When Song Jianan returned home, she had no appetite for cooking. She bought two steamed buns at the supermarket in the neighborhood. There was also half a pot of chicken soup at home, so she used the chicken soup to make a bowl of instant noodles. She happily ate her fill and then lay on the sofa, not wanting to move at all.
She didn't want to touch the computer anymore, so she watched TV instead. The men and women in the drama were acting out scenes of love, hate, and separation. A spoiled and willful girl sat on the floor and wailed, "I like you, I love you, why can't you love me?"
The man replied, "I'm sorry, I've always loved her. I've liked her for a long time, since I was in junior high school."
Song Jianan chuckled, pulled up a cushion to find a more comfortable position, and suddenly, as if remembering something, picked up her phone and dialed a number, "Mom, are you asleep?"
It seems like Song's mother is watching TV too. "No, your dad just got back from a dinner party. I'm making him some porridge."
"Oh, tell Dad to eat out less often, those places are all high in protein and fat. By the way, Mom, I have a question for you."
"Speak!"
Song Jianan cleared her throat and asked slowly, "Mom, what would you do if I had a boyfriend in high school?"
Without hesitation, Song's mother replied, "What could I do? If you had dared to date back then, I would have broken your legs, kicked you out of the house, and never acknowledged you as my daughter again!"
She was startled. "Oh my god, Mother, you're too cruel!"
"What, do you expect your mom to welcome your early romance with open arms? Nan Nan, are you showing signs of being in a relationship? Are you using early romance to test your mom's reaction? You're so old now, you should make your own decisions about your feelings."
Song Jianan quickly denied it, "I didn't, but today a girl jumped off a building because her teacher found out she was dating and her parents forbade it, so I just felt compelled to say something."
Song's mother was clearly not satisfied with this answer and continued to speculate, "I don't believe it, Nan Nan. Tell me the truth, did you have a crush before? Is your first love coming back to rekindle your old flame? Are you afraid your mother won't approve?"
She was completely speechless. "Mom, have you been watching too many TV dramas? That's not true. I was such an innocent person back then, how could I possibly have a relationship? Okay, I'm not talking to you anymore, bye."
"Hey, wait a minute, I haven't finished yet. Your grandpa's 70th birthday is next week, remember that."
"Okay, I'll hang up now. You guys should go to sleep early."
The dim yellow light spilled across the floor, and the couple on the TV were still entangled in their romance, but she was lost in thought, suddenly bursting out laughing and muttering to herself, "Early love, I had a crush on someone a long time ago, I don't know if that counts as early love."
A familiar yet strange feeling slowly surfaced in her heart. Something she had deliberately forgotten was being brought up again unintentionally. The feeling of wanting to let herself indulge in it while desperately avoiding the details left her feeling somewhat at a loss.
Song Jianan ran to her room, trying to pull a photo from the bottom of a drawer, but the edge of the photo got stuck. Just then, the doorbell rang again at an inopportune moment. Song Jianan was startled; who could it be so late? She quickly ran to open the door, and someone outside shouted, "Sister Nannan, open the door! It's me, Song Rui!"
She quickly opened the door, and a small head peeked in. "No man here, right? Do you have any food?"
Song Jianan coughed lightly, "Song Rui, did you fight with your mother again? You ran away from home in the middle of the night?"
Song Rui smiled ingratiatingly and walked into the house with a generous air. "My mom is too nagging. I can't stand her. You know, I'm a high school girl in the prime of my youth, and I have to be with a menopausal woman every day. My nerves are about to break down."
Song Jianan was immediately speechless. She turned off the TV and then asked seriously, "What's the matter this time?"
“My mom went through my things and looked at my phone messages, then yelled at me. I couldn’t take it and ran away. Sister Nan, how could she do that? If this were in America, I would sue her for violating my privacy.”
She patted the girl's head and said coolly, "Save your breath. This is China. It's not right for your mother to do this, but who didn't go through the same thing back then? What could we do? You expect them to support you?"
"I'll work and earn money; I don't need her to support me!"
"You're so young, yet you've got quite the nerve. Do you think making money through work is easy? I don't know whether to call you brave or naive. But what's with all those messages on your phone? You're just a kid, but your mind is all over the place."
Song Rui pouted, "It's just some random texting between classmates, and also that she saw me saying I like a boy. You know, dating these days isn't considered puppy love, especially since I haven't even started dating yet, and she's already so nervous. There are tons of couples around me, wouldn't she be furious if she saw that?"
“I’m speechless. Kids these days are so complicated,” Song Jianan concluded. “I’m not going to argue with you anymore. I’m going to call your mom and tell her I’ll be staying here tonight. You can get ready and take a shower. I’ll talk to you later.”
She called her uncle's house to tell him that Song Rui would be staying there that night. After comforting her aunt, she went to the room to find Song Rui and found her sitting on the edge of the bed, looking at something. She went over to her, and Song Rui casually said, "Sister Nan Nan, I didn't know you had such a glorious history. By the way, who is this guy? He's really handsome!"
Song Jianan seemed to have never really looked at him seriously. In her memory, he was always the same as she remembered him: handsome, aloof, and gloomy, somewhat unapproachable and unattainable. But in the photo, his eyes and brows were so gentle when he smiled, and the slightly upturned corners of his mouth gave him a gentle and enduring smile, just like every high school student back then, innocent and pure.
She held the photo in her hand, her smile spreading like ripples. "Oh, I was so young back then!"
Song Rui wouldn't give up, shaking her hand, "Tell me who he is, tell me!"
“Su Li,” Song Jianan smiled faintly, “was a very outstanding boy in our school back then, famous throughout the entire school.”
"Oh, a guy like that, if he were in our school now, tons of girls would like him." Song Rui stared intently at the photo. "What a pity, what a pity, born at the wrong time!"
Song Jianan didn't answer. After a while, she slowly stood up, put the photo in the drawer, and said, "Many girls like him, but he only likes one person."
Her voice was very low and soft, almost inaudible except to herself; in fact, she was saying this to herself.
Author's Note: There might be one more update, or there might not be. See you on Sunday.
I've been in a bad mood lately, I don't know why, haha.
Chapter 10
The next morning she got up very early, made breakfast and called Song Rui to wake up. While eating, she realized that she hadn't had a proper talk with Song Rui yet, so she quickly sat up straight and tapped the rim of her bowl with her chopsticks. "Song Rui, I need to have a serious talk with you. Your mother said that you haven't been paying attention to your studies lately and have been spending time with boys."
Song Rui choked on a mouthful of porridge, coughing violently. "What's there to talk about? I don't want to hear those clichés. Sister Jianan, you've been through this before, why do I feel like the generation gap between you and your sister is widening?"
"I'm only doing this for your own good. Never mind, I won't talk to you anymore. I'll just remind you that most relationships these days don't last. You should focus on your studies." Song Jianan thought for a moment and added to make it more convincing, "When you look back on your current relationships in college, you'll definitely think how naive you were back then. How could you have liked someone like that?"
Song Rui glanced at her sideways, her round eyes darting around a couple of times. "Jianan, now when you look back at the person you liked back then, do you think you were so immature? How could you have liked someone like that?"
"I—" Song Jianan was speechless for a moment, unsure whether to answer or not, and could only stare wide-eyed. "That's all I have to say. Whether you listen or not, just come here less often in the future. I have to get you up at 5:30 in the morning. I'm not your mother, I don't have that much perseverance and patience. If you stay overnight again, I'll have to charge you."
Song Rui stuck out her tongue and muttered under her breath, "Oh dear, I hit a nerve. Look at her fierce expression, no wonder nobody wants her."
After Song Rui left, a strong sense of drowsiness washed over her. She wanted to sleep it off, but then she remembered that she had to finish her work today. So she forced herself to stay awake and went to the newspaper office. She took the day's newspaper from the security guard and opened it. Sure enough, last night's report was in the paper. She breathed a long sigh of relief, feeling that she could finally bring her career as a social news reporter to a perfect close.
After a long wait, people gradually arrived at work. Everyone was flipping through today's newspapers; some were disappointed, some were happy. After the morning meeting, she handed over her work to another reporter. At this moment, the director called her over. Song Jianan thought it was because of her work, so she quickly put down what she was doing. Unexpectedly, the director beckoned to a boy typing at the computer desk, "Xiao Song, Zhou Yu is away on a business trip these days. You're his intern. Can you help out for a couple of days?"
She was a little surprised. The newspaper didn't have any internship quotas this year, so why was someone coming in? As she was pondering this, the boy stood up briskly and smiled sweetly, "Hello, Ms. Song, my name is Fang Yanyan. I'm a senior majoring in journalism at a foreign language university. I'm here to intern at the newspaper. Please take care of me."
The serious and methodical manner immediately amused Song Jianan, who quickly explained, "Just call me Sister Jianan. Calling me teacher is too formal. It's not about giving guidance; we're all learning from each other."
As she led Fang Yanyan outside, a sharp-eyed female reporter immediately exclaimed, "Oh my, Song Jianan, that handsome young man—"
Fang Yanyan smiled politely, "Hello teachers, I'm here for an internship in the social section. My name is Fang Yanyan. Please take care of me in the future."
Everyone laughed and started talking. Song Jianan led him to the hotline duty room and gave him instructions. "There are some regulations and basic skills for answering the hotline on the wall. Just take a look. Teacher Fu will be on duty soon. You can learn from him. Hotlines are something that requires practice. The more you do, the better you'll get. I don't know if there will be any live interviews today. If there are, I'll call you over."
Fang Yanyan nodded, "Okay, thank you, Sister Song. I'll take a look at these regulations first."
Song Jianan made a thumbs-up gesture, turned to leave, but then turned back. "Is your name Yan Yan derived from 'Yan Xiao Yan Yan'?"
A hint of surprise and delight flashed in his eyes. "Sister Song, you're amazing! You guessed right!"
She also laughed and said, "Actually, I was quite surprised to see the internship acceptance letter on the director's desk. Keep up the good work!"
Back at her seat, she was immediately surrounded by people asking about Fang Yanyan. "Jianan, didn't our newspaper not recruit any interns this year? How did that guy get in?"
"He must have connections. These days, getting into a TV station or a newspaper requires a really strong backer." Someone interjected. "I bet that guy has quite a background. Director Song Jianan really entrusted you with an important task by putting him under her wing."
She quickly explained, "Actually, it was Zhou Yu who brought him. He's away on a business trip recently. I'm about to go to the entertainment section, so why are you talking nonsense?"
At this moment, the person on duty at the news hotline came over and said, "A citizen just reported that a heating well at the intersection of Changchun Road and Shanghai Road caused poisoning to 5 migrant workers and 2 firefighters who were rescuing them. The director asked Song Jianan to get ready and take someone with you."
She immediately told Fang Yan to get ready, and they took a taxi all the way there. When they arrived at the scene, the police had already cordoned off the area, and the crowd of onlookers had packed the road. Subsequently, reporters from several media outlets, including the provincial television station, People's Radio, News Channel 18, City Express, and Convenience City Daily, also arrived at the scene.
They interviewed those who suffered minor poisoning, firefighters, and eyewitnesses; approached the poisoned migrant workers and firefighters to understand the cause and effect of the incident; gathered detailed information from eyewitnesses; and even had to compete with other media reporters for the same story. Later, paramedics arrived and took the poisoned individuals to a nearby hospital. They rushed to the hospital and conducted interviews in the emergency room, but were refused entry by the busy medical staff when trying to learn about the poisoning from the doctors.
It was past four in the afternoon when Song Jianan returned to the newspaper office. He hadn't even had lunch. As he wrote the first draft, he complained to himself, "Why did they make me interview and publish a fullheadline story? I don't need any brilliant achievements to end my career."
Fang Yanyan was on the phone, interviewing the hospital, relevant departments and the parties involved, and taking notes. Song Jianan revised the manuscript again and again, and then took it to the director for revision. She only breathed a sigh of relief when it was sent to the editor-in-chief's office. By then it was already past six o'clock in the afternoon.
She then realized that her stomach was cramping from hunger. She pulled out two packs of biscuits from under her desk, handed one to Fang Yanyan, and said weakly, "You must be exhausted on your first day. Eat something and treat yourself to a good meal tonight."
Fang Yan replied, "Yes, I didn't expect the first day to be so exciting. It really challenged my abilities."
“You’ll encounter many more things here during your internship, not just work-related ones, but also interpersonal ones. To be a good journalist, you need to constantly explore.” Song Jianan thought for a moment and then realized she was being presumptuous, so she quickly changed her tune, “You did very well today, keep up the good work tomorrow.”
Fang Yanyan said seriously, "Actually, I really like being a reporter because my cousin is also a very good host, and my cousin is even more outstanding. But I'm afraid I won't do well. You know, when you have people in your family who are comparable to you, you always feel pressured."
Song Jianan nodded. "I understand. My little cousin is constantly being compared to me by her mother. The first thing she says when we meet is always, 'I hate you, I don't want to talk to you.' But everyone has their own ambitions. As long as I do my best and have a clear conscience, that's all that matters."
Just then, the phone rang, and Zeng Shuyi's voice came through, "Song Jianan, why aren't you here yet?"
She was completely confused. "Where to? What's wrong?"
"Oh my god, did you even see the message I sent you? Xiaoyi is here on a business trip tonight, and we all went out to eat together. I waited and waited, but you never showed up. Turns out you didn't receive my message at all."
Song Jianan jumped up immediately, "I know, I'll be right there, wait for me."
After hanging up the phone, she said to Fang Yanyan, "It's all right now, you can go back. Aren't you leaving?"
He smiled and said, "It's okay, I'm not leaving yet. My cousin is coming to pick me up for dinner, so it will probably be a while. Sister Song, you can go ahead if you have something to do."
She nodded. "Okay, I'll be going now."
When we arrived at the restaurant, we were all good friends from university, all media and news workers. Except for Song Jianan, they were mostly from the finance and entertainment fields, and their temperament and style were completely different.
When they saw Song Jianan, they teased her, "The one who's into the underworld has arrived, let's start with a segment from Eastern Time and Space."
Song Jianan was both amused and exasperated. The "Oriental Horizon" segment was a joke she'd made back in school. She'd aspired to cover social news, and they'd done a mock "Oriental Horizon" segment. As both reporter and anchor, she'd set her alarm clock and phone to the theme song to get into character. Then, during one of the on-site interviews, her phone rang, and someone immediately shouted, "CCTV is here! Everyone, get in the shot!" This left her and her colleagues both laughing and crying.
She sat down and said, "No, not Oriental Horizon. I don't have the energy to argue with you. I had a live interview today and I'm exhausted. I didn't even have lunch. Could you please let me eat first?"
The others understood, "Eat quickly, the social section works the hardest."
She didn't care about her image and ate the ribs heartily. Zeng Shuyi looked at her outfit and said, "Jianan, we're going to be in the entertainment section soon. This outfit won't do."
She nodded, a rib in her mouth, "I know, but there's no other way. I bring two pairs of shoes to work every day, one for sitting in the office and one for running the news, otherwise my legs would definitely be crippled."
Others echoed this sentiment, saying, "It'll be over soon, it'll be over soon too, and the entertainment section will have a much easier time."
After dinner, they went to a nearby bar. For some reason, the women got into a playful mood and started playing Truth or Dare. Song Jianan was getting a little tired of it, and Zeng Shuyi quietly told her, "Actually, it's all a pretense. It's just a game to pick up men. Look, there are a few good-looking men over there."