At eight o'clock in the morning, Lu Ze rinsed his mouth, washed his face, changed his clothes, and went downstairs. Since he bought a water bottle, he put the four coins returned from the deposit into his bag and left the guesthouse.
"Give me a wrap. Add two eggs and a slice of fillet. Don't add tofu. Just potato strips. No onions either, and spare me from coriander, please."
Even when eating an eight yuan egg wrap, Lu Ze was extremely fussy. Once the aunty handed over the wrap to him, he didn't leave with the wrap. Instead, he sat on the stool she provided and began eating while chatting with her.
He saw office workers, who were running late for their work, sprinting fiercely. A young woman in high heels even tripped.
Taking the last bite in his mouth and throwing the plastic wrapper into the trash, he went forth and helped the girl up, getting her WeChat contact in return.
Lu Ze concluded this matter as a romantic encounter. After all, this kind of development eventually ended up in dinner by way of expressing gratitude. All he had to do was compel the other party to drink and start telling the same lies. If there was a spark, they would go to a hotel and let the flames turn into a blaze.
Of course, the prerequisite to all the abovementioned was that the two individuals had to like each other at first sight. If that was not the case, how would they ever get the opportunity to sleep together? He wouldn't even manage to get the other party's WeChat contact.
Therefore, Lu Ze felt that Shanghai was fast-paced. Everybody here was too busy to the extent that they didn't even have time for a proper conversation, what more f*cking romance…
If your appearance was decent and your wallet had money, you could start right away. Also, since both parties had the desire, the other party wouldn't lead you around in circles either.
Thus, in conclusion, except in the cases of gold diggers and nefarious intentions, the current romance was ostentatious and merely needed a slight nudge to break. Even still, pretentious b*stards yearned for the beauty in it.
Therefore, Lu Ze deleted the contact. After all, he didn't appreciate this kind of romance.
...
He found the guesthouse online on the basis of its fair price. He arrived via bus, so to go back, he naturally had to take the bus back.
Clink, clink…
He inserted the coins he'd received in the morning. As the bus was quite crowded, Lu Ze stood holding the metal bar while looking at the road through the windshield.
He had always enjoyed watching the scenery outside through the glass of a moving vehicle. Even as a child, he always liked to sit by the window.
After three stations, he got off the bus following a crowd of old men and women, stepping on and getting stepped on a few times in the process. Thereupon, he headed towards Qianshijia.
"Good morning, Mr. Lu. Chief Gao says that you can directly head to the artiste management department to find her."
The voice of the receptionist was pleasant as ever. Lu Ze returned a faint smile, turned around, and headed to the artiste department, already knowing the way.
He knocked three times before an employee let him in. The interior design was a bit more aesthetically pleasing than the other companies' offices though not by much.
He was led to the interior office. Upon a rap on the door, Gao Wanzhi's voice came from inside, "Come in."
"I'm coming in then, Big Sister Gao."
Lu Ze didn't need to address her as something as formal as "Department Head" since she had mentioned that they would look after each other in future.
Of course, these words weren't meant for Lu Ze to shamelessly close the distance between them. It was only meant to signal her interest to bring their relationship a bit closer.
"Have a seat, Lu Ze. Little Xie, inform the law department to bring the contract over and find somebody that can explain the legal clauses to Lu Ze."
Little Xie nodded to show his agreement. After softly closing the door, he swiftly left.
Lu Ze had seen many beautiful women in his life, but Gao Wanzhi was not one of them as her appearance was ordinary. Although she couldn't be considered ugly, her temperament was strong, making her seem like a shrewd woman.
Therefore, there was no awkwardness when the two of them were alone in the room. None of the dubious plots in those melodrama novels happened. Instead, they were like a big sister and little brother chatting at home.
"Where did you stay yesterday? You're still living in Hengdian right now, aren't you? A hotel nearby?"
"Yeah, I'm still living in Hengdian. I just bunked in a motel yesterday."
"If you live in Hengdian, your interaction with the company will be quite bothersome in the future. You'd better move to Shanghai. If anything happens, you can directly come to the company to discuss it. If you are in financial trouble, the company can also give you a dormitory that we offer to trainees."
Lu Ze had already considered this point well. After signing the contract, he certainly couldn't keep working as an extra, and even the company would never allow him to do so.
In that case, since he could live in the dormitory free of charge, why not stay there? In any case, it should be far better than that dilapidated building.
"Then, I'll move in in a few days. That dormitory…"
Gao Wanzhi smiled, seeing through Lu Ze's intentions. "Alright, alright. The company doesn't lack a small amount of rent money. If trainees had to manage their own rent, nobody would be willing to come here. When you move over, go to HR and find Chief Sun. It will be fine. They are here, so get ready."
As soon as she spoke, there was a knock on the door. After getting Gao Wanzhi's consent, the legal team employee entered and lightly placed two thick contracts on the table.
Sipping her honey lemon tea, Gao Wanzhi picked up a pen and handed it to Lu Ze. "If you have any problems, we can talk. I have the authority to deal with small problems. Let's start."
The employee from the legal team sat beside Lu Ze and began to patiently explain the contents of the contract to Lu Ze like the lawyer he'd hired while dealing with Orange Entertainment. The only difference was that the contract was four times as thick.
As Lu Ze slowly understood the clauses, he could only sigh about the fact that artistes really had it hard.
Not only were there contextual restrictions, but even in their daily lives, there were clauses to restrict his words, actions, and attitude. It would create a misconception to the public that he was very cultured.
Every clause had some constraint, but it seemed like something every star was subjected to. Therefore, Lu Ze agreed quietly and didn't decline.
Subsequently, they arrived at the profit-sharing portion. It was nowhere near even at 70:30 with 70% being the company's share.
This was rather out of Lu Ze's expectations, even somewhat stunning him. It was not because his share was terribly low, but it was too high!
He didn't compare how stars earned hundreds of thousands or millions because, in fact, they had to share it with their companies. Moreover, Lu Ze understood that the absolute majority of newcomers received extremely one-sided contracts. 80:20 and 90:10 splits were a common occurrence.
That was the reason that people said that artistes were a tool for companies to earn money. There was indeed not much falsehood in these words.
A 70:30 share for a newcomer? This ratio was unexpected to Lu Ze. It made him somewhat suspicious. 'How can the treatment in this company be this good?'
He was prepared to negotiate for an 80:20 ratio. 90:10 was, of course, impossible to accept. That would be simply sucking his blood.
Lu Ze could agree to 80:20, but upon seeing the 70:30 share, he could feel the importance that Qianshijia placed on him.
However, the next clause made his heart jump as if he was doused with cold water. The duration of the contract was...ten years.
In order to earn a profit, the company naturally had to invest first. However, even still, the duration of ten years was still too long. As long as he signed the contract, he would be Qianshijia's asset for the next ten years. If, by any chance, he was put in cold storage by the company...Lu Ze instantly turned very stiff.
"Big Sister Gao, the term is a bit too long, isn't it? Ten years…"
Gao Wanzhi already knew that Lu Ze would be dissatisfied with the tenure, so she explained, "I feel that there's no problem here. If you grow according to the company's plans, a few years makes no difference. You'll make money continuously. Moreover, ten years also proves the company's expectations for you."
'You trusted the devil. You rotten woman.' Although Lu Ze didn't express anything, he was incessantly cursing inwardly. For the first time, he discovered that this unassuming woman was so wicked.