A perfect life begins with changing the timeline.

When Li Mu walked out of Bie Yan's office, he still felt a little dizzy and unsteady.

Even after he had drunk a cup of tea and calmed himself down for a while, this was still his state.

If it were the very beginning, he would have jumped up and down the moment he walked out.

According to Bie Yan, the news had just reached the group, and the awards were expected to be issued that afternoon.

He no longer cared about whether he received an award or not.

What matters is this honor.

Once the honor is in hand, everything else is just external.

But... to his surprise, the group acted much faster than Bie Yan had predicted.

Just after 11 a.m., while he was still calming himself down, he suddenly heard footsteps outside the main office.

Li Mu didn't hear it, and he wasn't in the mood to listen at the moment.

However… the other people in the office were somewhat puzzled when they saw Cheng Yizhong, Yu Huafeng, He Shaojun, and Zhou Long walk in.

What...why is the big boss here?

As he was pondering this, Zhou Long coughed lightly:

"Ahem, everyone, put down what you're doing. Li Mu, Xiao Li."

As everyone looked at Li Mu with questioning eyes, Li Mu subconsciously stood up.

"We just received a notification from the group that our unit has just produced its first-ever National Journalism Award First Prize winner since its inception. Congratulations, Xiao Li! For your '9/11 Special Report Series,' you've won the National Journalism Award—First Prize—a nationally recognized award presented by the China Journalists Association. Let's give you a round of applause!"

"!!!"

"Hiss~~"

"???"

All the reporters in the office fell silent.

But the next second, everyone, including Cheng Yizhong and Yu Huafeng, burst into applause.

"Splash splash splash..."

"..."\

Amidst the applause, Li Mu's somewhat dazed appearance made him seem a little out of place.

But now everyone understands.

National News Award!

That's the National Press Award! The highest honor for journalists!

It was still the first prize!

Little Li... just like that, he won an award!?

Then, Cheng Yizhong gestured for the applause to stop, and then smiled at Li Mu, saying:

"Xiao Li, congratulations. We hope you'll continue your efforts and bring even better news to the public. This award isn't the end; on the contrary, this honor is the starting point for our organization and for you personally. You're still young, you can't slack off, understand?"

This was Li Mu's first formal communication with his boss.

The last provincial news award was given to him because he had to return to Beijing; it was Liu Xiaofeng, who had taken him to receive the award before his transfer.

Upon hearing his boss's words, Li Mu quickly nodded:

"Yes, Editor-in-Chief, I understand. I will definitely continue to work hard. Thank you to our organization and to you, Editor-in-Chief, for your guidance and training. I will continue to strive for excellence!"

"ha."\

Hearing this, Cheng Yizhong's smile widened even more.

He then continued:

"Yes, the company's commendation certificate for you will arrive this afternoon. At the same time, a bonus of 50,000 yuan will be deposited into your account along with your salary. There's also a promotion opportunity for senior reporter. Fill out the application form in a bit; starting next month, you will be officially promoted to senior reporter, with a salary increase."

"..."\

"..."\

"..."\

The other people in the department didn't react much to this.

To be honest, Xiao Li has only been with the company for a year.

But having already received the National Press Award, they certainly can't be judged by ordinary standards.

At 22, she won the National News First Prize.

If the group doesn't offer such talent a significant raise, are they really going to wait until they become dissatisfied with their compensation and are poached by other newspapers?

Therefore, this promotion is just the most insignificant link in the chain.

This is talented; we must retain them!

"Remember to go to the Beijing Journalists Association headquarters to collect your award on the 18th."

After Cheng Yizhong finished speaking, another person appeared at the door.

No more words.

The older brother appeared at the door, and after seeing the situation inside, he was taken aback at first, then naturally stood next to Zhou Long.

"Finally, let's congratulate reporter Li Mu, and hope everyone will continue their efforts to produce even better news. This is just the beginning, for everyone. Do you understand?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Cheng Yizhong led the applause.

"Splash..."

Applause once again resounded in the Arts and Sports Department office.

Li Mu bowed to express his gratitude. Then, several leaders came over, patted Li Mu on the shoulder, offered encouragement, and left.

Only Zhou Long and Bie Yan remained in the office.

"Alright, that's all the good news. Everyone, let's get back to work... Xiao Li."

"Yes, Director."

"Winning an award is a good thing. But you can't let your guard down, you know? Even though you've been promoted to senior reporter, your performance record is still zero. You can't neglect the rest of the office just because you've been promoted. We have year-end performance reviews."

"Uh...yes, Director, I will definitely try my best."

A hint of shame appeared on Li Mu's face.

"That's right, people can't just think of themselves; they have to consider the collective good too. Okay, everyone get back to work."

After Zhou Long finished speaking, he nodded to Bie Yan:

"Does the deputy director have anything else to say?"

"Ha, that's all."

Bie Yan suddenly chuckled, shook his head to indicate he had nothing more to say, and then, as if chatting casually, said to Zhou Long:

「就

"If the director has any more news like this, could you please let me know? If I hadn't heard the noise outside the office, I might have missed Xiao Li's great news."

Zhou Long was taken aback.

After glancing at Bie Yan, he nodded:

"Okay, got it."

After saying that, he walked out first.

But Bie Yan didn't leave; instead, he said:

"Today's a good day, don't leave tonight, let's have a department dinner to celebrate for Xiao Li."

Wu Jun, who was closest to him, looked up at Bie Yan, thought for a moment, and said with a chuckle:

"Then we'll benefit from Xiao Li's success!"

Bie Yan smiled slightly, then turned and left the office.

"Wow, Xiao Li, congratulations!"

"The National Journalism Award!!!"

"Little Li, you've become a senior reporter! Haha..."

As soon as the leader left, a swarm of congratulatory messages immediately descended upon him.

But Wu Jun did not move.

This veteran, who had worked in the cultural and sports department for half his life, ignored the card game on his computer screen. Instead, he held his thermos and glanced at the office doors where the two leaders had walked out, but in completely opposite directions. He casually took a sip of tea.

In almost the time it takes to eat a meal, the news that Li Mu had won the first national news award in the history of his organization, and that it was even a first prize, had already spread throughout the entire *Southern Metropolis Daily*.

Suddenly, Li Mu became famous.

Although he was already quite famous, his numerous honors and the genuine value of his achievements still evoked a sense of envy from everyone.

"Congratulations, senior!"

Hearing Fang Wentao's congratulations, Li Mu smiled and nodded.

He was already feeling a bit numb.

There were so many people congratulating me.

"Good luck to you too. I'll make a call first."

"Okay, okay."

Fang Wentao politely stepped back, while Li Mu took a deep breath and dialed Li Dajiang's cell phone.

"Beep beep... Hello, third brother?"

"Dad, are you in the fields?"

"Hey, I'm eating right now. Did you eat me?"

"I've eaten... Dad, I need to tell you something."

"What's wrong?"

"I... won an award."

Standing in front of the trash can by the door, Li Mu held the phone, his tone carrying a hint of anticipation for praise.

Just like when he was a child, every time he took his exam paper home, he felt exactly the same.

"What prize?"

"National Press Award, First Prize."

"What kind of award is that?"

Hearing his father's question, Li Mu wasn't surprised at all that he didn't know the significance of the award.

Instead, a very vivid and illustrative example was used:

"Dad, you think of our country as a school. And I got first place in the school. Does that make sense?"

"..."\

There was a long silence on the other end of the phone.

Li Dajiang knew his own child very well.

From childhood to adulthood, he lived on the honor roll of people saying, "Look at the third son of Brother Dajiang's family."

But at this moment, after listening to his son use a vivid metaphor to describe the significance of this journalism award... he was momentarily speechless.

After a long while, at Li Mu's cry of "Dad," the farmer standing on his own land, facing the yellow earth, bare-backed and with a bronze complexion, moved his lips and uttered a few words:

"Good job, not bad at all. Third brother, you're a great guy!"

"Ha ha……"\

On the other end of the phone.

Li Mu burst into laughter.

He was laughing so hard!