When Lu Xingchuan came over, he had been in a bad mood and had not noticed whether there was any writing on the fridge.
Now, taking a closer look, he immediately twitched an eyelid. “I acted on my own. Sorry.”
Xie Li quickly shook his head. “No, Brother Xingchuan came later. I was the one who touched the ingredients in the fridge first. I had no bad intentions, really.”
Xie Li looked at the director with a slightly aggrieved expression.
“I just saw that only Shen Yan and Sister Shanshan had eaten cookies, and everyone else was still hungry. I wanted to make something for everyone to eat. Sister Bai Jing’s stomach isn’t great, and I was afraid she’d feel unwell.
“I saw the words posted on the fridge. I’ll take any punishment there is.”
Xie Li had thought it through very clearly.
It was only a little tomato and egg. At worst, he had just used the production team’s ingredients ahead of time.
Although he had broken the rules, he was willing to accept the punishment.
That way, the guests would owe him a favor, the fans would think he was warmhearted, and they would be even more likely to curse Shen Yan for being selfish.
Xie Li said urgently, “Look, I’ve already cooked the noodles. Just let everyone have a bite. If there’s any punishment, I’ll take it for everyone, because it was me who didn’t follow the rules.”
The director was so angry he laughed.
“You’ll take it? Can you afford to?”
Lu Xingchuan was somewhat dissatisfied with the director’s attitude. “It’s only a little tomato and egg. Little Li already said he’s willing to accept the punishment. Just now, when Shen Yan was playing the game, he ate five boxes of cookies. Why didn’t you say he couldn’t afford it?”
『I also think the director is obviously biased.』
『Shen Yan must have secretly stuffed money in.』
『Don’t believe rumors, don’t spread them. Let the bullet fly.』
The director looked at Lu Xingchuan speechlessly.
If it weren’t for his fame and high status in the industry, the director would have wanted to jump up on the spot.
He tried hard to hold back his anger.
“This villa was rented by our production team for the show. The refrigerator belongs to the villa’s landlord.
“The ingredients inside belong to the landlord.
“When the landlord rented the house to us, it was made very clear: don’t touch the refrigerator or anything in it.
“Whatever the reason, we still need to have contract spirit, so when the production team signed the contract with you, this clause was specifically marked.
“And last night, I personally sent a message to each of you, emphasizing this again.
“Now, in front of the entire nation’s audience, maybe the landlord himself is watching this show…”
Before the director could finish speaking, the assistant director hurried over from the side and said in a low voice, “Uh, the landlord just called. He said he won’t rent the house anymore, and he wants us to pay compensation according to the liquidated damages.”
The assistant director wasn’t speaking loudly.
But it was loud enough for the viewers in the livestream and for Lu Xingchuan and Xie Li on the other side to hear clearly.
『This is hard to judge.』
『It’s just tomatoes and eggs. Can’t you just replace them after using them? This landlord is really weird!』
『The landlord didn’t suddenly make trouble. He clearly told the production team in advance, and it was marked in the contract. Why blame the landlord?』
『The director is the problem. Did he have to say this during the livestream? Couldn’t he have communicated with the guests privately?』
Xie Li suddenly burst into tears. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I only got off the plane and came back to the country yesterday, and I was a bit jet-lagged. I went to bed early and didn’t see your message. On my agent’s side, I may have had a communication lapse. I’m really sorry. I was wrong.”
After saying that, he turned around and looked at Lu Xingchuan with tearful eyes. “Brother Xingchuan, why didn’t you remind me?”
Lu Xingchuan had been so angry with Shen Yan yesterday that he saw stars.
He had lost six million in a single day.
Today he came to the production team already full of anger, and now he still felt like his head smelled like a toilet bowl.
He had long since forgotten about this matter.
Now that the director brought it up, he broke out in a cold sweat.
But things had come to this point, and he had no choice. He could only say, “Sorry, it’s my fault. I’ll handle the compensation. Um… I have a private villa around here. Everyone, please work a bit harder and move there to keep filming the show. Is that okay?”
The director looked at Lu Xingchuan helplessly. “Teacher Lu should have read the contract. The landlord cared a lot about the things in the fridge, so he specifically insured the tomatoes and eggs in it.
“Not only do you have to pay the liquidated damages, but the insurance company will also contact you.”
『What the hell? Tomatoes and eggs are insured?』
『I feel like someone is setting a trap for Lu Xingchuan and Xie Li.』
『It must be Shen Yan!』
『It looks like they moved the eggs and tomatoes on their own, right? No one coerced or even guided them, right? And they can still shift the blame?』
Lu Xingchuan frowned, vaguely remembering that there had indeed been such a thing.
Fortunately, the family company was already strong enough now. Solving these problems should not be an issue.
Since such a mess had happened, he and Xie Li would definitely be cursed by people. Protecting their reputation was what mattered most.
The irritation between his brows faded. Lu Xingchuan said to the director, “We did something wrong. We should be responsible for all of this. Sorry for causing trouble for the production team.”
Lu Xingchuan had a good attitude. The director had been frantic and furious just now, so his tone had been poor, but now he softened as well. “Alright, then Teacher Lu, please contact the landlord. We’ll go notify the other guests to move. How far is your villa from here?”
Lu Xingchuan quickly said, “After passing this beach, there’s a private beach. That’s the one. It’s not far.”
『Lu Xingchuan is so rich!』
『He’s really good. Even though he caused trouble, he immediately took all responsibility and didn’t shift the blame or make excuses at all. He’s a real man.』
After Lu Xingchuan finished communicating with the director, he immediately contacted his assistant.
But before he could call his assistant, his agent called him first.
“Xingchuan, how could you be so careless? When you left this morning, I even told you specifically: don’t touch the fridge.”
Lu Xingchuan sat down on the sofa by the floor-to-ceiling window. “I’ll just pay the compensation.”
The agent exploded. “Do you know how much? The liquidated damages, triple compensation. That money isn’t much, but the key point is those eggs, tomatoes, and dried noodles. They had astronomical insurance on them. The insurance company just contacted me, and altogether they want ten million in compensation.”
The calm look on Lu Xingchuan’s face suddenly flared with anger. “How much?”
“Ten million. And they said it very clearly in the contract: there is a compensation deadline. The payment has to arrive before dark today, or they’ll sue.”
Lu Xingchuan wanted to swear.
Damn it, those lousy tomatoes, eggs, and dried noodles are worth ten million?
“That’s a bit too much. Can you talk to them again? Can it be within three days?”
In a room on the second floor of the villa,
Pei Heng looked at the message on his WeChat screen, moved his fingers, and replied: 『No. It must arrive today.』
Just after he replied, a staff member knocked on the door from outside.
When Pei Heng opened the door, Shen Yan, whose hair was a complete bird’s nest from sleeping, also opened his door at the same time. Yawning, he asked the staff member, “Move? Move where?”
The staff member hurriedly said, “There’s a private beach over there. We’re moving there.”
Shen Yan froze.
Wasn’t that the birthday gift that the original owner’s nine mothers had pooled money together to buy for him? Why were they moving into his place to record the show?