Chapter 54 – Falling in Love Lowers Your IQ
Xiao Fang had been under this high pressure for almost the entire day. After posting his reply to Wen An’an on Weibo, he was completely exhausted. His WeChat messages kept flashing incessantly, with many people reaching out to show their concern, including Zhang Hang, Wen An’an, and Ruan Tan. Xiao Fang thanked them one by one but didn’t say much more. He knew that at a time like this, he absolutely couldn’t drag others into it, especially since he had already handled most of the situation.
Buzz, buzz, buzz. With almost no chance for Xiao Fang to rest, his phone started ringing again. This time it was Director Wang, the head of the company. He had probably held off on calling until now because he couldn’t take the pressure anymore. Xiao Fang let out a long sigh and pressed the answer key.
“Xiao Fang, are you alright?” Director Wang, who was usually so arrogant, had done a complete 180. The way he said Xiao Fang’s name was more affectionate than how he would address his own father. But for Xiao Fang, this last-minute attempt at flattery was useless.
“I’m fine. I never realized my ability to handle pressure was this good. Director Wang, are you calling to discuss the contract termination?”
Director Wang broke out in a sweat. How could that be possible? Xiao Fang was the company’s future cash cow! “Xiao Fang, you must be joking. Our entire company has been working non-stop, handling PR and finding a water army to counter Wu Quanwu’s slander against you. We’re doing everything we can to salvage the situation. Don’t worry, I’m already preparing to fire Wu Quanwu. Terminating the contract is a serious matter. I don’t think we need to go that far. Besides, our company is an established one; we would never treat you unfairly!”
With just a few words, Director Wang pushed all the blame onto Wu Quanwu and then tried to reassure Xiao Fang.
Xiao Fang sneered inwardly. If they really intended to treat him fairly, they would have dealt with Wu Quanwu decisively the moment he did something so foolish. They wouldn’t have left him an escape route, forcing Xiao Fang to clean up the mess himself. A company that only saw its artists as temporary cash cows and lacked long-term vision would inevitably lead its artists to a certain doom. Xiao Fang had seen plenty of such cases in his own time and had long since developed a clear perspective on it.
“Director Wang, my family has given the company a lot of money over the years, haven’t they?” Xiao Fang didn’t respond to Director Wang’s words, instead starting a new topic.
Director Wang was taken aback, his mind not quite catching up. “Yes, yes, they have.”
“So I should have been treated pretty well by the company, right?” Xiao Fang continued.
Director Wang quickly agreed. Although the nouveau riche label was looked down upon in high society, money was still money. At least in terms of the company’s operations, the money from Xiao Fang’s family was very welcome. Completely unaware of the verbal trap, Director Wang was hit hard by the next sentence.
“That money should be enough to cover my contract termination fee, right? For years, my agent has been incompetent, never finding any good resources for me. Even when he did, they were the kind that required me to pay my way in—with my own money. To be honest, my own net profit over these years hasn’t even reached fifty thousand. That’s not the kind of salary an artist who has starred in several lead roles should be getting, is it? My decision to terminate the contract now isn’t just because of one agent; the company is also responsible. There’s a saying that money makes the world go round. Since you took the money but didn’t do the work, why should I continue to spend heaps of money investing in you?” Xiao Fang spoke bluntly and decisively. He wasn’t playing the victim; he was officially notifying him of his decision. People are driven by interests, and if there was no benefit, this partnership was meaningless.
Director Wang was left speechless, not knowing what to say next. Over the years, the money Xiao Fang had invested was almost equivalent to a shareholder’s stake. At first, he had shown Xiao Fang some courtesy, but later he came to see him as a fool with too much money and gradually stopped caring. He took the money for his own investments and paid no mind to this walking money pot. He never expected such a severe backlash. If Xiao Fang left, several major projects would have to be halted or even canceled.
This reminded Director Wang of the big-name celebrities who had left one after another over the years. When his father was managing the company, they were more than just established in the entertainment industry; at their peak, they were on par with the major corporations. But since he took over, the established big names had left one by one. The company looked glamorous on the surface, but in reality, it couldn’t hold on for much longer. What had he been doing all these years?
“Xiao Fang, it was my negligence before. I promise you here and now, with your current potential, we will definitely make you an A-lister within three years. You’ll get priority for all the best resources, and we’ll assign you a dedicated agent. I’ll even set up an operations department designed just for you to compensate for our past shortcomings. What do you think?” Director Wang’s sincere tone and generous offer made the secretary beside him gasp. No other artist in the company had such treatment now.
Xiao Fang would never give a struggling company a second chance. Hesitating now would be irresponsible to his future self. Xiao Fang took a deep breath, no longer wanting to get entangled with him.
“We’ve reached this point. There’s no room for regret.” His words were like the final strike of a gavel, completely cutting off Director Wang’s last hope. From beginning to end, Xiao Fang had never intended to leave him any way out.
Director Wang stared grimly at his desk. A project worth millions, potentially tens of millions later on, was gone with just a single sentence. And there were still several thousand employees in the company.
“Xiao Fang, you’re truly vicious! The several thousand employees and their families will thank you for your great decision today!” Director Wang’s tone was dripping with sarcasm, placing the blame for thousands of people’s livelihoods squarely on his shoulders.
Xiao Fang didn’t want to argue with him anymore and simply hung up.
“Ugh,” Xiao Fang groaned, slumping onto the sofa. His heart felt as if a heavy stone was pressing down on it. This was just his nature; his mind was as clear as a mirror, but the pain in his heart wouldn’t disappear. An invisible sense of guilt and the pressure from the day’s events left him feeling breathless.
“Meow~” Seeing Xiao Fang like this, Nuomici came over from his little nest, letting out a soft, comforting cry.
Xiao Fang reached out his hand, and Nuomici nimbly jumped up, his little front paws starting to knead softly. Did he already know how to comfort his daddy at such a young age? He was just too cute!
Xiao Fang’s heart relaxed a little. He nuzzled Nuomici. “Daddy’s fine. You go back to your nest and sleep. Daddy’s just going to lie down for a bit.” Ugh. A weight settled on his chest as Nuomici curled into a ball, preparing to sleep on his daddy’s chest. Xiao Fang chuckled and stroked Nuomici’s soft fur. Animals were spiritual; if you treated them with sincerity, they would treat you well in their own way.
Xiao Fang no longer tried to push him away. He closed his eyes, a wave of exhaustion washing over him. Fei Xiangnan had only been gone for a day, and Xiao Fang was already finding the loneliness hard to bear. If only he would come back soon.
Buzz, buzz. After sleeping for an unknown amount of time, Xiao Fang’s phone rang again. Caught between dream and reality, Xiao Fang irritably grabbed his phone.
“Haven’t I made myself clear to you?” His tone was heavier than it had been for any other call.
“Made what clear?” A familiar voice jolted Xiao Fang’s nerves. He snapped awake, remembering that Fei Xiangnan was supposed to call him every day. A glance at his phone showed it was exactly midnight. He had slept for about four hours.
“No, nothing. I’ve been getting spam messages from the same person all day for some reason,” Xiao Fang said, hastily making up an excuse.
“Oh? What for?” Once outside, Fei Xiangnan entered his 8x scope mode.
Xiao Fang broke into a cold sweat. “Uh, selling insurance. Um, why are you calling me at this time? Isn’t it lunchtime over there?” Xiao Fang quickly changed the subject, afraid he would keep asking questions.
“I have meetings in the afternoon and evening. I’m out having a meal with a business partner right now. I made an excuse to step out. This is probably the only free time I’ll have today. I didn’t disturb your rest, did I?” Fei Xiangnan had assumed that without his interference, this little one would probably be gaming until the wee hours, which was why he called.
“No, no, I was just about to get into bed,” Xiao Fang continued to fib, his eyes glancing at Nuomici, who was still purring on his chest.
The secretary behind him called his name. Fei Xiangnan clicked his tongue in annoyance. From now on, he would avoid business trips whenever possible.
“Do you miss me?” With time being tight, President Fei blurted out the super cheesy line without any preamble.
Feeling the coldness of his surroundings, Xiao Fang certainly missed Fei Xiangnan’s cool yet secure embrace. “I do,” he said sincerely.
As soon as those words were out, Fei Xiangnan no longer wanted to stay in this godforsaken foreign country. Book a ticket, get on a plane, and hug Xiao Fang.
“I’ll go on fewer business trips in the future,” Fei Xiangnan said, taking a deep breath.
Xiao Fang couldn’t help but find it both funny and touching. The gloom in his heart dissipated quite a bit. “How can you be like that? Work is still work.” To prevent his partner from becoming a fatuous ruler, Xiao Fang the little siren still had to keep reminding him.
“President Fei, the business partner is looking for you,” Secretary Chen couldn’t help but remind him again. This collaboration was no joke.
Xiao Fang, on the other end of the line, heard it too and urged, “Go on, go on. We can talk tomorrow.”
President Fei was in a rather bad mood. He hadn’t said enough sweet nothings yet!
Xiao Fang could clearly sense Fei Xiangnan’s displeasure and could only coax him patiently, “Finish your work quickly. I don’t want to just talk to you on the phone anymore.”
Holy crap!
Fei Xiangnan’s heart almost melted. He gave a cold “Mm,” and said in a very overbearing CEO tone, “Wait for me,” before hanging up. His numb heart felt like it had been electrocuted. He couldn’t even bear to not see him now? It seemed he was becoming more and more important in Xiao Fang’s heart. He had to bring him back enough snacks before he returned. And games. There were some games that weren’t available in the country that Xiao Fang had been longing for.
Fei Xiangnan handed his turned-off phone back to the secretary, took the customized phone, and resolutely went to the restaurant. He had to speed things up, or else Xiao Fang would probably cry at home.
It wasn’t until the pumped-up President Fei was in bed that he finally calmed down. Was Xiao Fang the type of person who would say “I miss you” after just a little teasing? Clearly not. And as for the insurance calls, he could just block the number. There was no need to get so angry.
Half-asleep, President Fei’s eyes snapped open. Falling in love really does make you stupid.