The second night after the program team announced Ren Chong's withdrawal and Yao Zhen's exit from "Son of Heaven," another incident occurred within the "Son of Heaven" program.
A contestant who was initially highly favored was suddenly exposed with a slew of scandals.
Everyone knew that under the current environment, rigging programs was difficult. They no longer resorted to overt manipulation of votes or judges. Instead, they found contestants with considerable strength and used them as stepping stones to achieve their goals through more covert means.
This approach was even more despicable.
Especially when a recording of him threatening someone was released, the contestant who had been in the spotlight and enjoyed a good reputation was immediately thrown into the abyss, becoming the second contestant to "flop" after Ren Chong. Su Dan Fiction Network.
The program team immediately issued a statement announcing his withdrawal from the competition.
Meanwhile, Zhen Zhen brought Ren Chong to her studio.
As the daughter of a renowned director, Yao Chong naturally would not allow his daughter to become a cash cow controlled by capital. After Yao Zhen won the Best Actress award, he funded her to open a studio, which had been exclusively hers for years.
Now, Ren Chong was added to the team.
Those who had received the call were on high alert, all concerned that their boss might bring back a spoiled kept man.
Fortunately, upon meeting him, everyone's initial impression was positive, and they were quite satisfied with the well-behaved young man.
The agent then discussed the contract termination with Zhen Zhen.
"I've already spoken with them, but they won't let him go. He and Tian Yue have some other issues."
"What?"
"Tian Yue's manager said that when Ren Chong joined their company, he took over 4 million yuan from them, apparently to pay off usury loans. That's why he signed a 20-year contract. It's essentially a contract of servitude, so it's understandable that Tian Yue wouldn't let him go."
Zhen Zhen frowned, "Since he took so much money, why didn't they want him to become popular? If he remains mediocre, he might never be able to repay this debt, right?"
This didn't quite align with their purpose of signing him—or rather, acquiring him.
Tian Yue was an entertainment company; to make money, they would naturally want to promote their artists. Ren Chong had been signed for several years, he was handsome, and with just a little marketing, he could easily become popular even without any significant works.
Tian Yue's actions were quite peculiar.
The agent also expressed confusion.
"I asked about that too. The manager couldn't explain it clearly. When they first signed Ren Chong, they did marketing to make him popular. But every time something would happen. The drama where he played the second male lead is still shelved because the female lead got into trouble. It's been like this for almost everything since then. Before any of his works are released, someone he collaborates with always runs into trouble, preventing the release, and he remains obscure. Some people in the industry even say he's..."
"What?"
Under her icy gaze, the agent whispered, "A jinx."
"I'm not the one saying it! And it's too strange. I checked the works he participated in concurrently. From the male lead to minor characters, there are at least a dozen. All the roles with significant parts were never released due to the actors involved having issues. The remaining minor roles didn't garner much attention."
Once or twice could be considered a coincidence, but with so many occurrences, many people were afraid to collaborate with him.
Zhen Zhen's frown deepened.
She knew the industry was chaotic and rife with problems, and it was not uncommon for a few people to encounter issues occasionally.
However, when almost all of them were related to him, it was unusual.
Her first thought was that someone was targeting Ren Chong.
But apart from that person from before, Ren Chong had no enemies yet, and that person hadn't even grown into a threat before she eliminated them.
Who else could it be?
"Talk to Tian Yue again. Money is not an issue. If they can't make him popular, they have no use for him."
The agent asked, "What if they still refuse to let him go?"
Zhen Zhen's eyes flashed with ferocity, "Then we'll find another way."
The posture coach approached and greeted them. She then said, "His overall advantages are quite evident. He should have undergone systematic training before, but I still want to ask, Boss, do you want him to maintain his physique, or do you want him to perform on stage, singing and dancing? If it's the latter, the training intensity needs to be increased."
Zhen Zhen replied, "Both, but not urgently for now. First, create a training plan suitable for him."
He hadn't been brought over yet, so she needed to figure something out.
The posture coach nodded in agreement.
Under the guidance of various teachers, Ren Chong underwent various tests, including flexibility, explosive power for singing and dancing, and musical perception.
After hearing Zhen Zhen's instructions, the agent decided to visit Tian Yue again.
Meanwhile, Zhen Zhen used her computer to research Ren Chong's experiences over the years.
Those incidents were not secrets, and she found them easily.
In this world, his background was as tragic as ever: a father who murdered, a mother who was a gambling addict, a childhood spent enduring domestic violence. The only person who was kind to him was his grandmother, who passed away from illness when he was in middle school.
When he was 13, his father was arrested for intentional homicide and sentenced to over 20 years. His mother, who was initially decadent and timid, gradually turned into a gambler. At first, she only gambled small amounts, but her appetite grew, and she began betting lavishly at the casinos.
She not only lost everything the family owned but also incurred millions in high-interest loans. The loan sharks tracked them down. At that time, Ren Chong had just finished his college entrance exams. His mother wanted to sell him, but he was faster. He signed with Tian Yue, using his 20-year "contract of servitude" to pay off her usury loans.
He also made a firm declaration that he would never be involved with her again.
And he truly never did.
Looking at his past life experiences and the abrupt change after his college entrance exams, Zhen Zhen formed a guess.
She dialed her agent's number again.
The agent had just arrived at Tian Yue and reported her itinerary when Zhen Zhen asked, "Do you know any private investigators?"
The agent was surprised, "Who do you want to investigate?"
"Ren Chong," Zhen Zhen replied calmly. "I want to investigate everything about him before his college entrance exams. Collect as many opinions from his neighbors and classmates as possible, the more detailed the better. I want to see them."
"You don't need a private investigator for this," the agent said. "I'll have Mi help you ask around. These should be easy to find out."
Mi was the original owner's assistant and had been trained by the agent. If she weren't serving her, Mi could have been managing new artists herself by now.
"Good, get me the results as soon as possible."
After hanging up, Ren Chong's tests were also concluded. This whole ordeal had clearly tired him out.
The other teachers were also quite exhausted.
"His vocal range is excellent, and his pitch is quite wide. He can easily handle simple lyrical melodies. More difficult songs will require training, but I'm confident he'll be much better than you."
Yao Zhen's studio had a sound engineer who earned over 600,000 yuan annually but received work only a few times a year. Yet, each time, he would spend months processing the songs sung by the original owner, who was notoriously difficult to work with.
"His physical condition is excellent. He's a bit on the thin side, but this body fat percentage is ideal for the camera. He can gain a little muscle, but no more weight..."