A perfect life begins with changing the timeline.

Li Mu had heard of the drama production department of Guangzhou TV, because some of his classmates from university had interned there.

But he wasn't very clear about what specific works they had released.

He didn't say anything, but just lit a cigarette and started smoking.

After about half a cigarette's time, a taxi pulled up in front of the hotel. Bie Yan, after recognizing who got out, went to greet them with a cigarette still dangling from his lips.

Hello~

The two people who got out of the taxi were a bit overweight and wearing gold-rimmed glasses, while the other was of medium build.

They are about the same age as Bieyan.

After seeing the other words, I laughed heartily:

"Haha, you're here pretty early."

There were no formal titles, but that's precisely why it made everyone seem so familiar with each other.

Bie Yan responded with a sound of agreement:

"Who told you two to arrive so late?"

Before they could finish speaking, the taxi had already driven away.

Neither of them had any luggage, so after Bie Yan waved, the doorman stopped and stepped aside.

At this moment, Bie Yan said to Li Mu:

"Xiao Li, this is Zhou Jian, call him Brother Zhou. He's the deputy director of the production department office. This is Chen Lixin, Brother Chen, the head of the planning team in the editorial department. This is Li Mu, Xiao Li, an intern reporter at our newspaper, now you're with me."

Li Mu quickly greeted him:

"Brother Zhou, Brother Chen. I'm Li Mu, and I'm learning under Brother Bie. Please take good care of me."

Zhou Jian, who was a bit overweight, smiled and nodded:

"Yeah, I've heard your brother mention you a lot. I'll have him send you our phone numbers later, and we'll keep in touch after we get back."

"Okay, Brother Zhou."

Li Mu immediately understood from his words that Zhou Ge was clearly of higher status than the other man.

Of course, you can also tell from the job title.

Then, Zhou Jian said to Bie Yan:

"Has everyone arrived yet?"

"They're playing mahjong and waiting for us."

"Let's go then, oh dear, I've been exhausted this week..."

"Haha, let's go! The winner will treat us to a massage later."

"Hahaha~"

With that, Bie Yan led the way into the Lisboa Hotel.

Li Mu followed Bie Yan into the elevator, and after seeing Bie Yan press the button for the second floor with a crown on it, he thought to himself, "Is this for a private room?"

The Lisboa Hotel has private rooms.

The first floor is the casino, while the second and third floors are private rooms. It's like the private gambling dens in the movie "God of Gamblers".

Some important clients, or acquaintances, who don't want to stay downstairs, can go upstairs to play.

As for these private gambling games, the entry requirements can vary greatly. If invited by a casino, the amount involved will naturally be substantial, but private individuals can also rent rooms, paying only the normal room fee.

The elevator vibrated slightly before arriving at the second floor.

Bie Yan led the way out, and a waiter greeted him at the elevator entrance. After he gave a room number, the waiter led him to a room that looked very luxurious. He then politely knocked on the door.

The door opened, and Li Mu, who was following at the back, heard the voice coming from inside:

"Yo, you're finally here. Bie Yan, why were you so slow?"

The person speaking was a woman, and judging from her accent, she seemed to be from Beijing, speaking with a strong Beijing accent.

"Aren't we waiting for them? Ask them why they're taking so long."

Bie Yan walked in while chatting and laughing. After Li Mu followed her into the private room, he saw four people sitting at a mahjong table, two men and two women, all of whom looked to be about the same age as Bie Yan.

Leaving aside the two men, the two mature women, while not particularly beautiful, were dressed quite well.

He was observing the four people, and the four of them were all stunned when they saw Li Mu, who was the last to come in.

"Zhou Jian? Hey, it's been a while since I've seen you... Oh, who's this handsome guy?"

The mature woman with the trendy perm and sparkling diamond earrings greeted Zhou Jian and Chen Lixin, but upon seeing Li Mu, she asked him curiously.

"Our newspaper's intern reporter, who joined this month, is named Li Mu. He's with me now, Xiao Li. This is Sister Zhang, Sister Lin, Brother Sun, and Brother Liu."

This time, Bie Yan didn't mention names.

Li Mu nodded politely, addressed him by his name, and greeted him.

After looking Li Mu up and down, Sister Zhang, who spoke with a strong Beijing accent, smiled and said:

"You brought a child along, aren't you afraid of setting a bad example?"

Don't just smile slightly:

"We're not bad people."

Hearing this, Sister Zhang nodded and slammed the mahjong tiles down in front of her.

"Then let's skip this round and just start! Shall we get the dealer over here?"

Don't shake your head:

"No thanks, I'll be the dealer today. I've been losing at cards lately, and last week I went to a fortune teller who said I'm having a run of bad luck this month. I don't want to keep throwing money away for you guys."

"Hahaha, oh dear, is our big reporter chickening out?"

"I'll deal with you next month."

"Hahaha, stop it! Doesn't it hurt to see us beat you up?"

"Don't hold me back, let me endure a few more days until this month is over!"

"Hahaha……"

Everyone smiled.

As they were talking, there was a knock on the door, and two waiters came in, one carrying a menu and the other carrying several boxes of chips.

As Sister Zhang walked towards the gambling table next to her, she said to Li Mu:

"Xiao Li, order whatever you'd like to drink."

"Okay, Sister Zhang."

Li Mu responded and then sat down on the sofa some distance away from the gambling table.

……

He ordered a lemonade for 88 yuan, and Zhou Jian and Chen Lixin also ordered drinks. Then Bie Yan asked the waiter to leave.

Then, sitting in the dealer's seat, he skillfully shuffled the cards while making jokes like the winner of the night would treat everyone to a massage.

From Li Mu's perspective, it's clear that this group of people are always together and have a close relationship.

After ignoring themselves as "outsiders," the group chatted and laughed as they began their first round of cards.

Judging from the color of the chips, Li Mu knew that their pot was 1,000 and the total number of chips in the box should be between 200,000 and 300,000.

These people... are they playing this big?

As he pondered this, his gaze would occasionally drift to their faces.

He couldn't quite figure out why his brother had called him here. But for now, he saw himself as just an observer...

While pondering this, he took out his phone, quickly silenced the ringtone, and then sat down obediently to observe while holding his lemonade.

The first game ended quickly.

Chen Lixin won.

A group of people laughed and shouted things like "You can't win the first hand even if you play a thousand or ten thousand times," while Bie Yan gathered all the cards, shuffled them, and started the second hand.

At this moment, Zhou Jian glanced at his hand, tossed it forward to indicate he was discarding, took a sip of his drink, and turned to look at Li Mu:

"Is Xiao Li still doing his internship?"

"I'll be officially hired next month."

Just as Li Mu was about to speak, Bie Yan interjected.

He suddenly gave Li Mu a reassurance.

From intern to full-fledged reporter.

Time taken: one month.