A perfect life begins with changing the timeline.

Early morning on the 30th.

When the clock struck for the third time, Li Mu patted the girl in his arms:

"I have to go to work."

"...Five minutes left."

Nestled in her boyfriend's arms, feeling his warm body temperature, sleepy-eyed Fan Bingbing murmured something and then hugged him even tighter.

It seemed as if she wanted to lock his temperature and breath firmly into her mind.

Only after the fourth gong rang did she release her boyfriend with regret in her eyes:

"Go to work now."

"Hmm, what did you have for breakfast?"

"I'll boil an egg and drink some milk myself, then I'll head to the airport."

"good."\

Without further hesitation, Li Mu quickly got up, tidied himself up, and went out the door.

I have no regrets; I've long been used to it.

After driving to work, he and Fang Wentao arrived at the same time, one after the other.

However, compared to Li Mu's normal appearance, Fang Wentao looked extremely haggard.

"Wentao, why do you look so pale?"

Li Mu was a little puzzled, while Fang Wentao, who had just finished clocking in and could finally catch his breath, shook his head:

"Senior...don't even mention it. Last night I went to meet a client with Brother Niu, and we drank until after 11 pm. I threw up four or five times."

"You can't vomit like that; it's too harmful to your stomach."

"But I couldn't help it. I can't hold my liquor, so I can only get by drinking until I throw up..."

Fang Wentao spoke with a bitter expression:

"Right now, I just hope I can get through my internship and then... transfer to the operations center. I'm finding this sales job a bit too much. Senior, do you know how to transfer?"

"I don't know. After all, I'm an editor. But... let's hang in there for now."

Seeing his junior's swollen eyes, he comforted him:

"No matter what, you have to pass the internship first."

"Um... thank you, senior. I'll be going now."

"come on."\

After watching his junior leave, Li Mu walked towards his office, feeling somewhat sentimental.

He's only been on the job for less than two weeks, and he's already become like this.

It's fair to say that the social obligations in the male-male department are quite intense. However, from another perspective, this also serves as evidence of the booming success of the company's male-male division.

If it were a government office with little influence, there wouldn't be so many drinking parties.

As he pondered this, he walked into the office and saw three interns cleaning with mops and rags.

"Oh? Good morning, Teacher Li."

"Yes, good morning."

Looking at the girl named Ren Qianqian, Li Mu smiled and responded.

A year ago, he was the one doing this job.

Time really flies...

Sitting at his workstation, watching the three busy interns, he thought to himself.

……\

Time certainly flies, regardless of anyone's will.

In the blink of an eye, July has come to an end.

Early August, August 8st, is Army Day.

While Shang Xiaobin was taking Sui Kuan to the military region in Guangzhou for an interview, the Southern Metropolis Daily completed a high-level personnel change.

Former General Manager Liu Xiaofeng has been transferred, and new General Manager Yu Huafeng has taken office.

Sitting in the large conference room, Li Mu clapped his hands, thinking to himself, "What a coincidence!"

What went before was the vanguard, and what's coming now is also the peak.

As he pondered this, he stole a glance at his boss.

He remained expressionless, exuding the air of a master. However, Li Mu's gaze shifted once more to He Shaojun, the deputy general manager who had been transferred earlier this year.

The general manager, deputy general manager, deputy director of the GG department... they were all transferred here.

Judging from this, it seems our boss has already lost control over administrative matters, right? Although, theoretically, the editor-in-chief is only responsible for the editorial system.

But... I have a feeling his situation isn't too good either.

On Army Day, Li Mu still didn't receive any phone calls.

Number 2 is also unavailable.

The 3rd and 4th are the weekend.

Number 5 should be here by now, right?

Still not.

For no apparent reason, a sense of anxiety welled up inside him.

No way.

Didn't the guy in the bathrobe mention he won an award?

Why haven't I received any news yet?

The awards ceremony is on the 18th.

It hasn't been many days... why hasn't it arrived yet?

With this anxiety, there was still no news by the 6th.

For some inexplicable reason, Li Mu felt a sense of "despair."

I started to comfort myself: "Garlic bird, garlic bird. There are so many excellent reporters and excellent news stories; nobody cares."

When a butterfly flaps its wings, it naturally stirs up a storm.

never mind.\

He comforted himself all night, and then... on the morning of the 7th, around 10 a.m., suddenly, Bie Yan called.

"Xiao Li, come to my office."

"Uh... okay, Brother Bie."

For some reason, Li Mu's heart started racing.

But after taking a few steps, the acceleration subsided.

Last night, there wasn't much he could do; the only useful thing he could do was mentally prepare himself.

If I gain it, I'm lucky; if I lose it, it's fate.

What else can we do?

Arriving at Bieyan's office, he knocked on the door and went inside. There he saw his older brother staring at him with a strange smile.

"Knock knock!"

Subconsciously, Li Mu's heart began to beat faster again.

Why is Brother Bie laughing like that?

That smile seems a little off.

"Brother Bie?"

"Are you getting impatient?"

This is the first sentence of the farewell speech.

"Knock knock knock knock..."

Li Mu felt his heart rate instantly spike to 180 beats per minute.

What does that mean?

What does he mean?

"Huh? Wh...what do you mean?"

"ha."\

Seeing Li Mu's stuttering, Bie Yan felt a surge of emotion.

We've really struck gold!

He was originally a newcomer whom they "picked" casually to meet promotion targets.

And it's only been a year...

He has a bright future ahead of him.

He sighed, no longer hiding his feelings, and raised the phone to Li Mu:

"I just got word that the Hong Kong Journalists Association just called the company. Congratulations, Xiao Li, on the 9/11 series..."

"Buzz~~~~~~~"\

Suddenly, a loud ringing in the ears replaced Bieyan's voice.

This made it impossible for Li Mu to hear what Bie Ge was saying.

? ? ? \

He was taken aback, quickly scratched his ear, and said:

"No... Brother, I... I didn't hear you clearly, what did you say?"

Seeing his little brother's fixed gaze, Bie Yan laughed even harder:

"I said, congratulations, reporter Li Mu, the first-prize winner! Congratulations on winning our unit's first National News Award first prize! Did you hear me clearly now!?"

"!!!"

Li Mu's eyes widened immediately:

"It really is me!?"

"Yes, it's you. The call came less than three minutes ago. Haha, I bet the whole group is thrilled right now. After all these years, we've finally produced a first-prize winner..."

"Wait... Brother, wait a minute, I'm a little confused. I... am the first person in our group to win an award?"

"..."\

Bie Yan's lips twitched.

I thought to myself, "What you're saying is a bit disrespectful."

So he shook his head:\

"Our group has already won the National News Award, first prize. I mean, our entire organization. Since our publication began, you're the first person to win the National News Award, first prize! Got it?!"

"Holy shit!"

The next second, Li Mu blurted out a curse.

At this moment, Bie Yan could even clearly see the bloodshot veins bursting from his eyes.

So he smiled and put a finger to his lips:

"Shh, keep your voice down. This news just arrived at the company; it hasn't reached us yet."

"Well……"\

Li Mu nodded quickly and asked again:

"Is it really me?"

"Yes, it's you. Haha, alright, calm down. Although this honor is something many journalists could never achieve in their entire lives... what you need most right now is to stay calm. There's tea in that pot, drink some water first and calm down. Once you've calmed down, go do what you need to do, don't let anyone see you like this and think you're losing your composure."

As he spoke, a hint of envy appeared in the older man's eyes.

The National Press Award.

The highest honor for domestic journalists...

He was absolutely right.

Many journalists spend their entire lives failing to even get past the threshold of the Hong Kong Journalists Association, but this guy... went to the United States and got such a big story.

Luck?

Inevitable.

But...isn't luck sometimes also a part of ability?

Now, with national honor at his side, this kid's future... well, let's not say how high he'll go, but at least, his path will be smoother than anyone else's.

and……\

Actually, Bie Yan felt it was a bit of a pity.

In May of this year, the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service was awarded to a reporter from The New York Times. That team of reporters was the same group of people Xiao Li mentioned before, led by Mike Sant, who covered 9/11.

It's a pity the Pulitzer Prize for Journalism is only for American journalists. If it were an international award, Li would definitely be the winner...

But regardless of the circumstances, the National News Award is undeniably prestigious for journalists in China.

So many news stories happen every year, every month, every day, and in this vast sea of ​​news, how can Xiao Li find the most dazzling pearl?

That's something so many people envy.

Including himself.

not to mention……\

So young.

And the thought that he himself had brought them up...

Even now, I feel a sense of pride.

I couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle:

"ha."\

This soft chuckle quickly caught Li Mu's attention.

He sat on the sofa, staring intently at Brother Bie who was laughing. After a moment of stunned silence, the corners of his mouth unconsciously began to turn upwards as well.

"Ha ha ha ha……"\

A burst of unparalleled, hearty laughter echoed through the office.

It will last a long time!