Chapter 23: Thank You

Yuan Yi participated in an interview that lasted for over ten minutes, but when edited for the show, only about three minutes remained. In those three minutes, apart from him, the only thing visible on the screen was Yan Xi's half-arm holding the microphone.

"Second Young Master, you really look great on camera," Li Yi said proudly, "You're even better looking than those male actors. Tomorrow, I'll tell the other ladies in the neighborhood that the young man on TV is our family's Second Young Master."

The "ladies" Li Yi referred to were some elderly women and housekeepers in the villa community. Recently, many of the elderly women enjoyed watching this show. They would gather and discuss the latest episodes, gossiping about whether the female host had a boyfriend, and so on.

In the eyes of these elderly women, "Around Us" was the most popular TV show. They even skipped family dramas to watch it.

Yuan Yi changed into slippers and turned back to the TV, where he saw Yan Xi interviewing a firefighter. The firefighter's identity was clearly labeled, much more detailed than his own—his age, name, and which district fire team he belonged to.

Wasn't this a bit too obvious, the difference in treatment?

Yan Xi was drawing a comic when she heard a WeChat notification. She didn't check it immediately, finishing the comic and uploading it to Weibo before remembering to check the message.

Yuan Xiao Er: I watched the firefighter episode, it was pretty good.

Complimented by the young master, Yan Xi smiled and replied.

Yan Dan Shen Gou (Single Dog): Thanks for the compliment. It's thanks to your show that it passed the review. I was worried about revealing too much about your identity, so I didn't specify it in the program. You don't mind, right?

Yuan Yi waited almost an hour for her reply. After reading her message, the words of mockery he had prepared vanished from his mind. He understood that if they had mentioned he was the second son of Changfeng, it would have been more beneficial for Yan Xi, and if she had used him to generate more buzz, she could have gone to a better platform and no longer needed to stay at this small TV station, squeezed into a cramped van with colleagues, running around in the summer heat, doing both the work of a host and a reporter.

Yuan Xiao Er: You thought this through. Thank you.

Yan Dan Shen Gou (Single Dog): I should be thanking you. Without you, this episode couldn't have been successful.

Yuan Yi opened Yan Xi's Moments, but there was still no new content. Her profile picture had changed from the spicy hotpot to a photo of grilled lamb skewers. Looking at the delicious photo of lamb skewers, Yuan Yi wasn't sure why, but he found Yan Xi a bit cute.

He clicked on her profile, thinking of changing her nickname, but after trying and trying, he felt that "Yan Dan Shen Gou" (Single Dog) was more interesting. He reluctantly gave up.

Though the episode didn't have any particularly touching stories, the post-production was done with great care. The beginning was filled with smiling faces, followed by the firefighters introducing themselves.

"I'm Wang Hai, 19 years old, a member of Team 1 in the Fire Brigade..."

"I'm Peng Xiong, 22 years old, the captain of Team 2 in the Fire Brigade..."

Their bright and sincere smiles on colorful photos were like little suns.

After the colorful photos disappeared, the background music turned solemn. The screen showed a cluster of white chrysanthemums, and the photos turned black and white. A deep female voice began.

"He's Yuan Yang..."

"He's Zhen Hang..."

"He's Yang Guang..."

This was a list of firefighters who had sacrificed their lives, and each name made one's heart tremble. They were so young, and just thinking about their sacrifice made one's throat tighten.

Cui Zhengyang was a tech-savvy young man with some online fame. He found TV drama plots too clichéd and didn't like the deceitful and formulaic nature of TV programs, so he rarely watched TV.

One day, his grandmother came to visit and specifically asked to watch a program from the eighth channel of the Imperial Capital TV station. Cui Zhengyang silently found it amusing—he didn't even know there was an eighth channel. But since it was his beloved grandmother who asked, he obediently found the channel for her.

When he saw the program title, "Around Us," he figured it was just another trivial show, probably about neighborhood conflicts or plumbing issues. He turned to see his grandmother watching the TV without even a hint of a complaint.

"Alright, let's just watch it to make her happy," he thought.

To his surprise, as he continued watching, the quality of the program was better than expected. The host was very skilled, and during interviews, she was flexible and natural. The camerawork was professional, capturing the firefighters' adorable and admirable sides. The editing was heartfelt without being overly sentimental. When the firefighters introduced themselves and the screen showed black-and-white photos of the fallen, Cui Zhengyang felt his eyes well up.

The audience could tell if the program was made with care, and the effort that went into gathering the data, as well as the editing and voiceover, was apparent. It was impressive that a small, relatively unknown TV station would put so much effort into such a heartfelt segment about firefighters.

Still feeling emotional, Cui Zhengyang overheard his grandmother sobbing beside him. He spent half an hour comforting her until she finally came out of her sadness.

"These kids really aren't easy," his grandmother said, turning to scold her grandson. "Next time you lose your keys, don't bother the firefighters. Just find a locksmith. Don't keep bothering people. These kids are younger than you!"

"No, no, I definitely won't," Cui Zhengyang breathed a sigh of relief. As a homebody, losing his keys wasn't something he'd do easily.

After settling his grandmother down, Cui Zhengyang realized he hadn't yet recovered from the sadness. He managed to get a copy of the program's video and uploaded it to his Weibo.

Zhengqi Haoran (Righteous Spirit): Today I watched a program with my grandmother—Around Us on Imperial Capital TV's eighth channel. I had never heard of the channel or the show, but it was really moving. You can tell the program was made with care. 【Video】

Cui Zhengyang, a well-known online personality, usually posts funny sketches and memes, with millions of followers. Seeing him post such a serious review of a TV program, many of his haters quickly commented that it was just another blatant advertisement, with no subtlety at all.

When true fans and casual viewers opened the video, they immediately realized the blogger wasn't just promoting something but was genuinely moved.

Fan 1: "I didn't expect to finish watching this hour-long video, cried like a dog. Thank you, firefighter brothers, for your hard work."

Fan 2: "My younger brother is a firefighter, and they really have a tough job. Thank you to the program team for reporting on them so seriously. I bow to you in gratitude."

Fan 3: "We can run away without hesitation in times of danger because they bravely face it head-on. Although they are young, they are heroes worthy of respect."

In just a few hours, this video became one of the top three trending videos on Weibo, with countless people in the comments sharing moving stories of firefighters, police officers, medical staff, and others, touching the hearts of many internet users.

The staff at Beijing Eight TV, unaware that their program was trending on Weibo, went to work as usual the next day. Then, both of their hotline phones were flooded with calls, and praise poured in like there was no tomorrow.

A staff member knocked on the office of Director Jin, confused: "Director, did you pay someone to call and praise us?"

Director Jin looked at the staff member in disbelief: "Do I look like someone with money to waste?"

The staff member shook their head, thinking there's no way that could be true. Their station was so poor they even had to accept advertisements for fertility treatments just to make some revenue.

"Director!" Chen Pei squeezed into the office from the left side of the staff member, "Did you pay for a PR team? Why did we suddenly get over a thousand retweets and two thousand comments on Weibo?"

Director Jin looked completely baffled: "What's going on today?"

"Chen Jie," Yan Xi squeezed into the office from the other side, "Someone uploaded our program from last night online."

"The firefighter episode?" Chen Pei froze. This episode was something Yan Xi had insisted on doing, and she had been somewhat opposed to it at first. But since Yan Xi had some connections and had even interviewed senior executives from Changfeng, and Director Jin had signed off on it, she reluctantly agreed. She had previously done similar programs, and they required more effort without being very popular with the audience. So, unless mandated by her superiors, she wouldn't have taken on such a thankless task.

Feeling a bit upset about it, she had handed full responsibility for the episode to Yan Xi, barely interfering herself.

After hearing Yan Xi's explanation, she turned to leave Director Jin's office and went to check the program from last night on her computer. Hearing the constant ringing of the hotlines outside, Director Jin eagerly went to check the online reactions as well.

Back in her office, Yan Xi opened Weibo and found that her account had gained thousands of new followers. Her post was full of praise from netizens, including messages of gratitude from the families of the firefighters.

One of the top comments read: "Thank you, thank you to the program team for remembering my brother. So often, I feel like my brother isn't really gone, he's just sleeping, and then he became a hero in heaven."

Yan Xi's fingers trembled as she stared at the screen, remaining silent for a long time before replying to the comment.

"There will always be people who remember him, who remember those heroes who gave their lives for the people. Though they are asleep now, they live on in our hearts. I wish you and your family peace, thank you."

Closing her computer, Yan Xi sent a message to Yuan Yi on WeChat.

"Thank you."

At this moment, she felt incredibly lucky that Yuan Yi had agreed to help her, and she was filled with deep gratitude.