The next day, Yu Hao reported at his office though he did not want to work at all and just felt really tired. Lin Ze had thought that he would only return after the 15th. There were huge red spring couplets pasted in the office, and there were even plates of New Year sweets and dried fruit on the table. It was bitterly cold, and a huge Alaskan Malamute lay in the entrance hall. Lin Ze, Situ Ye and Jin Weicheng were eating snacks, drinking tea, and chatting in the office, and they were all laughing as they discussed newspapers.

Yu Hao, “……”

“Aiya!” Situ Ye said, “Why did you come in without saying anything?”

Yu Hao almost blew up. He said, “Don’t you guys have interviews to do?!”

“Aren’t you already done writing?” Lin Ze said, “We’ve been using your manuscripts these days.”

During the New Year, Yu Hao had racked his brains every day to provide two short manuscripts for his department. After receiving it, Lin Ze just used Yu Hao’s manuscripts and handed them in. These three people had nothing to do as they ate peanuts in the office. Yu Hao said with much grief and indignation, “Aren’t you guys too much?! I worked so hard at home to write manuscripts for everyone, and yet you’re just playing around here?”

Situ Ye held a red packet and motioned to Yu Hao. “What should you say? I won’t give it to you anymore ah.”

“Lady boss, may you have a prosperous New Year!” Yu Hao immediately said obediently and accepted the red packet. It was pretty heavy, so there should be at least a thousand inside.

Lin Ze said, “Good boy. Give this one to your husband.” Then he passed another red packet to Yu Hao.

Jin Weicheng very naturally acted as if nothing had happened. He said to Yu Hao, “Your first draft was well written. I’ll arrange for its publication when the editor gets here.”

Thank goodness, I finally got an editor, Yu Hao thought that he didn’t need to revise his manuscript over and over countless times anymore, but……he looked outside and said, “Why do we even have a dog now?”

“I’m raising it. No one’s taking care of it, so I brought it over.” Situ Ye said, “No one’s afraid of dogs here anyway, so I’m letting it guard the door in the day. I take it back at night.”

The huge Alaskan Malamute evidently ate quite well; it appeared plump and sturdy, had a shiny coat, and was currently tied up with a rope. Its broom-like tail was swaying from side to side. Yu Hao said, “You can’t raise it at home anymore?”

“I came over for my duty the day before yesterday.” Situ Ye said, “Ah Ze went to buy groceries and didn’t walk it, and it ended up shitting in the living room…”

Yu Hao, “Stop!”

Yu Hao thought of the dog that couldn’t hold back from shitting at home, then of the robot vacuum activating automatically at a set time and pushing the pile of shit and smearing it evenly all over the floor in the house, then getting baked by the indoor heating of the North…such a tragedy in the human world, and he began sympathising with Lin Ze and Situ Ye.

Jin Weicheng said, “Recently, there have been people who have been peeking in from across the street. It’s better to have a tied-up dog on guard during the day.”

What? Yu Hao thought, There are? Connecting it to himself and Zhou Sheng, as well as the matter regarding the Golden Crow Wheel, he couldn’t help but feel suspicious. Lin Ze and Situ Ye glanced at Yu Hao, then looked at each other, but didn’t say anything.

“The silk banner has been delivered.” Lin Ze motioned for Yu Hao to look at the wall.

Yu Hao was distracted. He looked at the silk banner on the wall, with the word “LIFESAVER” written on it.

Yu Hao, “???”

Situ Ye said, “Didn’t you send out the medical records of a pregnant woman when you conducted an interview at Guanxian Battery Plant?”

Yu Hao had forgotten all about that, he actually got a silk banner for that! That day, he had just so happened to go to the South. Before the New Year, the pregnant woman’s family came to Beijing and delivered the silk banner. They cried as they thanked Lin Ze and the leaders at the broadcasting station. It was too cold, so the victim was unable to come over and had instead personally written a thank-you letter to Yu Hao.

Lin Ze passed the thank-you letter to Yu Hao. Yu Hao unfolded it. There were three full pages packed densely with words, and he felt as if he could see a living person through the letter who was holding a child, crying as she wrote a letter to Yu Hao. There were even dried up traces of tears on the letter.

“I…” Yu Hao almost cried from reading it, and he had to put down the letter halfway through reading it to calm down.

Lin Ze threw some peanuts that he caught in his mouth. “The station wants to do an exclusive interview on you for an upcoming issue. They’re asking you to write the manuscript yourself, blow your own trumpet, and I’ll talk about other things.”

“No, no, no.” Yu Hao said, “Of course not! If I want a manuscript where I’m blowing my own trumpet and even sign it off as ‘Intern Reporter, Yu Hao’, I’ll get laughed at to death!”

Everyone burst out laughing. Situ Ye said, “I said that you had just taken a few photos in passing, and that you didn’t really think too much about it.”

“Yes, yes.” When Yu Hao thought of that, he had to admit that at that time, he really did think that taking those photos didn’t take too much effort. And when he returned after sending out the photos, Lin Ze did the rest, such as reporting the case to Provincial Bureau and so on. His role in it was very insignificant in comparison.

After reading the letter, he looked at the silk banner on the wall and bowed his head down as he felt slightly guilty. Lin Ze laughed and threw him a piece of sweet. The Alaskan Malamute even thought that he was crying, so it went over while wagging its tail and nuzzled against Yu Hao’s calf. Yu Hao stroked its head and felt as if there was a force filling up his body, just like when he had just become an investigative reporter, and he regained all of his energy at once.

“Okay, time to work!” Yu Hao said, “I hope the editor can take up post soon!”

Situ Ye moved a chair over to sit down on it and placed a handful of melon seeds on the table. He said, “I saw the photos you uploaded. This person’s pretty handsome.”

Knowing that Situ Ye was talking about Fu Liqun, Yu Hao answered, “He’ll be coming to Beijing tomorrow night to sign up for a German class in preparation for an exam. I’ll introduce him to you guys then.”

Yu Hao finished revising his manuscripts. This time, he was doing a feature on pyramid schemes. However, unlike other newspapers and online media articles on pyramid schemes, Lin Ze hoped that he can write about the topic in-depth. So Yu Hao didn’t focus on the same old sensational news of imprisonment and corporal punishment, and instead focused on how pyramid scheme organisations lure people into their pits.

Lack of self-confidence, vagabonds who suffer from long-term unemployment, those who are idling their time away, self-worth that’s difficult to achieve, easily brainwashed, and the strong desire to prove themselves…Yu Hao interviewed the employees who escaped with Fu Liqun that day. From the company’s sharing sessions used for encouragement to the gradual brainwashing of their employees through slogans…taking advantage of all sorts of weaknesses inherent in human nature to trick them onto the pirate ship step by step.

“More than 80% of employees in such pyramid scheme organisations have one thing in common — that is, their urgent need to reestablish their system of values…” Lin Ze glanced at the manuscript and said, “How did you decide on the percentage?”

Yu Hao said, “The proportion of interviewees.”

“Not convincing enough.” Lin Ze said, “What’s needed is looking at the whole from a specific example, not statistics.”

“Then……’most employees’?” Yu Hao asked, “Function words are even worse.”

Lin Ze said, “Leave only the example, as for the rest, let the readers evaluate it for themselves. We can only state facts, not reach conclusions.”

“Organisational chart, pyramid marketing model, incentive materials, the sequence of processes is really clear.” Jin Weicheng looked at Yu Hao’s materials and drooled all over it. “You even managed to obtain the report forms of that pyramid scheme company.”

Yu Hao chuckled. Situ Ye said, “Only your photos are lacking a little.”

Yu Hao said, “Are they not well taken?”

Situ Ye said, “These are all close-ups of your man, how are you gonna publish them?”

Yu Hao, “……”

So, together with Situ Ye, Yu Hao could only choose a photo of Zhou Sheng kicking in mid air with all the security guards around him looking on in horror, then devise all sorts of ways to crop Zhou Sheng out. Situ Ye casually made a black strip to block Zhou Sheng’s eyes, and Yu Hao abruptly burst out laughing. The two of them started laughing and playing around. Situ Ye even photoshopped Zhou Sheng onto Hollywood covers, the cover of the Hong Kong film《Young and Dangerous》, the cover of《A Chinese Odyssey》, and even photoshopped him such that he was dressed in an ancient costume with long hair. Then he added Thor’s hammer to Zhou Sheng’s hand for him to play in《The Avengers》, and placed two lightsabers on Zhou Sheng’s fists for him to cosplay as a《Star Wars》 character…At last, it was only when Situ Ye found a poster of《Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf》, cut Zhou Sheng’s photo out, and added it in before Yu Hao finally pleaded for mercy. He laughed so hard his stomach hurt, and he was lying under his desk, waving his hand repeatedly as he called out for help and begged Situ Ye to stop playing around.

The Alaskan Malamute suddenly barked a few times and got up to stare outside. Yu Hao laughed so hard tears came out. Situ Ye pulled Yu Hao up from under the table. Lin Ze said, “Your friend’s here to look for you, Yu Hao. Xiao Gou! Quiet down!”

Yu Hao looked back to see, and Huang Ting’s voice travelled over from the entrance, “Looks like you’re having fun being a reporter, not bad.”

In the office, Lin Ze, Situ Ye, and Jin Weicheng all stared at Huang Ting together. Huang Ting was wearing casual clothes today; he wore a leather windbreaker, leather pants, and wore a pair of sunglasses, looking just like a triad boss and like a completely different person in this get-up. However, it was impossible for him to hide it from these reporters. Everyone had the same expression on their face——

——Cop! A cop is here!

“My friend.” Yu Hao said to the rest, then greeted Huang Ting and thought that he had come indeed. Yet he didn’t find Zhou Sheng and instead came straight to him.

“Lord Cop, where did you move up in rank to ah?” Situ Ye asked with a smile.

Lin Ze, “Do you have a Land Rover?”

Yu Hao, “All of you, knock it off! Hold on, what’s up with Land Rovers?”

“Look at him, the leather——pants——on him” Situ Ye began singing.

“With thirteen Land Rovers at the door——” Lin Ze sang along as well.

Yu Hao, “……” (me: ……. guys)

“Director Lin.” Huang Ting said, “I have long heard of you. Your reputation is as resounding as the roar of thunder.”

Huang Ting took off his sunglasses and went over to shake hands with Lin Ze. Lin Ze just continued sitting and politely shook hands with him. Yu Hao realised that Lin Ze was still rather imposing at this time, and Huang Ting seemed to be a little afraid of Lin Ze.

“What can I do for you?” Lin Ze said, “I’m all ears.”

Huang Ting answered, “Lend me this little brother of yours for one night, I’d like to have dinner with him.”

“Then wait for a while ba.” Lin Ze answered. “We’re only getting off work at 6pm, unless he’s willing to leave early.”

Yu Hao said, “I’ll be about done after fixing a few of these pictures for Lady boss.”

Huang Ting snapped his fingers, then went out to wait.

—