Chapter 616: Each with Their Own Agenda

Surprises are always mutual.

Both Xu Lei and Zhao Fusheng were surprised by how different the other appeared from their previous impressions. When chatting, they were naturally cautious, trying not to reveal their true intentions.

So it's actually quite exhausting for two clever people to talk, because they're both too smart.

"Since we're friends, don't stand on ceremony. Just call me Old Xu."

Xu Lei said to Zhao Fusheng with a smile, her face full of warmth, as if they were old friends.

Zhao Fusheng nodded lightly: "Then I won't be polite."

Then he blinked and said with a smile: "I really liked that TV series of yours back then. At the time, I thought that one day I must let my beloved hear the sound of the sea."

This was a very famous scene from *Cherish Our Love Forever*: the male lead holds up his phone by the sea, letting the female lead, played by Xu Lei, hear the sound of the ocean.

Though it was full of adolescent sentiment, one had to admit that for most young people, it was a romantic thing.

Even someone like Zhao Fusheng had to say that when he saw that scene, he was genuinely moved.

Everyone was young once, and everyone has had their own longing for beautiful love—that's only natural.

Hearing Zhao Fusheng's words, Xu Lei smiled slightly, showing a delighted expression: "Is that so? Then I really should be proud. Even a genius screenwriter like you likes my work—that counts as my success."

"I wouldn't dare, wouldn't dare. Don't mention 'genius' or anything like that. We're not outsiders, Old Xu. Saying that is like slapping me in the face." Zhao Fusheng quickly waved his hand. No kidding—he had encountered flattery that was actually sabotage before. Being stuck with the label of 'genius screenwriter' was useless since he wasn't in the entertainment industry.

"Excessive modesty is arrogance," Xu Lei laughed heartily.

Jiang Wen laughed along from the side. Clearly, he found the exchange between the two very amusing.

As a bystander, watching such a spectacle was undoubtedly entertaining.

After all, in his impression, both Zhao Fusheng and Xu Lei were extremely proud people. Though they seemed approachable on the surface, they were actually the same type: they appeared to get along with everyone, but never easily considered anyone a friend.

However, Zhao Fusheng was more direct than Xu Lei—he simply didn't step into this circle at all. Xu Lei, on the other hand, was undoubtedly a woman who knew how to cultivate her connections and reputation within the circle.

"Old Xu, how come you're free today?" Jiang Wen wasn't stupid. He and Xu Lei weren't that close. Everyone in the Beijing circle knew that her relationship with Ye Jing was ambiguous. In essence, the reason they could sit at the same table was largely because Jiang Wen was doing Ye Jing a favor, not because of Xu Lei herself.

This was something everyone understood.

But that was reality: men conquer the world, and women conquer men to conquer the world.

Xu Lei also understood Jiang Wen's implication. As the saying goes, one doesn't go to the temple without a reason. Her relationship with Jiang Wen hadn't reached the point where they could meet alone.

Or rather, Xu Lei knew very well that Jiang Wen knew what kind of person she was.

As the saying goes, before a true person, one doesn't tell lies. Hiding things would be pointless.

With a light laugh, Xu Lei blinked at Zhao Fusheng: "Naturally, I have something. I want to ask Fusheng for a favor."

This was the power of a mature woman: she made you know she was flirting, yet you were clear that this ambiguity was only superficial, never leading to a moth-to-flame situation. No matter what, controlling the intensity was really important.

If Zhao Fusheng's mental age were twenty years younger, he might have gotten hot-headed and agreed on the spot.

But unfortunately, this guy had been tempered by the storms of his previous life, immune to all poisons, his heart as firm as a rock. On the surface, he was as calm as an old monk, as if he hadn't seen Xu Lei's gaze. He smiled faintly: "Old Xu, if there's something, just say it first. Let's all discuss it together."

No kidding—someone comes asking for help out of the blue. Even with Ye Jing's face, Zhao Fusheng had to hear what it was about first.

Even when being filial to parents, there's the saying 'accept small beatings, flee from big ones,' let alone repaying favors.

Xu Lei was taken aback, then smiled and nodded.

Jiang Wen raised an eyebrow from the side. He could tell that Zhao Fusheng seemed to maintain a respectful distance from Xu Lei.

"It's like this: I want to make a movie."

Xu Lei's sudden statement made Jiang Wen sit up straight, while Zhao Fusheng cooperatively put on a surprised expression.

Yes, cooperative.

There was no help for it. As a reborn person, and knowing a bit about Xu Lei's background, Zhao Fusheng naturally knew that she was one of the earliest actresses in China to transition from acting to directing.

Compared to Zhao Yan's later multiple identities, Xu Lei was relatively purer, since she only dabbled in the film and television circle, unlike Zhao Yan, for whom the entertainment industry was no longer enough.

As one netizen later commented: Zhao Yan's journey should be the stars and the sea.

And now, what Xu Lei was planning was likely her film *Letter from an Unknown Woman*.

Sure enough, when Xu Lei took out the script and Zhao Fusheng saw the title, he silently praised his own cleverness—just as expected.

"This is a script I wrote myself..." Xu Lei said to Zhao Fusheng.

Zhao Fusheng nodded, reached out, took the script, and began to read.

The story was simple, or more precisely, this film was the sentimentality of a literary young woman. It told of a man who, on his forty-first birthday in the deep winter of 1988, received a thick letter from a dying woman, recounting a lingering love story whose male protagonist was completely unaware.

After skimming through the script, Zhao Fusheng looked up and said nothing, but Xu Lei caught a hint of mockery in his eyes.

"What's wrong, Fusheng? Do you think the script isn't good?" Xu Lei probed.

Zhao Fusheng shrugged, said nothing, and handed the script to Jiang Wen.

Jiang Wen took it, and though a bit puzzled, opened it and began to read.

After a long while, he looked up at Zhao Fusheng: "I think the script is okay. What do you think?"

Under their questioning gazes, Zhao Fusheng smiled and said a single sentence that made Xu Lei's face flush red instantly.