Chapter 103 Cai Bingchun, a Big Shot

me!"Three men in black suits burst out of another private room; their movements showed they were trained martial arts experts. Wang Zheng didn't pay them any mind and with a flick of his hand, he inje...Chapter 103: The Star-Crossed Cai Bingchun

Zhu Qihua couldn't help but feel very worried upon hearing his son's words.

Zhu Qihua was an old hand in the political arena. While he didn’t want his family to suffer because of his son’s actions, he also did not wish for anything bad to happen to them. His wife and son were so consumed with hatred that it made him feel uneasy.

"Zhu Feng, don't do anything that will make you regret it for the rest of your life!" Zhu Qihua's tone was unprecedentedly serious: "I'm arranging everything right now; within a month at most, I can get you transferred to Australia and away from here."

Zhu Feng, however, looked sinister as he spoke in a low voice, "I won't go. What I lost, I will take back by myself."

"Take it back How do you plan on doing that What exactly did you lose" Zhu Qihua sighed helplessly and said earnestly: "A gentleman takes his revenge after ten years. If you kill this student out of anger, you might feel a momentary sense of satisfaction but have you thought about the consequences afterward Will you then change your name to hide from everyone for the rest of your life"

Zhu Feng replied darkly: "I don't care anymore."

After Zhu Qihua had tried his hardest to persuade him, his son still wouldn’t listen. This caused a flare-up of anger as he shouted quietly, "You must obey me! I'm freezing all your bank accounts and credit cards right now! You have to be responsible or else you'll destroy our family due to your recklessness. If that happens, there won't even be time to regret it!"

Zhu Feng merely snorted coldly as he grabbed the bag from his father's hand and walked into school without looking back.

Clearly, his words had made no impact on him at all.

Gazing at Zhu Feng’s retreating figure, Zhu Qihua was full of worry in his eyes.

"Can't you talk some sense into your own child" Unable to vent his anger elsewhere, Zhu Qihua lashed out at his wife.

Ye Hui glanced at her husband with a cold expression. Her voice carried an edge: "I don’t want my son to be like you—losing his family and still being selfish and cowardly! Zhu Qihua, are you even a man"

Gazing at the hysterical woman before him, Zhu Qihua felt an unfamiliar sense of estrangement and helplessness arise in his heart.

He was personally selected by Old Lady Sū and is expected to be the backbone of the Sū faction in the future. His swift rise in officialdom had much to do with the covert support from the Sū family. In Zhu Qihua's view, before this incident, he had never exposed any affiliations, which made him a hidden pawn in Old Lady Sū’s eyes. However, this time, because of his son's matter, Old Lady Sū took decisive action to suppress all negative news on the media, inadvertently revealing his faction.

Zhu Qihua was disappointed with his son, and as a result, he believed that Old Lady Sū had also become very disappointed in him.

At this point, Zhu Qihua could no longer allow his family's influence to hinder his official career. If Old Lady Sū became totally disillusioned with him, then he would clearly see the fate of a discarded pawn.

"Ye Hui, I warn you not to ruin my affairs! A woman who cannot accomplish anything but ruins everything!" Zhu Qihua coldly glanced at his wife before getting into the car and leaving her standing there.

Leaf Huai stared at the gate of Beijing Normal University, a strange sneer curling at the corners of her lips.

Wang Zheng watched from inside the car, narrowing his eyes. He waited until Ye Hui left before starting the engine and driving off.

...

The next day, in the rooftop garden of Jirong International Group's headquarters building.

This so-called rooftop garden was built on the sixteenth-floor platform, lush with flowers in vivid hues of red and green. It had a roof that could automatically close during rain or strong winds, making it extremely advanced. On sunny days, the place basked in warmth, serving as a perfect spot for Jirong staff to take breaks.

Of course, this rooftop garden also doubled as a small filming base for Jirong International, where almost all of their advertisements were shot.

Jirong's entry into the white home appliance market was an extremely significant event for everyone in the company. As advertising was the primary method of promotion during this phase, it was crucial to get everything right. Therefore, the entire planning department had been working overtime with an advertising agency for two weeks straight to shoot the first wave of white appliance ads perfectly so that consumers would remember them.

For this reason, the Jirong Planning Department spent a large sum of money and invited two heavyweight figures.

The first was Zhang Xiaomou, China's most renowned director who had won multiple Cannes Film Festival gold awards. The other was Cai Bingchun, an internationally acclaimed top-tier actress mentioned by Shishi上官詩詩should be translated as "Shishi" if it's a name or left in its original form as a proper noun, but considering the context here, let's assume it refers to a character from the story and should be translated: Cai Bingchun was also referred to by Shishi.

The planning department's production team is堪稱頂級, having created over ten award-winning classic advertisements in the past. With such a strong team backing her up, Shangguan Shishi doesn't need to worry about creativity for the White Electrical Appliance advertisement.

Zhang Xiaomou, Cai Bingchun, and the top-notch advertising production team make this ad難以不火!

However, there seems to be a small conflict at the current shooting site.

Zhang Xiaomou, with his weathered face resembling chiseled marks, wearing a black-brimmed hat, is sitting beside super star Cai Bingchun, holding paper and pen to meticulously explain the advertisement script and on-set precautions to her.

Yet, Cai Bingchun, wearing large sunglasses, furrows her brows in confusion.

Zhang Xiaomou was invited by Jirong International to climb onto this high branch and is putting in considerable effort. He stopped only when he became hoarse from talking so much.

"Director Zhang, why do I have to wear an apron Why must I dress in loose clothes Why am I required to look very homely, even tying my hair loosely" Cai Bingchun took out a long cigarette from her handbag, lit it, exhaled a ring of smoke and said with furrowed brows: "Director Zhang, I don't like this kind of dressing. It's also not aligned with the image I've always been portraying."

Zhang Xiaomou looked at Cai Bingchun, who exudes luxury, sighed, and couldn’t help but recall the humble and pure look she had when she first entered the industry. As one of China’s biggest directors, he has never encountered an actor who would point fingers or demand script modifications from him. Even big stars fawn over him upon meeting; how could anyone in the circle not know that if Zhang Xiaomou is displeased, he will immediately replace the actor even if it violates a contract Now, however, only Cai Bingchun dares to do so.

Nowadays, Cai Bingchun is an international superstar with extremely high pay and packed schedules. She naturally wouldn't fawn over Zhang Xiaomou anymore.

Zhang Xiaomou finally patiently explained to Cai Bingchun: "Chun Chun, this is what the script requires for the ad. I have carefully read through it; it's of top-notch quality and has a high degree of fit with the product."

Cai Bingchun snorted and extinguished her half-smoked cigarette on the floor, saying: "But I don't like it."

Zhang Xiaomou smiled wryly: "Chun Chun, you can’t always do things just as per your preferences. Although you usually portray a noble and elegant image, if you could slightly change your character to become a homely young wife, the audience would be pleasantly surprised, which is beneficial for expanding your image."

Cai Bingchun laughed: "Expanding my image Does my screen persona need that"

Zhang Xiaomou didn't pick up on her remark but firmly stated his opinion: "Chun Chun, I think the ad script is already perfect; there's really no need to modify it. Moreover, please believe me, if you present yourself with a new look in this advertisement, you will definitely attract more attention."

"Director Zhang, I have some other matters to attend to right now. Anyway, I came today to look at the script and try it out for size. I suggest you guys revise the script; I really don't like it very much. Also, I haven’t signed a contract with the production company yet because we haven't reached an agreement on the price."

Zhang Xiaomo was surprised, "Do you want to increase your pay What kind of salary do you think is appropriate"

"Though 60 million yuan per year as a spokesperson fee is already quite substantial, it’s still somewhat short compared to Nicole Kidman and others. I would like to add another 10 million; this small sum shouldn't be much for a super company such as Jurong. My agent will negotiate with Jurong regarding this."

"Furthermore, my studio team consists of eighty-seven people who will all help out during the shoot, and their accommodation expenses will also amount to quite a lot. We need to clear up this point in our negotiations with Jurong."

Zhang Xiaomo was helpless, "Why do we still have to negotiate Our shooting schedule is very tight; including today, there’s only one week! What if it's not enough time"

"Director Zhang, don't worry. I assure you everything will be fine," Cai Bingchun said and then swayed her graceful figure as she slowly walked away, leaving the male staff members staring in awe.

Zhang Xiaomo sat dejectedly on a chair for quite some time without saying anything.

Wang Zheng and Shangguan Shishi watched from afar but did not interfere.

"It seems that the airs of top-tier actresses are bigger than expected. Just having a studio team of eighty-seven people with them wherever they go is truly domineering," Wang Zheng said with a smile.

Shangguan Shishi also smiled, "In fact, there aren’t many artists in China who don't put on airs at all. Cai Bingchun isn’t the exception either; such big-name actresses always attract much attention wherever they go."

Wang Zheng squinted his eyes and said, "No way, we are the甲方 after all. If anyone should put on airs, it's us. Seven million yuan a year for three years is more than 200 million yuan; does she think the money falls from the sky"

After that, Wang Zheng walked towards the Sky Garden, Shangguan Shishi smiled and shook her head; it seemed that Cai Bingchun’s contract would likely fall through after what Wang Zheng said.

However, at this point, Shangguan Shishi did not realize that she, as the real boss, was subconsciously following Wang Zheng's instructions without realizing it.Why " Zhang Yafeng almost thought Wang Zheng was referring to herself."In fact, throughout the years, she’s also渴望被關愛的，但她太優秀了，以至於同齡男人都望而卻步。我問過她有冇有擇偶標準，她說至少不能比她大太多，最多三歲差距，要有才又有貌，年薪至少要一百萬，不然她的消費水平根本無法匹配...