Are You Crazy? He’s only an Intern Lawyer?
Chapter 485 - 481: The Anchor Industry is Tough, It’s All About Exploitation

Chapter 485: Chapter 481: The Anchor Industry is Tough, It’s All About Exploitation

Dongfang Capital, city center.

At the entrance of a certain web celebrity’s apartment.

Zhang Wei and Luo Xiaobu arrived by subway.

It was Zhang Wei’s idea, he didn’t want to attract too much attention, and he didn’t even let Zhang Xinyan tag along. Instead, he chose to take public transportation with Luo Xiaobu.

"Is this the place where that female live streamer lives?"

Looking at the relatively new apartment building in front of them, Zhang Wei asked.

"Yeah, I even messaged Bobo before we set off!"

As he spoke, Luo Xiaobu took out his phone and opened WeChat to check.

"Alright then, let’s wait."

Zhang Wei and Luo Xiaobu ended up waiting at the apartment entrance for 30 minutes, during which they went to a neighboring shop on the first floor to buy drinks.

"Radish, are you sure she replied to your message? I’ve already drunk two cups of milk tea."

After finishing his second cup of fruit milk tea, Zhang Wei’s face was speechless.

"Bobo did reply, let me ask her again," said Luo Xiaobu.

Luo Xiaobu gulped down his milk tea and then took out his phone to send another message.

Soon, a reply came back.

"She said she’s already on her way down!"

"Already on her way down?"

Zhang Wei rolled his eyes.

That’s like when you tell your wife over the phone that you’re "already on your way home" while at the bar, but as soon as you hang up, you continue knocking back another two bottles.

Who would believe that crap.

Sure enough.

After waiting for another ten minutes, Zhang Wei was almost ready to control himself and just leave.

"Here she comes, she’s coming down!"

If Luo Xiaobu hadn’t shouted, Zhang Wei would have really considered leaving.

They then saw a girl walking out of the apartment entrance, wearing a white dress, black sunglasses and a white mask, topped with a casual rolled-brim sun hat.

The girl covered her face thoroughly, but her features were distinctly prominent, very eye-catching~

"So big, those must be F or G cups, right?"

Among the girls Zhang Wei knew, Jessica had the biggest bust, size around EF, followed by Mo Yuzhu. She seemed understated, but her size must be at least D+ or E.

But neither Jessica nor Mo Yuzhu could quite compare to the girl in front of him.

Those enormous peaks, even shielded by a dress, presented an overwhelming sense of undulation and swaying impact as she walked.

"Radish, you’ve got quite the eye!"

Zhang Wei patted Luo Xiaobu on the shoulder, finally offering the only compliment he had.

"Of course, you see who I am!"

Luo Xiaobu wasn’t bragging; he’d watched quite a few female streamers across various live streaming platforms.

He could almost instantly discern who was using beauty filters and who was naturally appearing.

Bobo was one of the few live streamers with both looks and a great figure, plus talent; otherwise, how could Luo Xiaobu, this "experienced viewer," tip her so much money and even make it to second place on the leaderboard?

"Bobo, over here!"

Luo Xiaobu hurriedly waved to the girl.

The woman glanced up at the two men.

Zhang Wei couldn’t tell if it was an illusion, but from beneath the woman’s sunglasses, he felt a scrutinizing gaze.

"Is that Brother Luo?"

The girl spoke, her voice a bit hoarse, somewhat rough.

Zhang Wei had heard from Luo Xiaobu that it’s normal for Bobo’s voice to be hoarse since she usually sang or danced during her live streams.

"Bobo, it’s me; I’m the Romeo who’s second on the leaderboard!" Luo Xiaobu said with a face full of excitement, eagerly introducing himself.

"Romeo?"

But that introduction left even Zhang Wei stunned.

Thankfully, the live streaming platform didn’t use real-name registration for usernames. You really have some nerve picking that name.

"Hello, Brother Luo, and this is..."

"Ah, this guy, he’s something else, is my good brother Zhang Wei, whom I’ve specially brought over to help you solve this issue!"

As Luo Xiaobu spoke, he raised his hand to cover his mouth and whispered, "Not to hide anything from you, my brother here is a top lawyer!"

"Top lawyer?"

Bobo glanced at Zhang Wei, who looked like an ordinary young man. How could he possibly be linked to the words "top lawyer"?

And that name, it was just too common. In the whole Dongfang Capital, there must be at least ten thousand, if not eight thousand, people named Zhang Wei.

Although the name felt somewhat familiar to Bobo, she figured she might have just heard it somewhere and thus did not suspect anything.

"In that case, Lawyer Zhang, Brother Luo, if you don’t mind, how about you come sit in my apartment?"

"Sure, sure!"

Luo Xiaobu said, his face beaming with excitement as if he had encountered a terrific piece of fortune.

This pig brother look even left Zhang Wei somewhat speechless.

Bobo led the two men upstairs.

The apartment looked grand from the outside but the hallway seemed somewhat cramped.

The building’s focus was on small units, with 4.6-meter-high lofts, where almost all were high-ceilinged studio apartments designed for singles.

Bobo lived on the 20th floor, in a 40-square-meter duplex apartment.

Though the floor number was not high, taking into account the high ceilings, it was almost as high as the 40th floor of other buildings—too bad there were too many nearby buildings, so the view was poor.

The room layout was also similar to that of typical girls’, with a pink color scheme. Downstairs was the bathroom and living room, and upstairs was the bedroom with a wardrobe.

There was no sofa or TV in the living room, just a computer for live streaming, and some live streaming equipment like supplementary lighting.

Zhang Wei looked at these items with a calm face, but Luo Xiaobu seemed to have discovered a New World, looking around excitedly with bright eyes.

Clearly, this was Luo Xiaobu’s first time in a female streamer’s room.

Zhang Wei sniffed slightly at the tip of his nose and casually made his way over to a trash can, glancing inside to see many takeaway containers.

"Makes sense, the apartments have no gas supply and cooking is not possible unless with an induction stove. These streamers usually order takeout to save time," he thought.

Without seeing a kitchen in the apartment, Zhang Wei naturally understood how these streamers managed their meals.

After looking around, Zhang Wei concluded that the income of this female streamer was not high.

The apartment was obviously rented, and the dresser at the head of the bed upstairs had budget cosmetics, and the furniture was cheap and worn without recent replacements.

"Lawyer Zhang, Brother Luo, please, take a seat," said Bobo.

Bobo brought over two cushions and the three of them sat down on the floor.

"Bobo, come on, tell my brother what’s the matter that made you seek help in the fan group in the middle of the night!" Luo Xiaobu couldn’t wait and took out the chat records from the fan group as soon as he sat down.

Seeing Luo Xiaobu’s eagerness, Bobo removed her sunglasses, revealing a somewhat haggard face.

"Here’s the thing, I felt unhappy streaming recently and thought about terminating the contract with the platform. But not only did they tell me I couldn’t break the contract, but they also said they would sue me for absenteeism without cause and demand compensation of 5 million for breach of contract. I don’t have that kind of money, so I..."

As Bobo narrated, Zhang Wei got the gist of it.

It was a typical case of an internet celebrity signing a contract with a live streaming platform and wanting to quit after realizing the dream was too far from reality, resulting in being sued for breach of contract by the platform.

A fairly ordinary case.

"Do you have a contract with Tiger Fish as a streamer, and do you have a copy of the contract?"

"I do!" Bobo nodded and took out the contract from the cabinet to hand over to Zhang Wei.

"Hmm, why does the contract with Tiger Fish not have Tiger Fish Culture and Entertainment Co., Ltd., the parent company of the Tiger Fish platform, as the party A?"

Zhang Wei looked at a page of the contract and asked curiously, "Party A is ’Take You Flying Internet Celebrity Economic Company,’ what does that mean?"

"That’s my talent agency. I have to sign with an agency, and then I can sign with the Tiger Fish platform. Besides me, the others do it the same way," she explained.

"Oh, I see."

Zhang Wei nodded, as if he caught onto something.

He then scrutinized the contract at least twice, pondering over every clause and sentence.

"Let me ask you, does the contract stipulate that Take You Flying Network Company will provide you with comprehensive live streaming training and help you sign a live stream employment contract with Tiger Fish Culture? Did you participate in the training and sign this second contract?"

"I participated in the training. But the contract, I don’t seem to have seen it..." Bobo shook her head, looking confused.

"Were there many people in the training?"

"There were more than a dozen girls who joined and trained with me at the same time."

"If they are to testify in court later, would they be willing?"

"This..." Bobo seemed less confident now.

Zhang Wei had a sense of the situation; it seemed his relationship with these colleagues might not be very good.

But this was unimportant; he would handle these matters.

After thinking for a moment, Zhang Wei asked seriously, "Let’s cut to the chase, what is the purpose of you seeking a lawyer’s help?"

"I want to leave the agency, and I don’t want to pay them the 5 million yuan in damages because I don’t have that much money."

"Oh, so you want to reach a settlement with the agency and the live-streaming platform?"

Zhang Wei thought carefully; there seemed to be a possibility of achieving this request.

But one thing puzzled him.

"Right, I have a question for you, how long have you been live streaming?"

"Almost two years now."

"This contract is for three years, wouldn’t it be better to wait until the third year is up and then amicably part ways with the agency?"

"This..." Bobo lowered her head again, looking like there was more she couldn’t easily express.

"Okay, I understand you have your difficulties. Let’s not talk about this issue then, but I have another question."

As he spoke, Zhang Wei took out his phone and searched for "Bobo."

"According to Qian Du’s encyclopedia entry, you are among the top ten broadcasters in terms of beauty on the Tiger Fish platform, and you are the only newcomer who hasn’t been on for two full years."

"Logically, you should be considered one of the platform’s top broadcasters, so why can’t you afford to pay a 500,000 yuan contract penalty?"

Tiger Fish is Dragon Country’s largest entertainment and game live streaming platform. Being in the top ten for a category definitely puts one at the industry’s pinnacle.

Top of the industry, yet why so poor?

This was of great concern to Zhang Wei.

Hearing this question, Bobo’s face turned bitter, as she began to pour out her grievances:

"Although I’ve received many gifts, most of them were taken by the platform’s cut and the agency’s earnings."

"There are many people who have suffered the same fate, even other broadcasters in the big sections, like gamers who need to join guilds and outdoor sections that have to sign with specialized outdoor management companies. Our beauty section is also dominated by a few agencies. The top ten all belong to these companies. I had no choice..."

After thinking it through, Zhang Wei asked, "Let me give you an example, if my buddy Radish donated 1 million yuan to you, how much would you get?"

Bobo thought for a moment and calculated, "With a 1-million donation, the platform takes a 50% cut. The remaining 50% is my commission, but my team and I can only take 30% of that commission. The economic company takes 70% from this part! And my team isn’t just me, there is also an agent; she and I split it in half, each getting 15%."

"So out of a 1-million donation, Tiger Fish takes away 500,000 and the agency another 350,000, and of the remaining 150,000, you only get 75,000?"

"Yes!" Bobo nodded solemnly.

Zhang Wei and Luo Xiaobu exchanged glances, both inwardly exclaiming at the ruthlessness.

This exploitation was fleecing the broadcaster to the bone.

No, it was fleecing both the donating users and the broadcaster!

Fierce!

"I understand now. A company like this really isn’t worth staying with, but they signed you for three years, and they won’t let you go that easily, will they?"

Zhang Wei looked at Bobo and smiled, "Especially you, currently one of the top-ten beauties on the Tiger Fish platform. Your monthly donations must amount to at least several tens of thousands, if not over a million. If you get involved in activities or get recommended, donations could be even higher. If I were the agency, how could I ever let go of such a big fish as you?"

At these words, Bobo’s eyes dimmed.

"Zhang Wei, don’t scare her~"

"Radish, I’m not scaring her; this is the reality. Which company would give up a chance to make tens or hundreds of millions a month in donations? Companies aren’t charity houses; they don’t do good without the expectation of a return!"

As Zhang Wei spoke, the sarcasm and sneer on his lips were impossible to hide.

These agencies were simply taking advantage of the naivety of the young broadcasters, forcing them into signing unreasonable and exploitative contracts.

Bobo was one of the victims.

Knock knock knock!

Just then, there was a knock on the apartment door.

"Bobo, it’s Sister Li. Open up!"

A sharp female voice rang out from outside the door.

The tone suggested the visitor might have ill intentions.

"Who is this Sister Li?"

"She’s my agent."

"Oh, the one who would take 75,000 out of a million donation?"

Zhang Wei muttered something, then gestured with his eyes for Bobo to open the door.

As an agent, this was someone he inevitably had to meet.

When Bobo opened the apartment door, she saw a woman in her thirties with heavy makeup, looking haughty and arrogant.

"Bobo, I’m not trying to nag, but you’ve been in a mood for days. Are you going to start live streaming again or what?"

"Director Zhu is really getting anxious. If you don’t start streaming again, you’re going to miss out on this month’s bonus."

"Also, I’ve spent a good while negotiating with Director Zhu to grant you an opportunity for forgiveness. Please, do it for me as well as yourself, and quit the sulking, okay?"

"Now Director Zhu has also said, from last month’s profits, you’ll only receive 30%, and the remaining 70% will be given to you when you resume streaming!"

Sister Li began with earnest persuasion, followed by warnings and monetary threats, bombarding Bobo with a non-stop verbal assault.

After finishing her piece, her gaze inadvertently caught something in the apartment and she lost her composure.

"Who are you? This is our company’s apartment. How did you get in here? Get out now, or I’m calling security!"

Facing Bobo, Sister Li might have shown some restraint, but her tone was as sharp as thorns when addressing Zhang Wei and Luo Xiaobu; it was cutting enough to wound.

"Sister Li, they are my lawyers!"

"Lawyers? How can they be lawyers!"

Sister Li’s voice shot up several decibels.

It was obviously audible that people in the neighboring rooms were on the move, and even the apartment across directly opened its door, revealing pairs of curious eyes.

"Bobo, what’s the meaning of this? Hiring lawyers, what are you trying to do!"

Sticking her hips out and acting high and mighty, she scolded, "I can’t believe it, you actually dared to hire lawyers. Have your wings gotten so strong that you really think you can fly away?"

"How shameless can you be, such a big nerve you have. Director Zhu may tolerate you once or twice, but do you think he’ll tolerate you three or four times?"

Bobo hung her head, scolded, and dared not respond.

"Sister Li is it? I’m Zhang Wei, the commissioned lawyer for Miss Lin!"

Seeing this, Zhang Wei pulled Bobo back then stepped forward to face Sister Li’s tirade.

"Hmph, so what if you’re a lawyer? Just get out, we don’t need you here! If you don’t leave now, I’m going to call security to get rid of you!" Sister Li was about to physically remove them.

"Sister Li, Miss Lin hiring a lawyer is her basic right and freedom. If you think you can unilaterally deprive others of their legal rights, then I must say, you’re choosing to fight against the laws of Dragon Country, you’re quite bold!"

"You..."

Zhang Wei let that comment hang, leaving Sister Li momentarily speechless.

"By the way, here’s my business card, please keep it."

After Zhang Wei handed over his business card, he looked back at the apartment.

"Since this apartment belongs to your esteemed company, to prevent my client Miss Lin from being coerced and threatened by your company during the litigation process, we will arrange another place for Miss Lin to stay. You need not worry about that."

"What, you’re taking Bobo away too!"

Sister Li immediately got agitated upon hearing this demand.

"Not taking her away, but finding her a safe temporary shelter during the litigation. After the lawsuit ends, she will decide where she wants to go!"

Zhang Wei stated calmly, completely indifferent to Sister Li’s increasingly hostile gaze.

"You want to take away our company’s talent, I won’t agree to that, and let me tell you, our Tiger Fish broker company is not someone a small-time lawyer like you can afford to offend. Our Director Zhu has connections with influential people around here!"

Sister Li, without even glancing at Zhang Wei’s business card, clenched it tightly in her five fingers, crumpling it into a ball before casually discarding it on the ground.

Pretentious!

As an agent, Sister Li really lived up to her company’s name with her haughty attitude.

Indeed, who couldn’t they lift off into the sky!

"Well then, go contact that Director Zhu. As for me, naturally, I’ll be taking the person with me to prevent any threats like the ones you just made to my client!"

Zhang Wei sneered and signaled Luo Xiaobu with his eyes. He immediately started to help Bobo pack her things.

"Fine, fine, you’re brave. Just wait, you’ll regret this today!"

Sensing that she couldn’t stop the three of them, Sister Li left a harsh threat before stalking away on her high heels.

Luo Xiaobu also finished packing Bobo’s luggage at that moment.

"Zhang Wei, will there be any trouble? They don’t look like they’ll let us go easily."

"Don’t worry, as soon as Sister Li threatened me, I was already preparing a countermeasure!"

Zhang Wei was full of confidence, leading Luo Xiaobu and Bobo, laden with large and small bags, toward the elevator to leave the apartment.

As for Sister Li and her company, would they let the three leave so easily?