Huayu: Starting from Fahrenheit

Chapter 418 Contract Termination, A Fresh Start

"Ah-Chao, it's been a long time."

Just as Wu Zhuo was looking at the posters in the hall and lost in memories, a familiar voice pulled him back from his thoughts.

It's Huang Zekai, his former agent and assistant.

Wu Zhuo joined Tianxi for this very reason.

If he hadn't waited for Wu Zhuo at the school gate and given him his business card, Wu Zhuo after his time travel might not have joined Tianxi Company.

If he hadn't joined Tianxi, his situation would be completely different now.

It's not that Wu Zhuo wouldn't be where he is today without him.

Without him, Wu Zhuo, who traveled through time, would definitely have made a name for himself in the entertainment industry.

It's just that if he hadn't brought Wu Zhuo into Tianxi Company, Wu Zhuo's career path might have been different.

Perhaps Wu Zhuo is still in the stage of striving, or perhaps he will take a different path.

In any case, different choices lead to different futures, and no one can say for sure.

"Zekai, how have you been lately?"

Wu Zhuo went over and hugged him.

Huang Zekai stopped serving as Wu Zhuo's agent and assistant starting in 07.

Because of his discovery of Wu Zhuo, he was given important responsibilities by the company and has become a well-known agent for Tianxi.

He now manages many artists under Tianxi's management.

"As always, I originally thought managing artists would be easy, but I didn't expect it to be so difficult."

I've been incredibly busy these past two years.

Although Huang Zekai's words were full of complaints, his face showed joy.

In fact, he is experiencing both pain and pleasure right now.

Thanks to Wu Zhuo's management contract with Tianxi Company, Tianxi has obtained a lot of high-quality resources in recent years.

With these resources at hand, Huang Zekai, as an agent, has helped his artists develop quite well.

Although there may not be another A-list star like Wu Zhuo or Fahrenheit, they are still more than capable of making it in Taiwan.

"I'll probably stay in Taiwan for a few more days this time. Let's have a meal together sometime."

Wu Zhuo still cherishes the past.

Although Huang Zekai has had little contact with him in the past two years.

But the relationship between the two sides remains unchanged.

"Okay, I'll treat you then! By the way, let's hurry upstairs, Mr. Ge and Sister Huiying are waiting for you upstairs."

"Okay, let's get down to business first."

The two chatted as they went upstairs.

It's still the same office where Wu Zhuo signed the contract back then.

The layout is still the same as it was back then.

The only change was that there were several more Wu Zhuo records on the bookshelf.

These records were all placed in the most conspicuous place.

At that moment, Chen Huiying was sitting at that desk with a thin, middle-aged woman.

The middle-aged woman was holding a fountain pen and spinning it continuously.

Upon hearing the door open, he and Chen Huiying simultaneously turned to look at the doorway.

Upon seeing Wu Zhuo, the woman immediately stood up with a smile.

"Ah-Chao is here. Please sit down. Hui-Ying, pour Ah-Chao a cup of tea."

"Sister Huiying, Sister Hong!"

Wu Zhuo greeted them and sat down on the sofa opposite them.

After sitting down, he waited quietly for Ge Fuhong across from him to speak.

Yes, the middle-aged man opposite is Ge Fuhong, the boss of Tianxi Entertainment Agency and also known as the "Mother of Variety Shows" in Taiwan.

The reason Wu Zhuo returned to Tianxi today despite his busy schedule is...

the reason is simple.

His contract was due to expire in just a few days.

During this period, Chen Huiying spoke with Wu Zhuo on behalf of Tianxi several times.

They had been trying to persuade Wu Zhuo to stay with Tianxi, but he refused each time.

Then, with the contract about to expire, Ge Fuhong personally called Wu Zhuo, hoping to have a good talk with him.

Wu Zhuo knew what Ge Fuhong wanted to do; he simply wanted to persuade him to keep his management contract with Tianxi.

He definitely won't agree.

But Ge Fuhong was a good boss to him, so he chose to give her face and come back to talk.

In fact, Wu Zhuo and Tianxi's collaboration was not exactly harmonious.

But there were no conflicts or contradictions.

The cooperation between the two parties has always been above average.

However, Wu Zhuo also had his own ideas.

He now has his own company, and the company is quite large, so it's no longer suitable for him to place his brokerage contract with Tianxi.

The simplest problem is that Tianxi can no longer reconcile the conflicts in his career.

It's a conflict of interest in career.

Wu Zhuo's work now revolves around his own company, and during this time, he inevitably has to take a pay cut to act in or participate in company activities.

However, Tianxi considered these things unacceptable.

They make their profits by extracting commissions from Wu Zhuo's various commercial performances and jobs.

Wu Zhuo's decision to take a pay cut or attend company events for free directly infringed upon Tianxi's interests.

The two sides have argued about this several times.

For this reason, Wu Zhuo even voluntarily paid Tianxi a commission for the events he attended for free.

Ultimately, there is no one in this world who wears trousers without pulling them up.

No matter how well the cooperation goes, disputes and disagreements are inevitable due to interests.

Therefore, when Tianxi took the initiative to inquire about renewing the contract before it was about to expire, Wu Zhuo chose to refuse.

He knew that if they continued to cooperate, he would inevitably fall out with Tianxi sooner or later.

So rather than letting things escalate to the point of legal battles, he might as well let go and become his own boss.

As the saying goes, people go to higher places and water flows to lower places.

Wu Zhuo is no longer suited to work under someone else.

The best way is actually to be your own boss.

This is actually the norm in the entertainment industry.

Successful artists often choose to start their own companies and become their own bosses after achieving success.

This isn't ungrateful, nor is it a case of forgetting one's former employer after achieving success.

Rather, it is an inevitable trend.

Because once you reach a certain level, your original company can no longer help you.

Whether to stay where you are or start afresh, smart people know which choice to make.

"Ah Zhuo, we haven't treated you badly at Tianxi these past few years, have we?"

Ge Fuhong didn't waste any time and went straight to the point.

“Since you joined the company, we have been responsive to your requests for resources. We even turned a blind eye when you held the copyright to your own songs.”

During that time, you were approached by gangsters, and I was the one who stepped in and took care of it.

It's fair to say that neither Tianxi nor I have ever treated you unfairly.

"Yes, my cooperation with Tianxi has always been very pleasant, and I am very grateful for the company's help over the years."

Wu Zhuo did not refute it; what Ge Fuhong said was indeed true.

"Then why not renew your contract with us? We can work together more happily."

"If you're concerned about the commission, we can discuss it further." Ge Fuhong looked at Wu Zhuo with anticipation.

She desperately wanted to hear from Wu Zhuo that he was willing to renew his contract.

Unfortunately, Wu Zhuo did not.

Wu Zhuo shook his head.

"Sister Hong, as you and I both know, the company has not only failed to help my career, but has even been hindering it."

Leaving aside Europe and America, the company is having difficulty even managing its business in mainland China.

Sister Hong, think carefully about what help the company has given me over the past few years, and what help I have given the company in return.
To be honest, I had already sensed the company's struggles in this area back in 08.

But I didn't say anything, nor did I blame the company. Instead, I handled those relationships myself and opened up the necessary channels for development in mainland China.

Wu Zhuo's words made Ge Fuhong fall silent for a moment.

This is indeed an unavoidable point.

As a talent agency, its role is to handle various miscellaneous tasks and arrange various jobs for artists.

For artists like Wu Zhuo, this is just the most basic level.

Their agency needs to be very capable of handling all sorts of things for them.

Just like the things that Wu Zhuo helped Tianxi handle when he was in Taiwan.

However, Tianxi is currently in an awkward position because, apart from Taiwan and Singapore, it has some connections with Japan, but not many.

Other places can no longer provide Wu Zhuo with any help, and they even have to rely on Wu Zhuo to expand their business.

If Wu Zhuo had developed his career in Taiwan, that would have been fine, but Wu Zhuo clearly wasn't.

His market is no longer limited to Taiwan, but extends to the whole of China, Asia, and even the world.

As a result, brokerage firms that only have influence in a few places like Taiwan are clearly no longer suitable for him.

To reiterate, it's not that Wu Zhuo is ungrateful.

Rather, his career had reached a point where he had to leave Tianxi in order to have better opportunities for development.

To give a simple example.

For example, F4.

This group was incredibly popular back then.

What about now, and even in the future?

If F4's management company wasn't Comic, which only operates in Taiwan and other regions.

Rather, it is a company with considerable influence in mainland China.

Given F4's influence at the time, they were unlikely to become has-beens.

For example, Wallace Huo and Eddie Peng.

In fact, at that time, these two were only of average status in Taiwan.

But she had good foresight. Instead of focusing on Taiwan, she set her sights on the much larger mainland market. After gaining fame through idol dramas, she immediately chose to collaborate with mainland companies. In just a few years, she became one of the top stars in China.

But what if they hadn't chosen to work with mainland agencies?
Obviously, they wouldn't have achieved what they did later.

In fact, Tianxi was not a small company to begin with; they were quite powerful at the beginning of the century.

Unfortunately, they misjudged the situation strategically.

They thought that Taiwanese idol dramas could continue to dominate the nation.

So he just stayed in Taiwan, hoping to use Taiwan as a center to radiate throughout the Chinese-speaking world.

Then, in the past two years, Taiwanese idol dramas have been gradually abandoned by the market, and domestic TV dramas and movies have gradually developed, making Taiwanese TV dramas a thing of the past.

Tianxi's strategic goals were wrong, and naturally there were corresponding consequences.

That is, since they have always focused on Taiwan, they have almost no connections in mainland China, and they can't even promote their artists to mainland film and television companies.

Aside from film and television resources, all other resources are also lackluster.

"Is there really no room for negotiation?"

Ge Fuhong squinted.

I must say, her expression was quite intimidating.

"I'll probably start my own studio, and I probably won't renew my contract with Tianxi."

However, given our long-standing working relationship, I can still entrust my business in Taiwan to Tianxi.

Wu Zhuo remained unmoved.

He wasn't afraid of Ge Fuhong plotting against him.

It wasn't that he switched jobs midway; it was that his contract actually expired and he left.

Tianxi will never win a lawsuit.

As for finding someone, it's dangerous for Wu Zhuo.

That's even more impossible. Wu Zhuo is no longer the nobody he used to be. He has his own connections and isn't someone anyone can bully.

Wu Zhuo also didn't believe that Ge Fuhong would be so unwise.

They parted ways amicably, and out of consideration for their past relationship, he would definitely take care of Tianxi's side and entrust them with some business in Taiwan.

But if things fall apart, Tianxi will ultimately end up with nothing.

Ge Fuhong remained silent, seemingly weighing the pros and cons.

After a long pause, she looked up and smiled:
"Then I wish you great success in your future career. Remember, Tianxi will always be your second home."

"Thank you, Sister Hong. I will remember my time at Tianxi."

Wu Zhuo nodded, stood up, and shook hands with Ge Fuhong.

"I won't be going to Comi's place. The contracts there are all signed with Tianxi. I hope you can handle things well here, Sister Hong."

Wu Zhuo had a contract with Comic Productions before.

However, that contract was not signed by Wu Zhuo, but by Comic and Tianxi, so it didn't really have much to do with Wu Zhuo.

As long as he leaves Tianxi, all contracts related to him will naturally become invalid.

As Wu Zhuo left Tianxi, he turned back for one last look at the familiar signboard.

Starting today, he will begin anew, in his own name.

However, before that, he still needs to talk to HIM International Music.

At the same time as his contract with Tianxi ended, his record contract with HIM International Music was also about to end.

There are some things we still need to discuss and make a handover.

Yes, not only does Wu Zhuo not plan to sign with Tianxi, but the same goes for HIM International Music.

However, HIM International Music and HIM International Music had already reached a consensus on this matter.

HIM International Music never even asked Wu Zhuo if he wanted to renew his contract.

Because they knew very well that Wu Zhuo would not renew his contract.

Just like Tianxi, Huayan Media also couldn't tolerate Wu Zhuo anymore.

As early as three years ago, HIM International Music was already falling behind Wu Zhuo's pace.

Wu Zhuo's record releases in mainland China, Japan, South Korea, and even Europe and America are all outsourced to other companies, except for a small part.

To put it bluntly, HIM International Music didn't do much, but it acted as a middleman, making money off the middleman's fees.

Wu Zhuo could easily cooperate with large companies like Sony now, and leaving a middleman to profit from the difference would be a foolish move.

Therefore, he will not sign a contract with them.

However, he still has a lot of business to hand over to HIM International Music.

For example, some accounts from previous albums haven't been settled yet.

And some business that HIM International Music had arranged for him.

In fact, both Tianxi and Huayan discussed business with Wu Zhuo.

Many of these contracts haven't expired yet. And these businesses don't just end after Wu Zhuo leaves these two companies.

Instead, Wu Zhuo's side is to continue fulfilling the obligations.

After leaving Tianxi, Wu Zhuo didn't linger and headed straight for Huayan.

He had already arranged to discuss things with HIM International Music last night.

He should be waiting for him over there now.

(End of this chapter)