"Xiao Xu! Xiao Xu!" She smiled at him, like a little sunflower, "Can I ask you a question?"
"No."
"..." She frowned and glared at him, "People who don’t play by the rules are not cute at all!"
"People who always have questions to ask are the cutest."
"..." She smiled again after hearing this; Mr. Su’s complints were not easy to co by, "So... can I ask now?"
His gaze softened, and he didn’t say no.
Was this tacit approval?
She glanced at the yellow line on the ground, her toes inching forward, "Xiao Xu, there’s a line I want to cross. Do you want to join ?"
"What line?" He looked down, staring at her sneakered toes.
Just then, the subway rushed in.
She withdrew her foot, took a step back, unable to say her answer in ti.
The subway stopped, and the doors opened.
He walked alongside her, his arm forming a half-circle in the air, creating a space between her and the people behind, gently shielding her as they got on.
Unexpectedly, they found seats during the morning rush hour.
She sat there, stunned.
Courage was a mysterious little thing; sotis it ca suddenly, surging with imnse energy, bursting forth with heat and power. Yet, when interrupted by unexpected disturbances, it dissipated completely, vanishing in an instant.
At this mont, she was like a deflated ball, unable to utter the words stuck in her throat.
Habitually, she reached into her pocket, pulled out a candy, peeled half the wrapper, and was about to put it in her mouth when a hand reached out and snatched it away.
She stared at him in a daze, watching as he ate the candy, his cheeks bulging.
"Weren’t you... not eating candy anymore?" she mumbled.
He didn’t directly answer her question, instead saying sothing inexplicable, "Xiao Xu would cross every line with you. After all, you’re so clumsy. What if you get lost?"
"..." For the first ti, she didn’t get angry at him calling her clumsy, nor did she argue back. An inexplicable sourness and warmth flooded her heart; this was a strange feeling she had never experienced.
She didn’t know how to respond or even ask if the line he spoke of was the sa as hers. After a long pause, she took out a handful of candy for him to choose from, "Do you still want so candy?"
He reached out, his hand hovering above hers. It was a small, thin hand, covering the colorful candies.
She thought he might be unsure of which flavor to choose, so she introduced them one by one, "This green one is honeydew lon-flavored, the orange one is tangerine, the pink one is strawberry, this red and white one is lychee, this is caral with a filling, and this..."
Her other hand’s fingers pointed among the candy pile, introducing each one.
She thought he would be impatient to listen, but when she sneaked a glance, she found him listening intently, which made her happy, like sharing a secret with a friend.
She had never discussed such topics with anyone—which candy was delicious. There was no one to discuss it with. Her mom disdained her sweet tooth habit, calling her an immature child, and Yueyue didn’t like candy.
"Which flavor do you recomnd to ?" Surprisingly, he seriously discussed it with her.
She thought for a mont, picked out the lychee flavor, her eyes full of mischief, "How about lychee?"
He smiled, seeing through her, "You don’t like lychee?"
"..." How did he know? Her face turned slightly sour; it seed rude to offer soone sothing she didn’t like...
"Give them to ." He picked out all the lychee-flavored ones, one by one.
"This type of candy is sold with mixed flavors! There’s always so you won’t like." She packed away the rest.
"What else do you not like?"
"Mint! It’s not sweet at all! How can it be called candy?"
He nodded, "Tomorrow, sort out the lychee and mint flavors for ."
"Really? Sure!" Such a small thing made her happy like a child.
She never thought discussing trivial topics with soone could be so fun, nor did she think the crowded and monotonous subway could beco so enjoyable. She even secretly wished the subway would just keep moving and never stop.
From nine to five, interviews and editing, the days were one boring routine after another, yet now it felt like soone had added a spoonful of sugar to the water, turning each sip delightful.
A few days later, Chenjiang’s new dia departnt released news, titled "Man Raises 200,000 in Donations, But Doesn’t Use It for Terminally Ill Wife."
The journalist was Su Rongxing, and the incident took place at the hospital where Grandma was admitted.
Tu Hengsha recalled Su Rongxing frequently visiting the hospital these days; it turned out there was another layer to this.
She carefully read the news, which was about a mundane couple; the wife had a terminal illness and started a fundraising campaign online that raised more than 200,000. However, the husband arranged for her discharge, using the money to take the wife and kids on trips instead of treating her illness, even attaching posts from the wife’s social dia, showing pictures taken at Disneyland with their kids.
Without a doubt, such news easily exploded; once the article was online, the comnts quickly surpassed ten thousand and soon trended.
Within half a day, comnts and shares exceeded one hundred thousand, with many major social dia accounts sharing it, becoming the day’s hot topic.
The comnts section was overwhelmingly condemning the husband and this family, with direct insults, sarcasm, and tragic scorn, all condemning people who squander or even tarnish the kindness of the public, with the children being reproached as well.
Regarding the matter, although Tu Hengsha often visited the hospital, she didn’t know the whole story.
To be honest, in certain aspects, she still admired Su Rongxing.
In Chenjiang, although Su Rongxing was not a chief reporter like Su Ronggui, she was adept at grasping what the public found painful and satisfying, always able to produce viral hits. This was undoubtedly a display of her professional skills.
In the afternoon, the news reached two hundred thousand comnts, and various self-dia outlets shared it extensively. Its influence even surpassed the previous article about the Dust Lung Village won.
She closed the computer page and sighed.
Hao Ren was sitting next to her. Hearing this, he asked, "What’s the matter? Any objections?"
This matter was also a hot topic in the news agency that day, and everyone was discussing it. He didn’t need to ask to know what was causing Tu Hengsha to sigh.
Tu Hengsha shook her head, "No objections. I just think with the internet so developed now, public opinion sotis gets a bit scary."
"The era of print dia is over," Hao Ren said, "We survive by relying on this developed internet!"
"I know! The era of photojournalists has also passed. Self-dia and the general public are quicker than us to capture live images. It’s a good thing, but who knows, one day I might lose my job over it!" she half-joked.
Reviews
All reviews (0)