William Clark ignored the front desk, made his way straight to the elevator as if he owned the place, and after waiting a moment, the elevator doors opened to reveal a swarm of elderly men and women wearing little red hats squeezing out, forcing him to stop in his tracks.

A woman shouted at the top of her lungs, “Remember all the precautions we just talked about! Now we’ll arrange for everyone to get a physical, then there’s a free breakfast, and then a lecture from an expert…”

“This damn comfort zone!”

Sigh!

The familiar environment gave William Clark a strong sense of security. Don’t think the newspaper office is all that high and mighty—so long as it makes money and isn’t illegal, they’ll do anything.

Sometimes, even if it’s a little illegal, they’ll still do it.

For example, he once handled an article about a negative incident involving a certain shopping platform. After some negotiation, the other party paid 400,000 yuan to suppress the story.

William Clark went upstairs, waited for a while in the general office, and after this batch of interns had all gathered, a director came over and started rambling on, mostly about the newspaper’s glorious history.

The “Beijing Youth Daily” belongs to the Capital Youth League Committee. Since the 1980s, it’s grown from a small internal bulletin into one of the top newspapers. Never mind the quality of the news—their business acumen is truly impressive.

The newspaper bundled its advertising, printing, website, and other businesses into a media company, and was planning to go public in Hong Kong.

William Clark knew that in 2004, they really did go public, and one of the shareholders was South Africa’s MIH—yes, the same company that invested in QQ.

“The newspaper has several departments: news, editing, distribution, hotline, website, and so on. In principle, you’re supposed to spend at least a week in each department, but since your internship periods differ, we’ll adjust as needed.”

“What everyone cares about most is definitely going out for interviews. Don’t worry, you’ll all get the chance. When the time comes, just say what you’re interested in—if you like local news, go to the local news department; if you like entertainment news, go to the entertainment department. We don’t have any strict requirements…”

After this person finished rambling, assignments began. There were four interns; William Clark and a girl named Emily Turner were assigned to the hotline department.

The hotline department had its own room, divided into little cubicles. The director’s surname was Song, a kindly looking man, who also started rambling:

“We’re responsible for answering hotline calls, recording leads and the caller’s contact information, and then the editorial director assigns them to reporters. You could say we’re the first line of news gathering.”

“This year, the newspaper set up a platform system, so you’ll need to type everything into the computer. Of course, you’re young people, so you’ll have no problem. I can’t do it—I’m still used to pen and paper…”

The newspaper is a constant; interns come and go. Everyone is polite on the surface, but in reality, no one takes you seriously.

Emily Turner wore glasses, looked plain, and was obviously an inexperienced college student—her nervousness was visible to the naked eye.

Then she turned her head and saw that guy first take out pen and paper from his bag, then pull out a thermos-like water bottle, a small plastic bag, pinch out some tea leaves, fetch a cup of hot water, and plop down in his seat, leaning back.

His whole face practically screamed: I’m here to slack off!

William Clark looked at her, then suddenly reached out his hand: “Hi!”

“Uh, hello!”

“You have a really nice voice.”

“Uh, thank you!”

“I’m not just being polite—your voice is soft and sweet, I bet a lot of people like it.”

“……”

Emily Turner frowned. What’s with this guy?

She ignored him, put on her headset, and started working. “Beijing Youth Daily” is a major paper, so there were tons of calls. Plus, there were rewards: if you provided a lead that made it into print, you could get 30, 50, or even 80 yuan, depending on the category.

This even gave rise to a profession: the tipster.

Emily Turner answered every call with extreme caution, afraid to miss a single word. She didn’t know how much time had passed—her ears were starting to ache before she finally took a break.

Then a voice came from the next cubicle:

“How old are you?”

“I’m 69!”

“Oh wow, bullying a 69-year-old comrade is really messed up!”

“Isn’t it? Damn, not only did they not give me a seat, they even started shoving me—where did these jerks come from? Don’t they know where they are? This is Beijing, not some place for you to act out!”

“So did you fight back?”

“Damn, could I fight back? I’m a civilized person, I’m not going to stoop to their level!”

“Wow, you’re really on another level!”

“Right? Some people just have no manners. If I started cursing with them, I’d be lowering myself.”

“That’s the right attitude. Beijing just won the Olympic bid—what’s there to be upset about? Take it easy.”

“I’m fine now, chatting with you is pretty relaxing!”

“As long as you’re comfortable. Serving the people is our mission.”

“See you next time!”

“See you!”

William Clark hung up the phone, looked at the dumbfounded Emily Turner, and shrugged: “Gotta stay close to the people!”

Yeah, right!

It was Emily Turner’s first day meeting him, but this guy seemed to have a natural, easygoing vibe—super casual. She shook her head and went back to answering calls seriously.

By comparison, William Clark really was slacking off.

He spent the whole morning chatting, had lunch in the cafeteria, then continued slacking off in the afternoon. It wasn’t until just before the end of the day that he took another call.

“Is this the ‘Beijing Youth Daily’?”

“Yes, do you have a news tip?”