Chapter 0700: Picking Someone Up at the Airport

People who don't often go to nightclubs probably find it hard to understand what's so fun about a crowd of people jumping around in a cramped, noisy place. But those who love nightclubs enjoy it more and more, feeling uncomfortable if they don't go every two or three days. In Tan Kaixuan's words, he doesn't like bar-hopping either, but the feeling of going with the flow in a crowd is very comfortable, especially the sense of hiding oneself in the crowd without being watched—it's actually quite nice.

Loneliness is the solitude of one person, while revelry is the loneliness of a crowd.

Zhao Fusheng could actually understand Tan Kaixuan. After all, suddenly becoming a businessman in charge of millions of dollars in business at this age—even if Tan Kaixuan didn't say it, Zhao Fusheng could understand the confusion and inner conflict he felt.

If it were himself at twenty, he would be the same.

Not to mention Tan Kaixuan, even Zhao Fusheng himself sometimes felt lost.

Too many things had happened in the past year or two. Sometimes, the emptiness that came with nightfall really made Zhao Fusheng feel hollow.

In fact, Zhao Fusheng had never been a talkative person, and he didn't have many friends. Most of the time, he either sat quietly or found something to do on his own.

Just like now: Tan Kaixuan was letting himself go without restraint on the dance floor, while Zhao Fusheng sat calmly on the sofa in the booth, drinking silently.

Age has never been a measure of a person's maturity. Whether a person is mature depends on whether they understand the purpose of their actions, whether they can bear the consequences of every decision they make, and the degree of self-awareness and self-trust they possess.

In simple terms, whether a person is mature depends on whether they have self-knowledge.

If a person doesn't even know what they want to do or what they want, then even at forty or fifty, they are still immature.

In Zhao Fusheng's view, people are easily complacent or even carried away by success. When a person is carried away, sudden blows can be very powerful, because such behavior creates a gap in life circumstances, causing indescribable psychological harm.

Similarly, some blows are known to come sooner or later, but people deliberately avoid or even ignore them. So when such situations occur, some people often feel particularly self-blame and shame.

Time passed minute by minute, and soon there were fewer and fewer people in the bar. Zhao Fusheng glanced at the time on his phone and slowly stood up.

Tan Kaixuan had obviously taken a liking to that girl named Zheng Xue. As for what would happen between the two of them tonight, Zhao Fusheng knew without asking.

After all, it was different from twenty years ago. Men and women who knew each other well might not necessarily have anything happen, while those meeting for the first time didn't mind a little romance.

Sending a text message to Tan Kaixuan, Zhao Fusheng walked straight out of the bar.

Taking a taxi, Zhao Fusheng returned to the dormitory and sent a text message to Fan Baobao as soon as he entered.

Soon, Fan Baobao called back.

"You're back at the dorm?"

Fan Baobao was obviously a bit surprised; she had thought Zhao Fusheng would party with Tan Kaixuan until late.

"Just got in," Zhao Fusheng chuckled. "What about you? At the dorm or at home?"

"At home. Zhou Yun is asleep, and I'm reading," Fan Baobao said with a smile.

"What, are you planning to improve your acting skills?" Zhao Fusheng raised an eyebrow and asked.

"Do you think my acting is bad?" Fan Baobao snorted.

Clearly, she wasn't happy with Zhao Fusheng's question.

Zhao Fusheng chuckled and didn't argue with her on that point.

"By the way, I heard from Zhou Yun that the movie is about to be released. What do you think the box office will be like?" Fan Baobao seemed to remember something and asked Zhao Fusheng.

Zhao Fusheng was taken aback, then remembered she was talking about the film now renamed "The Dream Factory." He smiled and said, "What, are you worried?"

"Yeah, to be honest, I feel like you're taking a bit of a risk. I heard you invested money, right?" Fan Baobao didn't beat around the bush and said directly.

"I invested a little. Old Jiang, me, and Sister Feihong all invested," Zhao Fusheng said.

"I know you want to make more money, but movies aren't that easy. Besides, the domestic film market isn't great. I heard that last year, not many movies actually made money," Fan Baobao hesitated but still advised Zhao Fusheng.

Zhao Fusheng smiled and didn't say much more.

Whether it's movies or TV series, if they only lose money and don't make any, they certainly won't develop.

European films are highly artistic, but compared to Hollywood blockbusters, they have no power to fight back; sixty percent of box office revenue is taken by Hollywood films.

As for the mainland, there were many art films in the 1980s and 1990s, but unfortunately, not many people liked them. That's what Fan Baobao meant by the film market being sluggish.

Now, more and more commercial films are appearing. According to Zhao Fusheng's understanding, the famous director Ma Dajun's film "The Flag Flies," although it looks like a war epic, actually follows a commercial route.

Zhao Fusheng knew very well that an industry can only attract investment if it makes money. In his previous life, the domestic entertainment industry was so booming because both movies and TV series had extremely high profits.

Simply put, if a TV series is sold to a TV station, as long as the lead actor's star power is sufficient and the promotion is good, one episode can sell for three to four million yuan. And if it can be sold to a video website, the price might be even higher.

Zhao Fusheng remembered clearly that the TV series with the horse-riding scene sold its first-run broadcast rights for over two hundred million yuan. Another palace intrigue drama also sold for several hundred million.

Because of this, hot money from various industries poured into the film and television circle. Tycoons like coal bosses waved their money and entered, bringing many changes to the industry despite some drawbacks.

"When are you coming back?" Zhao Fusheng asked Fan Baobao.

"I'll be home on the 19th," Fan Baobao replied. "Will you pick me up?"

"Of course, Beibei is coming too," Zhao Fusheng nodded. "She's been talking about it."

Thinking of her little sister, Fan Baobao's lips curled into a smile. She hadn't seen her in half a year and wondered if she had grown taller.

"Got it. Go to bed early."

"By the way, when you come back, stay with me at the villa," Zhao Fusheng thought for a moment and said to Fan Baobao. "We talked about buying a house before, but it seems it won't happen in the short term."

Fan Baobao was startled. "What happened? Something wrong?"

Zhao Fusheng smiled. "Nothing much. It's just that the shopping mall needs funds, so they're reluctant to spend money on a house."

He was actually a bit puzzled about the specifics. His mother and Li Yuan had discussed it and then decided not to buy a house for now. He had thought they could spend the Spring Festival at home this year, but he was told that he and Fan Baobao would still have to stay outside.

Fan Baobao was also a bit surprised, but since it was a decision made by her mother and Aunt Zhao together, she didn't say anything more. After all, she had lived with Zhao Fusheng before and didn't think much of it.

…

…

The next morning, Tan Kaixuan returned to the dormitory looking exhausted.

"Why didn't you have breakfast at the hotel?" Zhao Fusheng watched him wolf down the breakfast he had bought, looking confused.

"You don't understand. Last night was last night, this morning is this morning. If I had breakfast with her, the relationship would change," Tan Kaixuan looked up and explained to Zhao Fusheng smugly.

"Ha, hit the nail on the head," Zhao Fusheng shrugged.

"Hmm, not really. She's not a first-timer," Tan Kaixuan replied subconsciously.

Zhao Fusheng was taken aback, then looked at the guy with a strange expression. He felt that he would never be able to look at that idiom straight again.

"What's with that look?"

Tan Kaixuan looked at Zhao Fusheng strangely, seemingly completely unaware of anything wrong with their conversation.

Zhao Fusheng chuckled, said nothing, waved his hand, and got up to leave the dormitory.

There was no helping it. Tan Kaixuan had eaten his breakfast and said he was going to catch up on sleep in the dormitory, implying that Zhao Fusheng should leave quickly and not disturb him.

Although he wanted to ask what the hell the guy had been doing all night without sleeping, Zhao Fusheng decided it was better not to ask. If Tan Kaixuan said something else that left him speechless, he probably wouldn't be able to eat his breakfast today.

In fact, he understood that Tan Kaixuan just liked to have fun. It was his nature. For him, work was work, and entertainment was entertainment. Of course, it could also be understood as being heartless after getting what he wanted.

In his previous life, Zhao Fusheng had once asked Tan Kaixuan if he wasn't worried about people disliking him for that. Tan Kaixuan's answer left Zhao Fusheng dumbfounded.

"Why should I worry about my image being ruined? People who know me understand what kind of person I am. People who don't know me don't know me anyway. Why should I care about them?"

Zhao Fusheng had to admit that he didn't live as freely as Tan Kaixuan. That guy was like a gust of wind, free and unrestrained.

Days passed one by one, and soon it was the 19th.

That morning, Zhao Fusheng got up very early. After tidying up, he took a car home first, picked up Fan Beibei from Li Yuan's place, and then the two of them went to the airport together.

"Brother, when will sister come out?" Fan Beibei asked Zhao Fusheng at the exit.

Zhao Fusheng smiled slightly, his gaze passing through the window to a plane slowly descending in the azure sky. He knew that girl was on that flight.