Chapter 14 – 014

“Enough already!” Old Master Xie slammed his cane heavily on the ground, unable to bear it any longer.

Gu Xian pulled Xie Yunjing down to sit together, absolutely refusing to give him a chance to escape responsibility.

Before Xie Yunjing could even sit properly, Old Master Xie couldn’t wait to start scolding him: “You’re becoming more and more outrageous! It was bad enough when you were idling around all day before, but now that you’ve joined the company, are you here just to make a mess?”

“Grandpa Xie,” Gu Xian, though feeling a bit humiliated, still emphasized, “I didn’t volunteer for this.”

“In this company, what is your identity? What is your position? If it weren’t for your own improper behavior, would anyone dare to throw themselves at you?” Old Master Xie firmly believed in what he had “seen with his own eyes.” With a cold expression, he added, “And to think I once believed you were different from your father!”

Gu Xian raised his head in surprise, “Huh?”

“What ‘huh’!?” Old Master Xie glared at him, practically rolling his eyes. “Your father, that fool, every time I had to speak to him, I felt compelled to burn an extra incense stick for your grandfather! Back then, if he had a so-called ‘first love,’ he shouldn’t have agreed to the arranged marriage with your mother. And since he agreed to the marriage, he shouldn’t have stayed entangled with that ‘first love’ while your mother was still alive, and in the end, even had that little fool Gu Leyu!”

The old master was clearly worked up, pointing his cane at Gu Xian as he continued to scold him. “Look at yourself! What were you like before, and what are you like now? It’s bad enough that you lack ambition, but now you’re even following in your father’s footsteps, messing around!”

Gu Xian’s expression stiffened slightly. “Grandpa Xie, don’t you dislike homosexuals?”

“What’s wrong with being homosexual? Does being homosexual give someone the right to mess around after getting married?” Old Master Xie was so agitated that his eyebrows were trembling. “Once you’re married, you need to take responsibility! People who mess around should be thrown into a pig cage!”

“Haha.” Gu Xian let out a dry laugh. “So it turns out you’re the class leader of the ‘Men’s Virtue Academy’, Grandpa Xie. My apologies, my apologies.”

Xie Yunjing admired Gu Xian’s audacity to joke with his grandfather even at this moment.

Leaning closer to Gu Xian’s ear, he mockingly whispered a reminder, “My grandfather is seriously considering throwing you into a pig cage right now.”

“…”

No comeback?

Xie Yunjing turned his head to look at Gu Xian and was immediately stunned by what he saw.

Gu Xian’s gaze, rare and uncharacteristically fragile, wavered slightly, like a small animal whose hiding place had been discovered.

Although Xie Yunjing had always wanted to see Gu Xian admit defeat and show vulnerability—rather than glaring arrogantly even when he lost, baring his fangs and claws while declaring, “Just wait until next time”—this wasn’t how it was supposed to happen.

Not because of someone else.

Even if that “someone else” was his grandfather.

Xie Yunjing heard his own voice speak uncontrollably, “Grandfather, even if someone’s going to be thrown into a pig cage, we should at least follow the order of precedence and consider who’s closer or more distant.”

After all, there were people in the Xie family who should have been thrown in long ago.

Old Master Xie’s expression flickered with a hint of pain, but he snorted and stubbornly said, “If it weren’t illegal to throw people into pig cages nowadays…”

His guilty conscience allowed the little animal to find its safe hiding place again. Gu Xian’s brief moment of vulnerability disappeared like a fleeting bloom, replaced by an eager expression. “Is there something I don’t know about?”

“There’s a lot you don’t know,” Xie Yunjing replied, successfully earning an angry glare from Gu Xian.

“Grandpa Xie,” Gu Xian said cheerfully, his tone clearly vengeful, “even if someone is going to be thrown into a pig cage, we shouldn’t wrongly accuse people, right? Since you don’t believe me, why not ask him?”

Gu Xian pointed at Ke Silin. Ever since Xie Yunjing had forcibly pulled Gu Xian away from him, this wild, frantic brat had fallen completely silent. Under Uncle Kang’s watch, he sat utterly still, his gaze so hollow it seemed he had lost all hope and vitality. Even as Gu Xian pointed at him and all eyes turned his way, he showed no reaction whatsoever.

“Why do you want me to terminate the contract with you?”

Gu Xian needed only one sentence to pull him out of his self-imposed silence.

Ke Silin’s behavior didn’t seem like the delusional overconfidence of someone mistaking Gu Xian’s actions for interest. Once he recovered from the initial shock and danger, Gu Xian quickly realized the true intention behind this brat’s actions.

“Terminate the contract…” Ke Silin murmured, and the tears he had only just stopped shed began to flow uncontrollably once again.

He suddenly broke free from Uncle Kang’s grip, fell to his knees with a loud thud, and then began bowing his head forcefully to the ground.

“Terminate the contract! I beg you, anyone, please terminate the contract with me!” he babbled incoherently, his forehead hitting the ground with a shocking noise. “I don’t want to be a star anymore. I want to go home. Please, let me go!”

Faced with the skeptical gazes of the other three, Gu Xian felt like raising his hands in surrender. “I really didn’t do anything! I’m just as clueless as you all, okay?!”

Xie Yunjing once again forcibly stopped Ke Silin. “Why don’t you start by telling us what actually happened?”

In a rare show of agreement with Xie Yunjing, Gu Xian chimed in to prove his innocence. “Exactly. Besides, didn’t I already tell you? If you want to terminate the contract, go talk to Wei Wenxian…”

However, his words seemed to have struck a nerve. Ke Silin broke down again, crying out, “I can’t! I can’t terminate it! I can’t afford the penalty, and Mr. Wei won’t let me go!”

Using exorbitant termination fees to make a hefty profit wasn’t uncommon in the entertainment industry. However, Gu Xian didn’t miss the subtle difference: when Ke Silin mentioned the penalty fees, he was merely hopeless and powerless. But at the mention of “Mr. Wei,” an astonishing fear erupted from him.

Ke Silin was an unremarkable figure within the company, and in the grander circle of the entertainment industry, he was even more insignificant—nothing more than a small fry incapable of stirring up any waves. Such an artist didn’t seem worth the trouble of being tightly bound to a contract.

“Ke Silin, if you truly want me to terminate the contract with you, calm down and explain everything clearly.”

If this brat kept breaking down and rambling incoherently, they could go on until nightfall and still not figure out what was going on.

Gu Xian gave him a sliver of hope, and the despair in Ke Silin’s eyes was instantly replaced with a glimmer of light. “You’ll really terminate the contract with me?”

Gu Xian nodded. “But you need to tell me exactly what happened. What did Wei Wenxian do to make you come up with such a ridiculous plan, trying to use me for some unspoken rules, just to make me disgusted with you and terminate the contract?”

Ke Silin’s lips trembled slightly, and a visibly evasive expression appeared on his face.

“If there’s something to say, then say it quickly!” Old Master Xie impatiently struck his cane on the ground again.

Perhaps it was Old Master Xie’s air of righteousness or simply his commanding presence, but Ke Silin shuddered, finally regaining his composure and beginning to recount the story with logical clarity.

The exorbitant penalty for breaching the contract wasn’t surprising. What truly sent chills down their spines was what Ke Silin revealed afterward.

Ke Silin started crying again, but this time he knew to wipe his tears as he continued speaking: “…Mr. Wei…”

“Wei Wenxian,” Gu Xian interrupted him, changing the respectful title used for someone he feared, a way to counteract that fear.

“Wei Wenxian,” Ke Silin repeated after him, and indeed seemed to gain a bit more courage. “Wei Wenxian said he was taking us to auditions, to socialize with partners, but in reality, he took us…”

He choked up for a moment. “…To let those directors and bosses choose. If we were picked, we had to go with them and do whatever they wanted us to do…”

Ke Silin’s words were vague, but everyone present understood exactly what he meant.

Gu Xian finally pieced it together. It explained why Guangyao Media, despite failing to produce any notable stars or works, hadn’t gone bankrupt. In fact, they could even afford to buy sofas worth tens of thousands to curry favor with him, the “crown prince” who had suddenly fallen into their lap.

Wei Wenxian had essentially turned Guangyao Media into a high-class brothel!

“Outrageous!” For Old Master Xie, the self-appointed class leader of the ‘Men’s Virtue Academy,’ who couldn’t even tolerate marital infidelity, such actions were utterly depraved.

“You said ‘we’, does this mean all the artists at Guangyao are treated this way?”

“Yes.” Having already revealed the most humiliating part, Ke Silin was no longer crying. His eyes were merely red as he continued with a tone of resignation, “It’s not like no one wants to leave, but first, we can’t afford the penalty fees. And second, even if someone does manage to scrape together the money, Wei Wenxian threatens us with ‘photos’ to stop us from leaving the company.”

The emphasis on “photos” almost certainly referred to indecent images of some sort.

“Ridiculous!” Old Master Xie was furious, though part of it was directed at their inability to fight back. “This is a crime! Don’t you know you can report this to the police?”

“Wei Wenxian threatens us, saying that if we report it to the police, those ‘photos’ will immediately be uploaded online.” Ke Silin kept his head down, his tone filled with the sorrow of dreams buried. “Everyone who signed with Guangyao did so hoping to become famous one day. If those ‘photos’ get out, we’ll all be ruined.”

“Ruined? More than continuing to be treated as prostitutes at someone’s beck and call?” Old Master Xie clearly couldn’t comprehend how anyone, once stuck in the mud, wouldn’t try to climb out.

He suddenly froze, a puzzled expression crossing his face. “Aren’t you a man? What does this have to do with you?”

Xie Yunjing helplessly reminded him, “Grandfather.”

Recalling that his favorite grandson was a homosexual, the homophobic class leader of the ‘Men’s Virtue Academy,’ Old Master Xie’s expression instantly turned a kaleidoscope of colors. He grumbled in dissatisfaction, “Why are there so many homosexuals?”

Then he turned to glare at the other “homosexual” in the room. “You claim to know nothing, and yet this is how you work at the company?”

Gu Xian rubbed his nose, admitting to the charge of negligence.

He looked at Ke Silin. “Of course, I can make Wei Wenxian terminate your contract. But have you thought about this: even if you escape your contract with Guangyao, your ‘photos’ are still in Wei Wenxian’s hands.”

The joy that had just appeared on Ke Silin’s face instantly turned pale again.

“The only way to completely get rid of Wei Wenxian is to report him to the police station. Ke Silin,” Gu Xian called his name seriously, “do you have evidence of Wei Wenxian threatening you? I mean, are you willing to go to the police station with us?”

“I…” Ke Silin let out a bitter laugh. “I don’t care anymore… Of course I’m willing. But there are others—I can’t just think about myself and…”

Gu Xian interrupted him, “Your friends are trapped in this mess. Don’t you want to help pull them out?”

Ke Silin froze for a moment, then finally replied with determination, “I do!”

On the way to the police station, Gu Xian asked Ke Silin, “How did you come up with the idea of using this ‘unspoken rules’ tactic to make me terminate your contract?”

When Ke Silin first approached him, they had never interacted before. Gu Xian was genuinely curious how Ke Silin had concluded that throwing himself at him would provoke disgust. Did this brat not consider the possibility that he might actually be a lecher?

The understated yet luxurious car from the Xie family made Ke Silin feel a bit uneasy. “It was Sister Hui… On the day you arrived, I overheard her losing her temper with someone. She said she tried to seduce you, but you were so unromantic that you told her you wanted to terminate her contract.”

Gu Xian frowned slightly. He was about to ask what exactly was going on with Wu Yanhui when Xie Yunjing, sitting beside him, suddenly spoke up.

“Looks like your life at Guangyao is quite eventful.”

Gu Xian rolled his eyes at him and said irritably, “Want me to hand this ‘blessing’ over to you? Would you take it?”

Author’s Note:

Who’s polluting the air? Oh, it’s you again.