Chapter 1789: An Unwarranted Disaster

A smart man like Gu Tian naturally understood that Zhao Fusheng was joking with him.

He actually found it a bit strange—this big shot seemed to appreciate him from their very first meeting.

As an actor, reading people is instinct, especially for Gu Tian, who came from the streets.

He had genuinely been a gangster and a thug back in the day.

In Gu Tian's view, Zhao Fusheng truly admired him, even if it wasn't obvious; he could still sense it.

"I'll make a call to a friend, then we'll go."

Gu Tian said to Zhao Fusheng and Fan Baobao.

Zhao Fusheng nodded and said to Fan Baobao, "Don't just take photos with anyone later."

"Don't worry."

Fan Baobao smiled.

She was just curious; she didn't have much of a fan mentality.

After all, she was in the entertainment industry herself. She had seen plenty of big stars in China—Old Jiang was a Best Actor, but he still threw up when he drank too much.

After Gu Tian finished his call, a few people soon came out of the TV station.

The one in front was a woman wearing sunglasses.

"Ah She!"

Gu Tian waved at her, and the woman quickly walked over.

"Why are you back?"

When the woman took off her sunglasses and revealed her face, Zhao Fusheng was momentarily stunned.

Sheh Sze-man, a TVB actress who had been heavily promoted in recent years, often starring in various dramas. Zhao Fusheng hadn't expected her to be acquainted with Gu Tian.

"I have a friend from the mainland whose wife loves TVB dramas and wants to visit the filming set. Can you help?" Gu Tian didn't beat around the bush with Sheh Sze-man; after a few pleasantries, he stated his purpose.

"Visit?"

Sheh Sze-man was a bit surprised. She glanced at Zhao Fusheng and Fan Baobao, and the group of bodyguards behind them, then blinked. "I'll have to talk to Miss Lok about this."

Miss Lok referred to Lok Yi-ling, one of TVB's top executives.

TVB's founder was Lam Sin-wo; Uncle Six Shao was just one of the shareholders. The Lam family made their fortune selling opium—bluntly, they were opium dealers. After amassing great wealth, they quickly laundered their image and moved into real estate investment, becoming one of the four major families in Hong Kong during the British colonial era. After founding TVB, Lam Sin-wo became the majority shareholder.

Later, after Lam Sin-wo died of illness, the Lam family gradually withdrew from TVB. In 1980, Uncle Six Shao became the majority shareholder and chairman of the board.

It must be said that TVB ushered in the golden age of Chinese-language television dramas, producing classics like "The Bund" and "The Legend of Huo Yuanjia," and nurturing stars like Chow Yun-fat, Andy Lau, and Tony Leung.

As Uncle Six Shao aged, TVB's decision-making power gradually shifted to his concubine, Madam Fong.

Under Madam Fong, TVB affairs were managed by four top executives: Tsang Lik-chun, Lok Yi-ling, Leung Ka-syu, and Chan Chi-wan. Each had their own focus, and under their leadership, TVB entered the post-Uncle Six Shao era.

However, precisely because of the four executives' "separate rule," TVB's internal relationships became extremely complicated.

The Tsang Lik-chun faction and the Leung Ka-syu faction had long been at odds. The result was Leung's defeat; Tsang forced out Tang Tak-hei and Siu Siu-ming, the latter being Leung's wife. Gu Tian and Jessica Hester Hsuan were once Siu Siu-ming's favorites, and Gu Tian left as a result.

Lok Yi-ling joined TVB in 2006 and promoted many newcomers, with Kevin Cheng being a typical example. Kevin Cheng had been in the industry for a long time, once dating Linda Wong, but never became popular. Later, he acknowledged Lok Yi-ling as his "godmother," landed several major TVB dramas, and won this year's "TV King," securing his position as a top TVB actor.

Lok Yi-ling also made Sheh Sze-man a star, tailoring many series for her. Previously, Sheh Sze-man was on Tsang Lik-chun's roster. Last year, before the TVB "My Favorite Female Lead" award was announced, Sheh Sze-man invited Chan Chi-wan and Lok Yi-ling to Japanese cuisine at the InterContinental Hotel, playing both sides, and ultimately won.

As TVB's general manager, Chan Chi-wan liked to promote actors others had discarded. Fala Chen was one he single-handedly turned into a Best Supporting Actress. And Sheren Tang often clashed with Lok Yi-ling; Chan Chi-wan strongly supported Sheren, and Lok couldn't do anything about her.

In the end, the biggest victims of TVB's high-level factional struggles were the viewers. Many felt that TVB's dramas were getting worse and worse, leaving audiences disappointed.

Now that Sheh Sze-man said she needed to consult Miss Lok, Zhao Fusheng knew she was probably going to call Lok Yi-ling.

"No problem."

Gu Zai turned his head to look at Zhao Fusheng, and seeing Zhao Fusheng nod at him, he turned to She Shiman and said.

Originally, he had planned to let his old friend do him a favor. After all, if She Shiman directly brought Zhao Fusheng in, even if the TV station held her accountable, it wouldn't matter—Zhao Fusheng's status was such that even Miss Fang would greet him with a smile, so how could there be any problem?

But She Shiman insisted on making a phone call, and that favor couldn't be given.

Anyway, he had done his part; if she couldn't seize the opportunity, that wasn't his problem.

Although Zhao Fusheng couldn't guess Gu Zai's thoughts precisely, he could more or less figure them out. He smiled and said nothing.

Soon, She Shiman finished her call.

Le Yiling had no objections—this kind of thing was common. It was just that She Shiman had mentioned there were quite a few people, so she called to inform her.

"Let's go. Miss Le agreed. I'll take you there."

She Shiman said to Gu Zai.

Gu Zai turned his head and looked at Zhao Fusheng: "Mr. Zhao, let's go."

Zhao Fusheng smiled and nodded, saying to She Shiman, "Sorry for the trouble, Miss She."

"You're welcome. You are Gu Zai's guests, and also my guests," She Shiman said politely.

She could tell that Gu Zai respected this couple very much, assuming they were wealthy patrons from the mainland, so she said no more.

This kind of thing was normal. After all, the Hong Kong market had been in a slump in recent years, and it was common for artists to go to the mainland to make money. Not to mention Gu Zai, even those top actors and big shots were heading to the mainland, weren't they?

With She Shiman leading the way, naturally no one stopped them. The group soon headed toward the filming base.

"This is the set where 'The Return of the Condor Heroes' was filmed. This is our..." She Shiman and Gu Zai walked along, introducing the sights to Zhao Fusheng and Fan Baobao.

Of course, mainly to Fan Baobao.

Because Zhao Fusheng clearly wasn't very interested in this, whereas Fan Baobao was full of enthusiasm, listening attentively to their introductions.

Zhao Fusheng, on the other hand, seemed more like a companion.

Soon, they had seen most of the sights. Just as they were about to leave, they were stopped at the entrance.

"Sorry, these people need to be checked."

The one stopping them was the security chief.

"Chief He, these are my guests. Miss Le has already agreed," She Shiman said, somewhat surprised, to the chief.

"From the mainland?"

Chief He sneered and then said, "Miss She, I'm sorry, but this is Miss Zeng's order."

Miss Zeng, of course, referred to Zeng Lizhen.

Hearing this, She Shiman's face turned extremely ugly.

She had been openly slapped in the face, and in front of Gu Zai and Zhao Fusheng, no less. This was a serious loss of face.

More importantly, the other party knew these were her guests, approved by Le Yiling, yet still dared to stop them—clearly intentional.

Taking a deep breath, She Shiman looked at Chief He: "Chief He, I can guarantee that these people are all respectable. Please don't make things difficult for them."

"Sorry."

Chief He shook his head: "I only follow Miss Zeng's orders. As for your mainland friends, heh, since mainlanders like watching the fun so much, they might as well stay and watch a bit longer."

To be honest, if he hadn't kept saying 'mainlander' over and over, Zhao Fusheng might not have bothered with him. But this guy was practically asking for trouble, repeating 'mainlander' again and again.

That made Zhao Fusheng quite unhappy!

Glancing at Chief He, Zhao Fusheng suddenly spoke up: "Miss She, can you give Miss Le Yiling a call now?"

What?

She Shiman was startled, looking at Zhao Fusheng in surprise. She didn't understand what he meant. Did this man want to blow things up?