Chapter 0927: Not That Simple

After laughing and joking for a while, Zhao Fusheng finally asked Fan Baobao about the People's Art Theatre.

Actually, it wasn't that complicated. Fan Baobao was a decent graduate from the Central Academy of Drama, and with her good looks and temperament, the People's Art Theatre, though somewhat surprised by her application, ultimately passed her through the assessment.

"I can start work next week," Fan Baobao said happily.

Zhao Fusheng looked at her speechlessly: "Are you that happy?"

"You don't understand." Fan Baobao's expression was quite smug, clearly overjoyed about this matter.

"Have you called home?" Zhao Fusheng, seeing her so delighted, was naturally pleased and asked casually.

"Uh..." Unexpectedly, the previously smug Fan Baobao suddenly faltered.

"You haven't told them yet, have you?"

Staring at Fan Baobao in disbelief, Zhao Fusheng said helplessly.

Fan Baobao blinked, grabbed the phone without a word, and started dialing.

With a sigh, Zhao Fusheng was too lazy to criticize her. Watching her on the phone, he shrugged and carried his suitcase upstairs.

When he came back downstairs, Fan Baobao had finished her call, apparently having reported to the elders.

"All done?"

"Yeah, I told Uncle and Auntie, and my mom." Fan Baobao smiled and sidled up to Zhao Fusheng, holding out her hand.

"What for?" Zhao Fusheng looked puzzled.

"A gift." Miss Fan said matter-of-factly: "Didn't you bring me anything from your trip?"

Taking a deep breath, struggling to resist the urge to knock on her head, Zhao Fusheng felt his patience was truly remarkable.

"I've been running around several places these days, not on vacation. What gift would I bring you!" Zhao Fusheng gritted his teeth and said word by word: "And you're still so pleased with yourself. Once you join the People's Art Theatre, you won't be able to take on ads or roles as freely as now, you know?"

"Huh?"

Fan Baobao was taken aback: "I know I can't take roles freely, but ads too?"

Zhao Fusheng nodded: "Probably. After you start work, you should ask around."

As far as he remembered, the People's Art Theatre had strict restrictions on actors, especially young ones. For someone like Fan Baobao, not only roles but even ads would likely be limited.

Although this might reduce the actor's exposure, in Zhao Fusheng's view, in an era before the internet boom, a little less exposure didn't matter. As long as there were good works, building a fan base wasn't too hard.

You see, for celebrities, what truly matters are the core fans. The rest are mostly fence-sitting fans.

What are fence-sitting fans?

Simply put, they're the kind who follow the crowd and chant slogans. They don't really like the celebrity that much; they just make the same choice because the people around them or their social circle are talking about that celebrity.

Following the herd is always a human trait, even a decade later. The root cause is a lack of insight. For instance, after seeing enough news reversals and out-of-context quotes, one learns to let the news settle first.

...

...

Fan Baobao didn't wait until she started work to inquire. The very next day, she went to the People's Art Theatre. The news she got was exactly what Zhao Fusheng had said.

Fan Baobao had nothing to say about it. The leadership's stance was clear: it was a regulation from above, and the theatre was just following the rules.

Zhao Fusheng thought it was quite good. He comforted Fan Baobao a bit, saying he would handle the communication with the company. Seeing that, Fan Baobao had no choice but to go to work obediently.

Zhao Fusheng, on the other hand, began to think about new ways to make money.

Life is like sailing against the current; if you don't advance, you retreat.

Even the world's richest person wouldn't miss any opportunity to make money. After all, accumulating wealth isn't a bad thing. As long as the means are legal and reasonable, Zhao Fusheng didn't think making money was wrong.

Before reaching that level, we are all frogs at the bottom of a well, seeing only the sky above us. Only by standing higher and looking up do we realize there is a broader blue sky outside.

People often lament after losing: 'If only I had another chance, I would do this and that.' But the result is usually sad, because even if fate truly gave another chance, many would still end up as ordinary people, watching countless opportunities slip away.

The reason is simple: not everyone can seize the opportunity and grasp the throat of the goddess of fate.

Even Zhao Fusheng was now cautious, knowing that every choice he made would affect many people's destinies.

Like Qvod...

Recently, Zhao Fusheng heard from Dong Guoxiang that Su Xia and Wang Shen's Qvod seemed to be facing technical difficulties. Wang Shen was considering ending Qvod and developing new software.

Zhao Fusheng didn't feel much about it. To him, Wang Shen and Su Xia were just collaborators from back then. If not for Dong Guoxiang still keeping in touch, Zhao Fusheng wouldn't even know they were still working on a player.

But it must be said, without Zhao Fusheng back then, they wouldn't have ended up on this path.

As for what would become of them later, Zhao Fusheng didn't know and didn't care, because it was their own choice.

Whether Wang Shen would end up like the Qvod founder Zhao Fusheng knew in his previous life didn't matter. What mattered was that once you choose something, you can't regret it.

Like making a movie.

"Do you think our film will have higher box office than Ma Dajun's?" Sitting in a Western restaurant, eating steak, Jiang Wen asked Zhao Fusheng.

Zhao Fusheng glanced at him: "You're already on your second steak, man."

"Don't bother me about that. I've been tired lately." Jiang Wen answered irrelevantly, cutting his steak, then said to Yu Feihong beside Zhao Fusheng: "Did you call us here just to eat steak with you?"

Yu Feihong rolled her eyes at him and looked at Zhao Fusheng: "Actually, I wanted to ask if your Future Advertising would be interested in signing me."

As soon as she said this, Zhao Fusheng was stunned.

Not just him, even Jiang Wen felt like he was hallucinating.