Chapter 1191 The Art of Playing with Fire

The reception was lively.

Zhao Fusheng and Han Bin strolled through it, with the latter occasionally introducing someone: so-and-so was the second generation of some company, whose father was the founder.

Looking closely, while there were plenty of first-generation rich, there were also many second and third generations.

Like Han Bin, he was a rich kid, but enjoying a life of leisure wasn't for him yet.

Of course, if one only wanted to be a playboy living off the family money, that was fine. But if one truly wanted to accomplish something, the experiences and efforts required were no less.

That was the real face of life.

A good background could provide convenience, ample capital, and a foundation for entrepreneurship, but ultimately one had to rely on one's own abilities to make a mark.

For example, if you were given one billion dollars to start a business, whether you were a rich kid or a poor kid, you had to learn how to do business. Otherwise, that billion dollars would eventually be lost.

That was Han Bin's situation. Actually, given the Han family's capital, investing that money wouldn't have been a problem. But the issue was that his confidence had been nearly worn away by several previous failures, so he thought of dragging Zhao Fusheng along.

"Go attend to your business." Zhao Fusheng saw several people greeting Han Bin and knew he had acquaintances, so he gave Han Bin a push.

Han Bin nodded. Although he really wanted to meet Zhu Yushi, it was clear Zhu Yushi hadn't arrived yet, so he had to go greet others first.

Watching Han Bin go off to exchange pleasantries, Zhao Fusheng found a corner and sat down.

He liked to observe, especially in unfamiliar environments. Zhao Fusheng didn't enjoy standing under the spotlight being stared at like a monkey; he preferred to stand aside and examine things like an onlooker.

Right now, for instance, Zhao Fusheng noticed that even among these well-known domestic big shots, there existed certain small circles.

People in the internet industry liked to cluster together, rarely mingling with those in manufacturing. And those in manufacturing had their own circles: many manufacturing tycoons were chatting about something, while the home appliance moguls were clearly harmonious on the surface but at odds underneath.

Unexpectedly, several big shots from portal websites were discussing something, with Zhang Chaoyang, the boss of Sohu, at their center.

Zhao Fusheng wasn't surprised by this. This man, whose English name was Charles, would still be a heavyweight in the internet industry even a dozen years later, after being surpassed by the troika.

A gentleman like jade on the street, a son unmatched in the world.

Although that saying might be a bit exaggerated, Sohu indeed held a more significant position in the historical development of China's internet than other portal websites.

The reason, naturally, lay with Charles Zhang.

Of course, only Zhao Fusheng knew that the now-elated Mr. Charles Zhang would gradually be overtaken by the young men around him, like Li Yanhong, Ding Sanshi, and two men surnamed Ma.

"What are you looking at?" At that moment, Zheng Yao's voice sounded in Zhao Fusheng's ear. Turning his head, he saw Zheng Yao sitting beside him.

Of course, not far away was Liu Ming, whose expression was clearly off.

"Nothing, just watching rise and fall." Zhao Fusheng answered evasively, but clearly he had no intention of explaining to Zheng Yao.

Zheng Yao was long accustomed to Zhao Fusheng's cryptic behavior—from initial bewilderment to now taking it in stride—so she simply ignored his words.

"It seems domestic internet companies are about to usher in a wave of development." Zheng Yao looked at Zhang Chaoyang, Ding Sanshi, and others gathered nearby, and said to Zhao Fusheng.

Zhao Fusheng smiled: "Not just internet companies. In fact, I think starting this year, the domestic economy might really see some changes."

Zheng Yao was taken aback; she hadn't expected Zhao Fusheng to say that.

In her impression, Zhao Fusheng's judgments on China's domestic economic situation had always been very conservative. It was rare for such words to come out of his mouth. Could it be that he knew something?

"Don't look at me. I'm just judging by intuition." Zhao Fusheng smiled. "Just wait and see. There will be more and more rich people."

With that, he stood up and said to Zheng Yao, "That Liu guy isn't right for you."

Then, Zhao Fusheng winked and said meaningfully, "Your taste in men is as bad as ever, Teacher Zheng."

Hearing this, Zheng Yao was so angry she nearly blew her top. The respect she had just felt for Zhao Fusheng's words vanished without a trace. If it weren't for the reception being a public occasion where she had to mind her image and the face of Future Group's president, she would have grabbed Zhao Fusheng's head and cracked it open to see what was inside.

Glaring fiercely at Zhao Fusheng's back, Zheng Yao decided she absolutely wouldn't give him a chance to mock her.

As for Liu Ming, hah, that idiot...

...

...

Zhao Fusheng, of course, had no idea that after he left, a certain furious lady had transformed into a female tyrannosaur, and that poor Liu Ming had become the sacrificial victim of Zheng Yao's vented anger.

Even if he knew, Zhao Fusheng wouldn't have cared.

If Liu Ming hadn't put on such airs, perhaps Zhao Fusheng might have thought more highly of him, but since that guy didn't take him seriously, then sorry, Zhao Fusheng wasn't one to indulge childish behavior.

"Let's go. Zhu Yushi is here." Walking over to Han Bin, who was chatting with someone else, Zhao Fusheng said softly.

Han Bin was startled. His gaze followed and he saw Zhu Yushi walking and talking with others as he entered the banquet hall.

Taking a deep breath, he looked at Zhao Fusheng: "Let's go."

Zhao Fusheng nodded, and the two walked one after the other toward where Zhu Yushi was.

At that moment, Liu Ming was blocking Zheng Yao's path.

"CEO Zheng, I think you may have misunderstood just now..." Liu Ming looked at Zheng Yao and said earnestly, "I know my attitude might have been a bit harsh, but please understand, as a gentleman, when I see a few flies buzzing around the lady I admire, the only thing I can do is shoo them away for you."

Clearly, he had no idea where he was wrong.

Sighing helplessly, Zheng Yao felt that perhaps Zhao Fusheng was right—her judgment of men was indeed somewhat flawed. How had she never noticed before that this Liu Ming could be so idiotic?

With that thought, Zheng Yao glanced at Liu Ming, then swept her gaze not far away, and sure enough, she spotted what she needed.

"President Liu, look over there." Pointing to a spot not far away, Zheng Yao suddenly said to Liu Ming with a smile.

Liu Ming was taken aback. Although Zheng Yao's smile was beautiful and made his heart flutter, he forced himself to regain composure and followed the direction of her finger.

And the next moment, Liu Ming froze!

In the place Zheng Yao had pointed out, the two young men she had just called "flies" were walking toward their boss, Zhu Yushi, with smiles on their faces.

Clearly, their target was Zhu Yushi.

"Those two lunatics, who do they think they are!" Liu Ming sneered dismissively. "Don't they know their place? They actually dare to go talk to President Zhu."

Obviously, in his view, those two were just asking for humiliation. What status did Zhu Yushi have? He was a renowned big shot in the domestic business world. Sure, he had messed up the Giant Building project, but with his Brain Gold oral liquid, Zhu Yushi had made a comeback and was now a leading figure in the domestic health products industry.

A man of such stature—not to mention a few green youngsters, even internet upstarts like Charles Zhang weren't qualified to exchange pleasantries with him.

Of this, Liu Ming was absolutely certain!

In fact, as an employee of the company, Liu Ming himself was both fearful and respectful of Zhu Yushi. After all, this man's legendary experiences were practically mythical even across the entire country.

And he also knew that Zhu Yushi had a temper. He would often pound the table and curse at subordinates like himself in the company. Those two guys, barging in rashly like that, would most likely be thrown out.

And then, well, there would be no 'then.'

People often pray for good fortune to descend from heaven, but such wishes are rarely fulfilled. They pray for disaster not to befall them, but such prayers often go unanswered. The more they pray, the more disaster comes.

Heaven does not like to do what people hope for—this is probably why life is unsatisfactory eight or nine times out of ten.

Just like Liu Ming, in his view, those two would surely be humiliated in front of Zhu Yushi. Then, when he led Zheng Yao over to greet the boss, he would definitely regain the face he had lost in front of Zheng Yao.

That's what he thought, and that's what he did. So he said to Zheng Yao, "CEO Zheng, shall we go over together?"

As he spoke, he added rather smugly, "Our Chairman Zhu doesn't like dealing with strangers, but I'm fairly familiar with him."

Zheng Yao was taken aback, then quickly caught his intention from his words. Frowning, she shook her head: "Forget it, no need."

After all, Liu Ming was the vice president in charge of the cooperation between Giant Group and Future Advertising; making him lose face wouldn't be a good thing.

But unfortunately, Liu Ming didn't sense Zheng Yao's goodwill at all. He hurried eagerly toward where Zhu Yushi and his party were, clearly impatient to see Zhao Fusheng and Han Bin make fools of themselves.

Watching Liu Ming's retreating figure, Zheng Yao sighed. "Heaven's punishment can be avoided, but self-inflicted disaster cannot."