Chapter 81: A Reassurance

The location of Future Advertising Studio was fairly decent for the university area.

When Zhao Fusheng and his parents walked into the office, Zheng Yao was seeing someone out.

"President Zhou, I'm truly sorry, but our studio has limited time and simply can't take your order," Zheng Yao said apologetically to a middle-aged man.

"That's all right, that's all right, President Zheng. How about this: when you finish your current orders, we can talk again, okay?" President Zhou said politely to Zheng Yao.

After hesitating for a moment, Zheng Yao nodded. "Alright then, we'll get in touch later."

Just then, she saw Zhao Fusheng and his family.

"Zhao Fusheng, what brings you here?" Zheng Yao looked at them with some surprise.

Of course, this surprise was undoubtedly feigned.

"Teacher, I brought my parents to have a look," Zhao Fusheng said with a smile, quite politely, which genuinely flattered Zheng Yao, as this guy hadn't been so well-behaved in front of her for a long time.

"Teacher Zheng, it really is you," Zhao's mother said in surprise.

"Hello, hello," Zheng Yao said, having a fairly deep impression of Zhao's mother, greeting her politely.

Zhao's father, on the other hand, was staring thoughtfully at President Zhou's car as it drove away.

"Dad, what's wrong?" Zhao Fusheng asked curiously.

"That man looks a bit familiar," Zhao's father replied.

"That's President Zhou from our city's brewery. He came to ask our studio to help with advertising, but we've been too busy with orders lately to take his job," Zheng Yao explained upon seeing this, then asked Zhao's father, "Do you know him?"

"So it is him," Zhao's father laughed and shook his head. "He's the director of our factory; how could I not know him?"

Then he laughed self-deprecatingly. "But I suppose I know him, while he doesn't know me."

"So that's him?"

Zhao Fusheng's gaze turned cold, and he said coldly, "Laying off half the factory's workers while placing his own relatives—what a fine factory director."

"Forget it, it's in the past," Zhao's father waved his hand, signaling Zhao Fusheng to stop.

Zhao Fusheng said nothing more, but in his heart, he was determined to cause trouble for this Zhou sooner or later. The reason was simple: based on seniority and such, it shouldn't have been his father who was laid off. But Zhou had pushed his father out of the position of deputy workshop director to make room for his relative, pinning the buyout on his father.

Certain thoughts in people often stem from inner hints and pursuits. Sometimes, to put it bluntly, the more people desire something, the more they strive for it, thus achieving their goals.

If the goal is good, the process of striving for it can be called realizing an ideal. Conversely, if the goal is bad, then the person's actions appear exceptionally despicable and shameless.

It is often said that 'Heaven and Earth are ruthless, treating all things as straw dogs,' meaning that heaven is unkind and treats all things as playthings. In fact, that's not the case. The true meaning is that in the eyes of heaven, every person is the same as any other animal, with no difference.

In Zhao Fusheng's view, since Zhou had forced his father to be laid off, it was equivalent to offending him. So no matter what method he used to retaliate, as long as it was legal, no justification was needed.

Of course, he wouldn't tell his parents about this. Let them just be ordinary people.

"Let's talk inside." Zheng Yao said with a smile to Zhao's parents.

The two quickly agreed, and the four of them went in together.

"Sorry, there aren't many people around. Everyone's been sent to the capital for a bidding meeting coming up. I'm still recruiting new people here." Zheng Yao personally poured a glass of water for Zhao's parents and said politely.

"You're too kind, Teacher Zheng, too kind." Zhao's mother quickly took it.

Regardless, Zheng Yao was Zhao Fusheng's advisor. Since ancient times, respect for teachers has been a tradition in China, and Zhao's parents were no exception.

In fact, they even felt a bit restrained in front of Zheng Yao.

"What brings you here today?" Zheng Yao asked Zhao's mother curiously.

"It's like this. That boy Fusheng suddenly brought back thirty thousand yuan to me and his father, saying it was a bonus from you. We..." Zhao's mother recounted the matter and finally asked Zheng Yao, "We just want to know what's really going on?"

For parents, it's not that they fear their children having no future; even if they scold them, it's out of deep love and high expectations. What they fear is their children going astray, because at worst the former means a lifetime of hardship, but the latter can easily ruin a person's life.

"It's nothing. Zhao Fusheng helped me design an advertising plan that was adopted by a company. This is his bonus. And this money, half is the bonus, and the other half is what his plan is worth."

Zheng Yao said with a smile, "Rest assured, Zhao Fusheng does have some talent in advertising planning. Otherwise, I wouldn't have used his plan, right?"

In those days, the word 'teacher' carried significant weight in society. Compared to later times when gifts and money were often accepted, most teachers at that time still deserved the title 'gardener.' So after hearing Zheng Yao's words, Zhao's parents' entire demeanor changed.

Originally, Zhao's father had been holding the thirty thousand yuan cautiously, but now he was exceptionally proud.

This was money earned by his son with his brains, so as a father, he could use it with complete confidence.

Next, upon learning that Zheng Yao hadn't had lunch, Zhao's parents insisted on treating her to a meal. No matter how much Zheng Yao declined, it was useless; their reason was to thank Teacher Zheng for nurturing Zhao Fusheng into a capable person. Although Zhao Fusheng wanted to tell his parents that it was the university professors who actually taught him, not the woman sitting across from him with a smile, waiting for him to pour her wine, there was no way around it—parents are paramount. So Zhao Fusheng had no choice but to obediently raise his glass: "Teacher Zheng, thank you."

"Mm, you're welcome. Keep up the good work, and there will be plenty more opportunities like this." Zheng Yao, barely suppressing the urge to laugh, nodded at Zhao Fusheng with satisfaction.

Rolling his eyes, Zhao Fusheng couldn't be bothered to deal with this woman.

"Zheng Yao?"

A voice sounded, clearly a friend of Zheng Yao's. Zhao Fusheng turned his head and saw a stunned woman standing not far away. She looked about twenty-six or twenty-seven, delicate and soft like a tender cabbage soaked in water. Dressed in professional attire—a suit, white shirt, and high heels—she had a very cultured demeanor. A pair of exquisite glasses sat on her elegant nose, giving her an intellectual and graceful look. She wasn't very tall, but her figure was well-proportioned, with a flawless, delicate face. Even Zhao Fusheng, who had seen countless beauties, had to admit that this woman could definitely rank in the top three.

In fact, without exaggeration, even Zheng Yao paled in comparison beside her.

"Meiyu, what are you doing here?" Zheng Yao stood up the moment she saw the woman and quickly walked over to greet her. "I never expected you to come here. How long has it been since we last met?"

Clearly, the two knew each other.

"You are?" The woman named Meiyu glanced at Zhao Fusheng and the others and asked Zheng Yao curiously.

"My student and his parents. We're having a meal together. And you?" Zheng Yao replied with a smile.

"I'm here on business. You go ahead and chat; we'll talk later." With that, the two seemed to exchange phone numbers.

When she returned, Zheng Yao explained, "She was my college classmate. I haven't seen her in years. I heard she's been working in Beijing. I don't know why she's here. Haha, come on, let's eat."

Zhao Fusheng was thoughtful. He had noticed that the woman looked around as soon as she entered, and only showed a surprised expression after spotting Zheng Yao. Moreover, throughout, her gaze wasn't just on Zheng Yao; it seemed to be sizing him up as well.

"Something's off." He had a vague premonition of trouble, but Zhao Fusheng didn't say anything, hoping his intuition was wrong.