The next morning, after breakfast, Xiao Yunlong and Liu Ruyan drove away from the Liu family's manor.
As for the Shang family's affairs last night, apart from Liu Ruyan's slight worry, neither Xiao Yunlong nor Liu Hongguo took it to heart, as there was no need to.
Today, Liu Ruyan needed to finalize some matters with an entertainment company.
When she was still at Su City University, although she eventually won the grand competition and qualified to be the female lead, the agreement was only hastily signed at the time, and specific matters required further negotiation.
This entertainment company was said to be locally owned in Su City and possessed considerable strength. Its name was Jiaxing Entertainment Co., Ltd.
At nine o'clock in the morning, the two arrived at the Jiaxing Entertainment Company building. Led by a tall service staff member in a cheongsam with a slit, Xiao Rulong and Liu Ruyan walked directly through the lobby to the top-floor conference room.
As expected of an entertainment company, there were beautiful women everywhere, some youthful and radiant, others alluring and charming. Among them were even some highly popular female celebrities of the moment.
However, Xiao Yunlong was too lazy to glance at them. Because the girl he was holding hands with at this moment, even if all the women present were combined, their beauty would not be half of Liu Ruyan's.
The conference room was rather quiet. Although they had arrived quite some time ago, no one had entered yet, not even to pour them a cup of tea.
"Brother Xiao, won't there be any problems with Jiaxing Entertainment?" Liu Ruyan asked with worry on her face.
In fact, she didn't necessarily have to enter the entertainment industry and become a big star. But she really liked the script of "Su City Misty Clouds" and the temperament of the female protagonist in the script.
Of course, as a girl, Liu Ruyan thought that if she could film a drama and play the female lead, it would be fulfilling a wish from her youthful days.
Xiao Yunlong smiled and said, "Don't worry too much. Perhaps the company is just busy. Let's wait a bit longer."
Seeing Liu Ruyan waiting anxiously, Xiao Yunlong said, "You sit here, I'll go out and see what's happening."
As he said this and got up to leave, at that moment, a man dressed in a stylish and avant-garde green suit, accompanied by two assistants, walked in.
"You must be Liu Ruyan. Your appearance is indeed quite good!" The stylish and avant-garde man looked her up and down, his gaze towards Liu Ruyan like he was inspecting merchandise.
Xiao Yunlong frowned, feeling a slight displeasure. This was because when the other man pushed the door open just now, he had directly shoved him aside with a rather arrogant attitude.
However, Xiao Yunlong would not lash out over such a minor matter. He shook his head inwardly and turned back to Liu Ruyan's side.
Liu Ruyan looked at the other person and said, "I am Liu Ruyan. May I ask who you are?"
"My name is Ah K. You can call me Brother K from now on. I am the person in charge of the 'Su City Misty Clouds' crew, specifically appointed by the company!" Ah K sat down and crossed his legs.
He had long hair at the back of his head, tied into a small braid, while the sides were shaved clean. He had a thin mustache above his upper lip and wore heavy makeup, paired with a green suit. The overall look was somewhat incongruous, but this seemed to be a fashionable trend in the entertainment industry.
"So, you're the director? Hello, Director Brother K!" Liu Ruyan smiled and extended her hand solemnly.
Unexpectedly, this Brother K merely rolled his eyes at her with a look of disdain.
An assistant then sneered, "It seems you really are a virgin from university. Brother Ah K is the person in charge of the production's investors, not some director or screenwriter!"
Liu Ruyan nodded, about to apologize, when Xiao Yunlong reached out and stopped her. "Ah K, is it? Since you are the person in charge, can we talk now?"
Ah K continued to sit with his legs crossed, raised an eyebrow, and glanced at Xiao Yunlong, asking coldly, "And who are you? Is this a place for you to speak?"
It was evident that this Ah K held a not-low position in this entertainment company, hence his arrogant and conceited demeanor was unconsciously revealed in his every move.
Liu Ruyan, worried about the situation escalating, spoke before Xiao Yunlong could, "Mr. K, please don't misunderstand. He is my friend. Also, half a year ago, your esteemed company held the 'Su City Misty Clouds' female lead selection competition at Su City University. I won in the end, and we signed a preliminary agreement at the time. I'm here today to..."
However, before Liu Ruyan could finish, Ah K impatiently interrupted, "Stop. As the person in charge, I know this matter better than anyone. There's no need for you to reiterate it at length. My time is precious, and I don't want to waste it with you. You won't be the female lead anymore!"
"Won't be the female lead? Why? Didn't we sign a preliminary agreement before?" Liu Ruyan's eyes widened.
Ah K let out two cold laughs and was about to speak, but found his throat a bit dry. He then tapped his index finger, and an assistant behind him immediately understood, quickly unscrewing a bottle cap and handing him water.
Ah K took only a small sip. Before he could make any further move, the assistant quickly took the bottle back with sharp eyes. Throughout this, Ah K kept his legs crossed, putting on quite an airs.
Xiao Yunlong merely watched coldly, making no move for the time being.
Liu Ruyan was also growing somewhat annoyed, but she had to hold back for now.
Ah K cleared his throat and said, "As you just said, both parties only signed a preliminary agreement. The agreement only tentatively designated the competition champion, which is you, as the female lead. But that was just tentative. If you had paid close attention, you would have noticed that the final interpretation of the agreement rests with the company, Party A, as indicated at the end!"
"I want to know why. Since I passed multiple screenings and won the competition, it proves that my image and abilities are fully capable of taking on the role in this film, and I am confident I can portray her well. Why are you going back on your word?" Liu Ruyan questioned.
Ah K smiled and shook his head, saying, "No wonder my assistant said you're still a virgin from campus. You probably don't know that after entering society, many things are not decided solely by appearance or so-called abilities, especially in the entertainment industry, where these are even secondary!"
Speaking of which, Ah K seemed to have found his topic, grinning and teasing, "By the way, do you know what's most important in the entertainment industry? It's capital. Capital is king. In fact, it's not just the entertainment industry; many industries are like this!"
Liu Ruyan said coldly, "This is not a school, and you don't need to lecture me. Although I am still a student, I am not ignorant of these principles. I just want to know why the company is going back on its word!"
Ah K grinned and sneered, "Alright, since you insist on asking, I'll tell you. A certain female artist has taken a liking to this role and wants to play the female lead. She's a star, and moreover, she's bringing capital into the production. Do you think we have a reason to refuse?"
"Well said, bringing capital into the production. Well said, capital is king. Since that's the case, I have nothing more to say. Brother Xiao, let's go!"
Liu Ruyan took Xiao Yunlong's hand and prepared to leave.
She was undoubtedly angered. Originally, she just wanted to strive for this female lead through her own efforts. She didn't want to rely on the Liu family, but she never expected to ultimately lose to capital.
"Wait, you can't leave yet!" Ah K suddenly said sternly, but he remained seated with his legs crossed.
"Is there anything else?" Liu Ruyan asked.
Ah K chuckled and said, "If you had been more attentive, you would have noticed the content recorded in Article 25 of the agreement."
"Article 25 of the agreement?" Liu Ruyan frowned, vaguely sensing something was amiss.
"This clause stipulates that if you are unable to play the female lead in 'Su City Misty Clouds,' then you must take on another drama, also as the female lead, to compensate for the losses of both parties!" Ah K said mockingly.
Liu Ruyan raised an eyebrow. She vaguely remembered that there was such a clause in the agreement, but she couldn't recall the specific content. She only knew that the discussion had been pleasant at the time, and the other party had promised that if "Su City Misty Clouds" couldn't be filmed or if she couldn't be the female lead, they would definitely let her be the female lead in another drama.
But now, hearing it from this person, how did the nature of it change?
Xiao Yunlong's gaze gradually turned cold. With his rich experience, he could see that this was a trap. However, he still didn't make a move for now, wanting to see what the other party's intentions were!
Ah K grinned and said, "How is it? Do you remember now? By the way, this is the script for that new drama. Of course, it guarantees you'll be the female lead too. Take a look first. If there are no problems, we can sign the formal contract now!"
As he spoke, he took the script from his assistant and then tossed it onto the table.
Liu Ruyan took it and started reading. After just a couple of glances, she became anxious. The further she read, the more furious she became, grinding her teeth.
"You... this isn't a drama, this is simply a vulgar action film! You are clearly toying with me!" Liu Ruyan angrily threw the script onto the table.
"Toying with you? As the person in charge, I'm extremely busy and don't have time to toy with you. Although this drama has a slightly larger scale, it's still an artistic romance film. Besides, we are letting you play the female lead according to the agreement. How is that toying with you?" Ah K said.
"Although I'm still a student, I'm not stupid. If I accept this kind of drama, it's like selling myself. Since we can't reach an agreement, I'll have to excuse myself!"
Liu Ruyan said this and prepared to leave again.
"Don't want to accept? That's probably not possible. According to the agreement, if you refuse, you will have to pay liquidated damages. It's not much, just nine million!" Ah K said.
"Nine million? The agreement doesn't specify this!" Liu Ruyan exclaimed.
"The agreement doesn't specify it, but as I just told you, the final interpretation of the agreement rests with Party A. If your refusal to accept constitutes a breach of contract, then you will have to compensate, calculated according to the related losses incurred. The compensation will be at least nine million or more!"
Ah K slowly stood up at this point, his face filled with mockery, and his eyes looking at Liu Ruyan with a wolf-like glint.
Only now did he reveal his fangs and his true colors!
Liu Ruyan was almost speechless with anger, and at the same time, she regretted it, wondering how she could have been so naive back then, failing to see such a trap.
However, this was not surprising. After all, her experience was limited at the time, and the agreement was a chain of clauses. If one didn't scrutinize it carefully, it was truly difficult to detect the hidden tricks.
"You naive college student, do you really think you can reach the top just by being a bit good-looking? Let me tell you, over the years, I don't know how many college student virgins like you have fallen into our hands. In the end, didn't they all obediently cooperate and agree to act?"
Ah K said this and tossed the contract onto the table. "My patience is limited. Sign it, and everyone will be better off. Otherwise, don't blame me for being impolite!"
Only at this moment did Xiao Yunlong slowly step forward, standing in front of Liu Ruyan, while his gaze, sharp as a blade, fell upon Ah K.