Unedited
…..
Li Corporation, Mainland China
“See? Isn’t this easy?” Mr. Li Han smiled at his youngest son. “Now you will get the contract, and they won’t be able to do anything about it.”
A sigh escaped his son’s lips. He eyed the entertainment news on his tablet before staring at his father’s eyes. “I don’t like it.” He answered. “You can’t just use my name to get close to them. In fact, you cannot just use my name every time you want a contract with a company.”
“Why not?” his father asked before he finished a glass of whiskey. “You have my genes, my talent’s, I created your name, your contracts.” He gave him an unamused look. “Besides, this is for our family’s business. I will contact them soon — in fact, I might just do that tomorrow. Give them a call and set up a meeting.”
“Father— “
“No buts, Young Xiao. You owe this to your family. Plus, you get the money and everything. Why are you complaining?”
“Father—”
“What?” his father interrupted him, irritation apparent in his eyes. “Are you telling me you wanted to avoid enemies? Isn’t it too late for that? A lot of companies already fell into this scheme. Stop complaining and just do your job.”
Li Xiaoming gritted his teeth. He lowered his head, avoiding his father’s eyes. “Then can you at least tell your people to stop following me around? You already got what you wanted. The deal will be sign in a few days. Can I at least… get some time for myself? Alone?”
“What are you talking about?” his father frowned. “Unlike other stars, you don’t have any scandals or issues and that is because of my people. Can you — ” he made a deliberate pause, his jaws clenched. “Can you just appreciate everything that I did for your career?”
“Young Xiao… listen.” He continued. “You are young. Enjoy this — your fame, the money. Everything. You can get whatever you want, everything that you want. Now… I know I sound like a controlling father, I know it sounds bad right now. But — this is for your future. I am only thinking about what’s best for you.”
“Even if this is not what I want for myself?”
“How do you know what you want for yourself?” his father asked. “You are young and naive.” He gave a dramatic sigh. “Aiyo, it will pass. Whatever it is that you think you want will vanish. It’s nothing but a temporary want, it will leave you sooner or later.”
“You see? This is why family matters. Your family will never leave you. I will never leave you. And you have to understand that.” Li Han patted his son’s shoulders. “Now… you go out and put a big smile into your face. The filming for your next film will start next week, so give yourself some time to relax. Stay in your flat and rest.”
“Can you — Can you at least give me my bank card?”
“What for?” Li Han asked.
“Because it’s my money?” Li Xiaoming retorted. “I want to use them.”
The lines in between his father’s brows immediately deepened. “If you want to buy something, then you can tell me. I will buy it for you and just have someone send it to you. Just tell your manager to give the list to me later.”
Li Xiaoming sighed as he rose from his seat and turned his back against his father.
“Don’t forget to post on your Weibo. Thank the Facci Group for accommodating your needs.” He heard his father’s words before he exited the room. Li Xiaoming’s jaws thinned when he saw his manager waiting for him outside.
“This is your schedule next week.” As usual, his manager Li Hueli said in a stern, almost robotic voice. “Filming will start at nine in the morning. There will be an opening ceremony before that, and we will let a few fans have your signature.”
Li Xiaoming walked past his manager, both of his hands were shoved in his pockets, his head lowered as he continued walking. Ignoring his actions, his manager continued talking behind him.
“Facci Group will confirm with the contract tomorrow or the next day. Just prepare yourself. This is an international company. Once you signed with them, Mr. Li said that they might consider you for their other companies. This might even be the start of your international career.”
Hearing his manager talk non-stop, Li Xiaoming could not stop but pity himself. Half of the things that she was saying, does not even make sense to him. What contract? What international career? He gritted his teeth as he went inside his van with his manager. “I want to sleep. Wake me up when we arrive.” He uttered, putting on his headset before he closed his eyes.
When Li Xiaoming arrived in his flat, his manager made sure to prepare some smoothie for him before she left. The usual, he thought as he opened his medicine cabinet and got himself some sleeping pills.
For a few minutes, Li Xiaoming stared at the bottle of pills before he walked out of his bathroom and sat on his bed, his eyes glued at the large TV in his suite room. He clutched the bottle closer to him and for a few seconds, he wondered if this was all worth it.
He lay on his bed, his face blank, his eyes were on the ceiling as the sound of the entertainment news from the TV reached his ears. He heard his name, they mentioned his nominations and awards and how his fans had seen him with the big European company just today.
He let out a sad sigh before he opened the bottle of pills.
One, two… maybe he will do three today.
Four, five. Alright… six should be enough to knock him out all night.
With no hesitation, he gulped the six pills and waited. Waited for the silence to muffle the sound of the entertainment news around him.
Then there was darkness.
….
You know what’s sad? This is happening to some artist out there. Sigh.
3/5
