Chapter 168: The Enemy's Background

Kunal strode forward, snatched the press card right off the foreign reporter’s chest, and turned to walk away.

Immediately, an Anubis-like figure standing well over one meter ninety stepped forward, completely shielding the journalist from view.

Kunal was not foolish enough to hand the confiscated press card directly to Lin Fengqiao; his intention was to spare Jackie Chan any future trouble.

Instead, he walked straight up to Park Hyun-hee, Kim Hee-sun’s manager, and handed it over. Park Hyun-hee didn’t waste a word; she took one glance at it and made a phone call.

At that moment, someone from Qinghuang appeared and exchanged a few whispers with the foreign journalist, whose face gradually turned pale with apprehension.

Afterward, the reporter also muttered a few words in a low voice, and the Qinghuang representative stepped aside, letting the foreigner leave.

Without delay, the person from Qinghuang walked directly over to Jackie Chan and murmured a few words.

Jackie Chan’s stern expression slowly melted away, and he clapped his hands to address the crowd, "Alright, alright, the fake reporter who sneaked in has been sent away. Let's get back to business as usual!"

Although not everyone fully believed his explanation, the incident had nothing to do with the vast majority of those present, so the atmosphere on set quickly returned to normal.

However, the interview with Liu Qingshan could obviously not continue. Besides, he had been called aside by Jackie Chan.

"The folks from Qinghuang found out. That foreigner is from Sanyou Pictures. Of course, the press card wasn't fake—he was simply bought off! Shanzi, do you have some kind of conflict with Fat Wah from Sanyou Pictures?"

Liu Qingshan briefly recounted what had happened to him, prompting Jackie Chan to bare his teeth in deep resentment.

"So it was the idea of that Fat Wah and those other two fools! Such petty minds—if they have the guts, why don't they go toe-to-toe with Chairman Yang? But strictly speaking, this whole mess still has something to do with me, since you were invited into the crew by yours truly! Leave this alone, I'll handle it!"

Liu Qingshan smiled and shook his head, "How could I burden Big Brother with such trivial troubles? Don't worry, I know what I'm doing!"

"What could you possibly know? Don't tell me you're planning to retaliate. In fact, your promise that Snow Peak won't cooperate with them is already a harsh enough blow."

It seemed his worry was identical to Sammo Hung's. Liu Qingshan smiled with a helpless shrug, "Am I really that reckless? I just wanted to ask you, is there any possibility I can participate in the variety show the day after tomorrow?"

Jackie Chan immediately caught on, "Now that you mention it, I was just about to discuss that with you! Because that video has been circulating online these past two days, you've become something of a newsmaker. TVC called me yesterday, demanding that you appear as well—ideally to perform a live demonstration of real martial arts!"

"What? A performance, and a live one at that?"

"I know it might feel a bit beneath someone of your master-level martial arts status to perform like that, but you could easily turn it around and use this opportunity to sing a song with Hee-sun! Every promotion is crucial before Hee-sun drops her album!"

"A duet with her? Let's skip that. She's supposed to sing 'The Myth' with you anyway. But since that's the case, could I perform a new song of my own?"

"Oh, so that's what you're aiming for? Give me your reasons. Don't forget, you're supposed to be promoting *The Myth*!"

Jackie Chan said the second half in a joking tone, but his curiosity was genuine.

"The song is called 'Nobody', Big Brother. Do you need me to explain any further?"

Jackie Chan froze for a second before bursting into laughter, "Ah, your big brother completely understands now! So you aren't actually an old soul after all—you just want to vent a young man's temper through your singing! Fine, I'll call the Big Guy right away and we can discuss the format and content of your performance."

The "Big Guy" was Eric Tsang, a well-known Hong Kong all-around entertainer active in film, television, and hosting. Because of his exceptionally short stature, his close friends affectionately gave him the nickname "Big Guy" (Dai-z-lo in Cantonese).

In everyday Cantonese, the term actually described a physically strong and muscular man, but applied to Eric Tsang, it carried a touch of irony.

"Tomorrow and the day after—I'll ask for two days off at most. I want to finish filming here as soon as possible and head over to Shanghai. The crew of *Kung Fu* is already urging me to get there!"

"Two days will be enough. But you haven't even started writing 'Nobody' yet, have you? Can you really churn out a song in such a short time?"

"The melody has been in my head for a while; I just need to fit the lyrics to it."

"Don't worry too much about Fat Wah from Sanyou. That's just how his character is, and I've always had a low opinion of him. If it weren't for the sake of Golden Harvest, I would have broken ties with him long ago!"

"Oh, he has some connection to Golden Harvest?"

"Not particularly deep. Golden Harvest was originally founded by Raymond Chow, Leonard Ho, and Leung Fung. Sanyou was modeled after them. In the early days, they constantly sought advice from Golden Harvest and often claimed to be students of those three gentlemen, though none of them ever publicly acknowledged it."

"Respecting elders and honoring the wise is a virtue. At the very least, the fact that they respect their seniors is worth praising."

"Come on, since when did you like spouting high-minded ideals? Those three rascals were merely riding on Golden Harvest's coattails, and once their own influence started growing, they stopped visiting altogether—even though the annual gifts never stopped."

"Isn't that still decent?"

"I'm not questioning their etiquette; I'm talking about Sanyou Pictures' overbearing and predatory business practices. You haven't developed your career in Hong Kong yet, so you don't know the inside story. Of the three founders, the third oldest, 'Big Bull Tai Po', is the worst. He has pulled too many bullying stunts, including the notorious underworld rumor about pressing a gun to an actor's head to force them into a role—he was definitely involved in that."

"Whoa—that's utterly lawless! Doesn't anyone try to keep him in line?"

"Some people want to, but there's no direct evidence. The veterans of Golden Harvest are willing to speak up for them mostly for the sake of saving face—after all, accepting someone's gifts leaves your mouth too soft to criticize them. Once they took that very first gift, the relationship became impossible to untangle."

"So that's how it is. No wonder Big Brother gritted his teeth in hatred the moment Fat Wah's name came up!"

"He's still not the worst one—just extraordinarily narrow-minded. Shanzi, the person you really need to watch out for isn't Big Bull Tai Po, but the one who hides the deepest: the eldest, 'Cap Man'. Rumors say the other two are merely his lackeys, and he is the one truly pulling the strings and striking from the shadows."

"Is that also because of a lack of evidence?"

"It's not just a matter of evidence. Behind him stands a behemoth like the Cheung Tung Group, and rumor has it that this fellow is even the brother-in-law of Tsui Cheung-tung."

Tsui Cheung-tung was the chairman of Cheung Tung Group and one of the true heavyweights in the Hong Kong business circle. At only forty-six years old, he was the epitome of vigor and success.

"Alright, you go talk to Hee-sun. She's looked over in our direction countless times already," Jackie Chan said abruptly. Without caring that Liu Qingshan was still deep in thought, he strode away, cutting a rather imposing, boss-like figure at that moment.

Before Liu Qingshan could react, Kim Hee-sun was already walking over under an umbrella.

She shouted from a distance, "What are you standing there in a daze for? Lots of people are waiting for you!"

Only then did Liu Qingshan snap back to reality. He had just been pondering Tsui Cheung-tung—a man who enjoyed immense fame even in the mainland and maintained a thoroughly positive image as a Hong Kong philanthropist.

He couldn't fathom why a corporate titan who always appeared so amiable in public could have such a treacherous brother-in-law.

Moreover, the conflict between Cheung Tung Group and Qinghuang must run deep; otherwise, Yang Wan-cheng wouldn't have been so tight-lipped and guarded about it.

Seeing that his train of thought had been interrupted, however, Liu Qingshan instantly put on a radiant smile, "With you looking out for me, what do I have to rush for?"