LOI Chapter 15 — I Want to Terminate My Contract

After the holidays, Rong Ke arranged a meeting with Zhuang Kang, without specifying the reason, only saying they would casually discuss future development.

Zhuang Kang clearly didn’t think it would be important, so she didn’t set aside special time; she just told Rong Ke to find her when she was in the office.

That morning, Rong Ke returned to the talent agency.

The company he was signed with was one of the top agencies in the industry, owning thousands of square meters of office space in the most prosperous area of downtown.

The open ground floor was covered with achievement photos of the company’s artists. The most eye-catching belonged to Jiang Si, with titles like “Weibo Celebrity Topic Ranking #1,” “Top 5 Most Handsome Asian Stars,” “First Male Artist Invited to Walk the CVV Fashion Week Runway,” and various other messy titles taking up half a wall.

Rong Ke barely glanced at them before entering the elevator. Suddenly, a crowd of people approached. In the center were five cool-looking girls – if Rong Ke wasn’t mistaken, this was the girl group the company was heavily promoting, recently gaining immense popularity.

Their assistants, stylists, and others squeezed into the elevator. The last person caused an overload, triggering a harsh warning sound.

That person looked at Rong Ke, who was standing by the door holding it open, and said, “You get out first. We’re in a hurry for a meeting.”

Rong Ke: “…”

Watching the elevator doors slowly close, Rong Ke reflected that his temper was still too good.

It wasn’t that he was afraid or couldn’t handle these people. He just felt that educating others was their parents’ job, and he couldn’t be bothered to play mom and dad.

Moreover, he had long grown accustomed to such attitudes in the entertainment industry.

For thousands of years, people have tried to erase class distinctions on the surface, but there are still two places where class concepts remain particularly evident: prisons and the entertainment industry.

When Rong Ke arrived at Zhuang Kang’s office, she was flipping through a thick stack of resumes. At a glance, the photos were all of handsome men and beautiful women.

This was how Rong Ke and Jiang Si had caught her eye back then.

Seeing Rong Ke enter, she continued her task without looking up. “What do you need?”

Rong Ke sat down across from Zhuang Kang and spoke flatly, “I want to terminate my contract.”

The sound of turning pages stopped. Zhuang Kang looked up at Rong Ke, saw his expression wasn’t joking, and set aside the resumes.

“Have you talked to Jiang Si?” she asked.

Zhuang Kang was the first to know about Rong Ke and Jiang Si’s relationship.

She hadn’t demanded they break up, only saying it couldn’t be made public. Rong Ke had always been well-behaved, playing the role of Jiang Si’s secret boyfriend.

“We’ve broken up, and there’s no chance of getting back together,” Rong Ke said.

Zhuang Kang interlaced her fingers, pondering for a moment before retrieving a contract from the filing cabinet. She spread it open in front of Rong Ke and asked, “Have you read the breach of contract clause?”

“I’ve read it hundreds of times,” Rong Ke glanced at it. “To terminate the contract, I need to pay a 5-million-yuan penalty.”

“So you’re sure you want to terminate?” Zhuang Kang leaned back, crossing her arms as she looked at Rong Ke. “I’ve noticed some interactions between you and Yan Zhi recently. Your couple shirts trended on the entertainment hot search, and he even followed your CP supertopic, right?”

Rong Ke: “…”

When did they even get a CP supertopic?

He maintained his composure. “I can’t control what he does.”

“He encouraged you, didn’t he?” Zhuang Kang said. “Let me remind you, this prince is just playing around in the entertainment industry. Are you sure you want to tie your future to his?”

“It has nothing to do with him. You know I’ve wanted to terminate for a long time,” Rong Ke said. “Or give me a reason why I should stay.”

Zhuang Kang tapped the contract with her index finger and asked, “Do you have the 5 million ready?”

“I do.” Rong Ke opened his photo album and handed his phone to Zhuang Kang.

“What is th-” Before she could finish, Zhuang Kang’s brow furrowed, her expression turning grave.

What Rong Ke showed Zhuang Kang was nothing more than screenshots of his chats with Jiang Si, including sweet nothings from when they were in love, as well as Jiang Si’s recent abusive private messages.

The consequences of these contents being leaked were unimaginable.

Zhuang Kang understood that Rong Ke had always been well-behaved, partly due to his personality, but largely because of Jiang Si.

It was out of consideration for his boyfriend’s career that Rong Ke had kept such a low profile, allowing Jiang Si to develop steadily to where he was today.

So when their relationship hit a rough patch, Zhuang Kang’s first priority was to reconcile them. She had specifically instructed Jiang Si to resolve the issue properly.

But judging from these private messages, Jiang Si seemed to have grown accustomed to Rong Ke’s tolerance, never imagining Rong Ke would turn around and use these chat records as leverage against the company.

Only now did Zhuang Kang realize the problem wasn’t as simple as she had thought.

——The string Jiang Si controlled like a kite had snapped.

“I have backups of all this content, so don’t try anything,” Rong Ke said. “I also have vlogs we filmed together. Videos, photos, whatever you need to prove he cheated with Liu Qing.”

Zhuang Kang returned the phone to Rong Ke and said after a moment of silence, “This will affect you too.”

“Rising to fame by stepping on your boyfriend – that kind of public opinion is easy to manipulate.”

“But it can also prove Jiang Si is a scumbag,” Rong Ke shrugged indifferently. “Worst case, we both go down.”

In truth, this was the last outcome Rong Ke wanted.

He had seen how easily public opinion could be manipulated. Whether he won or lost this battle, he would inevitably face negative impacts.

Perhaps for a long time in the future, whenever people mentioned him, he would be labeled as “Jiang Si’s ex-boyfriend,” and he no longer wanted any connection to Jiang Si.

However, at least in front of Zhuang Kang, his show of indifference was flawless.

“I understand.” Zhuang Kang was unusually at a loss for words. “Ultimately, this decision falls to Mr. Zou. He’s already left for an overseas New Year celebration. We’ll discuss this after the holiday.”

Leaving the company, Rong Ke opened Weibo and saw that Yan Zhi had indeed followed their CP supertopic.

He’d even been browsing it two minutes ago.

Rong Ke sent him a WeChat message: [Are you living on Weibo now?]

Yan Zhi called immediately.

“How did the talk go?” Yan Zhi asked.

“Judging by my manager’s attitude, it seems promising,” Rong Ke said, strolling towards the parking lot. “But I’m worried Zou Wei will keep dragging it out. I don’t really want to expose my privacy.”

“It’s best if both sides compromise for a peaceful resolution,” Yan Zhi pondered, then said, “Leave the rest to me.”

“Can you handle it?” Rong Ke couldn’t help asking.

For some reason, Rong Ke always felt this prince was unreliable. He hoped it wouldn’t end with him directly paying the money, letting the agency pocket the 5-million-yuan penalty for nothing.

There was a moment of silence on the other end. “You don’t think I can?”

“I really can’t drag this out any longer,” Rong Ke looked up at the sky, exhaling heavily. “Zhuang Kang said Zou Wei won’t be back until after the New Year. That’s so far away, I’ll just be sitting around…”

“Who says you’ll be sitting around?” Yan Zhi interrupted. “Next week, SPL has a haute couture show. Come with me to see it.”

Rong Ke had heard of SPL, another top luxury brand.

He paused, “Where?”

Yan Zhi said, “Paris.”

Rong Ke: “…”

“Didn’t you go to Fashion Week secretly last time?” Yan Zhi said. “This time, you’ll go openly with me.”

While waiting for his contract termination, Rong Ke indeed had nothing else to do. Even if he didn’t go see the show, he’d just be sitting at home.

He resumed walking. “Will you cover the flight and accommodation?”

The suburb Rong Ke had moved to was in the opposite direction from the airport, nearly 100 kilometers one way.

But departing from Tianxi Yunwan would cut the journey almost in half, so Yan Zhi suggested Rong Ke come to his place the night before, and they’d go to the airport together in the morning.

Rong Ke only brought a small carry-on suitcase with some basic toiletries—since Yan Zhi said he could wear his clothes. In contrast, Yan Zhi had two large 30-inch suitcases open in the living room. When Rong Ke arrived, he was still deciding which clothes to bring.

“Aren’t we only going for three days?” Rong Ke set his suitcase aside and started tidying up the clothes strewn across the sofa.

“Besides SPL’s haute couture show, there are some brands’ early spring shows we can see,” Yan Zhi brought out another pile of clothes from the walk-in closet, tossing some rejects onto the sofa and some chosen pieces into the suitcase. “You can’t wear the same outfit to two shows, and there are considerations between brands. If you want to dress impressively, you need to put in more thought.”

Rong Ke never questioned Yan Zhi’s expertise.

As he folded clothes, he asked, “I don’t think many people will pay attention to me anyway.”

Saying “not many people” was an understatement; Rong Ke actually meant “no one.”

“Once you leave the hotel, every second is a battlefield. Whether people are paying attention or not, you must be fully armed,” Yan Zhi picked up a pair of sunglasses, casually put them on Rong Ke’s face, then nodded with satisfaction and placed them in the suitcase. “Besides, you’re coming to the show with me. Do you really think no one will notice?”

Fair point.

Rong Ke continued packing for Yan Zhi.

Finally, the two large suitcases were packed full. Rong Ke dusted off his hands, pleased with his work. Checking the time, he realized it was about time to rest, as they had an early flight tomorrow.

Having lived downstairs for a while, Rong Ke was familiar with the apartment layout.

He went to the guest bathroom to wash up and change into pajamas, then headed to the guest room. However, when he opened the door, he found only a bare mattress inside.

Normal, Rong Ke thought. How could he expect the prince to prepare the bed for him?

He returned to the living room and asked Yan Zhi, “Where do you keep your blankets and sheets?”

“Hmm?” Yan Zhi was sitting on the sofa with his laptop, handling emails. He looked up at Rong Ke, his expression unchanged. “I only have one set of bedding.”

Rong Ke: “?”

Then why the hell did you invite me over?

Author’s note:

Rong Bao¹ has always been a bottom, a cool bottom, and doesn’t mind who tops or bottoms.

He thought Yan Bao was a pretty bottom, and later thought he might have to top for love, but it turns out Yan Bao is even bigger than him.