Jin Chonglin glanced at his manager beside him. Lin Dong had already turned his head away and kept his gaze on the night view outside the windows, pretending not to hear the scandalous sounds coming from the phone call. His assistants were also the same way. All of them were speechless at what they were hearing.
Should Jin Chonglin interrupt the shameless lovers?
Finally, Jin Liwei’s husky voice murmured, “Are you calmer now, love?”
“Mmmn,” Iris sounded breathless…and sated.
“Chonglin, are you still there?” Jin Liwei asked.
Jin Chonglin cleared his throat. “Y-yes.”
“Don’t take offence that your sister-in-law lost her temper on you. You already know why she’s like this.”
Lin Dong tore his gaze away from the window and looked at Jin Chonglin with a raised eyebrow. Jin Chonglin ignored his manager. He promised to keep Iris’ pregnancy a secret so he wouldn’t breathe a word about it to anyone.
“No problem at all, Big Bro. I’m also sorry for my reaction earlier. It was insensitive of me.”
“En.”
“It’s okay, Brother Chonglin,” Iris said. Her lovely voice indicated that she was now in a good mood.
Jin Chonglin pursed his lips, knowing that his older brother must have kissed her brains out in order to calm her bad temper. He sighed and pitied himself for being the recipient of such unwelcome dog food from the couple.
He cleared his throat again and asked, “Can we return to our previous topic? I would like to know more about your plan to partner in creating our own entertainment company.”
“Of course,” she answered.
Then she shared more about her rough plans while he listened.
“I admit that your vision is very tempting,” Jin Chonglin admitted afterwards. “But have you forgotten that you still have a few years before your contract with Bright Summit expires? Are you planning to prematurely terminate your contract? I’m sure that the expensive penalty fee is no problem for you, but terminating your contract this early might create bad blood between you and Bright Summit. They’re already an institution in this country’s showbiz industry. You can’t just offend them or they might make it difficult for you behind the scenes.”
“They can try,” Jin Liwei’s cold voice said.
Jin Chonglin exhaled a drawn-out breath. “Big Bro, I know that you won’t let anyone bully your wife. Many are afraid of offending you, including those in showbiz, but there are many hidden deals happening in this industry all the time. Showbiz is its own creature. You might shut them down with your power and influence, but remember that these people are the media. They’re experts in manipulating the general public’s opinion. Showbiz is not your forte, it’s mine. It might seem like it’s all glitz and glamour but that’s only on the surface. You don’t know how dirty it is on the inside. Backstabbing and sabotaging careers are regular occurrences. Bright Summit isn’t that clean either.”
Lin Dong cleared his throat and squirmed in his seat but otherwise didn’t defend his employer. Jin Chonglin also didn’t pay him that much attention. [This novel is a contracted work with W e b n o v e l . c o m (remove spaces). If you’re not reading this chapter on W e b n o v e l, it has been stolen. It’s very discouraging to see thieves profitting from my hard work. Please read this novel on W e b n o v e l. Thank you! Also follow me on Instagram @arriacross]
“If worse comes to worst, I’ll just buy Bright Summit if they become foolish enough to sabotage my wife’s career,” Jin Liwei said in a domineering tone.
Jin Chonglin looked up at the vehicle’s ceiling and sighed once again.
“Liwei, stop,” Iris’ cheerful voice interrupted. Her good mood was infectious. “The two of you are overthinking. Bright Summit has been taking great care of me ever since my major comeback. I’m very grateful to them. Leaving their management early doesn’t need to result in bad blood between us. I have a few ideas on how to negotiate with them so that they’ll support us in starting our own company instead of feeling like we’re abandoning them out of disloyalty.”
“Oh?” Her words caught Jin Chonglin’s attention. Then his eyes lit up in realization. “Do you mean offering Bright Summit to become a shareholder in the new company? There have been similar cases like that before in the past where famous celebrities started their own studios with the full support of their previous management companies.” Then he frowned. “But as much as possible, I don’t want to give too much ownership to them that they’ll be able to influence the company’s decisions and directions.”
“That’s one of my ideas but not the only one,” Iris said. “Don’t worry, Brother Chonglin. I’m pretty good at negotiations. I’m sure that I can negotiate a great deal with Bright Summit so that it will be win-win to all parties. And just to let you know, the contract I signed with them isn’t a typical one. I had my lawyer fight for a less restrictive and more advantageous contract for me back then because I already knew that time that I want to become my own boss someday.”
“Hmmm.” Jin Chonglin was deep in thought as he considered everything that she told him so far.
“What do you think, Brother Chonglin? Are you interested in partnering with me in this new, exciting venture?” Her tone was very enticing.
“Let me think first,” he said.
“Okay.”
Jin Chonglin muted the call and discussed Iris’ offer with Lin Dong and his assistants. These people had been with him even before he became famous. He trusted them not only with his career but also with his private life. About five minutes later, he finally made a decision. He unmuted the call.
“I accept your offer,” he said.
“Excellent!” Iris sounded excited. “We’ll be great partners, Brother Chonglin.”
“Send me your business plan as soon as possible. I know that time is tight but I want everything ironed out before my contract ends with Bright Summit at the end of this year.”
“No problem! LX Productions is already a fully running company with employees. All we need to do is convert it into our own entertainment slash management company and make some changes. I’ll inform the company president about our plan and you can start coordinating with him right away.”
Jin Chonglin finally smiled as he began feeling excited as well. “Yes. I’m looking forward to it.”
