Chapter 53 Gu Ye: Come on, bully me instead! Part 1
Du Jianuo carried his bag and arrived at Capital University, a world-famous university, as scheduled. He found the Stone Pot Fish Restaurant Gu Ye mentioned near the gate. The store was not big, but the interior was elegantly decorated. It happened to be meal time and there were many students. Du Jianuo found a seat near the back and sat down. Along the way, he passed by several tables. A few students glanced at him because of his handsome appearance, but no one recognized him.
After waiting for just 2 minutes, Gu Ye arrived. Without needing Du Jianuo to call for him, he went straight to the corner where Du Jianuo was and found him immediately. Gu Ye said with a smile, “Yo~ Have you been waiting?”
Seeing Gu Ye’s overly young face face to face, Du Jianuo was stunned for a moment. Then he smiled bitterly and said, “Hello.”
Gu Ye sat down opposite Du Jianuo, “I really don’t look like a fortune teller. If you regret it now, I can still reimburse you for the fare.”
Being seen through what he was thinking at a glance, Du Jianuo smiled sheepishly and said, “No, since I’m already here, I want to take a gamble. It’s already this far anyway.”
“Okay,” Gu Ye looked at Du Jianuo’s face again. No plastic surgery or putting on makeup. There was no difference in the appearance (still) he had seen before. “This is 500k yuan,” Gu Ye took out the bank card he had prepared in advance. “The same day today next year, if you have more than 40 million fans, remember to pay me back 5 million yuan.”
Hearing the figure of 40 million fans, Du Jianuo clenched his fists in shock, “Do I really have the financial ability to repay it? Can I really have 40 million fans?”
“Yes.” Gu Ye said confidently, “As long as you don’t make mistakes, don’t cause trouble, and act steadily, your first work will make you famous. However, I need to take a look at all the scripts you will perform this year.”
Du Jianuo picked up the card and said seriously, “I will listen to you.”
Gu Ye held his chin and looked at Du Jianuo, then said with a smile, “I’ll give you another tip. Stay away from dogs for the coming 2 months.”
“Dog?”
“Yes, a real dog. A dog that runs on the ground. It has four legs and barks.”
Du Jianuo doesn’t know if to laugh or cry, “Am I going to have a dog problem? Perhaps get bitten by a dog?”
Gu Ye nodded with a smile.
“Okay, I’ll remember it.”
The two had a meal together. Du Jianuo did not want to stay overnight nearby so he booked a high-speed rail ticket for that night. He planned to go to his agent to terminate the contract the next morning.
Before parting, Gu Ye said, “It may be unpleasant to go back, so be mentally prepared.”
Du Jianuo nodded seriously, “I know, I have been mentally prepared for a long time.”
Du Jianuo’s agent Hou Shiqi is a veteran agent of Dingnan Entertainment who has also made several artists famous in his hands. He likes artists who are sweet-tongued, know what to do without being told, and they also need to be obedient. If he asks you to go out to accompany people to drink, you should go happily. If you make the distinguished guest happy, he will be happy to raise you in the company.
Du Jianuo is good-looking and young, but he doesn’t cooperate with Hou Shiqi’s arrangements and has no backing. Therefore, he has always been left in the corner. Hou Shiqi didn’t want to raise Du Jianuo but it’s a waste to discard him.
As soon as he heard that Du Jianuo wanted to leave, Hou Shiqi’s expression immediately changed. “Damn ingrate! You still want to leave with that kind of ability? Who will want you? No acting skills, and don’t know how to speak sweetly. You’re a piece of trash who doesn’t even know how to accompany a drink, where can you go to become famous?”
Du Jianuo has long been accustomed to hearing such insults, and said without changing his expression, “I just want to act. I like this industry, and I don’t want to participate in anything else. Thank you for taking care of me these two years, goodbye!”
“Leaving? Let me see how you leave. For the few scenes you have acted in, they bring almost no profit. Can you afford the liquidated damages?” Hou Shiqi sneered and looked at Du Jianuo’s leaving figure with disdain on his face, “Scram. Even if you don’t, you will be frozen anyway!”
Du Jianuo paused in his step and said coldly, “Then, you just wait.”
Hou Shiqi thought that Du Jianuo would not be able to leave. Unexpectedly, Du Jianuo actually paid the liquidated damages and left the apartment with his luggage the same day he received the contract cancelation. After asking someone to inquire, he found out that Du Jianuo went directly to Yuming Media.
“Does Yuming Media have the money to burn it? What’s the point of recruiting such a mentally retarded person? He doesn’t have many works, and those are just passers-by roles. He has no acting skills!” Hou Shiqi angrily cursed, “He has absolutely no way out!”
Although Hou Shiqi scolded Du Jianuo like this, he wasn’t very sure. Because several newcomers who went to Yuming Media have become popular. Even the old actors whose popularity had been tepid before became very popular after they went there. Du Jianuo’s family was poor so while the liquidated damages of 500k are nothing to others, but to his family, it is a huge sum of money. Du Jianuo himself cannot afford the liquidated damages of 500,000 yuan, so it can only be Yuming Media to pay it to him. Does Du Jianuo really have acting skills?
The assistant replied, “I heard from his roommate that he had no contact with anyone from Yuming Media at all, but he had contact with Gu Lin’s younger brother. Yesterday he went to Capital University specifically, and it was midnight by the time he came back.”
“The Old Third of the Gu family who can tell fortunes,” Hou Shiqi sneered and narrowed his eyes, “Did he predict that Du Jianuo would be popular?”
The assistant shook his head, “Who knows how this young master views people.”
“If he wants to leave, I have to let him go. But if all the artists in my hands want to imitate him, won’t it become troublesome later?”
Now many people in the outside world are saying that Dingnan has been suppressing those artists and not giving them a chance to perform, otherwise they would have become popular. Many actors with acting skills are currently held down by their contracts. On the surface, they might look normal, but inside they must have been thinking about when to leave.
With a cold expression, Hou Shiqi said with a sneer, “Leaving? How can it be so easy? Call the PR to release news that Du Jianuo was being taken care of by a wealthy businessman and was persuaded to quit. Because he violated the company’s agreement, he paid 500k yuan of liquidated damages. At the same time, this will serve as a reminder to other artists in the studio so that they can learn from it. On the other hand, no one in the studio can testify for him. Without public relations or backstage, I’ll see how can he fly high?”
The news spread that day, and the name Du Jianuo became popular. No one knows what roles he has played, but the dirty reputation of ‘a 18th-tier starlet kept by a wealthy businessman’ is well known. As a man, he didn’t strive forward but was kept by a wealthy businessman. Netizens simply sneered and didn’t even bother to scold him, just throwing out the word: Disgusting!
Du Jianuo hadn’t even joined Yuming Media yet, but the scandal was already flying everywhere. When the Yuming Media’s person in charge of signing the contract saw this, he hesitated. Is it necessary for a person like this who is not well-known and has a lot of scandals to sign with them?
Du Jianuo had just escaped from that hopeless company and finally saw hope. But when he learned about the scandal, he was completely flabbergasted. He knew that it would not be so easy to leave. He knew Hou Shiqi too well and Hou Shiqi would rather destroy disobedient artists. That’s why he left on the same day without giving the other party a chance to react. Unexpectedly, the other party had this trick.
Du Jianuo knew that no one would testify for him. Not to mention whether there is still a chance for a comeback now, even if he is able to clear himself in the future, it will be useless. The longer the time passes, the less chance he will have to clear his name. No matter what he does in the future, he will have to bear this stain on his reputation. Hou Shiqi is trying to use him as a warning to others and force him to a dead end.
Carrying his bag and sitting on a rest chair in the park, Du Jianuo rested his head on the back of the chair and looked at the dim starry sky with an expressionless face. He felt that his life was like the hazy night sky, covered with an inextricable haze. At this very moment, Du Jianuo has finally given up, and the hope that was rekindled by Gu Ye was crushed abruptly.
This industry is too tiring and dirty. He doesn’t have that much ability for scheming. He just wants to act steadily. Why is it so difficult?
The rapid ringing rang for a long time, and Du Jianuo took a weak look. It was his mother calling. Du Jianuo hesitated and chose to hang up. He no longer knew how to explain to his parents. Instead of worrying them, it’s better to be silent.
Du Jianuo has been sitting there for more than an hour. No more people are running at night in the park and he is still sitting here numbly. He doesn’t know where else he can go. He has this helpless sense that the world is huge but he has no place for himself.
At this moment, the phone rang again. Du Jianuo thought it was from home again so he didn’t answer it. The phone kept ringing unwillingly and finally, he picked it up tiredly. After taking a look, his pupils widened in shock. It turned out to be the phone number of the agent he had written down during the day!
Du Jianuo answered nervously and heard the other party say angrily, “Why didn’t you answer the phone for so long? Did you fall into the toilet? Come to the company headquarters at 9.00 am tomorrow to sign a contract. The company has an apartment for artists, all of which are single rooms. You can live there if you want so bring your luggage with you.”
“Can I still go?” Du Jianuo looked at the caller ID again in disbelief to make sure he saw it correctly.
“Yes, you haven’t paid attention to what’s going on online, have you? You have to thank the 3rd Young Master for this, and remember this great kindness.” After the other party finished speaking, he hung up the phone.
“3rd Young Master, is this Gu Ye?” Du Jianuo logged onto Weibo excitedly. He didn’t care how many people were scolding him in the comments and went straight to Gu Ye’s Weibo first.
Gu Ye, who rarely updates his page, posted this: [@Hou Shiqi Am I the wealthy businessman you mentioned supporting Du Jianuo? I paid his liquidated damages, and I did a calculation for him that on this day next year, you won’t even be worthy to carry his shoes. So what if I’m poaching your artists, come and bite me~]
When Du Jianuo saw this sentence, he who had never shed tears despite all the humiliation, couldn’t help shedding tears. He covered his eyes with one hand, raised his head, and tightened the corners of his mouth. He never thought that there was such a person who could unconditionally believe that he could do it. He never thought that such a person could stand up and speak for him at this time. Why on earth does Gu Ye believe him so much? Just because of an intangible thing like his fate?
As soon as Gu Ye’s post came out, many people on the Internet were shocked. No one believed that Gu Ye would ‘keep’ Du Jianuo. How old is Gu Ye? He is only 20 years old. The Gu family’s family tradition has always been very strict. Gu Decheng is also known for being ‘decent and serious’. When reporters told him jokes during interviews, they couldn’t even make him laugh. If Gu Ye dared to do this, wouldn’t his father beat him to death?
In addition to being good at studies, Gu Ye is also good at fortune-telling. Judging by this, does he predict that Du Jianuo will be popular in the future? Anyone with a discerning eye can understand that Hou Shiqi was the one who was dissatisfied with Du Jianuo’s job-hopping and wanted to destroy him directly before he became popular.
Hou Shiqi also didn’t expect that Gu Ye would speak for Du Jianuo. This is no different than pointing at his nose and scolding him in person. Hou Shiqi had a gloomy face and thought for a long time but couldn’t figure out how to reply. If he fought back, he… doesn’t have the guts. Behind Gu Ye is not only Gu Lin, a big boss in the entertainment industry but also ‘Papa Gu’. But if he doesn’t fight back, it will appear that he has acquiesced. How can he continue with his job in the future?
Raw word count: 6023 (whole chapter)
#EditedMTL
#IAmABananaTranslation
#AppreciateKofi
#AppreciateComments
#NoRepostInWattpad
#PleaseTurnOffAdblock
#ManyThanksForReading