Chapter 12

The next day.

Zhang Ye squeezed onto the subway to go to work. Not far from him in the carriage, he heard two men who had just boarded talking, and the content of their conversation made Zhang Ye prick up his ears.

"Old Zhao, did you listen to *Midnight Ghost Stories* last night?"

"Of course, it's a must-listen program for me before bed. Hey, don't you not listen to the radio?"

"I don't listen to it, but my wife does. Yesterday, she dragged me out of bed to listen to the program with her. You know my wife, right? She's incredibly brave. When she walks at night and sees a thug, she can scare him away with just one shout. Listening to ghost stories is for her to fall asleep; she's never been afraid. But it's strange, yesterday they aired a new episode called *Ghost Blows Out the Light*, and it scared her so much that she woke me up. I said, if it scares you, don't listen, just turn it off and go to sleep, but she insisted on continuing to listen."

"Haha, yesterday's *Ghost Blows Out the Light* was really amazing. Although I wasn't scared, I felt uneasy all night and didn't sleep well. It was really good to listen to."

"I also listened with my wife until one o'clock. It was pretty good."

"We have to continue listening today. I really want to know what happens next in the tomb."

"Is the host new? What's his name, Zhang Ye? I think he speaks well, at a good pace. The previous hosts spoke too slowly."

The two men chatted, unaware that the Zhang Ye they were talking about was just a few meters away at the door.

Zhang Ye felt very pleased. This feeling was great. He checked his reputation in the game, and it had increased to 10,677.

He remembered that after buying the second "lottery" the other day, his reputation had been reset to zero. In just one night, his reputation had increased by more than ten thousand. Zhang Ye had accumulated less than 200,000 reputation points in over twenty years of his life. Now, in just one night, he had matched what he had accumulated in over a year. This rate was really too high. It seemed that choosing the radio station as his starting point was the right decision. Moreover, his reputation was still slowly increasing, adding one or two points at a time. After each episode of *Midnight Ghost Stories* was broadcast, the staff would upload the recording to the radio station's website. Clearly, the slow increase in reputation was from people who hadn't listened to the live broadcast and were now listening to the recordings online, finding them good and gradually adding reputation points to Zhang Ye.

He got off the subway and walked out of the station.

Zhang Ye first went to a small store on the street to buy cigarettes. He didn't smoke much, only a couple of cigarettes when something good happened.

"What kind of cigarettes do you want?" the owner asked.

Red River? This was the brand Zhang Ye usually smoked. But thinking about it, he was now a minor celebrity, and smoking six-yuan cigarettes seemed a bit out of place. As a successful broadcaster and future world-renowned figure, he needed to maintain his image and show his economic strength and social status.

So, Zhang Ye waved his hand, "Give me a pack of Double Happiness!"

—Yeah, these cost six and a half yuan.

...

He arrived at the office.

Many of his colleagues in the office area had dark circles under their eyes, having worked overtime the previous night.

Zhang Ye entered. He had gotten used to being ignored by everyone this week and was about to return to his seat to start working. With his own program, he had effectively been promoted, and naturally, his responsibilities had increased.

"Xiao Zhang, you're here?"

"Teacher Zhang, good morning."

"I listened to the program, it was really impressive."

"Yeah, I had to leave early yesterday for something, so I listened at home. I heard it was your original story? No script? You improvised? Amazing!"

"Live broadcasting without a script, that's not something just anyone can do."

"Teacher Zhang is a professional, that's no big deal."

Three or four colleagues greeted Zhang Ye with friendly smiles.

Zhang Ye was a bit taken aback. Teacher Zhang? What Teacher Zhang? This... was calling him? Realizing what was happening, he quickly humbly replied, "Teacher Qian, Teacher Wu, Brother Wu, don't call me teacher. I'm still a newcomer and a student, I need to learn more from my seniors. Just call me Xiao Zhang." As a media worker, especially one in the public eye, being called "teacher" was a form of respect, but Zhang Ye knew his place. With his current experience, others could call him teacher as a courtesy, but he couldn't accept it.

They exchanged a few polite words, and this was the first time Zhang Ye had such a deep interaction with his colleagues.

The reason was clear. In the past, everyone had ignored Zhang Ye because he was just a substitute DJ with poor looks, and they thought he wouldn't amount to much, so they didn't bother to build a relationship with him. But now, things were different. Tian Bin had made a mistake, and Zhang Ye had saved the day at a critical moment, miraculously preventing a major broadcasting accident. His storytelling was also excellent, and he was temporarily assigned to host the program, moving from a substitute to the main host. Naturally, his colleagues' attitudes had subtly changed.

Worldly-wise?

The warmth and coldness of human relationships were like this, and Zhang Ye didn't take it too seriously.

Of course, there were still many people in the office who ignored Zhang Ye. Some were just introverted, some had no work-related interactions with him, and some were close to Tian Bin.

Then, a female clerk walked up, carrying a cardboard box full of letters tied with rubber bands. She gave letters to several program hosts, and when she reached Zhang Ye's corner, she instinctively tried to place the letters on Tian Bin's desk. But then she realized Tian Bin wasn't there, looked at Zhang Ye, and handed the letters to him, "Teacher Zhang, these are letters from listeners of *Midnight Ghost Stories*. Some were mailed to Teacher Tian and arrived slowly today, and some are for you, sent by listeners this morning."

Zhang Ye said, "Thank you."

"You're welcome." The female clerk turned and left.

Zhang Ye took a deep breath and started opening the letters, a first-time experience for him.

The first letter was from a child, with wobbly, childish handwriting: "Teacher Zhang, your story was so good! My mom made me go to bed early and even hit me, but I didn't turn off the radio. I listened secretly under the covers. I will listen to *Ghost Blows Out the Light* every day!"

Zhang Ye smiled, thought for a moment, and wrote a reply: "I am Zhang Ye, thank you for your letter. In the future, go to bed early and listen to your mom. Don't stay up late. *Midnight Ghost Stories* is available on the cultural radio website, so you can listen to the recordings online." After finishing, he found the female clerk and asked her to send the reply to the young listener. He then sat back down and continued reading the letters.

The second letter: "Today's story is a million times better than those trashy ghost stories. This is the kind of supernatural novel I've been looking for!"

The third letter: "I'm a night-shift taxi driver. *Ghost Blows Out the Light* is amazing, and I will support it all the way!"

The fourth letter: "This is the best supernatural novel I've ever heard! Thank you, the program team! Thank you, Teacher Zhang! Finally, I'm not bored at night!"

There were about a dozen letters in total, and Zhang Ye read them all, selecting three to reply to.

Then he opened his computer and checked his email. Since taking over *Midnight Ghost Stories*, he had been given the program's email account and password. Logging in, he found that there were over eighty unread emails. These emails were less formal than the handwritten letters, with more colloquial and internet language.

Liuliu59: *Ghost Blows Out the Light* is awesome!

Edhska115: Good, good, good, good!

Qqqry: Teacher Zhang, please talk more every day. I strongly request an increase in the program's duration. I've introduced *Ghost Blows Out the Light* to many classmates and friends. I call them at night to listen, hehe. I'll give you a thumbs up, and I'll be your fan from now on!

Such overwhelming praise?

Zhang Ye was elated!

Look, look, this is the voice of the people!