Chapter 71

Messages spread throughout the office.

"Have you heard? Wang Xiaomei from the cultural radio has been pulled off her pedestal!"

"Isn't that the new guy, Zhang Ye, from the Mid-Autumn poetry recital? I don't know where he came from, but if it weren't for his average looks, I think he would definitely be someone in the future. It's a pity his external conditions are a bit lacking."

"Hey, you guys are talking about old news!"

"What's wrong, Old An? What happened?"

"Zhang Ye's program has been canceled and might be moved to the weekend slot. And because he lost two of his current hosting positions, he can't be nominated for this year's Silver Microphone Award!"

"That's impossible!"

"Really? How could that be!"

"How could he not win the Silver Microphone with such achievements?"

"You guys don't know anything. Do you know who the new host for Zhang Ye's Monday to Friday program is? His name is Jia Yan, a relative of Deputy Director Jia. Also, don't tell anyone, but the father of the Silver Microphone nominee, Zhang Ye, is an old comrade of our station director."

"This..."

"Zhang Ye is really having a tough time, isn't he?"

"Ah, he's really unlucky!"

"The station is really disgusting. They don't reward those who have made great contributions to the station, but instead... What kind of thing is this!"

"What can you do? They are the leaders."

"If the station keeps doing this, they will lose the hearts of the people!"

"Of course, leaders will take care of their relatives and friends, it's human nature, but they shouldn't be so underhanded. This is practically forcing Zhang Ye to his death!"

People didn't dare to question openly, after all, this was a decision made by the station leadership, but many people were discussing it privately and had strong opinions about it.

...

In the Deputy Director's office.

There were two people in the room, one was Deputy Director Jia, and the other was Zhang Ye.

Deputy Director Jia said kindly, "Little Ye, how's your work going recently?"

"It's going well," Zhang Ye replied, sitting opposite him. "Thank you for your concern, Director Jia."

Deputy Director Jia smiled, "No need to be so formal. We're not strangers. I remember meeting you when you were a child at the director's house. You probably don't remember that, right?"

Zhang Ye rubbed his neck and said, "I remember."

Deputy Director Jia nodded, "Let's get to the point. Today is the deadline for the Silver Microphone nominations, and the official selection will be on Friday. The station has already submitted your name to the selection committee. This time, because our Beijing station doesn't have any outstanding candidates, we have only nominated you. So, the one slot for the Silver Microphone Award that Beijing station gets will definitely be yours. I just wanted to let you know. Prepare your acceptance speech, and you might have to say a few words on stage. Speaking well will help your future development, after all, there will be many well-known people in the industry at the award ceremony, including leaders from the broadcasting and television administration, directors and producers from various radio and TV stations, and famous hosts. Oh, and this time, Empress Zhang Yuanqi will be in charge. Preparing a good speech will leave a deep impression on everyone."

Zhang Ye, who might have known this already, wasn't overly excited, "Thank you for your guidance, Director Jia. I will do my best."

"Good, not arrogant or impatient," Deputy Director Jia praised. "Winning the Silver Microphone will definitely open up endless possibilities for you. After you train for a while, you won't need my recommendation; people from the TV station will definitely come looking for you."

...

In the cultural frequency office area.

Jia Yan, full of confidence, went to the live studio. Although the program was already recorded, he still needed to do an opening statement and introduce himself.

Zhou Dajie looked at his back with hatred, "A small person getting lucky!"

Sun Auntie comforted, "Little Zhang, there will be other opportunities, don't worry."

"That's right, Teacher Zhang, you will definitely make it. There will be other awards in the future," Assistant Xiaofang said.

But everyone knew there wouldn't be such a good opportunity again. Yes, there would be other awards, but which one could match the prestige of the Silver Microphone? This was the highest award for new hosts in the domestic broadcasting industry, and it was only given once a year to new hosts who had worked for less than a year. Missing this opportunity meant losing it forever. Every famous radio host and TV anchor today had won the Silver Microphone at some point. They had reached their current heights partly because of the Silver Microphone award. Winning it was like being coated in a thick layer of gold, making a huge difference compared to those who didn't have this award.

Many people felt sorry for Zhang Ye!

Many colleagues felt indignant on Zhang Ye's behalf!

However, Zhang Ye remained unusually calm at this moment.

"Little Zhang, don't think too much about it," Zhou Dajie was very worried. "If you want to vent, go ahead. We're all friends here, and we won't say anything outside."

"I'm fine, Zhou Dajie," Zhang Ye said.

Wang Xiaomei glanced at him and got up to leave.

"Teacher Xiaomei, where are you going?" Xiaofang noticed something was wrong.

Wang Xiaomei said calmly, "I'm going to talk to the station leadership. This is too heartless!"

Zhou Dajie exclaimed and grabbed her, "Don't, don't. It won't do any good, and you'll just get yourself into trouble!" From Zhang Ye's situation, everyone could see that the station leadership was only polite to famous hosts on the surface. Even if a host was famous or had the highest ratings, they could still be deliberately suppressed by the leadership. When it came to the interests of the leadership, no one was spared, and everyone had to make way for their relatives!

This was the reality!

Who could blame them for having connections?

Zhang Ye was also moved, "Teacher Xiaomei, thank you, but it's really not necessary. It won't work, and if the station doesn't give me the nomination, I'll get it myself!"

Wang Xiaomei was taken aback, "Get it yourself?"

"Where are you going to get it? Didn't they say you need a hosting position?" Zhou Dajie was also confused.

Zhang Ye didn't answer them, picked up his phone from the desk, and stood up, "I need to make a call." Then he disappeared from the office area.

At the end of the corridor, in a corner.

Zhang Ye opened the window, leaned on it, and flipped through his contacts on his phone. He found Zhang Yuanqi's number, hesitated for a moment, and then dialed it. He didn't like asking for help, at least not abruptly. If he could do something himself, he would. If he couldn't, he wouldn't do it—this was his character. However, he wasn't too stressed about this call because Zhang Yuanqi had drunk too much and come to his house, and he had taken care of her, washed her clothes, and cooked for her. Zhang Yuanqi owed him a favor.

Dial tone.

Dial tone.

After ten rings, the call was finally connected.

Zhang Ye quickly said, "Hello, Teacher Zhang, it's me, Zhang..."

On the other end, Zhang Yuanqi's voice, with a magnetic tone but not very gentle, replied, "I know who you are. I'm very busy right now. You have ten seconds to speak."

Zhang Ye didn't mind; he had already gotten used to the Empress's coldness and understood that this was her personality, not directed at him. "I'll be brief. You are one of the five judges for the Silver Microphone Award, right? I've been sidelined by the station leadership, so according to the rules, I can't be nominated for the Silver Microphone. I heard that the judges have two additional nomination slots. So, I was wondering if you could..."

At that moment, the ten seconds were up.

Click, the call was hung up very promptly!

Zhang Ye was stunned. What the hell! I wasn't even finished! Ten seconds is really ten seconds? He almost cursed, thinking that next time she got drunk, he wouldn't help her. If she passed out at his place again, he would put her on the road and write a sign, "Take a photo with the Empress for 1000 yuan," and make some extra money!

...

In the afternoon, "Soaring Youth" finished broadcasting.

Jia Yan returned to the office, his back straighter than usual, looking almost invincible. The ratings had just been tallied—2.13%! For a new program, this was quite impressive! Jia Yan was very satisfied.

Everyone knew that the next Silver Microphone Award for Beijing Radio was already reserved for Jia Yan, but no one in the office was convinced by his attitude. He didn't earn it through his own abilities, nor was "Soaring Youth" particularly good. The reason was that he had a good relative. Everyone knew that the station had forced Zhang Ye's program off the air to boost Jia Yan's ratings. How many listeners did Zhang Ye have? Even a mediocre program could get 2%!

A person with nothing could be so successful!

A mediocre person could win the Silver Microphone!

On the other hand, Zhang Ye, who had everything, ended up like this! Not even a nomination! It was truly heartless and unfair!

The nominations were closing today!

Now, Teacher Zhang had no chance!

Zhou Dajie was so angry that her hands were trembling. It was so unfair!

Jia Yan was familiar with Zhang Ye from the news frequency because their elders knew each other. Seeing Zhang Ye's situation and Zhang Ye's success, Jia Yan felt particularly relieved.

It was almost time to leave.

A tall, thin young man suddenly entered the office area.

"Yan, let's go, have dinner together," the young man said to Jia Yan.

Jia Yan recognized the person and smiled, "Zhang Ye? Sure, let me tidy up a bit."

People weren't surprised that they knew each other; they were all connected through family ties.

Zhang Ye was also curious about this character. He looked around and saw him. The Mid-Autumn poetry recital was quite a big event, and he had seen Zhang Ye's photo. Just this face and height? Not much to it! Zhang Ye was already determined to win the Silver Microphone and didn't take Zhang Ye seriously.

Zhang Ye also noticed him.

They looked at each other, and Zhang Ye laughed, a bit arrogantly.

At that moment, Assistant Xiaofang suddenly called out, not knowing what had happened. She pointed at the computer, "Oh my! Everyone, come and look! Come and look! The list of Silver Microphone nominees has been released!"