Chapter 1273: The Wrong Person to Mess With

There is an old saying: raise a son in poverty, raise a daughter in wealth.

This saying sounds somewhat biased, but upon careful thought, it does hold some truth.

Raising a son in poverty, literally, means to give a boy a simple upbringing and not spoil him. Thinking about it, it's quite correct, at least as a way to shape a boy's willpower and character.

After all, flowers grown in a greenhouse are destined to be unable to stand in the wind and rain. Educational methods that treat a child as if they might melt if held or be scared if carried are simply destroying the child. It's often said that spoiling a child is like killing them, and that saying is very true.

Indulging a child blindly can easily make a boy weak-willed, with poor psychological resilience, losing the blood and masculinity a man should have.

Imagine if every boy were like those idolized Korean oppas—what a terrifying scene that would be.

But conversely, raising a daughter in wealth has a different flavor.

For example, if a daughter is raised in wealth, at the very least it ensures she can think independently, making her more assertive and wise, understanding what she needs and what she should truly pursue.

When the daughter grows up, she won't be blinded by vanity.

Simply put, the result of raising a daughter in wealth at least guarantees that your own daughter won't be deceived by a scumbag because she's dazzled by money.

Of course, this may not be comprehensive, as many things cannot be summed up by a single proverb.

But Zhao Fusheng thought it made a lot of sense.

The truth in this world is like that: even renminbi has people who don't like it. The only truth that can convince everyone is probably the barrel of a gun.

As for the usual chicken soup or life truths, if you think they make sense, listen and follow them as your code of conduct. If you don't think they make sense, just ignore them.

Right or wrong doesn't matter; what matters is whether it benefits you.

For Zhao Fusheng, he found the saying 'raise a son in poverty, raise a daughter in wealth' very reasonable, so he lived by it. Although he didn't have his own child yet, in terms of mental age, his sister-in-law Fan Beibei was no different from a daughter to him. So often, Zhao Fusheng treated Fan Beibei as if he were raising a daughter.

At home, she got whatever she wanted. In Fan Baobao's words, even if Fan Beibei wanted to go to the sky, Zhao Fusheng would probably consider discussing with the Americans to see if they could take the girl to the moon.

So, the moment he heard Fan Beibei's crying outside the door, Zhao Fusheng shot up and rushed straight out.

As for Old Jiang, purely because he had met Fan Beibei many times and recognized her voice, he grabbed a wine bottle and followed Zhao Fusheng out.

When he stepped outside, what came into Zhao Fusheng's view was Fan Beibei crying behind Zuo Xiaoqing, while Zuo Xiaoqing, her face flushed, was arguing with someone.

Standing opposite her were a man and a woman.

The woman looked somewhat familiar; she should be an actress. Although Zhao Fusheng didn't know her well, he was sure he had seen her or watched her in a play.

Beside the woman was a man with a very gloomy expression, giving off a sharp and aggressive vibe.

The man wore a black suit and carried a leather bag, looking quite imposing. The reason for saying this was that two bodyguards stood behind him.

"You need to apologize!" Zuo Xiaoqing was saying to the woman.

"Apologize for what? I just thought she was cute and pinched her cheek. What's the big deal? Is your child made of paper?" The woman glared at Zuo Xiaoqing, then frowned slightly: "You are..."

Clearly, she recognized Zuo Xiaoqing.

After all, they were both in the acting circle, crossing paths often. Moreover, the woman had learned from some sources that Zuo Xiaoqing wasn't simple; as a female newcomer, she had successfully risen with considerable help from Chen Dao.

The nuances here are a matter of opinion. Like Wu Xiubo's acting guidance—truth mixed with falsehood, falsehood mixed with truth. Whether to believe it depends on each person's inner thoughts.

"Is that how you pinch someone's face?" At this moment, Zuo Xiaoqing didn't seem as gentle as usual. Staring wide-eyed at the actress opposite, she showed no restraint just because the other was also a newcomer in the circle but had acted in many more plays. She said bluntly: "Come on, let me pinch you and see if it hurts? A grown person, pinching a child so hard—are you sick?"

The onlookers involuntarily shrank back, thinking this woman was too fierce, cursing without any restraint, completely at odds with her cautious and delicate appearance.

The woman opposite clearly hadn't expected Zuo Xiaoqing to be so tough. Frowning slightly, she said: "Zuo Xiaoqing, what are you saying? I just pinched the child's face. Is your child made of paper? Can't anyone touch her?"

"Bullshit!"

At that moment, Zhao Fusheng had already walked over, picked up the still-crying Fan Beibei, and glared at the woman: "Li Xiaoran, right? Dare you say that again?"

He recognized the actress at once. If Zhao Fusheng remembered correctly, this woman knew Zhao Baogang and had appeared in many of Xinbaoyuan's TV dramas. The reason Zhao Fusheng had a deep impression of her was that a few years later, she was involved in a stabbing case with a so-called sixth-generation director. Although they claimed true love, based on later information, it was clearly nonsense.

Yes, pure bullshit.

The reason was simple: Li Xiaoran had had multiple boyfriends, from the former boss of Tiantianrenjian to a coal tycoon with underworld connections, to that stabbed director, and even rumors of an affair with Zhao Baogang.

In short, her rise to fame was a history of sleeping with various men.

But unfortunately, she was never destined for stardom. After years of struggle, she remained a person whose works were popular but she wasn't, eventually marrying a producer.

Whether it was true love or a backup plan, no one knows.

Actually, there are too many such things in the entertainment industry. Not everyone is like Han·acting skills·can't be promoted even by Spring Festival Gala·Xue and Jing·I just like making big movies and male athletes·Tian, or Liu·godfather doesn't exist·fairy.

For actresses like Li Xiaoran and Zuo Xiaoqing, how could they become famous without taking shortcuts?

In later years, there was a TV drama called "The Night." Everyone wondered why so many veteran actors were willing to lower themselves to support a male lead who spoke his lines with a crooked mouth and wasn't really handsome.

Just because of the high pay?

Are you kidding? His father was Kaige Chen, one of the top directors in the country. With such connections, wanting to debut as a male lead and get a bunch of veteran actors to support him—was that hard?

Other cases, like Young Master Long and that Zhang Gongzi who beat Li Yu princess in "The Night" into a pig's head—if they hadn't been so unambitious and desperately courting death, to the point where even their fathers couldn't protect them, how could they have been blacklisted?

The entertainment industry is a big dye vat. Once you jump in, the only way to remain unstained is if your background is so powerful that those with ill intentions have to be wary.

But that's digressing.

Li Xiaoran looked at Zuo Xiaoqing, then at Zhao Fusheng holding Fan Beibei. Just as she opened her mouth to speak, Jiang Wen and the others all rushed out in a flurry.

"I..."

The words on the tip of her tongue were forcibly swallowed back by Li Xiaoran.

She was willful, not stupid. If it were just Zuo Xiaoqing, she wouldn't have minded having a fight. But the problem was that this strange man with a strong tone had rushed over, followed by Jiang Wen holding a beer bottle, and several big shots from the Beijing circle, even her own company boss Zhao Baogang.

At that moment, Li Xiaoran felt that she had hit a wall of iron today.

"Xiaoran, it's you?" Zhao Baogang stood outside the crowd, looking at Li Xiaoran in surprise, then noticed the man beside her and raised an eyebrow: "Mr. Sun, why are you here too?"

"Oh, Mr. Zhao is here too. Xiaoran and I are having a meal. You guys are..." The man who had been silent until Zhao Fusheng appeared, only then showing a gloomy expression, was also surprised to see Zhao Baogang but still greeted him politely.

Zhao Baogang smiled awkwardly: "I'm having dinner with friends."

Clearly, his own actress, though an unknown eighteenth-tier artist, was dining alone with a coal boss. The content didn't need guessing to know what was going on.

But Zhao Fusheng had no interest in their pleasantries. He lowered his head and asked Fan Beibei softly: "Beibei, what happened?"

"That person, she pinched my face. I didn't want her to, but she insisted, and then she pinched hard, saying it was chubby and fun..." Fan Beibei sobbed as she spoke. "Pretty sister was in the restroom, and I was waiting for her at the door..."

Children always speak incoherently, but Zhao Fusheng understood what the little girl meant.

Clearly, Li Xiaoran and Mr. Sun had had some drinks. At the restroom door, they ran into Fan Beibei waiting for Zuo Xiaoqing to come out. Thinking Beibei was cute, Li Xiaoran wanted to pinch her face. But Fan Beibei, following what Zhao Fusheng and Fan Baobao had told her—never interact with strangers—naturally refused.

If she had been sober, Li Xiaoran wouldn't have done such a boring thing. But today, after drinking and in a bad mood, Fan Beibei's refusal made her feel very annoyed. She casually pinched Beibei's face hard a few times, making the little girl cry from pain.

Next, Zuo Xiaoqing came out of the restroom, saw this, and flew into a rage, leading to the argument just now.