Although Luo Sheng was a little scared, he didn’t feel regretful the way that President Fan said he would. Even though he didn’t know what the consequences were, he still persisted with his decision.
Soon, Luo Sheng was all packed and ready to head on set. But, the production suddenly announced that filming would be postponed indefinitely due to financial problems.
After hearing this, Luo Sheng immediately felt something wasn’t right, so he gave the director a phone call. On the other end of the phone, the director simply sighed and replied, “I don’t know who offended one of our major shareholders, forcing them to withdraw their investment out of nowhere. I’m sorry, Luo Sheng!”
Luo Sheng felt like he had been struck by a bolt of lightning as his mind went blank. It turned out, people could play around with money and completely ignore the hard work of others.
Realizing that this was President Fan’s doing, Luo Sheng was overcome with anger. But, what could he do?
Soon, President Fan once again came in contact with Luo Sheng. On the surface, he appeared polite, “Luo Sheng, I heard that the drama you accepted is currently being postponed because of financial problems. I had a look at your schedule and don’t think you have any excuse to reject me again, right?”
Luo Sheng held back his disgust as he faced President Fan and tried his best to remain clear-headed, “President Fan, I belong to Superstar Media. So, I need to ask my manager.”
The suited President Fan puffed on a cigar as he patted Luo Sheng on the shoulder and nodded his head, “Yes, it’s only right. But, you need to think things over properly. My brother-in-law is a shareholder of Hai Rui and we have access to all the top resources. If you follow me, I can make you into an international superstar.”
After hearing this, Luo Sheng did not feel like he was receiving special treatment. Instead, he felt like he was being pressured.
Because, President Fan was trying to tell him that they also had shares in Hai Rui.
In other words, he was no match against them.
After calming down for a few seconds, Luo Sheng ended up giving Tangning a phone call and telling her everything that happened. After hearing what happened, Tangning replied, “Pass your phone to President Fan.”
Luo Sheng did as told, “President Tang wants to speak to you.”
As soon as President Fan heard this, he revealed a meaningful smile. Even if he was facing Tangning, he wasn’t afraid. They were both putting capital on the line and he was related to Hai Rui. So, he didn’t believe that Tangning would do anything to him.
“President Fan…”
“President Tang, I’ve heard all about you.”
“I heard that President Fan wants our Luo Sheng to act in his IP drama. But, I would like to know why President Fan skipped Luo Sheng’s management agency and went directly to him?” Tangning questioned straight away. “Luo Sheng isn’t very brave, I don’t want you to scare him.”
“President Tang must know how difficult it is to come across such a great drama. This opportunity is hard to come by. I like that Luo Sheng is young, capable and good at acting. That’s why I decided to convince him first before contacting you.
“May I ask which IP drama President Fan is referring to? Don’t tell me it’s ‘Grand Theft Auto’, which you’ve been fighting over copyright with.”
President Fan paused for a moment. He never expected that Tangning had already done her research.
“I’m sorry, President Fan, I think you should secure the copyright first before we discuss working together.”
“I know that you want Luo Sheng, but Luo Sheng’s contract will be changing over to Hai Rui soon. When that time comes, you will need to pay Hai Rui a visit instead.”
President Fan tried to pressure Luo Sheng with Hai Rui, so Tangning flipped the situation around and used Hai Rui to push President Fan into a dead end.
Even though President Fan had a lot of money and resources, he did many under the table deals that bordered on illegal. Although a lot of artists didn’t care about copyright, Tangning and Luo Sheng didn’t want to make money from something so immoral.
After going around in circles with Tangning, President Fan was truly angered as he slammed down the phone and threw it at Luo Sheng, “If it wasn’t because my daughter liked you, I wouldn’t even lay an eye on you. You don’t know what’s good for you!”
Luo Sheng stood to the side, too afraid to move. Even when it came to size and figure, he couldn’t compete against this man.
After President Fan left, Luo Sheng felt his knees go weak.
So, he held onto his phone and gave Tangning another call, “Ning Jie, what should I do now?”
“You’ve already received an award for Best Newcomer, so you are definitely qualified to go to Hai Rui. Only Hai Rui can shield you from disgusting offers like this.”
“But, I don’t want to go to Hai Rui,” Luo Sheng had decided a long time ago that he’d keep following Tangning. “Even Xing Lan’s contract has returned to Superstar Media. Why can’t I continue to stick around?”
“Listen…President Fan does not have a simple background. Even I have to be careful around him. If he continues to hassle you and the situation gets worse, there would be no way for us to fix it.”
Luo Sheng did not say another word. He simply felt his heart break. Although Hai Rui was the best place for an artist to progress…
…he still felt that something was missing.
Of course, Luo Sheng would have never expected that the problems triggered by him had just started.
Since Luo Sheng didn’t want to take on the IP drama, the production, of course, couldn’t keep waiting. So, they ended up selecting another famous young actor and received a lot of attention as soon as they announced it to the public.
Afterwards, news that Luo Sheng had rejected the drama began to circulate.
When it came to such a big IP production, the public couldn’t understand why Luo Sheng would reject it.
“Just wait and see. As soon as this drama becomes a hit, Luo Sheng will regret his decision.”
“This drama is so entertaining. Luo Sheng sure doesn’t know what’s good for him.”
“F*ck, I can’t believe that Luo Sheng had the guts to reject this drama. Is there something wrong with his brain?”
No matter how badly the public criticized Luo Sheng, he did not give a word of response. At the same time, not a single trace of regret appeared on his face.
However, President Fan’s evil beliefs swept all the way from his sister to the ears of Hai Rui’s shareholders. After a bit of creativity and exaggeration, the original message was skewed in a way that targeted people’s weaknesses; something that President Fan’s sister was good at doing.
So, Hai Rui soon held an urgent board meeting headed by Mo Ting.
The main topic of discussion was the meaning of Superstar Media’s existence.
“President Mo, you previously told us that Superstar Media would scout new talent and eventually pass them on to Hai Rui after they became famous. But, why hasn’t Luo Sheng signed with us even though he’s qualified and why has Xing Lan been returned to Superstar Media?”
“Secondly, I’m sure you’ve witnessed Superstar Media’s fame in the industry; everyone has. Even though Tangning’s never leeched off Hai Rui’s name, everyone knows that she is your wife and that she is being backed up and supported by you. As a subsidiary of Hai Rui, Superstar Media has outshined it’s mother company. What is the meaning of this? Are they trying to rebel?”
“Thirdly, Tangning is ruthless and heartless. On the surface, she is trying to set a good example for the industry, but in reality, she is merely creating enemies for Hai Rui. Although she’s made a few artists famous, Hai Rui is also capable of doing that. In fact, we can do it better than her.”
“In conclusion, I don’t think there is any point to Superstar Media’s existence. What does everyone think?”