Sports Medicine Master System

Chapter 421: Chapter 358: Off the Air

"Who was that on the phone?"

Lexi looked up and asked. She had heard Chen Yu call the person on the other end "Michael" and tell him to calm down.

"Who do you think?" Chen Yu sat down next to Lexi and briefly explained what was happening with Jordan.

"That Bolin guy is such an asshole."

Lexi was furious the moment she heard. She had always idolized Jordan.

Chen Yu gave a noncommittal nod. But after calming down and thinking about it, a result like this didn’t seem so strange.

Yes, Jordan was the God of Basketball, with countless fans all over the world.

Countless people saw him as an idol, a goal to strive for.

But in the eyes of an old capitalist like Bolin, he was just a tool for making money.

Jordan cursed Old Polin for being dishonorable and screwing him over, but he probably didn’t realize that in Old Polin’s eyes, Jordan wasn’t even worthy of being treated with dignity, let alone dining at the same table.

Earlier that day, Chen Yu had just told Michael Jackson not to be too naive and believe nonsense like "justice will always prevail." He never expected it to be proven right so soon with Jordan.

"What’s wrong?" Lexi sensed the shift in Chen Yu’s mood and snuggled into his arms.

"It’s nothing."

Chen Yu shook his head. It was easy to say you shouldn’t care and should just look out for yourself, but actually doing it was far from simple.

Fortunately, his profession had a certain special quality to it.

’In this world, the only true fairness is probably found in birth, old age, sickness, and death.’

And mastering that ability was perhaps Chen Yu’s greatest source of confidence.

"Let’s watch TV," Chen Yu said, not elaborating further.

Today was the air date for the fifth episode of the weight-loss show—the one featuring Michael Jackson.

CBS had been running promos and advertisements for days in advance.

The response had been great. It was expected to be a huge hit, and the ratings might even break records again.

The broadcast time was 8:30 PM.

But as he waited for the show to air, Chen Yu noticed something was wrong.

Usually, an hour or two before the show aired, they would run promotional clips during the commercial breaks of other programs, telling the audience that the show was about to start and to wait patiently in front of their TVs.

But today, no such promos aired.

And when 8:30 PM arrived, instead of the weight-loss show, a drama series came on.

"Huh? What’s going on?" Lexi asked in confusion.

Chen Yu frowned.

’Something’s not right!’

If there were a change in the broadcast schedule, there would have been an advance notice.

But there was no announcement at all. This sudden no-show could only mean there was a problem.

Chen Yu grabbed his phone and called Burnett.

The phone rang and rang, but no one answered.

He called again with the same result. Chen Yu knew something had happened.

’The problem is, we have a contract. To protect my interests, the contract includes a hefty penalty for breach. They can’t just decide not to air it, right?’

At 9:30 PM, the drama episode ended, but there was still no news on TV.

Just then, Burnett called.

On the other end, only Burnett’s breathing could be heard.

He was silent.

Chen Yu sighed. "The show’s been canceled?"

Burnett let out a sigh, then quickly said, "Not necessarily, Chen. Their idea is to scrap the fifth episode, and we can continue filming. Or we could change the theme of the fifth episode. They think the theme is bad. I’ve calculated it; we can spend a week on cuts and reshoots to make next week’s broadcast."

Chen Yu scoffed internally.

’What do they mean the theme is bad? When we started filming the fifth episode, the theme had already been reported to them. They knew about it.’

’They didn’t say the theme was bad back then. They waited until it was filmed and about to air to say the theme is bad. Do they really take everyone for a fool?’

"And what if we don’t change it?" Chen Yu retorted, then added after a thought, "Or rather, what if I insist on airing the fifth episode?"

On the phone, Burnett seemed to have anticipated Chen Yu would say this and tried to persuade him, "Chen, it’s really not a big deal. We have plenty of other themes. What’s the harm in airing one less episode?"

"Chen, this show is incredibly popular right now. Believe me, we can make a lot of money. And we can film several seasons, turn it into a long-running, successful program."

"Plus, the show has so many investors. I know you also want to use this show to promote your sports lab, your light fitness concept, and that weight-loss drug. It’s such an important show, you don’t want it to be canceled, do you?"

"Enough," Chen Yu interrupted Burnett. "Mark, you still haven’t answered my question."

The show had a few investors, but at the end of the day, it was his show.

As for the other goals, the sports lab had already gotten its publicity. That objective was achieved.

The light fitness concept? Chen Yu could write a couple of papers and find a newspaper to publicize it anytime he wanted. He didn’t necessarily need this show for that.

As for the weight-loss drug, Eli Lilly was the enthusiastic party. Even without this show for promotion, if they really wanted to push it, they had their own marketing channels.

Therefore, what Burnett called "losses" weren’t actually significant losses for Chen Yu.

At most, it just meant earning a little less money.

Over the phone, Burnett sighed repeatedly and said helplessly, "If you insist on airing it, then they can only refuse. They’ll be in breach of contract."

Chen Yu didn’t waste any more words. "Fine. Then tell them to get a check ready and send it over to me."

The penalty for breach of contract was ten million US dollars.

Split among a few people, Chen Yu would probably get about half of it.

Including the profits from the first few episodes, he had already earned a lot.

"Chen, are you sure you don’t want to reconsider?" Burnett heard the finality in Chen Yu’s tone and tried to persuade him gently.

Chen Yu was confident enough to refuse without hesitation, but Burnett couldn’t bear to let it go.

A show this popular could take his own career to the next level.

"Tell them to prepare the check," Chen Yu said, not wanting to say more, and hung up the phone.

"They’re not airing it anymore? Is it because of Michael?" Lexi asked cautiously.

Chen Yu pulled her into his arms and nodded.

"It’s fine if they don’t. I was already swamped with a ton of things anyway."

Making time for filming had already taken a significant toll on Chen Yu’s energy, and it wasn’t just him, but O’Neal too.

It was a critical time during the playoffs. Continuing the weight-loss training was also a huge drain on his body.

Lexi could see Chen Yu’s serious expression and didn’t dare say much more. She just snuggled deeper into his embrace and said, "You should get some rest, you’ve been too busy lately. By the way, want to relax a little? I bought some new lingerie the other day."

Her hands began to wander.

"I could go for that." Chen Yu grinned, rolling over and pinning Lexi onto the sofa.

「The next day.」

Chen Yu didn’t rush to the clinic. He went to the arena first.

Pushing open the door to Brian’s office, he saw him standing in front of a wall where a whiteboard was covered in dense writing.

Chen Yu glanced over; it looked like Brian was analyzing potential trades.

Pouring himself a drink, Chen Yu sat down and teased, "What, still haven’t given up?"

These past few days, Brian had been spending most of his time trying to figure out a way to trade up.

But just as Chen Yu had said, what he’d pulled off last year had made everyone too jealous, so no one was willing to deal with him.

Brian turned to look at Chen Yu, huffed, and said, "And what about you? Why didn’t the fifth episode of your show air yesterday? Canceled?"

He sat down at his desk and said, "Didn’t I tell you before? Inviting Michael at a time like this wasn’t a good choice."

’This guy’s pretty sharp.’

Chen Yu wasn’t angry. He just shrugged and said, "It’s fine. I already made my money anyway."

Brian poured himself a drink as well, clinked glasses with Chen Yu, and said, "You could have made a lot more."

Chen Yu shook his head. "You can’t look at it that way. Like you said, the money I could have made, I’ll find ways to make it elsewhere in the future, so it doesn’t matter. Besides, right now, I feel like I’ve already made so much money I don’t even have time to spend it."

"Ha," Brian scoffed. "Aren’t you just kidding yourself? And you can’t even imagine the benefits of having money, especially when you have a lot of it."

"Crass."

Chen Yu pursed his lips and said, "Seems like you’ve been thinking about this a lot. What do you say I repeat this to Sonia? Let her know what you’re really thinking."

Sonia was Brian’s wife.

"Don’t! I was just kidding. Why are you taking it so seriously?" Brian jumped.

Chen Yu huffed, then continued, "But you’re right. I have a lot of money now. It’s time I enjoyed life a bit. How about this: I’ve decided that after this season ends, I’m going to take a full year off to completely relax. What do you think?"

"I don’t think that’s a good idea at all." Brian’s face twitched as he pleaded, "I misspoke, okay? Can’t I just apologize?"

If Chen Yu left for a year, the Phoenix Suns wouldn’t collapse immediately, but they would definitely be in for a rough time.

"Let’s not talk about that. Did you come looking for me for something?" Brian quickly changed the subject.

When it came to banter, he never seemed to be a match for Chen Yu.

Chen Yu explained Jordan’s situation to Brian and then asked for his thoughts.

"He really said that?" Brian’s eyes lit up.

Jordan was old, but he could still be a mascot and sell tickets, no problem.

Chen Yu nodded.

Brian stood up excitedly. The news that Jordan had been screwed over by Bolin hadn’t been reported by the media yet.

But Jordan was already cursing people out, so it was bound to leak soon.

Of course, none of that mattered. What was important was that Jordan wanted to come to the Phoenix Suns.

He paced back and forth a few times, not stating his position immediately, but instead asking for Chen Yu’s thoughts.

"Well, if he really wants to play another year, it probably wouldn’t be a huge issue," Chen Yu said after some thought.

Although his age was a factor, after playing for two years, his body had actually recovered to some extent and adapted to high-intensity competition.

One more year really wouldn’t make much of a difference.

Brian shook his head. "I’m not talking about that. I’m asking what you think about the whole situation."

With Ewing’s age and legs, Chen Yu was able to keep him healthy for a year. Jordan would be even less of a problem.

"You’re asking me about this?" Chen Yu countered.

Chen Yu didn’t really want to meddle in front-office operations.

Brian said, "I just want to hear your advice for reference."

If it was just for reference, Chen Yu thought for a moment, then shook his head. "I don’t think we should."

"Why?" Brian was stunned. He thought Chen Yu would agree.

After all, Chen Yu and Jordan had a good relationship.

"How should I put this," Chen Yu pondered for a moment, then said, "Let me give you an analogy. A man dies. The funeral and memorial service have been held, and his friends and family have already mourned him. Then, he suddenly jumps out of his coffin and says, ’I think I’ll live for another year.’ Don’t you think that would be incredibly strange?"

Brian looked at Chen Yu, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. "Your analogy... is actually pretty fitting."

Just as Chen Yu said, he’d had his farewell tour on the road, so many fans had bought tickets to see him off, and the league had even made a special oversized trophy for him. Everyone knew he was retiring.

Then, you turn around, come back to life, and say you want to play for another year. What was all that before, then?

Are you going to do it all over again next year?