12
My “ship” with Ethan blew up online.
One day after work, Nathan cornered me again.
*Olivia, let’s have dinner together.”
I frowned. “No thanks, I have things to do.”
Nathan grabbed me. “I watched your interview video. You… really have great ideas!”
“I didn’t just recently get ideas. I’ve had ideas since the day I met you.”
After being rebuffed, Nathan persisted: “Remember during college, when we went on a team outing and you almost fell in the water?”
“I saved you. I even got a scar on my wrist from it.”
I scoffed. “So what are you trying to say? Cash in on past favors?”
“In the past five years, I’ve already done everything I could.”
“You’re the one who said you didn’t want it
Nathan’s expression tightened. “I regret it. Let’s get back together, okay? Don’t be with my brother anymore. Someone like him will eventually choose someone more suitable-
A black car pulled up beside us.
Ethan lowered the window. “Olivia, what are you doing?”
I said coldly, very displeased: “Nathan’s trying to steal me away”
–
10:12 AM
<
Nathan instantly cowered. “Brother, don’t listen to her slandering me.”
I said: “He wants to get back together with me. He even said you’re old and not up to par anymore.”
“Olivia, when did you learn to embellish like this!”
The aggrievement on Nathan’s face was about to overflow.
The next second, I opened the car door and got in.
Grumbling: “Why don’t we just send him away? He’s so annoying.”
Ethan smiled slightly at Nathan. “You leave for the overseas branch tomorrow.”
“Brother, that place is in the middle of nowhere-”
“Perfect for recuperating.” Ethan held my hand, sighing. “Your sister–in–law is kind–hearted. You should learn to be grateful.”
Nathan was bundled onto a flight to a foreign land.
Sophia lost her backer.
I heard she started looking for other opportunities.
One day, I went to Ethan’s office and faintly heard Sophia crying inside.
“Ethan, it was my parents who forced me to leave back then.”
“I have no one to rely on now. Nathan doesn’t care about me anymore.”
“What should I do?”
Ethan’s tone was cold. “Do whatever you should do. You have hands and feet, are you afraid you can’t support yourself?”
Sophia choked. “This isn’t fair.”
“What’s not fair?”
“You were able to rescue Olivia from the fire pit and help her establish herself at the news agency. Why can’t you save me too? Mr. Fu, I’m also
someone who was hurt by Nathan… If you don’t save me, I’ll—”
“You’ll what?” Ethan was extremely calm. “Jump from my office? Wishful thinking. This is prime real estate. Go find somewhere else to be
buried.”
Sophia looked dumbfounded. “No, Mr. Fu-”
Ethan directly called his secretary. “Someone wants to jump. Call the police.”
After hanging up, he said: “Let me make one thing clear to you, Olivia has always been in fair competition with you. If I had helped her, you’d be asking how much plastic bottles are per pound at the dump right now, not standing in my office crying dressed like that.”
As security dragged Sophia out, she happened to see me.
Her eyes were full of hatred and resentment.
Before she could curse at me, I said: “Miss Lin, you’re an adult now. Focus on your career and stop trying to harm others. You’ll probably have a better life that way”
I didn’t expect Sophia to take it to heart.
And she only heard half of it.
10:12 AM
<
All SITE villy fica all vi IL.
13
My past relationship with Nathan was unexpectedly exposed.
Gossip articles spread like wildfire.
They all hinted that I had abandoned Nathan for status and position, getting close to Ethan instead.
At the height of the uproar, Sophia came out with a revelation:
“Do you know why Olivia went to the finance section? Because finance has better prospects. With Ethan backing her, Olivia desperately squeezed out other newcomers to dominate. She was with Nathan for five years and had a stammer. After getting cured, she immediately latched onto Ethan. Her methods are formidable.”
Someone asked in the comments: “How do you know all this so clearly?”
Sophia said: “Because I’m that newcomer.”
People soon discovered Sophia’s resume.
“Not really a newcomer, she has a master’s in journalism from abroad.”
“To be able to squeeze out such a highly educated talent, there must be something fishy.”
Sophia was very clever.
After appropriately fanning the flames, the conflict escalated from a personal grudge to class antagonism.
A sarcastic wind blew across the internet.
“As a working class person, I totally empathize. I hate parachuted elites the most.”
“She can marry whoever she wants, but don’t come crush my rice bowl or I’ll fight her to the death.”
“Oh, so Olivia’s article might not have been written by herself?”
“She must have ghostwriters. With that much money, what’s hiring a few ghostwriters?”
Although Ethan and I immediately issued a statement,
This online mob was like a sudden hurricane, completely burying the truth.
For a time, emotions ran high.
No one listened.
No one cared.
They just wanted to vent their dissatisfaction at an imaginary enemy.
And I became that unfortunate target.
The situation grew increasingly out of hand, even affecting the company.
The editor–in–chief called me in and said gravely, “You have two options in front of you now.”
“One, resign. Two, prove yourself with the Eastern Journalism Award selection in three months.”
The Eastern Journalism Award was a highly prestigious award.
Known for its strict judging process.
No contestant could cheat heir way to this honor
<
Without hesitation, I chose the latter, ready to fight with my back against the wall.
I entered the busiest period since starting work.
On the sixth day of overtime, Ethan called right on time.
Hearing my exhausted voice, he paused and asked: “Want me to handle this?”
I knew he had a professional PR team that could easily quash this whole thing.
But it’s better to channel than block.
Rather than suppressing people’s voices, why not put my abilities on display?
To convince people fair and square.
I refused him. “Mr. Fu, I want to walk this path myself.”
Sophia rode the wave of public opinion to aggressively market herself. She joined a rival news agency and reportedly landed an interview with a big name.
The articles she wrote during this time were pretty good.
The public increasingly believed Sophia had been squeezed out.
My editor kept reassuring me: “It’s okay, I believe in your abilities.”
The day I submitted my article, I fell into bed and passed out as soon as I got home.
When I woke up, it was pitch black outside.
I heard Ethan’s voice beside me.
“Awake?”
A heavy, stifled feeling welled up.
“How long did I sleep?”
Two days and nights,” he kissed my forehead. “I had to keep checking to make sure you were still alive.”
Two days.
My heart clenched tightly.
“Did the… results come out?”
“Mm. Rising Star Reporter, First Prize.”
I raised my head in disbelief, trying to find Ethan’s face in the darkness.
Ethan held my head, pressing his forehead to mine and nuzzling my nose affectionately.
(Well done”
1 buried my face in Ethan’s chest, my eyes growing wet.
All the grievances of the past days finally poured out.
Ethan patted my back. “You did great, really”
“What about Sophia?”
D
10:12 AM
<
O
I was stunned. “None?”
“Mm. The journalism association didn’t give a specific reason, just that she wasn’t selected.”
I opened my phone to see Sophia had posted a day ago: “I can’t win. I give up.”
Many people asked below: “What happened?”
Someone said: “Her award was stolen.”
“It wasn’t Olivia again, was it? She’s really got a stranglehold.”
I just quietly watched her stir up trouble, already foreseeing her outcome.
When a person is powerless to fight back, turn one person’s struggle into a group’s struggle.
This was what Sophia taught me.
That night, the journalism association announced the list of winners.
My name was at the top.
Sophia deleted her post.
People speculated that I had pressured her.
However, a veteran journalist soon stepped in: “The Eastern Journalism Award cannot be manipulated behind the scenes. Miss Lin’s statement not only insults the journalism association, but also all of us who have won the award before.”
In an instant, all the former nominees spoke out.
Among them were war correspondents and brave souls who went to the grassroots to speak for the underprivileged.
Sophia’s bucket of dirty water had been dumped on the honor of the whole group.
Many industry insiders came out to explain the Eastern Journalism Award’s status in the field.
They demanded Sophia apologize to the journalism community.
“I seriously doubt if Miss Lin really graduated from journalism. You don’t seem to understand this award at all.”
Someone raised doubts.
Sophia panicked. “I just wasn’t in the country, but I did go to school.”
Finally, the official account of the Eastern Journalism Award issued a statement.
“We have investigated Miss Lin’s report. After unanimous evaluation by the expert panel, Ms. Olivia’s article meets the selection criteria. Ms. Sophia Lin’s article contains excessive borrowed content and has been rejected. The selection process is open and transparent, and we welcome public supervision.”
The spectators were amused. “What’s this, they’re just implying she plagiarized? They’re already being very polite, ‘borrowed‘ hahaha…”
Shameless, can’t even plagiarize properly.”
Someone leaked a short video of Sophia interviewing Ethan that day.
The comments exploded.
“Oh god, did she really go to school?”
“Asking about his childhood stories”
10:12 AM
“Compared to Olivia’s interview, this is just… so embarrassing”
“Before the video: There must be inside dealings; After the video: Olivia is my wife, thank you.”
I added a comment: “The innocent will be cleared. Thank you to all the veterans for your recognition. Never forget the original intention, keep moving forward.”
On the seventh day after things blew up, Sophia posted an apology video.
In the video she cried and begged netizens for forgiveness.
But no one bought it.
My gossip fan buddies all crowded into the finance section to watch the drama unfold.
My page was lively with comments.
“Now this is what you call a powerful counterattack.”
“Unlike a certain Lin, who can only talk big.”
“Wifey, when you didn’t say anything earlier, I thought you’d been bullied off the internet… waaah.”
I replied: “When everyone’s talking, it’s best to let the facts speak.”
14
After that, I stopped paying attention to Sophia.
I heard she was exposed for academic fraud.
Her thesis was plagiarized.
Her degree was revoked.
Before the award selection, she had used her advisor’s name to interview a famous foreign economist, but asked a bunch of nonsense
questions, ruining her advisor’s reputation.
For a time, everyone piled on to criticize her.
Sophia’s account was also banned by the platform.
My comments section finally returned to its usual peace.
Many “shippers” would still regularly write new fanfics.
At Grandfather Fu’s request, Ethan and I had a wedding ceremony.
Nathan returned from his foreign post.
He looked weathered and much more haggard,
I heard that after getting off the plane, he went to find Sophia first.
Sophia beat him up, leaving his face a mess. He was then forced to sit at the head table at our wedding.
During the meal, Ethan said with a smile: “You’re not used to the food abroad. These are all dishes your sister–in–law specially asked the hotel
to make. Try some”
Nathan said coldly, “I don’t eat bamboo shoots.”
“That’s fine, they’re specially made for me, Ethan said casually. “The whole table is.”
Then he added, “Your sister–in–law really loves me,”
<
Then he added, “Your sister–in–law really loves me.”
Nathan’s face turned iron–gray with anger. He returned to the godforsaken overseas branch that very night.
I laughed and asked: “How childish are you?”
Ethan snorted. “He dared to come when invited. Does he not want to live?”
Grandfather Fu had retired behind the scenes. Nathan would likely never touch the Fu family’s core management in his lifetime.
Of course, we also invited many journalism veterans to this wedding.
When toasting, everyone offered congratulations.
“Mr. Fu is so lucky. Olivia is a great talent in our journalism world, with a bright future ahead.”
“Yes, I’m blessed,” Ethan said.
His eyes were full of tenderness. “I’ve known for a long time that she would definitely succeed.”
A veteran pulled me aside and said with a smile: “You know Ethan secretly contacted me before the award judging, right?”
I froze. “Really?”
But my heart sank.
Did Ethan still…
The veteran had an amused look. “He said he was so nervous he felt sick, and asked us to announce the results quickly.”
“He hoped his wife would wake up to good news.”
Seeing my anxious expression, the veteran laughed heartily. “Don’t worry, our selection process isn’t influenced by anyone. We just announced the results a bit early this time. And he was quite confident in you.”
I looked over at Ethan mingling in the crowd. He seemed to sense it and looked back.
Our gazes intertwined.
Full of deep affection.
I don’t know how many times my heart has fluttered for him now.
The next day was the Eastern Journalism Award ceremony.
Ethan drove me himself.
In the distance was a sea of cars.
All big names coming to attend the banquet.
Somehow, we started talking about what the veteran had said.
I asked: “How were you so confident in me?”
Ethan smiled and said: “Because I’ve read your articles, and I’ve attended your award ceremonies before.”
I recalled that unbearable memory from years ago.
Amidst everyone’s mocking gazes, only Ethan had kept his head up, listening seriously to every word until the end.
“I made you miss an important meeting
<
10:12 AM
Somehow, we started talking about what the veteran had said.
I asked: “How were you so confident in me?”
Ethan smiled and said: “Because I’ve read your articles, and I’ve attended your award ceremonies before.”
I recalled that unbearable memory from years ago.
Amidst everyone’s mocking gazes, only Ethan had kept his head up, listening seriously to every word until the end.
“I made you miss an important meeting.”
I felt somewhat regretful.
Ethan drove out of the traffic, the view opening up.
“I’ve always believed that listening attentively is the most basic respect for a person. That night, I listened to your very last word, and was certain that staying till the end was worth it.”
“Olivia, your articles have soul.”
“I could see it.”
“Where you’ve reached now was just a matter of time.”
Not far ahead, cars were lining up to stop at the red carpet.
Huge spotlights shone on the center.
That was where I would be walking soon.
It was also a place I had dreamed of countless times.
The car slowly stopped at the red carpet.
Ethan’s eyes were deep and intense. “Still want to run?”
Ethan unlocked the car and looked at me. “Go on, go receive the glory that belongs to you.”
I took a deep breath and opened the car door.
Dazzling camera flashes instantly enveloped me.
Many people were calling my name.
I walked step by step towards the end with a smile on my face.
The small path from the school auditorium to the award stage had, years later, become a brilliant red carpet.
“Olivia:
Ethan’s voice came from behind.
As if piercing through five years of time.
Striking right at my heart.
“Walk forward boldly. I’ll always be waiting for you offstage.”
(The End)
D
