Chapter 17 – 017

Gu Xian stared at him with a peculiar look, as if there was something he wanted to say.

Xie Yunjing said, “Don’t misunderstand. The reason I have this gym is because I need it for my own fitness.”

“Wasteful extravagance!”

Xie Yunjing: “…?”

Gu Xian’s face was filled with disbelief: “There are so many gyms out there, and yet you set up a dedicated gym in your own house? Buying all that equipment, do you have so much money that you don’t know where to spend it?”

Xie Yunjing: “…”

Xie Yunjing, calm but slightly guilty, said, “I thought the eldest young master of the Gu family wouldn’t care about this kind of expense?”

Gu Xian looked even angrier: “Is this a matter of money? This is about wastefulness!”

The proud little peacock had turned into an angry little peacock, storming around the brand-new gym twice before criticizing again: “You don’t understand the cost of daily necessities if you’re not the one managing the household! Wasteful! Shameful!”

Xie Yunjing adopted the demeanor he used during work negotiations, attempting to defend himself: “In fact, reliable gyms charge quite high fees, and every visit incurs additional travel expenses. Public gym equipment has hygiene and safety concerns, and there’s always the risk of gyms suddenly closing, making it impossible to recover membership fees.”

“The act of renovating a gym at home does indeed seem like an overly high upfront cost in the short term. But in the long run, there’s no travel expense, no hygiene or safety concerns, and no risk of the gym suddenly closing down. All the equipment is available for long-term use, making this an entirely reasonable investment.”

“Besides the benefits mentioned above—” Xie Yunjing’s tone carried a hint of mischief, “there have also been plenty of news stories about fitness trainers lacking professional ethics and harassing their clients. Exercising at home, at the very least, eliminates that kind of risk.”

The mocking tone in those words was too obvious. Gu Xian retorted without even thinking, “What could possibly happen to a grown man like me?”

Xie Yunjing found this genuinely baffling.

How could someone already married to another man still believe that men couldn’t be taken advantage of or suffer losses?

He sighed with a helpless smile and threw out the final bargaining chip in this round of negotiations.

“So, now that the equipment is already installed, even if we wanted to return it, we’d have to pay extra for dismantling and transportation fees. What do you think we should do about that?”

“…”

The stingy little peacock clearly couldn’t accept spending any more money. All he could do was curse again, “Wasteful extravagance!”

*

Caught red-handed and with coerced artists actively providing evidence, Wei Wenxian’s case was quickly resolved.

Wei Wenxian and several accomplices who aided and abetted his crimes received the punishment they deserved. It was said that in an attempt to shift blame and reduce their sentences, Wei Wenxian, his assistant, Wu Yanhui, and others nearly got into a physical altercation in court. Of course, in the end, none of them escaped the fate of tearfully accepting their verdicts.

However, for Gu Xian and the others at Guangyao, this was far from the end.

Due to the severity of Wei Wenxian’s crimes, his illegally obtained personal income over the years and the embezzled funds used to pad Guangyao Media’s accounts were all confiscated—including even the sofa he had gifted to curry favor with Gu Xian!

Guangyao’s finances instantly plunged into a deficit. Forget about paying various breach-of-contract penalties; even paying the salaries of regular employees became a problem.

Technically, it wasn’t Gu Xian’s fault, so he could have easily chosen to declare the company bankrupt. But setting aside everyone else, there was the cleaning lady who had previously asked him if she was about to lose her job. Her husband was gravely ill and bedridden, her daughter was still in elementary school, and if she lost her source of income, her family might not survive.

Gu Xian dug into his own pocket to pay this month’s wages.

As for Guangyao’s contracted artists, after enduring Wei Wenxian’s oppression, few still had the courage to continue down this path. Even those who wanted to keep going didn’t want to stay with Guangyao. Upon learning that Gu Xian wouldn’t charge them for breach of contract and would even provide compensation, a large crowd of artists eager to terminate their contracts flooded Gu Xian’s office.

Seated on a blue plastic stool, Gu Xian kept signing and stamping papers on a folding table. It wasn’t until everyone had left satisfied that he noticed Ke Silin standing quietly in the corner.

“Why are you just standing there? Come over and sign.” Ke Silin’s termination contract had been prepared long ago.

Ke Silin sat down in front of Gu Xian. The lightweight plastic stool shifted under his weight, its legs scraping against the floor with a squeaky “creak.”

He didn’t sign immediately, nor did he even glance at the termination contract he had once longed for. Instead, he asked, “What do you plan to do next?”

“Huh?” Gu Xian was a little confused about what he was asking. Logically speaking, wasn’t that a question he should be asking Ke Silin? He was, after all, the eldest young master of the Gu family and the husband of Third Young Master Xie. Was he really at risk of starving?

“I meant Guangyao,” Ke Silin bit his lip. “After Wei Wenxian’s verdict, Guangyao is probably out of money. But you paid the wages and even gave compensation to the artists terminating their contracts. Does that mean you’re not planning to give up on Guangyao?”

“Aren’t there other employees in the company who need to eat too?” Gu Xian replied matter-of-factly.

“Unemployment” isn’t just two weightless Chinese characters; moreover, for those regular employees leaving Guangyao, trying to continue working in their original industry would most likely subject them to discrimination.

“Besides,” Gu Xian added with a casual tone, “I’ve already spent the money, so I have to figure out a way to earn it back, right?” He sounded relaxed, as if he’d never been overwhelmed by the endless pile of Guangyao’s documents.

Glancing at the time on his phone, he urged, “Alright, hurry up and sign. Haven’t you always wanted to terminate your contract? Once you’re done, I can clock out and go home.”

“…” Ke Silin lowered his head to glance at the contract, then looked up again. “Is Guangyao going to be entirely under your management from now on?”

“Yes.”

Gu Rongcai had never thought much of a “small company” like Guangyao, and after Wei Wenxian’s scandal broke, he was even more eager to cut ties with it. It was only because Gu Xian used Old Master Xie as an excuse that Gu Rongcai hadn’t managed to kick him out of Guangyao.

“Then I’m not leaving.”

“Huh? What did you just say?”

Ke Silin pushed the contract, with his name already printed on it, back across the table. “I said I’m not terminating the contract.”

“Are you sure?” Gu Xian was surprised. “Even though Wei Wenxian has been arrested, you know the state Guangyao is in. It’s unlikely we’ll secure any good collaborations in the coming years. Staying here won’t lead to much of a future.”

“So there won’t be many newcomers willing to sign with Guangyao, right?” Ke Silin said earnestly. “You said you don’t plan to give up on Guangyao, but without any artists to work with, how will Guangyao make money?”

“If you’re doing this out of gratitude—”

Gu Xian wanted to persuade Ke Silin that it wasn’t necessary, but he was cut off by the latter, who spoke with some excitement: “It’s not out of gratitude; it’s because you’re a good person!”

Gu Xian fell silent for a moment before letting out a helpless sigh. “Alright, thanks for the ‘good person’ card.”

He tapped the termination contract in front of him. “But if you regret it, I can sign it for you anytime.”

Ke Silin smiled a little sheepishly. “As long as you don’t delay paying my salary, I won’t regret it.”

“Ahem.” A sudden cough interrupted their conversation.

Xie Yunjing stood leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed. When Gu Xian looked over, he raised his eyebrow. “Sorry, am I interrupting the two of you?”

Gu Xian gave him a disdainful look. “What are you doing here?”

“Cocktail party.” Xie Yunjing walked over to the folding table, picked up the termination contract with his right hand, and propped his left hand on the table, blocking most of Gu Xian’s view.

“Isn’t that tomorrow night?” Gu Xian swatted at his left hand. “Move your hand already! Do you even realize how heavy you are? This table cost me only twenty-five yuan. If you break it, you’d better fix it for me!”

“Dammit!”

Xie Yunjing’s hand landed on Gu Xian’s shoulder for support.

“Do you have some kind of bone weakness or something? Can’t even stand without leaning on something!”

“You’ve been pretty generous with those compensations.” Xie Yunjing casually set down the termination contract. “I’m taking you to buy something appropriate to wear for the cocktail party.”

Gu Xian looked completely baffled. “Huh?”

“Are you planning to wear one of those hoodies or T-shirts from your closet to the cocktail party with me?”

“What’s wrong with hoodies and T-shirts? Besides, don’t I have a suit?”

Xie Yunjing looked down at him. “If you’re thinking of wearing the outfit from our wedding to the cocktail party—”

“Well, I wouldn’t really mind that.”

“…”

“Damn it!”

He minded!!

Author’s Note:

Xiao Xie: Don’t look at my wife!

Xiao Gu: Don’t you dare damage my 25-yuan folding table!