Huayu: Live a carefree life

Han Dongjun: Yao Mei, I heard you took the initiative to ask Sister K to terminate the contract?

Chen Yao: Yes, Jun-ge. By the way, how did you know? I just made a phone call yesterday.

Han Dongjun: When you were on the phone with Sister K, other people overheard you, and then the rumors got more and more outrageous. Some people are even saying that you're going to retire from the entertainment industry and get married.

Han Dongjun: ...You're not really going to retire from the entertainment industry and get married, are you?

Chen Yao: (Sweating) What are you talking about? How old am I?

Chen Yao: But... Jun-ge, I won't lie to you, it's true that my boyfriend has made better arrangements for my future acting career.

Han Dongjun: ? ? ? ?

Han Dongjun: Oh my god, you're dating?! When did it start?! Wow, Yao Mei, you kept it a secret! Someone in the entertainment industry?

Chen Yao: Jun-ge, how come I never realized you were such a gossip before? (Picking nose)

Han Dongjun: I was just curious. We've always played a couple, so how come I never noticed that you're also a love-struck person?

Chen Yao: (Knocks on head)

Han Dongjun: The contract termination processes for Lin Gou, Da Xi, and Jin Fu were not very smooth. You'd better be mentally prepared. Sister K is a very petty person.

Chen Yao: Thanks for your concern, Jun-ge. It's not like I'm refusing to pay the termination fee; I'll just follow the contract. Besides, I'm different from them. I haven't played a leading role in all these years, and the resources I've received have been very limited. You're actually in a similar situation to me, right? (chuckles)

Han Dongjun: ...I kindly reminded you, why did you stab me with a knife? (vomits blood)

Chen Yao: Haha, and also, I definitely won't tell Sister K that you talked about her being stingy behind her back (chuckles).

Han Dongjun: (in horror) It's too late to take it back now.

Han Dongjun: I'm not kidding. Just think it through. Anyway, the company is the company, and we are us. I'll stop here for now. It's my turn to film. Let's keep in touch.

Chen Yao: OK

After replying to the message, Chen Yao put her phone away. The news that she had taken the initiative to terminate her contract yesterday had already spread within the Sugarman company. Han Dongjun was the second person to send a message to ask about it. Since they had always gotten along well, they chatted for a while longer.

The first person Chen Yao asked was Hu Bingqing, who had joined the sugar figurine business later than her but was more valued. It was clear from her words that she was just having fun, and since they weren't close, Chen Yao dismissed her with a few words.

As for the boss, Brother Hu, and the top female star, Nezha, they are just colleagues with her, who is relatively unknown. They don't contact each other unless they are face-to-face at the company.

Chen Yao: Honey, for some reason, the news that I asked Sister K to terminate my contract has already spread throughout the company.

Lu Jie happened to have some free time, so he directly dialed Chen Yao's number. "Let them spread the rumors. It's not like we're not going to pay the termination fee. Just relax. You can leave the specifics to Attorney Hu to discuss tomorrow. Let professionals handle professional matters."

During the call, Chen Yao was playing a flight check-in notification. Lu Jie checked the time and asked, "Did you send your flight information to Xiao Wu? She'll arrange for you to pick me up."

"Yes, Secretary Wu arranged it this morning. A Rolls-Royce! I've never ridden in one before."

"Nonsense, haven't you ridden in my Cullinan?"

"Oh dear, they were talking about the custom-made car that's going to pick me up soon, the kind I've never ridden in before," Chen Yao said coquettishly.

Lu Jie didn't argue further. "Then you should have a good experience. I'll be waiting for you at home. Bye."

"Okay, bye-bye, honey."

…………

Just after hanging up with Chen Yao, Lu Jie's work phone received a call from an unknown number in Shanghai. "Hello, who is this?"

A gentle male voice came through the phone, "Is this Mr. Lu Jie?"

"Yes, it's me. And you are?"

"Hello, Mr. Lu, excuse me for bothering you, I'm Sun Jingxiao from ABB Manufacturing." Seemingly sensing Lu Jie's confusion, Sun Jingxiao quickly added, "Uh, we're the production company for 'Once Upon a Time There Was a Spirit Sword Mountain'."

Being able to get Lu Jie's work phone shows he has some social connections. "So, what's the purpose of Mr. Sun contacting me?"

"Well, this project is, after all, a joint investment between Kiwi and Tencent, and as the manufacturer, we have a responsibility to..."

Lu Jie roughly guessed what this person wanted to do and interrupted directly, "President Sun, let me interrupt for a moment. Regarding the film and television production issues, you should contact Han Zijie and Wang Juan. If they can't solve it, then contact Sun Zhonghuai and Gong Yu. Calling me won't do any good."

Just as Lu Jie finished speaking, a hurried Taiwanese-accented female voice interrupted, "Hello, Mr. Lu, I'm actress Zhang Rongrong. This role is really important to me. Could you please..."

After a brief commotion and reprimands, Sun Jingxiao spoke again, "I apologize, Mr. Lu, but Ms. Zhang, as a stakeholder, is indeed a bit too eager..."

"It's alright, I can objectively understand how she feels." Lu Jie pursed his lips. "But the role is already finalized, there won't be any more changes. Let me put it this way, when I asked Lao Sun if there were any roles available for me, he told me that I could choose any female role in any of Tencent's dramas that haven't started filming, regardless of whether I've already been cast. Do you understand?"

"Okay, I understand what you mean. Sorry to bother you, Mr. Lu." Lu Jie hung up the phone without saying anything more.

On the other end of the phone, Sun Jingxiao glared at Zhang Rongrong for interrupting, but out of refinement, she refrained from swearing. She tapped on her desk for a moment, smoked two cigarettes, and then asked Yu Zhongzhong, "Rongrong's lead role is definitely over. What are your thoughts? Are you still going to take the role?"

Yu Zhongzhong spat, "Can I not accept it? If I don't, I'll offend both Tencent and Tencent. How am I supposed to survive in mainland China after that?"

Zhang Rongrong almost burst into tears when she heard that the role was completely gone. Her resources were not very good to begin with, otherwise she wouldn't be making a fuss at the age of 31 for the female lead in a mid-budget historical romance drama. "Mr. Sun, didn't you also have an investment share...?"

"Our small share is useless." Sun Jing shook her head with a wry smile. "Didn't you hear what people said? They can choose any female role in the Penguin series, regardless of whether the actress has been cast or not. Fortunately, the costume photos for this drama haven't been taken yet, so they haven't said they'll take off the costumes they're wearing."

Zhang Rongrong grew increasingly upset as she listened. "Ugh, this is so annoying! Why am I so unlucky?! Ugh!!!"

…………

On Lu Jie's side, after hanging up the abrupt phone call, he continued to prepare for taking over the work plan of Weishi. He had already begun to study two other mainstream short video apps, Kuaishou and Douyin, thinking about how to revive Weishi after he took over, under an open-book exam.

To be honest, after personally using three of the apps, he was already starting to regret taking on this hot potato. Weishi had major problems from the front end to the back end. In Lu Jie's view, it was a complete waste of Tencent's dominant position in social media, a treasure trove of resources that couldn't be effectively utilized.

It's not entirely true that ByteDance's algorithm is superior, but Tencent can also accurately push game failures, so its experience in this area is not bad. What's lacking is that Weishi doesn't know how to simplify and accurately grasp its own positioning, resulting in wanting everything and ending up with nothing.