Chapter 0706: Shrewd

A lean horse has long hair, but a poor man may not lack ambition. Every man harbors a bit of ambition, and when it swells, he believes that persistence alone will let him stand at the pinnacle of a city. Yet he doesn't know that life can easily shatter a family and effortlessly cut down a striver with shallow roots.

In his previous life, Zhao Fusheng never imagined he would one day bargain with a tycoon like Lin Jianle—not even in his dreams, because the gap between them was too vast. Resenting the rich is a common mentality, but if the distance is too great, that resentment naturally fades.

One only hears of lions and tigers fighting each other, never of ants challenging the king of the forest.

When the status gap is too wide, the result is that people unconsciously abandon certain unrealistic fantasies.

But that didn't stop Zhao Fusheng from asking for a high price. He wasn't running a charity. Since Boss Lin wanted to make money off *Infernal Affairs*, Zhao Fusheng wouldn't be satisfied without making him bleed a little.

"Who was that?" At that moment, Fan Baobao came over and asked Zhao Fusheng.

Zhao Fusheng smiled: "Brother Liu."

"Who?"

Upon hearing the name, Fan Baobao asked back reflexively, and then her expression became extremely vivid.

Being in the entertainment industry, it was impossible not to have heard of Brother Liu's reputation. Although it was no longer the 1990s when the Four Heavenly Kings were at their peak, these figures still enjoyed great fame in the Chinese entertainment circle. Brother Liu, in particular, was known for his diligence and had countless fans at home and abroad.

Fan Baobao was a casual fan of Brother Liu—not the kind who buys every album, but at least she had a fairly high level of goodwill toward him.

Now her boyfriend told her that he had just had a phone call with Brother Liu, and that Brother Liu had called him. Fan Baobao suddenly felt that she wasn't okay.

It was like someone around you had always been ordinary—eating, drinking, and cursing the world together—and then one day you find out he's actually Wang Sicong's cousin, and that's just awkward.

"It's really Liu Dehua?" Fan Baobao looked at Zhao Fusheng incredulously.

Zhao Fusheng nodded and said calmly: "*Infernal Affairs* has been released in Hong Kong, and the box office is pretty good. They want to make a sequel, but I don't want to write it. After all, you know I'm not a professional screenwriter, and I haven't figured out the story for the next part. So I plan to ask for a copyright fee and sell them the rights."

"The copyright is in your hands?" Fan Baobao nodded at first, but then froze.

Normally, the copyright of a movie is usually bought out by the investors, which is settled during contract signing. But now Zhao Fusheng told her that the copyright of *Infernal Affairs* was actually in his hands—that was too amazing.

Zhao Fusheng smiled and nodded, explaining the situation at the time.

After a long while, Fan Baobao looked at Zhao Fusheng with a strange expression. She suddenly realized she couldn't quite see through her boyfriend.

This guy always managed to give unexpected surprises.

But she still didn't quite understand why Zhao Fusheng wanted to sell the copyright to Media Asia. After all, if the first movie had a good market response, as Brother Liu said, Zhao Fusheng could fully participate in the production of the second one.

She was the type to ask whatever came to mind, so since she thought of it, she didn't hide it from Zhao Fusheng and asked directly.

Zhao Fusheng smiled bitterly: "First, the movie's concept came from an advertisement. I never expected it to become a film, and I haven't even thought about the follow-up content. How can I write the next part? Second, believe it or not, before this movie even finishes its run, there will probably be dozens of crews starting work in Hong Kong, making stories similar to this one—all about undercover cops. Do you think the sequel can have good box office? Finally, the film and TV circle in Hong Kong is extremely exclusive. If Brother Hua hadn't insisted, I might not even have gotten the right to credit. Do you think they'd let me meddle in the production even if I wrote the sequel script? Rather than taking a screenwriting fee of a few hundred thousand, I'd rather sell them the copyright outright. The rest has nothing to do with me."

Fan Baobao blinked. She didn't really understand most of what Zhao Fusheng said, but she didn't want to show that she didn't get it, so she just blinked her eyes.

Seeing Fan Baobao's reaction, Zhao Fusheng couldn't help laughing. He reached out and pinched her cheek: "Alright, this is men's business. Don't worry about it. When I sell the copyright, I'll buy you a car."

Then he whispered: "But don't tell my mom, or she'll definitely take the money."

Fan Baobao was stunned for a moment, then laughed. Women are actually simple: even if they aren't mercenary or gold-digging, receiving gifts and benefits from the man they love makes them happier than getting nothing. A man has no right to make a woman suffer with him; similarly, as a girlfriend who has given her feelings and herself, receiving a gift from her boyfriend is well-deserved.

"With that much money, don't spend recklessly," Fan Baobao finally said, glaring at Zhao Fusheng and admonishing him softly.

They say men become bad when they have money. Although Zhao Fusheng showed no signs of turning bad yet, a preventive shot was still necessary.

Zhao Fusheng was taken aback at first, then shook his head and smiled.

It was the first time he saw Fan Baobao like this, but she looked quite cute.

They went downstairs together. Fan Beibei was sitting on the sofa watching TV. She looked up at them, wrinkled her nose, and said, "What were you two doing?"

"Huh?"

They looked at each other in bewilderment. Zhao Fusheng looked at Fan Baobao, and Fan Baobao looked at Zhao Fusheng, both clueless about what the girl meant.

"Hmph, Mom and Auntie said you were definitely doing something naughty," Fan Beibei snorted, speaking crisply.

By 'Mom and Auntie,' she naturally meant Zhao's mother and Li Yuan.

The moment she heard that, Fan Baobao's face changed at a visible speed—first turning bright red, then quickly darkening. She slapped Zhao Fusheng hard, glared at him, turned around, and went upstairs.

Being called out like that by her four-year-old sister, how could she give Zhao Fusheng a good face?

As for Zhao Fusheng, he simply put on a stern face, went up to Fan Beibei, glared at the little girl, and said, "Beibei, good children don't talk like that, understand?"

Fan Beibei pouted and sighed: "Oh, adults..."