Chapter 49 – Refusal
The problem definitely needed to be solved. As soon as Xiao Fang ended the call with Xiao Ma, a call from his agent came in. The agent’s surname was Wu, and his full name was Wu Quanwu. He was an out-and-out opportunist who would do anything for profit. As for whether his actions were immoral, that was a matter of probability. None of the artists under him liked him. Those with ability had already left for other companies. As for the original owner, given his rich second-generation status, Wu Quanwu hadn’t made things difficult for him, but he also hadn’t secured any good resources for him, letting him grow wild. In short, he was useless.
“Hello.” Xiao Fang’s tone was faintly irritable.
“Xiao Fang, congratulations! The viewership for your new drama has broken new records. Let me tell you, even your brother Xiao Qi’s most popular drama didn’t have as high a viewership for the first two episodes as yours. You are truly the future hope of our company, our pillar!” The voice on the phone erupted in a string of rainbow farts. However, as an expert sycophant himself, Xiao Fang was not impressed by the language of his own kind; he even found it low-class.
With a cold face, his tone was stiff. “If you have something to say, just say it. Don’t beat around the bush.”
Wu Quanwu clicked his tongue inwardly. Just the son of a nouveau riche, what’s there to be arrogant about? If it weren’t for the fact that he could still make some money and earn some fame for him, he wouldn’t bother with him.
“Hehe, Xiao Fang, you don’t know yet, do you? I signed you up for a particularly famous book-to-drama adaptation, ‘Warm Heat.’ Let me tell you, the crew genuinely values your acting skills, not anything else.”
“I’m not doing it. Who gave you permission to sign on my behalf?” Xiao Fang said sharply. Did he think he was an idiot? If he took on a script that everyone despised, he would just be asking for criticism!
Wu Quanwu was abruptly choked up. The previous Xiao Fang would have been much more pleasant after being flattered by him. Now, he didn’t even leave him any room. Wu Quanwu had already signed the contract and couldn’t possibly breach it at this point. He could only patiently persuade him, “Xiao Fang, I’m more professional than you in this matter. If you don’t take any roles now and give yourself a vacation, what kind of fame will you have left after this drama is over? There’s an old saying, ‘strike while the iron is hot.’ I’m also doing this for your own good.”
Xiao Fang was so angry he could have died. He had never seen such a shameless person, willing to do anything for money. In that case, he shouldn’t blame him for not saving him any face!
“Hmph, do you take me for a fool? I can just search online for the situation with ‘Warm Heat.’ Yes, you’ll make money in the end, but what about me? Heh, I’m afraid a single mouthful of spit could drown me. Wu Quanwu, if you had any conscience, you would know not to take on this mess for me. Do you think I’m a pushover you can bully?” Xiao Fang said angrily.
Wu Quanwu pursed his lips. When did this Xiao Fang learn to think? “Did Xiao Ma tell you these rumors? Xiao Fang, who has been working hard for you all these years? Your assistant who serves you tea and water? No, right? It’s me. How could I harm you?” Wu Quanwu was still trying to whitewash himself.
It wasn’t that Xiao Fang hadn’t encountered this kind of rascal before. If being soft didn’t work, he had to be hard. “I won’t say much more. You signed this contract yourself. I personally did not agree. When filming starts, you can come and act yourself!”
Wu Quanwu panicked completely when he heard this. Wasn’t the lead actor going on strike also a breach of contract? And it was his name on the contract. When it came time to take responsibility, it would have nothing to do with Xiao Fang.
“Xiao Fang, you’re trying to harm your old brother. You know, I have a son and a daughter. If you back out now, what am I supposed to do?” Wu Quanwu directly resorted to emotional blackmail, as if it were all Xiao Fang’s fault. Xiao Fang was not the original owner, that muddle-headed fool. He didn’t lack any logical thinking.
“First, signing was not my idea, so it has nothing to do with me. Second, raising your children also has nothing to do with me. What happens to your children is none of my business. Third, there is no evidence to prove that I forced you to do this. What to do should be your own decision!” Xiao Fang said coldly, don’t even think about using him as a scapegoat!
Wu Quanwu was now completely flustered. Xiao Fang had completely drawn a line with him. That contract termination fee was no small sum. Even if he had embezzled a lot of money over the years, filling this big hole was not something he could do in a minute.
“Xiao Fang, let’s talk things over. People are all motivated by their own interests. Brother Wu understands. Although Brother Wu signed for the company’s benefit, he was thinking more about you. Think about it, what do celebrities need most now? Of course, it’s buzz. That drama’s reputation isn’t great at the start, but at least you’ll have enough buzz. You don’t need to worry about the follow-up either. I’ll hire a water army to give you good reviews, on Guoban, Weibo, and I’ll give you high ratings everywhere. In the end, the entertainment industry is controlled by these things. You’ll become even more popular then. What’s a few haters? Just a few book fans, the impact will definitely not be big!” Wu Quanwu was about to talk this matter up to the sky, but only a fool would believe him.
Xiao Fang snorted. “Since you’ve thought of everything so comprehensively, why not add a more popular topic?”
“Add what?” Wu Quanwu asked excitedly, thinking there was a turnaround.
“Agent replaces willful young actor on stage, acting skills explode. Wu Quanwu is truly a good actor delayed by being an agent. How about that?” Xiao Fang said with a cold smile.
The other end of the line went quiet for a moment. Half a minute later, a restrained male voice said, “Xiao Fang, you really have a conscience.” This sentence was dripping with sarcasm. Xiao Fang knew Wu Quanwu’s tricks and smiled without a care.
“Then thank you for your compliment.” A battle of who could be more infuriating? Then let’s see who was more infuriating. This time, Xiao Fang didn’t wait for him to act up and just hung up the phone. Imagining Wu Quanwu’s furious appearance, Xiao Fang felt a wave of satisfaction in his heart. Trying to plot against him? Not high-level enough!
Fei Xiangnan had already left for work when Xiao Fang woke up. Xiao Fang didn’t plan to discuss this matter with Fei Xiangnan. His principle was that he would never trouble Fei Xiangnan with problems he could solve himself. They were all human, and the things they carried were no less than others. There was no need to add to his burden, not to mention Fei Xiangnan’s work was not just this.
Stretching, Xiao Fang sent a text message.
[I’m up. Work hard and remember to eat on time (^_^) ]
Less than a minute after the message was sent, a message from Fei Xiangnan came back.
[(^^) Kisses.]
Xiao Fang couldn’t help but blush a little. He found that this old man had been getting better and better at flirting lately, the kind that couldn’t be stopped once started.
“Buzz buzz!”
Suddenly, another message came through on WeChat. Opening it, he found that Fei Xiangnan had also sent a message here. This message was very realistic: a red envelope with the words “Happy Kissing Valentine’s Day.” Xiao Fang was wondering where Fei Xiangnan got all these little tidbits, even learning to find a Valentine’s Day every month like a little girl.
Xiao Fang, with his money-grubbing nature, didn’t hesitate at all. He opened it and received a red envelope of 52,000. The amount wasn’t large for Fei Xiangnan, but the sentiment was what mattered. Xiao Fang felt like he was living in a pink bubble every day now, tasting the love he had missed in his previous life, and he had met such a good person.
[(^^) Kisses.]
Xiao Fang resent the exact same emoji, thought for a moment, and then sent his man a red envelope of 520 to express his feelings.
[I want a reward when I get back.] President Fei shamelessly demanded.
If Fei Xiangnan were here, Xiao Fang would probably not be able to resist poking his face, the kind where he would push him away forcefully!
But, it was precisely this kind of person that Xiao Fang was even more reluctant to let him bear so much.
He got up, brushed his teeth, and washed his face. On the table was the breakfast Fei Xiangnan had heated up before leaving: milk and an egg sandwich.
“Meow~” A small white furball walked out of the room. It stretched and then jumped onto Xiao Fang, looking at him with its moist eyes.
Xiao Fang dotingly stroked his eldest son’s head. “Oh right, I haven’t mixed breakfast for my Nuomici yet. We’re having an extra treat this morning, your favorite canned fish!”
“Meow~” Nuomici meowed coquettishly, and Xiao Fang carried his son to mix the cat food.
First, half a small bowl of canned fish, then some freeze-dried food, two small dried fish, and a small bowl of cat food. Very sumptuous!
Watching Nuomici eat with relish, Xiao Fang finally got up to eat his own breakfast. After eating, he sent a message to Xiao Ma.
[I rejected that drama. What’s the agent’s face like now?]
[As expected of my Brother Xiao, I just love your head-on approach. Now Wu the Dog is being scolded by the boss in his office! According to the secretary’s gossip, the boss plans to ignore this matter. If he can’t solve it, he’ll be responsible for the entire contract termination fee. Brother Xiao, I think he’ll definitely target you after this is over. I think you can suggest changing agents to avoid that petty person causing you trouble later!]
Xiao Fang’s gaze darkened. In his opinion, it wasn’t as simple as changing agents. This company itself was only a mid-tier company in the entertainment market. It used to be a famous old company, but since the son took over, the company had been going downhill day by day. The employee benefits were far worse than before, and various unfair contracts emerged endlessly. Many A-list and B-list artists had chosen to leave, leaving only some C-list and bottom-tier artists with tight funds. There was also the type like Xiao Fang who came in through connections and investment. In recent years, this company had been relying on making a profit, but in Xiao Fang’s opinion, it wouldn’t be able to hold on for much longer. He had already started considering these things while filming “Dynasty,” but this incident only made his decision firmer.
First of all, his father would definitely not continue to invest in this company, but the money from the previous investment was more than enough to pay back his contract termination fee twice over with some to spare. Whether he left or not had become a trivial matter. The key was where to go after leaving. There were many good companies, but for a bottom-tier actor like him with too much buzz, if not handled well, it would be a bug. This point would affect many companies’ decisions. Now it depended on how much success “Dynasty” brought him.
[I still have some considerations about this matter. I need to wait until ‘Dynasty’ finishes airing to give an answer.]
Xiao Fang’s performance these days had made Xiao Ma very confident in his abilities. If he said so, he must have his own considerations. What Xiao Ma needed to do now was to trust Xiao Fang.
[Brother Xiao, I believe in your decision. I’ll go wherever you go!]
Xiao Ma was a good assistant. Seeing Xiao Ma’s words, Xiao Fang felt much happier. Since others were willing to follow him, he couldn’t treat them badly. Xiao Fang’s policy towards people was that if you were good to him, he would be twice as good to you.
[Alright, don’t worry. Your Brother Xiao has got your back.]
A more long-term plan was brewing in Xiao Fang’s eyes. He wanted to become stronger, to become someone Fei Xiangnan could sometimes rely on!