Chapter 11: The Draft
You Ruxu returned to the station two hours later. A meeting was about to start, and the midday news team was consolidating the information they had gathered. As she entered the meeting room, she heard others discussing, “The focus should still be on Zhang Xiaojie. I suggest leaving a few more people at the hospital, to get a first-hand account when he wakes up.”
“I think Zhang Xiaojie’s relationship with the boss is also worth investigating.”
“Right now, Zhang Xiaojie has the highest search index. I also think the focus should be on him, and his family. We can look for clues there.”
You Ruxu walked in.
The evening news team fell silent. Her previous big news story, the collaboration with CCTV, had embarrassed them. Now, seeing her, they felt awkward. The head of the morning news team said, “Xiao Xu, do you have any important leads?”
You Ruxu said, “I interviewed Zhang Xiaojie’s colleagues, but there haven’t been any major developments so far.”
The head nodded and turned on the projector, displaying real-time search trends and some online comments. Clicking the mouse, she analyzed, “The internet is very developed now, any information can be made public in seconds. For example, what Xiao Xu just mentioned about interviewing colleagues, many colleagues have already come forward with information.”
You Ruxu looked at the screen.
[Zhang Xiaojie is my colleague, he’s not a very good person.]
[Zhang Xiaojie? I know him. He only got into the factory through connections. His relationships are going to be the death of him!]
[Zhang Xiaojie is alright, isn’t he?]
The head said, “These are the ones with high click-through rates and discussion volume. Of course, there are many fake ones, people trying to muddy the waters.”
A reporter raised their hand: “Boss, actually, I think besides Zhang Xiaojie, Chen Mo also has a high search index. This is also good material for a news story. Why don’t we start with Chen Mo?”
Chen Mo’s story was tragic enough and could lead to many discussion points. Starting with his family and his spirit of self-sacrifice would be enough to ignite public interest. The head of the morning news team nodded.
You Ruxu raised her hand. After being acknowledged, she stood up: “I think we should focus on the incident itself, focusing on investigating the explosion, not the individuals.”
Hearing her words, everyone exchanged glances. A few people from the evening news team snickered.
Even if You Ruxu had landed a big news story before, so what? She still couldn’t grasp the key points. Maybe that previous news story was just a fluke.
The head of the morning news team coughed lightly: “Alright then, Team 1 will focus on investigating Zhang Xiaojie, Team 3 will focus on Chen Mo, and Team 2—” She looked at You Ruxu, “Will investigate the explosion itself.”
“All information is to be shared, no withholding, no delays!”
Before You Ruxu even left the meeting room, she heard Chen Xiang say, “It’s over, will the boss be angry?”
Out of the three topics, You Ruxu had again chosen the one with the least potential for discussion. Everyone’s attention was now on Zhang Xiaojie, every news outlet scrambling to dig up every little detail. Only You Ruxu had given up such a hot topic to investigate the incident itself. And the incident itself didn’t need investigating, the police would investigate and clarify the situation.
She said, “Teacher You…”
You Ruxu said, “I’ll talk to the boss.”
She lowered her head and walked out of the meeting room. Before she even reached her office, she received a call from Shi Qi: “What have you done?”
You Ruxu said, “I think we should focus on the explosion itself first.”
“You!” Shi Qi took a deep breath, trying her best not to explode right there in the hospital. She said, “Are you crazy?” She closed her eyes. How could she forget You Ruxu’s stubbornness, never considering the popularity of a topic? She thought that after the last incident, You Ruxu would have learned what the best choice was, but she was still the same.
“Go and report it to me immediately, we’re investigating Zhang Xiaojie!” Shi Qi said. You Ruxu retorted, “If we investigate the truth of the matter, we can naturally investigate Zhang Xiaojie as well.”
“Is that the same?” Shi Qi said, “The results of our investigation, after being shared, will be reported first-hand by the morning news team! What if we get an exclusive interview? Can you bear the consequences?”
You Ruxu said, “I can…”
“You can’t!” Shi Qi said, “You Ruxu! Wake up! Do you know how important exclusive news is to us? Do you know that we have not only hosts, but also so many people behind the scenes? Do you know how much effort everyone puts into a single news story? Do you know that there will be an evaluation at the end of the year, and if we’re always ranked C, how many colleagues we’ll lose? Not just you, but maybe me too!”
You Ruxu listened to her words in silence for a few seconds and said, “I know, I’m not being high-minded. I know what it takes to get an exclusive news story, but that’s not a reason for us to disregard the truth and desperately manufacture hot topics for the sake of popularity.” Her tone was calm. “If we do that, what’s the difference between us and those online marketing accounts that only care about generating buzz?”
She said, “There are many suspicious points in this explosion case. Before the case is clear, what we should do is not look at anyone with prejudice and convict them. That’s not what a reporter should do.”
Shi Qi gripped her phone tightly: “Then what do you think a reporter should do?”
You Ruxu said, “Find out the truth and report it truthfully.”
Shi Qi didn’t speak for a long time. There was noise on the other end of the line. She said, “We’ll talk when we meet.”
You Ruxu remained silent and hung up the phone.
The midday news team had already started focusing on the incident. You Ruxu went to the scene again. Besides the wailing people and the many freelance media personnel and reporters filming, others avoided the place. The fire had been extinguished, but for safety reasons, the warehouse area was still cordoned off. You Ruxu, wearing her press badge, walked in and saw a few police officers questioning people nearby. She stood to the side, and a police officer recognized her: “Reporter You.”
She smiled: “Captain Zhou.”
Captain Zhou said, “The area’s sealed off, you can’t go in.”
You Ruxu said, “I’ll just take a look around here.” She took a few photos of the surrounding area, then looked at Captain Zhou: “Are you going back to the station soon?”
Captain Zhou nodded: “We’ll go back after we’re done here.”
You Ruxu said, “Can I hitch a ride?”
Captain Zhou was a few years older than her, her long hair always tied up in her cap, looking valiant and heroic, her voice strong: “Sure, didn’t drive today?”
You Ruxu said, “My car is parked at the company.”
She had come with Chen Xiang. Chen Xiang wanted to go to the hospital and had given her a ride. You Ruxu had planned to take a taxi to the police station later, and now it just so happened they could go together. On the way, a young police officer sitting in the front turned around and said, “Captain Zhou, it seems to be pretty much the same as what Mr. Zhao said.”
You Ruxu looked at him: “What did Mr. Zhao say?”
Her beauty was dazzling, even without makeup. Her skin was naturally fair, her features well-defined, with a cool demeanor at first glance, but her smiling eyes miraculously melted the coldness. The young police officer blinked when he heard her question. Captain Zhou said, “See, I told you to transfer to our interrogation unit. You don’t even need to interrogate, and they’ll confess everything.”
The young police officer blushed. He turned back around, facing the road ahead.
Captain Zhou said, “Let me make it clear in advance. What I can tell the media, I won’t hide, but what I can’t reveal yet, I won’t say.”
You Ruxu said, “I know.” Her voice was very pleasant. The young police officer, who had turned around, couldn’t see her, but hearing her voice, his face turned even redder. He scratched his neck, which was also burning hot.
Captain Zhou looked at the young man in front, shaking her head in exasperation. But fortunately, he hadn’t blurted out anything, a bit better than his senior.
After arriving at the police station, You Ruxu followed Captain Zhou into her office. The young police officer who had been sitting in the front just sat down when someone beside him said, “Your face is as red as a baboon’s butt. You came with Reporter You just now, didn’t you?”
The young police officer was surprised: “How did you know?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” She laughed. “The first time I talked to her, I didn’t even dare to look her in the eyes.”
How could someone be so beautiful? So beautiful, and so heroic, it made one’s heart incapable of any disrespect. She had almost blurted something out earlier, thankfully the captain stopped her.
You Ruxu sat in the office and said, “When can I interview Mr. Zhao?”
Captain Zhou said, “After we’ve finished collecting evidence.”
You Ruxu nodded: “Is Zhang Xiaojie the suspect?”
Captain Zhou smiled at her.
You Ruxu asked: “Is Zhang Xiaojie related to Mr. Zhao?”
Captain Zhou didn’t speak.
You Ruxu said, “What about the progress on the illegal fireworks? You can at least tell me about that, right?”
Captain Zhou said, “It’s not that I can’t say anything, it’s that it’s difficult to say…”
She sighed, looking at You Ruxu. You Ruxu understood somewhat. There hadn’t been any substantial progress on the illegal fireworks case, and now, with the explosion, it was even more difficult to find evidence. If Mr. Zhao insisted he had nothing to do with it, it would take a while to find evidence.
She nodded, taking notes. Captain Zhou looked at her: “Everyone outside is busy circling around Zhang Xiaojie, why didn’t you go?”
You Ruxu said, “My colleague is there.”
Just then, her phone rang. Her “colleague” Shi Qi, who was at Zhang Xiaojie’s side, asked, “Where are you?”
You Ruxu said, “I’m at the police station.”
“Come to the hospital entrance after you’re done.” Shi Qi said concisely and hung up. You Ruxu glanced at her phone screen, closed her notebook, and said, “Then I’ll be going.”
Captain Zhou said, “Let’s go, I’ll see you out.”
She followed You Ruxu out of the office.
They walked out one after the other. The two young police officers outside kept their eyes glued to You Ruxu, only snapping back to reality after she left. You Ruxu took a taxi to the hospital. Shi Qi was buying bread at the entrance. Seeing her approach, she handed her one: “Want some?”
You Ruxu shook her head: “I’m not hungry yet.”
Shi Qi said, “Don’t mind my attitude earlier, it’s not easy for anyone.”
You Ruxu said, “You have your considerations, it’s my fault for not discussing my choice with you beforehand.”
She said, “Sometimes I think you’re really similar to how I was when I first became a reporter.” Back then, she was also full of passion, running around to investigate incidents, feeling extremely gratified when she uncovered the truth, and seeing the grateful eyes of those who had been wronged, there was nothing more rewarding.
When had she been worn down by time, starting to consider other things? Performance, ratings, hot topics, explosive news, she considered every aspect, but only missed one thing: the truth.
Find out the truth and report it truthfully.
These eight words were what she had given You Ruxu on her first day at the station.
You Ruxu looked at her and said, “I’ll go change first. I have a live broadcast with the station in half an hour. This is the draft I prepared.”
She handed the draft she brought to Shi Qi and walked towards her car nearby. Shi Qi looked down at the draft behind her, thinking it was related to the explosion, but found it was about something else entirely.
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