Chapter 0848: New Company

Zhao Fusheng and Fan Baobao ultimately left under Fan Beibei's reluctant gaze. Adults have their own lives; though they were also reluctant, there was no other way.

The little girl watched the car carrying her brother and sister drive away, waving her arms incessantly, tears streaming uncontrollably.

Inside the car, Fan Baobao was also crying.

Parting is probably the hardest thing in the world. Though we always say that every goodbye in life is for the next long-awaited reunion, the taste of parting is ultimately not pleasant.

Even after boarding the plane, Fan Baobao's mood remained poor.

Zhao Fusheng had no choice but to try to cheer her up with happy topics.

Fortunately, Fan Baobao was easygoing; by the time they landed, her mood had improved, and she eagerly discussed her new movie with Zhao Fusheng.

That's right, to make her happy, Zhao Fusheng had promised to come up with a new script for her, in which she would play a role.

Of course, not the lead. Fan Baobao was well aware that her acting skills couldn't carry a film.

But before that, she had to report to the set of Seventeen-Year-Old Bicycle and finish Wang Xiaoshuai's film.

Zhao Fusheng had no objection. In his memory, Wang Xiaoshuai made films at a decent pace, not like his namesake, that sunglasses-wearing Wang, who liked to dawdle. Though both had the stubbornness of literary youth, in all fairness, Wang Xiaoshuai was passable. So Zhao Fusheng figured that in another three to five months, around July, Fan Baobao's schedule should free up.

But this wasn't something he could decide on his own; he needed to coordinate with Wang Jinghua in advance.

Thinking of this, Zhao Fusheng frowned. To be honest, he found some of Sister Hua's actions increasingly incomprehensible.

If Wang Jinghua harbored ill intentions, she could easily cause trouble for Fan Baobao, but she didn't. Instead, she gave Fan Baobao a high degree of freedom, allowing her to take roles outside.

But from another perspective, Fan Baobao received almost no resource support at Huayi. In fact, if not for some connections at Future Advertising, she might not even have any commercials to shoot.

"What is this person really up to?" Zhao Fusheng was utterly baffled.

Zhang Qian and Yang Panpan would arrive later; the latter had returned to her hometown, while the former was left by Zhao Fusheng in Ninghai to oversee the construction of the new welfare home.

Though very reluctant, Zhang Qian still followed Zhao Fusheng's arrangements.

The day after returning home, Fan Baobao went to the set. Although Zhao Fusheng was reluctant, it was a matter of professional integrity as an actor: having signed a contract and taken the money, she had to shoot the film properly.

Moreover, Fan Baobao wasn't a big star who could throw her weight around. Even Zhou Xun had obediently reported to the set; how could Fan Baobao dare to be negligent?

After seeing his girlfriend off, Zhao Fusheng, now alone, thought for a moment and decided he should show his face at the company.

Ahem, after all, he was still the head of the Planning Department.

As it turned out, this was an extremely wise decision.

When Zhao Fusheng appeared at the Future Advertising headquarters, he was surprised to find he couldn't get into the company.

"Excuse me, who are you looking for?"

The receptionist spoke politely to Zhao Fusheng, but her stance blocking him was clear.

"Ah, I'm looking for Zheng Yao," Zhao Fusheng said without thinking. "Are you new? Don't you recognize me?"

"You are?" The receptionist looked at him strangely. His tone was too presumptuous—asking to see the general manager outright, then asking if she knew him.

"Wait a moment." Zhao Fusheng fumbled in his pockets and finally found an access card, handing it to her. "Will this do?"

Zheng Yao had had it made for him earlier, afraid that since he rarely came to the company and no one knew him, she wouldn't have to run downstairs every time to pick him up.

The receptionist was taken aback when she saw the access card. She recognized it and knew that whoever held it was definitely an employee, but the problem was, she really had never seen Zhao Fusheng before.

"Well, you can go up then." Though surprised, the receptionist didn't stop him further and let him go upstairs.

Walking through the headquarters office area, Zhao Fusheng looked around. He had to admit, things had changed. He rarely came to the head office, and since the company had just relocated from Ninghai, many people he didn't recognize.

"Who's that?"

"Never seen him."

"Wait, why did he just push the door open?"

"General Zheng seems to be in a meeting. He'll probably get yelled out..."

Zhao Fusheng's appearance caused a stir in the office. Many watched as he walked straight into Zheng Yao's office, expecting an angry roar from General Zheng. But surprisingly, it was very quiet inside.

This left many puzzled, wondering who this mysterious guy was.

A few employees who had been with the company since the Binzhou Ninghai days looked at Zhao Fusheng's back, lost in thought.

...

...

"Why are you here?"

In the office, Zheng Yao looked at Zhao Fusheng in surprise and had to pause the meeting.

Indeed, she was holding a meeting with several department managers. There were six people in the office. She had been speaking when Zhao Fusheng pushed the door open and walked in.

Zheng Yao opened her mouth to snap at him, but seeing it was Zhao Fusheng, she swallowed the words.

"Nothing much. The New Year's over, so I thought I'd drop by."

With a slight smile, Zhao Fusheng greeted the other department managers.

They had all met him in Binzhou, so they were familiar with him. Everyone stood up to greet him.

In a company, ordinary employees might come and go quickly—a batch leaves, a new batch arrives every few months. But middle and senior management rarely changes, as most are at an age where they have established careers and seldom choose to leave easily.

Although Zhao Fusheng rarely came to the company, and except for Zheng Yao, none of those present had his contact information as head of the Planning Department, everyone knew he was the company's true cornerstone.

It was with him at the helm that Future Advertising had risen rapidly to become one of the three major advertising companies in the northern region.

After all, the reputation of a top-notch planner was highly valuable in the industry.

"Director Zhao, please have a seat."

Someone immediately offered Zhao Fusheng a seat.

Zheng Yao glanced at him, then waved her hand. "You all go back for now. I'll chat with him for a bit, and we'll resume the meeting later."

Regardless, since Zhao Fusheng had come, they needed to talk.

After all, he was the real boss of the company.

Seeing this, the others didn't linger and left one by one. Soon, only Zhao Fusheng and Zheng Yao remained in the office.

"Tsk, these guys are terrified of you," Zhao Fusheng teased Zheng Yao after everyone had left.

Zheng Yao shot him a glare. "I'm the general manager, the boss. Should they like me instead?"

"Ahem..." Zhao Fusheng felt awkward. He was sometimes helpless about Zheng Yao's increasingly assertive demeanor. He had changed her fate, and along with it, her personality had become more forceful. He didn't know if that was good or bad.

"By the way, have you been to see Chenxi and the others yet?" Zheng Yao seemed to remember something and asked Zhao Fusheng.

Zhao Fusheng shook his head. "I just got home yesterday. Today, Baobao went to shoot, so I thought I'd come by and see if there's anything I can help with."

After all, he was the head of the Planning Department, and the company's development required him to show his face occasionally.

"Not for now. We've just completed the relocation, and there's still plenty of work. When I need you, I'll call you," Zheng Yao said bluntly. "For now, just be our mascot. Any case that requires your involvement will definitely be about the company's future."

Zhao Fusheng thought that made sense. A large advertising company couldn't rely on him alone to handle all the planning. He only needed to be responsible for high-end cases; ordinary advertising plans would be handled by others.