Chapter 2258: Leisurely Days

Actually, things weren't that complicated.

After all, Zheng Yao was getting older, and her parents were aging day by day, so the issue of marriage naturally became a concern for them.

Thus, the matter of blind dates was put on the agenda.

"I heard he's the nephew of her father's old classmate."

Dong Chenxi said to Zhao Fusheng with a smile.

"That's good. It's better for her to have a companion early on, rather than being alone all day."

Zhao Fusheng nodded, thinking this was quite nice.

After all, Zheng Yao's romantic situation had always been a concern for their little group.

"Exactly. If she stays single any longer, I think she'll turn into an old maid." Dong Chenxi complained without restraint.

Over the years, their relationship had long ceased to be that of student and teacher or superior and subordinate; between close friends, this level of teasing was normal.

"What about you?"

Zhao Fusheng casually asked Dong Chenxi, "When do you plan to get married?"

"Get married?"

Dong Chenxi was taken aback, blinked to make sure she hadn't misheard, then looked at Zhao Fusheng speechlessly: "Why should I get married?"

"Wait, if you're not getting married, what are you doing dating Wu Sijie?"

Zhao Fusheng was exasperated, looking at Dong Chenxi in confusion.

Dong Chenxi chuckled: "Who says you have to get married just because you're in a relationship? Besides, isn't it good to just enjoy a romance? Why get married?"

"..."

Zhao Fusheng was left speechless.

How could Dong Chenxi's views on marriage and love be like this?

"Hey, why are you all like Bai Jie, turning bad!"

Zhao Fusheng said to Dong Chenxi, "I'm totally convinced."

"Haha, don't worry about that."

Dong Chenxi stood up, waved her hand, and said, "I have things to do. I'm off now. You can mull it over yourself."

Zhao Fusheng was stunned and could only watch her leave.

"These women..."

He shook his head helplessly, at a loss with the people around him.

Each of them had their own ideas, fiercely independent.

They were what you'd call the new-era independent women.

In short, it was because they earned their own money and were financially independent that they had the confidence to support themselves even without men.

"Chairman, do you have any other arrangements today?"

Liu Yiming walked in at that moment and asked Zhao Fusheng.

Zhao Fusheng was a bit puzzled: "What's up? Do you have something?"

"Ah, my dad has chemotherapy today. I was thinking if you have no other plans, I'd go see him." Liu Yiming explained to Zhao Fusheng.

"Go ahead."

Zhao Fusheng waved his hand upon hearing this: "There's nothing much at the company. If something comes up, I'll assign someone else. You go take care of your business first."

"Okay, thank you, Chairman."

Liu Yiming quickly bowed to express his gratitude.

Zhao Fusheng smiled and said nothing more, letting him leave.

He was telling the truth; today, Zhao Fusheng indeed had no plans.

People aren't machines, and Zhao Fusheng couldn't keep himself busy like a robot every day. After handling work matters, the rest of his time was naturally for rest.

He had lunch near the company, and in the afternoon, instead of returning to the office, he went straight to Future Security.

Not to inspect the company, but to exercise and get fit.

Zhang Qian was very satisfied with Zhao Fusheng's exercise routine.

In his view, as the chairman of Future Group, Zhao Fusheng needed a healthy body—that was crucial.

"All you do all day is work and exercise."

Zhao Fusheng said to Zhang Qian, "Where's your youthful energy?"

"I think it's fine."

Zhang Qian ignored Zhao Fusheng's taunt.

You see, his personality had always been like this.

Even in the capital, he usually skipped gatherings with Dong Chenxi and the others unless absolutely necessary.

"You're just too much of a homebody."

Zhao Fusheng shook his head helplessly. He had no solution for Zhang Qian either; the guy was impervious to advice, never changing over the years.

Of course, that was also what he admired about Zhang Qian.

It wasn't a good thing if a person could be easily changed by others.

"By the way, did you know Zheng Yao is going on a blind date?"

At that moment, Zhang Qian's words stunned Zhao Fusheng.

"Wait, how do you even know that? Why don't I know?"

Zhao Fusheng looked at Zhang Qian speechlessly.

He really hadn't expected that even Zhang Qian knew something he didn't.

Could it be that he was the last to find out?

"..."

Zhang Qian thought for a moment, then explained to him: "You forgot, the bodyguard by her side is someone I arranged..."

Zhao Fusheng chuckled, suddenly remembering that Zhang Qian had that source of information.

Come to think of it, that made sense.

"Alright, you keep exercising."

Zhang Qian smiled and said to Zhao Fusheng, "I have things to do. I'm off."

"Where are you going?"

Zhao Fusheng was a bit puzzled: "Isn't Yang Panpan out of the country?"

If he remembered correctly, Zhang Qian's wife Yang Panpan should be in Italy with Fan Baobao.

So what was Zhang Qian going home for?

"Boss, there's a form of communication in this world called video call."

Zhang Qian gave Zhao Fusheng a look that said 'you're behind the times' and teased him.

Then he left.

Watching his back, Zhao Fusheng felt quite wounded.

What the hell was this?

He had actually sunk to the point of being looked down upon by Zhang Qian.

But on second thought, he really hadn't thought about it—he'd forgotten about video calls.

Shaking his head, Zhao Fusheng said nothing more and continued exercising.

As Zhang Qian said, health is the capital of revolution. Especially for someone with an irregular lifestyle like him, having a healthy body was more important than anything.

Money can never be fully earned, but if your health collapses, that's something you'd truly regret.

...

...

After exercising for a full two hours, when he left, Zhao Fusheng felt like every muscle in his body was about to fall apart.

I truly admire those who persist in exercising every day—this willpower is absolutely beyond the endurance of ordinary people.

And according to what Zhang Qian said before, my current level is only one-third of his usual training intensity.

Just this ratio alone made Zhao Fusheng deeply impressed.

But on second thought, it seemed quite normal, after all, that guy was different from him.

In a sense, he was a professional.

While he himself was at best an amateur level.

Sitting in the car, Zhao Fusheng idly took out his phone and opened Weibo to browse.

There were really not many smartphone apps at this time; Weibo had become one of the few places for entertainment.

After scrolling for a while, Zhao Fusheng couldn't help but laugh.

"Hard work brings rewards, true love brings people together! These are the two biggest lies in the world, yet they kept us going through our stumbling youth."

"When the moon falls on the dome, I think someone must have fished it out of the sea. In the ocean's ancient memory, countless sunken boats and floating boats, those mottled marks, melting into colors, fading into smoke—even the most rigorous archaeologist might find it impossible to trace their origins. But the ceaselessly flowing waters of the sea must have nourished the world's flowers, then turned into honey and fruit, nourishing the creatures of this world where the sound of the sea is far beyond hearing."

"Every book is a lonely picture. It is a tangible object that people can pick up, put down, open, and close. The words in the book represent months or years of someone's solitude."

On Weibo, it was all this kind of sentimental nonsense, or else various inspirational chicken soup.

Zhao Fusheng found it so amusing he almost burst out laughing.

"Chairman, what's wrong?"

The driver, Old Ma, asked curiously.

"Ah?"

Zhao Fusheng was startled: "Did I laugh out loud?"

"You sure did. I was wondering what was up with you." Old Ma grinned honestly.

"It's nothing, nothing."

Zhao Fusheng waved his hand: "Just saw some very interesting lines."

Old Ma chuckled and said nothing more.

He was a driver, not a secretary.

If it were Liu Yiming, he would definitely have chatted with Zhao Fusheng for a while, but with Old Ma, it was basically like this.

"Chairman, are we going home?"

After driving for a while, Old Ma asked Zhao Fusheng.

Where to go next was something Zhao Fusheng needed to decide.

"Go home?"

Zhao Fusheng was momentarily stunned at this, but didn't immediately answer Old Ma.

To be honest, he felt that going home was boring now.

There was only him at home; even Fan Beibei had already gone to Italy.

Sometimes when he was home alone, Zhao Fusheng would feel very lonely—a big, empty house with only himself, a feeling that others couldn't understand.

But he also knew that if he asked Fan Baobao and the others to come back, it was not impossible.

Yet thinking about the domestic environment, Zhao Fusheng figured it was better to forget it. If he had time, he might as well make the effort to go to Italy and accompany them.

"Let's drive around the ring road."

A thought flashed through his mind, and Zhao Fusheng suddenly smiled, saying to Old Ma.

The ring road?

Though a bit puzzled, Old Ma nodded in agreement, picked up the walkie-talkie, and instructed the cars in front and behind.

When Zhao Fusheng went out, it was naturally impossible for him to have just this one car; a convoy of five cars was his entourage.

Although everyone didn't understand the chairman's intention, since the boss wanted to drive around, they dared not slack off. The convoy quickly turned and headed toward the ring road.

Along the way, Zhao Fusheng looked at the night scenery outside the window and laughed for no reason.

To be honest, it had been a long time since he had appreciated the capital's night view like this.

People are sometimes like this—things they once cherished dearly are suddenly forgotten in a daze.

He remembered that in his previous life, he especially liked to go shopping at such times, facing the wind, watching the neon lights flicker, fantasizing that one day he would achieve success and fame.

And now, although he had achieved success and fame, he no longer had the mood to appreciate it.

"Old Ma, how big do you think this capital really is?"

Sitting in the car, Zhao Fusheng suddenly asked Old Ma.

"Ah?"

Old Ma was taken aback, then chuckled: "I wouldn't know that. Secretary Liu said the capital will be expanded in the future. I reckon it must be bigger than two cities in my hometown?"

Old Ma's hometown was a small city, naturally not as big as the capital.

"Haha..."

Zhao Fusheng suddenly laughed, because he remembered a song—the "Fifth Ring Road Song" sung by Xiao Yue from Deyun Society. He guessed that at that time, no one would have imagined the capital would get bigger and bigger.

"Actually, big or small, it doesn't matter."

Seeing Zhao Fusheng silent, Old Ma smiled and said, "Every outsider here just hopes to get the life they want."

"Oh!"

Zhao Fusheng was startled, then laughed uncontrollably. He hadn't expected Old Ma to have such a side, saying something so humanistic.

"That wasn't me."

Old Ma quickly said, "I overheard Secretary Liu talking to his girlfriend on the phone that day."

Zhao Fusheng nodded and said nothing more.

This was indeed Liu Yiming's style; that guy was actually quite literary at heart.

In this regard, he was a bit like himself.

The capital was very big, and the ring road was naturally very long. Sitting in the car, Zhao Fusheng looked at the night scenery outside the window, and his mood gradually improved.

"Old Ma, what do you say, should we go listen to some cross talk?"

Zhao Fusheng suddenly asked Old Ma.

"Ah?"

Old Ma was startled, somewhat surprised: "Listen to cross talk? What do you mean?"

Zhao Fusheng smiled: "Deyun Society, do you know where it is? The theater at Tianqiao."

"I know. Should we go now?"

Old Ma nodded.

"Yeah." Zhao Fusheng said.

Old Ma picked up the walkie-talkie and quickly communicated with the other cars. The convoy turned at a certain intersection and headed straight toward the Tianqiao Theater.

Soon, the group arrived at the Tianqiao Theater.

Getting out of the car, Zhao Fusheng looked at the large crowd around him and shook his head helplessly: "What are you all doing?"

"Chairman, safety first."

Old Ma shook his head stubbornly.

With Liu Yiming absent, he was the person responsible for Zhao Fusheng's safety. Zhao Fusheng wanting to listen to cross talk was his business, but in Old Ma's view, he had to be prepared for Zhao Fusheng's safety.

Zhao Fusheng shook his head helplessly: "Alright, I understand. I'll listen to you."

After thinking for a moment, he said to Old Ma, "Send someone in to see if they can buy front-row tickets."

"Okay."

Old Ma nodded and sent someone to the ticket office to inquire.

Soon, the person who went in came back to report that the front-row tickets were sold out.

"Chairman, maybe we should go back?"

Old Ma looked at Zhao Fusheng.

Zhao Fusheng thought for a moment and nodded: "Alright, let's go."

He also knew that his sudden whims sometimes caused trouble for the people below.

Just as the group was about to leave, a car passed by in front of them.