Back to 1997, I became the originator of online literature

Chapter 351: Rumor Spreads
Who are the readers of the Huizhou Daily?

In mainland China, ordinary people generally don't have the habit of buying newspapers; it's usually enterprises and institutions that subscribe, such as on an annual or monthly basis.

Moreover, subscribing to a certain newspaper is often a task assigned by superiors.

If we really had to rely on readers to pay for our newspapers, most newspapers in mainland China would go bankrupt.

Zhang Youkui is the deputy director of the logistics department of the tourism department of Huizhou Teachers College. After arriving at the office for breakfast that day, he drank the tea that his assistant had already brewed, dealt with the day's work, and then had some free time.

I get really bored when I have free time.

He put his hands behind his back and went to the next office to chat with someone.

For him, it was just an ordinary day.

He chatted with two young teachers in the next office for a while, and then the two young teachers said goodbye with their lecture notes because it was time for class.

He had some free time again.

As I walked out of the office with my hands behind my back, feeling bored, I caught sight of the mailman delivering the newspapers and suddenly became interested. I went over to look at the few new newspapers that had been delivered that day.

The Huizhou Daily was the first newspaper to catch his eye.

Bored, he reached for a newspaper on the wooden shelf, its pages still smelling of ink, and began browsing the front page news as he walked toward his office.

Soon I saw a familiar name – “Zhongyuan Yidianhui”.

"Hey? Isn't that the kid from our school who writes novels?"

He became interested.

The main point is that the headline of this news article is: "Zhongyuan Yidianhui is writing all night? No! He's on a date with a girl!"

Below this title, there is also an image.

In the picture, Cao Sheng is seen with his arm around the waist of a girl in a dress, and there is another pretty girl next to them.

A man dating two girls?
Zhang Youkui's eyes widened in surprise.

This news seems a bit sensational.

He looked closely at the man in the picture, and he looked exactly like Cao Sheng.

Although he had no personal relationship with Cao Sheng, Cao Sheng was the most famous student in the history of Huizhou Teachers College, and he had seen him several times on campus.

However, he recognized Cao Sheng, but Cao Sheng did not recognize him.

He instinctively quickened his pace and returned to his office.

I sipped my tea while carefully reading this news article.

The news was indeed sensational and did not disappoint him. It reported that Cao Sheng had met two young and beautiful girls at the Huizhou International Hotel last night. He seemed particularly intimate with the girl in the white dress, but he did not neglect the other girl either. He had his arm around the girl in the white dress, while he kept talking and joking with the girl in the blue dress, showing the romantic nature of a talented man.

Zhang Youkui thoroughly enjoyed watching it, experiencing a thrilling sense of voyeurism into the private lives of talented individuals.

He did not doubt the authenticity of the report.

Firstly, in the eyes of most Chinese people these days, newspapers are representatives of authority, especially formal newspapers like the Huizhou Daily.

Secondly, he felt that it was normal for a talented young man like Cao Sheng to like dating such beautiful girls. He asked himself, if he were Cao Sheng, would he not date beautiful girls?

After reading the entire report, he clicked his tongue with a hint of lingering interest and muttered to himself, "This kid... he's really playing around! He doesn't even care about the social impact. Luckily, it's just one photo, otherwise the school leaders would be in for a headache, haha."

……

The newspaper quickly spread among the teachers at Huizhou Teachers College.

In every teacher's office, people were talking about this.

Some people say, "It's not a big deal! It's just a photo of them hugging, it's not like we caught them in bed together, what's the big deal?"

Some people said, "I think the school should remind him to be more careful in the future and not let the media take such photos again. He needs to pay attention to his personal image and also to the image of our school!"

Someone else asked, "Who are these two girls? Does anyone know them?"

……

Everyone has curiosity.

The teachers at Huizhou Teachers College were no exception.

Throughout the morning, almost every student who came to the teachers' office to deliver homework or run errands was asked by some teachers about the identities of the two girls in the newspaper.

A teacher pointed to two girls in the photo and asked, "Hey! Do you know these two girls? Are they from our school?"

Chen Xinjie is the class monitor of the Chinese Language and Literature class in the Chinese Department this year.

Around 10 a.m. that day, he rushed into an office and urgently reported something: "Teacher! Something's happened. One of the girls in our class seems to have heatstroke. She suddenly fainted during military training. Several of us have already taken her to the school clinic. Would you like to go and take a look?"

This news immediately caught the attention of several teachers in the office.

The counselor for the first-year Chinese Language and Literature class immediately stood up and strode towards the door. "Come on! Take me to see! Which girl is it? What's her name?"

Because I was walking too fast, I twisted my right ankle as soon as I stepped out of the office.

"Ah...hh..."

He stopped immediately in pain and squatted down.

Chen Xinjie was startled and quickly stepped forward to express his concern.

Several teachers in the office came out out of curiosity to see what was going on.

One of the female teachers, who was holding a copy of the Huizhou Daily, glanced curiously at the sprained ankle and joked, "Teacher Xu, since you're going to the school clinic, why don't you take a look at your foot while you're at it? Hehe."

Several teachers were amused.

Teacher Xu, who had sprained her ankle, also gave a self-deprecating smile.

Chen Xinjie dared not laugh, he tried to hold it in, but the corners of his mouth still couldn't help but turn up slightly.

He quickly helped the counselor up.

At this moment, the female teacher holding the "Huizhou Daily" rolled her eyes, took two steps forward, handed the newspaper to Chen Xinjie, pointed to the two girls in the newspaper, and casually asked, "Hey! Student, do you know these two girls? Are they from our school?"

Chen Xinjie glanced at it curiously, then looked surprised. "Huh? Aren't these Tan Yu and Wang Mei from our class? How come they're in the newspaper?"

Before he could finish speaking, several teachers present, including his counselor, Teacher Xu, showed expressions of surprise.

Mr. Xu is not one to gossip, and he did not read the newspaper today.

Hearing that two girls from his class had been featured in the newspaper, he was pleasantly surprised and thought: "This new class I'm teaching has such talented people who have already been featured in the newspaper right after starting school?"
"Really? Dude! Are you sure these two girls are really from your class?"

"Yes, classmate! You can't just say things like that!"

"Oh, these two girls are really from our school? Tsk tsk."

……

The other teachers chimed in, each offering their own opinion.

Teacher Xu had already seen the headline of the news article and the picture accompanying it—a man with his arm around a girl's waist, smiling broadly as he talked to another girl.

This this……

What news is this about the two girls in my class?

He quickly snatched the newspaper and carefully read the news, becoming increasingly alarmed as he read.

While he was reading this news article, several teachers next to him were joking around with him.

"Hey! Old Xu! You're in luck! You actually managed to get in touch with Cao Sheng from our school this way. You're pretty good!"

"Old Xu! Aren't these two girls really pretty in person? Otherwise, Cao Sheng probably wouldn't be interested."

"Teacher Xu! Give them a good nurturing! Who knows, maybe one of them will marry Cao Sheng someday! And as their advisor, you could even be invited to their wedding! Hehe." ...

Teacher Xu had no interest in their teasing.

After reading the entire news article, he stared at the two girls in the photo again and again, and felt that they were indeed two girls from his class.

Although it has only been a short time since the start of the school year, he hasn't even memorized all the students' names yet, and it's even more difficult to match names with faces.

But he still had a pretty good memory of what the two prettiest girls in the class looked like.

At this moment, he felt a mix of emotions that were hard to describe.

It turns out that the female protagonist in the news that his colleagues were just talking about in the office was someone from his class.

"Let's go! Let's go to the school clinic first!"

He said this to Chen Xinjie, and handed the newspaper back to the female teacher.

With a complicated expression, he left the office building with Chen Xinjie's help.

As he came out of the building, he suddenly asked, "Chen Xinjie, did Tan Yu and Wang Mei go to military training today?"

Chen Xinjie nodded, "Yes, they all went. What happened?"

Teacher Xu paused for a few seconds, then asked, "Are there any unusual signs in either of them?"

He actually wanted to ask if the two of them walked awkwardly today.
But as a counselor, he found it difficult to ask such a question.

Chen Xinjie: "No, right? I... I didn't notice anything unusual."

Teacher Xu suddenly sensed that Chen Xinjie's tone was a bit unusual. The usually cheerful young man seemed to have become sullen.

He turned to look at Chen Xinjie and observed him closely. He noticed that Chen Xinjie, who usually had a smile on his face, no longer had a smile on his face and seemed quite disappointed.

Teacher Xu was initially puzzled as to what the child was disappointed about.
Then it dawned on me, and I roughly understood why.

After all, he was a student himself, and he knows all too well what it's like for freshmen when they first enter university.

Many freshmen dream of having a romantic relationship during their university years.

It should be noted that in those days, early romantic relationships were generally prohibited in junior and senior high schools in China.

Some schools with strict rules will contact the parents of students who are in early romantic relationships and try to expel them from the school.

However, high school students are transitioning from adolescence to adulthood.

As people mature physically, they naturally want to be in a relationship.

However, the school forcibly suppressed them, and everyone was almost driven to the point of becoming abnormal. Finally, they entered a university where dating was allowed, and most of them, regardless of gender, wanted to experience the taste of love.

As a male student and the class monitor of the first-year Chinese Language and Literature class, it's perfectly normal for Chen Xinjie to have his eyes on the prettiest girls in his class as soon as he entered the school.

But he had just seen in the Huizhou Daily that Tan Yu, the prettiest girl in the class, was being hugged by a man, and Wang Mei, the second prettiest girl in the class after Tan Yu, was also chatting and laughing with that man.

Therefore, Teacher Xu can understand Chen Xinjie's feelings.

He patted Chen Xinjie's arm reassuringly.

Chen Xinjie looked puzzled.

Teacher Xu smiled and said, "When the military training ends this morning, please have Tan Yu and Wang Mei come to my office. I want to ask them what's going on."

Chen Xinjie nodded and responded.

……

noon.

In the canteen of Huizhou TV station.

Jiang Xiaoshuang got a meal and found a corner to eat.

While eating, I was thinking about my work schedule for the afternoon.

But soon after, several female colleagues came and sat down with their trays.

The first female colleague to arrive, as soon as she sat down, said with a big smile, "Hey! Xiao Jiang! Have you heard? That guy from your alma mater, Zhongyuan Yidianhui, went on a date with two girls last night. I remember you said you knew him before, right? So tell me, when he was in school, did he really like dating girls? Did he?"

Jiang Xiaoshuang's chicken leg, which she had just picked up to her mouth, clattered onto her plate because her hand trembled.

"Who?"

"Zhongyuan Yidianhui! You mean Cao Sheng from your alma mater? Was his private life clean before?"

The female colleague asked curiously.

Jiang Xiaoshuang: "???"

"Is he alright? Anyway, I don't think I ever heard of him messing around with women when we were in school."

Jiang Xiaoshuang subconsciously tried to protect Cao Sheng's image.

The female colleague chuckled, "Really? Maybe he's changed now. The Huizhou Daily reported that he was dating two beautiful women at the same time last night! He even put his arm around one of them's waist. I saw him laughing... so flirtatious! Hehe."

Jiang Xiaoshuang: "???"

"is it?"

Jiang Xiaoshuang's mind was in turmoil.

Just then, two more female colleagues sat down next to her with trays and smiles, asking her about Cao Sheng and mentioning the report about Cao Sheng in today's Huizhou Daily.

……

Cao Sheng was called to the office by his counselor, Guan Jincheng.

Guan Jincheng was his new tutor after he transferred from junior college to university. He usually took good care of him. This morning, when Cao Sheng came out of the classroom after class, he saw Guan Jincheng waiting outside the classroom door.

At the time, Cao Sheng was a little surprised, thinking: Who is the counselor waiting for?

Before the thought had even left his mind, Guan Jincheng beckoned to him, "Cao Sheng! Come here! Come to my office. I have something I'd like to ask you. Do you have time?"

Guan Jincheng spoke very politely.

Cao Sheng followed him to the office.

At this time, there were no other teachers in Guan Jincheng's office.

"Teacher Guan! What's wrong?"

As Cao Sheng asked questions, he looked around the office; it was his first time in Guan Jincheng's office.

Guan Jincheng placed a copy of the Huizhou Daily in front of Cao Sheng, pointed to a photo on the front page, and asked with a helpless smile, "Cao Sheng, is that you in the photo?"

Cao Sheng was surprised, not because he was surprised that he was in the newspaper again.

After all, he had been in the newspapers many times since his rebirth, so many times that he himself had lost count.

He was simply surprised that Kwan Kam-ching had called him to his office because of a news report.

So, what made me appear in the newspaper this time?
Curious, he picked up the newspaper and examined the spot where Guan Jincheng had just pointed for a while.

Cao Sheng only read about a hundred words of the news article before he understood what it was about.

He couldn't help but chuckle.

I think newspapers these days are incredibly good at making things up.

He had only helped the drunk Tan Yu up, yet he made it into the newspapers, and the reporter even wrote a lengthy news article about it.

What a waste of time! If this reporter even had balls.

(End of this chapter)