Chapter 1688: Blockade

Andy Lau moved quickly, or perhaps he had simply called Zhao Fusheng from nearby.

Wu Sijie had barely gone downstairs when he returned with Andy Lau and, accompanying them, Luo Hanguo.

"Long time no see, Fusheng."

As soon as they met, Andy Lau smiled and extended his hand to Zhao Fusheng.

Zhao Fusheng smiled back: "Yes, Brother Hua, long time no see."

Then he looked at Luo Hanguo: "Director Luo, I grew up watching your films."

Luo Hanguo, flattered, quickly bowed and extended both hands to Zhao Fusheng: "Chairman Zhao, hello."

He truly hadn't expected that Andy Lau and Zhao Fusheng's relationship was real.

Or rather, in Luo Hanguo's eyes, this big shot was simply at a level he normally couldn't reach.

Zhao Fusheng nodded, shook hands with Luo Hanguo, and said nothing more.

He wasn't familiar with Luo Hanguo, but he knew quite a bit about him.

Luo Hanguo had an interesting background. His father had been a trusted aide of Lü Le, the head of the Four Great Detectives. In later films like "Chasing the Dragon" and "The Last Stand," one of the prototypes for the character Zhu Youzai was him.

There was also the film "The Black Gold Empire" starring Tony Leung Ka-fai, where the character Ah Jiu, who constantly cleaned up Lü Le's messes and kept a mistress, was rumored to be based on Luo Hanguo's father.

In short, this man was quite interesting.

Of course, that was just about his father's generation. As for Luo Hanguo himself, he had been in the industry for years, once one of the Seven Freaks of Cinema City. He could direct, write, act as a comedian, and host—truly versatile.

As for his character, well...

What kind of character could you expect from a big shot in the entertainment industry?

Back in the day, Miss Lan, known as the most beautiful on Five Platforms, was rumored to have been raped and driven mad by Luo Hanguo. Of course, some said it was Tang Kwong-wing.

Whoever it was, the scandals in Hong Kong's early entertainment scene were far more exciting than any novel.

That was beyond doubt.

Even if they tried to whitewash, they couldn't clean it up.

Take those so-called goddesses of the 80s and 90s—pick any one at random, and they had a mountain of scandals.

It was just that when they were popular, the internet wasn't developed, so some news didn't spread, allowing them to wear the cloak of goddesses. In the new century, they came to the mainland to cash in on nostalgia.

Speaking of which, those so-called goddesses, each either a mistress or a cheater, it was really a struggle for them to shamelessly sell their personas on TV.

"Have a seat."

Zhao Fusheng gestured for Andy Lau and the others to sit.

Wu Sijie poured water for them and was about to leave when Zhao Fusheng said, "Stay too. After all, you're involved."

Hearing Zhao Fusheng's words, Wu Sijie was startled but nodded and stayed.

"Fusheng, this matter is a misunderstanding," Andy Lau said, looking at Zhao Fusheng.

"Misunderstanding?"

Zhao Fusheng smiled faintly and shook his head: "Brother Hua, to be honest, if you hadn't called me, I wouldn't even know what happened."

"Ah?"

Andy Lau was taken aback, then glanced at Wu Sijie in surprise. Clearly, he hadn't expected Wu Sijie not to report the matter to Zhao Fusheng.

Wu Sijie said bitterly, "I didn't think it was necessary to tell the chairman about this."

Hearing this, Andy Lau's face turned quite grim. In other words, if that bastard Ethan hadn't spilled the beans to the reporters, none of this would have happened.

At that moment, Luo Hanguo's expression was as if he had eaten shit.

It was true—they hadn't intended to blow things up, but someone on their side deliberately stirred up the whole affair and leaked it to the media. Wasn't that asking for trouble?

Who was this man in front of them? A super-rich man who could casually throw out hundreds of millions or even billions. Provoking him was no different from seeking death.

"Tell me, what exactly happened?"

Zhao Fusheng leaned back on the sofa, addressing Andy Lau and Luo Hanguo.

Andy Lau sighed and recounted the whole story from beginning to end, finally saying, "As soon as I heard the news, I quickly contacted Director Luo. Fusheng, I'm really sorry about this. We'll definitely give you an explanation."

Zhao Fusheng laughed: "You mean, this matter had no follow-up originally, but that Ethan, with his big mouth, told the media that mainlanders were no good and had hit his assistant?"

He truly hadn't expected something like this.

He knew Ethan was a big mouth. Not only him, but his wife was also a total weirdo. It was really tough on the guy.

He could sing well, and later was elevated to an extremely high status, as if the Chinese music scene would collapse without him, but his character... well...

Just one example: this guy once held a concert entirely in Cantonese. Fans below shouted for him to speak some Mandarin, and he replied, 'I only speak Cantonese, not Mandarin. If you don't understand, you can go learn it...'

Listen to that. Is that something a human would say?

Also, Zhao Fusheng had heard the song "Improper" more than once. As for its content, he really didn't want to say much.

But ordinarily, he had little interaction with that guy, so Zhao Fusheng couldn't be bothered with him. Unexpectedly, the guy had come to provoke him.

"Chairman Zhao, I really didn't know about this," Luo Hanguo said with a bitter expression.

As the director and producer, the lead actor of his film had offended a big shot in the domestic entertainment industry. It was like stepping in dog shit while walking down the street—disgusting.

Luo Hanguo now felt like grabbing that bigmouth Ethan and giving him a good beating.

"It's okay, I understand," Zhao Fusheng said with a smile to Luo Hanguo.

Although the man before him wasn't exactly a saint either, since there was no conflict of interest, Zhao Fusheng wasn't so overflowing with a sense of justice as to go looking for trouble with him.

That was the truth. There were plenty of unfair things in the world. Even though Zhao Fusheng had a sense of justice, why should he step in when even the victim wasn't speaking up?

"Well..."

King Liu was about to speak, but Zhao Fusheng smiled faintly and said calmly, "Let's put it this way: I know what happened. It's no big deal. Both sides got hurt and threw punches. There's no need to dwell on it, right?"

As he spoke, he looked at Wu Sijie.

Wu Sijie quickly nodded: "Yes, I have no objections."

Of course he had no objections. Zhao Fusheng was his boss, and this matter had little to do with him anyway.

"As for that Ethan..." Zhao Fusheng tilted his head and smiled. "Since he doesn't like mainlanders, he doesn't need to perform in the mainland anymore."

"Huh?"

Luo Hanguo and King Liu looked astonished. Did that mean Zhao Fusheng was going to blacklist Ethan?

"Also, I think you can find a new actor for this film."

Zhao Fusheng said calmly, "If the budget is tight, I can help. Otherwise, in the mainland, people like him who don't know who feeds them won't get to eat."

Blacklist!

Without a doubt!

King Liu and Luo Hanguo exchanged glances. Although Zhao Fusheng spoke lightly, they weren't fools. After so many years in the entertainment industry, if they couldn't read between the lines, they'd be too stupid.

Clearly, Zhao Fusheng had no issue with them, but he had no intention of letting that bigmouth Ethan off the hook.

Come to think of it, the matter had already been settled, but this guy had to step up and provoke him, and he had to pick a fight with this big shot. Naturally, the man was displeased.

For someone of this level, face was very important.

"Fusheng..."

King Liu opened his mouth, hesitated, but still didn't speak.

Zhao Fusheng had already given him enough face. If he really wanted to make things difficult, he wouldn't have said anything and could have just sabotaged the film after its release.

One must know when to advance and retreat. At this point, King Liu knew things had to be this way.

As for Luo Hanguo, he didn't dare say a word.

Are you kidding? The man before him could blacklist a popular star with a casual remark. He was just a celebrity in this small corner of Hong Kong. If he really pissed off this man, he might get dragged down too.

Luo Hanguo was smart. He knew he had no connection with Zhao Fusheng, unlike King Liu, who at least had a relationship with Zhao Fusheng from before he became a super-rich man.

With that connection, King Liu could at least speak to Zhao Fusheng.

As for himself, Luo Hanguo could guarantee that if he had come to see Zhao Fusheng alone today, he would have ended up in trouble.

That's how a society of personal connections works.

It's the same everywhere, ancient or modern, East or West.

"Brother Hua, you are my friend, but he is not," Zhao Fusheng said slowly, looking at King Liu. "When people do wrong, they must be punished, right?"

King Liu was silent. What Zhao Fusheng said made sense.

After a long silence, King Liu stood up and said to Zhao Fusheng, "Okay, I know what to do."

Zhao Fusheng smiled and nodded. "If you get a chance, come to the capital and give me a call."

"Sure."

King Liu nodded and looked at Luo Hanguo, clearly waiting for him to speak.

Luo Hanguo, being clever, smiled and said, "Chairman Zhao, rest assured. We'll go back and recruit a new actor right away. Fortunately, we haven't shot much, so we should find a replacement soon."

He had made up his mind: no matter what, he had to replace Ethan. He couldn't risk the film's box office. If it got blacklisted in the mainland, he wouldn't be able to compensate the investors for their losses.

"Good."

Zhao Fusheng smiled at Luo Hanguo, satisfied with his tact.

Watching King Liu and the others leave, Zhao Fusheng turned to Wu Sijie and said calmly, "Call President Ye and arrange things for that Ethan."

"Huh?" Wu Sijie was taken aback. "Okay, I understand."

Zhao Fusheng smiled and waved for Wu Sijie to leave. Fan Beibei would be waking up soon, and he still had to have dinner with the little girl.