Chapter 0236 Straight Man

Many cries cannot be spoken out loud, just as some despair can only be buried deep in the chest.

In his previous life, Zhao Fusheng sometimes didn't go home after work, just sat on the roadside in a daze, watching the brightly lit streets drowned out by noise. Perhaps using 'prosperity in the left eye, desolation in the right' to describe his mood at that time would be more accurate.

The longer one lives, the more one understands. Although we often feel like we can't breathe, over time, all wounds will heal.

No matter how cold the winter, there is always firelight to illuminate our eyes.

"Mom, I'm back!"

Pushing open the door, Zhao Fusheng shouted happily, but what greeted him was a rap on the head.

"You brat, why are you shouting so loud? Do you think I don't know it's you?" Zhao's mother glared at her son. "Beibei just fell asleep. If you shout again, I'll kick you out..."

Zhao Fusheng looked aggrieved. Since Fan Beibei moved in, he felt his status had plummeted. His mother used to ask about his well-being every time he came home, but now she mostly just brushed him off.

In his mother's words, "You can earn your own money now, so you're a grown-up. My goal now is to wait for a grandchild."

To this, Zhao Fusheng expressed that he was still young, and the matter of having grandchildren could be discussed later.

"How was it? Was the filming in Haidong smooth?" Though her mouth threatened, Zhao's mother's face was full of smiles. She casually handed Zhao Fusheng an apple and asked with concern.

Li Yuan also came over and said to Zhao Fusheng, "I heard there are often typhoons in Haidong. Is that true?"

Facing the elders' concern, Zhao Fusheng smiled and nodded. "It was pretty good. The climate there is really nice. When we have money in the future, we can buy a few houses there for you to vacation in."

"You brat, nothing is certain yet, and you're already thinking about the future." Zhao's mother pinched Zhao Fusheng's cheek with a smile. "Alright, Mom is waiting for you to buy me a villa."

As she spoke, she glanced at Zhao Fusheng. "Eat at home tonight. Mom will make you dumplings."

Zhao Fusheng shook his head. "No need, it's too much trouble. I'll come back for dinner on the weekend. I still need to go back to school. I've missed so many classes recently; just catching up on notes will be a handful."

"Good, that's a good child. You need to know what's more important." Zhao's mother nodded approvingly. "Money can never be fully earned. Only by acquiring knowledge can you earn more money."

Zhao Fusheng rolled his eyes. This was a generational gap in thinking. He had thought about correcting his elders' views, but faced with the threat of a joint parental beating, he decisively gave up the idea.

His butt was made of flesh, not iron. If he got spanked, it wouldn't be worth it.

"Fusheng, your mother means well for you. After all, you in advertising, like Baobao and other actors, rely on talent. What if you run out of inspiration one day? So you need to lay a solid foundation at school first..." Li Yuan also advised Zhao Fusheng.

Zhao Fusheng nodded, then took a small box out of his bag and handed it to Li Yuan. "Auntie, this is a gift for Beibei. Give it to her when she wakes up."

Li Yuan was startled, then smiled and nodded in agreement.

After chatting for a bit and helping his mother tidy up the house, Zhao Fusheng finally picked up his bag and left home.

The gift for Fan Beibei had been prepared long ago. Although Li Yuan didn't say it, living under someone else's roof was never easy. Adults could handle it better, but Fan Beibei was already over three years old and understood some things. Zhao Fusheng didn't want her to have any bad memories at such a young age.

After all, when you live under someone else's roof, if you get up a little late, they'll complain that your hair fell on their pillow; if you go to bed a little late, they'll say you waste electricity for no reason. At those times, you really don't know what to do, because you don't know what is wrong and what is right.

The only thing you can do is lock yourself in your room and try not to appear in front of others.

...

...

When he returned to the dorm, all his roommates were there. Wen Yu and Wang Zhen were playing games, while Tan Kaixuan was holding a pile of newspapers, reading something and muttering to himself.

"Oh, the busy man is back." Seeing Zhao Fusheng enter, Tan Kaixuan looked up and teased him with a smile.

Zhao Fusheng couldn't be bothered with this guy. He rolled his eyes, put away his suitcase, and asked, "What are you looking at? Since when did you like reading newspapers?"

Having known Tan Kaixuan for nearly twenty years across two lifetimes, Zhao Fusheng couldn't recall him being someone who liked reading newspapers or studying.

Tan Kaixuan had only two hobbies: money and beautiful women.

Hearing Zhao Fusheng's mockery, Tan Kaixuan snorted. "Old Zhao, you're good in many ways, but do you know your biggest flaw?"

Zhao Fusheng looked at him with interest. "Come on, tell me. If you're right, I'll correct my flaw and treat you to a big meal, how about that?"

"Really?"

Tan Kaixuan looked up, surprised at Zhao Fusheng.

Zhao Fusheng nodded. "Of course. I made a little extra money on this trip to Haidong, enough to treat you to a big meal."

Tan Kaixuan chuckled, put down the newspapers, leaned in close to Zhao Fusheng, and said seriously, "Haven't you noticed? You always like to label people."

"Label people?" Zhao Fusheng's expression was first surprised, then he froze.

He initially thought Tan Kaixuan was just joking, but on second thought, Zhao Fusheng felt there was some truth to what Tan Kaixuan said.

Now, perhaps because of his rebirth, he indeed liked to label people.

Or more accurately, he liked to use certain things from his previous life as benchmarks to annotate a person.

For example, if in his previous life Zhao Fusheng remembered someone as a certain way, he would habitually tag that person with the label from his memory.

But the problem is, a person's temperament or character is not always set in stone. It can change with the surrounding environment.

Otherwise, how could those sharp-edged, passionate young people, after leaving university, end up battered and bruised, eventually becoming cynical old hands?

Even Zhao Fusheng himself experienced the same thing in his previous life, going from a dreamer determined to work hard to a greasy middle-aged man living in a stupor.

When we were young, our parents told us that the most important thing in anything is participation. You try, you learn, and winning or losing doesn't matter.

But in reality, once we leave school, we realize that participation is useless. Because no matter how hard you try, if you don't win, it's all for nothing. Even if you win, if you can't show off your achievements, it's also for nothing. Instead, those who are good at talking often get more.

Shaking his head, Zhao Fusheng forced himself not to think about those messy things. He looked up at Tan Kaixuan and nodded seriously. "What you said makes some sense, but what does it have to do with you?"

Tan Kaixuan was momentarily speechless. He opened his mouth wide and pointed at his own nose. "Hey, buddy, look closely, look at this face. I mean, you've got me wrong."

"What do you mean?" Zhao Fusheng blinked, looking innocent.

Tan Kaixuan snorted and rolled his eyes at Zhao Fusheng. "I'm telling you, I'm no longer the person I used to be. From now on, I'm going to become the man who is a giant in the financial industry..."

Zhao Fusheng sighed. Clearly, this guy had made up his mind to develop in the financial sector.

Sometimes the wheel of history cannot be easily changed by any person or event. Zhao Fusheng had once tried to change Tan Kaixuan's life trajectory, to prevent him from becoming a stock market speculator like in his previous life.

But reality didn't develop as he had imagined. After the emotional failure with Hu Xia, Tan Kaixuan still focused his attention on his own career.

Perhaps because he had been influenced by his parents since childhood, he was particularly interested in finance. After deciding to do something big, Tan Kaixuan's first target was the stock market.

"Hmm, what did you say you were going to do?" Pausing, Zhao Fusheng looked up, stared at Tan Kaixuan, and asked.

Tan Kaixuan, stared at by his eyes, felt a bit confused. He carefully thought about his words but didn't find anything wrong.

Wen Yu and Wang Zhen also stopped playing games and looked at the two. They had heard the conversation between Zhao Fusheng and Tan Kaixuan and didn't find anything wrong.

Zhao Fusheng didn't speak either. He just looked at Tan Kaixuan with a normal expression.

Tan Kaixuan coughed, thought again, and after confirming he hadn't said anything unreliable, he said to Zhao Fusheng, "I'm telling you, don't think I'm bragging. If I become the man who is a giant in the Shanghai financial industry, I'll casually give you a few insider tips, and you'll be rich, hahahaha..."

As he spoke, this guy seemed to see Zhao Fusheng and the others trembling before him in the future, and he actually threw his head back and laughed.

Zhao Fusheng shook his head helplessly and said slowly, "I don't care if you want to become the man of a financial giant, and I won't look down on your orientation. But please, don't ever say you're my brother. Also, stay at least a meter away from me. I'm straight, I only like women..."

In that instant, Tan Kaixuan's laughter abruptly stopped.