Chapter 4: Pick You Up
Hearing Zhou Tianzui’s words, You Ruxu turned to look at her, her knuckles white as she gripped the collar of her shirt. Zhou Tianzui didn’t say anything more, just looked up at You Ruxu: “How long will you be busy?”
“Just a little while.” You Ruxu hung up the clothes, her expression calm. When her gaze fell on the teddy bear, her heart was pricked. At first, it didn’t hurt, but then the pain intensified, like a mirror cracking, the fissures spreading, more painful than the stitch earlier. You Ruxu faced the wardrobe, her body tense, taking deep breaths.
Zhou Tianzui said, “I’m going back to my room.”
Her attitude was cool, without even looking at You Ruxu. Reaching the door, she added, “Hurry up. I have surgery tomorrow morning.”
You Ruxu said, “I know.”
The door closed. She leaned her wrist against the wardrobe, lowered her head. After a while, she hung the clothes in the wardrobe. Turning around, she saw the teddy bear. You Ruxu stared at it for a long time, then placed it next to her pillow, in its usual spot, where she could see it at a glance. She smoothed the fur on the teddy bear, her movements gentle. Finally, she got up and left the room.
The next room was pitch black. The lights in both the living room and the bedroom were off. But she was more than familiar with the layout of this room. She could find the bed with her eyes closed. In the darkness, the person on the bed sat up. As soon as You Ruxu approached the edge, she was pulled in, the thin blanket covering her body, clothes scattered on the floor.
New mottled red marks, new intertwined tumbling, just beginning.
The next day, Zhou Tianzui woke up early. Her biological clock was more punctual than an alarm clock. When she woke up, it was still dark. The curtains were tightly drawn, airtight, only the faint morning light dyeing the curtains. You Ruxu leaned against her chest, her rounded shoulder exposed from the blanket, covered by a layer of hair, her fair skin still visible. Zhou Tianzui’s hand rested on You Ruxu’s shoulder, her slightly cool fingertips chilling You Ruxu. Subconsciously, You Ruxu snuggled closer, slightly raising her head, revealing her beautiful face.
Zhou Tianzui’s gaze deepened as she held her.
Actually, Zhou Tianzui rarely initiated intimacy in the morning. Today was an exception. You Ruxu didn’t notice the reason for today’s exception. When she left the room, Zhou Tianzui had already prepared breakfast and placed it on the table, saying, “I’m leaving first. I have rounds today. I’ll call you tonight.”
You Ruxu sat at the table. Yellow rice porridge, tea eggs, and two slices of bread on a plate. She nodded: “Okay.”
After Zhou Tianzui left, the apartment felt empty. It was a standard two-bedroom, one-living room apartment, not very big. The windows and balcony door were open, the wind blowing in and out, a whistling coolness. The coolness made it feel even more empty.
After washing up and eating breakfast, You Ruxu had just finished tidying up when she received a call from her editor: “Teacher You, do you want me to pick you up today?”
The editor’s name was Chen Xiang. They joined the station together. Later, when You Ruxu became an editor, they supported each other for a while. Now that she was a reporter, Chen Xiang became her editor. They had gone to the countryside together this time, and Chen Xiang knew that You Ruxu didn’t often drive, so she would occasionally drive You Ruxu to the station.
You Ruxu glanced at the time and said, “No, I’ll drive.”
Chen Xiang said, “Then see you at the station.”
You Ruxu agreed and hung up the phone. The station today, probably wouldn’t be peaceful. She put down her phone, stood in front of the mirror, and carefully checked her makeup once more, practicing her smile in the mirror. Only after ensuring it was impeccable did she grab her bag and go downstairs.
As she expected, the atmosphere at the station wasn’t very good.
Passing by the evening news team’s office, she heard someone inside laughing and saying, “They actually let this news slip away. Shi Fairy must be furious.”
“No kidding. You guys didn’t see, I just came from there. Shi Fairy is chewing someone out.”
“Just saw her with a stern face, a bit scary, hahaha.” Unbridled laughter, with no hint of fear. The two teams had a long-standing feud. “Fairy” was the nickname they gave to the evening news team leader. Shi Qi had a charming appearance, and it was said that she had fought over a man with the leader of the evening news team before, resulting in a lingering resentment. Every time the two teams had a meeting, it was like a nitpicking session.
The person speaking continued: “But You Ruxu really has no social sensitivity. How could she let such good material slip away, tsk!”
“Her, if it weren’t for her father—”
“Cough cough—”
A cough interrupted the speaker. A man in a suit and tie nudged the person beside him, signaling him to stop talking. The sound of high heels clicking echoed in the corridor. You Ruxu walked past the office with a calm expression, her head slightly raised, her hair neat and meticulous, her top button fastened, her makeup perfect, ready to go on camera at any moment.
After she left.
There were two seconds of silence in the news team’s office. The people who were just joking couldn’t take their eyes off her. The man who spoke first said, “Such a pity.”
Another person looked at him: “Pity about what?”
The man said, “Pity she’s not in our team.”
The people in the office laughed: “In our team, so you can have a better chance, right? Don’t even think about it. Even if you wanted to pursue her, the line would be a mile long!”
You Ruxu reached the door of the midday news team’s office. Before entering, she heard a scolding voice: “What are you doing all day? Slacking off? Xiao Ji, what kind of interview draft is this? Can you even read it yourself?”
The person being scolded shrunk their head, relieved at the sound of footsteps, knowing that the boss’s fire was about to shift targets.
But they felt sorry for You Ruxu.
You Ruxu stood at the door. Seeing her, Shi Qi became even angrier. She hadn’t been watching when the topic was chosen. By the time she wanted to change it, You Ruxu had already gone to the countryside with her editor, and the counterfeit brand goods case had been snatched by the evening news team. She pressed her forehead, feeling dizzy with anger.
Chen Xiang, with a smile, called out, “Boss.”
Immediately offering milk tea: “Boss, have a drink to calm down. Actually, our response this time wasn’t bad! It became a hot topic this afternoon!”
This wasn’t false, but whether it was because of You Ruxu herself or the interview content was hard to say. Shi Qi looked at You Ruxu, remained silent for two minutes, and said, “Come in with me.”
Chen Xiang looked at You Ruxu worriedly.
You Ruxu put down her bag and followed Shi Qi into the office. Chen Xiang immediately went over to Xiao Ji: “So? Did the boss scold Teacher You?”
“Definitely.” Xiao Ji said, “You have no idea how angry the boss is this time. I heard she had another argument with the evening news team.”
“It’s over.” Chen Xiang said, “It’s over, it’s over.”
She distributed the rest of the milk tea to her colleagues, her worried eyes glancing at the office from time to time. There was no sound coming from the office, and she didn’t know what they were talking about. Xiao Ji pulled Chen Xiang’s hand: “What do you think Teacher You is thinking?”
She shook her head: “It’s obvious the counterfeit goods case had more potential.”
Even if one lacked social sensitivity, they should be able to sense the trend, right? Moreover, You Ruxu had been an editor for two years. No matter how you looked at it, she shouldn’t have made such a choice.
Chen Xiang said, “You can’t say that.” She remembered their time in the countryside, chasing the interview, they had put in a lot of effort. She couldn’t help but explain for You Ruxu: “Maybe Teacher You didn’t want to just chase hot topics.”
“What else?” Xiao Ji poked Chen Xiang’s head. “These days, without chasing hot topics, where are the talking points?”
Chen Xiang couldn’t argue. She shook her head: “I still hope Teacher You is okay.”
You Ruxu stood in the office. Shi Qi said, “Sit.”
She even personally poured her a cup of tea: “When you said you wanted to be an editor, I agreed. Later, when you wanted to become a reporter, I had no objections. But Xiao Xu, wasn’t the choice of topic this time a bit of a misstep?”
You Ruxu said, “I’m just doing what a reporter should do.”
“Yes, I know, you don’t want to blindly follow hot topics. This vicious cycle, more and more people’s attention will follow hot topics, lacking proper guidance and in-depth investigation, and no one will pay attention to those nooks and crannies. But this matter, it’s just a small matter, do you understand?”
Last night, the evening news ratings reached a new high. That person had been flaunting it in front of her all morning, making her grind her teeth in anger. Despite this, she still spoke to You Ruxu patiently.
You Ruxu said, “I understand, but I don’t think my choice of topic was wrong.”
“You!” Seeing her unmoved, Shi Qi held her breath. There was a knock on the office door, and the assistant called out, “Boss, it’s time for the meeting.”
She said to You Ruxu, “You go ahead and get busy. We’ll talk later.”
You Ruxu nodded and left the office.
As soon as she went out, Chen Xiang immediately came over: “How was it? Did the boss scold you?”
You Ruxu said, “No.”
After saying that, she looked at the TV, a sixty-inch LCD screen hanging above their office. The evening and midday news were being broadcast in rotation. Now it was replaying the evening news. You Ruxu glanced at it a few times and then looked away.
Chen Xiang said, “Next week we…”
You Ruxu said, “We’ll talk about next week’s matters in the meeting.”
Chen Xiang gave a small “oh” and silently left her side.
All morning, the evening news team was cheerful and lively. During lunch, they even sat next to them, talking about the hot counterfeit goods case and looking at You Ruxu with amusement. You Ruxu wasn’t affected at all and ate her lunch as usual. The atmosphere in the midday news team’s office was oppressive until just before work ended, when a colleague hurried back to the office and said, “Hey, hey, hey, big news!”
Everyone looked at her. You Ruxu also looked up.
The colleague said, “Have you guys seen the ‘Touching China’ program?”
Chen Xiang said, “Isn’t that CCTV’s?”
“Yes!” The colleague was extremely excited: “Guess who’s been nominated?”
There was no need to guess. Everyone immediately looked at You Ruxu, thinking of the elderly person she interviewed this time. Chen Xiang was surprised: “No way?”
“Yes!” The colleague said, “It’s trending now!”
Chen Xiang immediately took out her phone. Half an hour ago, the trending topic wasn’t this. Now, the trending topic was a clip of You Ruxu’s interview. Coincidentally, the selection of the ten most touching figures in China this year had been moved forward, and their news, having just aired and still having some heat, was recommended. The program team had just announced the acceptance of nominations in the afternoon, waiting for the next round of selection.
Jindu TV Station was trending again, and this time, it was their midday news!
Chen Xiang’s face was full of excitement as she looked at You Ruxu, who was also smiling. Someone flashed through the doorway. Shi Qi said, “Meeting, meeting! Everyone who went to the countryside for the interview, come to the meeting!”
The tense atmosphere of the previous moment vanished in an instant. Chen Xiang grabbed her notebook and followed her colleagues. Seeing You Ruxu looking at her phone, she asked, “Teacher You, how did you know the selection would be moved forward?”
You Ruxu explained, “This selection is moved forward every three years to avoid the next holiday.”
Chen Xiang hadn’t actually studied this. She pondered, while beside her, You Ruxu looked at her phone.
On the phone was a message from Zhou Tianzui: [I’m off work. I’ll come pick you up later.]
Knowing that there was a meeting about to start, she had a legitimate reason to refuse, but You Ruxu still replied: [Okay.]
Zhou Tianzui: Off work, coming to pick you up.
You Ruxu: Okay.
Zhou Tianzui: Let’s go get our marriage license?
You Ruxu: Okay.
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