Chapter 69#

“Devoted” Best Actor (23)#

The contract between Kong Si and Star Media was for five years. He had only worked for the company for less than four years when he decided to retire, causing Star Media to suffer a very significant loss.

Back then, the contract Lu Yi had arranged for Kong Si had the most favorable terms, and over the years, the company had indeed invested a considerable amount in him. According to the original contract, if he were to retire from acting at this point, it would be considered a breach of contract, and he would have to pay a hefty penalty of up to ten million yuan.

Although Kong Si was one of the company’s shareholders and also Lu Yi’s legal spouse, in order to set a good example for the other artists at Star Media, Kong Si still paid the penalty with the earnings he had accumulated over the past few years.

The matter of Kong Si paying the ten million yuan penalty was handled privately and did not make it online, but the artists under Star Media all knew about it very clearly.

Although the majority of the company’s shares were held by Kong Si and Lu Yi, the money in Kong Si’s personal account was ultimately different from the company’s assets. Since the boss himself could abide by the rules and set an example by paying out ten million yuan, then when others benefited from the company and later wanted to terminate their contracts, they would have to weigh the price they would have to pay. After all, they were not one of the bosses. If they were so capricious, there was absolutely no way they could enjoy the same generous treatment as Kong Si.

After completing the termination, Kong Si handed over the keys to the small villa and the chauffeured car that the company had provided for him. He didn’t have many belongings left at the company. After packing for a while, the large cardboard box the warehouse had given him was only a quarter full.

He and his former agent carried the large cardboard box to Lu Yi’s office, waiting for Lu Yi to get off work so he could drive both him and his things back home.

Originally, his agent and assistant were only responsible for taking care of him. Now that he, for his own reasons, was no longer an artist, he couldn’t let these people become “unemployed” because of him. The company made some adjustments and reassigned several people to new jobs.

They would still be doing the same work as before, but they would be responsible for a slightly larger number of people, though the room for advancement was also greater.

With the future jobs of those who had been with him settled, Kong Si could feel relieved. Although it was unlikely that his agent and assistant would do this kind of work forever, his decision had been sudden. If his actions had caused them to suddenly lose their jobs, he would inevitably feel guilty.

When he carried his own box into the office, Lu Yi was in a meeting with the relevant senior management of Star Media.

The meeting primarily discussed Star Media’s plans for the next quarter, as well as the resource adjustments within the company following Kong Si’s retirement from the entertainment industry.

Originally, many resources in the next quarter had been prepared for Kong Si, but since he had decided to stop acting, those resources would fall to someone else. Who exactly would get them and who the company should vigorously promote next were important issues that required discussion and data analysis, rather than being decisions made by senior management based on personal preference.

After a meeting that lasted two full hours, Lu Yi finally returned to his office.

Opening the door, he saw an extra person on the sofa.

“Have you been waiting long?” He remembered that today was Kong Si’s handover day. He had driven Kong Si to the company early this morning.

Kong Si shook his head. “Not really. I brought my phone.”

With something to play with, the waiting time didn’t feel so long and tedious.

Lu Yi asked him, “What do you plan to do next?”

The decision to retire from acting had been an impulsive one for Kong Si, but after making it, he had considered many things. “I plan to try different kinds of life. I want to give everything a shot. Photography, painting, being a music teacher… and many other things.”

Besides playing around, he also planned to get a cat. Actually, given the conditions of the two of them, they could even adopt a child.

But Lu Yi’s work was already busy enough. Even if he slowed down, he probably wouldn’t have much time to spend on a child.

He was a bit greedy. He still hoped that his partner’s gaze would only rest on him.

He had loved acting before, essentially because he enjoyed playing different roles. Compared to that, the fame that came with it was secondary.

He looked at Lu Yi and put on a pitiful expression. “I emptied my savings to pay the penalty. I’ll probably be so poor I’ll have to eat dirt in the future.”

Lu Yi thought about it. Although Kong Si was the top star of Star Entertainment, his acting fees weren’t particularly high. Moreover, when he attended various events, many of his clothes were bought with his own money.

Back then, they had lived in Kong Si’s house. After Kong Si became famous, they moved once, to a high-end, heavily secured residential complex. They had specially set aside a large walk-in closet, almost entirely filled with Kong Si’s various shoes, coats, and hats.

For the money to buy the house, Kong Si had insisted on paying half with his own acting fees. Now, after paying the termination penalty, he probably didn’t have much money left. “It’s fine. The annual dividends from Star Media are enough for you.”

In the first two years, since the company was still in its development phase, no dividends were distributed to shareholders in order to expand capital. But now that it was gradually getting on track, there would be money coming in.

Even if Kong Si no longer worked as an artist, he could still get a considerable income every year.

Kong Si said resentfully, “Didn’t we agree that you would support me?”

Lu Yi reached out and ruffled his hair. “I support you, and then you support me.”

That was more like it. Having obtained a sweet talk from his man, Kong Si was satisfied.

He was about to say something else when he suddenly caught sight of a trending topic on his phone screen. He bent down to pick up the phone from the sofa.

After clicking on the headline to confirm the truth, he raised his phone for Lu Yi to see the Weibo screen. “Lu Yi, Weibo says He Xiao was in a car accident.”

He Xiao had been taken to the police station earlier. Considering reasons such as damage to the company’s image, someone had still spent a considerable sum to bail him out.

But on the very day he was released, He Xiao got into a car accident.

Kong Si tapped into the related news link. “It seems like one of his extremely rabid fans turned from a fan into a hater. They had been monitoring his news these past few days and then drove a car to hit him.”

This news was released by the municipal public security bureau. According to the investigation, the perpetrator had previously been very fond of He Xiao, always regarding him as a role model in life. He had photos of He Xiao plastered all over his bedside. He would buy every product He Xiao endorsed and would mobilize all his friends and relatives to support every drama He Xiao starred in.

This fan was quite young. Because he had been bullied at school, he had a somewhat withdrawn and extreme personality. He had originally regarded He Xiao as the sunshine in his life. But then it turned out that He Xiao wasn’t that at all.

The rabid fan directly turned into a rabid hater. He felt that He Xiao had destroyed the sunshine in his life, so he directly drove his car and hit him.

Since it was a car-to-car collision, He Xiao didn’t die, but he was hospitalized and remains unconscious to this day.

Although Kong Si didn’t like He Xiao, he certainly didn’t want the other person to lose his life over something like this.

But when manipulating public opinion to suppress others, He Xiao probably never imagined that one day he would be consumed by that same public opinion.

Kong Si’s mood was a bit heavy. He placed his hand on the back of Lu Yi’s hand, feeling a chill.

Lu Yi held Kong Si’s hand in return, transferring his own warmth to him.

Since they were acquaintances, they paid more attention. And because Kong Si himself had been an artist for a while, He Xiao’s incident due to such a reason slightly dampened his desire to go out and have fun.

Lu Yi looked at the on-site photos in the news. “I have a friend at this hospital. Let me ask about his condition for you.”

He made a phone call and quickly contacted that friend at the hospital.

After the call connected, Lu Yi put it on speaker and asked about He Xiao.

The other person said, “He was quite lucky. The car’s performance was good. He woke up first. The driver was seriously injured, but that young boy has a slim chance of waking up—probably a vegetable.”

The other party had been aiming for mutual destruction. He didn’t manage to kill He Xiao, but he destroyed his own life. However, premeditated murder is itself a crime. It’s just a sigh-worthy situation, not particularly deserving of sympathy.

Since He Xiao was fine, Kong Si breathed a sigh of relief. Although he hadn’t arranged for anyone to hit He Xiao, it was he who had leaked He Xiao’s scandals. Although what he leaked was the truth, if the other person had really died because of this, he would inevitably feel uneasy.

He Xiao’s car accident was a trending topic on Weibo for two consecutive days, but the person involved, He Xiao, was very confused.

After waking up in the hospital, because his reputation was already too tarnished and he had been abandoned by his company, hardly anyone came to visit him. When he searched for news about himself online, he only saw insults. Not only had all his past deeds been exposed, but Kong Si had also turned against him?

His gaze lingered for a long time on the marriage certificate photo of the actor Yu Si on Weibo.

Looking at the face similar to Yu Si, he dug deep into his memory for the identity of the other party.

What Lu Yi? Wasn’t this the small actor Lu Xingchen? But wasn’t he supposed to have died many years ago?

A chill ran down He Xiao’s spine: Who can tell him, what exactly is going on?!