Chapter 0146: Bait

Before Zhao Fusheng could contact Zhu Yushi, he received a page from Mu Qingwan, and then he called her back.

“I’m sorry, but I’m afraid our cooperation can no longer continue.” On the phone, Mu Qingwan’s voice was as calm as ever, as if she were naturally such a composed person.

Zhao Fusheng laughed. “Who knows? Nothing in this world is certain.”

Mu Qingwan frowned slightly, finding it strange, but she said nothing more. She briefly explained the situation, informing Zhao Fusheng that Qingcheng Culture had decided to terminate the song purchase agreement with him.

Of course, since it was a unilateral breach of contract, the money previously paid to Zhao Fusheng would not need to be returned, but the song could not be published within three years.

Zhao Fusheng accepted all of this. Although it wasn’t a case of “no deal, no goodwill” with Qingcheng Culture, for him, verbal sparring was utterly pointless.

“I’m sorry. I hope this doesn’t affect your relationship with Qingqing,” Mu Qingwan said at the end of the call.

Zhao Fusheng held the phone and smiled, saying nothing.

For some reason, it seemed everyone thought he should have some kind of relationship with Mu Qingqing. But in truth, Zhao Fusheng had absolutely no interest in her.

Although he wasn’t particularly handsome, Zhao Fusheng was well aware of his own strengths. He would never worry about women, and as for fighting over a confidante, it seemed that no woman had yet become that important to him.

More importantly, Zhao Fusheng, who always prided himself on being wise, would never do something so foolish as to lose the big for the small.

Apart from his parents and family, he would not easily gamble everything on someone irrelevant.

Living, one always aims to continuously improve one’s living environment. When an environment can no longer satisfy a person’s needs, it’s time to change it.

To be precise, the saying “when full and warm, one thinks of lust” is actually a manifestation of human pursuit. When full, one naturally thinks of eating meat; when meat is available, one naturally thinks of enjoying life.

Zhao Fusheng didn’t mind the occasional fleeting romance with a beautiful woman, but when it came to someone like Mu Qingqing, it was better to forget it.

Princess syndrome was something he couldn’t afford to provoke.

As a reborn person who relied on vague memories in his mind to get started, there were too many things Zhao Fusheng was unsure of. Before he became strong enough, he felt it was better to stay low-key and behave.

The most terrible thing in a person’s life is not death, but regret.

Death is not scary; what’s scary is dying over a woman—neither glorious nor dignified, and utterly meaningless.

Success in one’s career also depends on whom you compare yourself to. Compared to the future big shots, Zhao Fusheng knew well that he still had a long way to go. Foresight might give him a head start, but to stand at the peak of the world and look down, the most important thing is people, not luck.

It’s like doing business: some succeed, some fail, even though the failures might have started first.

But it means nothing. This world has always been about the victor being king and the loser being a bandit, judging heroes by success or failure.

The victor can stand high, write new history, express grand sentiments, and feed chicken soup to later generations, while the loser, though filled with anger and curses every day, has no way to resist and can only live on bended knee.

On the pager, Mu Qingqing’s apology message was still there, but Zhao Fusheng had no intention of calling her back. For both him and her, drifting apart was the most suitable course.

Taking out the business card Wang Jinghua had left him earlier, Zhao Fusheng thought for a moment and dialed Wang Jinghua's phone.

"Hello, this is Wang Jinghua." The call connected, and Wang Jinghua's voice came through, very polite, especially polite.

"Sister Hua, it's Zhao Fusheng." Zhao Fusheng said directly.

"Xiao Zhao, is there something?" Wang Jinghua was taken aback, somewhat surprised.

"Sister Hua, who are the biggest stars under you right now, including both men and women?" Zhao Fusheng asked calmly.

"What?"

Wang Jinghua was in a meeting, but she froze for a moment, because Zhao Fusheng's question was quite domineering.

"I mean, Sister Hua, which of the artists under you are the biggest names? What are their endorsement fees?" Zhao Fusheng said seriously, not bothered by Wang Jinghua's shock. "I have an ad here that needs two celebrities. I only have one requirement: they must be extremely well-known."

For Zhao Fusheng, designing the phone ad was easy, and he had a rough idea of which celebrities to choose.

"How about Chen Daoming?" Wang Jinghua paused, not mentioning the price but first asking about the candidate.

"Too old." Zhao Fusheng frowned and directly rejected.

"Hu Jun? Xia Yu? Tong Dawei?" Wang Jinghua suggested a few more names.

Zhao Fusheng said helplessly, "Sister Hua, is there anyone with a bit more fame?"

"Huh? You can't expect me to invite the Four Heavenly Kings for you, can you?" Wang Jinghua said casually, also helpless.

"Well, that would work too." Zhao Fusheng paused, then laughed. "If Sister Hua has the connections, I won't stand on ceremony."

In this era, Hong Kong and Taiwan stars were the mainstream; there were almost no domestic stars who could rival them. Young people preferred the Four Heavenly Kings, Jackie Chan, Anita Mui, and Leslie Cheung.

Even the vendors selling discs in Zhongguancun had hot sellers like the "Young and Dangerous" series, while Wang Jingwen, the broken-voiced diva with a tumultuous love life and a string of husbands, was still wearing a black leather jacket and singing "Human World" and "The Postman."

Those who belonged to the next era were waiting in the cold wind for fate's favor.

"Xiao Zhao, you're not joking with Sister Hua, are you?" Wang Jinghua's tone became urgent as she spoke seriously to Zhao Fusheng.

Recently, she had been trying to connect with the Hong Kong side, but they valued practical interests more. To put it bluntly, those Hong Kong and Taiwan stars came to the mainland mainly to make money. If the agency couldn't bring them benefits, those people wouldn't easily agree.

But if what Zhao Fusheng said was true, then she, Wang Jinghua, might become the first mainland agent to secure domestic agency contracts for Hong Kong and Taiwan stars.

Thinking of this, Wang Jinghua's heart grew hot, and even her tone toward Zhao Fusheng became more cordial and affectionate: "Fusheng, tell me, what's going on?"

Zhao Fusheng smiled. "Nothing much. Let's talk when we meet. Before I leave Beijing, let's get together and discuss the specifics. There's also something I need your help with, Sister Hua."

Wang Jinghua knew she couldn't rush things. When she hung up the phone, her expression had already turned serious, but in her heart, she decided to elevate Fan Baobao's status in her company a few more notches.

With such a backer, she really needed to pay more attention to that girl.