Chapter 0644: A Date

The things in this world are unfathomable, because once you start pondering them, you'll find that the whole world is full of schemers.

Jiang Wen and Zhou Yun clearly had mutual feelings, yet both of them pretended to be clueless. This made Zhao Fusheng feel hurt.

He felt like a fool.

Fan Baobao, with her straightforward and simple way of thinking, didn't have so many thoughts. Although she racked her brains and couldn't figure out why Zhou Yun and Jiang Wen had taken a liking to each other, still, it wasn't a bad thing that her best friend could meet a man she liked and who liked her back.

"So, should we help them set up a meeting sometime?" Fan Baobao asked Zhao Fusheng after a moment's thought.

This era was awkward; without social media, people stayed home mainly reading books or newspapers, or watching TV. When going online, apart from browsing forums, they played in chat rooms. Most people preferred going out and were quite enthusiastic about it.

If someone suggested an outing a dozen years later, most people around might look down at their phones. But now, if someone proposed an outing, everyone would respond cheerfully.

Even when pursuing a girl, it was purer back then—whether it was a heartfelt love letter filled with affectionate words, or a boy strumming a guitar and singing softly under her window.

Unlike ten years later, when one might tentatively send a message on WeChat saying, 'A thousand miles down the river,' and if the other person liked it, they'd nod; if not, they'd reply with a 'heh.'

As society progressed, people dared not take feelings too seriously.

"No need to set them up. Since they have feelings, they'll contact each other on their own. Let's not meddle and end up being the bad guys," Zhao Fusheng shook his head, rejecting Fan Baobao's suggestion.

Actually, his concern wasn't about being the bad guy, but because Zhao Fusheng felt that in such matters, especially matters of the heart, bystanders should stay out of it.

If the two got along well, fine. But if problems arose one day, the person who played matchmaker would surely be blamed.

That's human nature: never taking responsibility, and if there's even a slight chance, shifting the blame onto others.

It was like the internet later on: no matter what happened, someone would say something nasty. Doing charity would be called pretentious; not doing charity would be called heartless and ungrateful to society. Even if someone who had always done good deeds suddenly did something that didn't align with public opinion, people wouldn't consider why a good person had changed; instead, they'd say the person was a hypocrite, a Yue Buqun.

Or even a certain actress with countless scandals in her past. If she suddenly did a good deed one day, the public's opinion of her would change to, 'Hmm, this person isn't bad; we just didn't notice before.'

Yu Qiuyu said: 'Our history is too long, our schemes too deep, our stratagems too many, our black boxes too big, our inside stories too thick, our tongues too greedy, our eyes too mixed, our expectations too dangerous.' So there is such a thing as overthinking. Zhao Fusheng deeply agreed.

Although Fan Baobao didn't quite understand what Zhao Fusheng meant, her consistent approach was that if Zhao Fusheng disagreed with something, it wasn't her concern. So she simply nodded, indicating her agreement.

There were too many smart people in this world; sometimes it's better to be simple.

…

…

The next morning, Fan Baobao went to the film set as usual, while Zhao Fusheng stayed home. He wasn't the type to enjoy going to the set; for him, spending that time suffering at the filming location was less comfortable than lounging on the sofa watching TV dramas.

But unfortunately, this carefree day was interrupted by a long-distance call.

"The internet café is officially opening. Are you coming back?" Tan Kaixuan asked directly.

Zhao Fusheng was startled: "So soon."

He really hadn't expected it; he thought the internet café wouldn't open until the end of October.

"Your friend was very fast; the computers were shipped last week," Tan Kaixuan said to Zhao Fusheng. "But what does your friend do? I had someone check the configuration of these computers; they're pretty good, and the price was cheap."

"He used to be a programmer and knows a lot of computer sellers," Zhao Fusheng replied casually, wondering if Boss Ma would fight him if he heard this.

"Oh, I'm thinking that if we expand the internet café, we'll still buy computers from him," Tan Kaixuan nodded.

Blinking, Zhao Fusheng confirmed he hadn't misheard Tan Kaixuan. Thinking of Boss Ma's expression, he couldn't help but laugh.

He wondered what Tan Kaixuan's reaction would be if he ever found out that the person who sold him computers for his internet café was Boss Ma. But Zhao Fusheng was sure that Boss Ma would have a deep impression of Tan Kaixuan.

"By the way, when are you coming back?" Tan Kaixuan suddenly asked before hanging up.

Zhao Fusheng was puzzled: "What's up?"

"Wang Zhen's case is expected to be resolved before the end of the year," Tan Kaixuan said after a moment of silence.

Zhao Fusheng hummed in acknowledgment: "Got it."

They didn't say anything else, because both knew that for Wang Zhen, this might be the true turning point in his fate.

Life is probably like this: quietly, some people disappear from our lives. We thought we could go far together, but in the end, it turns out to be wishful thinking.

His originally good mood became somewhat gloomy after hearing this news. Zhao Fusheng knew he wasn't sad for Wang Zhen—that time had passed—but he was lamenting the unpredictability of fate.

You see, Zhao Fusheng had thought Wang Zhen's fate was heading in a good direction, but it turned out he was too naive.

If not for the next phone call from Fan Beibei, Zhao Fusheng's melancholy mood would have lasted a long time.

"Brother, I miss you."

The little girl's crisp voice melted Zhao Fusheng's heart. He quickly soothed Her Highness, promising to come home early and bring her lots of gifts. Only then did Fan Beibei hang up contentedly.

In a child's world, those who give gifts and love them are the best people in the world.

Children are always simple. Their definitions and pursuits of happiness, though sometimes laughable, are undeniably pure.

"Don't you think so?"

Sitting in the restaurant, Zhao Fusheng glanced at Jiang Wen and Zhou Yun sitting across from him, and said to Fan Baobao beside him.