Chapter 0065 Bonus Distribution

They say good things come in pairs, and sometimes that's really true. When luck is on your side, everything goes smoothly—even buying a scratch-off ticket on the street can win you a hundred yuan. But when luck is bad, even drinking cold water can get stuck in your teeth.

Zhao Fusheng, waiting outside the operating room, received a page from Zheng Yao with just four words: "Everything is smooth."

He let out a long breath, and the hanging stone in his heart finally settled. After all, even though he knew that advertisement was a classic, he couldn't fully relax until things were finalized.

The orange that grows south of the Huai River is a true orange, but if transplanted north of the Huai, it becomes a trifoliate orange—Zhao Fusheng understood this truth better than anyone.

"What's wrong?"

Seeing Zhao Fusheng exhale deeply, Fan Bao asked softly.

He gently shook his head. "Nothing."

"How long has my mom been in?" Fan Bao asked. She had actually asked this question many times already.

"Soon, she'll be out any moment now." Zhao Fusheng could only comfort her like this.

"It'll be fine, it has to be fine, right?" Anxious and uneasy, Fan Bao looked at Zhao Fusheng, hoping he could give her a reassuring answer.

People are sometimes like this—when panicked, they instinctively seek comfort from those around them.

Many unhappy people live in illusions, dwelling on past memories or future fantasies, never in the present, never in the now. But a beautiful life never descends upon a thin existence. Only by living the present moment with warmth and vitality can one gain solid, comforting memories and a thriving future.

This truth is simple, but not everyone understands it.

Gently patting Fan Bao's shoulder, Zhao Fusheng said seriously, "Auntie is a good person, so she'll definitely live a long life. Believe me, really, I promise."

Fan Bao didn't say a word, just kept her head down, holding her sleeping younger sister, lost in thought.

Zhao Fusheng felt helpless. He knew that at this moment, no one could calm Fan Bao's heart.

Fortunately, at that moment, the light in the operating room finally went out.

A moment later, a masked doctor walked out. Zhao's mother and father were already waiting there.

"Director Chen, how is she?" Zhao's mother, clearly acquainted with the doctor, asked hastily.

"Nothing serious. The surgery went smoothly. Once the anesthesia wears off, there might be some pain," Director Chen said with a smile. "I'll head back now. If anything comes up, just call me at the office."

"Good that it's nothing, good that it's nothing," Zhao's mother muttered. When she turned to look at Fan Bao, she found the girl already crying.

During this time, although Fan Bao had acted maturely, her mother's illness had weighed on her heart like a mountain. After all, she was just a twenty-year-old girl. No matter how strong she seemed, once the mask was off, she was still fragile.

"Wuwuwu, wuwu..." Unable to utter a single word, Fan Bao sat there, tears falling one after another.

Fan Beibei woke up quickly. Seeing her sister crying, she blinked her big eyes, not knowing what to do.

"Sister, what's wrong?"

"Beibei, be good. Sister is fine; she's just happy." Zhao Fusheng reached out and picked up Fan Beibei, comforting her. Then he looked at Fan Bao. "When you've cried enough, get up. Your mom is still waiting for you to take care of her."

"You!"

Fan Bao looked up, glaring at Zhao Fusheng. "You jerk, you have no sympathy at all."

"If crying could solve problems, I'd cry with you," Zhao Fusheng said flatly. "But unfortunately, crying only makes you look more pitiful; it doesn't solve anything. After you cry, you still have to get up and do things. So don't expect me to cry with you."

Fan Bao was taken aback, and saw that Zhao Fusheng had already walked away with Fan Beibei in his arms.

For the first time, Fan Bao felt that this guy actually seemed like an adult, not the unlucky wretch she usually bullied.

Little did she know, around the corner in the corridor, Zhao Fusheng let out a long breath, almost slipping up. He had been terrified that Fan Bao might lose it and start hitting him.

Putting on airs was also a skill. Zhao Fusheng wasn't stupid. Everyone has times when psychological pressure builds up and needs to be released. He understood Fan Bao's crying, but for him, opportunities to lecture Fan Bao were rare. If he didn't take this chance to scold her a bit, he'd be itching with impatience.

More importantly, this way, at least it could distract Fan Bao a little.

"Brother, I'm hungry..." Fan Beibei blinked her eyes and said to Zhao Fusheng.

Zhao Fusheng smiled. "Okay, big brother will take Beibei to get something to eat."

...

...

Li Yuan's postoperative recovery went very well. Normally, it would take about a week to remove stitches and get out of bed, but perhaps due to her mood, her wound healed in about five days. The doctor said it was rare to see.

Because of gender issues, Zhao Fusheng and his father rarely went to the hospital. Zhao's father stayed home to take care of the child, while Zhao Fusheng returned to the dormitory.

There was no choice. Zheng Yao had been paging him one after another these past few days. If Zhao Fusheng didn't show up, he figured Teacher Zheng would easily come straight to his house.

"I said, big sister, I'm already in the dorm. What's up?" Using the dormitory phone, Zhao Fusheng called Zheng Yao.

"Can't you just buy a Little Smart?" Zheng Yao said irritably.

"No money."

Are you kidding? Next year, the legendary China Mobile would be established, and mobile phones would become the mainstream communication tool. If he bought a Little Smart now, he'd have to replace it anyway. It was completely unnecessary.

"Fine, whatever you say." Knowing full well that Zhao Fusheng was making excuses, Zheng Yao was helpless.

"What's the matter?" Zhao Fusheng asked.

"It's like this: the sales of Qingzui Lozenges have increased by forty percent. Auntie Liu said she'd give our studio an extra two hundred thousand yuan as a bonus, to thank us for the advertisement."

This was also an industry custom. If an ad was very successful after airing, the advertiser would give a bonus to the planning company as a reward.

But such a generous thank-you was rare. It seemed that Runshengyuan had tasted the sweetness.

"Oh, so you're planning to give me a share?" Zhao Fusheng said with a smile.

"You're overthinking it." Zheng Yao directly shattered Zhao Fusheng's beautiful fantasy. "Out of this two hundred thousand, we'll take fifty thousand as the studio's bonus, and the rest will be saved."

"Saved?"

Caught off guard by Zheng Yao's words, Zhao Fusheng was a bit confused.

"I plan to save money and buy a building as the company's office building." Zheng Yao chuckled.

"Well, that's a good idea." Zhao Fusheng fell silent. Although he felt that Zheng Yao's intention might still be to show off to her ex-boyfriend, some things were better left unsaid. For his own safety, he absolutely couldn't expose Boss Zheng's words.

"Out of the fifty thousand bonus, how much do I get?" Zhao Fusheng asked. This was the key question.

"You get twenty thousand, your childhood sweetheart gets ten thousand, the remaining twenty thousand—five thousand each for Bai Jie and Qin Wentao—and I keep ten thousand for myself." Zheng Yao told Zhao Fusheng her arrangement.

Zhao Fusheng thought it over and found no issue. Fan Bao was the ad's leading lady, he was the planner, Zheng Yao was the general manager—taking those amounts was fine. Qin Wentao was a gofer, Bai Jie was the accountant; five thousand each was already a lot.

"Okay, I agree." Zhao Fusheng said.

"Since that's settled, let's talk about the next ad." At this point, Zheng Yao finally revealed her true purpose.

To take, one must first give.

In Zheng Yao's view, since Zhao Fusheng had accepted the bonus, he naturally had to put in the effort.

Rolling his eyes, Zhao Fusheng was too tired to comment on his advisor's scheming. "Wait for me at the studio. I'm on my way."

With that, he hung up the phone directly.