Chapter 1239: The Show Begins

In fact, relationships between people are simple. To a certain extent, everyone consciously or unconsciously builds an evaluation of the other and gradually learns the proper boundaries in interactions.

Just like now, Zhao Fusheng stood there calmly, everyone's eyes on him, yet no one dared to speak.

As they say, comparisons can be odious. Xie Tingfeng felt like vomiting blood. They were about the same age, yet why could this man named Zhao strut around in front of him? In the end, wasn't it because he had money?

Could having money really allow one to do whatever they wanted?

The answer was simple.

Having money indeed allowed one to do whatever they wanted.

In the entertainment industry, status often determined everything.

For example, in the matter of hitting someone, if Xiang Shi were here, even if you gave Xie Tingfeng and Zhang Weijian ten times the courage, they wouldn't dare to act rashly. If Fang Shilong were here, they wouldn't dare either.

In plain terms, it was because Wang Bochao had no status at all that he was bullied.

As for Wang Bochao's own issues, those were matters of his personal morality and did not constitute a reason for Zhang Weijian and Xie Tingfeng to hit him.

Zhao Fusheng was different from Xiang Shi and Fang Shilong.

Xiang Shi had his gang background, which gave him such a strong voice in the Hong Kong entertainment industry. Fang Shilong, on the other hand, relied on his own sufficient status. Compared to rising stars like Zhang Weijian and Xie Tingfeng, who were propped up by fans, Big Nose, though prone to making mistakes that all men make, had his status firmly established.

The value of a star in the industry depended on the resources they had.

What were resources?

Works, endorsements, even commercial performances—these were resources.

For example, was Tang Zhu popular? He was once a famous traffic star, but in the eyes of industry insiders, his value was not even half of Chen Dao's. This could be seen from the pay for starring in films and TV dramas. Such weight could not be compensated by the number of fans alone.

Zhao Fusheng's weight was also heavy.

Top screenwriter, top advertising planner, but most importantly, his identity as the chairman of the Future Group.

Simply put, this was called status.

Today, with Zhao Fusheng sitting here, whether it was director Wang Jing or actors Xie Tingfeng and Zhang Weijian from Hong Kong, they were all beneath him and unqualified.

Unless Emperor Entertainment's boss Yang Shoucheng came to negotiate, no one else had the qualification to talk to him and resolve the issue.

“Mr. Zhao…” Wang Jing gritted his teeth, put on a flattering face, and stepped forward: “How about this? I’ll take Tingfeng and A Jian to apologize to Miss Yu right away.”

Regardless, Yu Feihong had been injured because of their matter, so an apology was necessary. Wang Jing had actually mentioned this before, but Emperor Entertainment had been putting on airs, thinking that even if Yu Feihong was very popular, she was just a mainland artist, and Future Film hadn’t said anything, so there was no need to apologize.

Now, the boss had come directly.

Zhao Fusheng nodded at that: “No problem. I was already planning to sue them, but since you’re willing to apologize, this matter can still be discussed.”

Wang Jing was depressed, very, very depressed.

He had been on countless film crews and witnessed all kinds of disputes, considering himself experienced in the ways of the world. But now, he had run into someone who didn’t play by the rules.

Resolving crew matters internally without involving the outside world was the norm. But Zhao Fusheng? He had called the police! Called the police! Called the police!

No matter how hard Wang Jing racked his brains, he couldn’t understand why Zhao Fusheng wanted to go to court.

For publicity?

What a joke. Neither Yu Feihong nor Future Film were the main parties in this matter. To put it bluntly, they were just bit players. Yet now, Zhao Fusheng had made them seem like the protagonists, coming in force to demand an apology and even planning to sue.

For money?

That was even more impossible. As Zhao Fusheng himself had just said, he was only twenty-five years old and had a net worth of over three hundred million US dollars, more than two billion RMB. Not to mention Xie Tingfeng and Wang Jing, even Xie Tingfeng’s boss Yang Shoucheng couldn’t claim he would definitely be richer than Zhao Fusheng in the future.

So what exactly did he want?

Zhao Fusheng chuckled, glanced at Wang Jing, and after a long while said flatly: “Go apologize first. We’ll talk about the rest later.”

With that, he simply got up and left.

Watching Zhao Fusheng’s back, Wang Jing’s face flickered with uncertainty. He remained silent for a long time.

…

…

“Uncle Jing, do we really have to apologize?” Xie Tingfeng asked after Zhao Fusheng had left.

Wang Jing glared at him irritably: “Nonsense, are you crazy? This is a big shot, a boss worth billions. How can you afford to offend him?”

He meant it sincerely. Things were already a mess. After Wang Bochao called the police, the authorities got involved, and the crew was now in trouble. If they made an enemy of someone like Zhao Fusheng, it would only make things worse.

The problem now was how to handle this matter to satisfy everyone.

First, there was the issue of the investors. Since a brawl had occurred on set and the police had been called, director Wang Jing would certainly have to take responsibility, and the producers would also suffer losses.

Second, there was the issue between Wang Bochao and Zhang Weijian and Xie Tingfeng. As a Hong Kong native and director, Wang Jing had originally planned to support Zhang and Xie. But now, with Zhao Fusheng involved, this wealthy big shot was someone Wang Jing really didn’t want to offend. He felt quite torn.

Finally, there was the media issue.

That guy Wang Bochao seemed to have someone guiding him behind the scenes. He had taken the initiative to leak the story to the media. Wang Jing’s original plan was to have the investors throw money at the problem. After all, Zhang Weijian and Xie Tingfeng were idol types with many fans. With his help and a lot of money to whitewash them, he could definitely settle the matter.

But he never expected things to turn out like this, drawing out the big boss Zhao Fusheng.

Now Wang Jing felt like he was riding a tiger and couldn’t get off.

After thinking it over, he waved his hand to dismiss the crew, returned to his room, and dialed a phone number.

…

…

Zhao Fusheng, having left the hotel, sat in the car and rubbed his head, saying to Ye Jing: “What do you think about this?”

Ye Jing was startled, then said solemnly: “Those people from Hong Kong really have gone too far.”

“Yes,” Zhao Fusheng nodded and said flatly: “These people couldn’t make it in Hong Kong, so they come to the mainland to make money, but always put on airs of superiority. This situation is very bad.”

He was an investor. No matter how good his friendship with Jiang Wen and others was, it couldn’t change the fact that Zhao Fusheng stood on the side of capital.

For investors, while Hong Kong production teams could bring some advanced elements, the bigger problem was that these people were too costly, and the products they made were not guaranteed to be masterpieces.

Take Yu Dong for example. The big director Chen from Hong Kong had cheated him outrageously. The movie “The Warlords” took over a year to shoot, with costs exceeding the budget by hundreds of millions. And a straw hat was quoted at three thousand yuan, truly treating mainland investors as suckers to be fleeced.

Not to mention Wu Baige and others. It’s no exaggeration to say that many Hong Kong production teams entering the mainland to make money during this period were simply after the cash, never intending to produce quality films. If they had come with sincerity, the domestic film market wouldn’t have had to wait several more years before quality films gradually began to appear.

Zhao Fusheng had no particular like or dislike for Hong Kong filmmakers, since he didn’t interact much with them. But what he disliked was this trend, because such behavior was not beneficial to the development of the entire industry.

“Wang Jing should take those two to apologize. Later, have the media spread the news,” Zhao Fusheng said to Ye Jing.

Ye Jing nodded: “And after that?”

“After that?”

Zhao Fusheng chuckled: “After that, we’ll just watch the show.”

This big drama had only just begun. Zhao Fusheng was looking forward to seeing what interesting acts would follow.