Chapter 0679: The Literary Youth

Communicating with a literary-minded young man is exhausting; with a literary-minded young woman, it's even more so.

Having finally left that nerve-wracking broken boat, Zhao Fusheng was nearly drained by the time he returned to the hotel.

Originally, according to Lou Ye's idea, the crew could just find a cheap inn near the old city of Shanghai to rough it. He was always used to being thrifty like that, after all, most of the films he'd made before had never been released, barely breaking even by selling distribution rights.

In short, Old Lou was a man used to poverty.

But Zhao Fusheng wouldn't have it. Since his rebirth, he'd adhered to the principle of never making things hard on himself, never going without food. He'd never skimped on food or lodging.

If he'd inexplicably come to be a producer only to suffer hardship, Zhao Fusheng would never agree to it, even if it killed him.

So Zhao Fusheng waved his hand and settled the dozen or so crew members into a decent hotel.

It wasn't a star-rated hotel, but at least it had breakfast and hot water.

As for himself, he took a single room.

Of course, Zhao Fusheng said his room wouldn't count as crew expenses; he'd pay for it himself.

This move made Zhao Fusheng a good guy in the crew's eyes. After all, no one was stupid, and no one was born to suffer. With someone like Zhao Fusheng taking the lead, everyone was happy to take it easy.

“I heard you threw up today?” Zhou Xun appeared out of nowhere, sidling up to Zhao Fusheng with a grin.

At this time, she didn't yet have the immense aura she'd later possess; she was more like an elf fallen from heaven, delicate and adorable.

Zhao Fusheng chuckled: “What, are you here to gloat, Zhou Gongzi?”

After learning that no one called Zhou Xun “Zhou Gongzi,” Zhao Fusheng was the first to use the nickname. Though Zhou Xun found it a bit odd, she didn't dislike it, so she let him be.

The reason he did this was mostly out of that mindset of being the only one in the world who knew, while everyone else was clueless.

The guy had always been this boring.

“I'm not gloating, I'm just looking, yeah, just looking.” Zhou Xun pursed her lips, but the irrepressible smile at the corners of her mouth betrayed her mood.

Zhao Fusheng couldn't be bothered to critique her acting; it was just too insincere.

“Acting like this, you'll have no friends.” Zhao Fusheng shot Zhou Xun a glare.

Strangely enough, the bond between people was so奇妙. Though they'd only known each other a few days and met only a few times, both Zhou Xun and Zhao Fusheng had a good impression of each other.

In Zhou Xun's words, Zhao Fusheng was especially compatible with her.

She had always been the kind of person who followed her whims; otherwise, she wouldn't later have dated a random rock singer and then decisively broken up.

That rock singer would be highly revered a decade later, but in Zhao Fusheng's eyes, he was just a literary youth.

Speaking of it, the creature known as the literary youth is really just propped up by others. If you made them go hungry, with no time or mood for affectation, see if they could still be literary.

But unfortunately, most people can't see through this. They think it's stylish and revere it, so a film that vindicates a rock star can rake in high box office, and a bunch of nonsensical lines with self-righteous plots can resonate with countless exes and current partners.

Come on, being a drifter in Beijing is tough, but two drifting youths with dreams living a hard life in Beijing, getting together but not sticking it out, ending in a breakup—Zhao Fusheng genuinely felt this plot was so old. He'd seen similar stories a thousand times if not a hundred. He really didn't understand where those resonating people came from.

Besides, a successful man not thinking about being good to his wife and kids, but instead scheming to hook up with an old flame—what's commendable about that?

“Gongzi, if you ever look for a boyfriend, never pick a literary youth.” Zhao Fusheng crouched at the hotel entrance, pale-faced, and said to Zhou Xun.

“Why?” Zhou Gongzi was a bit baffled, a flicker of curiosity in her eyes.

Zhao Fusheng chuckled coldly: “Because literary youths are all idiots.”

Holy crap!

Zhou Gongzi was instantly stunned. She'd seen direct people, but never this direct. What had literary youths done to offend him, to be insulted like this?

“Sorry, a bit out of line.” Zhao Fusheng chuckled and shook his head.

Zhou Xun smiled lightly: “It's fine, I'm just curious that you have this side to you.”

All along, in Zhou Xun's impression, Zhao Fusheng was the calm, mature type. Though he was a few years younger than her, Zhao Fusheng seemed more like an adult like Jiang Wen or Lou Ye.

Zhou Xun even occasionally wondered how he came up with all those ideas in his head.

“It's nothing. Everyone has a side they don't show.” Zhao Fusheng said casually, stood up, and walked toward the hotel.

“Tell Old Lou I won't have dinner with you guys tonight. I'm going out to see a friend.”

Zhao Fusheng said to Zhou Xun as he walked.

“Friend?”

Zhou Xun was a bit curious. She remembered Zhao Fusheng saying he had no acquaintances in Shanghai. So where did this friend suddenly come from?

Zhou Xun wasn't some ethereal fairy; she had curiosity too. When she encountered interesting people or things, she longed to uncover the secrets hidden within.

But unfortunately, Zhao Fusheng didn't give her a chance to ask and just left.

…

…

At a restaurant in Xujiahui, Zhao Fusheng looked at the Chen Tianqiao and Chen Danian brothers sitting upright before him, and said helplessly: “Come on, Messrs. Chen, is it necessary to be so tense? I'm not some bad guy.”

Chen Tianqiao chuckled but didn't say a word.

His brother was even worse, sneering. He glanced at his brother and, seeing that he didn't speak, kept quiet too.

Zhao Fusheng shook his head helplessly: “First, I'm not here to audit the accounts, and I have no interest in doing so. Second, I've said it before: I'm just passing through to shoot a film. As for the company, my attitude is to trust you two completely and not interfere in anything.”

There was no help for it. From the moment they sat down, the Chen brothers had been very serious. Zhao Fusheng didn't understand at first, but then he realized they thought he was pretending to do one thing while secretly doing another, aiming to make a move on Shengda Company.

Upon learning this, Zhao Fusheng was stunned, almost wanting to cut open their heads to see what was inside—whether it was mush or some damn thing.

To have such a wild imagination, they must have watched too many business war dramas.