Standing at the door of the editor-in-chief’s office, Andrew Brooks hadn’t even had time to knock when a middle-aged man in a beige short-sleeved shirt hurriedly pushed the door open and came out. Seeing Andrew Brooks, he sized him up and asked, “And you are?”

“Hello, my name is Andrew Brooks, a 1998 graduate of the Journalism Department at Yanshan University. Chief Editor Huang asked me to report to Director Director Clark in the editor-in-chief’s office.” A faint smile appeared on Andrew Brooks’s face.

Of course, he recognized the man before him—this was his predecessor, Director of the Editor-in-Chief’s Office at Binhai Morning Post, Carter Clark. This man was smooth and tactful; although he lacked much of the character and backbone typical of media professionals, he excelled at handling affairs with finesse, which was why he had managed to hold the position of director for many years.

“Oh, so you’re Little Andrew. Such a capable young man. I’m Director Carter Clark of the editor-in-chief’s office. Come with me.” Carter Clark gave Andrew Brooks another curious glance and asked, “How old are you this year?”

“Twenty-one.” The answer was brief and to the point, with a calm composure behind the respectful demeanor.

“Oh?” Carter Clark smiled. Although he didn’t say anything more, he thought to himself, A 21-year-old young man, yet so steady and mature, with a faint air of having weathered many hardships—truly rare in today’s restless society.

“Come with me.” Carter Clark’s smile faded as he spoke solemnly, “Little Andrew, our newspaper’s news department is short-staffed lately. You’re a top student from Yanda, and Chief Editor Huang said you have quite a flair for writing. How about this: you intern in the news department for two days before we decide on your position, okay?”

This scene from his previous life was playing out again in this one. Andrew Brooks had gone from feeling a thousand emotions to being completely calm. Everything was just as before. Because he was a university graduate brought in by Chief Editor Huang Zeming, Carter Clark was very polite to Andrew Brooks, not putting on any airs as a director.

“Alright, thank you, Director Director Clark.” Andrew Brooks nodded.

“Let’s go, I’ll take you to the news department to report in.” Carter Clark led the way toward the elevator.

On the third floor, at the far west end of the corridor, there was a large open-plan office, at least 300 square meters. The middle was divided by aluminum partitions, and a group of men and women sat at their desks, rushing to finish their drafts.

The news department could be called the central nervous system of the newspaper. The daily news reports were all produced here. The staff were mainly reporters, though there were also a few administrative personnel.

Carter Clark cleared his throat. “Sorry to interrupt for a few minutes. We have a new colleague joining us, Andrew Brooks, a top student from Yanda’s journalism department. Let’s all welcome him.”

The reporters, with various expressions, paused their work, looked up from their computer screens, and offered a smattering of applause.

“Everyone, please introduce yourselves.” Carter Clark smiled slightly.

A tall, strikingly beautiful woman with heavy makeup walked over with a smile. “Alright, welcome, Little Andrew. My name is Lauren Scott, director of the news department.”

Andrew Brooks’s brow furrowed slightly without him realizing. This was the woman he had disliked most in his previous life, and she had once been his direct superior. Three years ago, she was still a loom operator at Binhai’s Second Woolen Mill. After the mill went bankrupt, she transformed herself and joined Binhai Morning Post, becoming a middle manager within a year.

It was well known that she was the mistress of a powerful deputy minister in the publicity department. Because of this connection, this loom operator, who knew nothing about journalism and had no professional skills, had miraculously become the head of a business department at Binhai Morning Post.

But in an instant, Andrew Brooks’s emotions settled. He smiled and nodded to Lauren Scott, greeting her with a “Hello, Director Director Scott,” though his brow furrowed again in secret—the vulgar scent of her perfume was just as overpowering as ever.

“Michael Bolton, deputy director of the news department.”

“Lily Carter, I cover education, culture, and health.”

“Sophie Thompson, I cover public utilities.”

...

After some brief introductions and small talk, Andrew Brooks finally sat down at his own cubicle. He was temporarily assigned as an assistant to Lily Carter, who was responsible for the education, culture, and health beat. Looking at all the familiar faces, he felt a surge of excitement—everything was about to begin anew.

The afternoon passed quickly. Returning once again to the starting point of his career, surrounded by familiar people and a familiar environment, it didn’t take long for Andrew Brooks to get along well with this group of reporters.

After typing the last word of her news article, Lily Carter walked over to Andrew Brooks, leaned on his cubicle, and looked him up and down with a fiery gaze. Seeing that he was ignoring her and still browsing old newspapers, she couldn’t help but feel a bit annoyed. She tapped lightly on the partition and said, “Hey, Handsome Guy, can’t you see a beautiful woman standing right in front of you?”

With that, Lily Carter thrust out her chest, her impressively full breasts nearly bursting out from behind the buttons of her white shirt.

Andrew Brooks really hadn’t noticed her. Hearing her, he stood up and chuckled, “Ma—Ms. Carter, I’m just trying to get familiar with things as quickly as possible so I can start working and help take some of the load off you, haha.”