Chapter 402: Choice and a New Path
Chenghe doing this kind of thing naturally had its reasons. They didn’t want to let Nangong Ying go, but Nangong Ying was disobedient, so they could only give this kind of warning. As Nangong Ying’s agent, Liang Bingyi, was hospitalized, her agent position was temporarily vacant, but she herself was not looking forward to a new agent at all.
Who would have thought that a person who had been so lively just a day ago would be lying in the hospital in the blink of an eye? The human body is just that fragile. It can become tattered in the blink of an eye. Liang Bingyi was like this, and Yu Linna’s case was even more so.
“Nangong, we might be able to consider a new contract. You see, your agent is temporarily hospitalized, and you’re also having difficulties at work. How about this? We’ll arrange a new agent for you on our side.”
The day after her agent was hospitalized, Chenghe had called her, pretending to be concerned about her, and had also offered to find her a new agent. And Nangong Ying knew that the so-called new agent was just someone sent by Chenghe to monitor her.
After dealing with Chenghe for these two years, she had completely understood Chenghe’s style. She could guess it without being told.
Liang Bingyi was a victim of Chenghe. The pitiful thing was that she herself didn’t know that it was Chenghe’s doing, and had naively thought that she had really run into a psycho. Nangong Ying was particularly guilty and had secretly sent a large sum of money to her family, lying that it was Liang Bingyi’s bonus.
But as for Chenghe, Nangong Ying had no way to deal with them.
“No need. I’ll arrange for my own agent. You don’t have to trouble yourself.”
“Alright then. I’m very sorry about your agent’s matter. Let’s talk about the contract again. Although you’ve given us a reply, I think we can still sit down and talk.”
At this moment, Nangong Ying gritted her teeth, almost wanting to kill someone.
Chenghe, oh Chenghe, you’re really going too far, bullying people too much. To come to her the day after her agent’s accident and talk about renewing her contract, wasn’t this just a clear case of “no silver three hundred taels here”? They were targeting her, Nangong Ying.
“I think my answer is clear enough. I want to develop elsewhere. I don’t want to be bound by a role.”
She gritted her teeth and squeezed out this sentence. She had said these polite words before. The difference was that this time, she had said them while suppressing her anger.
She hated Chenghe, hated Chenghe to the extreme. But what she hated even more was that she had chosen Chenghe when she was a newcomer.
“Nangong, what’s wrong with Chenghe? Chenghe has not been unkind to you. Why be so heartless? And if you do this, it’s not good for me, for you, for the National Radio and Television Administration, for anyone.”
This was already a blatant threat.
Nangong Ying held her head. Although she was very angry, she had to admit that Chenghe did indeed have the ability to speak to the National Radio and Television Administration and to blacklist her.
Don’t think that just because Nangong Ying was famous now, and had a big name, that Chenghe wouldn’t dare to do anything to her. Chenghe still had ways to deal with her. They could completely give Nangong Ying a fabricated title and temporarily blacklist her, for example, saying she was unpatriotic, or creating a scandal. They could do it. After all, a star is a public figure. If they wanted to, they could find fault in any of Nangong Ying’s quotes and make a big deal out of it.
This was Chenghe’s way.
No matter how strong Nangong Ying was, she was just an actress. And she had only been in the industry for two years. In terms of seniority and influence, she was far from her seniors. She did not have the ability to make the entertainment industry speak up for her.
After hanging up the phone, Nangong Ying held her head alone, staying in her office, thinking about her future.
For her own selfish desires, her own future, she had pushed Yu Linna into a fiery pit, had sold her out. And it was precisely this move of hers that had started the history of Nangong Ying’s instant fame upon her debut. For now, she had not failed, at least not in movies. But she was also clear that she would not be so strong forever.
But that move back then had made her live with guilt for these two years, and it would accompany her for a lifetime.
Now, a similar problem was on the table. What should she do? Should she, as before, follow Chenghe’s arrangements, compromise with reality, and continue her star path? Or should she make a clean break with this hateful Chenghe and temporarily leave the entertainment industry?
She knew Chenghe’s methods. If she really had a falling out with Chenghe, then she would face at least a year of not being able to film. If it were Chenghe, they might really do that.
“Little Ying, you’re here. What are you planning to do? Are you just going to be depressed here?”
Li Yuexin opened the office door, looked at her bewildered appearance, and couldn’t help but sigh.
“What do you know about me, Sister Yuexin?”
“I have no right to say anything about you. I just think you should think about it carefully. After all, you are no longer a newcomer.”
Nangong Ying looked up at the ceiling and fell into deep thought.
Yes, she was no longer a newcomer, nor was she the her of the past. She now had many choices. In the past, she had compromised, but now was different from the past. She had the chance to refuse.
It was just that this path would be particularly difficult.
“Sister Yuexin, will you support me, even if I’m a bastard?”
“You are indeed a bit inhumane, but I’m the same. I, who like a bastard like you, am probably not a good person either.”
“So you’re saying you support me, right? Thank you. I think I know what to do now.”
At this moment, Nangong Ying had figured it out. She stood up, looked at Li Yuexin, and for the first time, she felt that she was right.
Chenghe was indeed very powerful, so powerful that it was irresistible. She had even thought, was this heaven’s punishment for her, for selling out Yu Linna? But later she had figured it out. This was just Chenghe bullying the weak. They were bullying people because they were powerful. She could not compromise.
Yes, no compromise.
Resolutely no compromise.
…
After that, Nangong Ying replied to Chenghe. Her attitude was very clear. She said that she would not renew her contract with Chenghe. No matter how Chenghe lobbied her, she would only agree to sign a two-movie contract. The people at Chenghe were also very surprised. She had clearly seen Chenghe’s power, had known Chenghe’s warning to her, but she still refused Chenghe’s renewal request. What on earth was this person thinking?
Chenghe was very angry, scolding her for not giving face, for being ungrateful. But Nangong Ying was unmoved.
As a result, because of the contract issue, Chenghe had a falling out with Nangong Ying. Chenghe stated that for the movie salaries of Blue Pupil 2 and Blue Pupil 3, they would only pay her 10 million, an average of 5 million per film. But Nangong Ying said that their movie contract had already been signed, and doing so was equivalent to breaking the contract. And Chenghe’s side had sent a lawyer over to fight for Chenghe’s interests. Nangong Ying was also angry and had found her own exclusive lawyer. She knew that there would be no good end to going head-to-head with Chenghe, and also knew that she couldn’t win against Chenghe in a legal battle.
But she had already decided from the beginning: no compromise, absolutely not.
And so Nangong Ying took Chenghe to court.
Nangong Ying of course knew how terrifying Chenghe was. If she was not careful, she might be gotten rid of. But she still had to sue Chenghe.
And so Nangong Ying had directly challenged Chenghe on Weibo, and had also anonymously given a few newspapers some gossip to smear Chenghe. And with the help of Nangong Ying’s popularity online to incite her fans to speak for her, as well as the push of the water army, she and Chenghe had thus started a fight.
No one had ever thought that Nangong Ying would actually sue her old employer, Chenghe. This was something no one had ever thought of. Every female star who had left Chenghe, seeing Nangong Ying openly challenge Chenghe, they also vented the resentment they had been holding in for many years, openly supporting Nangong Ying on Weibo, which made the public speechless.
This matter had caused a huge uproar and was known to everyone. Chenghe had originally wanted to get rid of Nangong Ying, but who would have thought that Nangong Ying was not afraid at all, her attitude was terrifyingly firm, and she had no intention of compromising at all.
Thanks to Nangong Ying’s firm attitude this time, and her fearless mentality, Chenghe’s lawsuit was not able to be in control as before. Plus, Nangong Ying had the support of her fans and seniors in the industry, so Chenghe’s lawsuit was not going smoothly.
The lawsuit had been going on for a month, and the final result was that Chenghe would pay Nangong Ying an average salary of 25 million for the two movies she had signed for, Blue Pupil 2 and Blue Pupil 3. This did not include promotion and endorsement fees. In other words, Chenghe had lost the case.
Nangong Ying’s firm attitude had allowed her to win against Chenghe for the first time. But also because of this matter, she had a falling out with Chenghe, and Chenghe had also decided that after these two movies, they would never cooperate with Nangong Ying again.
And as the price of victory, Nangong Ying was forbidden by the National Radio and Television Administration from filming any movies for a year, for inciting the masses to cause trouble and for speaking with a politically incorrect tendency in public. Of course, this matter was not made public, only announced within the industry. But the audience would soon discover that Nangong Ying would not be taking on any roles in the coming year.
And originally, Nangong Ying had already signed a movie contract, and the movie was already in filming. Because of this ban, the company that had signed her had personally found Nangong Ying to terminate the contract, promising to pay her a penalty. And so Nangong Ying was blacklisted.
On the bright side, the movie from the Yaohua Company she had signed with was scheduled to start filming a year later, outside of the one-year ban. When Nangong Ying’s ban was lifted, it would start filming soon. As for the subsequent movies of Blue Pupil, the earliest would also be after the ban was over. This was the price Nangong Ying had paid.
And Chenghe also intended to arrange for these two movies to be filmed together a year later, probably also wanting to finish filming them early.
After this matter ended, Nangong Ying stood alone on a cruise ship, looking at the sea and the seagulls in the sky, her heart filled with mixed feelings. She had actually won, although she had paid a price.
“What’s wrong? You won and you’re still not happy?” Li Yuexin said with a smile.
Nangong Ying shook her head.
“I was just thinking, if my choice back then had been not to compromise, just like today, would the result have been different?”
Now that things had come to this, what was the point of saying these things? She clearly knew.
Whether she had compromised back then or not, that was all in the past. She could never change the past.
In the past, for the sake of her future, she had chosen to compromise. Today, for the sake of her own dignity, she had chosen to be firm. But this could not undo the bad fruit she had borne in the past. After all, that was just a fact that could never be changed.
“Then what are you planning to do in the future? A year’s time, are you going to give yourself a break?”
“No, I will still be filming.”
“But aren’t you banned?”
“The ban from the National Radio and Television Administration is that I am not allowed to film any movies on the mainland for a year, but it only refers to the mainland. In the coming year, besides studying well at school and enjoying my university life, I will also be going to other places to film. Coincidentally, I have received an invitation from a director.”
Li Yuexin was stunned for a moment, and then smiled. She thought she understood Nangong Ying’s plan.
“So your schedule for the future has been decided, right?”
“Yes, I’m going to Hong Kong. I’ve always wanted to go. Now I finally have the chance.”
Seagulls flew across the sky, and the cruise ship sailed farther and farther away on the sea. Nangong Ying had also found her new goal and was setting off for a new place.
And at this time, Yu Linna knew nothing. What had happened to Nangong Ying, what had happened, she was not clear about the truth of the matter, because in this one month, a lot had also happened to her.
