Chapter 1272: Beijing Circle Gathering

The car wasn't moving fast. Jiang Wen's assistant and driver knew the relationship between Zhao Fusheng and Jiang Wen. When getting in the car, Zhao Fusheng had said to drive slowly to avoid sudden braking that might scare the child.

"By the way, speaking of which, you don't seem to like flying."

Jiang Wen chatted with Zhao Fusheng for a while, then suddenly remembered something and said with a smile.

"Yes, yes! Brother said planes aren't safe." Fan Beibei quickly raised her hand, looking like a clever good child waiting to be praised.

Zhao Fusheng smiled helplessly, patted the girl's head as encouragement, then explained to Jiang Wen: "My mom said, if possible, I should try not to fly."

"Oh?" Jiang Wen was slightly surprised, then laughed and said to Zhao Fusheng: "Your old lady's thinking isn't right. Planes are the safest mode of transport in the world. The major accident rate for a plane is one in three million. In other words, a plane would need to fly about three million times before one accident occurs. And nowadays, a typical plane is scrapped after about fifteen thousand takeoffs and landings. By that probability, even if someone flew every day, it would take over eight thousand years to encounter an accident. So your mom's worry is a bit overblown."

Zhao Fusheng glanced at Jiang Wen in surprise, not expecting the guy to turn into a data nerd one day.

But the problem was, although Old Jiang made a good point, this was an order from his mother, and Zhao Fusheng dared not disobey. Moreover, it was a matter of life and death. Entrusting his life to probability was something Zhao Fusheng could never do.

"What, you don't believe me?" Seeing Zhao Fusheng's expression, Jiang Wen felt the guy seemed unconvinced.

Zhao Fusheng shook his head: "It's not that I don't believe you, but I can't entrust my life to probability."

He then explained: "Think about it. If what you say is true, does that mean planes never malfunction? Then how do air crashes happen? Probability can only be a reference, not a basis. I admit that planes are indeed very safe, but the problem is that when a plane fails, it's in the sky. Once a problem occurs, it's basically a one-in-a-million chance or even no chance at all. But trains, cars, even ships, because they're on the ground, still have a glimmer of hope. So I think my mom is right. Unless necessary, I'll try not to fly."

Jiang Wen was speechless. He had nothing but admiration for Zhao Fusheng's theory.

Fortunately, the car slowly stopped. The assistant turned to tell Jiang Wen they had arrived, or else the two might have debated further.

"Let's go eat." Jiang Wen took Fan Beibei's little hand and said to Zhao Fusheng.

Fan Beibei had that knack—no matter how old the adult, she could always make them like her in the shortest time.

Old Jiang was like that, Yu Feihong was like that, and Dong Chenxi and Zheng Yao were even more so. They were all charmed by her, and every time she went to the company, she came back with a pile of gifts, whether clothes or toys, all covered by them.

In Fan Baobao's words, the girl took after her—everyone loved her.

Zhao Fusheng privately thought she was just boasting, because in his memory, the young Fan Baobao was nowhere near as likable as Fan Beibei.

Of course, with his strong survival instinct, he would never say that in front of Fan Baobao.

No way. If he exposed Ms. Fan's lie, he might end up sleeping in the study tonight.

Between his own happiness and the truth, Zhao Fusheng unhesitatingly made the choice that followed his heart.

A man has to be good to himself.

……

……

"Oh, Fusheng is here too."

"Hello, Chairman Zhao."

When Zhao Fusheng and Jiang Wen walked into the room together, the people inside were naturally surprised. Except for Zheng Xiaolong and Zhao Baogang, who had been notified in advance, the others were quite taken aback to see Zhao Fusheng appear.

It's often said that different circles shouldn't force their way in. That saying holds true. For most people in this room, Zhao Fusheng was now someone they couldn't even aspire to.

This psychology is normal. People envy the rich, but usually those close to them or on a similar level. No one envies Ma Xiaoyun or Ma Huateng; they usually call them 'daddy.'

The reason is simple: the gap is too big.

The same applied to Zhao Fusheng in the eyes of these entertainment industry stars.

Under thirty, with a net worth of several billion—how could anyone hate someone like that?

Zhao Fusheng exchanged pleasantries with Zheng Xiaolong and the others before taking his seat.

"Sorry, Director Zheng, I'm crashing your party." Zhao Fusheng said with a smile to Zheng Xiaolong, who was the host, so he had to show some courtesy.

Zheng Xiaolong laughed: "Fusheng, you're too polite. Guests like you are hard to come by. I thought you were busy, so I didn't invite you."

Zhao Fusheng nodded: "I've been busy lately. There's a project in Sichuan that's been under negotiation. Today I took a break to take my sister to Old Jiang's place to see his kid, but I ran into him heading out. I thought I'd come along since I haven't seen everyone in a while."

"Sichuan?"

Wang Zhonglei was surprised: "Are you investing there?"

Zhao Fusheng nodded: "Yeah, planning to build a road."

At these words, Zheng Xiaolong and Wang Zhonglei were all stunned, inwardly wryly smiling.

Comparisons are odious.

While they were still discussing how much to invest in a film, he was already considering investing in road construction.

They were on completely different levels.

Sometimes reality is like that. We might think someone is showing off because of a single sentence, but for them, they might just be stating the facts.

Like when Wang the tycoon said 'set a small goal first.' To some, it might seem pretentious, but if you think about it, those who find it pretentious are those who might never earn a hundred million in their lifetime. For the tycoon, given his status, earning a hundred million might indeed be just a small goal.

"Brother, I need to go to the bathroom." At that moment, Fan Beibei tugged at Zhao Fusheng's hand and whispered.

Zhao Fusheng was talking to Zheng Xiaolong. He turned around, looked around, and saw an actress brought by Chen Daoming. He remembered her name seemed to be Zuo Xiaoqing. Zhao Fusheng smiled and said to her: "Miss Zuo, could you do me a favor and take my sister to the bathroom?"

Zuo Xiaoqing had a good personality and quickly nodded: "Sure, no problem."

"Beibei, go with this pretty sister to the bathroom, okay?" Zhao Fusheng bent down and said softly to Fan Beibei: "Brother will wait for you here, okay?"

Fan Beibei nodded and obediently followed Zuo Xiaoqing out.

"Fusheng, is this your sister?" Zheng Xiaolong was seeing Fan Beibei for the first time and was a bit surprised, as he hadn't heard that Zhao Fusheng had a sister, though he knew about his girlfriend.

"Well, to be precise, she's my sister-in-law." Zhao Fusheng explained with a smile: "She's the younger sister of my fiancée Fan Baobao. I've raised her since she was little."

Then he said to Zheng Xiaolong: "By the way, I'm getting married in August. Director Zheng, you must grace us with your presence."

Zheng Xiaolong was taken aback. He hadn't expected Zhao Fusheng to invite him. But since he was being invited, it meant he was valued. He was naturally pleased and nodded with a smile: "Certainly, certainly. Don't worry."

No way. This was a wealthy man, a genuine new tycoon. Extending an invitation meant that in his heart, he regarded Zheng Xiaolong as someone important. A smart man like Zheng Xiaolong would never refuse the olive branch Zhao Fusheng offered.

What is a shrewd person? A shrewd person, no matter what they think inside, will always get along well with others on the surface.

"To be honest, Director Zheng, your name has been like thunder in my ears..." Zhao Fusheng said politely to Zheng Xiaolong with a smile.

In truth, although he knew that Zheng Xiaolong was one of the leading figures in the Beijing circle and later made Sun Li famous by directing 'Empresses in the Palace' and 'The Legend of Mi Yue,' Zhao Fusheng didn't know much about his character.

He vaguely remembered a news report—couldn't recall if it was about the screenwriter of 'Empresses in the Palace' or 'The Legend of Mi Yue' suing Zheng Xiaolong.

From that perspective, Zheng Xiaolong was no simple character. He might wear a smile, but when it came to interests, he was a ruthless player who would devour others without spitting out the bones.

Zhao Fusheng's principle with such people was to avoid offending them as much as possible, to be polite, and to keep everyone happy.

After all, in the entertainment industry, even a pile of dog shit has its uses. There's no reason to offend anyone unnecessarily.

He wasn't a saint. He had no interest in interfering with future events, nor did he plan to. Just like with Zuo Xiaoqing, he still wore a smile, as if he didn't know about her extramarital affair with a certain Best Actor.

Just then, a sudden commotion came from the door. At first, Zhao Fusheng didn't pay much attention, just furrowing his brow. But as a vaguely familiar crying sound reached him, his face changed drastically. He shot up and rushed out the door.

Behind him, Jiang Wen grabbed a wine bottle and followed.