Chapter Twenty-Five: People's Livelihood Today

"I still remember the first time I met you was here. I really can't understand how I could so easily knock you down." As I arrived at the entrance of the eye hospital, I thought of last year.

"Knowing that wearing contact lenses will cause inflammation, why do you still wear them? Aren't you just asking for trouble?" Chu Zhen's tone was full of reproach.

"How unromantic! We're clearly reminiscing about how we met, and you have to say these jarring things."

"So you were reminiscing. Tell me, did you deliberately bump into me here that day?" Chu Zhen smiled, and I realized that my previous question had been a bit too unreserved.

"You should go see a doctor right away, it hurts so much!" I ignored him and quickened my pace.

"Actually, I can suggest you get laser surgery to say goodbye to nearsightedness completely. For pretty girls like you, wearing glasses really doesn't suit many occasions," the doctor said.

"Please prescribe the medicine for me first. I'm in school now, and glasses are quite convenient. We can talk about surgery later!" The doctor had already given me advice during my last visit, but the surgery would cost around 20,000 yuan. I didn't want my parents to pay for it, so I was thinking of getting treatment myself after I found a job.

"Why not consider laser treatment?" Chu Zhen asked me after I got the medicine.

"Brother, laser surgery costs around 20,000 yuan, and I'm still a poor student!"

"I'll lend it to you!"

"You're really a big spender, but no thanks!"

"Your eyes are beautiful, why do you have to hide them behind your glasses?"

Chu Zhen is right, the reason I wasn't chosen as the school beauty is because I wear glasses.

"I don't want to be too flashy, so it's better to be more low-key. Look, I was being watched yesterday, wasn't I?" I smiled.

"Don't bring up yesterday with me again, or I'll want to hit someone."

“Hitting people is wrong. Violence can’t solve problems. Look at Chen Weiqi, he’s much better than you.”

"Lin Dang, have you taken a liking to Chen Weiqi?" The previously joking conversation suddenly fell silent because of his question.

"Are you drunk or something, talking nonsense? Chen Weiqi is quite good-looking, just as good-looking as you, and he has a good personality too. But he belongs to Huang Yanyan, and I'm not the kind of best friend who would steal someone else's boyfriend."

"What if Huang Yanyan isn't there?" Chu Zhen pressed.

"I don't like people who are too perfect, because it makes me feel inferior."

Yes, I am not a perfect person, and there is no perfect person in this world. But in my eyes, Chen Weiqi is a near-perfect person. Even though he is so indifferent to Huang Yanyan, Yanyan still believes in Chen Weiqi's character. So such a person can only be admired from afar.

"At least you have some self-awareness." Chu Zhen smiled, a smile that seemed to convey smug satisfaction.

I don't know how Chu Zhen knew that Chen Weiqi would take me to school, or where he got the class schedule. Whenever I had class in the morning, he would always be waiting downstairs early to take me to school.

Why don't you drop me off at other times?

"The first class happens to fall during rush hour, and with your crippled leg, you probably won't be able to squeeze past everyone. At other times when you're not busy, you can just walk slowly."

That's just how Chu Zhen is. He's clearly worried about me, but he always says one thing and means another. I slowly got used to it. Even after my leg was completely healed, he still insisted on picking me up and dropping me off. We didn't have any official relationship. We were like friends, no, closer than friends. We should be called best confidants!

"The TV station is recruiting intern reporters for a program. Are you interested?" Chu Zhen asked me in the car that day.

"Sure, what program is it?"

"Do you know 'People's Livelihood Today'?"

"Yes, I know. It's about local current events and everyday family matters."

"Hmm, it seems you pay quite a bit of attention to the shows. Are you interested?"

I'm not interested in shows like this, but I feel uneasy about someone my age still being in school and using their parents' money.

"Okay!" Let's get started no matter what.

“Then you can go there directly tomorrow. I’ll talk to the producer when I get back.” Chu Zhen was always so decisive. The program producer hadn’t even agreed yet, but he had already agreed to my request.

The next day, they arrived at the TV station and found the "Today's Livelihood" program team. As expected of the most popular program among the locals, it was located in the best position in the TV station and had several offices. In comparison, Chu Zhen's office in the corner really looked too shabby.

The producer's name is Song Huai. Because he's older than me, he told me to call him Brother Song, which is fine, unlike Chu Zhen, who makes people call him Teacher.

"Lin Dang, we're recruiting a few intern reporters first to attract talent. That way, when you graduate, our program should be your first choice." Song Huai was a very cheerful person.

"I wouldn't call myself a talent, but I hope Brother Song can give me some guidance in the future."

"Of course! Chu Zhen said you're very outstanding. He told me about your heroic act of going to the gutter oil production site alone. It was really exciting! But, I don't want you to put yourself in danger. It's not that I'm being pessimistic, but you should know that as long as you're alive, you can always find a way to make a comeback. As long as we journalists are here, we can definitely expose those dark events."

"Yes, I understand!"

Song Huai led me to my workstation. This was my first proper day at work, much more formal than sitting across from Chu Zhen.

"Lin Dang, I'm Song Ji-hyo. I'm an intern like you, but I joined the company two days earlier. It's nice to meet you!" As soon as I sat down, the beautiful woman next to me extended a hand of friendship.

"Song Ji-hyo? A Korean star, right?" I smiled. The name really suited the girl in front of me. Although she wasn't as tall as me, she had a gentle and lovely appearance and a bit of a Korean feel to her.

“My original name was Song Xiao, the younger sister of Song Huai. My grandfather gave me this name, ‘Song Xiao’, which means ‘sending filial piety’. After my grandfather passed away, my father changed my name, hoping that I would not only be filial but also wise.”

"Compared to your name, mine seems like it was just picked randomly. My dad's surname is Lin, and before I was even born, he named me Lin Dang, saying it was easy to remember." I was speechless at parents like that. But later I understood that my mother's given name, "Lin," means beautiful jade, and "Dang" also means beautiful jade; it was actually my father's expression of love for my mother. Later still, I learned that Chu Zhen's "Zhen" also had this meaning.

Song Ji-hyo and I are about the same age and both interns, so we naturally became closer. I also got along quite well with the other employees in the department, which made me realize that the workplace wasn't as cutthroat as Huang Yanyan described. However, many things later proved me wrong; Huang Yanyan was right. I was just a workplace newbie, waiting to be taken advantage of.