This celebrity became even more popular after being exposed of having multiple girlfriends-Chapter 15 - Astronomical Penalty Fee

Wu Mu, celebrity, breach of contract, compensation, lawsuit... all hot keywords.

That's why the announcement released by Xinghai Mobile drew a lot of attention, with many people concerned about how much Wu Mu had to pay exactly.

There was also the question of whether Wu Mu Economic Company, which was sued alongside Wu Mu, needed to assist with the breach of contract payment.

Various print media and self-media marketing accounts rushed to interview Xinghai Mobile, and some even managed to dig up the real scoop.

A senior executive at Xinghai Mobile disclosed that in their lawsuit, their demands included Wu Mu returning the endorsement fees of 60 million for two years, and paying 30 percent of the contract's specified penalty, which amounts to 20 million, in addition to claiming compensation for the damage to their brand image caused by his scandal.

60 million in endorsement fees!

20 million in breach of contract fees!

And compensation for brand damage.

Even for netizens used to hearing about celebrity contract breakups and scandals, these numbers ranked quite high in compensation figures.

Wu Mu knew about the situation, his agent had already informed him.

Although the company was also sued, due to the partnership clause in the artist's contract, the company would not compensate for losses caused by the artist's own moral reasons.

So, essentially, Wu Mu had to foot the bill himself.

He hadn't thought to shirk it.

He had even specifically asked his agent to contact them and sit down to discuss the compensation and see if they could lower it or waive the breach of contract compensation altogether.

As long as the figure was reasonable, he would definitely pay up without running away from his obligations.

But Xinghai Mobile didn't even bother with him and went straight to suing.

Wu Mu estimated that once the lawsuit played out, the odds were good that he'd have to return the endorsement fees, the breach of contract fee might be slightly discounted, but the so-called brand damage wouldn't likely be supported by the court.

But this would already amount to a colossal figure of seventy to eighty million.

Wu Mu sighed in his heart, cursing his luck. He hadn't enjoyed the benefits, but all the responsibility for the exploding scandal was on him.

He Jie sympathized, "Your other endorsements must have a hefty compensation too."

Wu Mu didn't hide it, "In total, about 400 million."

He could only be thankful that on his previous contracts, large endorsements like that of Xinghai Mobile weren't common.

Of the more than twenty endorsements he bore, most had little to no penalty for breach.

Celebrities weren't fools; it was one thing to accept punitive terms against major brands without much bargaining power, but minor brands, with no shortage of competitors knocking at their doors, would hardly agree to exorbitant breach of contract fees.

400 million?

He Jie's gaze at Wu Mu was tinged with pity.

Although he didn't know how much Wu Mu had in savings, he was quite certain that Wu Mu couldn't afford that 400 million.

Veteran celebrities might not miss such an amount, but a top idol like Wu Mu, who had risen to fame in just a few years, definitely couldn't come up with it.

First, because he hadn't been famous long enough to save that much.

Secondly, for top idols like Wu Mu, who hadn't been in the limelight long, contracts with management companies tended to be quite restrictive, and most of the money often went to the company.

In fact, as he suspected, Wu Mu's contract with the company was split 30/70.

Only 30 percent?

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The 70 percent belonged to them.

And that's why he had only about 40 million in savings.

As for the company, which had made so much from him, should they contribute to the compensation?

Forget about that; it was already considerate that the company didn't turn around to sue him for the impact his scandal had on their initial investment.

Dealing with the Xinghai Mobile issue was indeed troublesome, but Wu Mu wasn't too anxious.

After all, even if the court ruled quickly, it would still take several months or half a year, and if he appealed, that would add another six months, making a year go by.

A year later, he wouldn't miss that bit of money.

As Wu Mu pondered this in his mind, Mo Mo on the side thought he was worrying about the compensation.

After hesitating for a moment, she spoke up, "Mr. Wu Mu? If you're short of money, I can lend you some."

Ah?

Wu Mu and He Jie both looked at Mo Mo with surprise in their eyes.

Especially He Jie, his eyes had already shifted from surprise to a strange curiosity.

What's the deal with Mo Mo, she couldn't have fallen for Wu Mu's pretty-boy looks, could she?

They had only known each other for what, a few days? Barely half a month, and she's already willing to lend money?

And it's not a small amount we're talking about, tens of millions or even hundreds of millions!

Even one's own father would have to think twice about lending that much!

Mo Mo's face turned red under their gazes, and she quickly waved her hands, "I'm only talking about a few million, maybe ten million at most, I wouldn't lend more than that."

Fine then.

That sounded reasonable, a national Heavenly Queen wouldn't be short of ten million.

Wu Mu didn't refuse her kindness, "Then, if I need it, I'll turn to Teacher Mo Mo."

After finishing the topic of the penalty fee, Wu Mu and Mo Mo started discussing another matter.

"Teacher Mo Mo, how about I write the song for your next round?" he suggested.

Hmm?

Mo Mo's face instantly puffed up with indignation, "Forget about lending the money then!"

This guy's getting cocky!

He had delivered a good performance just once, and now he wanted to write a song for her!

Mo Mo felt underestimated!

Wu Mu coughed awkwardly twice, "The thing is, I just happen to have a song that would be suitable for the next round."

What he referred to was the song he had previously picked, "People Like Me."

The moment he saw the theme was his style, he had this idea.

The show allowed contestants to write songs for their partners, and normally having one person handle two songs was a good gimmick. Not many singers could do this, so the producers didn't prohibit it.

Of course, situations where 'I write a song for you, then you write one for me' in an attempt to bug abuse and bypass the show's rules were definitely not allowed.

The rule for the next round was to write a song for a partner to sing.

He planned to use "Next Station Queen," the song he picked today, as his own work for Mo Mo to sing in the next round.

Then he would write another one, "People Like Me," for himself to sing.

The advantage was twofold, first, he could earn more points, and second, he wouldn't need to worry if the song Mo Mo wrote wasn't suited for his voice.

The impact of today's performance heavily relied on his Skill boost, but the Skill's added effect required him to resonate with the song.

If Mo Mo's song didn't move him, he might have to revert to the mediocre standard of the first show.

Then he genuinely might be eliminated.

He didn't want to lose such a lucrative point-earning stage.

Not to mention the show paid two million per episode; the longer he stayed, the more money he could make.

"A suitable song?" Mo Mo hesitated then asked, "How does it compare to the one from today?"

"People Like Me" compared to "Heavenly Queen"?

Wu Mu thought for a moment, "It should be about the same, both could be considered as signature pieces."

Really?

Mo Mo looked somewhat skeptical. The fact that Wu Mu had managed to write a song like "Heavenly Queen" was already shocking enough, and now he claimed to have another of the same caliber?

With such talent, why did he only write mediocre pop songs before?

Could it be that Teacher Wu Mu bought the song from outside before coming on the show? Mo Mo mused privately, casting unjust suspicions again.

Of course, she was just kidding herself.

No one would give up their authorship rights on such quality works, not to mention there were theme constraints on the show.

Perhaps Teacher Wu Mu was so deeply hurt by that wicked woman that he had an awakening.

Mo Mo found an excuse for Wu Mu in her heart.

"If it really is of that quality, then let's use Teacher Wu Mu's," Mo Mo said. She wasn't on the show to prove her songwriting skills, so she didn't mind whose song she used.

"Alright, I'll write the song tomorrow and show it to you," Wu Mu nodded.