Chapter 73

Friday.

In the morning, the sky was clear and cloudless.

Today was the day of the Golden Microphone Award live broadcast, and countless people gathered outside the Beijing TV Grand Theater, holding their entry tickets and waiting in line to enter.

As soon as Zhang Ye arrived, he ran into his colleagues.

"Xiao Zhang, over here!" Zhou Dajie waved from the queue.

"Zhou Dajie? Aunt Sun?" Zhang Ye blinked and walked over.

Aunt Sun let him cut in line, which in Beijing is called "jiasan'er," "Come over here, no need to wait in line at the back."

Zhang Ye didn't think cutting in line was a problem, as he was nominated and didn't need to queue; he could enter with his work ID. "Why are you all here?" He really didn't know so many people would come, as he hadn't been to work for several days. "The Midnight Ghost Stories" had been taken off the air, and "The Old and Young Storytelling" was also on a break. He had no work at all. Zhao Guozhou had also considered Zhang Ye's feelings and gave him a few days off.

"Tickets from the unit, the seats in the grand hall are many, and most of the colleagues are here. Look, Tian Bin and his wife are right at the front. See? At the security check. Teacher Xiao Mei also arrived early and has already entered. We came a bit late," Zhou Dajie smiled.

Aunt Sun comforted him, "Xiao Zhang, just stay relaxed today, don't think about other things."

Zhou Dajie also encouraged him, "Right, it's no big deal if you don't win this time. There will be more opportunities in the future. Let's just enjoy the show this time."

Zhang Ye said insincerely, "I understand."

"That's good, let's go." It was his turn for the security check.

He threw his lighter into the trash can and passed the security check, then followed them inside.

This was the largest venue of Beijing TV, capable of accommodating over a thousand people. The seats for Zhang Ye's unit were all concentrated in the front row on the right side, which was a very good location. After all, their radio station and Beijing TV were part of the same organization, so they naturally received preferential treatment. The seats for attendees from other provincial and municipal radio and TV stations were much worse, this was the home-field advantage.

"Teacher Xiao Zhang is here?"

"Zhou Jie, you're too slow."

"Xiao Chen, Xiao Xu, you came so early?"

Their colleagues from the arts radio station had tickets that were all together, so they naturally sat together. Some came alone, some with their partners, and some even brought their children.

After greeting each other, everyone sat down.

In front were the seats for the news frequency of Beijing Radio, and Zhang Ye was sitting in the first row, clearly ready to go on stage to receive his award. He had already prepared. At this moment, after being reminded by someone, he turned around and saw Zhang Ye three rows behind him. He waved and called out, "Zhang Ye." He and Zhang Ye were the same age, but Zhang Ye had joined the station half a year earlier, so he didn't use the formal title "teacher."

Zhang Ye looked over, "Hmm?"

Zhang Ye smiled, "Why didn't you sit in the front? This time, only the two of us are nominated." This statement wasn't entirely wrong, but it made people uncomfortable.

Everyone knew that Teacher Zhang Ye didn't sit in the front row for the nominees because he knew he wouldn't win. Mentioning it was like rubbing salt in the wound. Wasn't this intentional?

Zhang Ye replied coldly, "No need."

"Oh, then do as you please," Zhang Ye turned back.

Jia Yan also arrived at this moment, but he held his seat ticket and didn't go to the arts frequency area; instead, he went to the news frequency area.

"Zhang Ye."

"Ha, Yanzi."

"The traffic was terrible."

"Come and sit, I've saved a spot for you."

Jia Yan sat next to Zhang Ye, and the two chatted happily, ignoring everyone else. Since Zhang Ye's incident, although Jia Yan had received a program, he had lost the support of many people in the arts frequency due to the dirty tactics of the station leadership. Jia Yan didn't want to make himself look foolish. The colleagues from the arts frequency didn't respect him, and he didn't respect them either. With Deputy Director Jia in charge, he didn't care about anyone.

At one time, when Jia Yan first joined, everyone was very polite and friendly to him, as he was a relative of the leadership. Zhang Ye had been marginalized for a while, but now the situation was the opposite. The reason was a matter of degree. Some tactics were indeed very hurtful. This time it was Zhang Ye, but next time, could it be someone else from the arts frequency who would have to give way to Jia Yan? Could they be forced out by the leadership? This couldn't help but make people think!

Zhou Dajie said to Zhang Ye, "Ignore them."

"Those who have no talent won't last long," Xiao Fang said resentfully.

An old editor sighed, "Sigh, the internal affairs of the unit are getting more and more chaotic."

This year's Silver Microphone Award was definitely going to Zhang Ye, and next year, it was clear that Jia Yan had reserved it. No matter how capable Zhang Ye was, what could he do? He could only be subordinate to others—of course, this was the judgment of everyone else, not Zhang Ye. Zhang Ye had not given up!

Compromise?

Surrender?

Tolerance?

This was not his style at all!

Only by winning the Silver Microphone Award could he further develop at the TV station. But how could he win this award that he must win? Zhang Ye didn't know, and at this moment, he had no idea what to do. Find Zhang Yuanqi? Impossible. Even the Empress couldn't do anything about this. The selection was a majority vote, and three or more out of five judges had to agree for it to be effective. Apart from the new judge Zhang Yuanqi, the other judges were more respectful of the rules, meaning no one would vote for Zhang Ye. Zhang Yuanqi alone couldn't help Zhang Ye, and he had already used up his favor, so he wouldn't ask Zhang Yuanqi again.

No plan!

No way forward or back!

Zhang Ye had to admit that he was truly cornered, but even in this desperate situation, he had to find a way out. He couldn't swallow this humiliation!

Conventional methods wouldn't work. Zhang Ye opened the game ring interface, looking for unconventional breakthroughs. With "The Old and Young Storytelling" on a break, his reputation points came only from the exposure of "Ghost Blows the Lamp," and that was it. So, he didn't have many points. If he drew a prize...

Ah! Almost forgot!

There were still items in the inventory that hadn't been used!

Zhang Ye suddenly remembered and opened the game inventory. Sure enough, there was a small, shiny item—Lucky Bread! He had won this a few days ago. He had eaten the charm fruit he got from the draw immediately, but he had forgotten about this item!

Let's try it!

Even a dead horse must be treated as if it's alive!

The Silver Microphone Award was about to be announced. Zhang Ye had no choice but to take a gamble!

He took out the Lucky Bread from the inventory and picked up a bottle of Ice Country mineral water—a famous brand in this world. He pretended to drink water but actually ate the Lucky Bread secretly. The items from the game ring or draws were invisible to others, but his actions were visible. If he were seen grabbing air and putting it in his mouth, people would think he was crazy. Of course, he had to make some cover actions. Gulping, he finished the last bite of the bread!

Lucky Bread activated!

Player's luck increased!

Five-minute countdown started!

...

At the same moment.

In the backstage rest area, the inner hall.

Four or five staff members were organizing the trophies and certificates to be awarded today. The results of the selection had already been decided yesterday, and the trophies and certificates had been made in a hurry. They were neatly arranged on a table. The door was locked, and this was a strictly confidential process, but in reality, it wasn't that secret. People in the industry knew who would win and who wouldn't. After all, it wasn't a presidential election, so it wasn't that strict.

"Name—Liu Feng."

"Here it is."

"Good, put this in the front, and make sure the certificate matches, don't get it wrong."

"Don't worry, it won't be wrong."

"Zhang Ye, this is the Silver Microphone Award, take it to the front to be presented."

"Okay, I'm ready."

Just as the staff members were preparing the list and the order, a female employee accidentally knocked over a certificate, which in turn knocked over a bottle of mineral water on the table. The bottle was loosely capped, and the water spilled onto the certificate below, very suddenly!

"Oh no!" The female employee hurriedly wiped the certificate with her sleeve.

"Don't wipe it!" An older colleague warned, but it was too late.

The certificate, which was spread out, immediately became blurred, and the words were unreadable.

A young man quickly came to help, wiping the water off the table and onto the floor to prevent other certificates from being affected. However, the floor was tiled and very slippery. The young man stumbled slightly, and to maintain his balance, he accidentally touched the trophy that corresponded to the certificate. The trophy fell to the ground with a crack!

The trophy shattered immediately!

The Silver Microphone trophy was different from the Golden Microphone. It was made of a material similar to crystal, and since it was shaped like a long microphone, the hardness of the crystal was not much higher than that of glass. As a result, it shattered into pieces, unrecognizable even by its mother!

"Oh no!"

"It's ruined!"

"What are you doing? So careless!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't expect it to turn out like this!"

Everyone was in a panic, and after a flurry of activity, they were left with no choice but to look at the mess on the floor!

"Uncle Ping, what do we do? The Silver Microphone Award is to be presented in an hour!" The female employee was in a panic, not expecting such a simple task to go so wrong!

The Silver Microphone Award was to be presented in the morning, as it was not live, so it was a prelude to the Golden Microphone. After the Silver Microphone Award, the Golden Microphone would be broadcast live on TV. Time was running out, and there was no precedent for postponing the Silver Microphone Award.

The oldest staff member gritted his teeth, "Don't panic, we can still make it. The certificate is easy to fix; we have blank certificates ready. We just need to fill them out again. The judges will definitely have the official seal. Xiao Chen, go find a judge to stamp it. Xiao Wang, you have a task. Call Yixuan immediately. They made the trophies, and they must have spare Silver Microphone trophies. The name is blank. Have them engrave Zhang Ye's name as quickly as possible, and you go and pick it up yourself, as fast as you can!"

"Okay!"

"Understood!"

The two left, one to make the call and one to handle the certificate.

The female employee first found Yixuan's phone number from the station and called them urgently, "Hello, I'm from Beijing TV... Yes, we have a problem. Do you have any spare Silver Microphone trophies... Yes? Great, great, please help us make a new one. One of them is broken... Yes... Thank you so much, please do it as quickly as possible, we're running out of time... Okay... Name? The name is Zhang... " In a hurry, she forgot the name the older colleague had just told her, so she said, "Wait a moment!"

The young man had already fetched the certificate and was about to fill it out.

The female employee asked, "Xiao Chen, what's the name again?"

"Um, the unit is Beijing Radio, it's Zhang... Ye?" The young man was uncertain and didn't want to ask Uncle Ping again for fear of being scolded, so he quickly searched the nomination list on his phone, "Oh, found it, found it. Beijing Radio, it's this one—Zhang Ye!"

"Zhang Ye?"

"Check for yourself."

"Got it, I've noted it down."

Zhang Ye and Zhang Ye, both pronounced "Ye," but with slightly different tones.

The young man took a pen and wrote the name from the online list.

The female employee also told the trophy maker, "It's Zhang Ye... one fire and one glory, yes, the unit is Beijing People's Radio!"

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