Chapter 1689: The Xiang Family

For Zhao Fusheng, blacklisting a minor figure like Eason was hardly a big deal.

Just a singer, Zhao Fusheng couldn't care less.

"Chairman, is this really appropriate?"

After making the call, Wu Sijie said to Zhao Fusheng, "Could it affect our cooperation with Hong Kong?"

He was worried that Zhao Fusheng's domineering style—blacklisting an artist over a disagreement—might make him seem too tough and hurt future collaborations between the film industry and Hong Kong's entertainment circle.

After all, Hong Kong's entertainment industry still had some influence.

"Inappropriate?"

Zhao Fusheng laughed and shook his head. "It doesn't matter. Do I need to care about their feelings?"

"Huh?"

Wu Sijie was taken aback, looking at Zhao Fusheng in surprise.

He really hadn't expected his boss to have such an attitude.

He had thought Zhao Fusheng had ambitions for Hong Kong's entertainment scene, but now it seemed the boss had no interest in it.

No, to be precise, it wasn't a lack of interest but a sense of indifference.

"People who kowtow for benefits—I don't care what they think."

Zhao Fusheng snorted, muttering to himself.

Wu Sijie was stunned.

He didn't know that this was Zhao Fusheng's true feeling.

He understood Hong Kong's entertainment world better than Wu Sijie—there were good people and bad people, just a vanity fair.

Even if he blacklisted Eason or someone else, these people wouldn't band together; they'd only fear being blacklisted themselves.

That's human nature—to seek benefit and avoid harm.

In this era, communication was advanced, and news spread fast. Zhao Fusheng met with Heavenly King Liu and Luo Hanguo in the afternoon, and by evening, the news had spread throughout Hong Kong.

...

...

"Eason, I'm sorry, but you can't be in this film anymore." Luo Hanguo and Heavenly King Liu took Eason out and told him.

"What?"

Eason looked at Luo Hanguo in confusion. "Director Luo, what do you mean?"

"Exactly what I said."

Luo Hanguo didn't bother with pleasantries. He might grovel before Zhao Fusheng, but he didn't have to do the same with Eason.

Zhao Fusheng was a big shot; Eason was nothing.

A mere singer-actor didn't even have the right to make Luo Hanguo bow his head.

That wasn't a joke; it was fact.

"Brother Hua!"

Eason was dumbfounded and looked to Heavenly King Liu for help.

Unexpectedly, Liu shook his head. "Eason, you shouldn't have spoken carelessly."

"What?" Eason looked at Liu in surprise, clearly not understanding what he meant by 'speaking carelessly.'

Liu sighed helplessly. "Why did you give that interview and reveal the fight from yesterday?"

"Huh?"

Eason was completely confused, not understanding why this was related to him. Was the interview the reason he lost his role?

"Did someone take my role?" Eason asked instinctively, but then realized it was impossible.

If that were the case, he couldn't have been replaced. He had already filmed some scenes, and now the entire role was being cut. According to Luo Hanguo, the scenes wouldn't be deleted but reshot with someone else.

Damn!

What did that mean?

It meant the production team chose to abandon him to save the film.

To be honest, Eason was starting to panic, sensing he might be in trouble.

As it turned out, he was right.

"You should know this isn't our decision."

Liu said calmly.

There was no need to hide it; a mistake was a mistake, and they should just admit it.

"Who is it?"

Eason's eyes widened as he asked gravely.

He wished he could find that person, grab him by the collar, and ask what he wanted.

"Someone you can't afford to offend."

Luo Hanguo snorted at Eason. "You know what you did."

With that, he got up and left.

He was truly furious. This incident was the biggest loss for him. As producer and director, he couldn't give up at this point.

Eason watched Luo Hanguo leave, knowing his path in film was completely cut off.

The reason was simple: with this scandal, Luo Hanguo would spread the word, and with his reputation ruined, what would he do?

He looked at Liu with a pleading gaze. "Brother Hua!"

Liu sighed. Honestly, he didn't want to see this either, but Zhao Fusheng had made his stance clear, and he had to make a choice.

It was simple: everyone had to make choices.

Between Eason and Zhao Fusheng, Liu wasn't a fool; he knew whom to choose.

"Eason, you really shouldn't have spoken carelessly."

Liu said slowly to Eason. "Do you know who you've provoked?"

Eason was startled. "What?"

"It's..."

Liu whispered Zhao Fusheng's name, introduced his identity, and said seriously, "You've provoked him; no one can protect you."

Then Liu stood up and left.

In his view, he had done all he could.

Eason sat there, speechless for a long time.

A billionaire tycoon!

What to do?

Just give up?

After a long silence, Eason gritted his teeth. He wouldn't accept it!

No matter what, this was Hong Kong. Even if he was blacklisted, he had to fight back!

...

...

Zhao Fusheng didn't know that Liu and Luo Hanguo had revealed his identity to Eason. He figured even if they knew, what could they do? He had no plans to develop in Hong Kong.

As it turned out, he underestimated some people's integrity and overestimated others' intelligence.

The next morning, as Zhao Fusheng was coaxing Fan Beibei to eat breakfast, Wu Sijie walked in.

"Chairman, someone wants to see you."

Wu Sijie said.

"Who?"

Zhao Fusheng frowned. He had only met Liu and Luo Hanguo once, and now someone else was showing up. What was going on?

"It's the son of Xiang Shi from China Star Entertainment. He said his mother, Chen Lan, wants to invite you to dinner." Wu Sijie said.

"China Star? Xiang Shi? Chen Lan?"

Zhao Fusheng was taken aback, then muttered to himself with a strange smile.

To be honest, he knew about China Star and the Yi'an Xiang family. As for this 'Mrs. Chen,' in the age of the internet, she had been quite active, especially her feud with Stephen Chow, which Zhao Fusheng found entertaining.

He thought that if she had been born in the chaotic 1950s-60s Hong Kong, she could have led a triad.

Of course, the New Yi'an was different from the dock laborers who depended on merchants. They were formed by remnants of the defeated army from the mainland. Chen Lan's father-in-law was a Taiwanese officer, exiled to Taiwan by the British, where he died.

But regardless, before 1997, the Xiang family was powerful in Hong Kong, especially in the entertainment industry, where they transformed from a gang into a film company.

Though this transformation wasn't Xiang Shi's doing but his younger brother Xiang Shisan's.

Indeed, Xiang Shisan might not be well-known, but those familiar with Hong Kong's film industry knew he was instrumental in the family's successful rebranding through film production.

However, due to poor health and an early death, China Star fell to Xiang Shi.

Also, rumors that the actress who played Zhao Min had an affair with Xiang Shi, allowing her to star in Yong Sheng films with big names like Liu, Chow, and Fat, were false.

Ms. Zhang was actually Xiang Shisan's confidante.

Of course, times had changed. By the new century, the Xiang family was no longer a powerful gang family but a renowned film company in Hong Kong's entertainment circle. Chen Lan and Xiang Shi had reinvented themselves as modern-day 'timely rain' figures.

There's a story: Chen Lan appeared on a talk show with a host who looked like a big-headed doll, claiming that when Tata had a conflict in a karaoke bar and was slapped, she went and resolved it, showcasing her chivalrous nature.

In reality?

The person Tata clashed with was a hall master from another Hong Kong gang. As the wife of the Yi'an boss, Chen Lan naturally could settle it. The aftermath: that hall master was killed, and in retaliation, a Yi'an hall master was also killed, which was even made into a film.

No one in Hong Kong's entertainment industry was clean.

And now, they were coming to him?

"Interesting."

Zhao Fusheng smiled, but Wu Sijie felt his gaze was cold, like winter ice that could freeze and consume everything.

"Boss, maybe we should leave Hong Kong?" Wu Sijie hesitated. "You have Miss Beibei with you; it's not convenient."

He was mainly worried about Zhao Fusheng and Fan Beibei's safety, since this was Hong Kong, someone else's territory.

If they were in the mainland, Wu Sijie thought Zhao Fusheng could solve any problem with a single phone call.

Just then: "Ring, ring, ring..."

The phone vibrated. Zhao Fusheng glanced at the caller ID, a bit surprised.

He nodded to Wu Sijie and said, "I'll take this call."

Then he stood up and walked to the window.

"What's up?"

Zhao Fusheng said to Tan Kaixuan on the other end.

"Cough, let me ask you something."

Tan Kaixuan said awkwardly.

"What?"

Zhao Fusheng was puzzled. "Did you get into trouble?"

"I don't know." Tan Kaixuan lowered his voice, as if afraid of being overheard. "Um, after taking the morning-after pill, how long until your period comes?"

"Huh?"

Zhao Fusheng was stunned, his face full of surprise.

"What did you say?"

He was really taken aback. How did they end up talking about this?

"It's like this: Tong Xiaoya's period hasn't come this month. I'm worried she might be pregnant." Tan Kaixuan said embarrassedly.

"Are you out of your mind?"

Zhao Fusheng said irritably. "How would I know about this kind of thing?"

"Damn!"

Tan Kaixuan immediately got agitated. "You're already a dad; you must have experience."

Zhao Fusheng was speechless.

That bastard was really infuriating, thinking he had experience.

But thinking about it, it was true...

After all, when he was with Fan Baobao, Tan Kaixuan was still single.

Frowning, Zhao Fusheng racked his brain for knowledge on the subject. After a while, he said to Tan Kaixuan, "I remember that after taking the morning-after pill, your period should come within a few days. Probably a week or ten days. Ask her when her safe period was."

"Really?"

Tan Kaixuan's voice rose significantly, clearly surprised by this information.

Zhao Fusheng nodded. "I recall Fan Baobao mentioning it once, but I don't remember the details."

He paused and said seriously, "Actually, you don't need to overthink it. If Tong Xiaoya is pregnant, just have the baby."

"She doesn't want to."

Tan Kaixuan laughed bitterly. "She wants to be an actress. A few days ago, she took the pill but didn't have withdrawal bleeding, so she's really worried."

Zhao Fusheng rolled his eyes, at a loss for words.

"But seriously, I've looked up some information on this." Tan Kaixuan changed the subject and suddenly laughed. "I think there's a market here."

"Huh?"

Zhao Fusheng was taken aback.

Damn, Tan Kaixuan was eyeing the contraceptive pill market? Was he crazy?

But then he realized Tan Kaixuan might have a point.

"Let me tell you, there are two types of pills: before and after. Some need to be taken daily, but the emergency ones most people use have serious side effects." Tan Kaixuan spoke with authority.

"So, you're interested in this industry?" Zhao Fusheng asked after a moment.

"We'll see. If there's an opportunity, I think it's worth a try." Tan Kaixuan said confidently.

Since he was so determined, Zhao Fusheng didn't say much more and just nodded.

But after hanging up, he called Fan Baobao and told her about Tong Xiaoya's situation. Though surprised, Fan Baobao explained what withdrawal bleeding was and why women sometimes don't get their period after taking the pill.

In the end, Zhao Fusheng felt embarrassed and hung up.