner had privately taken out loans using his status as a public figure, eventually borrowing over a million. Through the chat history, Chi Ye guessed that he must have had the same idea as he did now: wanting to file a lawsuit to escape the cage.

As a result, this matter was discovered by his former teammate, Shen Qingyu.

At that time, Rise had already been formed, the original owner was somewhat famous, and Shen Qingyu was one of the few friends the original owner had.

Back then, something must have happened in Shen Qingyu's family, and he was in urgent need of money, so he came to borrow it from the original owner.

The original owner, that naive pushover, heard that Shen Qingyu had already maxed out his loans and couldn't borrow any more, and added to the fact that although the other party's popularity wasn't as high as his own, he wasn't a "slave" and earned money quickly—the million-plus could be paid back soon—so he lent it to Shen Qingyu.

Unexpectedly, with this loan, Shen Qingyu never intended to pay him back at all.

From the perspective of the current Chi Ye, this was clearly Shen Qingyu finding out the news and privately telling Yuena, the two of them colluding to trap the original owner and prevent him from blowing things up.

"How despicable!"

Looking at this face in the mirror with its immense impact, Chi Ye wanted to curse, but remembering the original owner's tragic life, he sighed again.

When it came down to it, this was just an honest child from an ordinary family, with divorced parents, which had fostered his people-pleasing personality.

In his short life, he had lived in an environment of being bled dry by others, struggling in pain.

"I will help you get everything back."

Chi Ye muttered to himself, then took out his phone and searched through the chat history with Shen Qingyu.

The other party had long since deleted him, but the original owner had never touched it.

Scrolling far back and clicking in, inside were the two's conversations from two years ago.

Chi Ye: I really need that money, can you pay it back to me? (laugh-cry)

Shen Qingyu: How many times do I have to say it? I'm tight on cash right now, I'll pay you back in a few days.

Half a year later.

Chi Ye: Are you there? (peeking)

Chi Ye: Are you there, Qingbao~ (scratching head)

Chi Ye: Can you pay me back, treasure? The loan company is hounding me (crying)

Shen Qingyu: It's just a little bit of money, why are you hounding me? What's my status now? Running one gig is enough to pay you back, what's the rush?

Chi Ye: I'm sorry, Qingbao, they are blocking my door, saying they'll chop off my hands if I don't pay, I'm so scared.

Shen Qingyu: In a few days, I'm filming these days, I'll give it to you when my payment arrives in a few days.

Chi Ye: How many days is "a few days"?

Shen Qingyu: Three days, I'll give it to you in three days.

Chi Ye: Okay, thank you! (kitten kowtowing)

Three days later.

Chi Ye: Treasure~ are you there? (kitten peeking)

Chi Ye: I already told them last time, they are right here next to me now.

Chi Ye: Treasure, I'm begging you, can you pay me back the money?

System: The other party is no longer your friend. Please add the other party as a friend to start a chat.