ATPnovel Chapter 22 Overbearing Contract
Chapter 22 Overbearing Contract
After finishing his pointless conversation with Tan Yu, Lu Ran told Tan Yu to go do whatever he needed to do.
As for the short drama's data, he wasn't worried at all. Given the late release and low number of episodes, the data was already quite good.
After finishing a day's work, Lu Ran left work right on time.
In the following days, the short drama department made rapid progress, almost shooting ten episodes a day, and the popularity of "The Return of the God of War" steadily increased.
Meanwhile, Shen Yuege's new album "Seeking Dreams" continues to gain popularity, especially the song "The Initial Dream," which has almost become an inspirational hit, sweeping various charts and dominating the top spot.
Xu Manlin's album managed to stay in second place for a long time thanks to her accumulated fans and vote-buying.
However, the data generated by artificially inflating prices cannot be sustained indefinitely, and it has already begun to decline in the last two days.
Shen Yuege's career has ushered in a second spring, even reaching a higher level than before.
It seems that the "little" in "little diva" will soon be removed, and the title of diva will be fully confirmed.
However, once someone becomes famous, many controversies and troubles will follow.
As Shen Yuege's commercial value skyrocketed, Legendary Entertainment couldn't sit still any longer.
Shen Yuege's contract with the company has only about six months left. The company's senior management is eager to renew her contract, and it will be a longer-term contract. They want to keep Shen Yuege firmly tied to the company and make her their cash cow.
The previous rumors about her discord with the company can't even be called rumors; the current relationship between Shen Yuege and the company is indeed very delicate.
Today, Chen Jing accompanied Shen Yuege to the company headquarters to discuss contract matters.
Inside the meeting room, the company's vice president, Hu Zhengming, personally appeared.
At the meeting, the success of Shen Yuege's new album was highly praised, and it was stated that the company would definitely provide strong support for her career development. Then, the conversation turned to a pre-prepared contract renewal agreement.
"Yuege, the company has witnessed your growth over the years. We have also invested a lot of resources in you. Now that your contract is about to expire, the company hopes to work with you to create new glories."
Shen Yuege took the contract, her brows furrowing more and more as she read it.
In fact, in the past two years, as her new album sales have been poor, the company's resources have begun to shift, and it has been promoting the new generation singer Weng Qingya.
Shen Yuege even suspected that the rumors circulating earlier about her suppressing newcomers were deliberately spread by Legend Entertainment.
The purpose was to lower her market value during the contract renewal process, while simultaneously promoting Weng Qingya.
During the release of this album "Dream Seeking", the company's assistance was negligible; most of the songs were commissioned by Chen Jing through connections.
Furthermore, she viewed the new contract as nothing short of an unfair contract term.
Seemingly sensing Shen Yuege's emotions, Vice President Hu Zhengming's tone immediately became serious: "Yuege, this new contract is a decision made by the company considering future development, so the contract term is eight years. During these eight years, the company will definitely devote its main resources to you. As for the profit-sharing ratio, adjusting it to 70% for the company and 30% for you is also a result of careful consideration by the company."
"Furthermore, the company retains the final decision-making power regarding endorsements and commercial performances!"
As Shen Yuege listened to Hu Zhengming's explanation, her heart sank deeper and deeper.
This isn't a contract renewal; it's clearly a contract of servitude.
"Vice President Hu, I think the terms of this contract are too unreasonable." Shen Yuege tried her best to remain calm. "I can renew the contract, but the term and profit-sharing ratio need to be renegotiated, as do the commercial performances and endorsements..."
Hu Zhengming interrupted her with a forced smile: "Yuege, you need to face reality. The entertainment industry changes very quickly. Without the strong support of a company, how long can you guarantee you'll stay popular? Although Huang Wenshan's incident is over, who can guarantee there won't be another Huang Wenshan?"
"Once you sign this contract, the company will be your strongest support!"
The threatening undertone in Hu Zhengming's words was self-evident.
Shen Yuege understood that the company was taking advantage of her popularity to bind her tightly to the company and extract the maximum value from her.
If she doesn't agree, the likely outcome is that she will be sidelined or blacklisted by the company.
"I need time to think about it." Shen Yuege stood up, her tone neither humble nor arrogant.
Vice President Hu narrowed his eyes slightly: "Of course, I'll give you three days. After three days, I hope you can make the choice that is most beneficial to you personally and to the company."
After leaving the company with Chen Jing, Shen Yuege felt very heavy-hearted.
Over the years, from her debut until now, she has made tremendous contributions to the company.
When newcomers to the company are unknown, she is responsible for taking them to various events and promotional activities.
She has also stepped in to save the company's image on numerous occasions when there was a shortage of staff for company events.
Over the years, she has given so much to the company, but now the company is turning its back on her.
Chen Jing stood by, unsure how to advise her.
Chen Jing also found this unfair contract hard to accept, but if Shen Yuege left the company and relied solely on the two of them, her popularity would likely decline steadily.
Just then, Shen Yuege received a call from her father, Shen Zhiwei, asking her to bring Lu Ran home for dinner that evening.
Evening, outside the Shen family villa.
"You said your father suddenly called us back, did he find out something?" Lu Ran asked anxiously, "Could it be that he's figured out about our fake marriage?"
Shen Yuege shook her head. "Who knows? We'll find out when we get inside."
"Then will you hold my arm?" Lu Ran asked.
Shen Yuege rolled her eyes at him: "Only couples usually link arms, right? We're husband and wife in name only, what couple still links arms like that? It's so cheesy!"
"Who says there aren't any? I saw an elderly couple in their seventies walking hand in hand in our neighborhood just a couple of days ago," Lu Ran explained. "Holding arms shows affection and makes it less likely to give themselves away."
"Let me make it clear first, I absolutely did not intend to take advantage of you on purpose." Fearing that Shen Yuege might misunderstand, Lu Ran gave a disclaimer in advance.
"What do you mean? Do you think it's a loss for me to hold your arm?" Shen Yuege said, pulling Lu Ran's arm around hers. "Come on, let's go inside."
Lu Ran walked into the villa while Shen Yuege was pulling his arm, saying, "Hey, hey, linking arms isn't the same as pulling arms. Your posture is wrong, okay... Hey, don't pinch me."
Inside the Shen family villa, at the dining table.
Lu Zhiwei was very satisfied with Lu Ran and Shen Yuege's constant hand-in-hand and inseparable behavior.
Having been familiar with the entertainment industry, he knew it was a murky place, and he was afraid that Shen Yuege would date someone in the industry. Fortunately, Lu Ran was not one.
In matters of love, he believes that if you can't find someone you love, then find someone who loves you.
It was obvious that he believed Lu Ran and Shen Yuege loved each other.
...