Seizing Dreams

Ch113.1 – Troublesome

As he spoke, Zhou Laichun held up a disposable cup and toasted Yu Hao. After Yu Hao finished the drink, he showed Zhou Laichun the bottom of the cup and said, “If I have a son, I certainly wouldn’t be like you. Working so hard all our lives, isn’t it just so that our beloved children wouldn’t need to worry about many things? To let them do what they want and love the person they want to love?”

“Freedom is relative.” Zhou Laichun said, “Even if one managed to become an emperor and gave birth to a prince, you still wouldn’t be able to live as you like. You’re too naive.”

Yu Hao continued gathering up the internship forms. He thought about it, kept the bank card, and said, “Thank you for the treat, uncle.”

Yu Hao had been enraged by the words “sex change operation” for a moment, and the result of changing his sex was just “it’s not like it can’t be considered”. That made him really want to splash the beer onto Zhou Laichun’s face when they toasted each other. It definitely would have looked quite amusing, and with Zhou Laichun’s temper, he might have just burst out laughing instead. Still, he was Zhou Sheng’s father after all, and that would be disgracing him too much.

Yu Hao walked slowly along the periphery of the park at the foot of Mt. Yunding. Zhou Sheng had already sent him a bunch of messages. Yu Hao looked down to reply to him, and he was about to go look for them when Xiao Yujun called him.

“Yu Hao, if you’re free let’s meet up at a cafe?” Xiao Yujun said, “I just got off work.”

When summer vacation began, Yu Hao had asked Xiao Yujun about interning at the newspaper office. Xiao Yujun was quick to agree, and her attitude at the time was “you’re exactly what I’ve been looking for”. With Yu Hao around, he could help her quite a lot.

But even though summer vacation was about to end, Xiao Yujun still didn’t tell him when he should report for work, as if she had forgotten about it. Yu Hao asked Zhou Sheng for his opinion since he wanted to urge Xiao Yujun, but Zhou Sheng told him not to. Xiao Yujun wouldn’t forget.

Yu Hao arranged to meet up with Xiao Yujun at a restaurant nearby. He went to take the subway and asked Zhou Sheng and Fu Liqun to have dinner first and not wait for him. When night fell, the two of them were waiting for seats outside the restaurant. Xiao Yujun looped her arm around Yu Hao’s hand and said helplessly, “I just had a blind date here a few days ago.”

“How was it?” Yu Hao said.

“If he was a tenth as good as you,” Xiao Yujun said sorrowfully, “Jiejie would definitely get married.”

Yu Hao, “……”

Xiao Yujun continued, “Is there any hope with your Chen Laoshi at all? Help Jiejie fight for a chance ba.”

“Don’t think about that anymore.” Yu Hao said.

Xiao Yujun said, “It’s the pain of someone with a face complex, do you understand?”

When the restaurant called their number, Yu Hao said, “I’ll treat you today ba.” He decided not to help Zhou Laichun scrimp anymore and was planning to later swipe his card.

After they ordered their food, Xiao Yujun said, “Un……does seem a bit alike.”

“Do we look alike?” Yu Hao asked.

“Your auras are a bit alike.” Xiao Yujun said, “Have you guys gotten your internship forms?”

Yu Hao took out the folded internship forms and handed them to Xiao Yujun. But she didn’t accept it and said guiltily, “Sorry, Yu Hao. I asked the leader about it, and it was all going very smoothly at first……”

Yu Hao understood as soon as he heard it. Xiao Yujun’s company doesn’t want him, so he immediately said, “It’s okay, I can keep looking. If I can’t find one, the college will arrange one for me. Chen Laoshi asked me about it too. He and Liang Laoshi just went to Japan to hold an academic conference……”

Xiao Yujun leaned back on her chair and said, very distressed, “How should I say this? It’s not a problem with your abilities.”

Yu Hao knew that she was trying to console him. After all, their college’s diploma wasn’t valuable locally, so he smiled, “I know it’s not……”

Xiao Yujun seemed to have made up her mind as she said, “I’ll just tell you the truth ba. It’s because of Ou Qihang’s incident that my leader doesn’t dare to hire you.”

Yu Hao, “……”

Yu Hao understood it at once. In a certain sense, he was the one who first partnered with Xiao Yujun, Zhou Sheng, Fu Liqun, Huang Ting, Chen Yekai, and the rest to sack a bunch of corrupted officials and expose the sensational news. As Xiao Yujun’s intern assistant, the leader of the newspaper must be worried about stirring up trouble after employing him.

Yu Hao said, “Your leader’s actually paying attention to a student like me?”

Xiao Yujun said, “Close to two years ago, I didn’t tell you guys about this in detail. The leaders held a special meeting to discuss this matter. Because when my laptop was snatched at first, the ones present at the scene were just you and Jiejie……”

“Then will did work get affected?” Yu Hao asked worriedly.

“I wrote a letter of guarantee.” Xiao Yujun said, “It’s no biggie.”

Yu Hao nodded and said, “What about other newspapers?”

Xiao Yujun said, “Reporters and editors are always in the know about a lot of things. I’m guessing that the other newspapers would at least know a little about it too.”

Yu Hao had roughly learned how to understand a lot of the subtext of people in society, so when he heard those words, he nodded. “So I’ve gotten myself onto the blacklist of all the newspapers in Ying City.”

Xiao Yujun smiled and didn’t speak. Yu Hao thought she would say something like, “what are you thinking?”, or at least say “it’s not that bad”, but he didn’t expect her to not say anything at all.

That really is the case? Yu Hao couldn’t help but feel his heart sink. It was that serious?

“Ultimately, for Ou Qihang’s case, it was the outcome of two forces competing against each other.” Xiao Yujun absentmindedly poked the foot on her plate a few times with her fork, “You understand.”

Yu Hao remembered Chen Yekai talking about ‘fighting between the local and central’, so he nodded. Xiao Yujun said, “Although the tide has receded for now, not everything under the water has surfaced……”

“And they can’t surface either.” Yu Hao said, “There will be no fish if the water is too clear, I understand that principle.”

Xiao Yujun smiled, “Control on the media is getting tighter and tighter nowadays. You guys always feel that newspapers like to make a mountain out of a molehill, but that’s not entirely the case. Everyone’s very smart. What do you think the leaders are most afraid of? They’re most afraid of something happening; they would rather have no merits nor faults than shoulder any blame. This is a mass media era now, no one can keep it under control……even a huge business like Sina, if they want to……delete posts, they’ll just do it.”

Yu Hao nodded. Today, he could expose the truth in Ou Qihang’s case, so he could do the same for another case tomorrow. The investigation team took care of him the last time, but that may not be the case again next time. If the media won’t publish it, he could go through another channel to publish it in a personal capacity.

“I’d like to confirm something,” Yu Hao thought about it, then said, “It wouldn’t be very possible for me to find an internship in Ying City’s newspaper offices now, right?”

“Not necessarily so.” Xiao Yujun said, “Some supplements shouldn’t mind, such as gourmet food columns and travel specials, but I don’t think you’d really want to do those types. I can help you ask around in the news media organisations in other provinces. Do you have anywhere you want to go?”

Xiao Yujun’s ‘asking around’ was just a comforting remark, the subtext was that she wouldn’t be able to help him, and that he would have to find a way himself. Yu Hao could understand the insinuation.

He was thinking about it when Xiao Yujun continued, “Go back and discuss it with Zhou Sheng ba. I suggest the two of you get an internship in the same city, then it’d be easier for the two of you to take care of each other too. After I graduated from college, I didn’t follow my boyfriend for the sake of pursuing my ideals……”

“Do you regret it now?” Yu Hao’s train of thought was derailed.

Xiao Yujun smiled, “A bit ba. Especially on the day he got married. I just hope the two of you can last a long time.”

Yu Hao settled the bill, and they went their separate ways. He took the last bus home. He stood on the road outside his house and looked up at the lights inside and the clothes that had already been washed and aired outside. Previously, Zhou Sheng suggested that if they were all going to work in Ying City, then they could terminate the lease contract for their current house and rent a two- or three-room apartment in the downtown area. Then they would move out after Fu Liqun got married, and everyone would live separately.

They’ve lived in this house for two years, it was the first home Yu Hao and Zhou Sheng got together. He was very fond of this feeling.

But Xiao Yujun had already reminded him — if he stayed in Ying City, he may not find the internship he wants, so what should he do then? In addition, Zhou Laichun’s words made him think even more.

A whistle rang out from the high up balcony. Zhou Sheng could be seen bending over the balcony railings.

“The moon is really beautiful tonight.” Zhou Sheng smiled.

Yu Hao looked up and saw a first quarter moon hanging in between the mountains.

“Yeah.” Yu Hao answered, then entered the passageway and went home.