Chapter 1920: Backing Down

The secrets in Zhao Fusheng's heart were known to no one but himself.

Of course, he couldn't tell anyone else either.

No way, because no one would believe it.

Foreseeing the future—though everyone wishes they could do it, if someone actually claimed to see the future, they'd be taken for a madman.

Zhao Fusheng didn't want to be sliced up for research, so naturally he didn't do too much.

All he could protect were the people around him.

The next day, Li Qingshan indeed publicly apologized in the newspaper, admitting he hadn't understood the situation at the time and apologizing to the parties involved.

Then, he personally went to the hospital room of the person Li Tiantian had hit and bowed to apologize.

"Tsk, crying bitterly."

Looking at the newspaper, Zhao Fusheng smiled and said casually.

"I think Teacher Li seemed quite sincere."

Fan Baobao spoke up from the side.

She naturally knew nothing of the tricks behind it, and Zhao Fusheng hadn't mentioned it to her.

"Maybe."

Zhao Fusheng smiled: "After all, it's his own son. Faced with something like this, no matter how dissatisfied he is inside, he'll act very sincere, won't he?"

Fan Baobao was stunned. Thinking it over, it really was true.

Pity the parents' hearts. To save their son, they'd not only kneel and beg, but even if it meant losing everything, Li Qingshan would agree.

"So tell me, is Li Qingshan a good person or not?"

Fan Baobao thought for a moment and asked Zhao Fusheng.

Good person?

Bad person?

Zhao Fusheng smiled at her words but made no comment.

If he were twenty, he would have sternly told Fan Baobao that Li Qingshan and Ge Meng were bad people—for the sake of their son, they ignored the harm done to others and couldn't tell right from wrong.

But now, Zhao Fusheng didn't think that way.

Because he knew well that a person's goodness or badness couldn't be judged by appearances alone.

Or rather, for each person, the judgment of good or bad depends on who you compare them to.

From Li Tiantian's perspective, Li Qingshan and Ge Meng were undoubtedly good parents.

Even though, in fact, his actions were indeed wrong.

Seeing Zhao Fusheng silent, Fan Baobao didn't press further.

Clearly, it was a topic he didn't want to discuss with her.

It wasn't that Zhao Fusheng was unwilling to talk with his wife, but the issue was too complex, touching on human nature and essence. If he said too much, Fan Baobao would surely feel uncomfortable.

The world is a difficult place. Calling someone unsophisticated is certainly not a compliment, but calling someone worldly-wise is hardly praise either.

For Zhao Fusheng, Fan Baobao didn't need to do much—just living happily was enough for him.

……

……

"Li Qingshan apologized. What do we do?"

Soon, Zheng Yao called Zhao Fusheng, naturally asking how to respond to Li Qingshan's apology statement.

The other side caved so quickly that, frankly, Zheng Yao felt like she had punched cotton.

She had been ready for a prolonged war of public opinion with Li Qingshan's camp.

But unexpectedly, they couldn't even put up a fight.

Honestly, it left Zheng Yao disappointed, deeply disappointed.

She felt a sense of looking around with sword drawn, lost.

Zhao Fusheng smiled: "Since they've conceded, there's no need for us to keep pressing."

"Hmm?"

Zheng Yao was taken aback, then understood Zhao Fusheng's meaning—it seemed the other side had already contacted him.

"Alright, I'll cancel the follow-up plans."

Zheng Yao said.

Originally, she had planned that if Li Qingshan's side insisted on the fighting claim, she would formally file a lawsuit for damages. With Future Group's strength, winning a case of that level was a piece of cake.

"No need." Zhao Fusheng smiled: "Li Qingshan isn't stupid. He knows what choice is best for him."

That was the truth. Unless Li Qingshan had lost his mind, he knew that offending Future Group would bring him no benefit.

After all, having been in the cultural circle for so many years, though old artists usually keep a low profile, when it comes to scheming and playing tricks, he was second to none.

If he were truly a naive goody-two-shoes, how could he have survived the series of movements after the founding of the nation?

Even at the highest levels, Li Qingshan had his own connections.

This was something even Ye Jing was wary of.

Although Zheng Yao didn't know the inside story, she understood that Future Group had no deep grudge against him, so there was no need to fight to the death. Since the other side had already backed down and admitted defeat, she didn't need to pursue it further.

Besides, if Zhao Fusheng, the party involved, didn't care, her insistence would seem inappropriate.

"In that case, regarding public opinion..."

Zheng Yao thought for a moment and asked Zhao Fusheng: "Should we stop paying attention for now?"

"Yes."

Zhao Fusheng nodded: "As long as it doesn't involve us, we can ignore it."

Hanging up, Zhao Fusheng didn't know that Zheng Yao had called Ye Jing to tell him that in the near future, the company's artists should speak well of the big boss in interviews.

The reason was simple: their big boss had been falsely accused of fighting.

"Is this appropriate?"

Ye Jing hesitated.

"There's nothing inappropriate about it." Zheng Yao said bluntly: "This incident is the hottest topic in the entertainment industry right now, and it involves us. As artists under the company, it's normal to stand up for the boss when he's slandered."

"True."

Ye Jing nodded. He wasn't a newcomer who knew nothing; he understood Zheng Yao's intention—to use this opportunity to increase the exposure and attention of the company's artists.

After all, as celebrities, that's what they needed most.

Not everyone was like Jiang Wen or Yu Feihong, who stayed low-key as if they didn't exist when they had no works in release.

Zheng Yao came from an advertising background; in her eyes, this kind of operation was no big deal.

As for Ye Jing, he cared even less. He was busy categorizing the company's artists into traffic stars and acting stars, and he welcomed such opportunities.

Zhao Fusheng's opinion?

Did it matter?

If the CEO of Future Group and the general manager of Future Film agreed, they could just ignore Zhao Fusheng.

After all, he wouldn't suffer any loss, and people would speak well of him—what a great thing.

For Zhao Fusheng, it was truly a pitiful situation, but when he learned of it, he just smiled helplessly and didn't take it seriously.

The company's interests came before everything.

Especially for such trivial matters.

……

……

As May Day approached, everyone invited to the charity gala received their invitations.

The crew Jiang Wen was with got one for almost everyone.

"Hey, why are you making such a big deal?"

Jiang Wen was puzzled and called Zhao Fusheng directly.

"It's my mother-in-law's birthday." Zhao Fusheng smiled: "And I plan to have both mothers start doing charity, making donations every year. What do you think?"

"Well, that's a good thing."

After thinking it over, Jiang Wen agreed: "At your level, you really should do something."

He saw more clearly than Zhao Fusheng: at this stage, if he acted like a miserly Scrooge, not only would his reputation suffer, but he might also become a target.

Don't think that the story of Heshen falling and Jiaqing eating well couldn't happen in modern society.

Sometimes, to the ruling class, merchants are like pigs.

The logic of slaughtering a pig for the New Year applies to merchants without surprise.

Of course, Jiang Wen wouldn't say this directly to Zhao Fusheng, because he believed Zhao Fusheng understood it better than he did—otherwise, he wouldn't have spent so many years building the company's good image.

That Zhao Fusheng was a sly one!

"When are you coming back?"

Zhao Fusheng smiled and asked Jiang Wen.

"After we finish this shot." Jiang Wen thought: "Let's treat it as a Labor Day break. I plan to come back with Fa Ge around the 7th and give the crew a half-month vacation. The shooting pace has been too intense lately; I'm afraid everyone is too wound up..."

"Good, tension and relaxation make for good filming." Zhao Fusheng nodded.

He didn't know much about the craft of filmmaking, but since Jiang Wen, the director, said so and his arrangement matched Zhao Fusheng's thoughts, he naturally agreed.

"By the way, how's the filming of 'Wulin' going?"

Jiang Wen remembered something and asked Zhao Fusheng.

After all, he still held the title of producer for the TV series 'Wulin.' If not for the start of 'Bullet,' he wouldn't have left.

Honestly, if the crew hadn't been handed over to Yu Feihong, Jiang Wen wouldn't have felt at ease.

He was like someone with OCD, a typical perfectionist.

"Don't worry."

Zhao Fusheng smiled: "Basically no problems. The early footage has been edited. The first season of thirty episodes will air on CCTV-8. Though the timing is a bit off, I think it's fine."

"Heh, those guys at CCTV..."

Old Jiang was sharp. As soon as Zhao Fusheng mentioned the timing was off, he understood what it meant—likely someone at CCTV was trying to drive down the price.

But he had shot the earlier parts himself, and no one knew better than Jiang Wen about his directing skills and the actors' performances.

So now, he was looking forward to seeing the expressions on the CCTV leaders' faces when the time came.