Chapter 1718 Anxious and Worried

"What, you think I shouldn't get involved in this?"

Zhao Fusheng glanced at Liang Jingyu and asked calmly, his face expressionless, as if he were inquiring about something very ordinary and unrelated to himself.

Liang Jingyu gave a wry smile and shook his head helplessly: "Chairman, to be honest, Miss Jang Ja-yeon's plight is indeed worthy of sympathy. If this were in our China, her experience would undoubtedly have led to certain people confessing their crimes and being punished."

He paused, then said bitterly: "But the problem is, this is South Korea, a winner-takes-all South Korea. As one of the top few chaebols in the country, the Lotte Shin family, though not as powerful as Samsung's Lee family, is by no means to be underestimated. We can protect her, we can send her out of South Korea, but if we use this as an opportunity to go to war with Lotte, I don't think we can win!"

By the end, he was looking at Zhao Fusheng very seriously.

Clearly, this was Liang Jingyu offering advice to Chairman Zhao Fusheng as a subordinate.

After all, in his view, Zhao Fusheng was not as familiar with the situation in South Korea as he, who had operated there for several years. It wasn't that Zhao Fusheng's idea was wrong, but the problem was...

The national conditions of China and South Korea are different.

To put it more bluntly, in this small piece of land called South Korea, it's not the government officials who have the final say, but the chaebols lurking behind the scenes.

And what Zhao Fusheng chose to challenge was the Lotte Shin family, ranked among the top five in South Korea.

To be honest, if it weren't for the fact that the person proposing this was Zhao Fusheng, Liang Jingyu might not have even given the other party a chance to explain and would have directly vetoed the suggestion.

"What, you think I'm being too hasty?"

But Zhao Fusheng didn't seem displeased by Liang Jingyu's words; he smiled and said to him.

Liang Jingyu was taken aback, then nodded: "Yes, a bit hasty. At least wait another five years; I think it definitely won't be a problem then."

"Five years!"

Zhao Fusheng laughed upon hearing this, glanced deeply at Jang Ja-yeon, who couldn't understand what they were saying, and said lightly: "How many people like her do you think there are? Can they survive those five years?"

"Ah?"

Liang Jingyu was startled and looked at Zhao Fusheng in surprise.

Zhao Fusheng smiled: "I'm a bit soft-hearted sometimes. I think even if we're making money, at least we should make it cleanly. Don't you agree?"

Liang Jingyu remained silent; after all, he was Chinese, raised with traditional Confucian values.

For example, as Zhao Fusheng said, although he would also think of using celebrities to make money, if it came to sending his artists as gifts to curry favor with the powerful, he truly couldn't do it.

That's probably where everyone differs.

"Let's test the waters first."

Zhao Fusheng looked at Liang Jingyu and said calmly: "First send Miss Jang Ja-yeon out of South Korea, then probe Lotte's reaction."

"You mean..." Liang Jingyu asked hesitantly.

"Leak the news to the media and see how Lotte and the media react. This kind of thing is certainly common in the South Korean entertainment industry. My demands aren't high: Miss Jang Ja-yeon's agent and company representative must be handed over to us for disposal. Also, Lotte needs to cede some ground to us. How about that?"

Zhao Fusheng smiled and casually said to Liang Jingyu: "No need to be too direct; give them some time to react."

"Alright."

Liang Jingyu nodded; he also didn't approve of overly drastic actions.

To be honest, the idea that the law cannot punish the majority is accepted everywhere in the world, especially in places like South Korea. According to Jang Ja-yeon, she had entertained at least dozens of guests. If that were the case, once exposed, Hanxing Investment would inevitably become a target. Those people, even just to protect their reputations, would completely fixate on Hanxing Investment.

...

...

"So, should she come with me now?"

Liang Jingyu thought for a moment and asked Zhao Fusheng.

He was, of course, referring to Jang Ja-yeon.

After all, if Jang Ja-yeon stayed at the Shilla Hotel, it would be the safest, but the problem was that Zhao Fusheng couldn't stay here forever. He couldn't just take her back to China; he had to find a way to send her away.

"No need for that trouble."

Zhao Fusheng laughed and shook his head at Liang Jingyu: "You go back to your work, do what you need to do. I have my own arrangements."

"Alright."

Liang Jingyu nodded; he trusted Zhao Fusheng's words. Since the chairman said he had a way, then he certainly did.

Their chairman's style was never to lie; if he had no way, he would simply say so.

Park Sun-young saw Liang Jingyu out, and they took the elevator down together.

"Director, the chairman..." Hesitating for a moment, Park Sun-young cautiously asked, "Isn't he being a bit too risky?"

"Heh, so that's what you think too?"

Liang Jingyu was taken aback for a moment, then laughed, looking at Park Sun-young: "You also think the chairman is taking a risk?"

"Well..." Park Sun-young smiled wryly and nodded.

Even though she had already made her choice in her heart, it was impossible not to have some worry, after all, their opponents were a series of Korean dignitaries led by the Lotte Group.

To put it bluntly, they had the home-field advantage.

If Lotte really burned its boats and played dirty, Hanxing Investment would not have the upper hand.

"I hope the chairman can find a way to break the deadlock." Liang Jingyu frowned deeply and said slowly.

To be honest, he didn't quite understand why Zhao Fusheng had made this choice. Was it really because Zhang Ziyeon's plight deserved sympathy?

If that were the case, there were too many people in this world deserving of sympathy.

Liang Jingyu knew that Zhao Fusheng was not a heartless person at his core, and he knew he would definitely do something, but he didn't understand what leverage Zhao Fusheng had to solve the Lotte problem on their turf.

Even just a probe would probably provoke a strong backlash from Lotte. After all, today, just Zhang Ziyeon's escape had alarmed a Lotte director.

If it involved anything else, Shin Dong-ju or Shin Kyuk-ho, father and son, would surely be unable to sit still.

After all, in Zhang Ziyeon's account, their roles were not exactly honorable.

"The wind is rising, the storm is coming."

Sighing, Liang Jingyu stepped out of the Shilla Hotel, his back looking somewhat desolate.

Park Sun-young saw him to the door, looked around, and then walked back inside.

...

...

While they were agonizing over this, an office building in Seoul's Gangnam District was far from calm.

"Slap!"

The sound of a sharp slap rang out.

Han Jin-young disdainfully took out a handkerchief, wiped his hand, and then looked at a man beaten bloody in the face: "President Kim, do you know how big a mistake you've made?"

"Director, it's my fault, it's my fault. Please give me a chance. I will definitely catch that bitch!" The man surnamed Kim, ignoring his bloodied and dirty state, knelt on the ground and kowtowed desperately to Han Jin-young.

"A chance?"

Han Jin-young sneered: "Tell me, how are you going to catch her? She's in the Shilla Hotel right now. My people are watching her, she hasn't stepped out even half a step. But do you dare go in and snatch her?"

"I..."

Hearing the words 'Shilla Hotel', President Kim immediately faltered. He wasn't stupid; he knew exactly what the Shilla Hotel was.

It was Samsung's Lee family's territory!

He was just a small agency representative, and a low-tier one at that, with no connections or background. He had only gained his current status and wealth by pimping for these big shots.

But precisely because of that, he knew all too well that in the eyes of those big shots, he was nothing more than a useful dog.

There's a Chinese saying: 'The cunning hare dies, the running dog is cooked.' If this running dog lost his value, death would be the only path awaiting him.

If he truly offended a big shot like Lee Boo-jin, he could be sure that Han Jin-young would abandon him without hesitation before the Lotte Shin family did.

"And do you know who took her away?"

Han Jin-young snorted coldly: "That person is a big shot from China, a friend of Lee Boo-jin and Lee Jae-yong. With just a casual word, he could get the chief prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office to personally handle Lee Byung-hun. And you, you want to snatch someone from him? Ha, you don't know your place!"

"Then... what should we do?"

President Kim was already dumbfounded. If even the usually arrogant Director Han said so, then the person who took Zhang Ziyeon must be a truly big shot.

Under these circumstances, he knew he had no power to resist.

"Someone, take him away and keep him under strict watch."

But Han Jin-young had no time to bother with this guy's fate. What he was considering now was how that big shot from China would react.

As a director of Lotte Group responsible for film and television work, Han Jin-young knew what it would mean if this matter were exposed.

Especially at this sensitive time, President Roh Moo-hyun was keeping a close eye on the chaebols, trying to find their weaknesses. The chairman of SK Group, Chey Tae-won, son-in-law of former President Roh Tae-woo, had been thrown into prison. This showed what kind of treatment the Korean chaebols were facing these days.

If Zhang Ziyeon's matter were exposed at this time, the situation would likely become very difficult to handle.

What terrified him even more was that, just as President Kim feared being made a scapegoat by Han Jin-young, Han Jin-young himself was also worried that if things really got out of control, he might be handed over as a scapegoat by Shin Kyuk-ho or Shin Dong-ju, father and son.

Everyone, in truth, was struggling desperately for their own interests.