CHAPTER 204: CHAPTER 197: REVEALING THE TRUMP CARD

The next day

The morning sunlight shattered the quiet of the base.

According to the rules, the 55 trainees who remained and the 7 auditors all went to attend their classes.

Meanwhile, Lin Jiayi and the others, under the urging of the staff, packed their belongings and walked out of the base.

As they looked back at the towering building one last time, everyone’s eyes were filled with tears.

This Chapter of their dream-chasing journey had come to an end. Over a month of surreal and dreamy living now felt like a passing illusion.

Everyone boarded the bus, and the atmosphere inside was suffocatingly heavy.

Soon, someone noticed something unusual. "Where are we heading?"

Only then did everyone snap out of it and look out the window—the bus was driving toward the suburbs.

"Are we heading to the airport, and then just going our separate ways?" Li Tiange joked.

"Probably not—they wouldn’t make us perform again, right? Promote the program?" Wang Yumeng chuckled.

At that moment, the TV on the bus suddenly turned on, and Long Zitao appeared on-screen: "Hello, everyone!"

"Hello, Mr. Long!" Although all the girls knew it was a pre-recorded video, they instinctively greeted him politely.

"Due to confidentiality reasons, you are not allowed to leave before the airing of Episode 4. However, we have arranged a great place for you to stay in the meantime."

The originally dejected crowd suddenly perked up with renewed energy.

"Where are we going? Could it be a vacation abroad?"

"Wishful thinking! Maybe they’re just sending us to another province."

"I’d like to retreat into the deep mountains to cultivate in peace."

As everyone joked and laughed, Long Zitao announced the location.

It was a resort where they could learn tea ceremony, classical music, and truly relax for a while.

The girls were deeply grateful for Penguin’s arrangements, surprised by how attentive the company had been toward them.

Meanwhile, those grateful words about Penguin were being indirectly directed at Wan Kai, who was sitting in the base office, staring at Ye Yuwei in front of him.

Wan Kai’s expression was calm, showing no reaction to her stunning appearance.

As someone with significant power, he had encountered countless beautiful and charismatic women who rivaled Ye Yuwei’s allure.

"Mr. Wan, here are the original documents for my termination with Galaxy and my contract for participating in this program. Please review them."

Ye Yuwei respectfully handed over the file pouch, showing a demeanor sharply different from her defiant attitude displayed during the program.

Wan Kai smiled faintly, unsurprised at her current behavior. People like her almost always lived behind masks.

The lawyer beside him took the file pouch, opened it, and began meticulously reading each page. Time slowly passed, and the office fell into complete silence.

Wan Kai noticed that although Ye Yuwei appeared calm, her hand remained fixed in one particular position—a subtle sign of tension.

Her composed demeanor was nothing but a facade, yet managing to fake calmness to such an extent was already impressive.

Secretly, Ye Yuwei felt a flicker of joy, as she knew this prolonged silence was all part of a tactic.

The extended delay in conversation served to create psychological pressure, giving Wan Kai an edge in the forthcoming negotiation.

However, it also indicated that he found her highly valuable and was seriously considering signing her—otherwise, he wouldn’t bother playing this game.

Half an hour later, the lawyer nodded at Wan Kai.

Wan Kai’s face lit up with a smile. "Yuwei, tell me your terms."

"A standard artist contract will suffice," Ye Yuwei replied simply, surprising Wan Kai slightly.

"Mr. Wan, I am aware of my own value." Ye Yuwei continued speaking.

Wan Kai nodded thoughtfully. "Yuwei, while you have garnered quite a bit of popularity through this program, it’s often the case that debuting from a show marks the peak for contestants."

Ye Yuwei met Wan Kai’s gaze squarely and said, "Mr. Wan, you aren’t running this program for just one season, are you?"

Wan Kai’s pupils imperceptibly contracted upon hearing this.

"Mr. Wan, Penguin likely intends to turn this program into a brand, leveraging it to produce stars continuously."

"And to establish such a brand, I imagine you wouldn’t let us debut only to immediately fade away."

Wan Kai was taken aback by her insight—he hadn’t expected someone he regarded as a shallow idol to possess such a level of acuity. Still, he had no intention of surrendering his advantage in the negotiation so easily.

"Yuwei, our options are many; you are not indispensable," he replied.

"Mr. Wan, your options are limited," she countered.

"Oh? I’d love to hear your reasoning," Wan Kai said, his interest piqued.

"While there are many girls at the base, most are already under contracts with their companies."

"As for me, I’m contract-free, have decent popularity, have prior girl-group experience, and possess strong singing and dancing skills. In short, I’m a prime investment."

Ye Yuwei spoke confidently, knowing full well that these attributes—especially her lack of contractual obligations—were the key reasons why Penguin wanted to meet with her.

Wan Kai chuckled.

"What you’re saying is true. Since both sides recognize each other’s value, let’s skip the theatrics."

"I can offer you a good contract, but I won’t promise that you’ll debut through this program."

Ye Yuwei’s face shifted. The reason she was willing to align herself with Penguin was to ensure her debut, an essential stepping stone for her future career in the entertainment industry.

"Mr. Wan, my bottom line is that I must debut with the final group from this program."

"Yuwei, the show is still ongoing. Whether your current popularity persists until the end is uncertain."

"Moreover, we haven’t had the chance to thoroughly investigate your background. If any scandals involving you surface during this time, the damage to us would be significant."

Ye Yuwei fell silent, carefully weighing the pros and cons in her mind.

"If you sign with us, we will provide you favorable edits and protect you from any online backlash," Wan Kai added, tipping the scale further.

"Alright, I agree to the terms, but I have one condition."

"What is it?"

"If I fail to debut through this program and seek to terminate the contract, you cannot impose an exorbitant penalty fee."

After careful consideration, Ye Yuwei voiced her demand.

"Agreed. If your failure to debut results from scandals, you wouldn’t hold much value to us anyway," Wan Kai laughed casually.

After Ye Yuwei left, the smile completely disappeared from Wan Kai’s face.

His decision to personally handle discussions with Ye Yuwei stemmed from a significant loophole Penguin had recently discovered in its operations.

When signing contracts for the trainees’ debut agreements, they had neglected to include massive penalty clauses for breaches of contract.

This meant that if the debuting trainees left Penguin after their launches, the company would have little recourse for financial penalties.

This oversight, however, wasn’t entirely Penguin’s fault—it hadn’t anticipated the program would explode in popularity, nor foreseen the immense economic and branding impact of the debuting group.

Thus, Penguin now needed to secure a few individuals who were genuinely aligned with the company’s interests.

In case unforeseen circumstances arose, these people could help sustain the debut group.

Ye Yuwei happened to meet these criteria. If it weren’t for these unique attributes, Penguin wouldn’t have bothered negotiating on terms she dictated.

From Penguin’s perspective, the real economic value within the base lay in only Lv Fangxin as an artist.

This was because she was the one who successfully broke through the boundaries between audience demographics.