Chapter 220 - No Rest For The Wicked (2)
Chapter 220 - No Rest For The Wicked (2)
Meanwhile, it was the first time Qin Muyao had turned on the television in his home since the scandal, making sure to keep the volume low, so he wouldn't disturb his mother's sleep. At this moment, all the lights in the house were turned off and only the light from the television illuminated the living room.
The words Su Xiaofei said earlier were repeatedly playing in his mind while the contract laid open on the table, waiting to be signed in front of him.
The entertainment news was on and the presenter was once again mentioning the backlash Qin Muyao had been receiving from the netizens and how his previous agency had decided to let him go.
"He's so disgusting! Did he think that because he was popular and rich now, he could play with a woman's heart?"
"Is he even a human? How could he deny the paternity of his very own child?"
"I used to admire Qin Muyao for his talent. Now, I feel like I've been deceived by him!"
"I already knew that the entertainment industry has a lot of secrets and disgusting scandals, but I never thought Qin Muyao would be part of it!"
"I think Jiang Li should sue him in court for negligence and financial support. Qin Muyao, be a man and take responsibility for your actions!"
"There's no issue with him being young, but it's not an excuse to turn back on your girlfriend when she gets pregnant."
These malicious comments went on and Qin Muyao tuned out all of it as they were all the same things. Most of them scolded him in public, giving Jiang Li their sympathy, then they called him despicable things and cursed him for abandoning Jiang Li without knowing the truth.
"Xiao Yao, what did I tell you? You shouldn't watch this nonsense. Don't listen to them."
Qin Muyao didn't notice that his mother had woken up and had come out of her room to get a glass of water.
"Sorry. Did I wake you up, Mom?" He snapped from his daze and answered his mother.
Miss Huo took a seat and switched off the television. Her son didn't need to hear more of those nasty words.
"Can't sleep. I'm just wondering if you should accept Manager Su's offer, even though you would be bound by her contract for twenty years." She replied. "Xiao Yao, twenty years is a long time. I don't know why she's confident that you would be able to recover from this, but I think twenty years is too long."
Qin Muyao smiled and patted his mother's hand. From the moment he was scouted by a talent manager, to his trainee days up to his debut, his mother worked hard alongside him. She had accompanied him to go to the city and worked as his personal assistant.
It broke his heart to know that she was also being attacked and criticized by standing up for him. It would have been fine if he was the only one being targeted with slander, but his mother couldn't also avoid the hate and had been attacked the last time she went out.
As for Su Xiaofei's offer, indeed, twenty years was a long time. There was no assurance that a star like him could persevere and stay under the spotlight for a long time. Not many were able to stay in the industry for the rest of their lives.
So why did Su Xiaofei want to bind him for twenty years as her talent?
"Mom, do you think twenty years is too much if she's able to fix the problem and restore my reputation in public? These are priceless. If she truly could manage such a feat, I don't mind working with her for twenty years to repay this favor."
Qin Muyao couldn't afford to lose a job right now, as his other siblings were still studying, and he still needed to provide for them. His father's earnings from his tire shop wasn't enough to support the family, hence, he had worked several part-time jobs until he was discovered by a talent scout.
As for Jiang Li, he met her through a mutual friend. He had no idea that she was a girl born with a silver spoon, and only found out about it when his friend mentioned it to him after months of dating.
He had truly loved Jiang Li when they were together, yet because of her lies and infidelity, that love had now turned into deep-seated hatred in his heart. Just as Su Xiaofei had said earlier, he shouldn't have allowed himself to be blinded by his feelings towards Jiang Li. Had he broken up with her the first time he discovered her deceit, he could have avoided all this mess now.
Ever since the scandal spread over the news, not only was his career affected, even Qin Muyao's mental health had also been deteriorating, and his mother couldn't stop worrying about his health. If this continued, she wasn't sure how this would end for her eldest son.
Finally, Qin Muyao picked up the pen next to the contract and signed it. There's no need to waste another three days of his life wondering about what-ifs if Su Xiaofei could accomplish her part of their deal.
Because of this scandal, he realized and learned a lot of things from it and swore to never commit the same mistakes again. So what if he needed to spend twenty years repaying Su Xiaofei? In the future, he would just need to work harder and focus on his projects to repay her. Besides, didn't that mean she would ensure that he had work for the next twenty years?
As for Jiang Li, earlier, he wasn't willing to release the screenshots and recordings of their last conversation that could prove her deceit, but now that he realized how she wanted to ruin him badly because he left her, his only option was to fight back!
Qin Muyao couldn't forget the one sentence Su Xiaofei had said earlier to him before leaving.
"There's no rest for the wicked."