Top Chinese celebrity: Debuted from Running Man

Chapter 315 Guo Xiaosi's Unyielding Spirit (7k)
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"Xiao Gu, are you really willing to accept their profit-sharing contract?"

Arriving at a secluded corner by the window outside the room, Li Li looked very troubled, her brows furrowed, her eyes filled with worry and disapproval.

"Their sincerity is very evident,"

Gu Qing leaned against the window, looking calmly out the window. "The long-term revenue sharing each year, accumulated over two or three years, may not be less than my normal salary."

He paused, then turned to look at Li Li. "Besides, I really like this script. What, you're not planning to interfere with my right to choose roles, are you?"

He said calmly, "The contract we signed is clearly written in black and white, and the final decision on which projects to film rests with me."

"Oh, Xiao Gu, how could I dare not let you take on any roles!"

Li Li quickly waved her hand to explain, forcing a smile, but then her face clouded over with worry. She lowered her voice and said, "It's...it's that there's a lot of discontent within the company right now."

She sighed and quickened her pace: "What the higher-ups want is real, immediate cash, not this kind of uncertain profit-sharing that may never be realized."

For entertainers, the main ways to make money are nothing more than three: filming fees, advertising endorsements, and variety show recordings.

As for those sporadic commercial performances, they only earn a small amount of money.

Now, in order to focus on film and television development, Gu Qing has withdrawn from the regular cast of "Running Man," which is equivalent to voluntarily cutting off a stable and lucrative source of income.

In terms of advertising endorsements, although Gu Qing has a lot of contracts for both affordable and high-end luxury brands and the company is making a fortune, there is a characteristic to these endorsements—either they don't make any deals, or when they do, they make enough to last them three years.

Once a similar brand signs with a competitor, they won't approach you again in the short term.

Therefore, for talent agencies, what artists can truly bring in huge and stable cash flow is still their acting fees!
The company's biggest dissatisfaction with Gu Qing lies precisely in the fact that his recent film remuneration has been "too low" or even "delayed".

His previous roles in dramas such as "The Journey of Flower," "Brotherhood of Blades," "Legend of Nine Tails Fox," and "The Imperial Doctress" were all taken before he became a sensation, so his pay was naturally not high at the time.

[Left Ear] only symbolically took 20 million to repay a favor.

The pay for "The Mystic Nine" was considered average, but at that time he was competing with Li Yifeng, and the competition wasn't about who got the higher pay.

The only film that truly matches his current status in terms of salary is "Detective Chinatown"—and he even signed a box office revenue sharing contract!

Before the movie was released, the company didn't get a single penny!

Right now, Gu Qing is about to take on another project, "Nirvana in Fire," which also uses a revenue-sharing model.

No wonder Li Li said that the company's senior management was getting restless.

Brokerage firms are essentially businesses that pursue quick profits, especially in this era where traffic is king.

What they need is real money that they can cash in immediately, not long-term gains that could be lost after six months or even a year due to various risks (problems with the creators, censorship issues, or broadcast delays).
Want money? Easy.

After listening to Li Li's complaints, Gu Qing smiled and said, "My original expectation was to pay 60 million for this drama."

Now, in addition to profit sharing, Zhengwu Sunshine has also given me a base salary of 30 million yuan.

He looked directly at Li Li and said, "According to the contract we signed before, the company should have received 30% of the 30 million."

Okay, I'll give all 30 million in film fees to the company, including the milk candy endorsement fee I just signed!

He paused for a moment, then said, "Now, have someone draft a contract. All profit-sharing rights from subsequent installments of 'Detective Chinatown' and 'Nirvana in Fire' will be unconditionally and permanently transferred to my personal name!"

"They don't want to gamble, they don't want to wait, that's okay."

I—am willing!

"Xiao Gu...this..."

Li Li hesitated, feeling that Gu Qing was taking a huge risk, gambling with his future earnings.

She instinctively wanted to offer advice, but the words stuck in her throat.

Over the past year, Gu Qing's attitude towards her has become increasingly distant and cold, and she is well aware of this.

A dark thought rose in her mind: "It's good for him to suffer a loss... Only by stumbling can he face reality and realize how important I am!"

She composed herself, took out her phone, and said, "I'll make a call and ask the boss what he thinks."

The phone call lasted for several minutes. Li Li put down her phone, covered the receiver with her hand, and looked at Gu Qing with a complicated expression: "Gu, the boss said... they are willing to accept the transfer of the 30 million yuan salary and endorsement fee for 'Nirvana in Fire'."

"But..." she began with difficulty, "...the box office revenue sharing contract for 'Detective Chinatown'...the company is still very optimistic about the film's box office prospects and is unwilling to give it up."

The company's top management is certainly not stupid.

While they may be short-sighted, they still possess basic judgment.

Chen Sicheng's directing skills, Wang Baoqiang's comedic box office appeal, and Gu Qing's own top-tier popularity—

The company's internal assessment even optimistically believes that the box office of "Detective Chinatown" is likely to reach or even surpass the height of "Lost in Thailand", and breaking 1 billion is not impossible!
In this way, the company might end up with tens of millions of yuan for Gu Qing's 10% share!
This is far more valuable than the thirty million incense sticks in front of us!
“The boss also said,” Li Li’s voice was slightly embarrassed as she relayed the company’s almost greedy conditions, “if you really insist on taking back all the profit-sharing rights of 'Detective Chinatown'... you will have to pay the company an additional 30 million in cash.”

"Ha." Gu Qing laughed in anger, her eyes icy cold. "Here's what we'll do: tell the company to bring me 50 million in cash right now, and I'll immediately and permanently transfer all of the box office revenue sharing contracts for 'Detective Chinatown' to them! How about that?"
Will they do this deal?

Li Li's face stiffened, she whispered a few more words into her phone, and then shook her head awkwardly at Gu Qing.

Clearly, the company wants to grab a share of the future profits but is unwilling to invest the money they have now.

"Give me your phone." Gu Qing was too lazy to waste any more words and simply held out her hand.

"Xiao Gu, this...this is the boss..." Li Li's heart sank suddenly, and she hurriedly handed over her phone, sensing that something bad was about to happen.

Gu Qing took the phone, put it to her ear, and her first words were: "Am I being too polite to you?"

The other end of the phone fell into dead silence, as if stunned by the sudden and highly aggressive question.

Even Li Li, who was standing next to her, turned pale with fright and her mind went blank.

After a few suffocating seconds of silence, the boss's voice, strained and trying to calm things down, finally came through the phone. Gone was the previous composure: "Xiao Gu, don't get agitated, let me explain..."

The company also has its difficulties. So many people need to be fed, and operating costs are high. Please be understanding…

Did I eat at your house?

Gu Qing interrupted without hesitation, "To get to where I am today, which of the filming opportunities did your company actively fight for or compete for?"

"Isn't it all thanks to my own hard work and countless trips?"

His voice carried clearly, "Stop wasting my breath. Just one sentence: split the profits and transfer the shares. Do you want it or not?"

He glanced at Li Li, whose face was deathly pale, and said, word by word, "Also, immediately stop all my announcements for the remainder of this year—remember, I said 'all' announcements!"
After filming this movie, I'm going to take a break this year.

This ultimatum directly hit the most fatal weakness of small and medium-sized brokerage firms!
Why are many artists willing to stay in smaller companies and become the "top male and female stars"?
Because in such companies, top artists are the absolute core and cash cows, wielding absolute power!

Unlike in a large entertainment group, would you dare to go against the company?
The company would rather forgo future profits than not put you on the shelf, risking a lose-lose situation!

They have the resources and the confidence to afford to wait it out!
But what about small companies?
The entire company might be relying on this one top-tier celebrity for their livelihood! Offending him would mean cutting off everyone's source of income, leaving them with no choice but to beg and plead for mercy!
However today
Perhaps it was because Gu Qing had made so much money for the company in the past two years that the boss had a misconception that he also had "confidence".

"Gu Qing!" On the other end of the phone, the boss's voice also carried a hint of anger, trying to fight back forcefully, "Are you sure you want to do this? To end up with both sides losing?"
The level of freedom our company offers is definitely among the highest in the industry!

You need to think this through. Even if you don't film this year, your contract will still be held by the company for the next three years! This is a blatant threat.

"Threatening me?" Gu Qing scoffed, her tone full of sarcasm. "Oh, I almost forgot to tell you. Next year, I plan to retire from acting and go back to school."

He slowed his speech and said leisurely, "Three years is not only enough time for me to study in peace and graduate smoothly, but also enough time for me to... find a new employer."

"At that time, I'll be so grateful! Finally, a big company will be able to provide me with truly high-quality resources. Don't you think so?"

The person on the other end of the phone fell silent instantly.

The boss suddenly realized—he had almost forgotten that Gu Qing was only 20 years old!
Three years later, they'll be just the age of ordinary drama school students graduating!

This kind of "silence" might be a devastating blow to other artists, but for Gu Qing, who is still young and has a solid foundation, it may be a chance for him to unleash his full potential!
With a resume from a top drama school and more mature acting skills, one will only attract more and better resources!
The contract the company has might really become worthless by then!
"Xiao Gu, Xiao Gu, please don't get agitated. I was just joking, just kidding..."

The boss's attitude instantly took a 180-degree turn, his tone filled with panic and ingratiation, trying to salvage the situation.

"What the hell are you talking about!"

Were you joking just now? Do you think I'm a three-year-old who can't understand human speech?

Gu Qing interrupted without hesitation, "Get out! 'Nirvana in Fire' is the last drama I'll film at your company!"

Before he could finish speaking, he abruptly ended the call, tossed the phone back into Li Li's arms, and turned to go back to the conference room to sign the contract.

"Xiao Gu, Xiao Gu! Wait!"

Li Li hurriedly caught the phone, her face ashen, and called out urgently to Gu Qing's retreating figure.

Her phone vibrated frantically almost immediately. She answered it in a panic, listened for a few words, and then her face lit up with a look of elation, as if she had grasped a lifeline. She shouted at Gu Qing's retreating figure:
"Xiao Gu! Boss! The boss has agreed! He's agreed to your conditions! Profit sharing and transfer, he's agreed to everything!"

Gu Qing didn't stop walking. He turned his head slightly and said in a cold voice, "Does he think he can just agree or refuse whenever he wants?"

“Tell him that the 30 million ‘buyout fee’ for Detective Chinatown is gone.”

Only the 30 million yuan salary from "Nirvana in Fire" and the milk candy endorsement fee went to the company. Take it or leave it.

Gu Qing said, "Once I go back and sign the contract for 'Nirvana in Fire,' we'll be even."

From now on, we'll each go our own way.

Let's see who can outlast whom!

Li Li's face instantly turned ashen, her lips trembling as she frantically relayed Gu Qing's ultimatum into her phone.

When Gu Qing's hand was firmly placed on the conference room doorknob, as if to turn it open—

"Xiao Gu, the boss has agreed! He's agreed to your conditions!"

Li Li rushed over, her high heels almost breaking.

"How despicable!"

Gu Qing gave a slight smirk, turned the doorknob, and went inside. The subsequent negotiations proceeded without further incident.

Gu Qing became the absolute leader, successfully signing a performance contract for "Nirvana in Fire" with the Zhengwu Sunshine team, and providing her body measurements for custom-made costumes.

Filming is expected to officially begin in a week.

After signing the contract, Li Li quickly printed out two profit-sharing agreements for "Detective Chinatown" and "Nirvana in Fire".

Gu Qing summoned his private lawyer, and after carefully reviewing and confirming that everything was correct, both parties completed the signing in the presence of the lawyer.

So far,

All future box office revenue and advertising/on-demand revenue generated from these two works will permanently belong to Gu Qing.

For the next week, everyone in the company treated Gu Qing with utmost deference and subservience.

Even Li Li was no exception; she spoke softly and dared not raise her voice, and she walked on tiptoe as if she could, and dared not arrange any additional work notices.

Gu Qing was given a rare period of peace and quiet, allowing him to devote himself fully to studying the script of "Nirvana in Fire".

The harsh realities of the entertainment industry are on full display at this moment.

Bad temper? Diva-like behavior? Insulting investors and directors? As long as you can consistently generate huge profits for the company, none of that matters!
You are the ancestor!
But what if one day you lose your value and can no longer earn money?
Those who are so respectful to you now will turn on you faster than turning the pages of a book, and their faces will become increasingly sarcastic, mean, and arrogant.

however,
Within this seemingly peaceful week, some minor disturbances occurred in the outside world.

The night after signing the contract, Gu Qing was tired from studying the script and, as usual, decided to go downstairs for a walk in the company park to get some fresh air.

Unexpectedly, he was blocked by two "fans" not far from the dormitory building.

He was blocked by two young women who looked like college students from the neighborhood.

They initially thought the tall, slender figure wearing a mask looked a lot like Gu Qing, so they approached him with a mixture of shyness and anticipation and politely asked him questions.

The moment Gu Qing reluctantly took off her mask and met their gaze, two excited screams shattered the tranquility of the night!

"Ah—! Little brother! It really is little brother!!" One of the girls was so excited that she couldn't speak coherently. She instinctively grabbed Gu Qing's arm tightly with both hands, and her body trembled slightly with excitement.

"Oh my god! Are we dreaming? We really saw you!" Another girl covered her mouth, her eyes wide with disbelief.

"We've been fans of you ever since you joined 'Running Man'!! We've always loved you!"

Fortunately, aside from the initial excitement and physical contact, the two girls did not engage in any more extreme or irrational behavior, and their actions did not reach the terrifying level of those caused by obsessive fans.

Gu Qing first gently reminded them to study hard, then patiently signed autographs for them and posed for a group photo. After doing all this,
He then asked with a hint of curiosity, "How...how did you know I lived at the company residence?"

He believed he had done a decent job keeping things confidential.

"It was said in a press release written by a journalist!"

The girl with rosy cheeks eagerly answered, her eyes sparkling, "He said he 'bumped into' you near the company before, and you even kindly treated him to a meal!"
They said you have a very good personality…

She paused, then added somewhat embarrassedly, "However, many people online think he's just making things up to ride the wave of popularity because there are no actual photos."

We were just bored tonight, so we decided to try our luck and wander around. We never expected... we never expected to actually run into you, little brother! We're so lucky!

As she spoke, she became excited again.

"So that's how it is..." Gu Qing suddenly realized, remembering the somewhat persistent reporter.

He looked up at the sky, his tone gentle but implying the end of the conversation: "It's getting late, you should all head back to school. I need to go back and rest too, I have things to do tomorrow."

He was about to turn around when he remembered something, stopped, looked at them, and asked sincerely, "By the way, can I ask you for a favor?"

"Tell me, little brother! Don't even mention one thing, we'll help you even if it means going through fire and water!"

The two girls immediately straightened their backs and answered in unison, their eyes filled with unwavering seriousness, revealing the fervor and unwavering commitment unique to fans.

Gu Qing knew that they were serious at this moment.

He gave them a reassuring, slightly helpless smile: "Can you not tell anyone that you met me here tonight?"
Whether it's posting on WeChat Moments, Weibo, or telling other friends, I really don't want to lose the space to even go downstairs for a walk alone in the future.

He looked into their eyes. "Can this be considered a little secret between us? Can you keep it for me?"

"That's great, little brother!!"

The two girls were stunned by Gu Qing's smile and the word "secret," their heads spinning, nodding frantically like chicks pecking at rice.
They swore with absolute certainty, "We will absolutely! Absolutely keep this a secret!! We'd rather die than tell!"

After saying goodbye to each other,

The two girls looked back every few steps, reluctant to leave Gu Qing's back, until he completely disappeared at the entrance of the dormitory building, then they excitedly hugged each other and jumped away.

Gu Qing initially thought this was just a chance encounter.

However, when he woke up the next day and habitually picked up his phone to browse the news, the first trending headline that caught his eye made him faint and almost jump out of bed!

#Gu Qing spoils his fans so much!#
This is what you meant by "absolute confidentiality"?
The top trending topic was a high-definition video and clear audio recording of him signing autographs and taking photos with those two female fans last night!
The angle was tricky; it was clearly taken secretly.

The following related trending topics only added fuel to the fire:

#Gu Qing encourages fans to study hard#
#Gu Qing suspected of being exploited by her company? Top star lives in employee dormitory!#
Clicking on the topic reveals countless fans expressing their envy of the two "lucky ones."
Many fans are also condemning the unscrupulous company for mistreating its artists.

The reporter who first wrote the "chance encounter" tweet was also unearthed, and his comment section was flooded with people eagerly asking about the specific location of the "chance encounter" with Gu Qing and the detailed information about the company dormitory area.

"pill!"

Gu Qing cursed under her breath, jumped out of bed and dressed as fast as she could, grabbing her phone to call her assistant: "Quick! Immediately! Book me a hotel right now! The farther away from the company the better! It has to be absolutely confidential!"

Gu Qing's premonition was absolutely correct.

That evening, the area downstairs from his agency was packed with fans who had rushed over after hearing the news.

The number of people quickly rose to over a hundred!
Most of them were young students.

Some people held up huge banners to express their love, some held up carefully crafted support light boards, and some even used megaphones to shout their love for Gu Qing at the company building, calling out to him in tears.

With such a large group of people, how could Gu Qing possibly dare to show his face?
He had no doubt that if he dared to show up and appease the fans, the next day the crowd wouldn't be a few hundred, but thousands or even tens of thousands! The situation would completely spiral out of control!

Even though Gu Qing had already left and the company had clarified that he was not there, the crowd surrounding him did not decrease significantly.

Even worse, some people set up tents nearby, showing a "we won't give up until we see Gu Qing" attitude.

Without any choice,

Gu Qing had no choice but to publicly post on his official blog. He first thanked his fans for their love and support, and then clearly stated that going out to meet people at this time would only attract more fans, causing greater safety hazards and disorder.

He urged fans to remain calm and pursue their idols rationally. He also revealed that he would soon be joining a film crew and would no longer be working at the company.

As for the rumor that he was "exploited by the company and thus had to live in the dormitory," Gu Qing chose to remain silent and offered no explanation.

He was happy to use this opportunity to further damage the company's reputation and put more pressure on it.

Thanks to Gu Qing's appeals and the passage of time, the crowd surrounding the company gradually dispersed, leaving only a few particularly persistent fans still holding on, and the impact had greatly diminished.

Meanwhile, Gu Qing stayed peacefully in a hotel far from trouble, focusing on preparing for the filming of "Nirvana in Fire".

The night before she was to leave for the film set, Li Li knocked on Gu Qing's hotel room door.

"what's up?"

Gu Qing opened the door and, without making a sound, called his assistant Zhao Ya over to stand beside him.

Having gone through everything before, he had long lost trust in Li Li and needed someone to be present as a witness to prevent this woman from doing anything irrational again.

Li Li glanced at Zhao Ya, who stood proudly next to Gu Qing like a mother hen protecting her chicks, and cursed her inwardly, "You little hussy."
But a professional, somewhat ingratiating smile appeared on his face: "Xiao Gu, sorry to bother you. It's like this... do you still remember Director Guo Jingming?"

"Little Four?" Gu Qing didn't react for a moment, and frowned slightly. "Which Little Four?"

"It's... the one who's really short," Li Li suggested tactfully, gesturing with her hand in front of her.

"It's him?"

Gu Qing suddenly realized, her brows furrowing even more, her tone noticeably distant, "Him? What's wrong? I don't remember having any contact with him, do I?"

He thought back carefully and realized that his only connection with Guo Jingming was when Guo Jingming invited him to make a cameo appearance as a married couple in the movie "Tiny Times".

He refused without hesitation.

Ultimately, this "honor" fell to Yang Yang and Li Yifeng. After filming, Yang Yang complained to him about the awkwardness and discomfort he experienced.

"The contact... has actually never stopped in private."

Li Li looked a little embarrassed and explained, "Director Xiao Si has actually been asking me about your schedule a lot."

"You helped me get the role in his film?" Gu Qing's expression instantly became extremely interesting as he stared wide-eyed at Li Li.

"No! Absolutely not!"

Li Li was so frightened that she waved her hands repeatedly and quickly clarified, "How could I dare! He does want you to film his new project, but who in the industry doesn't know what he's thinking?"

So I simply quoted him a staggering 100 million yuan for the role, hoping to scare him off!

She spoke rapidly, eager to distance herself from the situation.

"Then why did you come all this way so late to talk to me about this?"

Gu Qing's expression softened slightly. She picked up the water glass on the table and prepared to take a sip.

“Because…” Li Li’s expression became extremely strange, and she awkwardly and cautiously uttered the second half of the sentence, “that 100 million yuan salary… Director Guo Jingming… he… he agreed.”

"puff--!!!"

Gu Qing just took a sip of water and immediately spat it all out!
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(End of this chapter)