novelraw Chapter 18 Then I'll be the villain.
Chapter 18 Then I'll be the villain.
Lin Yu noticed the change in Cai Yinong's expression and could roughly guess what she was thinking.
However, he maintained a polite demeanor and extended his hand, saying, "Hello, Mr. Cai, I often hear Nazha mention you."
Cai Yinong took a deep breath, suppressed his anger, and shook hands with Lin Yu.
"Hello." Her voice was calm, but her handshake was noticeably firmer.
"This is..." Nazha continued to introduce.
"My second brother, Liu Siyuan," Lin Yu continued.
The second brother nodded to Cai Yinong and smiled casually: "Hello, Mr. Cai."
Cai Yinong responded politely, but her eyes had already shifted to Wang Liming.
"Who is this...?"
"Wang Liming." Wang Liming said those three words calmly, and then said nothing more.
Cai Yinong nodded. Signing the contract is the most important thing now; other matters can be dealt with later.
"Let's begin then." Cai Yinong gestured for Gong Xin to take out the contract. "This is the contract we prepared. Ms. Nazha, please take a look."
Gong Xin handed a thick contract to Nazha.
Lin Yu reacted quickly and took it first: "No need, just give it to me."
Naza glanced at Lin Yu but did not stop him.
Cai Yinong's expression darkened further. She stared at Lin Yu, her tone laced with hostility: "Mr. Lin Yu, are you a lawyer?"
Lin Yu shook his head, smiling innocently. "No."
"Then it's best if outsiders don't look at such important documents casually," Cai Yinong's tone turned cold. "After all, they are company secrets."
She emphasized the word "outsider" when she said it.
Lin Yu smiled, not angry at all, and handed the contract to Wang Liming, who had been sitting next to him: "Uncle Wang, please take a look."
Wang Liming took the contract, turned to the first page, and began to read it carefully.
The meeting room fell silent again.
Sweat beaded even more heavily on the foreheads of the two legal counsel opposite them.
Oh, by the way, Uncle Wang also has another identity: the dean of the Renmin University Law School.
Wang Liming read very slowly, carefully examining each page and occasionally making marks on it with a pen.
His expression was calm, but his focused demeanor made the legal representative on the other end feel extremely uncomfortable.
About five minutes later, Wang Liming looked up and adjusted his glasses.
"This contract..." He paused, then looked at the two legal counsel opposite him, "is interesting."
The two legal counsels turned even paler.
"I think it's a good idea to sign," Wang Liming suddenly laughed, his smile particularly amiable.
Lin Yu was taken aback. Wait, what does Uncle Wang mean by this?
Naza breathed a sigh of relief and was about to reach for the pen.
But the two legal counsel sitting opposite them didn't relax at all; instead, they became even more nervous.
"I just took on an apprentice last year," Wang Liming said slowly, handing the contract to Lin Yu. "The young man is quite smart, but he doesn't have any notable achievements yet."
He paused, then his smile deepened: "This contract is just the right level of difficulty; we should be able to win. A great start would be wonderful."
The air in the meeting room felt somewhat still.
Lin Yu took the contract and handed it to Nazha.
Before Nazha could react, she picked up a pen in a daze and prepared to sign.
The lawyer opposite finally couldn't sit still any longer and stood up to stop Nazha.
Cai Yinong was completely dumbfounded. She stared at her own legal counsel, her eyes screaming, "Are you crazy?"
This is a contract prepared by the company, and the terms have been carefully designed. Why would our own people try to stop us from signing it?
The older legal counsel swallowed hard and said in a low voice, "Mr. Cai, this... I think the contract can be discussed further."
"What's there to discuss?" Cai Yinong asked, suppressing his anger. "The contract is already prepared, what's there to discuss?"
The legal representative hesitated, glancing at Wang Liming and then at Cai Yinong, before finally choosing to remain silent.
The lawyer knew very well that if this contract were presented to a lawyer of similar skill level, it could usually drag on for a long time, and would eventually end in a settlement.
But if it were in Wang Liming's hands, the concern wouldn't be about the contract; they'd be afraid of ending up in jail themselves.
After all, some of the clauses, if taken seriously, are already suspected of being illegal.
Wang Liming sat to the side, watching the scene with great interest, and even took out his notebook to start taking notes.
Seeing the performance of the legal representative on the other end, Lin Yu felt even more confident. He took the contract and began to examine it carefully.
Lin Yu was somewhat prepared; he knew that agency contracts these days were generally quite "crazy," but he really didn't expect them to be this "crazy."
"Ten years?" Lin Yu couldn't help but exclaim upon seeing the first line. "That's ruthless!"
Cai Yinong took a deep breath, trying to maintain a professional smile: "Mr. Lin, this is the current contract term for newcomers. It takes time and money for a company to train an artist from scratch. 10 years is normal."
Wang Liming didn't look up, and began to write in his notebook.
"Then, for those who are injured, out of work, or breach contracts, the contract period will be automatically extended." He looked at Cai Yinong, smiling innocently, "If you don't give them work, won't the contract just keep going on and on?"
Cai Yinong's smile froze for a moment: "That won't happen. The company's primary goal is definitely to make money; how could they possibly refuse work for their artists?"
As she spoke, she glanced at her legal counsel, signaling them to speak up and not just stand there.
The two legal counsel remained silent under Wang Liming's gaze.
They knew very well that if they offended Cai Yinong, at worst they wouldn't be able to stay at the company, but they could still find another place to work.
But if they speak up for the company now, it's hard to say whether they can keep their law licenses if Wang Liming takes it seriously.
They can tell what's important and what's not.
Seeing the legal department's reaction, Lin Yu understood even better. He nodded and continued reading.
"The penalty for breach of contract is twice the company's investment plus five times the annual income, plus three million?" Lin Yu knew that the penalty for breach of contract was usually very high, but he did not expect it to be this exaggerated.
Three million may not seem like much, but the way the company calculates its investment and annual revenue can be quite complicated.
What does "company investment" mean? Does taking a professional photoshoot for you count? Does enrolling you in a training course count? Even a meal the company treats you to can be counted as "investment".
As for "annual income," that's even easier to manipulate. The company can say whatever your annual income is, since they have all the financial statements anyway.
Wang Liming listened for a while, then looked up at the legal representative opposite him.
The older one finally couldn't hold back any longer and tried to explain, his voice trembling: "Teacher, this clause is actually..."
Wang Liming waved his hand, indicating that there was no need to say anything more.
The legal counsel immediately shut up, and sweat broke out on his forehead again.
"A 20/80 split," Lin Yu nodded. "This one is good; it's already being very lenient by not getting a 10/90 split."
He said this with a tone full of sarcasm.
"I knew it! Costs had to be deducted." Lin Yu only noticed the note below when he read further.
The artists who work with sugar figurines mostly act in their own productions and don't take on private jobs. Their pay is already low, so after all this, they might even have to pay out of pocket.
"There's even a non-compete agreement?" This contract really opened Lin Yu's eyes.
"During the contract period, you may not engage in any activities that compete with the company's business... What is the definition of 'any activities'? If Nazha attends a friend's wedding where the bride is an actress, does that count as competition?"
Cai Yinong's face was already quite pale, but he still tried his best to remain calm.
"Uncle Wang, what do you think?" Lin Yu asked Wang Liming.
Wang Liming closed his notebook, his tone calm: "It's alright, as expected."
He paused, then looked at the two legal representatives opposite him: "Do you have the contact information for the other artists in your company? I need to send out my apprentice's business card."
Cai Yinong finally couldn't hold back any longer. She took a deep breath, placed her hands on the table, stared at Lin Yu, and her eyes were full of anger.
This auntie has already shown good manners by not slamming her fist on the table.
But she quickly composed herself, turned to look at Nazha, and said in a gentler tone, "Nazha, you have to understand that for a newcomer, this contract is already considered very generous in this industry."
As she spoke, she leaned forward slightly, her eyes filled with the concern of an elder for a younger person: "Once you sign, you'll have leading roles. Do you know how many actors never get a leading role in their entire lives? Weren't you having a great time filming here this summer?"
She paused, a meaningful smile appearing on her face: "The Legend of the Condor Heroes is about to air, and we still have a lot of behind-the-scenes footage to share."
Holy crap, this woman actually dares to threaten me, what a novel experience.