Chapter 1245: The Game

What are resources?

For celebrities in the entertainment industry, endorsements are resources, roles in productions are resources, participating in variety shows are resources, and even opportunities to be interviewed by the media are resources.

What do resources mean?

Resources mean a celebrity's exposure, how much money they can earn, and more importantly, the strength behind them.

For example, in the original timeline, Zhang Weijian and Xie Tingfeng had vastly different fates despite both being perpetrators. The former was blacklisted for years, essentially ending his acting career. The latter, however, was completely unaffected. Even after the photo scandal, he remained popular by playing up his image as a hardworking family man, and was still a top-tier artist when Zhao Fusheng was reborn.

Why?

Simple: Zhang Weijian lacked the backing of resources, while behind Xie Tingfeng stood Emperor Entertainment Group.

Don't talk about Yang Shoucheng's keen eye for talent. Everyone in the industry knows that when Xie Tingfeng signed with Emperor Entertainment, it was an indentured contract. Old Xie owed a mountain of debt, so his sixteen-year-old son had to debut and earn money to pay it off. At its peak, Xie Tingfeng's commission was fifty percent. Under such circumstances, Emperor naturally spared no resources on him.

That's just businessmen chasing profit. Strictly speaking, it's understandable.

It's the same as investors a decade later obsessing over young idols and checking for IP when investing. Because in past film and TV productions, creators failed to demonstrate convincing skills or professionalism. Since they couldn't inspire investor confidence, investors chose safer ways to invest.

The same goes for the current film and TV industry. Some people always like to boast in front of Zhao Fusheng, saying those coal bosses were crazy, throwing money into film and TV without understanding anything.

But in Zhao Fusheng's view, that's pure nonsense.

"I'm not saying investment has changed the entire film and TV industry. After all, more people are flooding in to get investment. They act like insiders, blame capital for everything, refuse to face the industry's long-standing lack of sincerity, and dare not admit its ugliness before the hot money surged. Then all analysis and thinking are just sarcastic jabs, which only lower one's breadth and level, not save any industry that's been slapped in the face." Zhao Fusheng looked at Chen Dao in front of him, smiled, and continued, "Teacher Chen, what do you think?"

Chen Dao sat opposite Zhao Fusheng, smiled bitterly at the words, but still nodded: "You're right. To strike iron, one must be strong. If our works can't pass muster, we have no reason to blame anyone."

He was an old-school artist, rarely appearing on shows or giving interviews, preferring to focus on his craft. As for other issues, those were personal preferences, and Zhao Fusheng had no objection to that.

In terms of acting alone, Chen Dao was undoubtedly among the top male actors in the country, far better than those so-called 'uncles' and 'old cadres' of later generations. After all, those people relied on social media hype and publicity, while Chen Dao relied on word of mouth.

Saying this, Zhao Fusheng wasn't afraid of anyone arguing with him.

List the personas of those later-generation uncles. Except for a few, how many weren't hyped? The 'old cadres' couldn't even grasp the classics of Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism, posing with books all day. The 'inspirational uncles' liked to direct actresses. Even that 'Face King' rose to fame thanks to a girlfriend eleven years older, then quickly dumped her. As for being a graduate of the Central Academy of Drama, that's even more ridiculous. Only fans wouldn't know the difference between a certificate of completion and a diploma. A 700-to-1 admission rate, and they admitted an auditor? Hah, what a joke.

Personas are something to listen to and look at. If you take them seriously, you become a joke.

"Honestly, Teacher Chen, as an investor, I actually agree with this incident," Zhao Fusheng said to Chen Dao. "After all, the production teams from Hong Kong are pretty much on par with those on the mainland now. In terms of actors, the gap isn't that big either. Letting them learn a lesson is beneficial."

He paused and continued, "But what I want isn't the kind of compromise some people think. You and I both know that behind Xie Tingfeng are Yang Shoucheng and Emperor Entertainment. So in the end, this will just be a big show: the rod raised high but brought down lightly. Zhang Weijian takes the fall alone, Xie Tingfeng stays popular, Hong Kong side backs off a bit, and some people achieve their goals. Right?"

Chen Dao remained silent. Though reluctant to admit it, he had to acknowledge that Zhao Fusheng saw through it all too clearly.

No wonder he was a big businessman. Those little schemes of certain people were completely transparent to him.

"Teacher Chen, I won't restrict the artists under my company from signing that statement you mentioned, but I'm sorry, Future Films won't put its name on it," Zhao Fusheng said sincerely to Chen Dao.

Regardless, since Chen Dao had come in person representing a group of actors, Zhao Fusheng had to show him respect. But he also knew that no film or TV production company would step forward. Individuals were individuals, companies were companies.

Chen Dao understood Zhao Fusheng's meaning, nodded, chatted for a while, and then took his leave.

In truth, Chen Dao didn't know that Zhao Fusheng wasn't unwilling to act this time. He just hadn't expected Yang Shoucheng to actually disregard him.

Soon after Chen Dao left, Zhao Fusheng met with Zheng Yao.

"What do we do?"

In Zheng Yao's office, she said helplessly to Zhao Fusheng, "Several companies in Hong Kong that had agreed to cooperate have now stopped working with us."

Zhao Fusheng nodded and sneered, "Don't worry. They'll have their turn to cry."

Then he asked Zheng Yao, "How's the contact we discussed earlier?"

Zheng Yao replied, "It's all arranged. I just don't understand how you're sure Ono Masao is willing to help."

Zhao Fusheng shrugged: "Because he contacted me earlier wanting to buy my shares in NetEase, and I casually made that request."

Hearing this answer, Zheng Yao was left speechless.

She figured Yang Shoucheng would never understand why he fell so hard.

"Also, contact Dong Guoxiang and have him find people to promote this incident on portals and forums. Let the whole country know what those idiots from the 'The Legendary Siblings' crew did." Zhao Fusheng said coldly, a hint of murder in his voice.

...

...

Three days later, in the same hotel.

"A Jing, you were too careless this time!"

"Yeah, I didn't expect it to turn out like this!"

Wang Jing spoke on the phone with a grim face, not daring to argue—first, because he had truly lost his head, and second, because of the other party's status.

The assault incident had escalated, becoming nationwide news. The crew was overwhelmed dealing with the media every day. The producers finally realized how stupid their earlier behavior was, stopped making statements, and just mumbled noncommittally.

But it was too late. Their remarks about regional attitudes had sparked public outrage. More and more mainland entertainment figures joined in, supporting Wang Bochao and condemning Wang Jing's Hong Kong trio.

With everyone united in anger, not speaking up would imply one's own stance was wrong.

The entertainment circle was relatively calm, but netizens were furious, flooding the internet with criticism focused on two points: regional discrimination and the parties' refusal to apologize.

It was a tragic situation. If Yang Shoucheng hadn't insisted on backing Xie Tingfeng, Wang Jing wouldn't have been so stupid. On-set disputes are common; a prompt and sincere apology could have prevented this mess.

But Wang Jing's condescending speech escalated the conflict from a personal grudge to a clash of ideologies between Hong Kong and mainland entertainment, sending things spiraling in an unpredictable direction.

Wang Jing now wished he could strangle Yang Shoucheng on the other end of the line.

It was that old man who implied they shouldn't care about mainlanders' reactions and must protect Xie Tingfeng, leading Wang Jing to do something so idiotic. Now Yang was washing his hands of it, claiming it had nothing to do with him, and shifting the blame to Wang Jing.

Rich people really have black hearts.

Wang Jing grumbled inwardly but could only keep apologizing. He was too far beneath Yang Shoucheng; even taking the blame for him was a kind of honor.

Yang didn't care about the details. To him, this was a trivial matter. He gave an order and hung up, leaving Wang Jing to worry alone.

Wang Jing felt desperate. The situation had become a game between two sides, and he was just a pawn.

"Maybe I should just tough it out?" The thought crossed his mind. Backing down now was impossible. If it came to it, he'd grit his teeth and fight these mainlanders to the end. He didn't believe those actors would dare to be labeled as undermining unity.

Just then, the door opened, and Wang Jing's assistant hurried in.

"Jing ge, something's happened!" The assistant's face showed panic.

Wang Jing frowned: "What's wrong? Why the panic? What happened?"

The next moment, the assistant handed him a newspaper. The moment Wang Jing saw the headline, he felt like his world had collapsed.