Chapter 794 - To Be, Or Not To Be…
Chapter 794: To Be, Or Not To Be…
Su Yang furrowed his brows. “Our corporation is too large, plus we have too many subsidiary companies, so it’s going to be very easy for us to breach this request.”
Zhao Licheng had obviously considered this point as well. “I’ve mentioned this to the other party before. After careful consideration, they felt that this request is indeed unreasonable, so in the end, our discussion concluded that only Jiadian Pictures and Jiadian’s management agency would have to adhere to this request, while the other companies under the corporation aren’t bound by this contract.”
“After all, this show is made by Jiadian Pictures, while the actress is from Jiadian Entertainment. Once there is negative news, they will be easily targeted, and it will indeed affect the viewership ratings. Therefore, I believe this request is reasonable.
“As for the actors and crew, there’s no need to mention this, but they must not be involved in any negative news whatsoever. This is the industry’s rule.”
Su Yang thought about it and felt that it was acceptable.
However, he still asked, “If there really is negative news, how is the contract going to be dealt with?”
Zhao Licheng said, “The other party will request to lower the price or implement a bet-on agreement to mitigate their risk.”
Hearing Zhao Licheng’s words, Su Yang felt relieved. With Little Hus’s nose, Su Yang was extremely assured about any sort of bet-on agreements. After all, the other party might earn, but Su Yang would never lose out…
After hanging up the phone, Su Yang sent Han Yi a WeChat message and told her about the news on “Legend of Wu Zetian”.
Han Yi was very happy. After all, Mango TV had the top viewership ratings among all domestic satellite channels at the time. Hence, to be able to premiere on such a platform, it would greatly increase the viewership ratings and fame.
Su Yang also gave her a few reminders and told her about the requirements of the two TV channels, that there should not be any negative news and that Han Yi should take notice of the things around her.
Han Yi, on the other hand, did not seem to mind. She said that she had just finished filming and was still recuperating at home, so she would not go out at all. If this could cause negative news, then she would accept the blame.
…
At the same time, in a coffee shop at the Imperial Capital, a man with a pair of narrowed eyes was meeting a man in a suit.
If Wang Dong was there, he would probably recognize that this man was the man who had had lunch with him that noon.
Compared to Shanghai, the Imperial Capital was rather far from Hangzhou. Therefore, after meeting Wang Dong, this man took a plane from Shanghai airport to the Imperial Capital to meet this shifty-eyed man.
“Hello. You’re Mr. Gu Tong, right?” The middle-aged man greeted him and handed him the menu. “We’re not in a hurry, so you can go ahead and order the dishes first.”
The man did not stand on ceremony. He smiled and said, “Okay, let me take a look.” Then, he took the menu and started to order.
Facing this narrowed-eyed man, the middle-aged man was obviously more polite. This also meant that to the Wangs, the person before him might have more valuable information than Wang Dong.
After ordering the dishes and waiting for the waiter to leave, the middle-aged man asked, “I heard that you have evidence of tax evasion by Jiadian’s management agency? Also, you have information on scandals involving their artist and the agency?”
He narrowed his eyes and said without hesitation, “Of course. I’m a veteran employee of Jiadian’s management agency, so I know a lot.”
The middle-aged man took out a document and read it. “Gu Tong. The personal manager of Luo Yi, one of the top three celebrities (the male celebrity from before). The leader of the artists in New Arts Entertainment. Later on, he was arrested for breaking the law and his status in the company plummeted. After that, Jiadian Group underwent a joint assessment, which he failed and got demoted once again.”
When he heard the man mention his information, his narrowed eyes turned red and white. However, he was obviously a man with vicious intentions, so he laughed. “That’s quite some detailed information you got there.”
He then said very “honestly”, “Yes, that’s right. I used to be a manager and have now become a normal employee. However, Luo Yi used to be the pillar of the company, so I know a lot of things.”
The middle-aged man did not say anything else. Instead, he took out a cheque from the inside pocket of his shirt and placed it beside his narrowed eyes.
Then, Gu Tong narrowed his eyes and saw that the amount was for 200,000 yuan.
His eyes lit up, but he still said, “This isn’t enough.”
The middle-aged man said, “This is the down payment. If your information is valuable enough, we will pay more.”
Narrowing his eyes and swallowing, he hesitated for a moment before saying, “I am 100% sure that the management agency has been evading tax.
“Do you know who Han Yi is?”
The middle-aged man nodded slightly.
Narrowing his eyes, he said, “In order to poach Han Yi back, the company spent 15 million to redeem Han Yi’s freedom from Sister Mi. But that money did not go through the company’s accounts.”
The middle-aged man’s eyes lit up. “Oh?”
Narrowing his eyes, he carefully looked left and right before turning around to close the window. Then, he said softly, “I heard that Mr. Su personally paid for that sum of money and transferred it to Han Yi, asking her to use it to terminate the contract.”
The middle-aged man was confused for a moment before asking, “What kind of tax would he be saving by doing this?”
Narrowing his eyes, he said proudly, “At first, I didn’t understand it either. But later, I suddenly realized that they must have negotiated with Sister Mi to have it go through their private accounts and took out the taxes from the total amount.
“In other words, they were originally talking about the contract termination fees to be 16-17 million yuan, but now that they have transferred the money privately, they only transferred 15 million yuan in the end.
“This is tax evasion!”
A look of realization appeared on the middle-aged man’s face. ‘That makes sense.’
Narrowing his eyes, he continued, “Also, many of the company’s accounts are sketchy. I heard that previously, without any reason, the company transferred over a million yuan to Han Yi.”
The middle-aged man repeated, “Huh?”
Narrowing his eyes, he nodded. “Yes, it’s very strange. He just suddenly transferred a million yuan and said that it’s for his daily expenses. Don’t you think it’s strange?”
Then, he added, “The two things I just said are recorded in the company’s accounts, it’s even on the internet. You can find them easily.
“Other than that, there are also some rumors that I’ve been investigating and deducting. The TV series that Han Yi acted in was invested in by Jiadian Pictures. They claimed that the total investment was 200 million yuan, but how could that be possible?
“Plus, the main lead of that TV series is also Han Yi. Hence, I suspect that there’s something wrong with the salary given to her. In fact, there might even be a chance that they’re laundering money.
“There’s also Yang Meiyue. She participated in that “Produce 101” show, so the company must have spent a lot of money, or else they wouldn’t have gone so far to bring her up to fame. However, this kind of money definitely wouldn’t have entered the accounts, so they would have evaded some amount of money.
“As long as we investigate, we should be able to find out more.”
The middle-aged man asked, “Do you have any evidence?”
Narrowing his eyes, he hesitated for a moment before saying, “Does voice recording count? I have a recording of me talking about these topics with my colleagues.”
The middle-aged man frowned, clearly dissatisfied.
Narrowing his eyes, he smiled and said, “If you don’t think it’s enough, I can testify.
“The testimony of a veteran employee who has worked at the company for five or six years should be valuable, right?
“But… it’s going to cost more.
“After all, that’s where I’ve worked for five to six years. I have sentimental feelings for it.”
The middle-aged man smiled. “Sure.”
As the two of them chatted, the waiter pushed open the door and walked in with the dishes. Seeing this, the middle-aged man narrowed his eyes and said, “Come, let’s eat first. We can talk after dinner…”
…
When the narrow-eyed man made his choice, Wang Dong, who was in Shanghai, also made his choice.
He laid on the bed in the small rental apartment, hugged his girlfriend, and told her everything that had happened that afternoon.
After hearing what Wang Dong said, his girlfriend did not panic. Instead, she asked very calmly, “Then… What do you think about it?”
Wang Dong laughed bitterly. “What else can I think about it? I’m tempted, of course.
“After all, this is 100 thousand yuan. With that money, we’ll at least have a better life.”
His girlfriend obviously knew Wang Dong very well. She leaned lightly on Wang Dong’s chest and said, “Then why didn’t I see you bringing the money back?”
Wang Dong fell silent…
After a moment, he smiled again, but it was a relaxed smile. “Do you think I’m stupid?”
His girlfriend shook her head. “No.”
She said softly, “We should always do things that we can live down with our conscience.
“He was the one who brought you up, trusting you and giving you a high position.
“When you left, it was your choice.
“At that time, I had a big fight with you and disagreed with your choice. However, you did not listen to me and insisted on your decision.
“So, you can’t blame him for the state you’re in right now, you can only blame yourself.”
Wang Dong sighed. “Yes. At that time, I thought too highly of myself and thought that I was very capable. I thought that even if I left him, I could still develop very well.”
His girlfriend shook her head. “It’s not that you think highly of yourself, but you were already blinded by money.
“Do you know why I was so disappointed at the time?
“Because if you could leave him at his most difficult time for money, you might abandon me for money as well in the future.
“Actually, I don’t mind you leaving and finding a better opportunity.”
“But… You can’t leave when a friend who trusts you needs you the most. You even joined his opponent’s team at the time, which can be considered to be a “betrayal”.”
Hearing this, Wang Dong fell silent again.
Seeing that the atmosphere was a little heavy, the girlfriend did not continue. She snuggled into Wang Dong’s embrace and made a comfortable position. Then she said, “However, this hasn’t been all bad. At least you changed and became more mature and decisive. Although we are not as rich as we were back then, our lives are more stable now.”
Wang Dong smiled.
Then he said, “I just feel sorry for you.”
His girlfriend shook her head. “There’s nothing to be sorry about. Didn’t I also want to leave you when I couldn’t handle the pressure at the time?
“What’s more, after working for Mr. Su for a year, we’ve saved up more than 100 thousand yuan. So, we’re at a much better position than when we first started dating.
“So, don’t think too much about it. And don’t try to earn money that goes against your conscience. You’ll feel guilty for the rest of your life. Let bygones be bygones and let’s start over.”
Hearing his girlfriend’s words, Wang Dong nodded. Looking at the top of the rental house, the small window that was as big as a rag, he said softly, “Actually, it’s not over yet. At least… I still owe him.”
After looking at the scenery outside the window for a long time (Actually, he couldn’t see anything because it was pitch-black), Wang Dong took out his phone, then said, “However, I’ll tell him about this matter. Consider it my redemption for when I left him back then.
“Even though it might not be enough, it’s the best I can do.
“From now on, we will owe each other nothing. Only then can we truly start afresh…”
Hearing Wang Dong’s words, his girlfriend nodded slightly and held his hand.
At that moment, the small rented apartment felt incredibly warm.
…
When he received Wang Dong’s call request, Su Yang was looking at the stars in the sky garden on the third floor with a few little monsters.
Socot Island was located in the Hawaiian Islands. It was not an industrial base, and it was located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, which was not polluted, so the starry sky was very beautiful.
In the past, when Su Yang was in the countryside, he would often look up at the starry sky in the courtyard. However, ever since he came to Shanghai, he might not even be able to see it once a week due to the quality of the air. Even if he did, he might not be able to see it clearly.
Since it was a rare occasion for him to be in a good mood, Su Yang pulled Little Deeny, Gru, Little Hus, and Qing Zhu with him as they stargazed together.
“Look, that’s the Big Dipper.” Su Yang pointed at the spoon in the sky and introduced.
Little Hus yawned. “Aren’t there eight stars?”
Su Yang replied, “The eighth one is Venus.”
Little Hus asked, “Then why isn’t it included in the Big Dipper?”
Su Yang was speechless when he heard this
“Because it prefers it to be that way! You can leave if you don’t want to watch!”
Little Hus pursed its lips and gave Su Yang a husky stare and felt that Su Yang was even more irritable than it, the professional demolisher.
Su Yang glared at it and then pointed at the two stars in the sky. He explained, “Look, that’s Altair, and that’s Vega.”
Gru, Qing Zhu, and the others supported their cheeks with their hands and opened their eyes wide. They nodded their heads as if they understood something, and even let out “Oh” and “Gru” sounds.
Only Little Deeny smiled quietly and did not expose him as she “learned” seriously.
Just when the atmosphere was extremely comfortable and everyone seemed to be on the same page, Su Yang suddenly heard a WeChat call.
Su Yang took a look at his phone and was stunned. ‘Wang Dong?
‘What an estranged, yet familiar name.
‘How long has it been since I’ve heard his name…
‘It’s been almost a year, so why is he looking for me now?’
At that thought, Su Yang answered the call.
After the call went through. Su Yang did not speak, nor did Wang Dong. Hence, the atmosphere became strangely quiet.
After a moment, it was still Wang Dong on the other end of the phone who spoke. “Mr… Mr. Su. It’s me, Wang Dong.”
Su Yang nodded. “I know.”
In the rented apartment, Wang Dong sighed in his heart when he heard Su Yang’s cold voice.
When he was on the phone, he had thought that he could use this chance to reconcile with Su Yang. However, when he heard Su Yang’s voice, he understood that there were some things that just could not be forgiven.
Therefore, he no longer harbored any fantasies or reminisced about the past. Instead, he told Su Yang about his interaction with the Wangs.
After saying his goodbyes, he hung up the phone without waiting for Su Yang’s response.
On the other end of the phone, Su Yang looked confused. ‘What? What’s Wang Dong doing? Why did he just tell me all that and hung up after a moment of silence? Is he feeling ashamed?’