Wang Tie saw the image displayed on the screen and scratched his head in frustration. After considering for a bit, he said, "Open the door."
Fu Rui was worried. "Godfather, should I really open it? Do we need to check whether there are other people nearby as well?"
"No need, open it." Wang Tie knew that if Fang Zhao really wanted to deal with him, it wouldn't have taken so long. Furthermore, Fang Zhao wouldn't be gently pressing the doorbell.
Fu Rui had no choice, so he listened to Wang Tie and opened the door. Afterward, he rapidly retreated, afraid to get beaten.
If it were any other celebrity, Fu Rui wouldn't have behaved this way, but because he had followed Wang Tie for a while and knew that Wang Tie was afraid of Fang Zhao, Fu Rui kept his guard up.
Actually, before this, Fu Rui had not thought much of Fang Zhao. Surely Fang Zhao wasn't as impressive as what the news reports made him out to be, nor was he as frightening as Wang Tie had said. However, at this point in time, he felt that he needed to reevaluate.
Ever since he had started following Wang Tie as an entertainment reporter and begun secretly filming celebrities, it had always been them stalking and stopping stars. This was really the first time that a star had come and confronted them at home. This feeling was really complicated.
Fang Zhao stepped inside, his gaze lightly sweeping Xiao Bo and Fu Rui before he looked at Wang Tie, who was leaning against the sofa.
The first sentence Fang Zhao said after entering the apartment made Wang Tie feel like kneeling down. "I have been looking for you lately."
Wang Tie howled in his heart: You can start preparing for your next concert. Why do you have to look for me?!
Fu Rui and Xiao Bo stared at Fang Zhao, flabbergasted, then turned to look at Wang Tie. They found Fang Zhao being able to recognize Wang Tie with one glance inconceivable. Normally, if Wang Tie did not voluntarily reveal his identity, even they found it difficult to recognize him.
Today, Wang Tie had put on an identity he had not used before, and the makeup was good. However, Wang Tie had already gotten used to Fang Zhao being able to recognize him, so he didn't think much of it.
As Fang Zhao walked further inside the apartment, Xiao Bo's eyes flashed, and a grim smile appeared on his lips. His entire body seemed liked a crouching leopard as he pounced, darting toward Fang Zhao.
However, the dagger that Xiao Bo clutched in his hand stopped an arm's length away from Fang Zhao.
A gun was pointed toward Xiao Bo's forehead.
The atmosphere in the apartment suddenly turned chilly.
All along, Xiao Bo had always thought that he was a very good fighter, but no matter how well he could fight, he couldn't beat the speed of a bullet!!
Throughout this entire process, Fang Zhao hadn't even looked at Xiao Bo.
Stepping in, Fang Zhao knew right away that this raw young reporter was unlike other entertainment reporters. He had experience and was battle-tested and unruly. Thus, to let this young reporter know his place, Fang Zhao had needed to intimidate him right from the start.
Everything had gone as Fang Zhao had expected. If Fang Zhao had used words instead, Xiao Bo would really not have been afraid of the consequences and would definitely have tested Fang Zhao a few more times. However, right now, Xiao Bo no longer dared to try anything funny.
Yes, both parties might not have shown a genuine intent to kill and might have just been sounding each other out on their first meeting, but... Perhaps it was the cold air from the air conditioner, or perhaps it was his own imagination, but Xiao Bo felt that even the lights within the apartment seemed to have a terrifying chill.
He had nearly forgotten that this individual had lawful gun ownership rights.
Wang Tie's taut cheek muscles moved, as if a solid piece of rock had finally melted. Laughing, he called out, "Xiao Bo."
Xiao Bo looked Wang Tie in the eye and could see what Wang Tie's expression was indicated. He put the dagger away and backed off.
Fang Zhao also put away his gun before walking to a chair and sitting down. He was clearly calmer than all three of the hosts.
Fu Rui, who was standing stiffly to the side, felt that he needed to liven up the atmosphere. Looking around, he prepared a plate of melon seeds from a cupboard and placed it on the coffee table in front of Fang Zhao. "Big God, do you crack melon seeds?"
Anyone hearing that way of address could tell that this fellow loved games. Now, only gaming fans addressed Fang Zhao this way.
Fu Rui loved playing games, but he wasn't too deeply engrossed and did not go so far as to worship Fang Zhao. He just wanted to liven up the atmosphere and get rid of the awkward silence.
After placing the plate of melon seeds, Fu Rui went to bring a cup of tea over.
"Big God, have some tea."
Fang Zhao smiled. "Thank you."
Fu Rui looked at that warm smiling face and thought to himself that if the situation just before had not happened, he would have thought that Fang Zhao would be really easy to deal with!
Wang Tie mentally filtered out the list of assignments he had accepted recently and confirmed that he had not provoked Fang Zhao. Or could it be that some celebrity had looked up Fang Zhao to help intercede?
That just wouldn't do.
In any case, he was the so-called Paparazzi King of Yanzhou. Didn't he have his own dignity? How could he let stuff that he had worked hard to photograph go to waste? If anyone wished to purchase these photographs back, it was fine. If they wanted to lower the price, it was still doable, but it couldn't be overly excessive!
In that short moment, Wang Tie had already decided on his response should the situation be like that.
Regardless of what his inner thoughts were, he could not show any weakness on the outside, or it would seem as if he had a guilty conscience.
Wang Tie had just decided to not wilt under pressure when he heard Fang Zhao ask, "I have a business deal for you. Do you accept?"
Flabbergasted, Wang Tie's brows scrunched up. He had not expected that Fang Zhao would actually look him up just to discuss business, that Fang Zhao was not here to intercede on behalf of other celebrities.
However, Wang Tie also did not immediately accept. "Let's hear it."
"Nova Roman."
Not long ago, the "Founding Era" film project team had confirmed that Nova Roman would assume the role of lead director of this project, and he would also have the authority to select actors and actresses.
As a top-notch director with worldwide acclaim, Nova Roman had both authority and background. He wasn't afraid of offending any first-rate or top-tier superstars, but he did not like being disturbed. Thus, before the list of names on the directorial team had been announced, Nova Roman had intelligently gone into hiding.
There were frequent claims online about people having seen this lead director of the revolutionary film project somewhere. However, whether these people were deliberately making things up to gain attention or whether it was Nova Roman's own diversionary smokescreens, nobody knew for certain.
This time, Wang Tie was genuinely curious.
"Aren't you in the music scene? What do you need his information for? Could it be that you really want to act? Or are you helping your company's people ask?"
Fang Zhao did not answer, instead asking, "Do you accept?"
Wang Tie considered it for a longer time.
Fang Zhao did not disturb him, waiting quietly.
Two minutes later.
Wang Tie wrote down a figure.
Fang Zhao glanced at it. "Sure."
"I accept!" Wang Tie was straightforward this time around.
His professional work was not just limited to Yanzhou, and his contacts and network were not just limited to one continent. As long as it was within the entertainment circles, unless he did not wish to investigate, there was nothing he felt he could not uncover. All he needed was to put in more effort and resources. Furthermore, all along, he had been studying the trends of this lead director, and he already had some leads.
Wang Tie's plan after obtaining precise information had been to sell it at a premium to certain ambitious stars who were vying for roles. However, since Fang Zhao had already looked him up and been quick to offer him a reasonable price, Wang Tie agreed to sell this information to Fang Zhao.
"How long do you need?" Fang Zhao asked.
"If you only want his range of current movements, I can give you an approximate region for where he is right now. If you want his exact location, I will need two days," Wang Tie replied.
After Wang Tie had told Fang Zhao the region that Director Roman was in, Fang Zhao transferred half the agreed fee to Wang Tie's account. The other half would be transferred after Wang Tie found the exact location and informed Fang Zhao.
After deciding to strive for a role, Fang Zhao had thought of Wang Tie, the Yanzhou Paparazzi King. With regards to the entertainment circles, Wang Tie was much more familiar and had a strong perception of people and trends in this industry. Indeed, Wang Tie was superior in this aspect. Fang Zhao also knew that Wang Tie had already returned back to Yanzhou from planet Wai and had been to Fiery Bird's Yanzhou branch. Thus, Fang Zhao had followed him back.
Having received satisfactory information, Fang Zhao left quickly and let Wang Tie and his team have some time to work.
After Fang Zhao left, the rigid and forced smile on Wang Tie's face faded away. His eyelids drooped as he stared at the cup of cool tea on the coffee table.
Knocking his fingers on the sides of the cup, Wang Tie studied the ripples that appeared within. Wang Tie's intuition reckoned that this time, the big news would create ripples in the entertainment circles. However, would he follow up? If he really obtained any information, what would he do?
Xiao Bo checked their account immediately after Fang Zhao left. When Fang Zhao had still been here, it had been slightly inconvenient to check on it. After confirming the money was in, a satisfied smile appeared on his face.
Seeing the sum of money that had just been transferred into the account, Xiao Bo sighed. "Master, this isn't a hazard. It's an opportunity!"
Wang Tie stared at him from the corner of his eyes. "You don't know shit!"
"Yes, yes, yes. Whatever Master says is always right!" Xiao Bo giggled, but afterward, he composed himself. "Now I really know why master has said so much about a person like Fang Zhao. It's best we keep some distance from him."
To locate Wang Tie and even track him back home, this was not something anyone could do.
Taking deep breaths, Wang Tie said, "This place is no longer usable. Let's switch to a new place."
There was no longer any sense of security here. He really did not want to see Fang Zhao's face appear when he opened the door. Furthermore, what if Fang Zhao sold his address?
They had too many enemies. The number of celebrities that had paid them off in order to reveal dirt could not be counted even with the fingers on all three pairs of their hands. What would they do if someone found out this address and came looking for revenge?
You might be able to take on five at once, but what would you do if it was 50?
Thus, to be safe, it would be best to switch to a new base of operations.
After all, this was just a temporary dwelling. When they were out on assignment, they might spend days staying at different places, so there wasn't a sense of belonging and there was no reluctance to leave.
A crafty rabbit has three burrows 1 . They had many more places they could use.
"What were you thinking about, Godfather? You looked as though you were at a loss," Fu Rui said.
Wang Tie gaze furtively swept the surroundings before he used a hand to beckon the other two over.
Noticing Wang Tie behaving this way, the two immediately check the doors and windows and even brought out some sensor equipment to sweep the apartment to ensure that there were no recording devices. After examining the place, they gathered over at Wang Tie's spot.
"Master/Godfather, what are your instructions?"
Wang Tie paused for a moment, then said, "Given my many years of experience in this line and my acute professional senses, I surmise that a huge piece of news might emerge. Now, I am hesitating, whether or not to get this news scoop? If we really go ahead and get the scoop, there might be danger involved."
Hearing this, Fu Rui and Xiao Bo moved a little closer and asked in muted voices, "How dangerous?"
"The 'Fang Zhao appearing on our doorstep again' kind of dangerous," Wang Tie replied.
"Hisss—" Fu Rui took a deep breath. In his mind, he could still clearly remember the situation where Fang Zhao had pointed the gun at Xiao Bo. Discussing businesses and news scoops were not the same. What would happen if Fang Zhao really opened fire in fury?
Xiao Bo also nodded his head in agreement. "That is very dangerous." Having a gun pointed at his forehead hadn't been a nice experience.
How rare, a famous entertainment reporter and the elite team under him were actually afraid of a celebrity turning the tables and knocking on their own doors?!
"So... Master, the big news you talked about, how big will it be? What sort of level?" Xiao Bo asked again.
"The 'something that could shock the entire world's entertainment circle' sort of level."
Both of them exhaled simultaneously. "Hissss—"
"What do you guys think about this matter? Should we do it?" Wang Tie asked.
"Do it!"
a direct translation for 狡兔三窟