Chapter 5: The Fallen Child Star (5)

The apartment fell silent again.

Yao Rong calmly closed the door and said, “Lawyer Zhou, let’s continue our previous discussion.”

Neither Yao Rong nor Xu Weiheng knew much about contract termination, so Lawyer Zhou did most of the talking while they listened.

Yao Rong occasionally chimed in, but Xu Weiheng remained huddled in the corner of the sofa, offering no reaction.

Lawyer Zhou warned them, “The contract termination might not go smoothly. You should be mentally prepared for that.”

He had handled contract termination cases for artists before.

These agencies would rather let an artist rot under their contract than release them easily.

Moreover, Xu Weiheng’s refusal to participate in the variety show had deeply offended Xingyu Media.

“It’s okay,” Xu Weiheng, who had been looking down, slowly raised his head, his gaze shifting from Lawyer Zhou to Yao Rong. “Whatever the outcome is, it’s fine.”

Of course, a smooth termination would be ideal.

But if it didn’t work out, this result wouldn’t surprise him either.

At this moment, what he needed most… was just someone willing to stand by him and support him in defending his legal rights.

The world had abandoned him, but fortunately, someone had returned to his side.

“Alright. I’ll take my leave now. I’ll keep Ms. Yao updated on any progress,” Lawyer Zhou said, standing up.

“Thank you for your help, Lawyer Zhou,” Yao Rong said, escorting him to the door.

Turning back, she saw Xu Weiheng still sitting motionless. She smiled, “You handled that manager very well. When facing those who bullied you, you should maintain a firm attitude.”

Xu Weiheng’s spirits instantly lifted, causing the corners of his lips to curl up slightly before quickly flattening again.

The termination process would take time, so Yao Rong and Xu Weiheng could only wait at home for updates from Lawyer Zhou.

But they couldn’t just sit idle.

Yao Rong specifically inquired about Xu Weiheng’s preferences. Initially, he was reluctant to share, but after persistent questioning, he awkwardly revealed them.

Yao Rong noted everything down and went grocery shopping the next day, buying food for a week. She prepared different meals for Xu Weiheng every day.

She made dishes both Xu Weiheng and she liked, as well as various medicinal meals for stomach health and overall well-being.

Smelling the faint herbal aroma in the food, Xu Weiheng asked in surprise, “Can these Chinese herbs really be made into dishes?”

Yao Rong explained, “Back in our hometown, we love making all kinds of medicinal dishes. Even when making chicken soup at home, we’d add some cooling herbs.”

Our hometown… Xu Weiheng liked the sound of that.

To pass the time, Yao Rong even made him watch cartoons with her.

Xu Weiheng: “…”

His face showed reluctance, but his body language betrayed no resistance. He obediently sat down on the sofa with Yao Rong, starting from the first episode of “SpongeBob SquarePants”.

“When you were little, you loved watching ‘SpongeBob SquarePants’. Whenever you cried, we’d put it on, and you’d stop crying.”

Xu Weiheng was silent for a moment, then said, “Really? I didn’t know I liked ‘SpongeBob’ that much.”

What he remembered watching most as a child was probably “Detective Conan”.

…Because Xu Yiyuan liked it.

The TV at home was always monopolized by Xu Yiyuan.

Yao Rong felt a pang of sadness at his words.

While the opening credits were still playing, she picked out two bunches of grapes from a bag and put them in a fruit basket, telling Xu Weiheng, “Go wash these grapes.”

Xu Weiheng obediently went, and when he returned, he also brought two drinks from the fridge.

“Do you want some chips? I didn’t know what flavor you liked, so I got a variety,” Yao Rong offered.

Xu Weiheng hesitated. Since becoming an artist, he had hardly touched such snacks.

But then he thought, he wasn’t really an artist anymore, so he took a bag of original flavored chips from the table. After opening it, he extended the bag towards Yao Rong, saying nothing but his intention clear.

Yao Rong shook her head, “You eat them yourself.”

Xu Weiheng hugged a cushion, eating chips while intently watching TV, soon becoming completely absorbed in the plot.

Yao Rong turned her head slightly to look at him, her lips curving into a smile.

This kind of life was what a sixteen-year-old should have.

…

A week later, Lawyer Zhou called Yao Rong to report on the progress of Xu Weiheng’s contract termination.

As Lawyer Zhou had mentioned before, the termination wasn’t going smoothly.

In the eyes of Xingyu Media’s CEO, Xu Weiheng was just a small-time artist, but this artist he barely regarded had repeatedly defied the company’s arrangements. Xu Weiheng had displeased him, so he naturally wouldn’t grant Xu Weiheng’s wishes.

Yao Rong narrowed her eyes, “Then let’s take them to court directly.” Soon, Xingyu Media would have their hands full.

The very next evening, the news #Former Xingyu Media Artist Wen Bo Publicly Accuses Xingyu Media of 223 Million Yuan Tax Evasion# instantly exploded across the internet, causing an uproar.

This hashtag hung on the hot search list for a day and a night, with netizens tagging @TaxBureau in the comments.

[223 million! Tsk tsk, if an unknown small company like Xingyu Media can evade so much tax, the entertainment industry’s waters must be really deep!]

[Wen Bo dared to report using his real name, which means he must have solid evidence. @TaxBureau, come quickly! There’s over 200 million yuan in unpaid taxes to collect!]

The tax bureau promptly issued a statement, confirming they had received the report and would investigate Xingyu Media for tax evasion.

Following the tax bureau’s announcement, Yao Rong immediately received a call from Lawyer Zhou.

Lawyer Zhou was elated: “Ms. Yao, have you seen the trending topic on Weibo?”

“I have.”

Lawyer Zhou continued, “Xingyu Media is finished. Just dealing with the tax bureau’s investigation will exhaust them. They won’t have the time or energy to fight us anymore.”

If he couldn’t help Xu Weiheng terminate his contract at this point, he wouldn’t have the face to continue in this industry.

In the entertainment world, true industry giants produce their own movies and TV shows, and even have stakes in streaming platforms and cinema chains. They establish themselves upstream in the industry to maintain their influence and autonomy.

In comparison, Xingyu Media only handles artist management and is just a second-tier company in that field, which indicates its limited scale.

Even if Xingyu Media could produce the 223 million yuan in liquid assets, it would severely cripple them, possibly leading to their downfall.

Moreover, the 223 million is just the amount of evaded taxes. With additional fines, Xingyu Media will have to cough up at least 300 million yuan this time.

After hanging up, Yao Rong turned to Xu Weiheng: “Did you hear all that?”

Xu Weiheng seemed dazed: “I heard… What did the Weibo trending topic say?”

Yao Rong summarized the Weibo trending topic for Xu Weiheng.

Xu Weiheng realized: “So it was Wen Bo.”

Wen Bo’s situation had come to light after he had signed his contract. Even though Xu Weiheng wasn’t particularly interested in the entertainment circle, he had heard quite a bit about it as they were from the same company.

Yao Rong asked: “You’ll be able to leave Xingyu and regain your freedom soon. Are you happy?”

Xu Weiheng was startled. He instinctively tried to smile, but after several attempts, he managed only a grimace worse than crying: “I’m happy.”

Fearing she wouldn’t believe him, Xu Weiheng repeated: “I’m very happy.”

What made him happy wasn’t the event itself.

So this was what it felt like to be protected by someone.

He finally understood that feeling now.

“Wait a moment.”

Telling Yao Rong to hold on, Xu Weiheng went back to his bedroom. When he returned, he was holding a bank card.

“There’s 300,000 yuan on this card. How much is Lawyer Zhou’s fee? I’ll pay for it.”

Yao Rong looked at him gently.

His contract with Xingyu Media was very harsh. This 300,000 yuan, if not all his savings, must be close to it.

But now, without anyone mentioning it, he voluntarily offered to cover the lawyer’s fee.

He was so considerate.

“Alright,” Yao Rong accepted Xu Weiheng’s bank card. If she didn’t, she worried Xu Weiheng would feel uneasy. “Lawyer Zhou’s fee is quite expensive, but it won’t be as much as 300,000 yuan. I’ll transfer the remaining amount back to you later.”

Xu Weiheng shook his head: “The remaining money… you keep it.”

From her clothes and the phone she used, he could tell that she had been living quite frugally these years. This money would help ease her financial situation a bit.

… After all, she had been spending money to take care of him during this time. So it was only natural for him to give her some money now.

Yao Rong exclaimed: “Really? You’re giving it to me? Aren’t you afraid I’ll waste it?”

Xu Weiheng countered: “If I keep it, aren’t you afraid I’ll waste it?”

Yao Rong laughed heartily at his response: “Alright then, I’ll accept it. Thank you, Weiheng.”

She indeed didn’t have much savings.

Now that Xu Weiheng’s condition had improved, she should also focus on earning money.

She couldn’t rely on her underage son to support her, after all.

Xu Weiheng lowered his eyes: “I should be the one thanking you.”

The one truly fighting for justice for him wasn’t Lawyer Zhou.

It was her.

“What did you say?” He spoke so softly that Yao Rong couldn’t hear clearly even though she was close to him.

“Nothing, you must have misheard,” Xu Weiheng denied, quickly walking to the window as if to hide his embarrassment.

To avoid paparazzi and prevent being photographed secretly, the curtains had been drawn these past few days.

When he moved into this apartment, he had specifically chosen curtains with good light-blocking properties. So for the past few days, whether day or night, the room was dark as long as the lights were off.

But now, with no paparazzi surrounding them, he could slightly open the curtains and enjoy some sunlight.

Xu Weiheng pulled the curtain open a crack.

Bright sunlight eagerly poured through the gap into the room, falling on Xu Weiheng, warm and comfortable, making him want to stretch out lazily.

Taking a deep breath, Xu Weiheng turned back and gave Yao Rong a faint smile: “Let’s book tickets to return to D City the day after tomorrow.”

…