"You think you can compare to her?!" Antonio exclaimed as he threw a book at her head. "What makes you think you can compare to her? What is her status, and what is yours? The only person you should compare yourself to right now is Jian Shu. Don’t you know where you stand?! Do I need to teach you?!"
"I just feel it’s unfair..."
"Unfair?!" Antonio sneered coldly. "Just like someone who hasn’t graduated college, so naive. There’s no absolute fairness in this world, didn’t your parents ever tell you?"
"Brother Neo, from now on I will sever all ties with him, I won’t dare again, please forgive me this time."
"Do you think our company’s rules are just for show?" Antonio continued, "What are the consequences of dating violations? Recite them to me."
Shang Zhen bit her lip and replied, "No income for a year."
"You have two options. This film is almost finished. You can either take the money from this film and leave the company, or have no income for a year. Choose."
"Brother Neo, rules are made by humans, can I just give up the income from this film..."
Antonio was unequivocal, "Rules are rules, they won’t be changed. Choose for yourself."
Feeling both resentful and convinced that she would never be treated well in the company again, Shang Zhen said, "Then I choose to leave the company."
"Good." Antonio respected her choice. "Then we’ll terminate the contract, but don’t forget the penalty."
Shang Zhen was stunned, "Penalty?"
"It’s clearly written in the contract. If you leave the company because of a violation of the rules, you must pay three times the penalty, which means returning three times what I paid you."
"I don’t have that much money..." Shang Zhen’s eyes welled with tears, "Brother Neo, I won’t leave the company."
"I’m sorry, but since you’ve made this decision, carry it through properly. I can find plenty of artists who haven’t really made money yet in art schools. You’re not yet a big shot, and you’re already causing me trouble. It’s over." Tʜe sourcᴇ of thɪs content ɪs novel·fıre·net
Antonio opened the car door and got out, and Shang Zhen ran after him crying.
But it was too late, Antonio would not give her another chance.
This also served as a warning for Jian Shu, who became even more self-disciplined.
When Shang Zhen returned a while later, she complained to Jian Shu, "Why didn’t you call me earlier?"
"So you wouldn’t have been caught?" Jian Shu didn’t understand, "You violated the company’s principles yourself, who are you blaming?"
"What company principles, they’re all targeted at individuals. Why doesn’t Long Tianjiao have to follow them?!"
Jian Shu sighed deeply, "Sister Tian Jiao has a different status than we do. Like Brother Neo said, you need to know your place. Why are you comparing yourself to her? Her contract isn’t the same as ours, so naturally the enforcement isn’t the same."
"Triple the penalty, where am I supposed to find that kind of money? Just kill me already."
"You’re bringing this upon yourself. Do you think Brother Neo didn’t see that you were dealing with the assistant director? He saw right through you. I’m off to shoot my scenes."
Shang Zhen sat there, feeling like the apocalypse was imminent.
After some thought, she went to the makeup room. Long Tianjiao was removing her makeup. Seeing her come in crying, she asked in puzzlement, "What’s wrong?"
"Sister Tian Jiao..." she knelt beside Long Tianjiao, "Please save me."
"Save you from what?"
At that moment, there were only Long Tianjiao and Liang He in the makeup room. Liang He quickly closed the door to prevent misunderstandings from being captured.