Chapter 7

It's Monday.

The weather is not favorable, with heavy smog today.

This is Zhang Ye's first day at work. Dressed in a suit and tie, he once again came to the Beijing Radio Station and found the Arts and Culture Broadcasting Department upstairs. The station's coverage area is roughly the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, with a small part of the northeastern cities also able to receive the frequency. It can't compare to the Central Radio Station, but in terms of listeners, it still leads among local stations of the same level.

In the leader's office.

Zhang Ye gently knocked on the door. Hearing a voice from inside saying "Come in," he pushed the door open and walked in. The person sitting behind the desk was someone Zhang Ye had already met during the interview, Zhao Guozhou, who is over forty and the head of the Arts and Culture Broadcasting Department. Whether it's a radio station or a TV station, the position is generally referred to as the Director in Beijing and many regions, although there are exceptions, such as in Xiangnan and Xiangbei provinces, where they are called "Daozhang."

"Leader."

"Zhang Ye has arrived, please sit down. Have you brought the necessary documents?"

"Yes, I have."

"Good. I'll have someone from HR take you to complete the onboarding process in a bit. But there's no rush. Have a drink of water first. After you finish, I'll take you to the office area to introduce you to everyone."

"Thank you, I appreciate it."

They had a brief conversation, and Zhang Ye was very mindful of his words.

After a while, Zhao Guozhou led Zhang Ye to the Arts and Culture Broadcasting Department's office area on the same floor. The area was quite large, with about thirty to forty desks. Since today's programs were all pre-recorded, no one seemed to be busy, with some playing games and others chatting. When they saw the leader, they stopped their games and conversations.

"Leader."

"Good morning, leader."

Everyone greeted him.

Zhao Guozhou nodded and patted Zhang Ye's shoulder, saying, "Everyone, stop for a moment. I want to introduce a new colleague, Zhang Ye, a recent graduate from the Broadcasting Department of the Communication University. He is now one of us. Please give him a warm welcome." Although the Communication University is now called the Communication University, its predecessor was the Beijing Broadcasting College, and many people still refer to it by its old name. "Some of you may be Zhang Ye's alumni, his seniors. Please take good care of the new colleague."

Everyone clapped half-heartedly, with some clearly skeptical.

Zhang Ye also greeted everyone and gave a brief self-introduction.

Afterward, Zhao Guozhou called over a young man, who looked about the same age as Zhang Ye, if not a few years older, but in terms of appearance, the young man was much more handsome. "Tian Bin, you are also a broadcaster. Please take Zhang Ye under your wing for a while and help him get familiar with the job."

Tian Bin came over and shook hands with Zhang Ye, "Hello, Zhang Ye. If you have any questions, just ask me."

Zhang Ye quickly shook his hand with both hands, "Tian Ge, thank you for your help."

Zhao Guozhou said to Zhang Ye, "Tian Bin is the host of our frequency's 'Midnight Ghost Stories.' Learn from him and practice more; it will be beneficial for you." The late-night program on the Arts and Culture Broadcasting used to have a ghost story segment, but it wasn't called this. It seems the game ring has made some changes.

After going through the necessary procedures, Zhang Ye went to complete his onboarding, which took until 10:30 AM. He then returned to his desk in the corner of the room. Normally, a corner desk would be highly sought after, as it is out of the leader's sight and convenient for slacking off. However, this corner was different. First, it was close to the entrance, and second, there was a water dispenser nearby, making it a busy area. As a new employee, Zhang Ye had no choice. Although his salary as a broadcaster was higher than that of the editors and secretaries in the same office area, he was still a new employee and had no choice in his seating arrangement.

Tian Bin sat opposite him, separated by a partition.

Seeing no work to do and no one assigning him tasks, Zhang Ye stood up and asked, "Tian Ge, what should I do or learn?"

Tian Bin glanced at him, his expression clearly different from when the leader was around, and said indifferently, "Get familiar with things on your own."

"Okay," Zhang Ye didn't press further.

During lunchtime at the company cafeteria, Zhang Ye took the opportunity to introduce himself to his colleagues in the same office area, "Hello, Wang Jie. I'm new here, please take care of me."

Wang Xiaomei glanced at him, gave a lukewarm "Mm," and walked away.

Zhang Ye had wanted to shake her hand, but it made him feel quite awkward.

From the conversations and chats he had overheard, he understood that Wang Xiaomei, around thirty years old, was a star in the office area, considered the top host of the Arts and Culture Broadcasting. Her program, "Talking About the World," had the highest listenership on their frequency. It was a cultural and historical program, and she hosted it well, with a good appearance. While she wasn't as stunningly beautiful as Rao Aimin, anyone who saw her would describe her as a beauty. However, Zhang Ye wasn't particularly impressed, as Wang Xiaomei, while attractive, lacked distinctive features and charisma, and was far from the level of his landlady.

For the entire day, Zhang Ye was busy with interpersonal interactions, but the results were minimal. It seemed that everyone was not very enthusiastic about him, treating him as if he were dispensable.

Tian Bin was like this.

Wang Xiaomei was also like this.

It wasn't until the end of the day that Zhang Ye understood why. He overheard a conversation between a phone editor, Tian Bin, and a beautiful woman, who was likely Tian Bin's wife, as they were holding hands, possibly coming to pick him up after work.

"Brother Tian, how did Zhang Ye get hired?" the phone editor asked.

Tian Bin shrugged and shook his head, "Who knows? His appearance doesn't even meet the standards."

The phone editor sighed, "Exactly. How can someone with that appearance be a broadcaster? I wonder what the station was thinking. I could do a better job than him."

Tian Bin said definitively, "Zhang Ye will never become popular."

The phone editor agreed, "Not to mention becoming popular, whether he can even get a program is questionable. All our programs have fixed hosts. He can only be a substitute, filling in for a day when someone is sick. Wanting his own program? It might not happen even next year. He'll just have to wait. If it weren't for the previous substitute host being transferred to the news station, with his appearance, he wouldn't have even gotten a chance to host on the Arts and Culture station."

Tian Bin's wife laughed, "They hired someone like that? That's really something."

Tian Bin said, "The leader even asked me to mentor him. I don't have the time for that."

His wife said, "Then just ignore him. If he can't get on a program, the station will probably transfer him to another department in a few days."

The three of them chatted as they walked away, unaware that Zhang Ye had heard them at the company entrance. Talking behind my back? Hoping I get transferred? What kind of people are you! Clearly, the editors and staff were jealous of Zhang Ye's good luck, and the other broadcasters believed he wouldn't achieve anything. They saw him as just another ordinary staff member, hence the lack of attention he received at the Arts and Culture station.

Who told you I won't become popular?

Who told you I won't get on a program?

Just wait and see, I'll show you!

In life, one pursues fame and fortune. Zhang Ye wasn't greedy; he only wanted fame, not fortune. He would put all his efforts and energy into becoming famous, following the ultimate goal set by the game ring: "Becoming the greatest star in the world." Effort always pays off. By abandoning all desires and focusing solely on becoming famous, he was determined to make a name for himself. As for money and other material things? Ha, what's money compared to fame? He always looked down on it, treating it like dirt, and truly didn't care about such external things, really didn't care...

Wait, hold on!

Zhang Ye suddenly stopped at the steps west of the bus stop, stepping on something. Seeing no one was paying attention, he bent down, picked up a one-yuan paper bill that someone had dropped, and secretly put it in his pocket, then continued walking.

Right, where was I?

Oh, right! Who told you I won't get on a program? Who told you that?