A perfect life begins with changing the timeline.

"Then you need to have a good talk with Brother Bie."

This was Fan Bingbing's suggestion.

Li Mu naturally understood.

We really need to have a serious talk.

So, on Monday the 20th, Li Mu went to work and immediately contacted Bie Yan.

"Brother Bie, are you busy right now? Do you have some time?"

Seeing Li Mu walk in, Bie Yan shook his head and pointed to the sofa, saying:

"What's wrong?"

"There's something I'd like to talk to you about, brother."

"Go ahead and say it."

As Bie Yan spoke, he also came to the sofa and began to boil water to make tea.

"Brother Bie, Bingbing came over yesterday."

Li Mugang had just opened his mouth when Bi Yanle interrupted:

"What, are you sending me an invitation to a wedding?"

"..."

Now it was Li Mu's turn to be speechless.

I thought to myself, "What are you thinking, bro..."

Seeing his younger brother's speechless expression, Bie Yan laughed heartily:

"Haha, just kidding. Go on..."

"We had dinner with Ding Lei last night."

"Oh?"

Don't just raise an eyebrow:

"You two are such good friends?"

"Actually, it wasn't me, it was her... I've discovered that she's much better at socializing with other people than I am."

"Haha, so you two are a perfect match, one focusing on domestic affairs and the other on external matters?"

Seeing his older brother start acting silly again, Li Mu became increasingly speechless, so he decided to get straight to the point:

"During dinner, I asked Ding Lei what he'd been up to lately, and he told me he'd been busy with MMS operator stuff. Hey bro, have you gotten a new phone yet?"

"No, but I know about MMS. I bought Yiyi a color screen phone after her exams."

Now that the older brother knows what MMS is, things are much easier:

"Hey, Brother Bie, I have an idea..."

Before I knew it, the water had boiled.

Bie Yan's expression turned thoughtful as he mechanically brewed tea while listening.

After Li Mu finished explaining his thoughts on "MMS newspapers," Bie Yan immediately asked:

"Did you come up with this yourself?"

"Um."

Li Mu nodded heavily:

"Bingbing also told me that the competition among newspapers in Yanjing is fierce. She's worked for more than a dozen newspapers with decent publication volumes..."

"That's also the main reason why I didn't agree to your going there in the first place."

Bie Yan sighed with a hint of helplessness:

"The competition is fierce. Just from what I know, the lowest-ranking newspaper Bingbing has appeared in, the *China Times*, had a circulation of nearly 400,000 last year, and many others had over 500,000. But they're different from us. In the Guangdong and Guangxi regions, we're practically a monopoly, yet these newspapers can achieve circulations of over 500,000 in Beijing, where the competition is so intense… Every single one of them is a force to be reckoned with. So, my initial feeling was that this was impossible. If it weren't for Yiyi, I wouldn't want to get involved."

"But now it's an opportunity, isn't it, Brother Bie?"

Li Mu's eyes were piercing:

"I completely agree with Ding Lei's words: print media will eventually be eliminated. The text-carrying capacity of print media is too low. And now, MMS newspapers, at least in my view, are a blue ocean market!"

"...Little Li."

Faced with Li Mu's ambitious plans, Bie Yan was somewhat speechless:

"To be honest, bro... I was originally planning to slack off. Putting everything else aside... don't forget Dong Huaiming. Weiwei's due date is around these days, right? Everyone on my line is waiting. My initial plan was to come back after Yiyi's college entrance exam. You know... our group's future is much bigger than this newspaper. Why don't you... keep this idea at the company? Then..."

"Brother Bie... Bingbing accepted my marriage proposal."

"..."

The older man's face twitched instantly, and his eyes widened:

"You proposed!?"

"...Well, on Saturday, we talked about houses. I said I'd buy a house in Yanjing as our wedding home."

"...She agreed!?"

"Um."

"..."

Now, the older brother was speechless.

Because Xiao Li's words have made it clear... and thinking about it, it makes sense.

In the past two years, Bingbing's acting career has been going very well, and her film "The Lion Roars" grossed over 20 million yuan, which is quite good.

The TV series also had high viewership ratings.

With movies, TV series, endorsements, and star power, his career prospects are incredibly bright.

And all the celebrities in the entertainment industry who don't have to worry about work have their base in Beijing.

There's no way around it; Beijing is the cradle of the industry. No matter where you're from in the country, you have to live in Beijing. That's just how it is.

To be honest, he wasn't optimistic about Leonardo DiCaprio's relationship with this celebrity at first.

In his opinion... while it's true that Xiao Li has potential and is promising, Fan Bingbing is, after all, a celebrity.

The gap between a poor journalist and a celebrity is simply too vast.

But somehow, the two of them have managed to get to where they are today.

They've both reached the age where they should be talking about marriage.

He was quite surprised.

After the unexpected turn of events, it became clear... the moment Bingbing accepted Xiao Li's marriage proposal, Xiao Li's heart no longer belonged to Guangdong.

It no longer belongs to Southern Metropolis Daily.

To put it even more dramatically, if this new newspaper doesn't turn out well, then... Xiao Li won't come back. He'll stay in Beijing, relying on his extensive resume that surpasses almost 70% of journalists, to find a new job in that city.

Strangely enough, when Bie Yan thought about how Xiao Li might resign in a few years and he himself would have to return to Guangzhou, he felt inexplicably sad.

But then again...

Whether it's the potential, responsibility, and journalistic dedication my younger brother has shown in the past two years, or the kindness that saved my life.

He knew he had to help his younger brother.

"Okay, I understand. We'll handle this at the new newspaper... Do you have any specific ideas?"

"have."

Li Mu nodded:

"I think you shouldn't take this position, brother... tentatively as the head of the new media department. I... want to be the second-in-command!"

"..."

Bie Yan's lips twitched again, and she couldn't help but mutter a remark:

"Just be more blunt, you might as well say you want to be emperor."

"I have no reason to lie to you, brother. The gap between Bingbing and me is widening... I can't... right?"

"..."

"Brother Bie, I really have confidence in this department. I'm not worried about the technical aspects; I've already talked to Ding Lei, and he'll support me. Besides, we'll need to recruit people over there anyway... and this department doesn't really need an editor-in-chief. We just need to get the news the newspaper wants to publish and edit it into MMS messages. At first glance, this department seems insignificant, but once it's really established... Brother Bie, it's a blue ocean where we don't have to compete with other newspapers!"

Li Mu said with unwavering determination!

……

Xiao Li has already left.

But Bie Yan remained seated on the sofa, not moving an inch.

He was thinking about how to handle this situation.

Just now... well, the kid was quite disappointed because I didn't agree to his request directly.

But at the same time, he also saw the kid's ambition!

But... how should I put it?

He knew very well that his main purpose was to spend time with his daughter.

I spent three years of high school with my daughter, accompanying her through the most important three years of her life.

He and his ex-wife had already discussed it, and he would go to accompany his wife to study. After all, his hometown is Yanjing, where he has relatives and friends, so it would be convenient for them to help each other if anything happened.

His mission will be over once his daughter gets into university.

I'll be back then.

Indeed, at first glance, this newly established newspaper seems impressive. Guangming Daily, as a national government-run newspaper, is a pillar of the media industry. The Southern Metropolis Daily's flat management structure and its pragmatic approach to news reporting, combined with Guangming Daily… certainly seem to have an unassailable advantage.

But... he really wasn't optimistic.

The reason is the same as what Xiao Li said: the competition among newspapers in Yanjing is too fierce.

The 500,000 copies published amidst mountains of corpses and seas of blood are even more valuable than those of the Southern Metropolis Daily.

Because the Southern Metropolis Daily can be said to have a monopoly in the Guangdong and Guangxi areas, and this monopoly was not achieved through fierce competition, but rather because the Southern Group has been fulfilling this function since the founding of the People's Republic of China.

This is due to the advantages of favorable timing, location, and human factors.

Moreover, the Southern Group is one of the family's core businesses.

He had discussed it with everyone in the family, including his sister and brother-in-law, and they felt that Dong Huaiming would definitely make trouble, and that the knife was even handed over by their side.

If this time they can be completely eradicated, then within the Southern Group, while it may not be a one-man show, at least... in a few years, the chairman's position might be changed.

Therefore, he had no intention of staying in Yanjing for long and would return after his daughter finished high school.

But Xiao Li had no way out...

For some reason, he felt a pang of regret.

I feel like dating is holding this guy back...

But... as the eldest brother, he couldn't just ignore it.

As for his proposed "new media department" and his offer to make him the director... well, I don't really care.

He can't afford to overwork himself, so the high-intensity work in the editorial department is definitely not an option. But since he's being transferred, he can't be transferred laterally. So, he really has to become the director there.

He had originally planned to continue working in the Department of Culture and Sports, or even other departments. But the thought of all the troubles that would arise after the new newspaper was launched gave him a headache. So, he decided to have Lin Naichen join him.

He was the director, and she was the deputy director, helping to share the workload.

But Lin Naichen might not go.

His core support base is here. If he honestly works his way up through seniority, he can still get promoted even after he's transferred.

What's more, his wife and children are here too.

It's definitely a difficult situation. But now, with the idea Xiao Li has suggested, it seems that if I accept this title, the work will be much easier.

Well……

Upon further reflection, Bie Yan realized that this actually made sense.

Being a hands-off parent means less work pressure, more time to spend with your daughter, and a much more relaxed lifestyle...

So... here's the question.

Is it appropriate for Xiao Li to become the second-in-command?

In terms of resume and hard qualifications... they are certainly sufficient.

But jumping too fast makes it difficult, even with special measures.

So what should we do about this?

Bie Yan fell into deep thought again.