Chapter 0043: The Exquisite Heart

There are too many clever people in this world; few are truly foolish. It is precisely for this reason that everyone likes to pretend to be糊涂 while knowing full well the truth.

In fact, Zhao Fusheng was well aware that his father, mother, and even Aunt Li Yuan must be extremely anxious inside. After all, with two families of six people, only his mother had a job; his father's seniority had been bought out, Li Yuan was in poor health, he and Fan Baobao were in school, and Fan Beibei was growing older by the day. It was no exaggeration to say that beneath the seemingly calm life lurked a considerable crisis.

But none of the three elders would ever say this to him or Fan Baobao.

Perhaps, in their eyes, even though Fan Baobao and he were already in college, they were still young, still lacking the ability to be independent, and still needed the protection of their elders.

Without a doubt, that was exactly what they did.

In the elders' view, Zhao Fusheng and Fan Baobao's future lay after graduation. They hoped that the two would one day be able to shoulder the family's burdens, take care of the elderly, and look after their younger sister.

No one believed that Zhao Fusheng could accomplish anything significant at this time.

But for Zhao Fusheng, the greatest characteristic that distinguishes humans from animals is human subjective initiative. If a person loses their drive and only thinks about coasting through life waiting to die, then that person is not much different from a beast. Living or dying is the same.

Some people are mediocre, some are brilliant. Some are plain, some shine with radiance. Some are golden on the outside but rotten within. However, you will always meet some people who radiate a rainbow-like light from the inside out. Once you've met them, everyone else is just a floating cloud.

Zhao Fusheng hoped to be that kind of person.

To achieve this goal, he began to make his life more disciplined.

Every day he got up at six o'clock, went to the sports field in front of the dormitory to exercise, jogging or walking laps around the dormitory.

In the morning, if there were major courses, he listened attentively and took notes. For elective courses, if they were unimportant, he would take books borrowed from the library and make excerpts, from Contemporary Advertising to Social Psychology. As long as it was related to his major, Zhao Fusheng studied it voraciously.

He rested at noon.

In the afternoon, if there were no classes, Zhao Fusheng would immerse himself in the library, reading everything from newspapers to history books—any medium that could help him understand the outside world.

Zheng Yao hadn't bothered him these past two days because Zhao Fusheng had told her not to disturb him unless it was important.

After he introduced Qin Wentao to help with odd jobs, Zheng Yao was happy to have some free time. After all, the studio wasn't big; even the rented office was just a small storefront near the school.

In Zheng Yao's own words, "Small as a sparrow, but all the vital organs are there."

Zhao Fusheng couldn't be bothered to comment on that, because in his view, the size of the place didn't matter; what mattered was whether it could create useful value.

Another weekend came. After saying goodbye to his roommates, Zhao Fusheng took the bus home.

As soon as he entered the door, a small figure rushed toward him.

"Brother, Beibei missed you so much! Did you miss Beibei?" The little girl pounced and hugged Zhao Fusheng's leg, beaming with joy.

Zhao Fusheng laughed, reached out to pick up the little girl, and lifted her above his head: "Of course I did. At school, I think about our little princess every day."

Fan Beibei was delighted. She leaned in and gave Zhao Fusheng a loud kiss on the cheek as a reward.

Holding the little girl in his arms, Zhao Fusheng looked at Li Yuan and asked, "Auntie, where's my dad?"

"He went out," Li Yuan said while picking vegetables, speaking to Zhao Fusheng.

Every Friday was an important day for the two families, because both Zhao Fusheng and Fan Baobao chose to come home on that day.

Li Yuan had almost finalized the deal; next week she could sell the house and begin formal treatment. Zhao Fusheng had no objections to this. In his view, the sooner Li Yuan received treatment for her condition, the better. If they waited until the illness became severe, it would require more money and effort.

"By the way, where's Baobao?" Zhao Fusheng asked curiously. Generally, Fan Baobao should have arrived home before him.

"What do you want me for?"

Fan Baobao's voice came from behind. She was walking out of their door.

Glancing at her sister, who was clinging to Zhao Fusheng, Fan Baobao glared at the little girl: "You little rascal, is he really that great?"

Clearly, she was jealous.

Zhao Fusheng turned his head, silently laughed, blinked at Fan Baobao, and made a funny face.

Fan Baobao was so angry she pointed at Zhao Fusheng, speechless.

You see, Zhao Fusheng's action just now was done behind Li Yuan's back; no one except Fan Baobao could see it.

If she weren't in a good mood, Fan Baobao would have grabbed Zhao Fusheng and given him a good beating.

"Can't be bothered with you." Proudly glaring at Zhao Fusheng, Fan Baobao walked over to her mother and helped Li Yuan pick vegetables.

Zhao Fusheng chuckled inwardly. He naturally understood why she was like this. It seemed that Zheng Yao's approach to Fan Baobao had put her in a very good mood.

Zhao's father and mother soon returned. However, Zhao's father's face still showed signs of fatigue; it was clear he was tired.

Noticing this, Zhao Fusheng frowned but didn't call attention to it.

As the pillar of the family, Zhao's father sometimes kept things to himself. Zhao Fusheng hadn't understood this when he was very young, but as he grew older, he gradually came to understand.

"Mom, Uncle, Auntie, I have something to tell you."

When they were almost done eating, Fan Baobao put down her chopsticks and spoke to her mother, Zhao's mother, and Zhao's father.

The elders were taken aback. They exchanged glances, wondering what she was going to say.

Fan Baobao then recounted how she had been selected by Zheng Yao to participate in an advertisement shoot, and finally said, "This ad is said to be broadcast on CCTV."

"CCTV?"

"Really? Is it not a scam?"

Clearly, this news shocked all the elders.

Zhao Fusheng, holding Fan Beibei, watched Fan Baobao's smug expression and couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth.

But he could understand. After all, with such a big issue at home, a young girl had to bear so much pressure and even taste the bitterness of living under someone else's roof. It was indeed very hard.

Now, suddenly being able to earn money herself was undoubtedly a very happy and proud thing for Fan Baobao.

"It's not a scam. Our department head and advisor personally accompanied that CEO Zheng to the dormitory to select people. Even the principal was alerted," Fan Baobao said vividly, describing the situation. Of course, she mainly emphasized how outstanding she was and how CEO Zheng had an eye for talent, choosing the pure-hearted, naturally beautiful Miss Fan from among the many mediocre beauties.

To this, Zhao Fusheng indicated that although he wasn't there, he could be sure it wasn't as exaggerated as she said—that CEO Zheng begged her to shoot the ad and her roommates were all full of admiration.

From his understanding of Zheng Yao, even if he had specifically mentioned Fan Baobao as the lead actress, Zheng Yao would at most drop a business card and then turn and leave. That woman seemed born for business—decisive and never dragging things out.

Of course, in a sense, this was a good thing. Such a collaborator was exactly what Zhao Fusheng needed. If he had to manage everything himself, what use would he have for her?

"Hey, hey, hey, Fusheng, with such great news about Baobao, why don't you say something?" At this moment, Zhao's mother tapped the table. Her future "daughter-in-law" had good news, but her son sat there like a log; even she was anxious for Zhao Fusheng.

Zhao Fusheng snapped back to reality, put on a smile, and said to Fan Baobao, "Congratulations, congratulations."

But anyone could see that his tone was quite perfunctory.

The elders exchanged glances, thinking the young couple was having a tiff. They blinked, made excuses to leave, and soon only Zhao Fusheng and Fan Baobao were left in the room. Even Fan Beibei was taken downstairs by Zhao's father on the pretext of playing horsie.

Seeing that the elders had left, Fan Baobao let out a long sigh and said to Zhao Fusheng, "Thank you for not exposing me."

"Oh?" Zhao Fusheng raised an eyebrow, puzzled.

"You're an advertising major, so you must know that for a newcomer like me, getting a fee of a few hundred or a thousand is already good," Fan Baobao said, having lost her earlier smugness, with a bitter expression. "I said all that just to make Uncle, Auntie, and my mom feel a bit better."

Zhao Fusheng laughed and waved his hand: "It's okay. Things will get better."

"Hopefully," Fan Baobao said, her spirits low. She looked up at Zhao Fusheng and asked, "Hey, I plan to work during the summer break. What about you?"

She was well aware of the family's situation. When school started in September next year, the tuition would definitely have to be covered by Zhao's parents. Fan Baobao was an independent person; she figured she could earn whatever she could during the summer.

Zhao Fusheng understood her meaning after a moment's thought and said with a smile, "I plan to work too. I'll just stay at school."

He was telling the truth. He had already planned out the summer break: a month and a half would be enough for him to earn his first pot of gold.

Incidentally, Zhao Fusheng also felt it would be better to keep some distance from Fan Baobao.