A perfect life begins with changing the timeline.

Chapter 127 The Glorious Halo of 911

"Brother Li, are you off work yet? I'm done."

"Not yet, I'm working overtime at the office."

"Okay, then you go ahead and get busy. Let me know when you get off work."

"it is good."

Fan Linbing sent the message around 6:00 AM. Li Mu replied as usual, without even a ripple of emotion.

This is a world apart from his embarrassing behavior last night, when he had just said goodbye to his first kiss.

He didn't know where his calm mindset came from, but after making up his mind that "if it's going to be a tragedy, then don't start it," he replied, put his phone in his pocket, and continued working on the manuscript with Sui Kuan.

Around 7 o'clock, the first version was finished.

The two of them kept writing and drawing on the first draft, and then around 8 o'clock they finished the second draft.

After confirming that the second edition was free of grammatical errors and even the punctuation was correct, Li Mu began copying the third edition.

To be honest, his wrists were already a little sore.

Finally, around 9 o'clock, the third draft was finished and placed on Wu Jun's desk.

When we walked out of the office building, it was already brightly lit.

"I'm so hungry—shall we go grab some late-night snacks?"

Upon hearing Sui Kuan's suggestion, Li Mu was actually not hungry.

But—I'm mentally exhausted.

He didn't even have a lunch break; he was working on this article specifically for the provincial team and athletes. He's been busy for seven or eight hours now, and the soreness in his wrists is nothing compared to the mental exhaustion he's feeling.

So he agreed: "Let's go somewhere nearby. Let's finish eating quickly and go back to rest. We have work to do tomorrow."

"I think so too."

Sui Kuan pointed to the lights not far away.

There are several food stalls on the way to Xicun, and the food is pretty good.

Both of them were a little tired. After walking over, they pulled up a small square table.

Sui Kuan said directly, "It's my treat."

"Hey, you've struck it rich? No thanks, it's on me. You haven't been officially hired yet, so keep that few hundred yuan a month for your internship."

"laugh."

Sui Kuan rolled his eyes: "If I really relied on those few hundred yuan for internship fees, I'd starve to death."

After saying that, he pressed Li Mu into a chair and went to order from the boss on his own.

Soon, two bottles of cool beer were served with a plate of spiced edamame and a plate of braised tofu.

"I thought the clams looked good today, so I stir-fried them. I also ordered fried duck chin, a chicken, and grilled squid. Is that enough?"

That's enough.

Li Mu poured him a drink, and without saying a word, they both let out a satisfied sigh as they downed the ice-cold beer.

"Phew—that feels so good."

Sui Kuan started peeling edamame, then added, "Have you heard? The awards are in January."

Li Mu was taken aback: "What prize?"

"It's an internal award of our company. Last week, when a few of us interns got together, we talked about it."

Everyone thinks you're a shoo-in for the Newcomer of the Year award, and if we go by the criteria—you might even win our organization's highest honor, the Journalism Award. As for the Southern Media Group's Journalism Award—I don't know. But I'm pretty sure you're going to win both of those.

"Ugh————"

Li Mu popped a edamame into his mouth, chewed it a couple of times, and then laughed, "Ha, thanks for your kind words. If it really is mine, I'll treat you to a big one."

66

He wasn't being modest at all.

Because—theoretically speaking, the internal awards within his organization are no longer sufficient to describe him as having a "significant advantage".

To put it bluntly, even if he didn't want the award, his company would still have to keep chasing him to give it to him.

The reason is simple: it was just 9/11.

And this year—so far, there seems to be no bigger news than 9/11.

As the only known journalist who was actually at the scene of the incident, brought back firsthand reports, and took multiple sets of photos, according to the standards of the journalism industry, he wouldn't even need to care about the Southern Media Group's awards, but should consider the Guangdong News Award, or even the National News Award.

Although it may seem absurd at first glance, that's the power of "big news" in the journalism industry.

"Tsk, I wonder how much your salary will be this month."

Sui Kuan sighed again.

Li Mu wasn't sure either, but—the photos must have sold for a lot of money. Because when he browsed portal websites now, whenever there was a topic about 9/11, the photos cited were almost all the ones he had taken back then.

To reiterate, 9/11 was a disaster for Americans. But for the journalists who uncovered the news, it was a coveted honor.

People who read newspapers don't need to care which reporter published the report, but those in the industry who pay attention to this news are probably already very familiar with their names.

Whether you envy good luck or are jealous of sheer good fortune, it doesn't matter.

In short, for a journalist who had been working for less than six months, this globally impactful report would be the brightest beacon in his journalistic career from now on, a halo of glory that would follow him for the rest of his life.

Although at first glance, using such a disaster as a halo sounds somewhat ironic.

But journalists rely on news to speak for themselves, and the struggle for the crown prince position has always been like that.

"Ten or twenty thousand, that should be enough, right?"

Upon hearing Li Mu's reply, Sui Kuan scoffed, "Don't be ridiculous, how could it be that low? Let me tell you, it's at least this number."

He held up five fingers: "If it's less than this number, I'll reasonably suspect that your company is embezzling your money."

"Haha, I appreciate your kind words."

Li Mu smiled and raised his wine glass again.

"Ding-dong."

While he was drinking, his phone rang.

"Brother Li, are you done? Time to go home."

Li Mu blinked and replied, "Just got off work, having a late-night snack with my colleagues."

"Oh, that's good. I've already showered and am about to go to bed. I was going to call you, why are you so late getting off work today?"

Fan Linbing's text message seemed to convey a sense of dissatisfaction.

Li Mu replied, "I finished an article today, it was quite long. You should get some rest, goodnight."

Who is it?

Sui Kuan, holding a wine glass, peeked out.

"friend."

Li Mu put his phone in his pocket: "Come on. Let's have a toast!"

"—Girlfriend?"

Why are you so gossipy?

"Me, gossipy? You were grinning from ear to ear when you texted, you were as lewd as could be."

"----I?"

Li Mu was speechless for a moment.

But then, Fatty Sui nodded: "Yeah, that expression was both happy and smug. What? Did that girl chase after you?"

'

""

Li Mu subconsciously touched his face.

Did I laugh?

Can't you?

Just then, Sui Kuan suddenly remembered something and said, "By the way, Li Wei has been asking me about you lately. Have you been chatting with her?"

"No, we haven't been in much contact."

"I feel like she's interested in you. Every time we eat out, she always asks why you're not there, and she keeps asking what you're doing, things like that."

Tsk tsk tsk.

At this point, Fatty Sui sighed, "It's a pity. I've made up my mind to pursue the Dao in this life. From the moment I set my sights on the Dao, there aren't many people who can stop you."

"You're kidding me."

Li Mu rolled his eyes: "Still so devoted to seeking the Dao—is foot massage also a Dao?"

"Huh? Your explanation seems plausible. I was originally going to say it was about prostitution—"

'

'

Li Mu remained silent, and under the somewhat lewd gaze of Fatty Sui, he picked up his wine glass again.

A late-night snack and two bottles of beer didn't really make me feel anything, but at least they suppressed the fire inside me.

After taking a taxi home, Li Mu breathed a sigh of relief. After checking the time, he lost the desire to play on the computer for a while, grabbed a book from the table, and went inside.

Before he could even turn a page, he started yawning after just two lines.

Finally, I simply turned off the lights and went to sleep.

But tonight, he didn't see Frowning Guy.

After sleeping until dawn, still feeling a bit weary and wanting to stay on my pillow, I started another long, arduous day.

The good news is, however, that today is Friday.

There will be no make-up workday this weekend.

After arriving at work early in the morning, I received a reminder from Wu Jun that their article had already been submitted.

The number of articles published is actually a very important standard for measuring internal salaries within an organization.

As things stand, Li Mu's workload is quite substantial.

After a short meeting in the morning where each group reported on the current progress of the Ninth National Games, the four-person team went out for interviews again under the scorching sun.

Today's workload was manageable, not heavy.

After returning from the interview, the article didn't even pass through Li Mu's hands; Sui Kuan took over directly.

In the afternoon, Li Mu met with Bie Yan.

Bie Yan must have just started working here; her hair is all messy.

"Um, Xiao Li, come to my office."

Li Mu, who was delivering the materials, nodded: "Okay, Brother Bie."

After delivering the documents to the local department, Li Mu quickly went to Brother Bie's office, knocked on the door, and went inside.

"Come on a business trip with me next week."

Don't get straight to the point.

But Li Mu was taken aback: "A business trip? Brother Bie, you—you're going on a business trip? Your health—"

Bie Yan rolled her eyes: "I haven't even had surgery yet. Do you think I'm Lin Daiyu? So delicate?"

"I'm not worried."

Li Mu chuckled, scratched his head, and pulled out his notebook: "What number?"

"On the 17th, we're going to Ningbo. This time we won't be bringing Xiao Sui, just the two of us. We'll stay there for four or five days."

Li Mu was taken aback, and subconsciously said, "The Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Awards?"

"right."

Bie Yan nodded: "The 10th Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Film Festival opens on the 18th. We'll come back after it closes on the 22nd."

"What about the Ninth National Games?"

"Otherwise, what's the point of having you work so hard to finish these articles?"

The older brother shrugged casually: "This film festival is quite important. I've postponed the interview with the provincial team until a few days after we leave. These long articles can fill the gap. You should work harder these next few days and compile more short articles. Increase the workload. Wu Jun, Shang Xiaobin, and I have already discussed it."

"Okay, I understand."

Li Mu agreed to his elder brother's arrangement without hesitation.

Just do whatever they say.

He thought to himself, recalling what happened to the frowning guy.