After Breaking Up with the Stoic CEO - Chapter 21.2

Chapter 21.2: Lu Wu… That’s Enough

Lu Wu pressed the answer button and stood up to walk toward the window.

“Xiao Wu?”

A hoarse woman’s voice came from the other end. Lu Wu remembered that as a woman who spent her life doing odd jobs in a small town, her mother was accustomed to speaking loudly because it was more convenient for communication. Now, the woman lowered her tone, appearing cautious, which made the voice feel strangely foreign.

Lu Wu responded, “Mom, why are you calling all of a sudden?”

Upon hearing her voice, Xu Xiaoqiu seemed to sigh with relief. “It’s nothing, I just wanted to call and see how you were doing.”

Lu Wu didn’t respond. She and Xu Xiaoqiu were quite close, but she hadn’t heard words like that in a long time. Lu Wu’s father was a scoundrel who drank daily and ignored family matters, so Xu Xiaoqiu divorced him when Lu Wu was very young. She raised Lu Wu, witnessed her going to college, and saw her earn her first pot of gold with her own hands. Only on the day Lu Wu graduated from college did she finally let go and remarry.

Her new husband’s surname was Qin, and he treated Xu Xiaoqiu well. Combined, their two salaries allowed them to live quite comfortably in their small county. He didn’t like Xu Xiaoqiu staying in constant contact with Lu Wu, so Lu Wu, worried about making things difficult for her, didn’t call often. She only sent digital red envelopes during holidays to express her care.

Seeing Lu Wu’s silence, Xu Xiaoqiu’s voice grew choked with emotion. “Xiao Wu…”

Lu Wu couldn’t bear to see Xu Xiaoqiu upset, so she comforted her in a relaxed tone. “I’ve been staying with Tan Hangxue and Ji Youyan recently. They’re both very concerned about me, just like busybody mothers—you know how they are.”

Xu Xiaoqiu broke into a tearful smile. “I know, they’re both good children.”

Lu Wu’s brows relaxed, and she spoke again, “Besides, I’ve met someone I like, so don’t worry, I’ve been doing quite well lately.”

Xu Xiaoqiu was surprised. “What kind of person are they?”

Lu Wu replied without hesitation, “A very good person.”

Xu Xiaoqiu set her mind at ease and earnestly advised, “I don’t ask for a wealthy family, but they must truly like you and treat you well, you understand?”

Lu Wu thought back to their parting that morning—Li Jin appearing indifferent, yet her driver taking Lu Wu directly to the subway station. She fiddled with the green leaves on the windowsill, the arc of her lips nearly impossible to suppress. “I understand.”

It was rare for the mother and daughter to talk on the phone, and rare for them to chat idly for a while. At the end of the call, Xu Xiaoqiu brought up a piece of good news.

“Xiao Wu, the checkup your Uncle Qin and I had at the hospital last week just came back. You’re going to have a little sister.”

Xu Xiaoqiu’s tone was elevated, the happiness almost spilling through the earpiece. It was just like what Lu Wu had seen when she secretly flipped through her mother’s diary as a child; she had finally achieved her heart’s desire and truly possessed a complete, happy family of her own.

Lu Wu froze for a moment and spoke instinctively: “When is the due date? I’ll come back ahead of time.”

Xu Xiaoqiu laughingly refused. “It’s nothing major. Medical technology has advanced, it’s all very safe. Just take good care of yourself, and don’t secretly send money over; your Uncle Qin and I have plenty.”

Lu Wu didn’t know what to say, offering a rather lackluster congratulation. A man’s voice sounded on the other end, and Xu Xiaoqiu’s voice moved further away. “Then you get back to your business, I won’t ramble on and disturb you anymore.”

“Take care of yourself, let’s talk again later.”

Lu Wu said they would talk later, but she didn’t know when she would hear Xu Xiaoqiu’s voice again. Every time others were reuniting with their families, she was always with her friends. Even if the atmosphere wasn’t lonely, she would often miss her family. But this was never a reason to resent her mother. After all, in Xu Xiaoqiu’s life, “Lu Wu” was never supposed to be everything.

Near noon, the office discussion finally concluded.

The first to emerge was a woman with long, straight hair dyed green, wearing a row of ear-cartilage piercings and heavy makeup. She gave off a very unconventional vibe, though her underlying features were clearly quite beautiful. “Our position is very clear; we look forward to the website providing an explanation as soon as possible.”

Liu Xiang and the manager, Hu Shuo, followed behind, their waists hunched and heads almost lowered to the floor. “Of course, of course. Why would such a small matter require you to come in person?”

“Editor Huo, we will definitely give you a satisfactory reply.”

The scale of the public backlash this time was immense. Feiyan Literature Network hadn’t spent a cent but had reaped a harvest of traffic and heat. Liucheng Publishing House had done nothing but was implicated, losing a great deal of public favor—even He Qing himself had been summoned by the police station. As the editor-in-chief of Liucheng, Huo Jing couldn’t easily make a move on the surface, but she wasn’t completely helpless against Feiyan.

Two days ago, Feiyan’s newly promoted author, Yan Xiaoliu, had been exposed for plagiarizing a veteran author from Liucheng, and the heat of that had temporarily overshadowed the incident involving He Qing. This was a matter that could be large or small; presenting it in court would only result in a few tens of thousands of yuan in damages. But Feiyan Literature Network was a company founded on literary creation; once their heavily promoted star was tainted with plagiarism, they would have to shed a layer of skin even if they didn’t die. So, it was only natural for Liu Xiang and Hu Shuo to be anxious.

“Then I shall wait for the good news.” Huo Jing smiled, her gaze sweeping over the person sitting in the corner who still looked somewhat green around the gills, lingering for a moment.

Hu Shuo wiped his sweat. “I’ll see you out.”

Huo Jing raised an eyebrow, her words pointed: “It seems you still have plenty of trouble to resolve. Please, stay here.”

“Oh… Editor Huo… hey!”

Huo Jing left without looking back, showing them no face at all. Hu Shuo had tried to be ingratiating but was snubbed, and his expression turned ugly.

Lu Wu also stood up. “Manager Hu, Editor Liu. Can we talk about our issues now?”

Hu Shuo paused for a few seconds and turned to look at her, his expression returning to normal, even taking on a hint of intimacy. “Is that little Lu?”

Hu Shuo welcomed Lu Wu into his office, calling for a secretary to serve tea. “Little Lu, when did you get here? Why didn’t anyone tell me? You must have been waiting a long time, right? Secretary Li, too—how could you not serve tea to Little Lu?”

Lu Wu lowered her eyes, neither servile nor overbearing. “No need, I’m not very thirsty. I’ve already had tea at the police station.”

This matter was sensitive; once the word “police station” left her lips, the act of “mutual respect and love” could no longer be maintained. Hu Shuo’s smile stiffened.

Liu Xiang couldn’t help but jump in. “Lu Wu, don’t be ungrateful. Have you forgotten who signed you back in the day? Your film and television rights and anime adaptations—which one wasn’t won for you by Manager Hu?”

Hu Shuo gestured to stop Liu Xiang from continuing, but he didn’t speak himself, clearly waiting for Lu Wu to state her position.

Lu Wu laughed. “Naturally, I won’t forget. If it weren’t for Manager Hu, I would never have known that the vast majority of income from writing books could be swallowed up by the website.”

In the industry, Liucheng Publishing House served as the standard: a 50/50 split for reading income, and the author held 80% of copyright revenue with the publisher taking 20%. The quotes from various websites and publishers didn’t differ much. This wasn’t a secret; anyone with a few connections could check it. But back then, Hu Shuo had relied on Lu Wu being a college student fresh out of society, offering a quote of a 50/50 split on all income. Later on, they even withheld half of the copyright revenue as a “security deposit.”

Lu Wu was blunt, and Hu Shuo’s tone grew cold. “State your conditions. What do you want? As long as it’s not too excessive, we can satisfy you.”

Seeing that he had finally taken off his hypocritical mask, Lu Wu stopped beating around the bush and stated the purpose of her visit. “I have only one demand: early termination of the contract.”

Liu Xiang slammed the table, her tone agitated: “I already told you that it is absolutely impossible!”

Lu Wu ignored her, looking only at the one truly in charge. Hu Shuo’s eyes were sinister. After a long silence, he suddenly laughed. “Lu Wu, do you remember how many years Two Sides was signed to Feiyan for?”

Lu Wu’s expression shifted slightly. Of course, she remembered. Five years. Only halfway through the second year. Hu Shuo saw she knew the numbers and calculated the account unhurriedly. “You want to terminate early. We both have the contract on hand. The breach-of-contract penalty is stated clearly: 50% of the total revenue from the work.”

“Since we’re no longer talking about sentiment, we’ll stick to the contract.”

“In the past two years, the online paid reading revenue for Two Sides has been over a million, and film/anime copyright adaptations have exceeded four million. I’ll even round it off for you—two point five million.”

“Lu Wu, can you afford it?”

By this point, Hu Shuo’s tone was clearly brimming with the sense of being in control. The total revenue she had actually received wasn’t even two million, and yet Hu Shuo was asking for a 2.5 million penalty—it was a blatant extortionate price.

Naturally, Lu Wu didn’t plan to compromise. Imitating Li Jin, she looked at the two of them coolly, her tone composed and at ease. “The contract is based on the law. Would Manager Hu care to explain to me which clause of the contract stipulates that the website has the power to withhold 50% of copyright revenue as a security deposit?”

Hu Shuo replied dismissively: “And what if we did withhold it? If you play along, this money might be returned to you one day. If you don’t… then it can only be treated as a prepayment of the breach penalty.”

Breaking the law isn’t scary; what’s scary is not understanding it. Lu Wu nodded. “I understand. It seems we cannot reach a consensus. Then let’s see each other in court.”

Hu Shuo was stunned. “Court?”

Lu Wu didn’t respond further, standing up decisively to leave, leaving Hu Shuo and Liu Xiang staring at each other. Two Sides was the only blockbuster work that Feiyan Literature Network had been able to promote in the last two years. As an editor, Liu Xiang had relied on this book to access many good resources; now, seeing that Lu Wu truly didn’t intend to compromise, she finally panicked.

“Lu Wu, you’re still young. Think about the consequences before making a decision.”

“If you really break with us, you’ll be burdened with massive debt, and no other publisher will dare use you.”

“There is clearly a path for mutual success—why must you insist on a path of mutual destruction?”

Lu Wu’s steps paused. When she turned, a harmless smile was still hanging on her face. “I return the same words to you both.”

“After all, a plagiarism scandal exposed through the words of an internal author is far more believable than one spread through the channels of a competitor, isn’t it?”

After clarifying things with Hu Shuo, Lu Wu actually felt relieved. Escaping Feiyan’s mire meant she wouldn’t be tied to trending searches anymore, and the stalking and following might gradually improve. She posted on social media to announce the good news as soon as possible. Soon, friends were congratulating her on escaping the clutches of the devil. In the large group chat, they agreed within a few messages that everyone would gather that night.

Lu Wu thought for a moment and sent a separate message to Tan Hangxue and Ji Youyan’s small group.

Not long after, Ji Youyan replied.

Emerging from the law firm, the sky outside had just turned dark. Tan Hangxue had driven over and been waiting outside for a while. Seeing the two of them, she immediately greeted them.

“Do you have to pay a massive penalty? Don’t be afraid. My family saved a sum of money for me to buy a house; I’ll go get it tomorrow when the bank opens and give it to you.”

Tan Hangxue’s expression was tight, looking even more nervous than the person involved. She didn’t ask about the cause or result of the matter; a simple “don’t be afraid” sounded as if she were prepared to bet her entire life and belongings on Lu Wu.

Lu Wu felt a lump in her throat. The words of gratitude swirled in her mouth for a long time, and finally, she only said: “Hangxue, thank you.”

Tan Hangxue tried to joke to ease the tension: “If you really want to thank me, call me ‘Sister Tan’. I told you, I’m a year older than you.”

Ji Youyan glanced at Tan Hangxue. “The website defaulted on royalties and breached the contract first. The agreed-upon penalty is far higher than the actual loss, and the contract terms are obviously unfair. There is a very high probability that we can argue for not paying the compensation.”

“Even if we can’t argue it, the massive penalty they want is impossible to achieve. You don’t need to worry.”

Tan Hangxue was surprised: “So, Lu Wu doesn’t have to become a millionaire in debt at such a young age?”

Ji Youyan went to open the car door and get in, unbothered. “No.”

“That’s good.” Tan Hangxue patted her chest, feeling a lingering fear. A moment later, she realized something was off. “Wait a minute, then why didn’t you say so just now?”

Ji Youyan’s lips turned up slightly, but her tone feigned innocence. “I didn’t have time.”

Tan Hangxue’s eyes widened: “Ji Youyan! Were you doing that on purpose??”

The venue for the gathering was a bar with a nice atmosphere, chosen in the city center for convenience. The friends who came included those she had often played with since school, and others she had met by chance after starting work; having played together often, they were all familiar with each other. Everyone wanted to help Lu Wu relax, and under various pretexts, they poured her drinks. Lu Wu refused none of them; not paying attention for a moment, when she finally came to her senses, she was actually quite drunk.

“You guys keep playing, I’m going to the restroom.”

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