Chapter 86

Seeing Su Yan absorbed in talking and forgetting to invite them inside, Song Haowen took the initiative to walk in. After putting down the fruits, he introduced Gu Ziwei to Su Yan.

Su Yan smiled faintly and said, “I recognize her. The reporter, right?”

Feeling a bit awkward due to Su Yan’s apparent disapproval, Gu Ziwei put on a polite smile and said, “Hello, Manager Su. I’m troubling you again.”

Su Yan replied indifferently, “What’s so good about it? Since your report, my position as a manager has pretty much come to an end. But I guess I can’t entirely blame you, huh? Now that things are like this, I’m not afraid of your trouble anymore.”

Gu Ziwei was at a loss for words after Su Yan’s mixed comments, so she could only awkwardly smile.

Song Haowen understood Su Yan’s feelings. Last night, when he encountered Gu Ziwei, didn’t he also consider her as a “jinx”? However, after a deep conversation with Gu Ziwei, he discovered that she was not only a competent reporter but also a person with compassion and a sense of justice. So, he explained Gu Ziwei’s purpose.

Hearing this, Su Yan’s expression eased a bit, and she said, “Thank you Senior Reporter Gu for goodwill. I believe the difficulties we face are only temporary, and we can endure it.” She didn’t want to owe favors to others, especially considering that even her husband and brother-in-law couldn’t handle the matter. What help could a young reporter provide?

Not wanting to delve too deeply into this matter, Song Haowen then discussed Tian Nana’s recent situation and whether there were any new developments after the music studio closed. These where the very things Gu Ziwei was eager to know.

Su Yan then recounted the events after the closure of the music studio. During this time, due to the studio’s troubles, Tian Nana turned down all performance invitations.

Besides attending school, she spent her days reading at home. Usually, she returned home early, but today, for some reason, she came back later. Su Yan herself frequently visited government and commerce departments.

However, their response remained the same: either dragging things out or completely ignoring them. Determined, she had decided that as long as the problem persisted, she would keep visiting these departments day after day.

 She believed the officials would eventually get tired and take action, as no one could ignore this matter indefinitely.

Hearing this, Song Haowen felt uneasy. Although he had seen many instances of bureaucratic delays and negligence in his previous life, experiencing it firsthand was a different matter.

Through this experience, he finally believed that many business owners who poured out their grievances to him in his past life were genuinely in a tough spot.

At that time, he had secretly mocked them for being overly dramatic and pretending to be victims while enjoying undeserved benefits.

Not long after, Tian Nana returned, and seeing Song Haowen, she was both surprised and delighted.

She was about to approach and hug him when suddenly she remembered her mother was present, and also Gu the reporter.

Suppressing her inner excitement, she walked closer and delivered a heavy punch to his chest, complaining, “You’re really useless. Didn’t you say you wouldn’t go? How come you changed your mind? You should have at least told us about the competition, so I could cheer for you on the spot! Instead, you secretly participated and won without telling us. Are you not treating me as a friend anymore?”

Song Haowen hurriedly explained, “Sis, you’ve misunderstood me. I didn’t dare to mention the competition even at home because I was afraid you would worry. After all, dealing with those foreigners is not that easy. My teammate Zhao Meng is a national champion, and he nearly suffered a concussion, just one step away from being in a vegetative state.”

Tian Nana was shocked. “If the competition is so dangerous, you are not allowed to participate anymore.”

Su Yan also expressed the same opinion. “You’re not lacking money or fame. Listen to your sister; you can’t participate in such risky things in the future.”

At this moment, Gu Ziwei, who had been cold-shouldered and silent, spoke up. She smirked and said, “Do you think Brother Song wanted to participate in such a life-threatening competition? He was forced into a corner, with no other choice.”

Su Yan and her daughter were astonished and quickly asked for the reason. Gu Ziwei calmly took out an old newspaper from her bag and handed it to the puzzled Tian Nana.

 She had borrowed this newspaper from the reading room at work today, mainly for writing another report about Song Haowen.

After Tian Nana finished reading the article, her face turned pale, and she clenched her teeth, not uttering a word. After Su Yan took a look at the newspaper, she became furious. “This liar, who deserves to be shot, dares to spread such baseless lies. We must sue them!”

Gu Ziwei calmly said, “Since they dare to write such an article without any background, is it even possible to win in court? Even if you win the lawsuit, is it something that can be resolved overnight? If it drags on for a year or more, can you afford to wait? During this period, if someone ‘discovers’ a major tax evasion case, or if they find some ‘banned drugs’ in your home, or even if they arrange for a ‘woman of ill repute’ to perform a ‘disgusting act’ and create a scandal, by then, Brother Song’s reputation would have long been tarnished and could even end up behind bars. Who would care about the outcome of this minor reputation lawsuit?”

Gu Ziwei’s words not only shocked Su Yan and Tian Nana, but even Song Haowen had never thought about so many possibilities, making him sweat with surprise.

“So, you two only know one side and not the other,” Gu Ziwei said with a slightly triumphant look, acting like a mischievous little girl. “That’s why they say Brother Song is a genius, right? Think about it. Participating in the competition was indeed risky, but he couldn’t resist his good fortune. He unexpectedly won a competition he shouldn’t have won. Isn’t that fate? With this victory, he is now a national hero with numerous honors – a first-class hero, an outstanding national athlete, personally received by the leaders… At this point, who would dare to target him? Persecute him? That would be like throwing a stone at their own feet. This was a brilliant move that not only saved him from a great calamity but also saved you both.”

Gu Ziwei’s passionate words made Su Yan and Tian Nana feel a mix of emotions and a sense of guilt.

Although they had known Song Haowen for a long time and were close to him, it seemed that they didn’t understand him as well as this young girl who had only met him a couple of times.

At this moment, any animosity they harbored toward Gu Ziwei vanished, and they immediately invited her to sit down and continue talking. Tian Nana even handed her and Song Haowen some hot tea.

After taking a sip of tea, Gu Ziwei calmly explained her purpose. “I came here today to take advantage of the halo around Brother Song before it fades away and to help you solve the current most troublesome and seemingly unsolvable problem with the music studio.”

“What?” Song Haowen, Tian Nana, and Su Yan couldn’t help but exclaim simultaneously.

Gu Ziwei was almost on the verge of crossing her legs and wearing a smug expression. She shook her head, swaying her hair, and said, “This matter is not as difficult as you imagine.

I’ve already thought of the title for the article I’m going to write today – ‘The Annoyances of a National Hero.’

I’ll write about when Song Haowen was warmly received by the leaders, how he became a national hero,

a first-class hero,

an outstanding national athlete,

a famous singer,

an excellent songwriter,

a top scorer in the college entrance examination,

a high-achieving student at Beijing University,

a brave award-winning student,

an outstanding student leader,

a triple-A student, and

a record holder at the school sports meeting… I’ll try to include every title possible.

Then, I’ll shift the narrative to how he bravely intervened to save a female studdent who was set up by others but was accused by a certain newspaper agency of ‘competing with hooligans for popularity.’

Faced with an injustice, he fought more than ten hoodlums single-handedly, but these scoundrels with powerful backers retaliated, almost ruining his reputation:

although he paid taxes in accordance with the regulations, he was accused of tax evasion;

his friends also suffered collateral damage; the popular theater was banned for no reason, and the pioneering music studio was closed down…

In the end, I will ask relevant personnel and departments some deep questions:

Why does someone who leads a fight with gang member escape any consequences?

Why can the industrial and commercial department arbitrarily shut down a legal business, prohibit it from operating, and impose heavy fines?

Why does the fire department, after finding issues, not allow corrective actions?

Why does the studio canteen who was well manage by enterprise continually have its hygiene certificate withheld by the Health and Food department?

Why is the tax from the tax department incomprehensible to the parties involved?

Why doesn’t the public security department help maintain social order and instead creates obstacles for legal enterprises?

Why does the media in a certain place allow the publication of unverified rumors, causing unwarranted damage to the reputation and mental well-being of the parties involved?…

What is the background behind all this? What kind of big shot has such power to abuse the authority given by the people?… Hmph, once I publish this article, with the nationwide influence of our ‘Beijing Evening News,’ all your problems will be instantly resolved.”

“Great! You’re really talented!” exclaimed Tian Nana sincerely.

“If this article gets published, won’t it be stirring up a hornet’s nest? Aren’t you afraid of retaliation?” Su Yan expressed some concern.

Gu Ziwei fearlessly replied, “If you’re afraid of wolves in front and tigers behind, what’s the point of being a journalist? What meaning is there in being human?”

“It’s not that you’re not afraid, but your chief editor might be. If they’re scared, the article won’t be published,” Song Haowen said with a worried expression.

Gu Ziwei raised an eyebrow and sneered, “Rest assured, what I write is not baseless. It will definitely be published. Just wait and see.”

Tian Nana hugged Gu Ziwei’s shoulder and said, “If you handle this matter well, we owe you a big favor. How can we repay you?”

Gu Ziwei lightly patted Tian Nana’s back with her hand and said, “As long as you can frequently accept my interviews, that would be the greatest repayment.”

At this moment, Tian Nana’s father, Tian Pengxi, returned. Seeing Song Haowen, he was also very happy. Gu Ziwei, having achieved her goal, declined the invitation to stay for dinner and insisted on leaving.

Contrary to the expectations of Song Haowen, Tian Nana, and everyone else, the next afternoon, Gu Ziwei’s heartfelt piece was actually published in the “Beijing Evening News.” It occupied half a page, with sharp and incisive words, cutting like a knife and quickly causing a sensation in Beijing.

This enormous shockwave made those conspirators hiding in the shadows, previously confident in their schemes, unable to sit still. They all came out to defend themselves.