Chapter 0935: Seeking

Zhao Fusheng and Bai Jie walked into Bai Jie's office together. Before him, Bai Jie's slender figure walked ahead, in a black business suit, flesh-colored stockings, her high heels clicking on the ceramic tiles, producing a series of crisp sounds.

It had to be said, she was a seductress, a woman who could drive many men wild.

But for Zhao Fusheng, that was all there was to it.

There were too many beautiful things in this world; unless one was a god, no one could possess all the beauty for themselves.

By the same token, with so many beautiful women, if one fell in love with every one he saw and slept with every one he met, that wasn't love—it was a human self-propelled cannon.

Whether it was Zhao Fusheng's inner principles or the education he had received over two lifetimes, neither allowed him to be that kind of man.

He might admire a certain woman, but he would never do anything to betray Fan Baobao.

"This matter today is my fault."

Bai Jie spoke first: "When Liu Tianzuo joined the company earlier, I didn't mention anything about you to him."

Actually, she hadn't done it intentionally; she simply hadn't thought much about it at the time, believing that there shouldn't be any conflict between Zhao Fusheng and Liu Tianzuo.

She hadn't expected Liu Tianzuo to be such an idiot—choosing to assert his authority over Zhao Fusheng, he had kicked against a steel plate.

"There's no need to keep someone like that in the company." Zhao Fusheng said flatly. "I'll talk to President Zheng later and have him fired."

"Fired?"

Bai Jie was taken aback, never expecting Zhao Fusheng to directly propose firing Liu Tianzuo.

After all, at this time, there was no issue of contracts; domestic companies were far from as formal as foreign ones. Firing a mid-level manager was just a word from the boss.

But Bai Jie considered that Liu Tianzuo had considerable connections at China Film Group, which could help Future Films navigate certain relationships in the industry. She hadn't expected Zhao Fusheng to simply say he should be fired.

"Fusheng, isn't this a bit too much?" Bai Jie hesitated for a moment, then said to Zhao Fusheng.

She was smooth in handling matters. Compared to Dong Chenxi's vigorous and decisive style, she was more beloved by subordinates, but the problem also lay in this personality—she always seemed not serious enough, as if she could be taken advantage of.

Zhao Fusheng glanced at Bai Jie: "Sister Bai, we're old acquaintances. In my view, the company doesn't need to rush into expanding the film market. We've already made a profit from 'Conquest.' You can focus on TV dramas, produce several high-quality series. As for films, if there's a good script, just invest; there's no need to worry about promotion and distribution."

He paused and smiled: "I know that 'Cell Phone' gave you some other ideas, but you have to understand, that film came about because I wrote the script, and Old Jiang and I wanted to compete with Ma Dajun. In other words, Future Films benefited from it, but wasn't the leader. Understand?"

Bai Jie frowned slightly. Zhao Fusheng's words were quite blunt, even carrying a stern commanding tone. Even though Bai Jie had always felt they had a good relationship and Zhao Fusheng held a special position at Future Advertising, his direct instruction on how to do things made her feel uncomfortable.

Seeing Bai Jie's expression, Zhao Fusheng knew what she was thinking. After all, having lived decades in his previous life and traveled far and wide, he had seen all kinds of people. He could guess Bai Jie's reaction.

He didn't want to waste any more words and directly dialed Zheng Yao's number.

"Oh, what made you think to call me?"

Zheng Yao was a bit puzzled when she received Zhao Fusheng's call. What trouble had this guy stirred up now?

"Explain everything to Bai Jie," Zhao Fusheng said helplessly, then hung up.

Then, Zhao Fusheng looked at Bai Jie and said flatly, "President Zheng will explain everything to you. I hope from now on you'll understand what should and shouldn't be done."

With that, Zhao Fusheng turned and left, not giving Bai Jie a chance to speak.

Bai Jie was dumbfounded, utterly confused. Was Zhao Fusheng crazy? What was he talking about so incoherently? And telling Zheng Yao to explain to her—what did that mean?

She really was baffled.

She was baffled, but Zheng Yao wasn't. Zhao Fusheng's tone was very serious, clearly indicating something had happened.

So, after hanging up, Zheng Yao immediately dialed Bai Jie's mobile.

"What happened?"

As soon as the call connected, Zheng Yao asked bluntly.

"Is Fusheng crazy?" Bai Jie, irritated by Zhao Fusheng's words, said helplessly to Zheng Yao, "We had a meeting today..."

Then she recounted what had happened, and finally said with a bitter smile, "I called him over to talk, but he just turned his face away and left, telling you to explain to me. Explain what? Explain why he gets to teach me how to do business?"

On the other end of the line, Zheng Yao laughed bitterly: "Believe it or not, when he teaches you business, you really should listen."

"What do you mean?"

Bai Jie was completely at a loss.

But then, her expression grew stranger and stranger, until finally, her mouth fell open, and she couldn't utter a single word.

...

...

Time passed very quickly; a month felt like waking up from a nap—that was Zhao Fusheng's personal feeling.

Entering November, he suddenly found himself idle. The advertising company didn't need his help, and neither did Future Investment; Dong Chenxi was gradually getting on track.

The promotional work before the release of 'Cell Phone' was also proceeding in an orderly manner. After learning a startling truth from Zheng Yao, Bai Jie quickly adjusted her attitude and no longer dared to be as casual with Zhao Fusheng as before.

Zhao Fusheng also noticed the change in Bai Jie's attitude. He wanted to say something, but in the end, he didn't call her out on it.

Sometimes it couldn't be helped; relationships between people change as their statuses shift.

If Zhao Fusheng were still a top planner and Bai Jie were still the head of Future Films, they might still be old friends who had struggled together.

But now Zhao Fusheng was the behind-the-scenes boss of Future Advertising, and Bai Jie was, in a sense, his employee.

That naturally made things different.

Not everyone was like Dong Chenxi.

Moreover, the reason Dong Chenxi could maintain her current relationship with Zhao Fusheng was largely because she was his schoolmate and the ex-girlfriend of his roommate.

Bai Jie, clearly, was not that close to Zhao Fusheng.

But that couldn't be helped; everyone's circumstances were different, and they had different fates.

Fan Baobao, on the other hand, was quite relaxed. Recently, she had been performing in several plays at the People's Art Theatre. Although her roles had few lines, she was clearly very happy. When she had free time, she would drag Zhao Fusheng and tell him about the fun things at work.

"By the way, Captain Yang even said I've improved," Fan Baobao said to Zhao Fusheng with satisfaction.

Captain Yang naturally referred to Yang Lixin, the captain of the People's Art Theatre performance team, a veteran in the film and television circle and a famous actor.

"Not bad, not bad," Zhao Fusheng blinked and said with a rather perfunctory smile.

"You!"

Fan Baobao wasn't stupid; she could clearly feel Zhao Fusheng's perfunctory attitude. He hadn't really listened to her.

"Baobao, let me tell you, this kind of improvement is actually normal," Yu Feihong interjected at the right moment. "You've just graduated and are an unpolished actor. Performing plays with the People's Art Theatre group naturally leads to growth."

She had just returned from Sichuan, and Zhao Fusheng had specifically brought Fan Baobao to welcome her.

As for Jiang Wen, that guy had gone to pick up his girlfriend. Zhou Yun was expected to return to the capital before New Year's.

"Sister, so you mean I still need more practice?" Fan Baobao asked Yu Feihong seriously, her face full of curiosity, after all, Yu Feihong was a legitimate teacher at the Beijing Film Academy.

Yu Feihong smiled and nodded: "Of course. Trust me, in a few years, you'll become a true actor."

Hearing this, Fan Baobao was startled. She recalled what a senior had said to her when she first joined the People's Art Theatre: "There are very few people in this world who can be leads; most actors are destined to play supporting roles. Even the most popular actors start as supporting roles. Do you have the awareness—are you acting to become a star, or to act?"

That senior had performed in plays for most of his life, almost never playing the lead. Even now, with high seniority at the People's Art Theatre, he never picked roles; as long as he could act, he didn't care about fame.

Fan Baobao asked herself, what did she want?

Did she lack money?

No. Although Fan Baobao didn't know how much money Zhao Fusheng had, she was sure that her man was very capable of making money. Even if Zhao Fusheng failed, Zhao's parents in Ninghai and Li Yuan were running considerable businesses. The family's financial situation basically didn't require her to worry.

Did she like being chased by fans?

Not really. Fan Baobao admitted to herself that she didn't really care about fame. She even felt that life was good as it was—going to work every day, spending time with Zhao Fusheng at home on days off, watching TV dramas, and listening to him criticize the actors' performances.

So, she was sure that she truly loved the profession of acting, loved performing, loved challenging various roles and portraying their inner worlds.

The road ahead is long and winding; Fan Baobao felt that she should keep seeking on the path of acting.

Just as Zhao Fusheng had once told her—to be a true actor.