Chapter 0651: About to Be Released

How big is the gap between a beautiful dream and the real world?

Standing in the bustling Zhongguancun, Zhao Fusheng silently sighed as he watched the crowds coming and going around him.

He had thought he might find a trace of his former dreams here, but unfortunately, that was just his wishful thinking.

“Bro, want a disc?”

From time to time, people would approach him and ask in a very low voice.

Zhao Fusheng chuckled softly and shook his head.

He hadn’t expected that such things were already happening at this time.

“Hmm, it seems that the guy who ‘doesn’t know if his wife is beautiful’ should be around here now,” Zhao Fusheng mused, stroking his chin.

If he remembered correctly, Boss Liu had a counter of about four square meters in Zhongguancun, probably near Hailong Building, mainly selling burned discs with a free multimedia system thrown in.

After thinking it over, he decided to go take a look.

No particular reason—just pure curiosity.

Wandering over to Hailong Building, Zhao Fusheng actually found Boss Liu’s counter. He watched for a while but didn’t see Boss Liu, who spoke Mandarin with a dialect accent; instead, he saw a few employees busy at work.

“Looks like he hasn’t hired a warehouse keeper yet.”

Zhao Fusheng tilted his head, thought for a moment, and a smile appeared on his face.

This was the best of times; he didn’t need to rack his brains to find peace. He emptied his mind, like a lonely stray dog, accepting everything that came at him with an evasive attitude, using this disregard for pressure as a haven for memories, and then casting aside all worries.

“Ring, ring, ring…”

A phone call interrupted Zhao Fusheng’s thoughts. Glancing at the number, he was a bit surprised but still answered.

“Fusheng?”

On the other end of the line, Liu Dehua, speaking Cantonese-accented Mandarin, greeted Zhao Fusheng with a laugh.

“Brother Hua, long time no see,” Zhao Fusheng said politely.

Regardless of whether the other party had sidelined him during the filming of Infernal Affairs, to be fair, Brother Hua had treated him well—the 200,000 yuan screenwriting fee was real.

Even if only for the money, Zhao Fusheng wouldn’t make things difficult for him.

“The film is finally finished, and the editing is done. It’s scheduled for release at the end of the year,” Brother Hua said directly, without beating around the bush.

“Is that so? That’s great news.” Zhao Fusheng smiled.

“I’m sorry, Fusheng, for not inviting you over earlier. It’s mainly because the investors felt that the focus should be on Hong Kong…” Brother Hua explained apologetically.

Zhao Fusheng smiled slightly. “Brother Hua, saying that makes you seem distant. We’re friends, it’s fine. I understand completely.”

What a joke, Hong Kong cinema is on the decline, getting worse every year. Zhao Fusheng couldn't care less about any false reputation. As long as his name was still credited as the screenwriter, nothing else had anything to do with him.

As for Andy Lau's mention of the investors' opinions, Zhao Fusheng thought it was perfectly normal.

The businessmen in Hong Kong were the most hypocritical.

Among them were those who had once fawned over foreigners, then, seeing the tide turn, switched to currying favor with the mainland; others who had loudly declared they would live and die as Hong Kongers, only to quickly transfer their assets when Hong Kong's economy took a downturn. Not to mention the entertainment industry, which was even more exasperating.

To make money, the Hong Kong entertainment circle would stoop to any shameless act. That Heavenly King Andy had managed to preserve his screenwriting credit was already a hard-won favor.

By the same token, for Zhao Fusheng, as long as he made money, he didn't care who the other party was.

If you pulled out a hundred yuan bill, who the hell knew which one was noble and which one was vulgar?

In a money-driven society, money enslaved too many people. Many would rather turn their spines into lamb spine hotpot than stand up straight and live with dignity.

Zhao Fusheng had seen too many such people in his past life, and he himself had once become one of them for a time. Now, he never wanted to live that way again.

"As for the premiere, do you have time to come over? I'll introduce a few good friends to you." Andy Lau, though not exactly a man of great integrity, was still a decent person. Seeming to make it up to Zhao Fusheng, he proactively offered to help him build connections in Hong Kong.

But unfortunately, he had the wrong idea. Zhao Fusheng had never planned to break into the entertainment industry. Or rather, although he was now inextricably linked to it, he knew very well what his foundation was.

So Zhao Fusheng smiled faintly and shook his head: "No thanks, Brother Hua. I appreciate your kindness, but I have things to take care of here, so I won't go. I'll pray for the movie's success at home."

Face was something mutual. Since the other party gave him face, he naturally couldn't make things difficult for them.

Moreover, having the chance to make the esteemed Heavenly King Andy owe him a favor was something Zhao Fusheng was more than happy about.

"Then how about this: you must attend the domestic premiere," Heavenly King Andy said sincerely.

Zhao Fusheng was taken aback, then frowned: "Domestic premiere? Brother Hua, can this film of yours pass the censorship in the mainland?"

Zhao Fusheng was well aware of how strict the current censorship by the mainland's State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television was. Not to mention a big production like *Infernal Affairs*, which would certainly attract even more scrutiny. When Heavenly King Andy told him to attend the domestic premiere, Zhao Fusheng felt he needed to remind him not to be too optimistic.

Sure enough, Heavenly King Andy hadn't even thought about it. Hearing Zhao Fusheng's words, he laughed and said, "It's fine. Mr. Lam has already asked around through connections; there's no big issue."

The so-called Mr. Lam naturally referred to the film's main investor, Lam Kin-lok, the boss of Media Asia Group.

"Alright, but if I may be blunt, Brother Hua, you'd better prepare yourself mentally," Zhao Fusheng finally said with a sigh.

He understood the so-called national conditions better than Heavenly King Andy, so he knew all too well that under the current circumstances, not just a Hong Kong film like *Infernal Affairs*, but even a mainland police-crime film would find it far from easy to pass censorship.

They chatted a bit more before Heavenly King Andy hung up. Clearly, he hadn't taken Zhao Fusheng's words to heart. After all, in his view, with the film's quality, how could it possibly fail to pass censorship?

Zhao Fusheng also understood Heavenly King Andy's thinking, but many times, whether a film could be released depended not on its quality but on the national conditions.

Of course, he had given the advice he should; whether it was heeded was the other party's business. To tell the truth, Zhao Fusheng was really looking forward to this *Infernal Affairs*, because he was eager to see how Leslie Cheung's version of Chan Wing-yan differed from Tony Leung's Oscar-winning version.

The latter was renowned for his acting skills, said to have eyes that could speak, while the former had a melancholy aura that came from the heart; just standing there, he would catch everyone's eye.

This long-distance showdown between the two, though only he knew about it, just thinking about it made Zhao Fusheng tremble with anticipation.

Rubbing his chin, Zhao Fusheng thought he should go back and find some films by these two actors and watch them again.

Although many films had yet to be made, even just a few would be enough.