Chapter 0860 The Art of Language

Life brings not only joy but also pressure.

How much pressure Zhang Guorong was under, Zhao Fusheng did not know and could not feel, but seeing a naturally cheerful person driven to such a state showed how much he had endured.

Some say that Zhang Guorong became a legend because he left this filthy world.

But in Zhao Fusheng's view, nothing is more important than being alive.

If one must pay with life to become a legend, he would rather never see a legendary Zhang Guorong.

Thinking this, Zhao Fusheng looked at Zhang Guorong and said calmly, "Brother, forgive me for speaking bluntly, but you might have overlooked something."

"What?"

Zhang Guorong was startled and looked at Zhao Fusheng strangely: "What did I overlook?"

Zhao Fusheng shrugged: "Right now, do you really care about your status and reputation in the entertainment industry?"

"Ha, why would I care about that?" Zhang Guorong smiled and waved his hand casually: "I'm old now; being popular or not means nothing to me."

He spoke from the heart. Having experienced the era of the Tan-Zhang rivalry and the time when "A Better Tomorrow" swept across Southeast Asia and even the entire Chinese-speaking world, for Zhang Guorong now, many things in the entertainment industry were more about a sense of responsibility than the drive of money and profit.

They say that at forty one is no longer perplexed. For a star of his caliber, the things he thinks about are already different from when he was young.

"Since that's the case, then why are you still staying in Hong Kong?"

Zhao Fusheng blinked his eyes: "I think, with your current wealth and status, you could completely consider retiring from the entertainment circle, finding a place where no one knows you, and starting a new life."

"What?"

Leslie Cheung was startled, looking at Zhao Fusheng in surprise, never expecting that he would give him such advice.

Zhao Fusheng's expression was calm, meeting Leslie Cheung's gaze without any fluster. In his view, Leslie Cheung was actually trapped in a cognitive error.

He always felt that he lived too painfully, but actually forgot that the one who put him in such a painful situation was none other than himself.

The more he felt the pain, the more he hated the world; and the more he tired of the world, the more he felt that living was too exhausting.

Thus caught in a vicious cycle, in the end, tragedy inevitably occurred.

This might be the reason why most depression patients ultimately choose to leave this world—because they truly cannot see any hope.

And when people lose hope, they often go to extremes.

"Brother, consider it yourself. If you can let go of everything you have now, you could actually quietly find a place and start a new life." Zhao Fusheng glanced at Leslie Cheung, still feeling a bit reluctant in his heart. After all, in another year, the man before him might not be able to bear the torment of illness and choose to end his life. That was a life after all, whether because he was a star or an ordinary person, Zhao Fusheng felt he should do something.

"Let go?"

Zhang Guorong did not continue speaking with Zhao Fusheng. Instead, he began to space out, muttering to himself. Clearly, Zhao Fusheng's words had stirred something in him, and he was pondering their meaning.

Zhao Fusheng was not in a hurry. He casually picked up a newspaper from the table and started reading.

For him, patience was never in short supply.

Time ticked by. The room was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. Neither Zhao Fusheng nor Zhang Guorong spoke. The latter sat with his head bowed, lost in thought, while the former leisurely flipped through the newspaper, as if the news within were the most fascinating thing in the world.

After a long while, Zhang Guorong looked up at Zhao Fusheng and said, "After this film is done, I plan to retire from acting."

Zhao Fusheng narrowed his eyes and said with a faint smile, "That has nothing to do with me."

"Mm, indeed, it has nothing to do with you. It's my own business." Zhang Guorong nodded in agreement, then glanced at Zhao Fusheng. "Are you so sure I would agree to star in this film?"

Zhao Fusheng shook his head. "No, I just wanted to show you this story."

"Oh?"

Zhang Guorong raised an eyebrow, clearly not believing Zhao Fusheng's words.

Zhao Fusheng shrugged and made a helpless expression. "It's the truth. Your price is too high; I can't afford you. So our company's idea is that if you're not willing to lower your salary to act, we'll find someone domestically—some unknown newcomer—and then send the film to international film festivals. We shouldn't lose money."

Zhang Guorong was speechless, never expecting such an approach.

But on second thought, he could understand Zhao Fusheng's reasoning. After all, as he himself said, poor people making films naturally have their own methods.

Indeed, before meeting Zhao Fusheng, Zhang Guorong had asked people to look into Zhao Fusheng and his company, Future Films. After all, he was Zhang Guorong and had many friends in the country.

Even years later, many would use the pretext of missing him to promote themselves, though in reality, they were not as close to him as they claimed.

"You are an honest man," Zhang Guorong said slowly, looking at Zhao Fusheng.

Zhao Fusheng shook his head. "It's not honesty; I just don't see the need to deceive you. In fact, lying is a subject with great depth. To lie for a little gain may seem profitable, but it's actually harmful and makes you look cheap. The real liars are always the politicians."

Zhang Guorong smiled, deeply agreeing with Zhao Fusheng's words.

The two talked for a while longer, mostly with Zhang Guorong asking questions and Zhao Fusheng answering. Occasionally, Zhao Fusheng would ask about gossip in the Hong Kong entertainment circle, and Zhang Guorong was open and answered without reservation.

"In short, since you're willing to star in this film, I think we can start the next phase of the plan," Zhao Fusheng said finally, looking at Zhang Guorong with a smile.

"Oh?" Zhang Guorong was taken aback. "What plan?"

"Finding actors, a director, and investors, of course." Zhao Fusheng spread his hands and said to Zhang Guorong, "You didn't think we could make this film with just you and our company, did you?"

Hearing this, Zhang Guorong felt a dark cloud before his eyes, suddenly feeling that he had boarded a pirate ship.

But Zhao Fusheng was all smiles. With Zhang Guorong on board, he could finally go out and fool—ah, no, find fat sheep.

Hmm, calling them fat sheep was a bit too harsh. Better to be polite and call them investors.