Chapter 0740: Can't Figure It Out

The relationship between Dingxin Group and Tongyi Group was roughly like that between Pepsi and Coca-Cola—basically a situation where one's existence precluded the other's.

There was no helping it; the main products of both sides were extremely similar. Without exaggeration, it was essentially a case where if one company grew big, the other would have no way to survive.

Under such circumstances, whether it was Dingxin or Tongyi, whenever there was an opportunity to suppress the other, they would strike without hesitation, and with all their might, to the extent of wanting to utterly crush the opponent into the dust.

Now that Zhao Fusheng proposed poaching the spokesperson for Dingxin's iced tea, it was exactly what Zhou Zhijie wanted to hear.

He even felt that if he could accomplish this, at the very least, he would be able to justify himself to the company.

Watching Zhou Zhijie and his team leave with high morale, Dong Chenxi looked at Zhao Fusheng, her delicate brows slightly furrowed, and said, "Did you plan all along to make Tongyi and Dingxin go to war?"

She couldn't help but suspect this. After all, the entire direction of events was too strange. Zhao Fusheng seemed to have grasped Tongyi's pulse, proposing terms that Tongyi simply couldn't refuse.

Zhao Fusheng smiled meaningfully but said nothing. Some things were more interesting when left for others to figure out on their own.

"Alright, we still have a lot to do next. Hurry up and contact various record companies to see if there are any suitable singers."

Seeing that Zhao Fusheng had no intention of revealing anything, Dong Chenxi said helplessly to Bai Jie.

Zhao Fusheng's personality was like that; he would never speak about things he didn't want to disclose.

But they also knew that Zhao Fusheng never fought battles without preparation. In other words, if he wasn't absolutely certain, he wouldn't easily propose such a plan.

In fact, Dong Chenxi's guess was not wrong.

At the beginning, Zhao Fusheng might have only had a sudden impulse to deal with Chen Sicheng, but now that things had reached this point, he couldn't just stand by and watch his advertising plan be ruined.

Since that was the case, he might as well do the best he could.

Regarding iced tea advertisements, the best one in Zhao Fusheng's memory was undoubtedly Dingxin's Master Kong Iced Tea. The song "Save the Heart" by Ren Xianqi, even years later, Zhao Fusheng could still hum.

Not only that, but he also had a vivid memory of Master Kong's series of promotional tactics.

In his previous life, around 2003 and 2004, the happiest thing in summer was to take two and a half yuan, go to the supermarket above the basement, buy a bottle of Master Kong Iced Tea, happily twist it open, take a big gulp, hand the cap that said "One More Bottle" to the supermarket owner, and under the owner's helpless gaze, twist open another, and then another.

The most extreme time for Zhao Fusheng, he drank four bottles in a row, all of which were "One More Bottle."

That time, he finally understood what it felt like to have a stomach full of water.

But it had to be said, during those days, thanks to Master Kong Iced Tea, he never really lacked for drinks.

Of course, after Zhao Fusheng learned that Dingxin was controlled by a Japanese enterprise and that Master Kong was considered a foreign brand, he, who always liked to call himself a young nationalist, never drank Master Kong Iced Tea again. Even in this life, when Dingxin proactively approached him to create an advertising plan, he directly refused.

Some things, even after ten or fifty years, still cannot be forgotten.

This time, Zhao Fusheng planned to apply the entire set of strategies he had devised for Master Kong to Uni-President.

At Future Advertising, Zhao Fusheng's plan had them busy again. Meanwhile, at Uni-President, as soon as Zhou Zhijie got into the car, he dialed his immediate superior's number.

Entering 2001, more and more people were using mobile phones, making communication increasingly convenient.

"President Chen, this is Zhou Zhijie. The situation is like this..."

The call was quickly connected. Zhou Zhijie got straight to the point, reporting the whole story to his superior.

Soon, President Chen made a decision.

"Old Zhou, you mean that Planner Zhao insisted on reshooting the advertisement and replacing the spokesperson, even the male lead and theme song must be chosen anew?"

President Chen hesitated for a moment, then asked Zhou Zhijie slowly.

Zhou Zhijie nodded. After hesitating for less than ten seconds, he still revealed that Chen Sicheng was connected to the vice president of the marketing department. Simply put, because President Chen was the head of domestic operations, he would rather offend that vice president than jeopardize his own future.

After hearing Zhou Zhijie's account, President Chen did not blame him for having pulled strings for Chen Sicheng earlier. In his view, it was indeed not a big deal. Zhou Zhijie had been with him for many years and could distinguish priorities.

"Here's what you do: call Old Tang. The one who tied the knot should untie it. I think Planner Zhao's insistence on replacing people might have something to do with that male lead." President Chen pinpointed the crux of the issue.

The reason was simple: different positions lead to different perspectives.

It is often said that the onlooker sees the game best while the player is blind. To a large extent, those involved in a situation tend to overlook many useful details due to their own interests.

Take Zhou Zhijie, for example. He never understood why Zhao Fusheng insisted on reshooting the advertisement and even replacing the singer of the ad song.

But in President Chen's view, there was clearly a thread running through the whole matter.

A prestigious gold medal planner repeatedly emphasizing the theme song and singer of an advertisement—the whole thing was inherently suspicious.

But if you thought about it the other way around—that Zhao Fusheng's sole purpose from start to finish was to replace Chen Sicheng—then everything made sense.

However, President Chen couldn't figure out how Chen Sicheng had offended that gold medal planner.

Logically, the two should have had no intersection at all.

He couldn't figure it out, and Zhou Zhijie was even more puzzled. But since his superior had given instructions, he naturally followed them. After hanging up, he dialed the vice president in charge of the marketing department.

"President Tang, it's Old Zhou. Let me tell you something. The promotional song we filmed earlier—yes, the one Chen Sicheng sang—probably can't be used. No, no, it's not my idea; it's President Chen's. No, mainly because Future Advertising proposed a new advertising plan to counter Dingxin. Yes, President Chen definitely won't miss this opportunity."

Zhou Zhijie calmly informed President Tang of the changes. Before hanging up, he casually added, "But President Tang, has that kid Chen Sicheng offended someone at Future Advertising? They insist on replacing him—he can't appear in either the ad shoot or the ad song. I'm really in a bind here."

Clearly, this news surprised the person on the other end of the line. Zhou Zhijie could tell that he was also confused.

"What the hell is going on?"

Zhou Zhijie rubbed his chin. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't understand how an ordinary Central Academy of Drama student could have ended up in conflict with a gold medal planner.