Chapter 1274: A Dominant Beatdown

In this world, people sometimes drift apart, sometimes go their separate ways. Of course, the standard for distance is not always clear.

But for Zhao Fusheng, the distance between family and strangers was undoubtedly very clear.

“President Zhao, your people?”

Zhao Fusheng glanced at Zhao Baogang and was not at all polite to his namesake: “I need an explanation for this.”

This was no joke, but a solid fact.

Compared to those present, Zhao Fusheng held a higher status.

The example was simple: it was normal for two actresses to fight and tear into each other. Whether it was Zhao Baozi or Da Mimi, even if they tore the sky apart and beat each other’s brains out, it wouldn’t attract the attention of any big shots. At most, they would become the focus of news media and trend on hot searches.

But conversely, if Da Mimi hit Si Cong, then things would become serious.

Why did celebrities, after achieving fame, desperately try to marry into wealthy families or start their own studios and companies? Ultimately, it was because they clearly realized that in the eyes of capital, they were merely valuable commodities.

So, facing Zhao Fusheng, Zhao Baogang truly had no confidence at all.

Hearing Zhao Fusheng’s words, Zhao Baogang smiled bitterly: “Fusheng, Xiao Ran is indeed an artist from my company, but she probably didn’t mean it. How about I make her apologize, okay?”

In his view, this was how such matters were handled. After all, it wasn’t a huge deal—just a child being teased to tears.

In fact, Zhao Fusheng didn’t intend to blow things up either. At most, Fan Beibei had been pinched until it hurt. In a society governed by law, he couldn’t do anything to Li Xiaoran anyway. At best, he could force her to apologize. As for things like blacklisting, Zhao Fusheng could at most ensure that Li Xiaoran would get none of the resources—whether advertising or film and television—that he could influence.

As for others, if they gave face, they might help; if not, Zhao Fusheng had no way.

After all, he was not a deity; there were some things he could do nothing about.

Face is earned by oneself, not given by others.

If you want others to respect you, you must first learn to respect yourself.

In school, teachers taught us the principles of life and told us that society is fair.

Out of school, society tells us that the world is unfair. We are growing up; we are not elementary school students. Society does not sympathize with the weak, so we must become strong.

Reality and fiction are the same thing. To feel passion, one must pretend to be passionate. Society teaches everyone that they are in the world to act for each other.

Glancing at Zhao Baogang, Zhao Fusheng said nothing, only waited for Li Xiaoran to apologize.

At this point, if Li Xiaoran apologized, it would basically be over. As for how Zhao Baogang and Zhao Fusheng would talk later, that was between him and Zhao Fusheng. Even including Zuo Xiaoqing's performance just now, Zhao Fusheng kept it in mind and would certainly repay that favor.

But just then, the Boss Sun beside Li Xiaoran suddenly spoke up: "Just a kid, what's the big deal? Why so much fuss?"

"One hundred thousand, and this matter is settled," Boss Sun said flatly.

Clearly, in his view, he had already given Zhao Fusheng enough face.

Or to be more precise, he was giving face to Zhao Baogang. After all, although Zhao Baogang was very polite to Zhao Fusheng, in Boss Sun's eyes, Zhao Baogang's Xinbaoyuan Company was a giant in the industry.

Everyone was stunned, staring at Boss Sun in disbelief.

Especially Zhao Baogang and the others, they looked at Boss Sun as if he were an alien.

Li Xiaoran was also somewhat surprised, but she was still a bit worried. After all, Zhao Fusheng seemed to be very familiar with Jiang Wen and the others; in other words, he might be a hidden big shot in the Beijing circle.

Thinking of this, Li Xiaoran snorted and said to Zhao Fusheng, "Sorry, I just thought the kid was cute and wanted to tease her. I didn't expect her to be so naughty and start crying. Here's a hundred thousand yuan, let her buy some snacks."

In fact, if she hadn't said that, Zhao Fusheng might have let it go, after all, Fan Beibei hadn't really suffered any loss.

But after Boss Sun and Li Xiaoran finished speaking, the expression on Zhao Fusheng's face immediately turned ugly.

"Boss Sun, right?" Zhao Fusheng glanced at Boss Sun indifferently. "Are you very rich?"

Boss Sun was taken aback, then frowned. "I am Sun Beihe. This friend looks unfamiliar. May I ask your name?"

Zhao Fusheng ignored him and looked at Li Xiaoran instead. "Whether my sister is naughty or not has nothing to do with you. You want to tease her, so you do? By your logic, if I find you unpleasant, can I just slap you a few times? Then I'll pay you some money and that's it? Is a million enough? Five million? Ten million?..."

As Zhao Fusheng spoke the numbers, Sun Beihe and Li Xiaoran's faces grew increasingly grim.

Whether this man was bluffing or genuinely in a bad mood, it was clear that resolving this matter would not be easy.

"Fusheng, don't be angry. They don't know what's going on. I'll apologize on their behalf." Zhao Baogang, seeing this, hesitated for a long time, then sighed and spoke to Zhao Fusheng.

After all, Li Xiaoran was an artist under his label, and as her boss, he couldn't stand by idly. As for Sun Beihe, he was a coal tycoon from Shannan Province who had recently entered the capital. Xinbaoyuan had some business dealings with him, mainly regarding investments, which was also why Li Xiaoran was with Sun Beihe.

It was nothing more than the usual under-the-table dealings.

Simply put, it was a mutual agreement, like Zhou Yu striking Huang Gai—one willing to strike, the other willing to be struck. Only, the needle Li Xiaoran took was a bit thicker, not quite like the one in a nurse's hand.

Of course, it might also be slightly worse than a nurse's needle, but probably not, considering Sun Beihe was later rumored to have an affair with the inspirational mother of three.

Zhao Fusheng glanced at Sun Beihe, then at Li Xiaoran, his expression calm, before turning to Zhao Baogang. "President Zhao, I'm very disappointed."

Zhao Baogang smiled bitterly. He knew that his handling would certainly displease Zhao Fusheng, but he had no good options. On one side was Zhao Fusheng, whom he couldn't afford to offend; on the other were his own artist and investor. This was all he could do.

Fortunately, at that moment, Zheng Xiaolong and others also spoke up to mediate, which eased the tension somewhat.

"Apologize, then get lost!"

In the end, Zhao Fusheng coldly looked at Li Xiaoran and said without any courtesy.

For him, or rather, given his status, saying such words was already lenient.

At that moment, Li Xiaoran and Sun Beihe both felt as if they had been slapped hard twice.

Zhao Baogang, no longer caring about anything else, pulled Li Xiaoran and Sun Beihe aside and spoke with a serious expression.

He was naturally not polite with Li Xiaoran, saying coldly, "Xiao Ran, apologize immediately, unless you want to be blacklisted by Future Group!"

Li Xiaoran was shocked and looked at Zhao Baogang in surprise. "Director Zhao, he is...?"

Although Zhao Baogang was the owner of Xinbaoyuan, he preferred being called Director Zhao. Hearing Li Xiaoran's question, he said bluntly, "The chairman of Future Group. Someone you can't afford to offend. Go apologize now!"

After saying that, he turned to Sun Beihe. "President Sun, if I may be blunt, just as you're entering the capital market, offending someone like Zhao Fusheng is not a wise choice, don't you think?"

Different people require different approaches to persuade.

Li Xiaoran was an artist signed to Xinbaoyuan, so Zhao Baogang naturally didn't mince words, directly revealing Zhao Fusheng's identity to make her understand who she had provoked and to go apologize.

As for Sun Beihe, Zhao Baogang directly told him that offending Zhao Fusheng would be detrimental to his development in the capital.

In other words, if Sun Beihe gave up his plans to enter the capital market over a momentary pride, then Zhao Baogang had done his part in warning him. But if he still intended to make money in the capital, he would inevitably have to deal with Future Group.

The choice was actually quite clear.