Chapter 0602: Peacemaking Dinner

If possible, no one wants to live their life as explosively as a firecracker; making a fortune quietly has been the habitual way of life for Chinese people for thousands of years.

Whether it was Fan Baobao or Zhao Fusheng, they were both the most traditional Chinese at heart.

Planning before acting was what they liked to do.

Although Fan Baobao didn't quite understand why Zhao Fusheng wanted her to perform in a play, she still kept it in mind. Because she knew that no matter what others thought, if there was one man in the world who wouldn't harm her, it had to be Zhao Fusheng.

"I got it. I'll ask Sister Hua later and see if there's a chance to try out at the People's Art Theatre," Fan Baobao said to Zhao Fusheng after thinking it over.

For her, playing an extra anywhere was the same; if she had the chance to be an extra at the People's Art Theatre, that wouldn't be bad either.

Zhao Fusheng nodded, very satisfied with Fan Baobao's attitude.

She might not understand the benefits of doing this now, but as time passed, she would eventually realize that the entertainment industry and the film and television industry were fundamentally different.

To establish oneself in this circle for the long term, or to truly become a darling in the eyes of the audience, relying solely on a pretty face was not enough. Because humans are the most forgetful creatures; no matter how beautiful a female star is, once her looks fade, she will be quickly forgotten by the audience. Only those with acting skills can remain evergreen like perennial trees.

For example, many people might not know the name Yu Nan, but in the eyes of insiders, her status is even higher than that of International Zhang, comparable to Gong Qiuju. The reason is that she has always been the darling of art films, the kind of formidable person who wins awards until her hands are sore.

In terms of resources, she can act into her fifties, while those popular young actresses can only manage TV dramas at most; when it comes to movies, they might not even qualify to be her assistants.

Zhao Fusheng wasn't crazy enough to think that with his support, Fan Baobao could casually land the lead role in a film. That kind of thing, unless one had money to burn and was bored out of their mind, would only happen if they were insane enough to spend their own money on it.

Moreover, based on his understanding of Fan Baobao, if she found out that he spent money to produce a film for her and it lost money, she would most likely fly into a rage.

That was the truth. Fan Baobao's personality would rather play a corpse as an extra than allow the invested money to be lost.

After all, that was their own money!

"Learn more from the old-timers at the People's Art Theatre," Zhao Fusheng said with a smile to Fan Baobao.

Fan Baobao nodded. To her, the People's Art Theatre was undoubtedly synonymous with high standards, so she naturally dared not take it lightly.

The night passed without incident; their intimacy went without saying. In Zhao Fusheng's words, separation intensifies passion, like dry wood meeting a raging fire. Although they dared not take the final step, there were things that had to be done.

As for Fan Baobao, the next morning while brushing her teeth, she saw a curly hair sticking out from her mouth and couldn't help but retch. She grabbed Zhao Fusheng and started hitting him.

Zhao Fusheng grinned foolishly, neither fighting back nor dodging.

After breakfast, Fan Baobao went to school, while Zhao Fusheng received a call from Wang Zhonglei.

"Fusheng, are you free? Want to come out and sit for a while?" Wang Zhonglei was quite polite, without any condescending arrogance.

Zhao Fusheng smiled and agreed. They set a time and place, then hung up.

But after putting down the phone, Zhao Fusheng's expression darkened.

What did Wang Zhonglei want by looking for him?

People always tend to interpret others' intentions with the darkest thoughts. The feeling of anxiety made Zhao Fusheng lose his inner peace. When we regard something as particularly important, we feel that everyone around us wants to take it away.

A beggar always fears losing the few coins in his bowl; a rich man always fears someone plotting against his property. The value between the two is incomparable, but the feeling is the same.

In Zhao Fusheng's view, his friendship with the Wang brothers wasn't that deep. On his second day in Beijing, Wang Zhonglei called to meet him—what did he want?

With this in mind, Zhao Fusheng arrived at the meeting place. As he entered, he unexpectedly saw someone he hadn't expected.

"Miss Mu?" Zhao Fusheng looked in surprise at a woman sitting next to Wang Zhonglei.

Mu Qingqing's aunt, Mu Qingwan.

Zhao Fusheng never expected her to appear here.

"Teacher Zhao, long time no see," Mu Qingwan stood up gracefully and said to Zhao Fusheng with a smile.

Frowning slightly, Zhao Fusheng glanced at Wang Zhonglei, then extended his hand to shake Mu Qingwan's: "Hello, Miss Mu."

Anyway, he wasn't a child. Even if there had been conflicts with Mu Qingwan before, that was in the past, and he hadn't taken that matter to heart anyway.

"Sit down, sit down. We're all old acquaintances," Wang Zhonglei said with a smile.

Clearly, the purpose of today's gathering was to arrange a meeting between Mu Qingwan and Zhao Fusheng.

Sure enough, after they sat down, Wang Zhonglei laughed: "It's just us today, no one else. Old Jiang will come later; we won't wait for him. Let's eat first."

Zhao Fusheng didn't say anything, just nodded silently. He had made up his mind that no matter what Wang Zhonglei said, being cautious wouldn't do any harm.

After three rounds of wine and five courses of food, Wang Zhonglei put down his glass and said to Zhao Fusheng with a smile: "Fusheng, you and Miss Mu are old acquaintances, right?"

Zhao Fusheng nodded: "Yes, we had some business dealings with Miss Mu's company before."

By saying this, he positioned their relationship at the level of ordinary collaborators, so that no matter what Wang Zhonglei said, Zhao Fusheng could advance or retreat freely.

Sure enough, upon hearing Zhao Fusheng's words, Wang Zhonglei frowned and glanced at Mu Qingwan.

Today's gathering was indeed his attempt to reconcile Zhao Fusheng and Mu Qingwan. He had no other faults except that he couldn't resist beautiful women. Recently, he had met Mu Qingwan by chance and was immediately captivated, launching a passionate pursuit.

Later, he learned that Mu Qingwan's music company had been struggling for the past six months because of a heads-up from Wang Jinghua. Surprised, he asked Wang Jinghua and found out that the root cause was Zhao Fusheng.

Hence today's dinner.

But Wang Zhonglei didn't expect Zhao Fusheng to put on such an attitude.

He had originally thought that with his intervention, Zhao Fusheng would definitely give him face. But Zhao Fusheng's current demeanor suggested he didn't intend to reconcile with Mu Qingwan.

Thinking this, Wang Zhonglei couldn't help but frown.

"President Wang, thank you for your generous hospitality today," Mu Qingwan said to Wang Zhonglei with a smile.

She was a very clever woman and naturally understood Wang Zhonglei's intention today. Originally, she thought that Zhao Fusheng would most likely bow his head in front of a new power player like Wang Zhonglei in the film and television circle. But she hadn't expected Zhao Fusheng to seem unwilling to give Wang Zhonglei face.

Regardless, she still had to thank Wang Zhonglei.

"Qingwan, you're too polite. We're good friends; don't stand on ceremony," Wang Zhonglei said with a smile to Mu Qingwan, then looked at Zhao Fusheng: "Right, Fusheng?"

Zhao Fusheng's expression was calm. Upon hearing this, he smiled slightly: "President Wang is right. Business is business, friendship is friendship."

Frowning, Wang Zhonglei didn't say anything and silently raised his glass to drink.

He wasn't stupid. Zhao Fusheng's attitude was already very clear: friendship is friendship, business is business. It seemed that the woman surnamed Mu hadn't told him the truth.

Otherwise, based on his understanding of Zhao Fusheng, Zhao Fusheng wasn't the type to refuse to give any face at all.

Despite being young, most of the time Zhao Fusheng understood the nuances of interpersonal relationships well. He had no trace of impatience or arrogance; he was more like a cunning old fox.

Actually, he was overthinking it. Zhao Fusheng wasn't refusing to give him face; it was just that Zhao Fusheng felt this wasn't a big deal at all. From start to finish, he hadn't taken that matter to heart. At the time, he only acted because he didn't want to implicate Li Jian.

He just hadn't expected Wang Jinghua to be so efficient that her heads-up caused Mu Qingwan's company to fall into trouble.

Even later, Zhao Fusheng didn't take the matter to heart. It was purely that Mu Qingwan and others had overthought it.

Looking at Mu Qingwan, Zhao Fusheng shook his head helplessly inside. Some people just liked to take themselves too seriously.