Everyone thought Yu Li had gone mad with desperation—so convinced she couldn’t beat Qi Jianyue that she’d come up with such an unrealistic idea.
But Yu Li analyzed it methodically: “If you approach a task only because it’s challenging, and deep down you already believe it’s impossible, then it will become a mountain you can never climb over.”
“And as journalists, we should always keep a spirit of exploration and adventure.”
“Director, this isn’t a passing whim on my part. This is a program I’ve been planning ever since I joined the station. You’ve seen with your own eyes what I’m capable of these past two years. Please give me a chance.”
The director pondered for a moment. “In view of your consistently excellent performance, Yu Li, I can submit this proposal to the station.”
“But on one condition—you must actually secure Qi Chenyan’s first interview. Otherwise, the station won’t approve the project.”
Yu Li nodded her understanding.
But a colleague was already pouring cold water on it: “I think Yu Li’s just gone crazy from wanting to win. How many famous interview programs in the country have failed to land Director Qi, that big-shot? And she dares to guarantee she can do it?”
Qi Jianyue didn’t believe for a second that Yu Li would succeed. She extended her hand in feigned friendliness and smiled. “Yu Li, let me wish you success in advance, then.”
Yu Li didn’t move.
“Keep your well-wishes. Everyone at the station knows your mouth is jinxed—anyone you bless is doomed.”
Qi Jianyue’s face darkened. “You!”
She took a deep breath, barely maintaining her elegant image. “Since you know you’re no match for me and bowed out on your own, I won’t bother arguing with you.”
Yu Li raised an eyebrow and smiled. “So you know that if I land Qi Chenyan, it’ll be worth more than all the big investors you could ever pull in. Is that why you’re here trying to scare me off with tall tales?”
Qi Jianyue was livid, and the words blurted out: “Yu Li, you’re so confident—do you dare bet with me? If you really do land Qi Chenyan, I’ll give up my spot as the primetime anchor automatically.”
“But if you can’t do it, you’ll stand at the station entrance holding a sign, shouting that I’m better than you. What do you say? Do you dare bet?”
Yu Li crossed her arms, uninterested in the wager.
“Whether you’re the primetime anchor has nothing to do with me. I’ve withdrawn from the competition—I have no interest in that position anymore. Let’s change the bet instead.”
“If I win, you pack your things and get out of the Qi family. What do you say? Do you still dare to bet?”
A flicker of panic crossed Qi Jianyue’s face.
At the same moment, Yu Li stepped forward and, in a voice only the two of them could hear, added by her ear: “Without the Qi family, you’re nothing. There’s still time to back down now.”
“After all, a fake will always be a fake. It can never become real.”
Qi Jianyue instantly lost her composure and raised her hand. “Yu Li!”
But she never even got close to a single strand of Yu Li’s hair—Yu Li caught her wrist and twisted it back.
“What, you lose your temper after just a couple of words? I already gave up competing with you for the primetime spot, yet you keep pushing me. Now you want to get physical? Isn’t that going too far?”
Play the innocent victim? As if that’s hard!
Though no one had heard what the two of them had said, everyone saw that it was Qi Jianyue who, in a fit of rage, had moved to strike first.
The director’s face darkened, and he slammed the table. “Jianyue, we’re all colleagues here. What do you think you’re doing? Apologize to Yu Li right now!”
Qi Jianyue could only try furiously to pull her hand back, only to discover that Yu Li’s grip was astonishingly strong—she couldn’t pull free at all, and it felt like her bones were about to be crushed.
Meanwhile, Yu Li’s face maintained a faint smile, one that seemed to look down on all living beings.
And the gentler her smile became, the harder she squeezed, making Qi Jianyue feel like her hand was about to be ruined.
Yet oddly enough, Yu Li’s expression remained utterly calm and composed—no one would ever guess she could crush someone’s hand to death with one squeeze.
“It was impulsive of me just now. I apologize.”
Only after Qi Jianyue reluctantly relented did Yu Li magnanimously let go.
Qi Jianyue, her face dark, rubbed her wrist, which had been pinched black and blue, but didn’t dare run her mouth again.
After the meeting ended, deputy director Xu Hui called Yu Li into her office alone.
“Little Yu, a prime-time anchor position is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Do you know how long I fought with the director to get you this chance to compete against Qi Jianyue on the same stage?”
“I’ve always been grooming you as my successor. Your professional abilities have never been in question. So what on earth happened today?”
“Not only did you announce in the meeting, without even consulting me, that you’re withdrawing from the prime-time competition, but you want to launch some celebrity interview show—and you even declared that your first guest would be Qi Chenyan!”
“Have you gotten so full of yourself after a little taste of fame that you’ve forgotten who you are? You really—you really make me furious!”
Cliques and factions formed everywhere, whether in workplaces or companies, and this phenomenon was even more pronounced at the TV station.
Below the chairman and shareholders at the station were the director and two deputy directors, and only after them came the anchors of the various channels.
Not long after Yu Li joined the station, Xu Hui had taken notice of her and personally taken her under her wing.
Qi Jianyue, on the other hand, had been picked by the other deputy director. Xu Hui and that woman were famously bitter rivals at the station, just like Yu Li and Qi Jianyue.
The kind of mortal enemies who bristled with hostility the very first time they met—as if they might have killed each other in a past life, the sort who would never rest until the other was destroyed.
Yu Li knew that bringing this up in the meeting without giving Xu Hui a heads-up first was bound to make the woman furious.
She hurriedly poured Xu Hui a glass of water, smiling apologetically. “Hui-jie, please calm down. Don’t make yourself sick with anger—otherwise you won’t get to see me use this interview show to stomp Qi Jianyue into the ground.”
Xu Hui snapped, exasperated: “I think you’re still lost in some daydream. Never mind whether the higher-ups will even approve this interview show—Qi Chenyan alone is beyond your reach.”
“When it all comes to nothing, you’ll be the laughingstock of the entire station!”
Yu Li soothed her. “Hui-jie, don’t worry. Ever since I graduated and joined the station, I’ve been under your wing. When have you ever seen me go into battle unprepared?”
“Besides, the prime-time slot comes with heavy pressure and a grueling pace. I’m pregnant now—still in the early stages. Even if I were actually chosen, I probably couldn’t keep it up for long. I’d just get criticized, and I might lose my chance at promotion altogether.”
Xu Hui didn’t react at first: “Pregnancy isn’t the same as dying… Wait, what did you say? Pregnant? You’re pregnant? You don’t even have a boyfriend—how could you be pregnant?”
Her voice shot up several octaves. Yu Li rubbed her ears and smiled. “It was an accident. Calm down, Hui-jie.”
Xu Hui, who had been furious just moments ago, had no choice but to calm down. “How many months along?”
“A little over one.”
Xu Hui sighed. “Something this big—why didn’t you tell me sooner? I’m not against you getting married and having children, but you’re still so young. This is exactly when your career is on the rise.”
“You could very well lose out on countless opportunities just because of the pregnancy and childbirth. You know better than anyone how fierce the competition at the station is, and how many newcomers below are eyeing your position, don’t you?”