Chapter 0884: Enemies on a Narrow Road

Sometimes, a person's premonition is inexplicably accurate.

When Zhao Fusheng saw Jiang Wen off, he joked that people always meet again, and that they might run into Ma Dajun sooner or later. Sure enough, within a week, they did run into Ma Dajun.

The dinner was organized by Zhao Baogang, with a small group including Ye Jing, Yu Feihong, Jiang Wen, Zhao Fusheng, and a few others who had collaborated with him.

As they were eating, Zhao Baogang took a phone call. He stepped out for a moment, and when he returned, his expression was slightly awkward.

"What's wrong?" Yu Feihong noticed Zhao Baogang's troubled look and asked curiously.

"Well, Ma Dajun and his group are eating nearby. Should we go over?" Zhao Baogang glanced at Jiang Wen and Zhao Fusheng before answering Yu Feihong.

Zhao Fusheng and Jiang Wen were both taken aback. They exchanged a glance and frowned simultaneously.

Regarding the matter of *The Quest*, Zhao Fusheng and Jiang Wen hadn't mentioned it to Ye Jing and Yu Feihong. They only said that China Film Group had also received Lu Chuan's script, was very interested in the film, and planned to invest and produce it independently.

A man's reputation is like a tree's shadow. With China Film Group involved, Ye Jing and Yu Feihong didn't think much of it and naturally agreed to Jiang Wen's request to withdraw investment.

No one expected that Ma Dajun was involved in this.

"Is that so? Then let's go over too," Ye Jing said with a smile, not giving it much thought.

Zhao Fusheng remained silent, but Jiang Wen smiled and said, "Forget it, we're already halfway through our meal. No need."

"Hmm?"

Ye Jing was startled and looked at Jiang Wen suspiciously.

Hearing Jiang Wen's words, Zhao Baogang smiled and nodded. "Yeah, let's just eat our own meal."

Once upon a time, Zhao Baogang was an actor, but among the cast, he was neither handsome nor ugly. Even if you threw him into a crowd of extras, you couldn't pick him out at a glance. However, after becoming a director, he acquired a kind of incomprehensible confidence, built up by a string of golden招牌 TV dramas like *Stories from the Editorial Board*, *Addicted to Love*, *Never Close the Eye*, and *As Misty as Rain, as Windy as Wind*. So although Zhao Baogang wasn't particularly good-looking, his eyes seemed to strip away the world's glamour and see straight into people's hearts.

Just now, when Ma Dajun called him, he had been very enthusiastic in inviting Zhao Baogang over. But upon hearing that Jiang Wen and Zhao Fusheng were also there, he immediately hesitated. Zhao Baogang sensed something was off right away.

However, being worldly-wise, he didn't ask too many questions. If Yu Feihong hadn't brought it up, he wouldn't even have told her about Ma Dajun's invitation to their group.

The ancients long said: "Great evil appears loyal; great deceit appears true." Many people who seem successful on the surface are masters of playing along, saying different things to different people, because in their eyes, only goals and interests matter; conscience and bottom lines have long been cast aside.

In real life, people who can ingratiate themselves with both sides are everywhere, and even more so in the entertainment industry. Because there are more fame and fortune involved, and greater interests at stake, so the means are also more numerous.

Thus, Zhao Baogang's consistent approach was to play it safe.

After all, he never got involved in the film industry, focusing solely on his own TV dramas, so he didn't have to worry about conflicts of interest with those in the film circle.

But even so, Zhao Baogang was somewhat wary of Ma Dajun. As one of the big shots in the Beijing circle, Zhao Baogang knew very well how Ma Dajun had risen to prominence.

After graduating from high school, Ma Dajun joined the military art troupe as a stage designer. After being discharged, he worked as a cultural and sports officer at the Capital Urban Construction and Development Corporation.

It was at this time that he met his first benefactor in life, Zheng Xiaolong. Back then, Zheng Xiaolong's TV dramas *Aspirations* and *A Native of Beijing in New York* were sweeping the nation.

It's worth noting that at that time, "military compound kids" and "hutong kids" were two distinct circles in the capital. Zheng Xiaolong was born in the General Logistics Department compound, the kind of military compound kid Ma Dajun envied.

At the time, Zheng Xiaolong was in charge of production at the Beijing Television Art Center. Anyone who wanted to enter the center had to go through him. Ma Dajun was very deferential to him, following him around all day. Eventually, he managed to transfer to the TV center as an art designer. But being an art designer was just a fancy title; in reality, he was a gofer. His main tasks were being a script supervisor and production assistant, sometimes helping the art designer, and if extras were needed, he could fill in.

With a face that looked like a Vietnamese officer, he was often mocked and ridiculed, but he didn't mind at all. Through Zheng Xiaolong, he met his second benefactor, Gao Zhenhai. From then on, he began a career of serving Gao Zhenhai hand and foot. "Master Hai" this and "Master Hai" that became Ma Dajun's catchphrase at the time.

Back then, Ma Dajun could recite Gao Zhenhai's novels word for word without missing a single character. Besides imitating Gao Zhenhai, what most drew criticism was Ma Dajun's sycophancy. It was said that later, when someone asked Ma Dajun to evaluate Gao Zhenhai, he summed it up in one sentence: "Lift your head and see the Big Dipper."

In the end, Ma Dajun made a name for himself by adapting Gao Zhenhai's novels, becoming one of the most successful commercial film directors in the country.

Even so, Zhao Baogang still didn't care much for Ma Dajun, because he always felt that the man was too功利.

Although he didn't know what had happened between Jiang Wen, Zhao Fusheng, and Ma Dajun, instinct told Zhao Baogang it couldn't be anything good.

If only Yu Feihong had been sitting here today, the matter might have been glossed over by Jiang Wen and Zhao Baogang. But unfortunately, Ye Jing was also present.

As Gao Zhenhai's childhood friend and a true-blue military compound kid, Ye Jing was someone who wouldn't tolerate any sand in his eyes. Although both Zhao Baogang and Jiang Wen tried to cover it up, he immediately sensed something was wrong.

It was simple: if it were just about avoiding awkwardness between Jiang Wen and Ma Dajun, Zhao Fusheng wouldn't have made that expression, and Jiang Wen wouldn't have needed to exchange glances with Zhao Fusheng.

In other words, Ye Jing knew very well that there was no connection between Zhao Fusheng and Ma Dajun.

But then, Jiang Wen and Zhao Fusheng had exchanged a glance, clearly reaching a consensus.

This made Ye Jing a bit curious.

His gaze swept over Jiang Wen and Zhao Fusheng, and Ye Jing chuckled, saying, "Come on, an invitation is better than a chance encounter. Since they've already asked, let's not refuse. Let's go over and sit for a while. What's the matter, Baogang, is there someone there you don't want to see?"

Zhao Baogang looked helpless. Since Ye Jing had put it that way, he couldn't very well refuse, so he looked at Jiang Wen.

Jiang Wen sighed inwardly. He could only pray that when Ye Jing learned the truth, he wouldn't lose his temper on the spot and embarrass Ma Dajun. Otherwise, this matter would be hard to handle.

Zhao Fusheng, on the other hand, smiled quietly. In his view, the whole thing was getting more and more interesting.