An Eye for News Chapter 1

 t.i.tle: An Eye for News [超级新闻眼]

Author: Star Magician [星术师]

                “Ouch! Where am I?”

                Se Cai opened his eyes to a pastel white room and the smell of chemical disinfectant.

                A small motion of his body sent shards of pains through his brain, shoulders and arms…

                “You’re finally awake! This is County S’ First People’s Hospital. You’ve been out of it for a whole day, how are you feeling?”

                A young man beside Se Cai’s bed said excitedly as he moved to inspect him.

                The young man was Gao Xiang, a worker that joined County S Tv Station the same day as Se Cai. He was Se Cai’s partner and had a small figure and gentle demeanor.

                Similar to Se Cai, he was a temp at County S Tv Station. They even share-rented the same housing, Se Cai’s friend in need so to speak.

                “Do you even need to ask? Try getting beat by 10 people with wooden planks and sees how you feel!”

                Se Cai scoffed. He moved the peel away the gauze that was blocking his right eye.

                “Stop! The doctor said your cornea was hurt. Even though it wasn’t seriously injured but to prevent infestation, it’s better to leave the gauze on until you’re out of the hospital.”

                “Those f*ckers sure are cruel!”

                Se Cai cursed as his hand stopped in mid-air.

                He was still light-headed but he remembered that morning distinctly.

                He was supposed to be some other a.s.signment but because Gao Xiang was caught up in his personal problem, he was asked to follow this other news. A mysterious tip came saying people were forcibly sent into an internet-addiction rehabilitation school.

                Se Cai went to the school with the station’s old Santana. However, he was confronted by a gang of vicious looking men after taking a few shots outside of the school. Se Cai tried his best to fight back but faced with about 18 men armed with wooden planks, he was quickly knocked out his consciousness.

　　“Right, is Miss Zhang okay? I’ve asked her to leave when I saw those guys coming, hopefully she’s fine.”

                Se Cai asked hurriedly.

                An anchorwoman followed Se Cai to the school, intending to do a live report but before Se Cai could set up the shot, the altercation happened. 　　

                “You don’t need to worry about her. She even came to visit you earlier when you were still asleep,” Gao Xiang said consolingly.

                Se Cai sighed in relief.

                The woman was County S Tv Station’s star anchorwoman, Zhang Xin Yu. Not only did she graduate from the Chinese Multimedia School of Arts, she was a breathtaking beauty. If not for the county magistrate’s multiple invitation and the station manager’s suffocating hospitality, it was impossible to find an anchorwoman of her caliber at such a small tv station.

                The Chinese Multimedia School of Arts was famous for cultivating the best in the field of ma.s.s media. Even the tv stations at provincial city X didn’t have its alumni working there, much less its province, county S.

                Needless to say, Miss Zhang was greatly treasured. With her status, she could easily land herself a new job at any news station at city X. In fact, they had been trying to pilfer her from her current position.

                Se Cai’s tv station was seriously understaffed so the reporters often had to take on the role of camera editor. If necessary, they also had to be the on-site reporters. It was rare for an in-studio anchorwoman to request to follow on an outstation report and unfortunately she had found herself in such a tumble.

                “Thank G.o.d. The tv station treats Miss Zhang like a G.o.ddess. If something was to happen to her, Station Manager Wei would have my head! After all, I’m just an insignificant temp reporter.”

                “Hey bro, stop looking down on yourself. You’ve finished your university degree and were the first among us to get a reporter’s license. If not for the arrival of Zhang Xin Yu, you would be part of system, sitting at her position already!”

                Gao Xiang argued, furious for his friend.

                Modeled after the traditions of the state administration of radio, film and television, the official employees were the highest ranking workers in County S Tv Station. They had proper t.i.tle and fixed salary, part of the “system”. Below them were the freelancers. They had similar responsibilities as the official employees but they weren’t systemized. According to the length of their contract, they were further separated into Cla.s.s 1, 2 and 3, decreasing in pay and benefits.

                The lowest rung of the ladder were the temporary workers. They had no job safety and were paid peanuts. However, they too were given the heaviest workload. This harsh working environment meant that there was a constant shifting among the temps.

                Se Cai and Gao Xiang were part of this group. After Se Cai returned to Town Z after his graduation, he was faced with 2 options, either joined the County S Tv Station as a reporter or returned to his hometown and be a public servant.

                Of the 2, he picked the former and without him noticing, it had almost been a year he had spent at that post.

                “My computer science degree is still too much of a difference from a broadcasting degree. The difference in fees alone was obvious. The fee for broadcast was about 5 times greater than mine. I’ve thought about pursuing this degree and be an anchorman but the fee was simply too high. Furthermore, I was hampered by my country accent, it was impossible for me to get into a good school. So, I’d figured why not start from the bottom and be a reporter,”

                Se Cai shook his head and laughed, “Plus, it was the county magistrate that had personally asked for Miss Zhang to join the station. Who am I to take her place?”

                The quota for his station’s official employee was still open. Se Cai was sure with his experience, he’ll get into the system when the next examination arrived so he wasn’t at all worried.

                In fact, Se Cai’s dream wasn’t to be an official reporter but a host or anchorman. If that couldn’t work, he would even be satisfied with being an on-site reporter.

                After all, the anchorman was the face of a tv station. There was none in the multimedia field that didn’t hunger for that post. Unfortunately, Se Cai came from a rural background. He found it impossible to rid of his country accent that had grown with him his whole life. His formal Chinese level barely pa.s.sed the B2 grade, he still had a long way to go before he could reach the required B1 grade for prospective anchorman.

                Se Cai’s computer science degree would be extremely useful in a tech firm but in a tv station, he was pretty much useless.

                “Bro, you’re too uptight… Anyway, the doctor said you’ve suffered from minor concussion and when manager Wei came to visit you, he said you’re to rest until you feel ready to get back to work.”

                Gao Xiang sighed before moving to pour a cup of water from his bedside thermos. He even added a straw for Se Cai.

                “You’re so nice to me. If you’re a woman, I would make you mine this moment.”

                Se Cai joked and moved to slap his friend on his shoulder. His sudden movement though made him winced in pain.

                “After all you’re here because of me. This is my a.s.signment, they had you replace me because I was busy… If it was me who was a.s.saulted, we would be in the morgue instead,”

                Gao Xiang chuckled self-deprecatingly, before adding, “But, look on the bright side, your name has gotten much bigger after this whole incident. You’ve after all saved a princess in distress and that princess has soften her att.i.tude towards you. That bouquet right there came from her and she even told me to call her when you wake up, I believe she wants to personally thank you…”

                Se Cai cut him off, “What kind of hero gets beaten up like this? I bet this bouquet came from one of her admirers and she just shoved it to me after removing the card.”

                Ever since Zhang Xin Yu landed in County S Tv Station, the station was swamped with fan mails and presents for her almost daily. However, she never seemed interested in any of them.

                Se Cai knew she was way out of their league, him included.

                He shrugged, “By the way, my camera equipment should be broken right? Thankfully, I had the foresight to strip and hid its tape beforehand.”

                Even though he was only a temp reporter, Se Cai was shocked and furious that an internet-addiction rehab had the gall to a.s.sault a reporter. Looks like there was some semblance of truth to the tip.

                The best way to handle people like them was to use the media to pressure them.

                When the gang rushed towards Se Cai, he made sure his cam-recorder was rolling. If he could link these people to that rehab, he swore he would sue them to no end.

                However, Gao Xiang mumbled with darting eyes, “I don’t know. According to the tech crew, the equipment was completely smashed and had to be sent to the factory.”

                “What? Don’t tell me there isn’t even a police report?”

                Gao Xiang squirmed under Se Cai’s questioning gaze. Before he could reply, Se Cai continued, “My worthless life aside, the equipment themselves are worth several thousand dollars, don’t tell me that is not worth reporting?”

                Se Cai had been using a Sony dsr-pd150p. Although it was already an old model, it was still worth something.

                “Se Cai, it’s no use. The police dropped by this morning but they returned quickly. Even the head had ordered to not report and discuss this incident. We are not to even write it on social media.”

                Gao Xiang looked left and right before moving in to whisper in Se Cai’s ear, “I’m sorry bro but consider yourself unlucky this time. The opponent has a strong background, they’re not people temps like us can handle.”

                “The rehab has a background strong enough to suppress a tv station?!” Se Cai uttered in shock but he quickly understood, after all he was not a society freshman.

                “You’re right. They’re untouchable.”

                A defeated Gao Xiang said, “Rumors say that this Blue Sky Rehab was opened by the family member of the Multimedia Department head. We underlings might not be afraid of him… but our superiors have to depend on him for survival.”

                Se Cai’s face dimmed. If it was any other department, the tv station could still go for a fight because wasn’t it the media’s role to be government’s watchdog however, the multimedia department was directly responsible for managing the country’s media.

                Se Cai had spent some time in the current news beat and knew the department head was w.a.n.g Run Fa. He even had the pleasure of meeting him several times when he came to survey the tv station. Every time he was surrounded by a bunch of lackeys.

                No wonder the tv station superiors wanted to keep this incident covered.

               “Yesterday, there was already a heated argument between our director Bai and the station manager but in the end, the tv station wouldn’t cross the department head on the slight of a temp reporter. However to compensate for your loss, I heard the manager intends to let you join the system… So Se Cai, just let it go.”

                Gao Xiang sighed after giving such a long speech. He grabbed the thermos to take a long swig and then told Se Cai he was going to the pantry for a refill. 

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