Chapter 0882: Coming to the Door

Fan Baobao had always been a person of strong执行力. Once she decided on a direction, she would work hard toward that goal.

In the following days, Fan Baobao really started inquiring about how to get into the People's Art Theatre after graduation. It was said that she even called Jiang Wen about it.

Old Jiang even made a special call to Zhao Fusheng.

"Are you serious?"

Jiang Wen said to Zhao Fusheng over the phone, puzzled: "Don't you know what the People's Art Theatre is? If she goes in, she won't be able to stand out for at least a few years."

Zhao Fusheng smiled slightly: "If she can't stand out, so be it. Let her hone her acting skills first; there will be plenty of opportunities for good films later."

Fan Baobao had already appeared in several art films over the past two years and had some reputation. If she could join the People's Art Theatre now, at least the title of a skilled actor would be secure, which was much better than being considered a so-called traffic star.

It wasn't that Zhao Fusheng looked down on traffic stars, but he felt that at Fan Baobao's age, she shouldn't wait for the internet to flourish and get involved in all that messy stuff.

In his memory, Big Mimi was six years older than Fan Baobao. She graduated from university in 2005, played the role of Little East Evil Guo Xiang in 2006, and by 2009, her fame skyrocketed, followed by sporadic scandals. But upon careful analysis, it wasn't that she had done anything heinous; rather, the hype was excessive, so to balance it, there was both praise and criticism.

Of course, it's undeniable that without so many people criticizing her, she probably wouldn't have garnered that much attention.

But regardless, among those who rose to fame through criticism, Big Mimi was one, and Ma Jia Shanshan was another. Zhao Fusheng absolutely didn't want Fan Baobao to take that path.

In his view, the route Fan Baobao should take in the future was purely that of a skilled actor—acting when she had time, or resting otherwise.

"Alright, I'll help ask around later." Jiang Wen nodded after hearing Zhao Fusheng's words.

He had a wide network in the industry, so inquiring about this matter wouldn't take much effort.

Zhao Fusheng thought that was the end of it, but less than three days later, Jiang Wen showed up at his doorstep.

Of course, he wasn't alone; Lu Chuan was with him.

"Kid, do you use your phone like a watch?" Jiang Wen stood at the door, complaining to Zhao Fusheng.

Zhao Fusheng was startled, looked down at his phone, and realized that Jiang Wen had called him several times.

"Sorry, sorry, I haven't checked my phone." Zhao Fusheng quickly apologized.

As he spoke, he looked at Jiang Wen and Lu Chuan: "Why are you here?"

If Jiang Wen had come alone, he wouldn't have been surprised—the guy often came to his place to freeload. But with Lu Chuan in tow, things weren't that simple.

After all, Zhao Fusheng knew well that his friendship with Lu Chuan hadn't reached the point where he could drop by unannounced.

"Something's come up. Let's talk inside." Jiang Wen glanced at Zhao Fusheng, then at Lu Chuan, and spoke.

Since he was closer to Zhao Fusheng, he had to be the one to bring it up.

Zhao Fusheng nodded and didn't ask further, instead ushering both of them into the house.

"Xiao Zhao, this place of yours, though small, is really nice." Sitting in the living room, Lu Chuan looked around and said with a smile.

He meant it sincerely; after all, Zhao Fusheng was about the same age as him and had managed to buy a house in the capital, which was quite impressive.

But the problem was, even though he said that, did Lu Chuan have the right to make such a comment?

In other words, Jiang Wen and Zhao Fusheng were close enough to joke around freely, but Lu Chuan and Zhao Fusheng weren't familiar with each other.

Frowning slightly, Zhao Fusheng glanced at Lu Chuan but said nothing.

Jiang Wen, however, didn't care about that. He gave Lu Chuan a cold look and said flatly: "It can't be helped. He's not like you, with a good father."

Lu Chuan's father, Lu Tianming, was a renowned screenwriter in China with extensive connections in the industry. It was largely because of him that Lu Chuan could join Huayi right after university and have the opportunity to take charge.

Jiang Wen bringing that up now was undoubtedly a jab at him.

If anyone else had said that, Lu Chuan would have turned hostile without a second thought. But since it was Jiang Wen, who was on equal footing with Lu Tianming, Lu Chuan was a junior in front of him. So, gritting his teeth, he had to accept it.

Zhao Fusheng laughed at the scene, glanced at Lu Chuan, and got up to pour water for both of them.

"So, what's up? You came to see me for something, right?"

Looking at Jiang Wen and Lu Chuan, Zhao Fusheng asked with a smile.

The two of them coming together couldn't be just for a casual visit; there must be something important.

"Well, there is indeed something." Lu Chuan rubbed his hands, hesitated, glanced at Jiang Wen, but didn't speak immediately.

Zhao Fusheng frowned and turned his gaze to Jiang Wen: "Old Jiang, what's going on?"

Jiang Wen's expression was somewhat awkward. Hearing Zhao Fusheng's question, he hesitated, then finally gritted his teeth and said: "It's about 'The Missing Gun.'"

"The Missing Gun"?

Zhao Fusheng was taken aback and looked at Jiang Wen strangely: "What, didn't Future Films come through with the funding?"

Jiang Wen shook his head and was about to speak when Lu Chuan interjected with a bitter smile: "Let me explain."

With that, he stood up and suddenly bowed to Zhao Fusheng.

"What's this all about..." Zhao Fusheng was stunned as he heard Lu Chuan say: "Blame me, no matter what. I hope you won't be angry."

Zhao Fusheng was completely bewildered and looked at Jiang Wen again.

Jiang Wen explained with a wry smile: "This really is his fault."

After a long while, Zhao Fusheng's face darkened as he looked at Lu Chuan and sneered: "So, you're saying you submitted the script to another company, and now they've decided to fully fund the film, is that it?"

Lu Chuan's face showed embarrassment as he said in a low voice: "I didn't think much at the time. I just asked a friend of my father's to help..."

"Hah, Director Lu, do you know the consequences of what you've done?" Zhao Fusheng was furious. Lu Chuan had actually had several people help him seek investment for the script simultaneously. Was he crazy or just brainless?

"I'm really sorry." Lu Chuan stood there, apologizing repeatedly.

He himself hadn't expected things to turn out this way. The old acquaintance of his father had only said he would ask around, but unexpectedly, things went unusually smoothly, and that person managed to convince China Film to invest.

For anyone in the film and television industry, China Film was a behemoth that couldn't be offended. Zhao Fusheng didn't dare to either, which was why he was so angry at Lu Chuan. The guy was simply inexplicable.

Sighing, Zhao Fusheng shook his head helplessly. Since things had come to this, no one could do anything about it. After all, they couldn't openly oppose China Film, so they had to accept the loss.

"Forget it. Since it's already like this, I'll handle Future Films." Zhao Fusheng said with a bitter smile.

Dong Chenxi had been hoping for another collaboration with Jiang Wen, but things had turned out this way.

And Zhao Fusheng could see that Lu Chuan really didn't know what was going on. The guy was simply pursuing his film dream, asking around to submit scripts. He just didn't expect his script to be so sought after.

Thinking of this, Zhao Fusheng casually asked: "By the way, which elder of yours helped send the script to China Film?"

"Uh, Uncle Ma."

Lu Chuan hesitated for a moment but still answered honestly.

Who?

Zhao Fusheng and Jiang Wen almost simultaneously narrowed their eyes.