A Straight Guy Who Ended Up Bending His Same-Sex Protector - Chapter 1

Chapter 1: It’s Not Like This Possibility Doesn’t Exist.

His close friend Xu Rao sent a message: “How was it? Did you get cast in the role of the third male lead for The Grand Chancellor?”

Song Yuanxi lowered his head to reply: “No.”

Xu Rao: “? Why not again! Didn’t you say the other side looked very favorably upon you during the audition? What did they say this time?”

Song Yuanxi stared at the bright, reflective elevator wall. His heart felt sour, the corners of his eyes were already turning red, and he bit his lower lip: “The manager just said I wasn’t suitable and told me to stop thinking about it.”

But he didn’t believe that reason for a second.

Xu Rao: “Not suitable? What a trashy, perfunctory excuse!”

Xu Rao didn’t believe it either and felt indignant on his behalf: “Where are you unsuitable! That role was practically tailor-made for you! If you aren’t suitable, then no one is!”

The role of the Heir of Prince Liang in The Grand Chancellor was a “sweet-type” little celestial; at the start, he is untainted by the mortal world, innocent, and delicate-looking.

Looking at the descriptions in the novel, he was the spitting image of Song Yuanxi, beautiful, refined, elegant, an aristocratic young master with excellent temperament and posture. In terms of external appearance alone, he was incomparably suitable.

Furthermore, to audition for this role, Song Yuanxi had prepared for a month, studying the novel and script to drill into the character’s persona. At the same time, he did fitness training and weight control to get closer to the character’s image. He was already thin, and now he was almost like a “paper-man” only his butt still had a bit of flesh.

He had truly put in effort in every aspect, yet this was the result he got.

Xu Rao: “It’s definitely the people at your company playing tricks!”

Song Yuanxi didn’t speak. He knew this matter couldn’t be separated from the company’s interference.

Ever since he rejected the “pimping” behavior of his manager and company executives refusing the demand to accompany investors the result of every audition over the past three months had been like this.

Clearly, before he signed the contract, he passed every audition. Otherwise, the company wouldn’t have scouted him. But now, he was rejected every time, and the reasons given were always perfunctory.

Even if he privately contacted the person in charge of the audition, they would tell him he passed the interview. But once it reached the company’s side, the final result always fell through.

The Grand Chancellor project was the same. During the audition, the people on-site were clearly very satisfied; the interviewer even told him to go back and wait for good news. Yet the manager said the other party was dissatisfied with him, a contract couldn’t be signed, and they had already rejected him and replaced him with someone else.

A surge of fury couldn’t help but rise in Song Yuanxi’s heart.

What “dissatisfied”? The company was clearly maliciously suppressing him, not wanting him to go out and film. His current situation was even worse than before he signed with an agency; if he had known, he never would have signed.

Xu Rao worried for him: “You can’t go on like this. You’ll never have scenes to film. How will you support yourself?”

Song Yuanxi walked out of the elevator and stood in a corner below the company building. Gazing at the distant sky, he took a deep breath and lowered his head to reply: “I know. I’ll think of a way.”

It wasn’t just about having no scenes to film; the key was having no income. Moreover, the dormitory originally provided by the company had been taken back.

In recent months, he had been renting a place outside. Rents in Haicheng were expensive, the cost of living was high, and everything required money. The savings he earned before were almost gone, and it had been a long time since he could send money home.

But he didn’t have any specialized skills and didn’t know what kind of money-making work he could do besides acting. Many jobs related to public appearances were controlled by the company; if the company didn’t agree, he couldn’t do them. Even the path of live-streaming had been blocked.

Xu Rao knew his situation and fretted for him: “It seems like those bosses and executives in your company have too wide a network. They are determined to make you soften/yield. Otherwise, they’re going to suppress you and “snow” (blacklist) you to the end.”

Unfortunately, Song Yuanxi hadn’t become famous yet. He was unfamiliar with people and places in Haicheng and had no private connections; it would be hard to turn things around on his own.

Xu Rao had also come from out of town to act and was a minor actor as well, but he hadn’t encountered such an outrageous boss or been targeted, so his situation was much better.

Xu Rao asked him: “Do you have any other ideas?”

Song Yuanxi told the truth: “I plan to terminate my contract!”

At this point, he had to terminate the contract. Otherwise, for the next few years, he would be considered finished in the industry.

Xu Rao quite agreed: “True. Staying in that company won’t do you any good.” But Xu Rao was very worried: “However, terminating a contract costs a lot of money, right? The liquidated damages and all that?”

Song Yuanxi knew this point as well: “It’s fine. I plan to find a “Gold Master” (Backer).”

Xu Rao: “??? Find a backer?”

If he were willing to find a backer, why would he have clashed with the company before?

Song Yuanxi explained: “When I say find a backer, I mean finding a wealthy and powerful “proper” person to be my patron boss. Regardless of gender, as long as they have enough strength, I’ll have them sign me and help me terminate my contract! I’m not saying I’m going to sell my body; I just want to sell my future prospects. Otherwise, if I rely on myself—since I have no money—terminating the contract would result in the company stripping a layer of skin off me! Where would I get the money for the penalty?”

This analysis left Xu Rao silent: “True. Then which company do you plan to look for?”

Song Yuanxi squatted on the ground. Mentioning this topic, he also felt a bit troubled: “I don’t know. I haven’t thought of where to find such a boss to sign me yet. Most of the bosses in this circle know each other; they are all acquaintances. My manager even warned me not to dream of signing with a more powerful company, saying the boss knows all the big shots in the industry. So, if I want to find a boss, I’m afraid I have to find someone with an extraordinary network who doesn’t have too much to do with these people.”

There were only a few famous companies in the industry. His current agency, Huanhai Entertainment, was a very famous large company; otherwise, he wouldn’t have signed the contract without much hesitation back then.

To find a reliable “Gold Master” boss, there truly weren’t many targets to choose from in the circle. Combining his previous experiences, this boss had to be rich and powerful—at least not weaker than his current company—otherwise, they definitely couldn’t win against the current one. And this boss had to see potential in his future development so they’d be willing to spend money to help him terminate the contract.

Of course, this boss also had to not like men, and not have messy designs on him. Otherwise, if the new boss also had intentions toward him, it would be like jumping from one fire pit into another.

If he had such connections earlier, he wouldn’t have ended up like this today. So, finding a reliable boss was a massive problem.

Xu Rao also felt a headache thinking about it: “You need to research this candidate carefully.”

Song Yuanxi pursed his lips and gave a soft sigh: “Yeah! Must choose carefully.”

Xu Rao comforted him: “Don’t be too anxious. I’ve filmed a lot of scenes now and know quite a few people. I’ll help you think; there will definitely be a way out.”

Song Yuanxi knew Xu Rao’s situation was a bit better than his, at least his company treated him okay and he knew more people. Having his help provided more hope, so naturally, he didn’t refuse.

Since there were no scenes to film, Song Yuanxi didn’t want to waste time at the agency, so he went back early to research potential candidates.

This research lasted for several days. One night, while Song Yuanxi was searching for information on bosses of various entertainment and media companies, Xu Rao suddenly sent a message: “I’ve asked around and found a possible target. Do you want to try contacting them?”

Song Yuanxi replied with an “Okay” and was about to exit the search interface when he happened to see the top trending topic. His gaze paused for a moment.

#Rumor: Huanhai artist Huang Yi will play the role of the third male lead in the major ancient costume drama “The Grand Chancellor”#

…

“Huang Yi?”

Liang Han leaned back on the sofa chair, reviewing the work plans submitted by various department heads, when he suddenly heard Shao Dong ask him what he thought of Huang Yi, even handing over a file for him to look at.

He looked up at Shao Dong, his brow furrowing with dissatisfaction: “Didn’t the interview the other day say you were looking more favorably upon an artist surnamed Song? Said he had a good image, looked good, and acted well? Why the sudden change? Did someone contact you behind the scenes?”

Liang Han was the biggest investor in the Grand Chancellor project. After winning Best Actor awards in both film and television, he hadn’t acted much in recent years, focusing more on behind-the-scenes work and investing. However, the script for this drama was good, and he intended to act in it personally, so he naturally placed great importance on the project and the selection of cast and crew.

He had been present for most of the previous auditions. He was only absent one day when he went out to discuss business, so he gave Shao Dong full authority over the audition. He didn’t know how the auditionees performed, and he hadn’t even looked at a single photo.

Shao Dong used to be his manager and was now essentially a partner. Having worked together for many years, he understood Liang Han and knew how tough his temper and personality were. Although Shao Dong himself was a man of great character, he generally didn’t do anything too out of line—at least nothing that deviated too much from Liang Han’s requirements. Otherwise, they couldn’t have worked together for so many years.

But that was just based on experience; it couldn’t guarantee that things wouldn’t go wrong. Perhaps this long-term partner had been quietly corrupted by someone’s money under unknown circumstances. The implication in Liang Han’s words was obvious.

Shao Dong felt incredibly wronged and put on a face of grievance, wanting to jump up and protest: “How is that possible? Do I not know your requirements? How would I dare let someone pay to enter through the back door! Wouldn’t that ruin your drama! Wouldn’t you sweep me out of the company! Besides, if the drama’s profits are hindered, wouldn’t I be the one losing out? I’m one of the investors too!”

Liang Han reached out to put the file down, looking at him with a cold, stern expression: “Then what’s going on? Is this Huang Yi more outstanding than the one surnamed Song you mentioned?”

Shao Dong sat down, sighed, and said to him: “No. Actually, I haven’t settled on the third male lead yet. This Huang Yi person was recommended by Huanhai. I was planning to find time to let him audition to see how he is, but who knew news would spread outside so quickly. Huanhai must be trying to pressure me!”

The more Shao Dong spoke, the more frustrated he got, slapping his leg: “To be honest, I don’t really want this Huang Yi to join the cast now, but it’s not easy to just reject him. I’m thinking I should wait until after the audition to decide, after all, there aren’t many suitable candidates right now.”

Liang Han glanced sideways, his expression tightening: “Then what about the original one surnamed Song?”

Shao Dong’s expression became hard to read, inexplicably carrying some dissatisfaction: “Don’t always call him ‘the one surnamed Song’ like that. The guy is named Song Yuanxi!”

The corner of Liang Han’s mouth twitched slightly, a bit surprised: “Fine, Song Yuanxi. I didn’t expect you to defend him so much.”

Shao Dong sighed, admitting it: “I think he’s very good. It’s just a bit of a pity. When I interviewed him before, I felt he was very suitable, but his manager said he’s unwell and needs to rest for a while, so he temporarily can’t take this role.”

“Unwell?”

Liang Han wasn’t familiar with the name, but he just gave a cold laugh: “Right at this critical juncture? Such a coincidence?”

Seeing he didn’t believe it, Shao Dong curled his lip: “Otherwise? It’s not like someone would look down on your drama and intentionally decline to film someone else’s, right?”

Liang Han was silent for a few seconds, his tone ghostly: “It’s not like that possibility doesn’t exist.”

Shao Dong countered: “Impossible! So many people are eyeing your drama; it’s such a good acting opportunity. Would a minor artist give it up? I don’t believe it. It must be that he’s really unwell!”

Although some people had indeed rejected them while they were forming the project team privately not favoring investment in a major ancient drama and thinking it would be hard to make money no matter how you looked at it, this was a massive production, invested in and starring Liang Han. The exposure and heat wouldn’t be small. For those minor actors, getting a role was already a great opportunity.

“…”

Liang Han had only said it in passing. Seeing the large reaction, he didn’t continue, saying indifferently: “Since he’s unwell, then forget it. Just pick another candidate.”

Shao Dong stared at him and sighed: “Isn’t it a pity! He really fits the Heir of Prince Liang in my imagination! Suitable candidates like him are too few and hard to come by. I’m certain he would definitely fit the feeling you want!”

Unimpressed, Liang Han said in a flat tone: “…Then what else can be done? The person is sick and unwell, and you want to make them work while ill? If their health is ruined, can you take responsibility?”

Hearing that ice-cold tone, a rebellious thought popped into Shao Dong’s head. He couldn’t help but huff: “Liang Han, you are just too stiff! Not a single bit of soft/gentle emotion! When will someone come along and make you soften up too?”

Liang Han lowered his head, ignoring his behavior that seemed like he was having a fit: “Typical. That day will never come.”

He had been “stiff” for thirty years and had never softened for anyone.