Chapter 0704: Glib Tongue

"But according to what you said, wouldn't that mean there's no seriousness in art?" After a long while, Fan Baobao raised her head and asked Zhao Fusheng.

Clearly, she had been pondering for a long time, thinking about what Zhao Fusheng had just said.

After all, for someone who had always firmly believed that being an actress was about dedicating herself to art, Zhao Fusheng's words were like a direct reshaping of her worldview.

Having one's worldview shattered is undoubtedly a huge blow for an actor.

Zhao Fusheng chuckled softly and patted her head: "Silly girl, art comes from life; it's not serious by nature."

Fan Baobao remained silent. She had heard that saying before, countless times, but hearing it from Zhao Fusheng now gave her a strange feeling.

Seeing her reaction, Zhao Fusheng sighed quietly. Some words and some things cannot be brought into the light, because doing so would easily make everyone lose faith in life.

That's why, most of the time, the term 'whitewashing peace' exists.

Of course, men and women are different, or rather, men's understanding of women is always a little off.

For instance, Zhao Fusheng couldn't understand why Fan Baobao, who had been dejected just moments ago, immediately perked up and became lively the moment she entered the mall, bustling from counter to counter without any trace of her earlier disappointment.

"Hey, buddy, got a light?"

At that moment, a middle-aged man waiting at the entrance like Zhao Fusheng suddenly asked him with a smile.

Zhao Fusheng glanced at him and shook his head: "Sorry, I don't smoke."

"Oh, okay." The man smiled wryly and was about to leave when Zhao Fusheng pointed to a sign nearby: "It seems smoking isn't allowed here."

"Ah?" The man, clearly a heavy smoker, smiled bitterly and shook his head helplessly: "Forget it, I won't smoke."

Zhao Fusheng nodded with a smile. He actually understood the feelings of such heavy smokers. It wasn't that they didn't know smoking was harmful to health—after all, no one was stupid—but when something becomes a habit in life, it's not so easy to control.

The same goes for habits in life, and for people as well.

When you're used to having someone by your side, and suddenly they're gone, the sense of loss is indescribable.

"With your girlfriend?" Unable to smoke, a long-time smoker feels as uncomfortable as if a cat is scratching at his heart. The idle middle-aged man decided to chat with Zhao Fusheng.

"Yeah, you? With your wife?" Zhao Fusheng replied with a smile, having nothing better to do.

"Exactly. Women, they just love shopping. They might not buy much, but they have to take their time choosing." The middle-aged man looked constipated, as if deeply afflicted, and said with a bitter smile: "You're not married yet; you don't understand our suffering."

Zhao Fusheng looked a bit awkward and shook his head helplessly.

He couldn't exactly tell the middle-aged man that he actually understood very well, since in his previous life, even though the marital relationship wasn't good, he had been a married man.

Fortunately, at that moment, Fan Baobao came out, rescuing Zhao Fusheng. He nodded to the middle-aged man and quickly pulled Fan Baobao away, leaving her a bit bewildered.

"What's wrong? Do you know him?" Fan Baobao asked curiously.

"No, just met him at the entrance. Uh, a bit too friendly." Zhao Fusheng shrugged with a smile.

"You're amazing." Fan Baobao said admiringly. Zhao Fusheng had this knack for getting along with people, whether he knew them or not, and could always become familiar with them in the shortest time.

Or more accurately, he had a harmless aura that made people unconsciously let down their guard and get close to him.

Anyway, Fan Baobao knew she could never learn that skill.

"Come on, let's go to the next store." Fan Baobao waved her hand and headed toward her next target.

…

…

The whole day, Zhao Fusheng accompanied Fan Baobao as she wandered through various malls in downtown Ninghai. They didn't buy much; she mainly just browsed and picked things out.

In Fan Baobao's own words, shopping's main purpose isn't to buy things, but to experience the joy of purchasing items.

Zhao Fusheng really didn't understand what joy there was in the process of spending money.

But he knew very well that he could ponder this question in his mind and complain internally, but he must never say it out loud. Once spoken, even someone with Fan Baobao's temper would fall out with him.

Are you kidding? For women, shopping is a hobby they simply can't give up.

Second only to beauty treatments.

"Tired?" Sitting in an ice cream parlor, Fan Baobao asked Zhao Fusheng happily.

Zhao Fusheng chuckled and shook his head: "No, I'm fine. As long as you're happy."

He wasn't stupid. He had already gone through ninety-nine steps; he wasn't going to stumble on the last one. Since he was accompanying her shopping, he might as well make her happy. If he put on a displeased face now, all the day's efforts would be wasted.

"Smart move." Fan Baobao snorted and shot him a glare.

Who told him to torment her so much last night, saying things like 'separation makes the heart grow fonder'? Just thinking about it made Fan Baobao want to knock a hole in Zhao Fusheng's head. That bastard, her mouth was still numb in the morning.

To punish him, Fan Baobao deliberately made the shopping trip last so long today.

"By the way, how about going to see a movie in a few days?" Zhao Fusheng suddenly remembered something and said to Fan Baobao.

Fan Baobao rolled her eyes: "No, I'm not the lead actress. What's the point?"

Of course, she knew what Zhao Fusheng meant—it was about that movie "Good Dream One-Day Tour." But the problem was, although she had quite a few scenes, most were as an extra without even a single line. What was there to see?

Zhao Fusheng shook his head: "You don't understand. Actually, I think even an extra can show improvement in acting. At the very least, don't you think you've improved a lot compared to before, back in school?"

Fan Baobao was taken aback and didn't say anything.

Because she knew very well that what Zhao Fusheng said was true.

According to what her teacher had told her back in school, to play a role well, you first need to understand the role.

But after joining the crew and interacting more with Yu Feihong and Jiang Wen, Fan Baobao heard another perspective from Yu Feihong.

Understanding a role isn't simply about reading the script or writing a character biography; that's just a means, not true understanding.

In a sense, an actor performing a role generally goes through three stages.

The first stage is performing what you yourself understand, no matter what. The second stage is performing what the audience expects. The final stage is being what the character should be in the storyline.

For example, most new actors are at the first stage, like those so-called popular young actors and actresses later on. Their performances—well, let's just assume they actually read the script and understood the role.

As for the second stage, many big-name actors have achieved it, such as Andy Lau, Jackie Chan, and even Tony Leung.

As for the hardest stage, Tony Leung Ka-fai seems to have touched that threshold. At least in the later "The Taking of Tiger Mountain," he truly made people forget his own identity.

As for Fan Baobao now, she's at most at the entry level of the first stage.

Yu Feihong and Jiang Wen have probably touched the threshold of the second stage.

"See, I was right, wasn't I?" Seeing Fan Baobao silent, Zhao Fusheng smiled and asked.

Fan Baobao snorted, too lazy to bother with him. She had figured it out: Zhao Fusheng was doing it on purpose, deliberately retaliating against her for making him shop all day.

"You always bully me." Seeing Zhao Fusheng still smiling, she glared at him.

Zhao Fusheng shrugged innocently: "Don't say that. Do you know the difference between being educated and uneducated?"

"Huh?" Fan Baobao was puzzled, not knowing what he meant by that.

Sighing, Zhao Fusheng said teasingly: "At least when it comes to parting, you should think of 'Within the four seas, we are all brothers; at the end of the world, we are like neighbors,' not 'Mantis shrimp, let's go, find a boyfriend...'"

Fan Baobao burst out laughing at his words. He always had so many witty remarks that she couldn't help but laugh.

"Alright, stop laughing. Let's go home." Seeing Fan Baobao in a good mood, Zhao Fusheng said to her.

Fan Baobao nodded, thought for a moment, and said: "Let's go back to the school area first. If my mom sees I bought so much stuff, she'll definitely scold me."

Thinking of her mother's temper, Fan Baobao couldn't help but stick out her tongue.

Zhao Fusheng laughed heartily. He knew Li Yuan's temper well; just as Fan Baobao said, if she found out her daughter had shopped all day and bought so many things, she would definitely give her eldest daughter a good talking-to.

Not to mention Li Yuan, even his own mother was the same.

The older generation had lived through hard times. Although the family wasn't short of money now, their consumption habits remained in the past. Unless there was something necessary to buy, they wouldn't go shopping for no reason.

"Alright, let's go back and drop off the stuff first." Zhao Fusheng nodded with a smile.

The two of them carried the bags together and took a car back to the villa.

After putting the things away, Zhao Fusheng said to Fan Baobao as they walked: "After school starts, find some time to get your driver's license."

"Ah, okay." Fan Baobao was startled, but although she found it a bit strange, she nodded in agreement. She didn't know why, but since it was Zhao Fusheng's idea, she would just do it; after all, he wouldn't harm her.