"Miss Jiang, that move of yours was totally awesome!" Shao Changqing excitedly exclaimed over the phone, "You wouldn’t believe it, the directors from ’Escape’ came to me hoping we’d cool down the publicity and give them a way out."
Jiang Li casually flipped a page of the book she held, "The heat cannot be retracted now; we can’t just let them off after they’ve been so shameless. But in a few days, you can issue a public statement clarifying that you don’t want to occupy public resources anymore, which could earn us some more goodwill."
"Mercy on those who deserve it, but if you push them too hard, it might trouble us too, and timing is critical, don’t delay the filming process."
From her tone and demeanor, who could tell Jiang Li was a newcomer who had just reached adulthood? She was entirely at ease like a seasoned capitalist.
On the other end of the phone, Shao Changqing could only repeatedly say "yes."
He was lucky to have met Jiang Li, otherwise who knows when his movie would have been able to premiere!
"By the way." Jiang Li paused, "Why wasn’t Bai Lu included in the styling photos you released earlier? Haven’t they been taken yet?"
Shao Changqing was shocked for a moment and responded, "Miss Jiang, I was just about to tell you, we’ve been unable to contact Teacher Bai Lu. We planned to call her in to sign the contract and take the photos, but her phone is unreachable, and she hasn’t responded to emails."
"I know, I’ll contact her."
She feared something might have happened on her end.
Chen’an Media Building.
Inside the office, Wu Daoshan furiously slammed a cup on the table.
"Bai Lu, what do you mean? Don’t you know that taking roles without consent is a major taboo in this industry?"
Bai Lu furrowed her brows, "Don’t accuse me, I haven’t taken any roles without consent. I just thought this script was really good and wanted to discuss it with you."
"I don’t agree!" Wu Daoshan resolutely rejected, waving a dismissing hand, "Your previous historical drama isn’t even wrapped up yet; you can’t take on other roles. Don’t you know actors can’t overlap schedules?"
The mention of the historical drama only added to Bai Lu’s grievances.
"I don’t want to do that drama anymore, ask the company to cancel the contract?"
"Cancel the contract?" Wu Daoshan scoffed, "Do you have any idea how many smiles I had to fake to score you that role? Just cancel it like that? Can you afford the breach of contract fee?"
"I’m just in the trial phase; I haven’t signed a contract. At most, I’ll owe a few hundred thousand."
"Do you have a few hundred thousand?"
Wu Daoshan’s question successfully calmed Bai Lu down.
Indeed, she only had two to three hundred thousand on her card; she couldn’t afford it.
Wu Daoshan believed he had caught Bai Lu’s weakness, smirking as he sat down opposite her.
"Bai Lu, I’ve been in this industry for a long time, and I advise you to be grounded. Right now, you’re just a bit popular, whether you can maintain this is not certain. The historical drama’s director has good reputation, the production team is also impressive, and it’s even positioned as a B-grade series. For you to land the female lead in such a production is already quite an achievement."
"I suggest you find the director and apologize to him. I’ve arranged a dinner for tonight. Dress nicely, speak eloquently, calling him ’boss’ a few times, and the conflict will be resolved."
In the past, after hearing such words, Bai Lu would have sunk into deep self-doubt and reluctantly agreed to Wu Daoshan’s proposal.
However, now, she only felt that Wu Daoshan was gaslighting her.
What did he mean by her being just a bit popular?
Her Weibo followers had soared to over five million, her social media presence was even larger than top-tier star Su Yinwan. Was that being just a bit popular?
And what was that about a B-grade series being good enough for her?
When Su Yinwan started, all the projects assigned to her by the company were S-grade major productions!
Why should it be any different for her?
Just because she was less lucky?
Bai Lu grew more and more angry, and the tissue in her hand had crumpled into a wrinkled ball.
But she simply didn’t have the confidence to voice these thoughts.
Wu Daoshan had approached once again.
"Bai Lu, I know you want to take on more roles, but we need to take things one step at a time, don’t we? Just listen to me, hurry up and finish this drama first; that movie, forget it—it’s trash, directed by a trash director, I’d change my last name if it even makes a few hundred thousand at the box office!"
"How much did Director Wang pay you to speak so highly of him?"
The office door suddenly burst open, and a cold, female voice entered.
Wu Daoshan frowned and stood up, about to scold whoever was breaking the rules when he saw a somewhat familiar figure.
He squinted and finally recognized the person.
"Jiang Li? What are you doing here?"
The staff behind him looked apologetic, "Brother Wu, sorry, I couldn’t stop her..."
This woman’s bodyguard was terrifying—able to lift three people all at once!
Wu Daoshan knew Jiang Li’s current worth, so he simply gestured with his hands for the assistant to step back.
When Bai Lu heard the commotion, she excitedly sprang up from the couch.
"Lili? Why are you here?!"
As she spoke, she made a move to rush forward.
However, Wu Daoshan reached out and firmly grabbed her shoulder to stop her from moving any closer.
Wu Daoshan laughed, "I’m curious as to why Miss Jiang graces our humble company with her presence, not just anyone can walk in here."
Bai Lu frowned upon hearing this, about to scold Wu Daoshan for being so rude to Jiang Li, when out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jiang Li shake her head at her.
Jiang Li gracefully sat down opposite Wu Daoshan.
"I’m here today, of course, on official business to discuss with Mr. Wu on behalf of Bai Lu’s friend."
Wu Daoshan sneered, "What is there to discuss?"
Jiang Li pulled out a stack of documents from her bag and placed them on the table, her voice cool and detached: "Termination, letting Bai Lu terminate her contract with Chen’an."
The moment Jiang Li finished speaking, the office fell into dead silence.
Both Wu Daoshan and Bai Lu widened their eyes in shock.
Bai Lu hadn’t expected that Jiang Li had come to support her, nor had she imagined that Jiang Li would make the request she had only dared dream of.
Wu Daoshan’s surprise was more of anger and disdain.
He slammed his hand on the table.
"Terminate the contract? On what grounds do you have the right to terminate Bai Lu’s contract? I’m her agent!"
Seeing Wu Daoshan so arrogant, Bai Lu’s anger surged.
She had never dared to speak to Lili so loudly; the audacity this Wu had to yell at her Lili!
She immediately ran to Jiang Li’s side and slammed the table along with her, pointing at Wu Daoshan across from her.
"What Jiang Li said is exactly what I want to say, terminate the contract, I want to terminate my contract with the company!"
Wu Daoshan, having never seen her so assertive, paused and then laughed.
"Bai Lu, think before you speak big words, your contract with the company isn’t up yet, and terminating it would require a termination fee."
"That would be a penalty of one hundred million, can you afford that?"