Chapter 3

Chapter 3

When Shu Yao was at work the next day, she remembered that the person who inexplicably sent her a period message last night did not reply to her.

Impolite.

But there were too many unfamiliar people in her circle of friends, so she didn't take it seriously and hurried into the meeting room with her notebook.

The reporter department of Bowen Art Network is distributed in several cities including the Imperial Capital and Fuchuan, so the weekly regular meetings are all video conferences chaired by the editor-in-chief at the Imperial Capital headquarters.

Assistant Zhou Yue has only been here for a few months, and every time before a meeting, he looks nervous and dejected.

She held a thermos cup in both hands, her chin resting on the lid, and muttered, "Sister Yaoyao, how do you manage to stay so calm every time?"

Shu Yao turned the page in his notebook and said nonchalantly, "Just let it go in one ear and out the other."

Zhou Yue: “…”

Shu Yao glanced at her and saw that she only brought a notebook and no pen, so she took one out of her bag and gave it to her: "You're just an assistant, you won't be scolded, what are you worried about?"

"Thank you." Zhou Yue took it with a smile and explained, "I'm not... worried. It's just that I feel heartbroken when you get scolded."

"It's okay. The editor-in-chief is just straightforward. In fact, after scolding her, she won't take it to heart."

"That's good."

"Yaoyao," Lin Ruiyang suddenly interrupted them from across the table. Shu Yao looked up. Although he looked concerned, he couldn't hide the smugness in his eyes. "I read your manuscript last week. It's really well written. Sometimes I really don't understand the public's preferences. Such a good manuscript has such a low readership. Is your topic too unpopular?"

Although Lin Ruiyang is her senior, he has disliked her for a long time and is often sarcastic. Shu Yao knows it all, but because they see each other every day, she basically doesn't bother to pay attention to him.

She nodded, very modestly: "It's indeed unpopular."

"You're relatively inexperienced. After working for a few more years and building up your network, you'll have more options for choosing topics. The editor-in-chief should understand."

She continued to nod: "Indeed, I have little experience."

“…” Lin Ruiyang raised his hand and rubbed his nose. He found it boring and stopped talking.

In the silent conference room, the only sound was the rustling of writing.

The screen just switched to Fuchuan Distribution, and the editor-in-chief in the corner of the screen lowered his head and flipped through the documents without even raising his head.

"Lin Ruiyang, what do you think of your article last week?"

Lin Ruiyang immediately straightened his posture. "Last week, I contacted Mr. Zhong, a well-known mural restorer, for an exclusive interview. After the article was pushed on the website and WeChat official account, the effect was quite good. The WeChat official account has been read over 30,000 times, and the website has also received over 20,000 hits."

"Not bad?" The editor-in-chief sneered and suddenly slammed the table.

Zhou Yue was so frightened that her whole body trembled. The pen in her hand fell to the ground and rolled to Lin Ruiyang's side, where he picked it up.

Zhou Yue reached out to take it and lowered his head silently.

Shu Yao glanced at it and then focused his attention on the big screen.

"Last week, I was on a business trip. Thinking you were a seasoned journalist with plenty of experience, I didn't read your manuscript carefully. And what happened? I don't understand. How can someone in this day and age still ask such idiotic questions as 'How do you balance work and family?' or 'Do you miss your husband?' Is it really that important? Do you think she left her hometown for over a decade just to live somewhere else and miss her husband?"

"Because she and her husband were separated for over a decade due to geographical constraints in order to restore the murals, I think readers would be curious about these things," Lin Ruiyang said, before stopping. "The data from our interviews also proves that the public is indeed interested in this."

"I could ask a middle school student these questions. You've been doing this for so many years, and yet you can only ask questions like these when facing a big shot with so much life experience he could write a book. Lin Ruiyang, what exactly have you learned in these years?"

The editor-in-chief was full of vigor, and his questions one after another made everyone in the conference room hold their breath.

"Go take a look at Shu Yao's interviews from a few weeks ago. He joined the company later than you, but the interviews he wrote are infinitely more valuable than yours. You should learn from him. If you can only ask questions like this in your next interview, I don't think you can even consider the position of branch editor."

Lin Ruiyang thought he would only be praised, but he didn't expect to be scolded. He lowered his head in embarrassment and said, "Okay."

"So what have you been thinking lately?"

"In addition to the topic I decided on last week, the Craftsmanship exhibition at the Red Art Museum will open this Sunday. According to the exhibition catalog, Jiang An's work is among them. I plan to keep an eye on it to see if I can arrange his first solo interview. Although this artist is still a novice, he is Professor Li Jiahuan's last disciple and has great potential."

"Jiang An? I've heard of him." The editor-in-chief was clearly quite interested. He twirled the pen in his right hand twice, leaned back, and seemed lost in thought. "But I don't remember him ever appearing in public. Jiang An isn't even his real name. Judging by this trend, he probably won't be showing up at the exhibition. Can you contact him?"

"I have a good relationship with the curator of this exhibition, so I should be able to ask for help in getting in touch with him, but it might take some time."

"Okay, let's proceed step by step. This topic is approved." The editor-in-chief flipped through the materials in his hand. "Shu Yao, I don't have much to say about your manuscript. I just think the topic could be a little more down-to-earth. You have to understand that many of our readers are not so professional."

"Okay." Shu Yao nodded.

"I think the topic that Lin Ruiyang mentioned before, but failed to arrange an interview, is quite good. What game was it?" Seeing that Lin Ruiyang did not respond, the editor-in-chief called him again to urge him.

Lin Ruiyang opened his mouth and said in a low voice, sounding somewhat unwilling: "Treasure Notes."

Shu Yao felt that the name sounded familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had heard it.

Zhou Yue, standing nearby, seemed quite knowledgeable. "I know. I've been playing it recently! It's a card mobile game recently launched by Chuyu Technology. It's said that the first month of public beta sales exceeded 500 million. The game is set in the Jiangnan region, and the protagonists are personified as cultural relics, like the tiger talisman used to mobilize troops. It's usually composed of two halves, so the cards depict a pair of twins in armor."

After saying this, Zhou Yue realized belatedly that he was too excited.

She shrank her neck: "Sorry, I said too much."

"It's okay." The editor-in-chief was unusually kind. "You're right. This game has been very popular recently. I just saw it trending again. Shu Yao, I suggest you check it out as well. Lin Ruiyang didn't get an interview, so you can try harder on your side."

Lin Ruiyang's face looked unhappy and he seemed to be hesitant to speak.

Shu Yao knew what he was concerned about and said bluntly, "Editor-in-Chief, since it was Brother Xiaolin who first picked out the topic, let him do it."

"this……"

"But I will go back and play this game and see if I can find other topics to explore."

"Alright, as I said before, the editor-in-chief for Fuchuan's branch hasn't been decided yet. If you two perform well, we should be able to produce results soon."

Shu Yao and Lin Ruiyang did not respond, but they knew very well that the quality of the manuscripts in the next one or two weeks might directly determine who would get the position.

After the meeting, Lin Ruiyang hurried out of the office with his mobile phone.

Shu Yao downloaded the "Treasure Notes" recommended by the editor-in-chief.

Shu Yao played some card games, which were introduced by Zhao Tiantian, but later she felt that dating really did not attract her, so she quit.

The steps are similar, so it is not difficult for her to figure out the game.

The exquisite pictures and pleasant music quickly brought her into that quaint world, until Zhou Yue tugged at her sleeve.

Shu Yao tilted her head and saw her sighing with relief: "Sister Yaoyao, you really had the foresight to not accept Brother Ruiyang's proposal."

"What's wrong?"

"I heard that last time, Brother Ruiyang went to their company specifically to arrange an interview, but he didn't even get to see the boss. He was rejected by the secretary." Zhou Yue shook his head. "This company is not easy to get into."

Shu Yao pulled his attention back: "It doesn't matter. I think this game itself has a lot of content to write about."

"For example?"

Shu Yao smiled and said, "I haven't thought about it yet. Let's talk about it later."

"Yeah." Zhou Yue looked back at the gate. "Brother Ruiyang's topic selection looks very good this time. You can't lose."

Shu Yao's right hand tapped the screen quickly, and his tone was gentle but firm:

"Let's wait until he submits the manuscript."

Zhou Yue was puzzled, but seeing that she was addicted to the game, he didn't say much and started to organize the exhibition materials on the side.

Shu Yao quickly reached the second volume and was about to complete twenty consecutive draws. Just as he was about to have a good time, a message from Zhao Tiantian suddenly popped up on his phone.

Zhao Tiantian: [What's going on? Didn't you say it was just an encounter? Why are you wearing couple outfits?]

Shu Yao opened the link she shared with confusion.

Clothes search bot: [#What brand of tracksuit is this# User submission: I ran into a very good-looking couple on the subway last night. What brand of tracksuits were they wearing? They look so good!]

It was originally a Weibo post looking for clothing brands, but gradually, everyone's focus shifted.

[Could this be a model hired by the brand to pose for this photo? She's incredibly pretty.]

[Has no one known their identities for all this time? This generation of netizens is unqualified!]

[I think these are two potential influencers again, and the brand is scheming.]

[This is so sweet! Kissing the chin in public!]

…

Shu Yao: “…”

It’s obviously just a matter of angle!

At this moment, she recalled almost all her online surfing experiences over the past ten years, making sure that she had never posted a selfie online, had never quarreled with anyone, and had never done anything illegal or criminal.

Shu Yao simply explained to Zhao Tiantian using the two words "wearing the same clothes".

Zhao Tiantian asked her what she was going to do, as this Weibo post was quite popular.

Shu Yao's first reaction was naturally to find Chen Ye to discuss countermeasures, but when she opened WeChat and looked around, she suddenly became confused. Who was Chen Ye?

Due to work needs, among her 1,086 friends, there are too many acquaintances without any remarks. Although she does not have the habit of deleting friends, seven years have passed and she has changed her phone and has no chat history. Finding him is like looking for a needle in a haystack.

After thinking about it, she could only ask Zhao Tiantian for help: [Do you have Chen Ye’s WeChat? ]

Zhao Tiantian: [No, I'll ask for you.]

Zhao Tiantian has a good relationship with people, so she quickly forwarded her a WeChat business card with the nickname: Later.

Whether it’s the nickname or the Q-version puppy avatar, they both look familiar?

After clicking in:

Oh, no wonder it looks familiar.

Shu Yao scratched his hair and stared at the question "Excuse me, who are you?" in a daze.

I really didn't expect that the situation would change and her turn came in just one night.

Shu Yao felt like he was facing a formidable enemy, and sent him a message with the same mentality as going to the battlefield: [hi~]

She stared at the phone screen intently, and unconsciously turned a pencil in her right hand to relieve her anxiety.

She actually knew very well that no one would believe this rumor even if she clarified it. After all, something like "I wore the same clothes as a high school classmate I hadn't seen for many years on the subway" sounded like a fabrication.

But for Chen Ye, it shouldn't be difficult to delete a Weibo post, right?

While optimistically imagining this, Shen Ye's reply finally popped up on the phone screen -

Later: [Excuse me, who are you?]

Shu Yao: “…”