“You’re listening to nothing but her nonsense!” Shi Yan hurriedly defended himself. “She’s just jealous of you and will do anything to make you misunderstand us! Haven’t things always been like this these past few years? You know that!”
Qiao Yimian stared intently into his eyes. After a few seconds, she looked away.
She had no idea whether he was lying, but none of it mattered anymore.
“Forget it. No matter what, it won’t change how things turned out today. I still have to work overtime when I get back. I’m leaving.”
“Yimian!” Shi Yan reached out to grab her again, but Qiao Yimian immediately shook him off, her expression turning cold.
“Shi Yan, don’t force me to hit you in front of everyone!”
She had never spoken to him so harshly before. More accurately, she was gentle and pleasant with everyone.
Even back when Yu Wan had repeatedly provoked her, Qiao Yimian had merely retorted with words before crushing her with her own abilities. She had never resorted to violence or deliberately made things ugly.
Now she was actually threatening him like this.
She must truly have been furious.
Shi Yan felt both guilty and miserable. He stood there looking utterly wronged, but he didn’t try to touch her again.
Just then, Qiao Yimian glanced toward the roadside and frowned.
“Go move your car.”
Shi Yan had no idea what she meant. Following her gaze, he looked toward the roadside and saw a tow truck preparing to haul away his flashy sports car.
“Huh?”
His eyes widened, and he hurried over.
Qiao Yimian looked at the yellow grid markings on the ground and silently sighed.
The spot happened to be right by the entrance and exit of an underground parking garage, with a bus stop not far away. Traffic was already heavy there. Of course his car was going to be towed after he had parked so carelessly.
It was just that the two of them had been arguing for so long that neither had paid any attention to what was happening around them. They didn’t even know when the tow truck had arrived.
Shi Yan walked out a few steps in frustration before suddenly remembering something. He turned back to look for Qiao Yimian, only to discover that she was already gone.
“Yimian!”
He called out, but Qiao Yimian didn’t turn around.
“Damn it!”
Shi Yan irritably raked a hand through his hair.
As if things weren’t already bad enough.
He decided to forget about the tow truck for now and ran after Qiao Yimian. But at that moment, the phone in his pocket rang, again and again, like an alarm he couldn’t escape.
Still running, he pulled out his phone and glanced at the caller ID. Despite his already foul mood, he answered impatiently.
Before he could even speak, his father’s furious roar exploded in his ear.
“Your mother heard that you went to see that woman again and had a heart attack from the anger! She’s in the emergency room right now! Get your ass back here immediately! If anything happens to her, just see what I do to you!”
The call ended.
Shi Yan stood frozen in place.
He tightened his grip around the phone as he watched Qiao Yimian’s figure disappear into the distance. Yet every step he tried to take became heavier and heavier until, finally, he stopped.
It felt as though someone had smashed a sledgehammer into his chest.
Pain surged through him, overwhelming and all-consuming. Even breathing became difficult.
His arm slowly fell to his side. The beeping end-of-call tone continued from the phone, gradually blending with the frantic chill of the winter air until it sank deep into his mind, buzzing endlessly.
Shi Yan clenched his teeth.
A fierce battle raged inside him.
In the end, he abruptly turned around and strode away.
*
For three days straight, Qiao Yimian worked at the station editing manuscripts. Her injured foot had also nearly recovered, and she could walk normally without much trouble.
Just before the end of the workday, she received a call from an unfamiliar number.
The caller said that Shi Yan had previously hired him to deal with the matter of his illegally parked car. The car had now been retrieved, but he couldn’t get hold of Shi Yan. Fortunately, Shi Yan had left an emergency contact number.
It was Qiao Yimian’s.
The man sounded somewhat helpless.
“Miss, should I drive the car over to you? I can’t just keep it parked here forever!”
Qiao Yimian simply gave him Jiang Mei’s number.
“Call his mother.”
A few minutes later, the man called again.
“Miss, I can’t get through to his mother either. You know their family, don’t you? Could you let me leave the car with you for now? Once you get in touch with them, you can have him come pick it up. I still have a lot of work to do, and I’ve already been tied up with this car for several days…”
Qiao Yimian silently sighed and finally gave him the hotel address.
“Then bring it here. Leave the keys at the front desk and let him know yourself.”
After hanging up, she thought for a moment and decided to send Shi Yan a text along with the hotel’s location.
> [Your car is parked here. Remember to pick it up. And I’m not your emergency contact. Don’t contact me again.]
Unfortunately, the man who normally replied to her messages almost instantly was now as silent as a stone sinking into the sea.
He never replied.
Qiao Yimian was actually a little surprised. This wasn’t like Shi Yan at all.
But she didn’t think much of it.
At least he wasn’t coming back to pester her anymore. Letting things gradually fade away like this was probably for the best.
For several days in a row, Qiao Yimian stayed busy from morning to night.
She would arrive at the station early in the morning, then head out with the camera crew to cover stories. If everything went smoothly, they could make it back before noon. In the afternoon, she would write articles, edit videos, organize material submitted by other reporters, and keep track of how many stories had been published.
She was practically doing the work of several people at once.
Miao Ying couldn’t help giving her a thumbs-up when she saw how quickly Qiao Yimian had thrown herself back into work.
“You’re seriously impressive. You can shoot, report, go on camera, edit, write—you can do everything. You’re a true multimedia all-rounder.”
Qiao Yimian smiled.
Before she could say anything, Song Nanxing poked his head over and chimed in.
“A multimedia all-rounder? To put it less nicely, that just means you’re an all-purpose workhorse.”
Qiao Yimian gave him a helpless sidelong glance before explaining to Miao Ying, “Our newspaper is small, so everyone has to wear several hats. The division of labor isn’t very clear, and it’s common for one person to handle multiple roles. After doing it for long enough, you naturally get the hang of it. But it does mean you get to learn a lot more.”
“You’re young, but you’re quite eager to learn.”
Meng Changfeng, who was nearby, joined in with a smile.
“Little Qiao has been discussing filming techniques with me whenever she has free time these past few days. She’s even making me feel like I’m the one who’s stopped trying to improve.”
Qiao Yimian smiled shyly.
“Mr. Meng has worked in television for many years. Your filming skills and interviewing experience are both incredibly rich. If I can pick up even a little from you, then this trip will have been worthwhile.”
Meng Changfeng was so pleased by the compliment that he practically floated.
He burst out laughing.
“You really know how to warm a person’s heart with your words. No wonder you’re cut out to be a reporter.”
“Oh? What are you all talking about? You seem to be having such a good time.”
Yu Wan walked in with her chin held high.
“Tell me too. I want to have a laugh.”
Meng Changfeng deliberately teased her.
“We were just talking about how our ‘Beauty Yu’ is on the editing desk today and doesn’t even have to go out for interviews, yet she’s dressed so beautifully.”
Yu Wan’s pretty face flushed slightly. She rolled her eyes at him.
“That’s not an honest thing to say. When am I ever not beautiful?”
Meng Changfeng laughed awkwardly and dropped the subject.
But Yu Wan leaned against his desk, folded her arms, and looked extremely pleased with herself.
“You people should praise me more while you still can. In a few days, I’ll be heading out with the governor for an inspection tour. You won’t be seeing me for a month or two~”
Everyone froze and looked at her.
Someone couldn’t help asking, “I did hear some rumors that the governor is going to visit various cities for an inspection tour. But doesn’t the governor’s office have its own publicity staff? Do they really need to pull someone from the TV station?”
Yu Wan looked arrogant and smug, clearly enjoying the attention.
“This time, the governor personally requested that the TV station send a presenter-reporter to accompany him throughout the trip and handle the publicity coverage.”
She pointed a finger at her own nose, her perfectly manicured nails gleaming, and raised her eyebrows triumphantly.
“And guess what? That presenter-reporter is me!”