Chapter 0028: The Bolder the Man

Let’s not dwell on how Tan Kaixuan was tormented by the fat and skinny duo when he returned to the dormitory. The next morning, while Zhao Fusheng was still groggy in the dorm, he received a call from Zheng Yao at the office, calling the dormitory phone.

Come to my office.

Hearing these words, Zhao Fusheng’s heart trembled.

But he quickly realized that if something had gone wrong, Zheng Yao wouldn’t have bothered to call him over. That meant the advertising matter had some progress.

“Tell the monitor for me—I’m going to the advisor’s office,” Zhao Fusheng said to Tan Kaixuan.

Tan Kaixuan nodded. Though he didn’t know why Zhao Fusheng had been so close to the advisor lately, it wasn’t a bad thing for them. Having a roommate who could put in a good word with the advisor was no disadvantage.

Watching Zhao Fusheng’s back, Wang Zhen muttered, “What’s that kid holding?”

“No idea,” Wen Yu and Tan Kaixuan both shook their heads, looking baffled.

What Zhao Fusheng held in his hand was, of course, the completed proposal.

In his previous life, at the age of thirty-five, after countless failures, he finally learned patience, choosing not to charge headlong but to use fishing to temper his resilience. Occasionally, at the fishing spot, he would meet an old man.

Fishing was a tedious affair; sometimes you’d go to great lengths to travel to the outskirts, only to catch nothing. At first, Zhao Fusheng would complain, while the old man remained silent. When Zhao Fusheng finally calmed down, the old man told him four words.

The willing bite the hook.

In a sense, Zhao Fusheng was the same now.

His proposal laid out there was like bait.

As long as Zheng Yao had ambition and drive, she couldn’t help but take the bait.

It sounded unreal, even fantastical at first glance, but it was indeed the truth.

University advisors had their own separate offices, as each college had its own building. Zheng Yao’s office was on the second floor of the Media College building. Zhao Fusheng walked upstairs, greeted two or three familiar teachers along the way, then knocked on the door. When he heard “Come in,” he pushed the door open and entered.

“So fast,” Zheng Yao said, looking up at Zhao Fusheng with a hint of a smile.

Zhao Fusheng’s expression was relaxed. “You called me, so of course I had to hurry.”

“Alright, have a seat.” Zheng Yao pointed to the sofa in front of her.

Zhao Fusheng didn’t stand on ceremony; he sat down directly and casually placed the proposal on the table.

In real life, there are always many casualties. Where there are winners, there must be losers—this was a lesson Zhao Fusheng had learned through blood and tears. As the saying goes, a general’s success is built on ten thousand bones. Behind every successful person in any field lie the countless bones of failures.

It sounds exaggerated, but it’s absolutely true.

Take even a sport like table tennis—how many people know that countless provincial and city team athletes, unable to make the national team, eventually retire in obscurity? Even if they make the national team, if they don’t achieve results, the best-case scenario is going abroad, changing their names, and starting over; the unlucky ones become lifelong sparring partners.

In his previous life, Zhao Fusheng had been a stepping stone for too many people. In this life, even as a reborn man, he still dared not let his guard down. If he wasn’t careful, he would become a sacrifice for others climbing up. But the current situation didn’t allow him to retreat; he could only muster his courage and press forward.

Holding his breath and concentrating, Zhao Fusheng silently cheered himself on in his heart, then looked up at Zheng Yao.

At that moment, Zheng Yao was also looking at Zhao Fusheng. Through her parents’ friendship with Liu Shaomei, she had persuaded the latter to give her a chance. But that didn’t mean Liu Shaomei would entrust this advertisement to a nameless team that hadn’t even had time to register a company name.

The key to everything lay in Zhao Fusheng’s proposal.

“So, is the proposal ready?” Zheng Yao pretended to be casual, but Zhao Fusheng saw through her nervousness at a glance.

With a light laugh, Zhao Fusheng nodded and handed the proposal on the coffee table to Zheng Yao. “Take a look.”

Zheng Yao nodded, opened the proposal, and began reading.

At first, her delicate brows furrowed slightly, as if she was dissatisfied with something. But after a while, her expression softened a bit. Then her brows knitted again, and by the end, her expression never settled into calmness; instead, it seemed somewhat conflicted.

After a long while, she put down the proposal, looked up at Zhao Fusheng, and said, “Is this your proposal?”

Zhao Fusheng’s expression was calm. He nodded and said, “Yes, these are my ideas.”

“Isn’t it too risky?” Zheng Yao hesitated, speaking to Zhao Fusheng.

Zhao Fusheng shook his head seriously. “Controversy and criticism naturally mean influence and impression. In other words, if an impression is created and solidified through controversy, it becomes unshakable.”

Then Zhao Fusheng said something that made Zheng Yao’s face change: “The best advertisement is one that half oppose and half support. Because that kind of thing spreads most easily.”

“But won’t that make it seem vulgar?” Zheng Yao was still conflicted. Clearly, Zhao Fusheng’s proposal had a huge impact on her worldview.

Zhao Fusheng smiled faintly. “Taste is something we need to shape.”

After saying this, he looked at Zheng Yao seriously. “If possible, I’d like to meet your elder.”

Zheng Yao was taken aback, then understood Zhao Fusheng’s meaning. After all, she wasn’t the one who could make the final decision; the real call was Liu Shaomei’s to make.

The advertiser was always the most important at this point.

After all, they were the ones paying the bills.

With that thought, Zheng Yao didn’t waste words. She directly dialed Liu Shaomei’s number and explained the situation over the phone.

Liu Shaomei was very surprised to receive the call. She hadn’t expected that the student Zheng Yao mentioned would finish the advertising proposal so quickly. If at first she had agreed out of obligation, following Zheng Yao’s parents’ request to let Zheng Yao handle the ad, now she was genuinely curious.

What kind of advertising proposal could make Zheng Yao, a graduate student in advertising, hesitate so much?

So, they arranged a meeting place, and Liu Shaomei decided to meet with Zheng Yao and Zhao Fusheng.

Hanging up, Zheng Yao looked at Zhao Fusheng. “Let me be frank: if this proposal gets approved, I have one condition.”

“What?”

Zhao Fusheng asked with interest. He had been observing her since she made the call. Originally, he was worried about how to persuade Zheng Yao to get involved in this ad. But now it seemed that Teacher Zheng’s mind was already stirring.

To be honest, Zhao Fusheng was afraid that Zheng Yao had no ambition. As long as she had ambition, he had a chance.

“I’m planning to start an advertising planning company. Would you be willing to be our company’s contracted producer?” Zheng Yao gritted her teeth and said to Zhao Fusheng.

Zhao Fusheng paused—of course, he pretended to—then countered, “Why should I work for you?”

“It’s not working for me; as the ad planner, you can also participate in production,” Zheng Yao quickly explained.

To be honest, if she had no one else to collaborate with, or if she didn’t value Zhao Fusheng’s potential, she might not have offered this condition.

Originally, Zheng Yao thought that upon hearing her words, Zhao Fusheng would show the look of a man willing to die for his patron. After all, as a sophomore, having such an opportunity to practice and hone his professional skills should have made him immensely grateful.

In fact, if it had been the old Zhao Fusheng, he really would have been tearfully grateful, thanking Zheng Yao for giving him the chance.

But now, sitting before Zheng Yao was a seasoned veteran with more social experience than her.

With a slight smile, showing just the right amount of shyness, Zhao Fusheng lowered his head as if hesitating, then looked up at Zheng Yao with hopeful eyes. “Teacher Zheng, are you going to start a company with me as partners?”

At that moment, Zheng Yao felt that the guy in front of her was smiling like a little fox.