A perfect life begins with changing the timeline.

"Hey, who are you calling? Why are you taking so long?"

"Wang Jinghua."

"Her?...What does she want with you?"

"Brother Bie, are you at work right now?"

"Yeah, they're taking lunch break in the office. I just asked, and there's still no news about you. I guess it'll be within the next day or two; the province is probably busy with the ancestral roots project. But there's really no news..."

"I think I know why the director called me back."

"Why?"

"That's how it is..."

Covering his mouth, Bie Yan recounted the gist of Wang Jinghua's phone call, after which Bie Yan frowned.

He had already put the pillow away from the sofa, sat back down at his desk, and turned on his computer.

"China News Service, right?"

"right."\

"Wait a minute, let me see."

Then, there was a silence of more than a minute on the other end of the phone.

Meanwhile, the driver in front kept glancing at Li Mu, the passenger, in the rearview mirror, wondering what this person did for a living and why he started making endless phone calls as soon as he got in the car, and how expensive the roaming fees were. At that moment, Bie Yan said:

"We didn't publish this message."

"Yes, I asked Wang Jinghua, and she also said we didn't register. Brother Bie... is this normal?"

"Of course it's not normal."

As Bie Yan scrolled up and down the news article with the mouse wheel, he said:

"Our intelligence network is always among the fastest, especially since this news came from Guangzhou. Even if Yanjing was negligent, the news had already reached our local area; how could our people not have received it?... Wait a moment, I'll get back to you in a bit."

"OK."\

Li Mu waited for nearly twenty minutes.

When the phone rang again, the driver automatically turned up the volume without him having to say anything.

"Hey, Brother Bie."

"Hmm... I've found out. Zheng Tongqun saw this news yesterday and wanted to repost it, but... the director didn't approve it."

"..."\

As journalists, sharing news with colleagues and industry peers is a normal part of exchanging information and is perfectly acceptable.

Normally, if a journalist wants to reprint a story, according to proper procedures, they must submit a written request to the relevant organization. The organization then notifies the writer, and after obtaining the writer's consent, fees are discussed, and a final agreement is reached.

Note that this is a written regulation.

It has very formalized regulations, such as the standard script, "Hello, I am XX, a reporter from the Culture and Sports Department of Southern Metropolis Daily. I would like to reprint your report on XX. Is that alright?", and the procedures are a complete set.

Only after they agree can you submit a written application, send it over, get confirmation, and finally publish it in the newspaper.

It's very troublesome.

But what actually happens?

For example, if Li Mu wanted to repost a news article, it wouldn't actually be that complicated.

He saw the news and wanted to repost it, so he sent the article directly to the department head and said to Zhou Long:

"Director, I saw a news article in the XX newspaper that I'd like to reprint. Here's the content; please take a look."

After Zhou Long finished reading it and found no problems, he would say to Li Mu:

"Okay, go confirm the layout with the editor."

The layout of a newspaper is essentially a representation of its reprint price.

For general, non-headline content, a report is typically worth around 100 yuan while being reprinted by other journalists. Some smaller news stories are even worth only a few dozen yuan, and some journalists will waive the fee, essentially doing a favor for future use.

The only requirement is that the opening must clearly state: "Reprinted from XX Newspaper," proving that this article is a reprint. Simultaneously, the title or end must indicate "Original author XX, reprinted from XX," proving that this is someone else's article and you are merely reprinting it.

Articles that are front-page headlines will be more expensive. For example, an article about the "Four Little Actresses" placed on the entertainment front page will fetch a higher price from other newspapers wanting to reprint it, usually around 1,000 yuan. However, the procedures will also be more formal.

A news article costing around a hundred yuan shouldn't be that complicated.

Everyone's efficiency is also worth money.

However... any reprinted article, regardless of its news value, must go through the department head.

That's for sure.

If the director thinks the news story has no value and doesn't approve it, you won't be able to submit it to the editorial department.

So... according to Bie Yan's point of view, this news wasn't due to the Southern Metropolis Daily being slow to react.

Instead, Zhou Long rejected it.

"Speaking of which...Brother Bie, when Chen Rong treated me to dinner last time, she mentioned that they and Director Zhou had known each other for a long time."

"..."\

This time, it's Bie Yan's turn to remain silent.

After a moment of silence, Bie Yan asked:

"You've already headed back?"

"Yes, we're already on the highway."

"call……"\

The older brother's breathing became heavier.

After a moment of silence, he said:

"Xiao Li, this matter concerning Zhao Wei is significant. It involves nationalistic sentiments."

"I think so too. Brother Bie, I still can't figure out what she was thinking, wearing clothes that anyone with eyes can tell are Lei's at a glance."

"There's no point in thinking about this; what's done is done... After Wang Jinghua informed you, did she say anything else?"

"She said she was worried about me, that I had just named her one of the Four Little Actresses and then this happened. She worried people would say I had poor judgment... Actually, she was reminding me to consider cutting my losses. Or... maybe she's thinking about it too."

"How can you persuade me to kick Zhao Wei out?"

"Kicking her out wouldn't make any difference; this wasn't a factor when you were voting. But it's true, if they could kick her out and then put someone in... haha, maybe Bingbing would get promoted."

"No way. Whoever takes on this task will be criticized by Zhao Wei's fans. It's a thankless and arduous task; I won't let her do it."

"Hmm, that's true... but if I were her, I might have been the one stirring things up behind the scenes."

Li Mu was taken aback, then frowned slightly and said:

"What do you mean? Are you trying to force me into a position?"

"Maybe. But if she did it, she definitely wouldn't let you know... And once this gets out of hand, like wildfire, you won't be able to tell whether it started spontaneously or someone spilled gasoline from the sky, right? These people in the entertainment industry are all filthy-hearted. Only when you die, when you fall, can a large space be cleared for another tree to be planted. There are only so many positions, and the pie is only so big. Those below are all waiting and hoping that those above will make a mistake."

"I'm not worried about that. What I'm worried about is the director wanting to see me. Brother, what if he wants me to explain to Zhao Wei... what should I do?"

"..."\

Now, Bie Yan remained silent.

Because he also knew that if Zhou Long could stop this report, then he could definitely do something to exonerate Zhao Wei.

Of course, this so-called "exoneration" doesn't necessarily mean defending Zhao Wei.

News reports employ a multitude of tricks to exonerate someone.

The simplest example:\

"Zhao Wei was just young and naive, what did she do wrong?"

"Zhao Wei didn't want to film it either; it was all arranged by *Fashion* magazine. Their people have questionable morals."

"Putting aside the facts, are the people at *Vogue* magazine completely blameless?"

Shifting blame eastward, disregarding facts, distorting the truth, youthful ignorance...

There are countless ways to exonerate someone.

Even at the very least, the nature of Zhao Wei's actions can be detached from nationalistic sentiments and reduced to her personal actions.

This way, sacrificing Zhao Wei would at least save *Fashion* magazine.

See, that's the power of a penholder.

After shifting the blame and waiting for the time being right, and everyone having forgotten about the incident, find another opportunity to praise and flatter, and the person might just come back to life.

"What are your thoughts?"

"To be honest, yes. It's all Zhao Wei's fault, and it's also my fault. Bingbing was in Shenzhen the other day, and I was commuting every day. Plus, she was playing games on my computer all the time, so I didn't go online. And that 'Fashion' magazine—I gave it to her as soon as I got it on the 2nd, the day it was released. She didn't even read it… If only I had known about this earlier…"

"What? You think you can get around the director?"

"..."\

Li Mu was speechless.

Yes, whenever there's news, it inevitably involves the department head.

After all, all news articles in the Arts and Sports Department, after passing through the editor-in-chief, are also reviewed by the department head.

"Brother, what if the director really... what should I do?"

"No way. Didn't I say this involves ethnic sentiments? If he really makes you stand up, it's like putting you to death."

"Okay, I understand."

"Do you really understand?"

"Yeah, hehe... Brother, if that's really the case, then I'll have to run away. Give your little brother a way out!"

"Ha~ You. What's wrong? Got scared?"

"No, we can't back down. This is a matter of great principle, and there's no room for compromise. Shouldn't we consider the worst-case scenario?"

"Hmm...it's okay. Let's come back first and see how things go."

"good."\

With those words from his elder brother, Li Mu instantly felt at ease.

He hung up the phone and rubbed his ears, which were a little sore from the loud music.

"Master, keep your voice down, I need to take a nap."

"Okay, boss."

Seeing that the boss, who always covered his mouth while speaking, had finally finished the call, the driver breathed a sigh of relief.

Not to mention the boss, he also found it noisy.

So, in the relatively quiet carriage, Li Mu leaned back in the back seat and closed his eyes.

Between a daze and lucidity, time slipped away, second by second.

Finally, as the sun was setting, just before 7 p.m., he arrived at the entrance of his workplace.

Seeing that the office was already closed for the day, he waved to the security guard at the gatehouse to indicate that he wouldn't go in, and then dialed Zhou Long's number:

"Hello, Director, I'm back. I'm at the entrance of the building now."

"Oh? You're back? Perfect timing. Here's an address, come over."

"……OK."\

Soon, a text message arrived.

What a coincidence!

He had been to that address.

The restaurant where Wang Jinghua treated everyone to her first meal.

Li Mu's heart skipped a beat.