Chinese Entertainment King: Starting as a Fat Boy and Becoming a Singing King

Soon, the company's lawyer's letter reached Xu Yao's hands.

Xu Yao returned from the Spring Festival Gala rehearsal hall and was about to swipe his card to enter the elevator when the receptionist stopped him and handed him a SF Express package.

He stood in the lobby, opened the package, and glanced at it.

The letter, sent in the company's name to Xu Yao, stated that he had refused to participate in the company's arranged tour without a legitimate reason, which constituted a breach of contract. The letter demanded that he resume performance of the contract within seven working days of receiving the letter, otherwise the company would pursue his liability for breach of contract through arbitration.

Xu Yao folded the letter and put it back in the envelope, not caring much. He returned to his room and dialed Liu Dong's number.

Liu Dong paused for a few seconds on the other end of the phone, his voice calm: "It's basically in line with our estimated timeline. Xu Yao, we're entering legal proceedings now, starting with mediation between the two parties. The company has sent a lawyer's letter; we haven't formally applied for arbitration yet. According to the contract dispute resolution clause and the arbitration committee's rules, mediation is a mandatory preliminary procedure."

Xu Yao was well aware that the path the company had chosen was not really about going to court.

The lawyer's letter did not specify the amount of compensation sought, and although the wording was harsh, it left an opening in the last paragraph.

"We hope that both sides will resolve this matter amicably through consultation."

The company is trying to cover things up, not wanting to make a big deal out of it.

Ultimately, we still hope he will admit defeat and turn back.

In the 2014 talent show market, the title of The Voice champion still carried weight.

A champion publicly breaking ties with the company is bad for the brand and also bad for attracting investment.

Therefore, the company did not make any public announcements or release any information through marketing accounts throughout the entire process; it only exerted pressure discreetly through legal channels.

"Since they sent the lawyer's letter first."

"Then I'll trouble Attorney Liu to handle this on my behalf and proceed with the mediation process."

For the next week or so, the legal teams of both sides engaged in a silent tug-of-war at the mediation table.

The legal team of Dream Voice came prepared, with the 2014-2015 tour schedule, performance confirmation slips signed by Xu Yao, and contract details in hand.

Their core argument is straightforward: Xu Yao, as a contracted artist, refused to fulfill his performance obligations without a legitimate reason, constituting a fundamental breach of contract, and should bear the liability for breach of contract as stipulated in the contract.

However, Liu Dong did not bypass these arguments to start from scratch.

When the other party claimed that Xu Yao was "absent from the performance without cause," she directly submitted a diagnosis certificate for hypoglycemia and emergency room medical records issued by a top-tier hospital, clearly pointing out that the artist's physical condition was no longer suitable for a high-intensity tour.

The other party claimed that Xu Yao "maliciously refused to perform" and "took jobs privately." She then placed scanned copies of the postgraduate entrance examination admission tickets and online registration forms on the table to demonstrate that the artist had a reasonable academic schedule.

Moreover, the sound in the recording is very clear.

Sister Lin said, "The company said the commercial performances will continue. Just tough it out. We'll talk about it the day you faint."

After a week, Canxing did not send any new letters.

Mediation is still ongoing, but judging from the feedback from the legal team, the other party is not as confident as they were in the first round.

Liu Dong reported the progress to Xu Yao on the phone, his tone calm but his wording clear: "The mediation is still ongoing, the arbitration has not yet been formally filed, and you haven't received your admission notice yet. For now, let's stabilize this situation."

In the main conference room of Canxing Culture's headquarters in Shanghai, the projector was still on, displaying a mediation plan that had been repeatedly revised on the screen.

Mr. Liu stood in front of the seat at the top of the long table, without sitting down.

The conference room was full of people.

The legal department, operations department, artist management department, and talent agency department were all there, and Sister Lin was also there, her head down, not daring to look at anyone.

Mr. Liu asked in surprise, "Xu Yao participated in the competition while simultaneously applying for graduate studies at the Central Conservatory of Music. Didn't anyone notice?"

No one answered; the air seemed to have been sucked away and solidified.

"Now everything's fine. His lawyer has sent over the preliminary test results."

Mr. Liu slammed an A4 sheet of paper on the table, and the paper slid half an inch across the surface.

"His total score is 456. He's applying to the Central Conservatory of Music, majoring in vocal performance. This year, the re-examination cutoff score is based on the major subject, and the initial major subject cutoff score for the vocal performance department is 128. 456 points far exceeds the admission line. Coupled with his title as the champion of The Voice of China and his undergraduate degree from Wuhan Conservatory of Music, the Central Conservatory of Music is very fond of him and may admit him early."

Mr. Liu was furious: "He can now legitimately refuse to perform on our tour. It's not a boycott; it's because he wants to go to school."

No one spoke in the meeting room.

Some people were looking down at the documents in their hands, while others were writing and drawing in their notebooks, but no one knew what they were writing.

Sister Lin hunched her shoulders even tighter.

"And you, Kobayashi."

Mr. Liu turned to Sister Lin, his voice suddenly rising eight octaves.

"Holy crap, are you an idiot? Are you an idiot? Every time you talked to him on the phone or in person, he recorded you. He recorded several times, and you didn't even know."

"And who the hell did you learn that from? Talking so harshly, with lines like 'The company is letting you hold on a little longer,' 'We'll talk about it when you faint,' and 'If you dare refuse to perform, the single's release will be canceled.' Who taught you to say that? Are you brain-dead or are you a spy sent by Xu Yao to the company? You've put us in such a passive position. Tell me, what are we supposed to do?"

Sister Lin's hands were twisted together under the table, her head lowered to the table, and she did not answer.

At the same time, BJ Xu Yao was standing on the side stage of Studio One of the Spring Festival Gala, with backup dancers and staff carrying equipment coming and going in front of him.

The rehearsal schedule was packed, with each program having only a fixed time slot for rehearsals; missing it meant missing it altogether.

The studio is very large.

The production team members moved back and forth between the audience and the stage with walkie-talkies, adjusting camera positions and scrutinizing details for each program.

The dancers' formations, lighting changes, and LED screen visuals required repeated adjustments, sometimes more than ten or twenty times, before they could be finalized.

As Xu Yao stood on the side stage waiting to walk the runway, his eyes suddenly lit up.

"Holy crap, Brother Hua..."

Xu Yao saw Andy Lau rehearsing; he will be singing "The Road Home" at this year's Spring Festival Gala.

Xu Yao was genuinely a little excited, but he didn't go up to greet them.

Wherever a big shot like Brother Hua goes, he's surrounded by a crowd.

Furthermore, Xu Yao knew what level of influence and hierarchy existed between him and the staff in front of these artists.

"Hey, what are you looking at?"

The sudden sound behind him startled Xu Yao.

Deng Ziqi wore a loose white sweatshirt, her hair was tied in a neat bun, and she had two shallow dimples on her cheeks, exuding youthful vitality.

This was the first time Xu Yao had ever seen Deng Ziqi up close.

The girl who completely conquered the nation's audience in just a few months with "I Am a Singer" stood before him without any airs, extending her right hand, her dimples spreading with her smile.

"Finally found you! You're Xu Yao, right? I'm Deng Ziqi. We've followed each other on Weibo. Your rendition of 'Bubble' was absolutely amazing. I've tried it so many times on TV, but I never had that same powerful, emotional impact. I heard you're going to be on the Spring Festival Gala this year, so I've been looking for you everywhere!"