Chapter 374: Smash It Up
After the deputy station director left, Li Li turned to Su Li, whose expression was grim. "Su Li, are you okay? Were you scared too?"
Su Li shook her head and said she was fine.
"Pay her no mind. Let’s head inside."
Su Li let out a breath and smiled faintly.
She was all too familiar with people like Mother Ge.
In her past life, Su Li had heard many stories from Ling Zhen.
She’d heard stories about victims who, after their assailants were arrested, still had to endure verbal abuse from the attacker’s mother or wife.
"You spend all day seducing men, causing my son/husband to make a mistake. You’re so shameless, why don’t you just drop dead!"
"So what if he slept with you? It’s not like you got pregnant, but you still got my son sent to jail. I spit on you!"
These kinds of terrifyingly shameless words weren’t fabricated—they were things people actually said.
The victims, already deeply traumatized both physically and mentally, then had to endure such verbal abuse. One can only imagine the state they were in.
There were plenty of deeply twisted people in this world.
So, for someone like Mother Ge to misdirect her anger onto her, Su Li didn’t find it the least bit strange.
After two days of training, the instructor mentoring Su Li and Li Li let them try their hand at a news broadcast.
Both Su Li and Li Li performed well. After some thought, their instructor told them that with a little more practice, he would give them a chance to go on air.
"When I think you’re ready, you’ll join me in broadcasting the news."
Su Li and Li Li were overjoyed. "Yes! Thank you, Instructor!"
From that day forward, Su Li and Li Li began practicing their news delivery in earnest.
After five days of practice, their instructor finally gave them the nod.
"Tomorrow, Su Li will join me for the noon news, and Li Li will do the afternoon broadcast."
And so, the matter was settled.
Su Li was overjoyed. When she got home, she immediately called Wu Sheng to tell him the news.
"Wu Sheng, I’m going to be broadcasting the news tomorrow!"
Hearing the excitement in Su Li’s voice, Wu Sheng was happy for her too. "Really? I’ve never heard you before."
Su Li usually practiced in private, too embarrassed to let Wu Sheng listen, so he had always been curious.
"Really," Su Li laughed. "I’m a little nervous."
Wu Sheng laughed heartily. "Don’t be nervous. What’s there to be nervous about? I’ll record it for you tomorrow! This is your debut broadcast."
"Record it? No need, it’s not that important."
Su Li was embarrassed.
"Don’t you worry about it. I’ll come find you after work tomorrow to celebrate your first time on the air."
Su Li hung up the phone and turned to see Little Tang Mo standing behind her, holding the radio.
"Mom, it’s this channel, right? Tomorrow at twelve? I’ll recognize your voice right away!"
Looking at Little Tang Mo, Su Li couldn’t help but ruffle his hair.
"That’s right."
The next day, filled with a quiet excitement, Su Li prepared for her on-air debut.
The other group of interns from her class expressed immense envy.
Before they headed out with the reporters that morning, they showered Su Li with congratulations and envious remarks.
"It’s rare for interns to get to go on air. We haven’t been allowed to. You guys are just that amazing."
Su Li’s abilities were undeniable, and Li Li was quite skilled too. So while they were envious, it wasn’t out of jealousy; they were genuinely impressed.
Her heart thumping unavoidably in her chest, the noon news update began.
There were six news items; Su Li would broadcast two of them.
After her instructor finished his part, it was Su Li’s turn.
"Next up is a short news brief..."
But once she actually started speaking, Su Li found herself becoming calm.
She broadcast the two news items without a hitch, earning a silent, affirming smile from her instructor.
Wu Sheng, on his lunch break, sat at his desk listening intently to Su Li’s voice. He couldn’t stop smiling as he murmured in awe.
’Wow, wow, wow, Su Li is incredible! That voice! Her diction is so perfect!’
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and to Wu Sheng’s ears, this was the most pleasant-sounding and best-delivered news broadcast he had ever heard in his life.
When it was the male announcer’s turn, he immediately made a phone call.
"Mom, did you hear it?"
"I heard it, I heard it! Everyone heard it! Everyone from the hutong came over."
Wu Qihua’s voice quickly came through the line.
The fact that Su Li was going to be broadcasting the news was a huge point of pride, so of course Wu Sheng had told Wu Qihua.
Wu Qihua had immediately spread the word throughout the entire hutong. Then, she’d gotten up early in the morning to invite everyone over for watermelon and a chat, and, incidentally, to listen to her future daughter-in-law on the radio.
The Wu family’s living room was packed with neighbors from the hutong, and their voices of praise traveled through the phone to Wu Sheng’s ear.
"Oh my, what a lovely voice."
"Her diction is perfect, just like the announcers on TV."
"She’ll definitely have a great future."
Listening to everyone’s praise, both Wu Qihua and Wu Sheng felt their hearts swell with pride.
After hanging up the phone, Wu Qihua feigned modesty. "It’s not that big of a deal. She’s just an intern."
But then she immediately changed her tune. "Still, it’s an opportunity many interns never get, and she earned it so quickly. That just goes to show how exceptional she is."
"Oh, hush, she’s back on."
As Su Li began to speak again, Wu Qihua immediately shushed everyone.
"...And that concludes today’s noon news update. Thank you for listening. I’m Su Li. Goodbye."
Her instructor had given her the chance to close the broadcast and introduce herself.
The moment Su Li finished speaking, a loud BANG echoed from the doorway.
The teacher, who had been smiling, reacted in a flash, quickly cutting the microphone feed.
"What’s going on?"
His expression darkened. Just as he stood up, the door to the broadcast booth was kicked open with a crash, accompanied by shouts of protest.
"Su Li, you shameless, stinking bitch, get out here!"
A brutish, thuggish man with a thick gold chain burst in.
"You slut! Daring to seduce a married man! Get the hell out here!"
Golden Chain pointed at Su Li, cursing loudly. "How dare you hire a stinking bitch like this? Are you all blind? Come on, everyone, take a good look! Get a good look at this shameless, filthy woman!"
Cursing nonstop, Golden Chain moved to grab Su Li.
The station staff behind him were frantic, pulling at him with all their might.
"Get out, you can’t go in there! You can’t disrupt the broadcast!"
The commercial break would be over in a moment. If this man kept making a scene, it would become a broadcast incident, and that was a huge deal.
Su Li realized the gravity of the situation as well. She glanced at her instructor, then decisively stood up, strode out of the booth, and gave the man a hard shove.
"Let’s take this outside!"
Su Li shut the door, and only let out a sigh of relief when she saw her instructor lock it from the inside and return to the microphone.
"Su Li! A divorced woman who doesn’t know her place, sleeping around, seducing a married man! How can your radio station even dare to hire someone like that!"
"Smash the place up!"
The moment Golden Chain saw Su Li emerge, his eyes lit up and he barked an order.
Just as Su Li looked up to say something, her expression changed drastically when she saw people suddenly appear in the hallway.
"Shameless whore!"
"You’re asking for a beating!"
Three foul-smelling vagrants in ragged clothes rushed toward Su Li, cursing as they came.
They were holding rotten eggs and threw them directly at Su Li.
The scene descended into chaos, filled with panicked screams.