Caught in Affairs with Superstar

Song Chi was silent for a moment and said, "I’ll have my partner contact your agent later."

"Okay." He Xuran was overjoyed, "I knew it, you’re more magnanimous than I am."

"Xuran, we’ve known each other for a long time now. I can forgive you once, but you can’t expect me to forgive you again. If you had talked about this beforehand, I wouldn’t be in such a difficult position." Song Chi said.

"I know, I’m the one at fault, that’s why I was too embarrassed to call you directly before."

"Hmm."

After hanging up the phone, He Xuran breathed a sigh of relief.

He immediately called his agent to explain the situation.

"Half price?" The agent gasped.

"Half price." He Xuran said, "Listen to me on this one. I don’t want to offend Song Chi, so I can only express my apology in this way."

"But with this, we could lose tens of millions." The agent felt heartache.

He Xuran said, "Could we focus on the long term instead, and not just this money right in front of us? If we really offend Song Chi, and the industry knows I bailed on them, who would still come to me for roles in the future?"

"Okay, okay, I get it. But we can’t commit too much time on the schedule." The agent added.

He Xuran frowned and said, "No matter what they ask for, as long as it’s not too much, just agree to it. Since we’re apologizing, being so stingy is worse than not apologizing at all."

The agent cursed, "You say it so easily, do you know how much income your promise is costing us?"

He Xuran didn’t take his agent’s complaints seriously.

"I’ve already made up my mind. When Wu Chengbao comes to you, just handle it my way." He Xuran said.

The agent grumbled and agreed.

However, the agent didn’t expect Wu Chengbao to come with a performance contract for him to sign the very next day.

It was a formal performance contract, with a shooting period of 120 days, and the pay cut by half of the market rate, which was painful enough, but the subsequent penalty for breach of contract was even more terrifying, causing him to slam the table.

As a result, Wu Chengbao said, "Live and learn. If it weren’t for your past experiences, we wouldn’t set such a high penalty. What, you say you want to apologize to us, but are you still thinking about breaching it later? If so, what’s the point of our efforts now? Forget it, don’t sign."

The agent, remembering He Xuran’s instructions, had no choice but to put on a stiff face, persuade him to sit back down, and agreed to pass the contract to legal.

Wu Chengbao’s smile widened on his way back to the company.

Unexpectedly, this matter turned out to be a blessing in disguise, earning them a big win.

He Xuran starring in one of their series at half price was undoubtedly a great boon for them.

With this performance contract, he could directly secure one to two billion in investment from any video platform to start a new drama.

As for the previous conflicts.

He chuckled, what are conflicts in the face of absolute benefits.

Businessmen, everything is business first.

Wu Chengbao immediately called Liu Jin.

"Don’t bother me anymore. Although you don’t have a role in ’Conspicuous and Trouble’ this time, in the next drama where He Xuran plays the male lead, the female lead’s still yours." Wu Chengbao said to the Actress who was eliminated by Wei Weicheng in ’Conspicuous and Trouble,’ "Stop grumbling about us treating you unfairly. Seriously, was it that we didn’t want you in ’Conspicuous and Trouble’? Don’t you know who eliminated you?"

Liu Jin snorted lightly and said, "But I took months off work to prepare for this drama. Now Wei Weicheng says I can’t act, and I can’t be angry?"

Wu Chengbao laughed and said, "I told you earlier, don’t worry. You can’t act in this drama, but there’ll be a new one for you. You’re one of our own, we won’t let you suffer."

"But President Wu, don’t just say it. When can you let me make a movie with Boss Song, then I’ll stop complaining to you." Liu Jin laughed and said, "When you signed me, you promised to help me film a starring role each year. This year’s project fell through, so shouldn’t you give me two next year?"

"I’ve already given you the female lead for He Xuran’s next drama, and you still want two? So greedy?"

"Of course, I’ll be a little greedy with you."

...

Upon learning that He Xuran signed a performance contract for another series with Song Chi’s company, Zhou Yun was flabbergasted, unable to process it for a long time.

Is this even possible?

Wouldn’t after such incidents both sides cut ties forever?

How did they end up being friends again?

Song Chi laughed and said, "They voluntarily offered to act at half pay to compensate us, am I supposed to turn them away? You know how expensive actors like them are now?"

Zhou Yun: "...What right do you have to say that, aren’t you the highest paid among male actors?"

Song Chi: "I wouldn’t dare say that, I’m not the highest."

"It’s the top tier pay anyway." Zhou Yun said, "I just... for someone so unprofessional, I thought you wouldn’t collaborate with him again."

"If an unprofessional actor makes no change, I surely wouldn’t work with him again. But He Xuran took the initiative to call me and showed such sincerity. Even if I don’t forgive him internally, for the half pay alone, for the company, I have to agree. Finding an actor who can please the platforms isn’t easy now; everyone’s competing. Shows lead by He Xuran are in demand everywhere. How could I miss this opportunity?"

"Alright."

"Are you disappointed?"

"No, just a bit unexpected." Zhou Yun said, "But with your explanation, I understand."

"The drama market isn’t very good now. Competition is intense, especially with the impact from short videos, which has given us making long-form content great pressure. There aren’t many actors who can carry a drama. Everyone cares about their reputation and image. But if we can’t continuously produce content that attracts viewers, the foundation for long-form content diminishes. So now, video platforms mostly focus on top content. If it’s not a lead actor, there’s little willingness to buy. He Xuran has been a favorite among video platforms in recent years because he carries dramas well. Even if he didn’t agree to half pay this time, if future cooperation arises, and he wants to be the male lead, I would still sign him. This market is hard. Leading actors always have the upper hand. Without them, no matter how good our dramas are, platforms won’t buy them."

"I thought someone with your reputation in the industry wouldn’t be so constrained."

"Few can truly transcend market rules and norms, including me." Song Chi said, "Just like mainstream themes now, even if I act, platforms wouldn’t purchase it at a high price because past evidence has shown that even I can’t carry mainstream-themed dramas."

It’s a very helpless reality.

Even top-tier actors are labeled by the market and judged.

Fail twice, okay, in the market’s eyes, you’re deemed unfit.

It’s that cruel.

Why does Zhou Yun stand undefeated? Because she’s never failed.

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