Once a rising star and heartthrob, Chih-Wei’s glittering career took a hit when he was embroiled in several scandals and was accused of assaulting his ex-girlfriend. With his reputation badly tarnished, he moved to China hoping to further his acting career there.

In 2018, he returned to Taiwan but found himself unemployed for two years. In fact, the situation was so dire, he had to borrow NT$200,000 (S$9,400) from his mother to get by. 

Things started to look up in May this year when he signed a three-year management contract with '90s Taiwanese singer Meng Ting Wei’s ex-husband Chang Chih-Peng. Under the agreement, he was supposed to receive an annual income of at least NT$500,000 (S$24,000) and they would split his earnings 50-50.

Two months after signing the contract, Chih-Wei landed his first showbiz gig in two years selling seafood on live stream. He said the experience was rather "interesting" and thanks to him, the audience increased by “1.5 times”.

But even though Chih-Wei was supposed to command NT$150,000 (S$7,000) per live stream, he only received a “token” sum of NT$3,600 (S$169) as the platform belongs to a friend of his pal, actor Tuo Zonghua. And Chih-Wei, true to his word, gave half of what he made to Chih-Peng, which meant he only took home about S$85. 

However, last month, Chih-Peng suddenly informed Chih-Wei that he was terminating the contract.

“He did it without communicating or meeting me. [I] didn’t want to make things difficult for him and make unnecessary responses, so I agreed,” Chih-Wei told Apple Daily.

This came as a huge setback for Chih-Wei who had given up a good job as a planning officer at a second-hand car dealership to make his showbiz comeback. Chih-Wei revealed that he had great prospects there and was well taken care of by the boss, but then decided to return to showbiz after talking to his manager.

Chih-Wei now says he can't help but feel cheated by Chih-Peng. “In addition to deceiving me, he also deceived my fans and showbiz partners,” he said, adding that he was initially impressed by how proactive Chih-Peng was. The latter also often boasted about how he helped his ex-wife make more than NT$40mil (S$656,000), which was why he agreed to sign a contract with him. “But there was a huge difference before and after signing [the contract],” Chih-Wei said.

Fortunately, Chih-Wei has since found a job in the cultural and educational sector near his home in Tamsui and while his monthly salary is a modest NT$35,000 (S$1,700), life is stable now.

Photos: Fan Chih-Wei/Weibo