Chapter 0604: Journey Under the Midnight Sun

Looking at Mu Qingwan, Wang Zhonglei suddenly felt that liking a woman like her, a mere vase, brought him no joy at all.

She had a good-looking exterior, but no brains.

No, to be precise, Mu Qingwan wasn't without brains; rather, her brains weren't enough.

In her view, what she had done back then was wrong, but since she had already apologized to Zhao Fusheng, why couldn't he forgive her?

Many people have this habit: if they do something wrong, a simple 'sorry' means others must forgive them.

Heh.

They never considered that if Zhao Fusheng himself hadn't been strong enough, if Wang Jinghua and Chen Dao hadn't stepped in, what price would Li Jian have paid?

Perhaps his singing career would have been completely destroyed by this blacklisting.

Recklessly targeting others, then brushing it off with an apology after losing to an opponent—that's the habit of most of us.

Just like those media reporters and even later netizens, who never bother to investigate the truth of matters, but based solely on their own preferences, recklessly express their opinions, even insult others, and afterward end it all with a 'sorry.'

How tragic is that?

It is said that gossip is a fearsome thing, but what is truly fearsome is not gossip, but the human heart. Especially those hearts that have gone bad.

Zhao Fusheng didn't know how Wang Zhonglei would handle this matter. In his view, as far as he was concerned, the matter was over. Li Jian had suffered no loss, and neither had he. Wang Zhonglei was willing to settle the matter at the cost of owing him a favor—for Zhao Fusheng, that was an acceptable price.

Zhao Fusheng had never felt any bond between himself and Mu Qingqing, so naturally he didn't mind using this matter to gain something satisfactory.

After this, Wang Zhonglei would get what he wanted, and Zhao Fusheng would get what he wanted—a win-win for everyone.

Sitting in the car, Zhao Fusheng returned home. Just as he was about to take a shower, his phone rang.

He glanced at the number and frowned, feeling a bit puzzled.

Because the number was an unfamiliar landline, and it was from Ninghai.

The phone kept ringing persistently. Zhao Fusheng thought for a moment, then pressed the answer button: "Hello."

"Old Zhao, it's me."

A somewhat familiar voice sounded in the receiver, causing Zhao Fusheng's brows to knit together instantly.

It was Wang Zhen!

"This is..." Zhao Fusheng asked, puzzled.

"This is the detention center's phone. I begged the guard for a long time just to get a chance to call you." Wang Zhen's voice came through, tinged with exhaustion from beginning to end.

It was clear that he had been having a hard time recently.

"What's wrong? What happened?" Zhao Fusheng was startled, then quickly asked.

He thought Wang Zhen had gotten into trouble at the detention center, which was why he was calling him.

"It's nothing. I just wanted to say I'm sorry. About my parents, I'm really sorry." Wang Zhen said with a bitter smile.

He had heard some things from his parents and thought for a long time before deciding to make this call to Zhao Fusheng.

"I never blamed you. Without you, my life might have stayed dull. I wouldn't have been with Chenxi, wouldn't have changed later, and wouldn't have realized that this world is more wonderful than I imagined..."

Wang Zhen spoke unhurriedly, and it was clear he was truly sorry. He hadn't expected his parents to say such resentful things about Zhao Fusheng to Tan Kaixuan.

Zhao Fusheng sighed. He understood that he had to untie Wang Zhen's knot of guilt, or else this guilt might one day turn into resentment and hatred.

People are strange creatures, easily controlled by certain thoughts. At first, they might feel guilt and remorse, but over time, they dare not see the person who makes them feel guilty and uncomfortable, and even fear hearing their voice or news. If time passes and they can't forget, that guilt turns into dissatisfaction, into thoughts of how their life might have been without that person. And if even more time goes by, they might develop some bad intentions, because only by doing so can they completely release the deep-seated oppression in their hearts.

If someone wrongs you once and apologizes, you must be careful, because that person might wrong you a second time. Since they've already wronged you once, they won't mind doing it again.

It's like committing a crime: since you've already made one mistake, making another doesn't matter much.

This reasoning might be somewhat biased, but it makes a lot of sense.

Zhao Fusheng listened to Wang Zhen's words and finally sighed, saying seriously, "Old Wang, I never blamed you. You don't need to apologize at all. No matter what, we are friends, lifelong friends."

Wang Zhen was silent. After a long while, a sob came through the receiver...

Even after hanging up, Zhao Fusheng's mood was heavy. He knew that even if Wang Zhen wasn't completely ruined, everything would be different once he got out of prison.

The phrase "things are still the same, but people are no longer the same"—only those who have experienced it can understand how heavy its meaning is.

This mood lingered over Zhao Fusheng, and even when Fan Baobao returned, it didn't improve much.

"What's wrong with you?" Noticing Zhao Fusheng's bad mood, Fan Baobao asked curiously.

There was no helping it; they had known each other for too long. Having grown up together day and night, Fan Baobao knew exactly what Zhao Fusheng looked like when he was happy and when he was unhappy. Right now, Zhao Fusheng was clearly very unhappy.

"Nothing, just some small matters." Zhao Fusheng looked up and forced an ugly smile.

"Don't lie to me. Don't I know you?" Fan Baobao glared at him, reached out, and pinched his cheek. "All your unhappiness is written all over your face."

"Really? Is it that obvious?" Zhao Fusheng said in mock surprise.

"Very obvious!" Fan Baobao nodded emphatically.

Zhao Fusheng felt a bit awkward, sighed, and said nothing.

He really didn't want his troubles to affect Fan Baobao.

Perhaps this is true for all of us: we want our loved ones to share our unhappiness, but we don't easily tell them about our own troubles, because we all think happy things should be shared with loved ones, while unhappy things are best borne alone.

That's probably what love is.

"If you don't mind, tell me about it." Fan Baobao sat down beside Zhao Fusheng, leaned on his shoulder, and suddenly spoke.

Zhao Fusheng was startled, then heard Fan Baobao say, "No matter what you think, we are family. If you have any unhappiness, instead of bottling it up alone, tell me. At least I can be your listener."

Hearing this, Zhao Fusheng felt for the first time that Fan Baobao had matured.