Chapter 12: "Run, Brother!" Just yesterday you underwent a stomach lavage, and today you dare to push yourself like this? Are you trying to court death?!
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Song Zhe: "......"
He really couldn’t stand this brat’s incessant chatter!
But the situation had turned around. Not long after he left, he received a call from the boss. Thinking of the generous offer from Kiwi Entertainment, he had no choice but to set aside his grievances and become a slave to money.
Song Zhe forced a fake smile. “Xiao Ming, I admit it, I was harsh earlier. I apologize for being so rude just now.”
“Look, I even bought you a fruit basket with all your favorite fruits!”
“Alright, just put the basket down and you can leave.”
Song Zhe: "......"
Angry inside, he glanced at Xiao Ya, giving her a look.
Xiao Ya turned her head, pretending not to see.
Song Zhe glared at her, then softened his tone as much as he could: “Xiao Ming...”
“Xiao Ming? Damn it, is that what you call me?” Lv Ming snapped sharply. “Call me Ming Ge!”
Song Zhe: “???”
“You loser! Don’t get cocky with me!”
“This is my home. Get out of my house right now!”
Song Zhe sneered coldly, “This apartment was provided by the company. It belongs to the company!”
“Oh? Then why don’t you get out of the company-provided apartment?”
Song Zhe: “......”
Damn it! Does he not understand plain language?
He took several deep breaths, trying to suppress his personal emotions and stay rational. “Ming... Ming Ge, there’s a very promising offer. I struggled to get it for you. If you accept it, I promise you’ll regain your fame!”
“No thanks. Not interested.” Lv Ming waved his hand. “Besides, look at your pathetic state now. You really expect me to call you Ming Ge at this age? How outrageous!”
“You want to curse me to die early, is that it?”
Song Zhe: “!!!”
Damn it! Does he think I’m his ex-girlfriend?
“Can you please get back to how you were before? I actually liked your rebellious side!” Lv Ming taunted sarcastically.
Song Zhe’s face flushed red, his body heating up. He made a move to leave. “Lv Ming, I warn you, if you miss this chance, you’ll never recover in this lifetime!”
“I never wanted to recover. I’m fine like this.”
“Don’t regret it!”
“No regrets. Now get lost!”
“Why aren’t you leaving yet? Should I kick you out?”
“Take your fruit basket and get lost too!”
Xiao Ya hurriedly snatched the basket away because it had her favorite fruits. “Ming Ge, that’s unnecessary...”
Lv Ming: “Necessary! I’m afraid this bastard will poison my fruits out of jealousy for my talent!”
Song Zhe almost died of anger right there in the apartment.
He wanted to lash out, but more than that, he wanted to walk away. Unfortunately, he couldn’t win in verbal fights, and physically he wasn’t a match either. The other party was as unyielding as a stubborn stone in a dry toilet—stinky and hard—with no way in. Most importantly, Lv Ming was a guest star personally requested by Kiwi Entertainment. How could he dare mess this up?
“Any requests you have, you can speak up...” Song Zhe squeezed out the words through clenched teeth.
Lv Ming: “I want to terminate my contract.”
“Impossible!” Song Zhe’s voice sharpened.
“Then leave.”
“Besides termination, you can ask for anything else. The company will try to accommodate!” Seeing Lv Ming unmoved, Song Zhe changed tactics. “Isn’t your house being auctioned off due to loans? The company can redeem it for you.”
“Redeem my house only to make it company property, right?” Lv Ming sneered.
Song Zhe was speechless, his words exposed so easily.
“I want all the show fees the company owes me!”
Claiming his rightful earnings was perfectly normal, but in the entertainment industry—especially with the notoriously unscrupulous Kiwi Entertainment—it was unrealistic.
He had indeed been a top star for a while, but that was during a lull before the Four Returnees exploded in popularity. As they rose, the fan market split into four territories. A discarded has-been like him had no chance to compete for resources anymore.
However, during his glory days, he traveled everywhere, relying on his stunning looks and charm to maximize his earning power!
His annual show fees through official channels alone exceeded ten million.
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Originally, he was just an ordinary fresh graduate, discovered by a scout and signed to Kiwi Entertainment for 20 years under a 91/9 revenue split—where the company took 91%. Still, his guaranteed show fees were no less than ten million!
If he could get that money, his wallet would fatten, and he could prepare to go solo early.
After all, with his hidden talent of getting stronger when drunk, becoming a music king or film emperor was just a matter of time. There was no reason to slave under a predatory contract for Kiwi Entertainment.
Song Zhe knew Lv Ming wouldn’t make a fuss for nothing and said he’d consult the boss.
Soon after, Song Zhe returned: “We can pay you 30% of the show fees upfront. Finish this show, and we’ll settle the rest step by step. I spoke well for you to get this result!”
Lv Ming sneered: “So I should thank you? Kiwi Entertainment, the biggest deadbeat company in the industry—either they delay salaries with fancy excuses or pay in installments. What, is the company so broke it’s about to declare bankruptcy?”
“The company’s performance this year isn’t great. You should understand—”
“Are you kidding me? This entertainment giant, the top unscrupulous enterprise, has so much money made off their slaves that they could bury your ancestors eighteen times over. And you tell me the company’s doing badly?” Lv Ming scoffed and waved his hand. “Forget it, just blacklist me! I’m done!”
Song Zhe: “......”
Damn!
Usually, agencies threaten artists with blacklisting, but for someone to demand blacklisting and use it to threaten the company—that was unprecedented in entertainment history!
No choice. The entire Kiwi Entertainment was afraid this kid would quit.
After more talks, the matter was settled.
The full 11 million in show fees would be transferred before the next morning.
Song Zhe reminded him: “In three days, you need to report to Jiang Zhetai’s team. The show is called ‘Run, Brothers!’”
After sending Song Zhe off, Lv Ming was in high spirits.
In a way, he should thank the Mushroom House’s Brother San.
If they hadn’t stepped up to stir up buzz twice, Lv Ming suspected Kiwi Entertainment wouldn’t have paid him at all. After all, a has-been like him held no value to the company.
For this notoriously black-hearted company, they had endless tricks to exploit ordinary people. Even if you’re in the right, they could delay payments for years with endless excuses. Ordinary people rarely had the time to fight them off.
Only because Lv Ming’s popularity was exploding did he have leverage to negotiate, forcing the company to give in.
Though he claimed his house was auctioned due to unpaid loans of ten million borrowed from Sister Zheng, the auction money actually nearly covered the debt.
Now, though he owned nothing, once the 11 million arrived, his situation would improve drastically!
First, he owed only a few hundred thousand in loans; once the money came in, he could repay easily.
Second, with ten million in hand, he could try releasing an album and invest in film projects.
As for terminating the contract, Lv Ming already had a plan.
The black-hearted company loved to trap artists in contracts and would never release them until squeezing every bit of value out. Officially terminating was impossible.
But one must learn to adapt.
Although heartless, such companies had one principle: never trap worthless artists.
Once the company’s loss exceeded the artist’s value, they’d be the first to want to cut ties, fearing any trouble might stain them.
Lv Ming had grown up often causing trouble for his family; he knew well how to bring shame to them.
“Xiao Ya, our days of seeing the light again aren’t far off!” Lv Ming said excitedly.
“Yes, Ming Ge. With that ten million, you won’t have to rush Sister Zheng for debt anymore. The future will definitely get better!” Xiao Ya smiled warmly.
“No, the debt still needs to be collected. Speaking of which, I better post another Weibo to rally netizens to continue roasting my useless deadbeat ex-girlfriend!”
Xiao Ya: “......”
...
That night.
Mushroom House was live as usual.
Because of the #MushroomHouseIncident#, this episode’s attention reached unprecedented heights. With Lv Ming absent, stars from all across the industry scrambled to join, eager to ride this wave of popularity.
Today, Mushroom House welcomed two new guest stars: Chen Chichi and Deng Chao.
They came to promote their upcoming show, “Run, Brothers!”
With new guests of such stature, even the usually moody Master Huang had to put on a smile and head to the kitchen to start cooking. Wu Qian and Li Changfeng accompanied the two veterans in the courtyard, chatting as the sun set. A group of friends gathered in the farmhouse courtyard, laughing and talking—a warm, joyous scene that was truly enviable.
Before long, Master Huang brought out dish after dish of delicious food.
“String beans and eggplant, coming right up!”
“Braised pork knuckle in yellow wine, here!”
“The strongest dish tonight, mushroom casserole, coming up!”
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Once all the dishes were served, everyone sat down together.
Master Huang warmly welcomed them: “Come, come, you two have traveled far and must be treated well.”
“These mushrooms were just picked from the mountains this afternoon—absolutely fresh and delicious!”
“Try them all.”
Wu Qian quickly took credit: “Yeah, I picked a lot of these mushrooms today. Many in this big pot were pulled from the soil by my own hands. Eating ingredients you picked yourself is such a joy, especially knowing Master Huang cooked this. That happiness doubled!”
“I picked quite a few too,” Li Changfeng chimed in, pointing at a purple mushroom in the pot. “I remember this king mushroom very well. I saw it growing on a cliffside. Everyone else thought it was dangerous and didn’t dare pick it, but I insisted and climbed down with a rope to get it.”
Upon hearing this, veterans Deng Chao and Chen Chichi were moved.
“That’s really impressive.”
“Honestly, I came all this way and didn’t bring any gifts. You all have to treat me—that’s truly embarrassing.”
Seeing everyone exchanging compliments, Teacher He scooped a bowl of hot mushroom soup for each guest, warmly inviting: “Come on, don’t be shy. The soup’s best hot. Try Master Huang’s cooking.”
Wu Qian smelled the bowl and looked enchanted. “Mmm... smells amazing! If it smells this good, imagine how it tastes?”
“Master Huang’s cooking is amazing!”
Li Changfeng, seeing Wu Qian’s enthusiasm and knowing how hot the show’s popularity was, didn’t want to be outdone. He took a big sip, prepared to grimace if it tasted bad, but was pleasantly surprised. The mushroom soup was unexpectedly sweet and delicious!
Li Changfeng’s eyes sparkled. “Fresh! So fresh!”
“Fresh mushrooms picked this afternoon make all the difference. This mushroom soup is the best I’ve ever had!”
Wu Qian was stunned.
Bro, just play along, will you? You’re drinking it like it’s nectar!
You just had your stomach pumped yesterday because of #WesternToxicOuyangMing#, and now you dare to feast in front of #EasternEccentricMasterHuang#? Are you trying to get yourself killed?!
Li Changfeng ignored Wu Qian’s shocked look and drank the whole bowl in one gulp.
“Delicious, so delicious! Teacher He, another bowl please!”
Teacher He: “......”
He rolled his eyes, somewhat at a loss seeing Li Changfeng’s excitement.
Kid, I know exactly how good Master Huang’s cooking is. Aren’t you overdoing it a bit?
Though thinking this, Teacher He still cheerfully served him another bowl.
【Hahaha!】
【Wu Qian’s shocked expression is killing me.】
【This combo of acting from Gege totally caught Teacher He off guard.】
【An experienced actor who’s been in the industry for years almost couldn’t keep up with his performance. This guy’s a strong contender among the four young stars this year!】
【His acting’s impressive, but who gave you the courage to feast so blatantly in front of Master Huang?】
【You’re not afraid of dying!】
【Changfeng, blink if you’re being threatened!】
【I suspect he was caught by Master Huang last night after committing murder and dumping the body.】
【No way, they all went to the hospital to get their stomachs pumped after the detox treatment last night. I saw it clearly in the livestream!】
【Haha, just hearing ‘detox’ makes me think of Western Toxic Ouyang Ming rampaging through Mushroom House.】
【……】
Amid the laughter of netizens,
Li Changfeng accepted the soup from Teacher He and drank it down in one gulp. Then he boldly handed the bowl back.
“Delicious! So delicious! Another bowl, please!”
Wu Qian: “???”
Teacher He: “!!!”
Seriously?!
Even Master Huang looked shocked. Was his cooking really that good today?