TO SHOU WITH LOVE

48 - CONTRACT

Sailub waited for Ping’s reply, which came two days later.

Ping called and said the production team wanted to invite him to dinner that evening.

“I want to talk to you about the Asperatus band,” Ping said on the phone. “Sai, you must come.”

Sailub actually didn’t want to grace this occasion, but since it was about Asperatus, he still agreed to go.

During the dinner, Ping frequently toasted, and his words hinted at reconciling with Sailub, from thanking him for stepping in as a mentor to asking for understanding about various oversights during the recording process.

Sailub patiently drank the toasts offered to him.
After a few drinks, his patience was wearing thin, and Ping observed his demeanor, finally getting to the point.

“Sai, I’ve been thinking about the Asperatus band these past few days, and I’ve discussed it with the higher-ups of the platform. Currently, we’re considering arranging a revival segment in the next round.”

A revival segment? This was… specifically prepared for Asperatus?

Sailub looked at Ping, sensing that things weren’t that simple.

Sure enough, Ping continued, “Also, we want to sign Asperatus.”

Sailub lifted his glass and drank silently, already guessing.

Ping mentioned these two things in one breath, but they were probably not parallel.

Rather, they wanted to use signing as a prerequisite for allowing Asperatus to revive in the show.

Moreover, once Asperatus accepted the terms of the contract, the production team could not only use their revival to generate more hype and harvest more traffic but also elevate them to a higher position, possibly even replacing Urban Collapse…

Compared to letting Asperatus advance directly, this move could first eliminate them, then use the contract to control them, and thereby trigger more significant discussions.

Subsequently, by signing Asperatus, they could gain benefits for the next few years, or even decades or longer. This plan… was indeed quite clever.

Sailub thought back to the expression Ping had when they talked after Asperatus was eliminated.

At the time, he felt Ping seemed oddly calm.

Could it be that Ping had planned to use this tactic from the beginning?

Sailub remained composed and set down his glass. “Well, we need to discuss this with Asperatus first.”

“We talked to Asperatus about this today, but these three…” Ping sighed, “don’t seem too keen on signing.”

“Sai, you know, Thanapon usually doesn’t cooperate with the production team. We want to have a specific chat with him about this matter, but he hasn’t given a definite answer. I see you have a good relationship with him,”

Ping held the bottle and poured more wine for Sailub, “so I was thinking maybe you could persuade him.”

Sailub pondered for a moment before asking, “Is it signing with this show or signing with the platform?”

“With the platform.”

“Can I have a look at the contract?”

“Is there an electronic version with Jen?”

Ping looked towards Jennie. “Could you show Sai?”

Sailub took Jennie’s phone and scrolled through the contract.