A perfect life begins with changing the timeline.

Chapter 218 Military Flag

"Brother Bie, do you think it could be... related to the awards?"

Because they were in the car, even with music playing, Li Mu still spoke more carefully, giving Bie Yan a subtle reminder.

"Hmm."

Bie Yan was taken aback for a moment, but quickly understood what he meant and instinctively blurted out:

"That shouldn't be the case, I haven't received any messages... Wait a minute, I'll get back to you in a bit."

Clearly, the older brother went to inquire.

"Yeah, it's already the 6th. Weren't we supposed to have news at the beginning of the month? This has been going on for quite a while."

"What's the rush? Good food is worth the wait... Let me ask first, I'll get back to you in a bit."

Bie Yan hurriedly hung up the phone.

But this time, it was Li Mu who was puzzled.

What do you mean?

It wasn't the provincial government's notification of the award that I thought I'd received? What else could it be besides this?

He became increasingly confused, and then he saw the text message he had received while he was on the phone, sent by Wang Jinghua:

"Li Ji, are you done with your work?"

So he called Wang Jinghua back.

"Beep beep, hello, Li Ji."

"Sister Hua, is something urgent?"

Li Mu got straight to the point.

To be honest, he was a bit flustered right now. He was mainly distracted by the Guangdong News Awards, and actually just wanted some peace and quiet... But since Wang Jinghua had sent him a text message, it meant she must have something to say to him.

They treat you well, so you're expected to step up when they need you.

He understood that human relationships are reciprocal, so he could only suppress his chaotic feelings for the time being.

Upon hearing Li Mu's words, Wang Jinghua responded:

"Yes, Mr. Li... you've been away on a business trip recently, so... you haven't been able to write any feature reports, have you?"

???

Li Muxin said, "What exactly are you trying to say?"

"Sister Hua, we're so close, just say what you need. Is there anything I can help you with? If it's about publicity, then we'll have to wait until after Qingming Festival. This year, the Taiwan Affairs Office and the mainland are working together on a project to trace roots, which is a very important part of maintaining emotional ties. Our unit plans to give it a prominent position, but... we might not have enough space in the media."

He had paved the way for his excuses in advance.

Because that's just how it is.

Around the Qingming Festival, with the ongoing project of "tracing one's roots," the space will definitely be very crowded. It's simply unrealistic to expect him to dedicate a large portion of the space to promoting a particular actor or film.

Wang Jinghua clearly understood Li Mu's subtext and quickly said:

"No, that's not it. How could I trouble Li Ji with such a small matter?"

[A small matter]?

Li Mu narrowed his eyes:

"So... what do you want from me?"

"Uh... Has Mr. Li not been paying much attention to entertainment news these past few days?"

"No, we've all been busy with this tracing our roots project."

"That's it... Li Ji, Zhao Wei, something's happened."

"……what?"

Li Mu was stunned. His first reaction was to wonder what Zhao Wei's accident had to do with him.

He had never even seen the person.

But he immediately realized why Wang Jinghua had called him.

Or rather, you can guess the general idea.

Is it... testing the waters?

Or to put it more extremely, is Zhao Wei's current situation quite serious? Maybe... it will even affect the "Four Little Actresses" competition?

Of course, as soon as the idea popped into his head, he felt like he was indulging in conspiracy theories.

So he asked in confusion:

"What's wrong? What happened to her?"

"Hmm, so you're saying Mr. Li really doesn't know. 'Fashion' magazine, does Mr. Li know this publication?"

Of course he knew; he'd even ordered some for his girlfriend.

However, after it was taken back to Shenzhen, the magazine is still sitting on the shoe cabinet by the entrance.

Fan Bingbing didn't have time to look, and Li Mu wasn't interested either.

"I know, so what?"

"She did a photoshoot for this issue of 'Fashion.' One of the photos shows her wearing a dress with the Japanese military flag on it... Now a lot of people are condemning her." (Note 1)

"...A military flag? What does that mean? She's wearing a military flag?"

Li Mu was momentarily stunned and didn't react.

What normal person wouldn't wear normal clothes instead of a flag? Especially not a Japanese military flag!

What do you mean?

A restoration of militarism?

How dare the Japanese?

And... how dare Zhao Wei do that?

Isn't she a Chinese citizen?

"That's roughly the gist of it. It's a dress with the overall pattern of the Japanese military flag. You can clearly see the flag design in the fashion magazine... This news came out yesterday. Yesterday, the Jiangnan Times published her photo with the headline... 'Zhao Wei's Behavior in the US is Shocking.'"

Jiangnan Times... isn't that a newspaper from the Yangtze River Delta region?

The publication is relatively new, having only appeared in 1999. Li Mu submitted his resume last year, but it went unanswered.

However, its level is the same as that of the Southern Metropolis Daily, both being provincial-level newspapers.

"What does it say?"

"Then a reporter received a call from a netizen informing them of shocking news: Zhao Wei was photographed in New York wearing a Japanese military flag outfit, which has caused shock and condemnation from netizens. But that's not the point. The point is... Li Ji, the reason I'm calling you is to tell you that this morning around 10 a.m., China News Network also published this news article, titled: 'Zhao Wei Suspected of Wearing Japanese Military Flag Outfit for Photoshoot, Condemned by Tens of Thousands of Netizens.'"

"It's on the news?"

Li Mu was startled.

China News Network, as the name suggests, is a news website under China News Service.

As for what China News Service (CNS) is, you can just break it down from its name.

Speaking of this website, it is one of the earliest local media outlets in the entire Asian region to start publishing news.

Furthermore... its news is authoritative, and it is also one of the popular news websites for many people who are not used to reading print newspapers to learn about various news through online channels.

Its history is not long. It was founded in 1995, when many people in China did not know what the Internet was. It had already set up its servers in Hong Kong.

To put it bluntly, this website is simply a window for the outside world to understand domestic developments.

Later, with the rise of the Internet, China News Network evolved from a simple window into a comprehensive news website.

In addition to current events and political commentary, news windows related to people's livelihood, entertainment, sports, and other areas have been added.

And now... Zhao Wei's news has actually appeared on China News Network?

That means... the impact is significant.

"Yes, it just appeared online. The original article reads: 'China News Service, Guangzhou, April 6th: An article titled 'Zhao Wei Wears Japanese Military Flag Clothing? Relevant Personnel Express Opinions' recently appeared on major domestic websites, accompanied by a large photo of Zhao Wei wearing a 'Rising Sun' handkerchief, which has shocked and condemned tens of thousands of netizens online..."

Wang Jinghua then began reading the entire news article to Li Mu.

"Zhao Wei's agent stated that those items were merely props and should not be given any special meaning. They were all done according to the photographer's instructions. The theme of this shoot was young people's pursuit of freedom, health, peace, and a positive spirit. The props happened to contain Chinese characters—health, peace, happiness, and hygiene—which perfectly matched the theme and were therefore chosen. --- This is the full text of the article, and I checked Sina and NetEase... they have also reposted it."

"..."

Li Mu remained silent.

He was thinking.

First of all, the beginning of this article... is quite important.

China News Service, Guangzhou... In other words, this message was sent out from Guangzhou.

They naturally have a branch in Guangzhou. As the core area of ​​the Pearl River Delta and a gateway for international and domestic information exchange, the Pearl River Delta always receives the fastest and most timely news. Therefore, the Guangzhou branch is crucial, whether for gathering information about revenue from Hong Kong or for disseminating information abroad.

but……

If you ask who the leading company in the Pearl River Delta region is?

There's no need to even think about it; it's definitely the Southern Metropolis Daily.

After all... their own company is so powerful that it has driven Shenzhen to the brink of collapse, even resorting to local protectionism... just imagine its size.

The Culture and Sports Department, which is mainly responsible for the culture and entertainment section of the Southern Metropolis Daily...

"Sister Hua, is this news in our newspaper?"

"……No."

"..."

have to.

If a news report from China News Service can be sent from Guangzhou, then... how come the reporter from the Culture and Sports Department of Southern Metropolis Daily didn't know about this?

Is it normal?

This is definitely not normal.

Leaving aside a newly hired reporter like myself with limited connections, the networks of those veteran reporters are all incredibly sophisticated. Moreover, with such explosive news, even if it's a little late, there's absolutely no way a story would be delayed by 24 hours.

Even the provincial-level media outlet, the Jiangnan Times, published it, and according to Wang Jinghua, the news also caused a stir online.

How could the people in the Arts and Sports Department not have reacted?

But... there's still no news?

This was abnormal in itself, and Li Mu immediately thought of Zhou Long...

He suddenly called me back... and it wasn't about the Guangdong News Awards as I had guessed.

Then...why did he call me back?

Could it be... also because of this?

Suddenly, Li Mu felt as if he had caught something by the nose.

After thinking for a moment, he said to Wang Jinghua:

"Sister Hua, I need to ask about this. Do you have anything else to say?"

"No, I just saw this news and wanted to ask Li Ji what happened. But it seems you don't know either..."

"I really don't know. We've been busy with the 'Roots-Tracing' project these past few days and haven't had time for anything else. Besides, the team in Yanjing is actually the fastest to react when it comes to entertainment news. I'll ask them what's going on in a bit... I'll hang up now, okay?"

"Hmm... Li Ji, Zhao Wei was only recently named one of the 'Four Little Actresses,' and this kind of thing has already happened. You have to be careful. It wouldn't be worth it if people said you didn't know how to judge people or questioned the title."

Li Mu's eyes narrowed again.

Did you understand?

He understood it naturally.

So he replied:

"I understand, I'll hang up now."

"Um."

After hanging up the phone, Li Mu fell into deep thought.

(Note 1: Zhao Wei's "military flag dress incident" actually occurred in 2001; I've altered the timeline here. Well, it's artistic creation, so please don't take it too seriously. But I must say, realistically speaking, despite the "military flag dress incident" in the first half of 2001, she was still named one of the "Four Little Actresses" in January 2002… This shows just how terrifying her popularity was back then. She truly overshadowed all the other actresses. But fame often breeds arrogance, and she brought it upon herself later. My explanation here mainly serves the purpose of later plot developments, so please just take it with a grain of salt and take my word for it.)