Chapter 0662: Fate

Life has three realms: seeing mountains as mountains, seeing water as water; seeing mountains not as mountains, seeing water not as water; seeing mountains still as mountains, seeing water still as water.

Common people, their eyes blinded by material desires, drift through life and death amid greed, hatred, love, and resentment, right and wrong, the five desires and six dusts. They lust at the sight of beauty and sink into indulgence when encountering circumstances. This is the first realm.

The wealthy, having experienced and witnessed much, are no longer deceived by material desires. Once one has seen the vast sea, it's hard to be impressed by mere rivers; except for Mount Wu, no other cloud is worth mentioning. They see through everything lightly. This is the second realm.

Sages no longer see through everything lightly, nor are they infatuated with anything. Instead, they perceive the essence through phenomena, examining the connections between people and things, love and hate. This is the third realm.

Zhao Fusheng knew he was just an ordinary person, far from reaching the latter two realms. Rolling in the mundane world, he hoped to live a prosperous life.

Wang Zhen's matter was something Zhao Fusheng had never expected to turn out like this.

Fate really does play tricks on people.

I'm sorry.

After a long silence, Zhao Fusheng said to Wang Zhen.

Those were the only words he could say now.

Wang Zhen shook his head: "Why apologize? It's not your fault. I've said it before, you always overthink things."

Zhao Fusheng remained silent. Wang Zhen's words did little to ease his guilt. In his view, if he hadn't changed Wang Zhen's fate, perhaps Wang Zhen wouldn't have ended up like this.

Being ordinary or mediocre was still far better than being imprisoned now.

"Really, Lao Zhao, you're good in every way except you think too much. You want to take care of everything and everyone, but the problem is, you're not a god. How many people can you look after?" Wang Zhen chuckled, seeming not so distressed.

Zhao Fusheng didn't know if he truly meant it or was just comforting himself. He sighed and said nothing.

But he had to admit Wang Zhen was right; he was indeed that kind of person.

"Come on, you two, aren't you being too sentimental? Why say all that useless stuff?" Tan Kaixuan rolled his eyes from the side.

In his view, it wasn't that complicated at all. It was purely Zhao Fusheng and Wang Zhen overthinking. If it were him, he wouldn't bother with any of this.

"Barring any surprises, the case should get you about six years," Tan Kaixuan said to Wang Zhen, sharing the news he'd gathered.

"Six years... by then, you'll probably have kids," Wang Zhen paused, then smiled.

"It won't take that long. With some greasing of palms, you could be out in three years," Zhao Fusheng interjected. "Plus the months you've already served, just over two years."

According to regulations, a prisoner's sentence starts from the date of arrest. So Wang Zhen would actually spend just over two years in prison.

"Sorry for the trouble."

After a moment of silence, Wang Zhen spoke to Zhao Fusheng and Tan Kaixuan.

He knew what his parents were like; they had never told him about these things.

In short, his family had given up on him.

After all, in their view, it was better to focus their energy on his younger brother than to waste money on Wang Zhen, who was beyond help, at least for the sake of their future.

"Trouble or not, we'll talk about it when you get out," Zhao Fusheng ignored Wang Zhen's words and continued, "Lao Tan and I set up a chain of internet cafes and an arcade. You know I don't have many people I can rely on besides Lao Tan. When you're out, you can help me."

"Me?"

Wang Zhen looked up, surprised. He hadn't expected Zhao Fusheng to still trust him so much.

"Of course, who else? Me?" Tan Kaixuan said irritably from the side. "I'm exhausted like a dog every day, busy from morning till night, not even time to eat or chase girls. Let me tell you, don't slack off inside these two years. Study hard and read. When you get out, cover my shift for a month first so I can take a proper vacation and rest."

"Have some shame, will you? If anyone's covering, it should be for me, okay?" Zhao Fusheng said with a grimace to Wang Zhen. "You don't know, I've been dead tired these past few months, running back and forth between Beijing and Shanghai, and even finding connections to buy computers for him. I wish I could split myself in two."

"Bullshit! You're the major shareholder; it's only right you work hard."

"Then don't ask for dividends."

The two of them bickered back and forth in front of Wang Zhen, even accusing each other.

Watching them, Wang Zhen suddenly smiled.

He knew very well that these two were doing this just to cheer him up and reassure him about his future.

Having lived together for so long, he knew that Tan Kaixuan was the type who would rather die than admit defeat, and Zhao Fusheng's strong work ethic was something he had already witnessed.

"Thank you. You two work hard for these two-plus years. When I get out, I'll help you," Wang Zhen said to Zhao Fusheng and Tan Kaixuan.

"Okay, we'll wait for you."

"Yeah, we'll wait for you."

Zhao Fusheng and Tan Kaixuan exchanged glances and said in unison.

…

…

Visiting hours were limited, so Zhao Fusheng and Tan Kaixuan couldn't stay long, even though they wanted to.

Leaving the visiting room, Zhao Fusheng asked Tan Kaixuan to deposit money for Wang Zhen outside while he went to the deputy director's office.

This was a connection his father had helped with. The deputy director in charge of daily operations at the detention center was named Guan Haishan, whom Zhao Fusheng had met twice before.

"Hello, Uncle Guan."

Zhao Fusheng greeted Guan Haishan politely.

"Fusheng is here. Visiting your classmate again?" Guan Haishan smiled and said to Zhao Fusheng.

He knew something about Wang Zhen's situation and sympathized with him, but more so, it was because of the gifts Zhao's father had sent.

"Yes, Uncle Guan. I'd like to ask a favor: could you give Wang Zhen an easier job, preferably so he doesn't have to serve his sentence in prison?" Zhao Fusheng looked seriously at Guan Haishan.

Guan Haishan was startled, looking at Zhao Fusheng in surprise. Clearly, he hadn't expected Zhao Fusheng to be so direct.

As a veteran who had been steeped in officialdom for over a decade, Guan Haishan always believed that negotiation required skill. Someone like Zhao Fusheng, who got straight to the point, was rare.

Little did he know, Zhao Fusheng had dealt with many such old foxes in officialdom in his previous life, especially those bureaucrats with a bit of power—not too big, not too small—who specialized in holding things up.

They'd drink and chat all day, never giving a straight answer on whether something could be done, leaving people guessing. It was utterly tiresome.

Now, Zhao Fusheng wasn't giving Guan Haishan a chance to prevaricate; he laid the matter out directly.