A perfect life begins with changing the timeline.

When given the choice between abalone, shark fin, and bird's nest, Li Mu ordered a golden shark fin soup.

But when the shark fin was served, he realized that it looked just like vermicelli.

And it tastes similar to rice noodles...

Is this shark fin? He was greatly disappointed.

Although it tastes pretty good...

However, it didn't look as delicious as the abalone that Sui Kuan had.

But that thought was quickly forgotten after a couple of ounces of liquor.

To be honest, nothing particularly special was discussed at the dinner tonight. Apart from the opening, when Brother Bie asked, "When can we do the interview?" and the other party replied, "Anytime is fine once the actors arrive in the next couple of days," the rest of the time everyone only talked about romance and not about feelings.

The scene was somewhat different from what Li Mu had imagined—a commentary on the entertainment industry.

Moreover, his role today is mainly that of an intern reporter serving drinks and keeping the reporter company, just like Sui Kuan.

However, Li Mu could tell that both General Manager Xu and General Manager Chen treated Brother Bie quite "properly." While it wasn't exactly flattery, there was a strong sense of respect in their words.

From this perspective, Li Muxin said that Bie Ge, this veteran reporter, must be quite capable.

I guess I've chosen the right person to follow.

The meal lasted from 6 pm until a little after 9 pm before it finally ended.

On average, each person drinks about half a jin (250ml) of liquor.

Li Mu also drank quite a bit, but he wasn't drunk yet. Sui Kuan, however, was much less so.

He kept saying he could drink a pound of liquor, but after downing more than half a pound, he was already staggering as he walked.

Bie Yan acted as if he hadn't drunk anything; there wasn't even a hint of color on his dark, thin face. In the end, Li Mu had to help Sui Kuan to the bathroom to vomit twice before he finally regained some consciousness.

When the two came out, the private room was empty.

Seeing this, Li Mu quickly helped the fat man out of the private room. After arriving at the restaurant entrance, they saw Bie Yan chatting happily with Chen Jinli.

After glancing over here, Chen Jinli casually took out three envelopes from her briefcase.

Then, Brother Bie engaged in a top-notch tug-of-war with this person, and finally had to accept the three envelopes.

After seeing the guests off, the three of them waved goodbye to the Passat, thus ending the meal.

Bie Yan glanced at Sui Kuan, who was unconscious and trembling, then looked at Li Mu, who seemed quite lucid, and asked with a smile:

"How's it? Is the shark fin soup tasty?"

"...It's alright. Thanks, Brother Bie, I'm really benefiting from your help."

Upon hearing Li Mu's words, Bie Yan laughed and handed over two envelopes:

"Here, take it."

"This is……"

Li Mu grabbed it and squeezed it; he knew exactly what was inside.

Don't just shrug:

"Although such good things don't happen every day, since we've encountered this, let's accept it. We can just say a few nice words about it in the article later. One for you and one for Fatty."

"...Thank you, Brother Bie."

Li Mu did not refuse.

He had actually figured out the true nature of today's dinner party long ago.

Rather than saying it was a scheme orchestrated by Xu Ting, it would be more accurate to say that Mr. Chen really wanted to establish a connection with the Southern Metropolis Daily.

As the largest-circulation media publication in the Southern Media Group, praising a celebrity or a play in the entertainment section could mean a boost in viewership by several percentage points.

That's exactly what they value.

Seeing that Li Mu was sensible and didn't ask any more questions, Bie Yan nodded in satisfaction and waved his hand:

"I'm not going to worry about you two anymore. Take a taxi home. Remember to register at driving school tomorrow. You two will be traveling a lot for work with me, and you can't do without a driver."

"OK."

With Li Mu's response, Bie Yan got into the Santana.

Li Mu's lips twitched at the sight.

He wanted to remind the other driver that "this is drunk driving," but Bieyan didn't give him the chance; the Santana sped away and disappeared in a flash.

Li Mu was speechless, but in the end he could only pat Sui Kuan on the shoulder:

"Fatty, where do you live?"

……

Early morning of August 3rd.

I slept without any dreams.

With a mix of helplessness and a dazed look, Li Mu picked up his backpack and began putting on his shoes.

Before leaving home, he habitually checks his backpack.

Camera, notebook, pen, ID, and... that envelope.

He took out the envelope, opened it, and saw a stack of old men's banknotes.

That's quite a lot, a thousand yuan.

After casually putting it into his wallet, he threw the envelope into the trash can.

Then, he found the Seagull Driving School's business card in his wallet and hailed a taxi in the morning breeze.

While he was filling out the paperwork at the driving school, his phone rang.

It was Sui Kuan who called.

"Feed?"

"Li Mu! Hahaha! Front page headline!? The article is on the entertainment front page!!!!"

Li Mu was taken aback. Listening to the voice on the other end of the phone, he subconsciously asked:

"Front-page article?"

"Yes! Hahahaha..."

Sui Kuan's voice grew increasingly excited:

"Where are you? Why aren't you at work yet? You're going to be late!"

"...I'm at the driving school."

"Driving school? You want to learn to drive... Oh!!!"

Sui Kuan on the other end of the phone suddenly realized what was happening, then said speechlessly:

"I forgot about it."

"It's okay, I'll register you. How about I get you a study guide for the theory test first?"

"Okay. I'll give you the money when I see you... Hahaha, headline! Li Mu! We're on the front page!"

Compared to Sui Kuan's excitement, Li Mu didn't feel anything special.

Although he knew what this headline meant, ultimately, it wasn't a front-page headline in a newspaper, but just an entertainment magazine headline.

After a few laughs, he hung up the phone. He filled out the registration form himself, then helped Sui Kuan fill it out as well. After paying the fee, he received two booklets for the theory test. Afterwards, he left the driving school, bought a copy of the *Southern Metropolis Daily*, quickly flipped to the entertainment section, and saw a familiar headline:

[The world is so big, I want to see it -- Exclusive interview with 50 million lottery winners] Reporters: Li Mu, Sui Kuan. Editor: Fang Xiaofang. Proofreader: Lin Xingxing.

He didn't look at the content, but instead looked at the two photos.

I have to say, it was my first time in the newspaper, and even though I was wearing a mask, it actually felt pretty good.

For some reason, the unpleasant feeling of not having a dream all night seemed to have subsided considerably.

Holding a newspaper and a brochure, he hailed a taxi.

On the bus, instead of reading the newspaper, he flipped through a booklet of basic traffic regulations. Although he had never studied it before, he found the contents of the booklet very simple, almost without any difficulty.

It was as if he had done it many times before.

However, he didn't think much of it. After returning to the newspaper office, he heard a congratulatory greeting as soon as he entered his office.

That belonged to a reporter teacher who was sitting near the door.

"Xiao Li, congratulations! You've only been in the industry for a short time and you've already uncovered such a big story."

Li Mu was taken aback, then quickly said modestly:

"Thank you, teacher."

Then, as if in a chain reaction, upon seeing Li Mu return, a group of staff members from the Arts and Sports Department offered their congratulations:

"Congratulations, Xiao Li!"

"Shouldn't we treat everyone?"

"Haha, don't bully the newbie. Little Li, not bad, keep it up..."

Amidst the congratulations, Li Mu saw Sui Kuan sitting at his workstation, beaming with joy.