CHAPTER 680: CHAPTER 613: SHATTERED DREAMS (PART 3)

Xu Mengjie didn’t understand, why?

Why did things turn out like this?

She struggled to get up and knock on the door, hoping to retrieve her belongings. But just as she stood up, her legs gave way, and she fell back down heavily. Her knee hit the hard granite steps, causing excruciating pain, but it was nothing compared to the pain in her heart.

In this moment of despair, images of her days at Xingyue Entertainment suddenly flashed through her mind—

At that time, she had just signed with Xingyue, and the Su Family tried all means to stop her, spreading rumors and threatening to terminate her contract, trying to drag her back into that gilded cage. But President Yue had appeared like a ray of light, handling everything for her, clearing all obstacles. He forcefully suppressed the Su Family’s interference, and protected her through her debut with decisive measures.

At Xingyue, she truly became an artist, practicing singing, rehearsing, performing on stage, and the fans’ cheers along with the warmth of the team made her feel the weight of her dreams for the first time.

What a pure and beautiful time it was, without deceit, without calculations, only filled with yearning for the future.

How could she have been so foolish, to believe Su Haoyang’s sweet talk and those deceptive photos, willingly paying to terminate her contract and leave Xingyue, jumping into the trap set by the Su Family?

Could it be... that the Su Family hated President Yue’s decisive methods so much that they set up such a huge trap, selling her like a commodity to Splendid Culture, just for revenge and to squeeze out her value?

This thought sent a chill through her entire body.

She suddenly remembered the contract with Splendid, and a strong sense of regret surged through her heart—no, she couldn’t just sit and wait for death! She had to fight back!

She struggled to pull out a broken phone from the shopping bag. The screen was so shattered it was almost unreadable, but she still dialed the contact number for Splendid Culture from memory.

Xu Mengjie hoarsely shouted, "I quit! The penalty is five million, right? I’ll pay! Even if I have to grit my teeth, I’ll pay!"

But from the other end came a cold and mocking voice: "Miss Xu, the penalty is one hundred million, it’s clearly stated in the contract."

One hundred million?!

Xu Mengjie felt like she was struck by lightning, and the phone nearly slipped from her hand.

So, the Su Family and Splendid had already dug this bottomless pit, waiting for her to jump in.

At this moment, she woke up from her dreams, tears breaking through once more—

She was too stupid!

The termination fee at Xingyue was five million, so she thought all entertainment companies in the world were ethical?

One hundred million?!

How could she possibly pay it?!

Just then, on that cold carved door, a small inconspicuous side door creaked open slightly.

The butler’s expressionless face appeared, his eyes filled with undisguised disdain and a look to drive her away.

A bulging, low-quality supermarket shopping bag was shoved roughly through the crack of the door and dumped at her feet with a "thud."

"Miss Xu," the butler’s voice was cold, without any warmth, "your things are all here. The young master said, the Su Family does not welcome you, please leave immediately. If you make trouble, the police will be called to escort you out."

After saying this, he didn’t wait for any reaction from her before the side door slammed shut again and the sound of the lock clicking was clearly heard.

Xu Mengjie, with trembling hands, picked up the shopping bag.

Inside were her few pieces of clothing, and... a freshly printed bill:

A printed list stamped with the Su Group’s seal!

The list detailed:

One Ming Dynasty Blue and White Porcelain Bottle (damaged), valued at 1,200,000 RMB

One set of French Lalique Crystal Decanter (damaged), valued at 800,000 RMB

One set of Italian handmade silverware (partially damaged and deformed), valued at 350,000 RMB

Cleaning fee for partial damage to Persian Handmade Carpet, 50,000 RMB

...

Total: Two million five hundred and seventy thousand RMB (¥2,570,000)

Note: This amount will be deducted from Miss Xu Mengjie’s future personal earnings at Splendid Culture until fully repaid. The Su Group’s legal department will directly coordinate with Splendid Culture’s finance department for execution.

At the very bottom of the list, there was a line of cold, small print: This list serves as Appendix Seven to the "Splendid Culture Artist Agency Contract" and has the same legal effect.

Xu Mengjie’s hands were shaking so much that she almost couldn’t hold onto the paper. Two hundred and fifty-seven thousand! The items she had broken were actually valued at such astronomical amounts! And the Su Family had already colluded with Splendid Culture to directly bind this enormous debt to her contract!

This means that every penny she earns in the future at Splendid will first be taken by the Su Family!

They not only wanted to squeeze out her present value but also bind her future entirely with all her blood and sweat! What she had signed was not an artist contract, but a contract of servitude that completely sold her future to the Su Family and Splendid—a net woven of enormous debts that she could not escape!

"Pfft—"

A metallic taste surged up her throat, and Xu Mengjie could no longer hold it back. A mouthful of blood splattered onto the cold list in her hand.

The sky had unknowingly darkened, and cold autumn rain began to fall.

Her love, her dreams, her future—all at this moment, were completely extinguished by this cold autumn rain.