After Zhu Ning left Summit, despite their previous agreement to part ways amicably, with all contractual disputes resolved, Summit began to stir up trouble soon after announcing the establishment of his own studio.
First, they bought off the media to release some negative news about Zhu Ning, and then they tried to isolate him by cutting off resources and discussing with familiar partners in the industry.
This was a common tactic of Summit. Artists who previously terminated their contracts with the company had, to varying degrees, encountered Summit’s obstructions. After all, the entertainment industry appeared vast but involved a limited circle of individuals interconnected and frequently crossing paths. If a big company like Summit wanted to make things difficult, they could indeed make life hard for an artist.
What Ye Zhou found utterly ridiculous was that Summit had sent someone to probe his intentions, trying to get him to distance himself from Zhu Ning. Zhu Ning’s manager had even personally called, using euphemistic language but the message was obvious.
Ye Zhou thought it was quite interesting. Knowing Summit’s tactics and having a connection with Zhu Ning, he had always kept a distance from the company, and it was rare for him to cooperate with them. He wasn’t a big international director, so why would they go out of their way to find him?
To drive a wedge between the two, Zhu Ning’s former manager had even insinuated, both overtly and covertly, that if Ye Zhou distanced himself from Zhu Ning, they would offer him acting roles at friendship prices for future films.
This was a tempting offer. An ordinary director might have accepted. After all, Zhu Ning’s fame was mainly in music and variety shows, and his acting talent was average. Even with a high box office, it was still limited to his fans, and it could never surpass that of the general audience.
If distancing himself from Zhu Ning could secure more acting resources, with the additional promise of low friendship prices, it was an attractive condition for a director.
But Ye Zhou wasn’t having it.
As soon as he hung up the phone with Zhu Ning’s former agent, Ye Zhou’s face still wore a kind smile, but he immediately called Zhu Ning and scheduled a meeting.
The next afternoon, Zhu Ning arrived at the set, wrapped up tightly, leaving only a pair of eyes visible.
Observing Zhu Ning’s heavily bundled appearance, Ye Zhou burst into laughter, clutching his stomach for a good while before finally catching his breath. His voice was slightly breathless from the intense laughter, “I’m not criticizing, but isn’t that a bit excessive? Aren’t you hot? Quick, take it off.”
Zhu Ning looked at him, laughing until he was out of breath, with a hint of resentment in his voice, “I’m currently in the eye of the storm, so I don’t want to cause you any trouble.”
“Let me tell you, there are at least five waves of paparazzi camped outside my place every day, following me wherever I go, even waiting outside the bathroom. I’m not exaggerating.”
Although laughing at the moment seemed somewhat impolite, Ye Zhou couldn’t help but be amused. He and his assistant helped unwrap the almost ball-like layers of Zhu Ning’s getup.
Finally able to see his face, both Ye Zhou and his assistant were drenched in sweat. Ye Zhou fanned himself with his hat and asked Zhu Ning, “Can you spare two weeks?”
“I should be able to,” Zhu Ning replied, momentarily perplexed. He turned to his assistant inquiringly, “There shouldn’t be any arrangements recently, right?”
The assistant checked Zhu Ning’s schedule and nodded, “Due to the recent high-profile contract termination with Summit, Sister Meng has helped cancel everything. She plans to discuss your upcoming work after things have settled.”
Sister Meng was Zhu Ning’s new manager, a former top-tier manager at Summit. After a disagreement over principles, she left to become an independent manager.
Ye Zhou clapped his hands upon hearing this, saying to Zhu Ning, “Perfect timing. One of my actors recently had an issue and can’t continue filming. Could you help me out? It’s not a major role; if all goes well, it should take a week or so to complete, at most a month.”
Zhu Ning was taken aback, nodded eagerly, and agreed without much hesitation, “Okay.”
“What kind of role is it? Is it difficult?” he belatedly inquired, somewhat embarrassed. “You know my acting skills aren’t great, Ye-ge. I’m afraid I might not do justice to a challenging role.”
Zhu Ning was quite self-aware. Although his performance in ‘A Farce’ garnered praise from many netizens, he was aware that it was because it was his first time, and the audience was more forgiving. Once he had more works, the audience would not be so lenient.
Zhu Ning also knew that his acting abilities were merely average at best. They vastly improved under Ye Zhou’s guidance but were still far from excellent.
Ye Zhou patted his head confidently, “With me as your mentor, even if you were a block of wood, I could mold you into something.”
This might sound like boasting to others, but Zhu Ning knew Ye Zhou was capable of it. He laughed heartily, without a shred of doubt, and obediently nodded, “Okay, I’ll rely on you, Ye-ge. I’ll work hard!”
While the two chatted happily, Zhu Ning’s assistant appeared anxious, seemingly conflicted. She hesitated for a moment before interrupting their conversation in a soft voice.
“Um, Zhu-ge, shouldn’t we check with Sister Meng first? She previously instructed you to report to her before making any work decisions.”
Zhu Ning thought for a moment before replying to his assistant, “Alright, contact Sister Meng and inform her I’ve accepted Director Ye Zhou’s ‘Thriller Circus.’ If she has any subsequent arrangements, we can push them back…”
“No need to contact me, I’ve heard everything.”
As Zhu Ning and his assistant spoke, the door to the set was pushed open from the outside. A tall, slender woman in her early forties, impeccably groomed and dressed in a burgundy pantsuit, approached them.
Shen Meng walked over to Ye Zhou and politely extended her hand, “Hello, Director Ye, I’ve heard a lot about you from Xiao Ning. Meeting you in person, I can see his words weren’t exaggerated.”
“Thank you for being willing to help Zhu Ning during this time. We are grateful for your kindness. If you ever need our help in the future, I, Shen Meng, will definitely do my best to assist.”
As she finished speaking, Shen Meng pulled Zhu Ning, who was still looking confused, into a bow towards Ye Zhou.
How could Ye Zhou really make them bow? When the two of them were about to bend down, he immediately reached out to help them up and said hurriedly, “Please, there’s no need for that.”
“Xiao Zhu and I have known each other for a long time. There’s no need for such formalities between us.” Glancing at the still dazed Zhu Ning, Ye Zhou thought to himself, ‘Ah, foolish people do have good luck. This time, he’s finally found a reliable agent.’
“Besides, it’s my side that has encountered an issue, and I’ve asked Xiao Zhu for help. If anything, I should be the one expressing gratitude.”
However, Ye Zhou’s explanation might have fooled the innocent Zhu Ning but not someone as seasoned in the entertainment industry as Shen Meng.
“If I’m not mistaken, you must have received a call from Summit, offering generous terms in exchange for not working with Xiao Ning.”
Shen Meng said this without hiding it from Zhu Ning, and Zhu Ning, who was still confused, finally realized what was happening.
He looked at Ye Zhou and opened his mouth as if to say something, but his eyes welled up before any words came out.
Seeing her artist’s expression, Shen Meng was finally convinced of the genuine friendship between the two men and Ye Zhou’s sincere intentions in helping Zhu Ning, without any ulterior motives.
Shen Meng couldn’t be blamed for her skepticism, as only those who had been in the industry for a long time knew how prevalent superficial “sisters” and “brothers” were. It really took a lot of luck to find a true friend in the entertainment circle.
“Ye-ge, I’ve… caused you trouble,” Zhu Ning’s voice cracked, tinged with the verge of tears.
During his time at Summit, Zhu Ning learned to protect himself with a tough exterior, especially over the past year, when he completely killed off his former weak self.
Although his career was smooth sailing with a rapidly growing fanbase, Zhu Ning actually disliked this industry. For a long time, he even regretted entering it in the first place.
Initially, he joined the competition to chase his dream, but this circle was too vast and terrifying. While everyone appeared glamorous on the outside, their inner darkness and filth remained unseen by outsiders.
Before Zhu Ning became famous, his family wasn’t rich, but his parents were loving, and they were healthy and happy.
However, after he became famous and started earning money, providing his family with an elevated quality of life, his once honest and simple-minded father inexplicably developed a gambling addiction. His soft-natured mother dared not tell Zhu Ning.
By the time Zhu Ning found out, he was faced with exorbitant debts and a heavily modified, extremely harsh contract.
Under constant harassment from loan sharks, Zhu Ning had no choice but to agree to Summit’s oppressive five-year contract.
From the day he signed, he never had a peaceful day again, constantly overwhelmed with a packed schedule and an endless stream of work, where even sleep seemed a luxury, let alone rest.
What made Zhu Ning feel even more suffocated was that whenever he thought the debt was nearly paid off, his manager would present a new IOU bearing his father’s fingerprint.
His career was booming, and he was earning a lot of money every day, but after deducting his manager’s and Summit’s cuts, the amount actually reaching Zhu Ning’s account was likely less than one-sixth, most of which went towards his father’s gambling debts.
Zhu Ning had resigned himself to this fate. Due to the prolonged overwork, his health deteriorated, and he could foresee his own ending, perhaps sudden death on a certain day, a tragic departure.
Or maybe it wasn’t unexpected, after all, this wasn’t something that would make people feel surprised.
When did the turning point appear? Perhaps it was the day he agreed to an endorsement deal involving filming to help out a movie, where he met the director who gave him the courage to change – Ye Zhou.
It was Ye Zhou who reached out during his darkest moment, offering him a chance to join Jingzhe. Ye Zhou assured him that if he desired, there was another path in life, that he would never be without options.
It was Ye Zhou’s invitation at the hospital and his subsequent encouragement and support that finally gave Zhu Ning the determination to change. From that day on, he challenged Summit and his fate.
Summit was very dirty and disgusting, and no one knew this better than Zhu Ning, who was inside it. He also knew what would happen if he offended Summit.
But when he made this decision, he felt no fear. Maybe it was because he knew that even if he failed, he wouldn’t be trapped because Ye Zhou had already shown him a way out.
So, Zhu Ning took action. He behaved obediently and harmlessly, gradually making his manager and the company lower their guard while privately collecting evidence of the company’s revolting misdeeds.
Until a few weeks ago, he finally succeeded. Gazing at the blue sky as he walked out of Summit’s doors on the day of his contract termination, feeling like a bird that had been freed from its cage and could finally fly freely in the sky.
For Ye Zhou, the sole person who reached out to him in his abyss, igniting a light to guide him back from the suffocating depths of despair, a million words of gratitude would never suffice to express Zhu Ning’s appreciation.
While he had yet to repay his previous debts, and now faced Summit’s obstruction, everyone was keeping a distance from him, but Ye Zhou extended his hand to him once more.
Zhu Ning disliked owing favors, but after meeting Ye Zhou, it felt as if he had incurred all the world’s debts of gratitude in one go, the kind that he would never be able to repay in his lifetime.
Seeing Zhu Ning’s reddened eyes, Ye Zhou frantically searched for tissues and handed them to him, enveloping him in a warm embrace. In a relaxed tone, he said, “Alright, alright, you’re really helpless. Just this one hug, okay? It’s a friendly embrace. But my place has a living, breathing vinegar jar, so if he sees…”
“I’ve already seen.”
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