Lin Jiu returned home and searched for the Dream group on his phone.
There were a lot of related reports, and Lin Jiu picked and read them all. He could do nothing but remain silent.
The matter was settled. The group announced its disbandment a month after he disappeared, without even a final farewell performance. The group announced its disbandment sadly amid a barrage of criticism.
Of course, the only one who got scolded was Lin Jiu. Fans flocked to the captain Duan Chengzhou’s Weibo to comfort him, saying that after leaving this crappy group, his brother would have a better development. They hoped that his brother could cheer up and create better works again.
Amidst the comfort and encouragement, Duan Chengzhou released his first single "Dreamer" after going solo the next month after the group disbanded. The lyrics are all memories of the brothers' daily life. The emotions are sincere and full of reluctance and helplessness towards his brothers.
Once this song was released, countless fans cried after hearing it. Angry fans once again swarmed Lin Jiu's Weibo and dragged him out to criticize him again. This sinner who broke up the group will never be forgiven by Dream fans.
Lin Jiu had anticipated such a result. After the photos of him "harassing" Duan Chengzhou were exposed, he knew that he would be blamed for the group's disbandment.
Amidst the insults, Lin Jiu caught some information. Some people called him selfish and cold-blooded. He ignored the injured in the car accident, abandoned the injured and unconscious taxi driver, and disappeared.
Lin Jiu searched for relevant news and found out that the driver took a detour at the time and the road was being repaired where the accident happened. The taxi collided with an oncoming car and the driver hit his head and fell unconscious on the spot. The dashcam was damaged and there were no cameras on that road. There were no signs of injury in the back seat of the taxi, but Lin Jiu disappeared. There was no other possibility except that he left on his own.
So Lin Jiu had another piece of negative information about him: he was selfish, cold-blooded, inhumane, and had such bad character that he was not worthy of being a human being. Such a morally corrupt artist had a very serious negative impact on society and he deserved to be banned.
It was completely dark. Lin Jiu had no idea how long he had been sitting in the darkness. His fingertips holding the phone were already slightly numb. He stared at the search box for a long time, slowly typed in two words, did not search, quickly deleted them, and then typed them out again, over and over again. He did not know how many times he had typed them, as if as long as he looked at these two words, he was full of courage.
On the first night after returning, Lin Jiu slept on the sofa all night.
This world is safe. He doesn't have to worry about being eaten by something in his sleep. He doesn't have to sleep on a hard and wet reef. There is softness beneath his body and he can sleep soundly until dawn.
He decided to go to the company today and resolve the matter.
Before leaving, he dialed the familiar number.
The phone rang twice and was answered. "Hello, who is this?"
"Sister Qiu E, it's me. Are you in the company?"
When she heard Lin Jiu's voice, Qiu E's tone turned cold. "I'm not in the company. Your business is not under my jurisdiction now. Go to the company and talk to Mr. Zhang about compensation for breach of contract."
Before Lin Jiu could say anything else, the call was hung up.
Duan Chengzhou, who was catching up on his sleep, opened his eyes and asked, "Sister, who's calling?"
Qiu E glanced at him sideways, "Don't worry about who it is, go and make up for your sleep. Look at your dark circles and the quality of your skin. I told you to go to bed early last night, so what time have you stayed up till now?"
Duan Chengzhou laughed, "I just had an idea and stayed up for a while. Sister, who's calling?"
Qiu E looked at him, not knowing what she was thinking, "It's Lin Jiu, he's back."
The smile on Duan Chengzhou's face gradually faded. "How much is his breach of contract compensation?"
"It depends on how he talks to Mr. Zhang. If he listens, maybe he won't have to pay so much money."
Duan Chengzhou clenched his hands under the blanket. People in the circle would know what this "obedient" means.
He didn't show it on his face. "He is arrogant and will disappear if he is not satisfied. Will he listen to me?"
Qiu E sneered, "Do you think a contract is just for show? With the huge penalty for breach of contract, the right to choose is no longer in his hands."
Lin Jiu is still too young and does things without considering the consequences. No one in the entire entertainment industry has his courage. He disappears for a year without caring about anything. If he is an unknown star, it would be fine without any announcements. Although the Dream group is not very popular, they also have popular songs, and they often show up in public, so fans will not forget them. On the contrary, they have a lot of mom fans and girlfriend fans. No matter how they sing, their looks are really good.
During the year that Lin Jiu disappeared, the group's several announcements and performances were all canceled. The economic and reputational losses caused to the company must be compensated by Lin Jiu. What a huge amount of breach of contract compensation this would be. Qiu E felt her scalp tingling just thinking about it.
Lin Jiu definitely can't come up with so much money, and his only end is to become a money-making tool for the company.
However, if he knows how to manage his business, be humble, and act nice and please others, it is not impossible for him to become popular again. His voice and appearance are very good. If not, the huge debt will completely crush him.
Qiu E glanced at Duan Chengzhou, "You took advantage of the popularity of that incident and established your image. The popularity of Dreamer has never dropped. You are no longer the same as before. Most of Dream's diehard fans have now become your loyal fans. You must remember to stay away from Lin Jiu, make friends with Ling Chen and Huo Wei, and establish your image as a good brother who values friendship and loyalty."
Duan Chengzhou closed his eyes again, "I know."
He said this, but only he knows what he was thinking.
Lin Jiu took a taxi to the company and got off one street away from the company.
He was wearing a hat and a mask, with his long black hair tied up casually. He stood in the busy square, looking up at the LED building screen, which was replaying the concert of the singing god Si Xu in City A. The whole audience sang along. The scene was very shocking. When the camera swept across, many fans were screaming and shouting, with tears streaming down their faces. The atmosphere was very hot.
Although Si Shen is less than 30 years old, he has already become a legend in the music industry and has won numerous awards. The songs he wrote are deeply loved by fans and are widely sung. Even his old songs from ten years ago are still very popular now.
Every song written by the god is a classic.
Tickets for his concerts are hard to come by. In previous years, Lin Jiu would stay up late to grab tickets, and even a second late might not be able to get one. This year, Si Shen’s concert has already begun, so there is no need to worry about it, there will be no more tickets available.
Lin Jiu stood in the square and did not leave until the replay of Si Shen's concert ended.
He was not the only one who watched the whole process in the square. Two young girls were excitedly talking about this god.
"Sir Silva made me cry. I really want to be there. Woohoo~~~~"
"The next one is in City B. Unfortunately I didn't get a ticket. The number of concerts of God Si is getting smaller and smaller. There is no hope of getting a ticket..."
Lin Jiu also wanted to go to the event, but he didn't have a ticket either.
If conditions permit, he will attend every concert of God of Si, but this year he cannot do so.
Lin Jiu went all the way to the company and was surprised to see him at the front desk.
Lin Jiu went straight to Mr. Zhang's office. He had just watched the replay of God Si's concert. He was now full of courage and could accept any outcome.
Lin Jiu knocked on the door and Mr. Zhang happened to be in the office.
Mr. Zhang is a middle-aged man who is slightly overweight, and his hair is about to be replaced by the central government.
Lin Jiu walked in and took off his hat and mask. When Mr. Zhang saw that it was him, he was also amazed by his appearance.
When Mr. Zhang met Lin Jiu, he immediately thought that this child was very good-looking.
The Lin Jiu in front of him was even more impactful than the last time he met him. His appearance was particularly eye-catching. Once you saw him, it was difficult to look away. Without saying anything, this face alone was enough to attract countless fans.
Lin Jiu apologized sincerely. It was indeed his fault that he suddenly disappeared for a year. No matter what the reason was, he could not shirk this responsibility.
Mr. Zhang repeatedly asked him to sit down and talk. In his mind, he had already overturned his original plan for Lin Jiu. With such looks, even if she was just used as a vase, she would be a "vase" that was priceless.
Lin Jiu sat down on the chair opposite Mr. Zhang.
Mr. Zhang's eyes were glued to Lin Jiu, and he was not polite at all when he spoke, exaggerating the losses and impacts that Lin Jiu had caused to the company in the past year. People who didn't know the inside story probably thought that Lin Jiu was the pillar of "Chuangxing", and if he had problems, it would directly affect the survival of "Chuangxing". In fact, Lin Jiu was just a member of a small group, not very popular, and did not have such a big influence at all.
Lin Jiu didn't say a word, just listened obediently.
Mr. Zhang took a sip of water, looked away for two seconds, and then looked back again.
"You have caused considerable losses to the company, both financially and in terms of reputation. Your behavior has seriously violated the rules. The company has the right to hold you accountable. Here are the details of the compensation for violations over the past year. Please take a look."
Mr. Zhang came over with a stack of documents and handed them to Lin Jiu.
Lin Jiu stood up and took the document.
Mr. Zhang put his hand on Lin Jiu's shoulder and said, "Sit down and take a look. We can discuss any questions we have."
Lin Jiu sat down again, but Mr. Zhang's hand did not leave his hand. Lin Jiu looked up at him.
Mr. Zhang was almost seduced by this look. He pinched Lin Jiu's shoulder gently, then withdrew his hand and said with a smile: "Don't worry, take your time to watch."
Lin Jiu glanced at the shoulder that was touched, pursed his lips, and looked down at the document in his hand.
Mr. Zhang stood behind him, looking at his fair and slender neck, his mouth dry.
Lin Jiu could feel that Mr. Zhang was looking at him. He did not turn the pages one by one. Even if he did, he would not understand it. He only turned to the end to see how much compensation he had to pay.
When he saw the total amount of compensation, Lin Jiu's lips tightened even more.
Looking at Lin Jiu's casually tied smooth black hair, Mr. Zhang reached out to touch it, "When did you grow your hair long? It looks good..."
Lin Jiu stood up and turned to face Mr. Zhang, "Mr. Zhang, do you think I can generate so much revenue for the company in a year?"
Mr. Zhang smiled and said, "These are all calculated in detail by the Legal Department. Your notice fee is indeed not that much, but the notice that has been signed has been breached because of your absence. The company paid a lot of liquidated damages, which has had a great impact on the company's reputation.
Now, for artists on the 'Creation Star' program, as long as they sign a contract, the organizers will ask about the artist's professional ethics. Will they disappear for no reason? Look, this is all the bad influence you have brought."
His eyes fell on Lin Jiu's porcelain-like skin, and Mr. Zhang changed the subject, "Of course, you won't have to pay off the compensation all at once. As long as you obey the company's arrangements, I will guarantee that you can pay it back slowly. With your conditions, it won't be difficult to earn this money."
Mr. Zhang came a little closer and said, "You can stop being banned and become popular again. As long as you are willing, I can help you become popular again."
Lin Jiu took a step back, his black and white eyes were emotionless, "No need, I'll find a way to pay the compensation."
The smile on Mr. Zhang's face gradually disappeared.
Lin Jiu walked around Mr. Zhang, picked up his hat and mask, and prepared to leave.