Rebirth and Conquest

After hanging up the phone, Chen Yan went to the entertainment company. Something had happened with Li Yilang. His agent said that Li Yilang refused to go to school and was causing trouble at the company, demanding to terminate his contract.

When Chen Yan arrived at the company, Feng Tong was waiting for him. Upon seeing Chen Yan, she quickly came up to him and said, "Understanding Chen."

"Where is he?" Chen Yan asked. "Take me there."

"Yes, he's in his rest room. I'll take you up now." Feng Tong said, leading Chen Yan upstairs.

As Chen Yan walked, she asked, "Why won't you go to school? When did this happen?"

“He said he wanted to see you a few days ago, but we didn’t make any arrangements. His assistant kept trying to persuade him, and we thought the problem was solved. But today he suddenly came to the company and said he wanted to terminate his contract.”

"see me?"

"Well, I think he probably felt a bit awkward after learning that you were a director of the company, so he got a little angry out of embarrassment."

"And what about Mr. He?"

"Mr. He said he had something to take care of a few days ago and has been away from the company for several days now."

"He left?" Chen Yan stopped in her tracks. "Do you know what he was going to do?"

“I don’t know, Mr. He didn’t say.” Feng Tong also stopped. “However, Mr. He just called before you came and said he was going back to the company soon.”

"Okay," Chen Yan nodded and walked forward. The two arrived at Li Yilang's room, and Chen Yan pushed open the door and went inside.

At this moment, Li Yilang was sitting on a sofa, with one of his assistants standing next to him.

"What's wrong? Why don't you want to go to school?" Chen Yan walked up to Li Yilang and asked with a smile.

"No reason, I just don't want to go." Li Yilang replied with a cold laugh. After a pause, he looked at Chen Yan with an angry expression. "I never expected that you, boss, were so shrewd. Is it fun to fool a small-time celebrity like me? Do you feel a sense of accomplishment?"

"Why would I fool you?"

"You're not fooling me?" Li Yilang stood up abruptly. "The whole company knows you're the boss, except me. If my assistant hadn't told me, I'd still be in the dark!"

"No one is trying to hide it from you, it's just that you can't tell and you haven't asked who I am."

"I can't tell! I'm not Sun Wukong, and I don't have fiery eyes! Yes, I did curse you, and I know you hate me, so you might as well just let me go, and I won't be in your way."

"Why are you saying such things? You're from my company. I'll only support you, how could I dislike you?" Chen Yan said with a smile.

"Stop pretending. I know perfectly well that you don't even think much of me. Anyway, I don't want to sign with your company anymore. I'm terminating the contract now so as not to waste your company's resources."

"Are you really going to terminate the contract?" Chen Yan asked.

"Correct."

“Alright then,” Chen Yan said, her smile fading. “Pay the penalty for breach of contract first. As long as you return the six million to me, you can leave here immediately.”

"You, you're blatantly extorting me!" Li Yilang exclaimed, "You haven't even invested much money in me yet, why should I pay you so much?"

"No matter how much money I invest, it doesn't change the fact that you breached the contract." Chen Yan walked to the sofa and sat down, then looked at Li Yilang with a slight smile. "When we signed the contract, it was all consensual. I didn't force you. Now that you want to leave, it's not unreasonable for me to make this request."

"I don't have any money. Even if I were to compensate, I couldn't afford to pay that much."

"It's okay if you don't have money. You can find another company and see if anyone is willing to spend this money to buy your freedom and sign you."

After Chen Yan finished speaking, Li Yilang just stared at him angrily without saying a word.

“You won’t find it,” Chen Yan continued. “You’re not famous yet. Big companies won’t look at a newcomer like you, and small companies won’t take the risk of spending so much money. So, just go to school and the company will take care of your future.”

"I said I didn't want to go."

"That's not up to you." Chen Yan sneered and stood up. "You signed with my company, so you're one of my people. If I say you have to go, you have to go. Otherwise, you'll be stuck in the company forever. I can tell you, I have the ability to make sure you never step into the entertainment industry again."

"Why?" Li Yilang grabbed Chen Yan's collar. "Are you still holding a grudge? Are you still angry that I insulted you? Didn't you say you didn't care? Everyone who signed with me has started working in the entertainment industry, why am I the only one with nothing?"

“Your little grudge isn’t worth me remembering.” Chen Yan pulled Li Yilang’s hand away. “You don’t need to worry about that. As for work, the company will take care of it.”

After a pause, Chen Yan patted Li Yilang on the shoulder. "Alright, you've seen me and we've talked things out. Go back to school tomorrow. I have something to do, so I'll be going now."

After Chen Yan left, Li Yilang looked at Feng Tong, who was still in the room, and asked with a wry smile, "President Feng, didn't you say that he valued me and wanted to promote me? He actually hates me, right?"

"Yilang, stop being angry and stop overthinking. The company will take care of everything for you." Feng Tong comforted Li Yilang, then turned and walked out, catching up with Chen Yan ahead.

As the two were going downstairs, they ran into He Yichen, who had just returned to the company. He Yichen was accompanied by someone who was talking to him. Upon seeing Chen Yan, He Yichen immediately walked over and asked with a smile, "Boss, have you resolved everything? I'm sorry, I had to leave for two days because of some business."

"Mr. He, what business requires you to be away for so long?"

"I went to pick someone up. By the way, this is my assistant, Hua Fengchen." He Yichen said, pointing to the man next to him. The man looked to be in his early twenties, with a handsome face and a faint smile. When He Yichen mentioned him, he immediately said to Chen Yan, "Hello, Chen Dong."

"Mr. He didn't go to pick up your assistant, did he?" Chen Yan asked with a half-smile.

He Yichen chuckled twice, then said to his assistant, "Assistant Hua, you can go back to your office now."

"Yes."

After the assistant left, He Yichen said to Chen Yan somewhat mysteriously, "I did go to pick him up, but does the boss know who my assistant is?"

"who is it?"

"Hua Fengyu's younger brother just returned from abroad."

Chen Yan was stunned for a moment, then looked at He Yichen, "Mr. He, you almost ruined his family. Now that he's back in the country, he should be homeless, right? Did he follow you because he wanted to scheme against you?"

"I know," He Yichen nodded with a smile, "but if such a beauty is delivered right to my door, wouldn't it be a waste if I didn't take advantage of her?"

Chen Yan chuckled. "What about your Neil? Was he already gone after only a few months?"

He Yichen laughed carefree, "Neil is too greasy, I want to change to something lighter now."

"Alright, Mr. He wants a change of pace, that's none of my business. However, I don't want to see two people fighting in my company and affecting its development."

"Don't worry, boss, it's just for fun. I'll take care of it when I'm done."

"It's good that Mr. He knows his limits."

**********

When Chen Yan returned, it was already evening. He didn't want to stay in the apartment, so he went out for a stroll. Before he knew it, he had come to the art street next to H University. As he walked down the street, Chen Yan subconsciously glanced at a certain place.

Upon seeing this, Chen Yan stopped in her tracks. The painter who had disappeared for over a year had reappeared there, still setting up a stall to paint and sell his paintings. However, he looked even more like a beggar than before; it was more like he was begging than selling paintings.

Chen Yan automatically walked over there: "Sir."

The painter looked up at Chen Yan, his weathered face appearing even older. "You've come," the painter said dryly, his whole demeanor devoid of any vitality.

“It’s been a long time.” Chen Yan walked to the painter’s side. “Where have you been all this time, sir? I’m so sorry about what happened back then. I started raising money after I went back, but when I came back here, I couldn’t find you anymore.”

A smile finally appeared on the painter's face. "Thank you for remembering this, but it's all in the past now."

"Are the gentleman's wife and son alright?"

The painter didn't reply, looking somewhat bewildered for a moment before finally saying, "They've been gone for over a year."

Chen Yan paused, "I'm sorry."

"No need to say that. It's good that they left, so they won't have to suffer with me."

Chen Yan didn't reply, and the two fell silent.

"By the way," the painter said after a while, "I've been wandering around for the past year and have seen a lot of places. Do you still want to buy my paintings? I've gained some new insights into painting."

"Of course, I have always treasured your paintings."

The painter took out several scrolls from a basket beside him and handed them to Chen Yan, saying, "These are some of the paintings I've done recently. Take a look."

Chen Yan took the painting, opened it, and looked at it. "Sir, your paintings are becoming more and more artistic." After looking at it for a while, Chen Yan put the painting down and looked at the painter, asking, "Sir, have you ever thought about holding an exhibition so that more people can see your paintings? I think your talent should not be buried."

"I can't even feed myself, let alone hold an art exhibition. Besides, with my level of skill, I'm afraid no one but you would be interested."

"Sir, you are too modest. Although I don't know much about painting, I can tell that your painting skills are definitely not comparable to those of ordinary people. If you are willing, how about I help you hold an art exhibition?"

The painter paused for a moment, then said, "No need. I used to care about these empty titles, but now I don't care anymore."

“I really want to hold an art exhibition for you, sir.” Chen Yan couldn’t help but persuade you, “I know you don’t care about fame and fortune, but it would be such a pity if more people couldn’t appreciate such good paintings. As long as you agree, I can start preparing now.”

The painter fell silent for a moment before replying casually, "Alright, go ahead and open it if you want. Thank you."

“Okay.” Chen Yan immediately agreed. “Then from now on, you can just focus on painting, and I will take care of everything else.”

...