Chapter 1431: The Depressed Person

After fobbing off Boss Liu, Zhao Fusheng explained things to Zheng Yao again, finally putting the matter to rest.

Returning home, he shared a tender moment with Fan Baobao, coaxed Fan Beibei to sleep, and woke up refreshed the next day.

Zhao Fusheng enjoyed this kind of life—regular, hopeful. For him, it was undoubtedly the best outcome.

Then he received a call from Yu Feihong.

"Got time? Come out and drink with me." Sister Feihong's first words caught Zhao Fusheng off guard.

Zhao Fusheng quickly asked, "Sis, what's wrong?"

Given Sister Feihong's personality, if nothing was wrong, she wouldn't be calling him to drink.

After all, she knew how busy he was with business.

Yu Feihong said nothing more, just gave an address and hung up.

Zhao Fusheng held his phone, shaking his head helplessly, a bitter smile spreading across his face.

"What's up?"

Fan Baobao, just waking up groggily, looked at him curiously and asked.

It was the weekend; Fan Beibei didn't have school. She and Zhao Fusheng had been up to some mischief the night before, so they slept in, not opening their eyes until eleven.

"Sister Feihong. She needs to see me."

Zhao Fusheng replied casually, "Want to come along?"

"Hmph..."

Fan Baobao shot him a glare and said irritably, "You think I didn't hear that?"

No kidding, Yu Feihong was clearly in a bad mood and looking for someone to drink with.

Fan Baobao wasn't stupid. Though she wanted to comfort Yu Feihong, thinking of that sister's drinking capacity, she decided it was better to stay home and look after her little sister.

Zhao Fusheng had tried to drag his wife into it, but being found out, he rubbed his nose sheepishly and decided it was best to keep quiet.

After getting up and washing up, he had just gotten into the car when he received a call from Jiang Wen.

"Did Feihong call you?" Jiang Wen demanded bluntly.

He had recently wrapped up filming "The Sun Also Rises" and was preparing for post-production editing, staying in the capital all along.

"I'm heading out now," Zhao Fusheng replied evasively. "You?"

"Me too."

Old Jiang nodded.

It seemed Yu Feihong was really down, otherwise she wouldn't have called them both.

They said nothing more; whatever happened, they'd talk when they got there.

The car moved slowly. Zhao Fusheng sat inside, not thinking about what had happened to Yu Feihong, but rather about how far the resource integration of Future Group should go in the coming days.

Everything has a limit.

Zhao Fusheng understood the principle of going too far being as bad as not going far enough.

In other words, although Future Group had encountered some problems in its development, overall it was still on the right track. It was just that Zhao Fusheng, lacking management expertise and relying solely on his foresight to dabble in whatever industry seemed profitable, had caused some misallocation and waste of resources and capital.

But that didn't mean Future Group's direction was wrong.

On the contrary, e-commerce, real estate, and the film industry were all sectors destined to rise in the next decade.

So Zhao Fusheng was now full of confidence.

Even if there were temporary difficulties, they were merely the darkness before dawn.

"Hmm, before dawn?"

Zhao Fusheng paused, then remembered a certain sutra-chanting uncle. Speaking of which, that guy seemed to be lying low right now.

"Forget it, better stick to the original." Tilting his head in thought, Zhao Fusheng resolved that if the opportunity arose, he would still invest, at most warning that guy not to mess with the artists under his company.

In the entertainment industry, mutual consent was common. In Zhao Fusheng's view, a director liking to guide actresses on scripts wasn't a big deal. Not only was Teacher Wu already famous by then, but even today's assistant directors and crew heads in film crews were just as hands-on with actresses.

Even top directors had their car sex scandals.

The truly dark side of the entertainment industry wasn't here, but in capital.

Take "Huba Huba"—why did it inflate its box office, risking exposure and paying more taxes? Was it really out of patriotism?

Ha, paying taxes only cost a little more. Only those stupid celebrities in the entertainment industry would scheme over taxes.

Truly smart people set their sights on the stock market, where a single piece of news could be worth hundreds of millions or more.

Why do film companies go public?

Why has Zhao Yanzi been repeatedly criticized by name?

Isn't it because the authorities discovered that the film circle and capital circle were colluding in shameless tricks?

Take Wolf Warrior for example. Everyone thought Wu Jing made a lot, but in fact, he only earned a share of the box office. Compared to the production companies that invested in Wolf Warrior and The Wandering Earth, it was nothing.

After all, in the stock market, a single daily limit could be worth billions or more.

As for Teacher Wu and that fake PhD, in the end, they provoked people they shouldn't have.

The waters here are too deep for ordinary people to touch.

Let's just say that fake PhD had collaborated with Teacher Wu on many films over the years, even considering himself Teacher Wu's underling. If Teacher Wu hadn't gotten into trouble, it wouldn't have been his turn to fall.

The same logic applied to Liang Bingbing and Huayi. In the end, when big shots clashed, it was the small fry caught in the middle who suffered.

Zhao Fusheng didn't want to be a small fry or anyone's pawn; he wanted to be the one playing chess.

...

...

The car finally arrived at the place Yu Feihong had mentioned. As soon as he entered, Zhao Fusheng saw Yu Feihong sitting there, looking dejected.

Several bottles of alcohol were placed beside her.

Frowning, Zhao Fusheng said, "Sis, what's wrong with you?"

He rarely saw Yu Feihong so down. In his memory, Sister Feihong was always smiling and composed no matter what happened.

But now, clearly, she was in a terrible mood, completely low-spirited.

"You're here."

Yu Feihong looked up, saw Zhao Fusheng, forced a smile, and pointed to the seat in front of her: "Come sit, keep me company for a drink."

"You know I've quit drinking," Zhao Fusheng said, frowning slightly, his tone flat.

Tobacco and alcohol were harmful to health, and since he and Fan Baobao were trying to conceive, he had to give them up.

Yu Feihong was taken aback, then smiled bitterly: "Alright then, just chat with me, okay?"

She was just in a bad mood, not drunk yet, so she quickly understood what Zhao Fusheng meant.

"Okay."

Zhao Fusheng nodded and sat down across from Yu Feihong.

"Who else did you call?"

Looking at Yu Feihong, Zhao Fusheng asked.

Seeing her like this, she must have drunk quite a bit. For her to be this drunk given her capacity, it was clear Yu Feihong was in a very bad mood.

Drinking is closely tied to mood. No matter how good one's capacity, if in a bad mood, one gets drunk easily. This wasn't a joke but a fact.

For example, someone who could normally drink ten bottles of beer or a pound of baijiu might drink ten more if in a good mood. But conversely, if in a bad mood, half a pound of baijiu or a few bottles of beer might get them drunk.

Clearly, Yu Feihong wasn't in a good mood but a bad one.

Judging by her appearance, Zhao Fusheng figured she'd be drunk soon.

"Jiang Wen, Ye Jing, Wu Junmei..." Yu Feihong listed a few names. Zhao Fusheng thought about it—they were all people from the circle, so he didn't mind. He nodded: "Alright, go ahead and drink."

That was his nature; he wasn't good at comforting others. Since that was the case, he'd let Yu Feihong get drunk first.

In Zhao Fusheng's view, if someone was in a bad mood, it was best to let it out, because bottling it up would eventually lead to trouble.