This producer has no bottom line.

The office area was unusually quiet.

Alex's voice echoed throughout the entire floor, the keyboard clicks stopped, and the people at the next workstation pretended to be staring at their screens, but their ears were all perked up.

"Embezzlement?" Ren Pingsheng put his backpack on the table, turned around and looked at Alex. "Alex, you'd better think carefully before you pin this label on me."

"Do I even need to think about it?" Alex took a step forward, his finger almost poking Ren Pingsheng's face. "You used the company's equipment to shoot videos, used the company's platform for distribution, used the company's customer resources to conduct business, and then you turned around and registered a lousy company, taking everyone with you—tell me, what else is this if not embezzlement?"

Ren Pingsheng neither backed down nor pushed away the finger.

"Are you finished speaking?"

"I'm done speaking!"

"Then I'll reply to you one by one."

Ren Pingsheng extended one finger.

"First, the equipment. I admit that the first five episodes of the first season of 'Unexpectedly' used some of the company's equipment. But from the sixth episode onwards, all ten episodes of 'Men's Diary' used externally rented equipment. I have backups of the rental contracts, payment receipts, and invoices. If you want to see them, I'll send them to your email right now."

Alex opened his mouth slightly, but no words came out.

The second finger is held upright.

"Secondly, the platform. Sohu Video is the first release platform, that's true, but first release does not equal exclusive authorization. The production company for these two projects is listed as 'Shengpingshi Studio,' not Sohu Video. You can have our legal department check the backend publishing records. Every video was uploaded by my personal account. Sohu has never reposted or redistributed anything using its official account."

Someone poked half their head out from the other end of the corridor and then withdrew. Sister Zhao sat in the corner, her hands resting on the keyboard, motionless.

The third finger.

"Third, the clients. The contract with Changyou was signed by GG Agency, a subsidiary of Soohu Group, and has no direct business relationship with the Innovation Team. I am just the content executor. As for the contract with Xishanju, the contracting entity is 'Shengpingshi Studio,' and it never went through Soohu's accounts. If you want to check where this money went, just ask Xishanju's finance department."

Alex's face went from red to white, and then from white to green.

Ren Pingsheng lowered his hand.

"Finally, you just mentioned intellectual property rights. Articles 7 to 12 of my employment agreement, concerning the ownership of copyrights for works made in the course of employment, are blank. Attorney Chen from the legal department already reviewed the originals yesterday; you can contact him to confirm."

"It's Gong Yu's signature!" Alex finally found a point of leverage. "Gong Yu is gone, and what he signed—"

"His signature doesn't count?" Ren Pingsheng's tone calmed down, but it was even more oppressive than before. "Alex, Gong Yu was the COO of Sohu Group when he left. His signature represents the company's will. If you want to deny this agreement, you are denying the administrative decision of a former COO-level executive."

He paused for two seconds.

Are you sure you have that permission?

Someone in the office area covered their mouth.

Alex's chest heaved violently, and his lips moved several times, but he couldn't utter a single word.

It wasn't that he didn't want to refute, it was that he truly ran out of ammunition.

For every accusation he could think of, Ren Pingsheng had prepared corresponding evidence. It wasn't because Ren Pingsheng was particularly clever, but because from day one, this man had been preparing for this day.

The silence lasted for about ten seconds.

The sound of high heels came from the end of the corridor.

Deng Ye appeared at the entrance of the office area. She wasn't wearing a coat, her shirt sleeves were rolled up to her elbows, and she was holding a stack of printing papers.

That's enough.

Two words, not loud, but the air on the entire floor seemed to cool down.

Alex turned around, his mouth just opening—

"Go back to your office." Deng Ye didn't look at him, his tone as if he were instructing the receptionist to print documents.

Alex stood there, the veins on his neck throbbing twice. But he didn't dare to cause any more trouble in front of Deng Ye. Clutching the crumpled email, he left without a word.

As they passed Dapeng's workstation, their eyes met. Dapeng didn't look away.

Alex disappeared around the corner of the corridor, and only then did Deng Ye turn his attention to Ren Pingsheng.

"Come with me."

The COO's office door was closed.

Deng Ye placed the stack of printed papers on the table and sat down.

Ren Pingsheng glanced at it; the top one was his resignation email from five minutes ago.

"How long have you been planning this?" Deng Ye's tone was unreadable.

"There was no planning involved; we were forced into it."

"I fought for this position as the deputy director of the content center, you know that?"

"I understand, thank you, Mr. Deng."

"But you don't want to."

"It's not that I don't want it, it's that even if I did, I wouldn't be able to keep it

Deng Ye leaned back in his chair, his fingers interlaced on the table.

"Do you think I can't protect you?"

"Mr. Deng can protect me once, twice, three times. But Alex is your brother."

The room was silent for a few seconds.

This was the first time the two of them had brought their relationship into the open.

Deng Ye neither denied it nor got angry. She simply looked at Ren Pingsheng, her gaze shifting from scrutiny to a kind of confirmation.

"After you left, did everyone in the innovation team follow you?"

"Sister Zhao, Da Peng, Luo Hongming, and Liu Hao all resigned voluntarily."

"You know very well that the reason they resigned was not for personal reasons."

"The resignation letter stated personal reasons, which is the most dignified outcome for Sohu."

Deng Ye tapped his finger on the table.

"Ren Pingsheng, you are twenty-three years old this year. I have met many smart young people, but there are not many like you who plan ahead of others in every step."

She stood up and walked to the window.

"I won't stop you. I'll talk to the legal department. The resignation procedures will proceed normally, and the 30-day confidentiality period will be waived. You can complete the handover next week."

Ren Pingsheng hadn't expected it to be so decisive.

"But I have one condition."

"General Deng said."

"Sohu Video retains the right to broadcast the content of 'Unexpectedly' and 'Men's Diary' that has already been released online. It will not be taken down or deleted. Sohu has priority to cooperate with your new works under the same conditions."

This isn't an unfair contract term. Removing already uploaded content wouldn't benefit Ren Pingsheng either; it would just result in the loss of existing viewership data. As for the so-called priority cooperation rights, the phrase "under the same conditions" leaves plenty of room for manipulation.

Deng Ye wasn't trying to make things difficult for him; he was giving himself a way to explain himself to the board of directors.

"no problem."

"That's settled then," Deng Ye turned around, extended his hand, and said, "I wish you all the best in your future endeavors."

Ren Pingsheng squeezed it briefly, then released it.

"Thank you for taking care of me during this time, Mr. Deng."

As he pushed open the door and walked out, Deng Ye said his last words behind him.

"Ren Pingsheng, don't make me regret letting you go today."

He didn't turn around.

In the office area, Dapeng had already packed his things. Inside a cardboard box, the most eye-catching item was a custom-made Souhu mug. Sister Zhao's canvas bag was bulging, with a corner of a photo frame peeking out from the side.

Luo Hongming and Liu Hao stood in the corridor, both carrying backpacks, looking like college students arriving for their first day.

"I'm leaving," Ren Pingsheng said.

He didn't look back at the office area one last time, nor did he say goodbye to anyone who stayed.

The elevator doors opened, and five people walked in.

Da Peng made a face and said something. Luo Hongming laughed nervously, while Sister Zhao pressed the floor button without saying anything.

The elevator is falling, and the floor numbers are jumping one by one.

Ren Pingsheng leaned against the elevator wall and closed his eyes for two seconds.

From my rebirth on March 14th until now, it has been seven months and eight days. From an intern whose academic qualifications were publicly ridiculed by his supervisor, to walking out of this building cleanly with a team, two intellectual property rights, and three million yuan in investment.

That's fast enough.

But not enough.

The elevator arrived at the first floor and the doors opened.

October sunlight streamed into the lobby, and half of the ginkgo leaves outside had turned yellow.

Ren Pingsheng stepped out of the revolving door of the Souhu Building and took a deep breath.

The phone rang.

It wasn't a text message, it was a phone call. The caller ID showed a number he had saved but never dialed.

Gong Yu.

He answered the call.

"Pingsheng, I heard you left today."

"Mr. Gong is quick to get the information."

There was a chuckle on the other end of the phone, followed by something that made Ren Pingsheng stop in his tracks.

"Would it be convenient to meet? Someone wants to get to know you."