Yu Hao experienced a ton of hardships and could even recite the ma.n.u.script backwards smoothly, Lin Ze finally signed it and sent it out. The chief editor stamped it, and they entered December. It had already been nearly ten days since he and Jin Weicheng went out for their interview.

"The ma.n.u.script pa.s.sed." Lin Ze said, "It'll be published tomorrow."

"Yeah!" Yu Hao almost raised both his hands out as he shouted. He couldn't help himself from asking, "Did the chief editor say anything?"

Lin Ze, "As a chief editor who has read countless ma.n.u.scripts and survived the Cultural Revolution, what do you think she would say?"

Yu Hao thought that was true. For him, this feature was something he had poured his heart and soul into, but in the eyes of the chief editor, it was just a sloppy and ordinary ma.n.u.script. She would be giving him a lot of face just by taking some time out to give it a brief glance.

Lin Ze said, "It's not difficult to pa.s.s one ma.n.u.script; what's difficult is pa.s.sing ma.n.u.scripts all the time. Everyone won't be able to help you pick out the faults like this every time, you'll have to rely on yourself."

When Yu Hao thought about how he would have to revise his ma.n.u.scripts over and over again for every feature from now on, he felt like his life was instantly filled with despair.

"Okay." Yu Hao said, "I'll work hard."

Lin Ze carried his bag, then left with Yu Hao. They were the last to leave, so they locked the door as they left. When they pa.s.sed by the subway station, Lin Ze said to Yu Hao, "Jin Laoshi has many shortcomings, and similarly, we all have many shortcomings as well. But I don't know if you've noticed that on this feature, he signed for you without hesitation. That's one of the reasons he became a member of our team."

Yu Hao felt deeply moved for a moment, "I understand."

Lin Ze nodded solemnly, waved to him, and left.

Amidst the bitingly cold winds, Yu Hao looked up from underneath his house. Within this city that was ablaze with lights, there was one light that stayed lit for him.

Will we have chopped peppers with fish head today? Or hotpot? Or curry crab? Zhou Sheng wore heat-insulating gloves and placed a semi finished chestnut roasted chicken into the microwave oven, then turned on the timer. Conan played on the TV. Yu Hao picked up a call and went in, changing his shoes in the entrance hall. It hadn't even been a month since he moved here, but he was completely used to it already, as if this house had been waiting for him here for a long time, waiting to be their home.

"I always feel like somebody's watching me from behind my back." Zhou Sheng said into the phone, "I don't know if I'm overthinking this……"

The sound of the door opening travelled over, so Zhou Sheng said, "I got to go, Yu Hao's back."

"Un……" Yu Hao had his earphones on, he was on the phone as well.

There were forms on the dining table. Zhou Sheng had bought a printer to make it easy for Yu Hao to read ma.n.u.scripts at home.

He raised two fingers, to motion that dinner will be ready in 20 minutes, then pushed the electric cooker b.u.t.ton to start cooking. Yu Hao nodded and looked at the forms on the table. They were the management situation and financing plans for the first three months that Fu Liqun had sent to Zhou Sheng via the group chat. Zhou Sheng looked at Yu Hao's phone, the display showing "Gege". Zhou Sheng wanted to take the earphones out and turn it to loudspeaker mode to say h.e.l.lo to Fu Liqun, but Yu Hao raised his hand to motion 'don't'.

Zhou Sheng thought about it, then nodded.

Yu Hao, "I feel really exhausted too sometimes, but I'll feel a lot better the next day after sleeping."

Fu Liqun, "……I can't tell Young Master, you know? Yu Hao, I'm not pretentious. But I feel like if I don't find someone to talk to, I'll really suffer from depression."

"You won't suffer from depression." Yu Hao smiled, "You're just a little stressed."

Fu Liqun, "I can't talk to your sis-in-law, I can't talk to Xia Lei, Li Yangming, not my parents, and I don't want to look for Young Master. After thinking about it over and over, I can only find you. It's been three months, and I've exhausted all ideas I could come up with. It's really hard."

Yu Hao said, "How many members are there now?"

Fu Liqun said, "12, two are still considering, but they're unlikely cases. I can host my own Last Supper now."

Yu Hao laughed. Fu Liqun said, "What I'm most worried about isn't my determination, but their determination. Bian Qiang obviously doesn't want to do it anymore, but he's afraid of hurting my feelings. Although Xia Lei didn't say much, but I know he'll leave soon. Most of the members were pulled in by him, but he also observes people. It was okay to depend on him at first, but now, he probably thinks that I'm not that capable, but at least I don't have any resources, so he won't work too hard. As soon as New Year's is over, and our graduation thesis begins, they'll probably……"

Yu Hao said, "I understand. Now I really admire my leader. Even lady boss is complaining about quitting and giving up, yet he can still hold on."

Fu Liqun talked about his current predicament, and the most important thing was the divergence of opinions amongst his partners. He hoped that Xia Lei could bring in more members, but once his partners started looking down on him, they'd think that the membership of this gym relied on them to be developed, which is to say, they could do it themselves. Their families don't lack for money, so what do they need Fu Liqun for?

And a gym itself isn't very profitable; most profit comes from the fitness products sold to students. Just as Lin Ze had said, no one believes that hard work can make a fortune, so they search for a lucrative industry. They want to earn money while lying down every day, so they'll gradually start thinking of leaving the partnership.

Or they could say that from the very beginning, Xia Lei and Bian Qiang were only interested in accompanying Fu Liqun to mess around a bit. Now that they don't think it's fun anymore, then they could just now play. How much could their shares be worth? They could just give it all to Fu Liqun, then couldn't they just stop doing it with him?

Zhou Sheng took off his microwave oven gloves, had one foot over his other knee, and lit a cigarette. He looked over the management situation of Fu Liqun's gym.

"When I was giving lessons to my students today," Fu Liqun said, "There was that one instant when I suddenly thought that when she laughed, her eyes resembled your sis-in-law's a little. You may not understand that feeling. I just want to ask one question, which is a little offensive. Yu Hao, in the three months when you were in Beijing, have you ever been interested in your boss, lady boss, or other men?"

Yu Hao thought about it and said, "No. We video call each other every day, I miss him very much."

Fu Liqun said, "Your sis-in-law and I had two video calls. I had that one instant, when I really thought about giving up. But in less than a few minutes, I felt so guilty. I asked her to train by herself before walking to one side and washed my head with cold water. I don't know if I cried at that time……"

"Gege." Yu Hao said.

Fu Liqun drank beer as he wore a sports tank and sat on the balcony at home. Half a year ago, he, Zhou Sheng, and Yu Hao often looked at the stars here. The Milky Way in the mountains was very beautiful.

He worked as a fitness coach for several months. His figure now was trained to be much better than before; his muscles were tight, he had broad shoulders and a narrow waist, but he looked like he was at a loss.

"I might close the gym." Fu Liqun said, "It can't make money. I'm losing nearly a thousand dollars every day."

Yu Hao's voice travelled through the earphones, "It'll get better. When people start a food and beverage company, they'll only be suffering losses in their first year."

Fu Liqun said, "I don't know how long I can hold on for. I let down Young Master too much, I've let down both of you. But I don't want to tell Young Master that. I feel like I'm walking in a desert, and I don't know how long I have to walk before finding an oasis."

"I thought your sis-in-law was my oasis. I walked for so long, and I keep looking for some water to drink, but no matter where I walk to, all I see are mirages. I've been thinking over and over again these days; it's just like what you said, I'll think of giving up every night, but when I get up in the morning, I grit my teeth and continue holding on."

Yu Hao looked at Zhou Sheng. After Zhou Sheng looked through the forms, he placed them aside and started reading his《Western Economics》.

Yu Hao, "I understand that feeling so well. There have been a few times where I almost told my leader that I didn't want to do it anymore, but when I thought about it some more, I decided to just do it. At least it's what you want to do, and at least you're working hard for yourself. When you go somewhere else, you'll feel even less motivated."

Fu Liqun said, "If your sis-in-law was by my side, I feel like no matter what happens, I would be able to hold on. Let's stop talking about this, are you home yet?"

"Yeah." Yu Hao said, "Zhou Sheng found a job as a private detective, we're going to live in Beijing. I like this place very much."

Fu Liqun said, "Okay. If I can't do this anymore, I'll go seek asylum with you guys."

Yu Hao said, "You're extremely welcome. Our sofa can be opened up to be used as a sofa bed."

Fu Liqun laughed, "I really miss those few years when we were together, and we didn't need to worry about anything. I'll go now, I need to take a bath and teach a student."

Yu Hao hung up. Zhou Sheng knew what he said without asking. He washed his hands and served the dishes — chestnut roasted chicken, two bowls of stewed pork rib soup, and there was stir-fried cabbage as well. The two began to eat and asked each other how their work went.

"I see, can't hold on anymore?" Zhou Sheng said, "Xia Lei never regarded the gym highly from the beginning; that kid's really proud, he just wanted to play with him. Bian Qiang has always been lazy; he can't bear hardships and played with him for a few months at most to earn some internship experience. Neither of them thought of doing it as a career."

"What about Yangming?" Yu Hao said.

"That kid overthinks." Zhou Sheng said, "And gets jealous easily."

Yu Hao said, "Gege can recruit other people."

Zhou Sheng said, "Nowadays, those who dabble in fitness are mostly old dough fritters, while those who are capable have all opened their own private gyms. Those that remain are just getting by. Gege's inexperienced too, if employees don't fool such bosses, who else can they fool?"

Yu Hao said, "How much did he lose?"

Zhou Sheng answered, "Not much. He hasn't lost as much as your camera, it's not a big deal. The most scary thing about starting a business is when your partners each have their own plans. I accepted an investigation that happens to be about something similar, to check if their partners are accepting kickbacks."

Yu Hao, "How's the investigation going?"

Zhou Sheng smiled, "They were such good friends, yet it ended up really ugly. So it's better if friends don't partner up with one another to do business……when will we invite them to our new house? Oh right, I haven't declared my sovereignty to Kaikai yet. Since we've moved to a new place, invite him here for a meal?"

"You're doing it again." Yu Hao said, "Chen Laoshi hasn't come looking for me ever since he knew you arrived in Beijing."

"But you have to go to him for your graduation thesis ba?" Zhou Sheng said, "Invite him, and call that Ou Qihang kid too to come to our house for a meal? We haven't seen him in more than two years, and there's something I want to ask him too, regarding their school's graduate students."

Zhou Sheng hadn't decided which college to take the graduate exam for, and he may really be able to get into Wudaokou Inst.i.tute of Technology. Yu Hao thought about it and said, "Then, I'll find a chance to ask them."

In December, the Guangxian battery plant feature was published.

It was Yu Hao's first time experiencing the might of the main office. Indeed, the strength of his newspaper office was entirely worthy of the way it conducted itself —— headlining the second edition of social news, it was a major hit! Following which, major news APPs, web portals, and WeChat public numbers all reprinted the news. 100,000 Chicken Soup public numbers were all chasing this hot topic.

"Congratulations to Jin Laoshi." Lin Ze was reading《Gushi Hui》, "You once again triggered a national media hot topic."

Situ Ye said, "A large number of reporters have already rushed to the scene, they'll have quite a headache now."

It was Yu Hao's first time getting submerged by his own ma.n.u.scripts. All of the reprints used his ma.n.u.script, including his introduction, factual descriptions, and the statistics collated by Jin Weicheng. Yu Hao flipped through it repeatedly as he looked at his work, and the byline had Investigative Reporter Jin Weicheng, followed by Intern Editor Yu Hao.

Jin Weicheng said, "Five years! d.a.m.n, it's getting tougher and tougher to work in the media industry."

Jin Weicheng took a bottle of Erguotou and poured it out to toast with the other three, then drank. Jin Weicheng said lightly, "I'm going out for an interview. Xiao Yu, don't let ma.n.u.scripts stack up, finish them as soon as possible."

Yu Hao said, "Too amazing, this is really too amazing!"

Weibo, WeChat, web portals, and even a pop-up window was talking about the battery plant.

—

Juurensha: Awwww, I'm happy for Haohao, but I feel bad for FLQ…