Internship and Choice (1)
Ling Ke went to the TV station for an internship after the commencement of the freshman year’s summer vacation and worked as an assistant for Jiang Ying.
Initially, he foolishly thought that learning about the working circumstances of various departments at the TV station would be easier for him. Furthermore, Jiang Ying was Qi Feng’s mother, so she would take extra care of him so as not to bother him too much. But he didn’t expect Jiang Ying to give him “special care,” but this special care was nothing like what he had envisioned.
Because Jiang Ying’s financial news show was time-sensitive and necessitated that the drafts be broadcast live on the same day, Ling Ke was instructed to arrive at the TV station at 6 a.m. on the first day of the internship and accompany her throughout the follow-up.
Jiang Ying worked at the TV station with an official assistant named Dong Han, who had graduated from Media University with a major in broadcasting and hosting and had been with her for a year.
On the first day of their encounter, Jiang Ying introduced them briefly: “Xiao Dong, this is Ling Ke. He’ll be interning during the summer and winter vacations. You may accompany him if I am unable to attend to him. Assign him tasks so that he can share the burden with you.”
Ling Ke was a latecomer from a “related household.” Naturally, he could only play second fiddle to the official assistant at the beginning.
Dong Han was thrilled to see the helper and immediately commanded Ling Ke, “Come review the news release with us. Sister Jiang will use it in a half-hour for the live broadcast. Go brew two coffees without milk or sugar after the live broadcast room lights up…”
Ling Ke was embroiled in the fast-paced work before he could react, and it wasn’t until lunchtime that he finally had time to sit down and catch his breath.
Dong Han brought him to the TV station’s canteen for lunch. In passing, she inquired about his professional background, and then said, “Little handsome guy, what’s your relationship with Sister Jiang?”
Ling Ke was a little frustrated. Dong Han had recently graduated with a bachelor’s degree, and she was only a few years his senior. Jiang Ying was well-maintained, so the younger generation at the TV station referring to her as “sister” had no issue. He was, however, Jiang Ying’s son’s boyfriend. When it came down to it, he would complicate the family’s seniority if he became involved to this extent.
Dong Han curiously stated: “I rarely see undergraduate students come here for an internship, especially those who will be working closely with Sister Jiang. Do you have a behind-the-scenes supporter? You can tell me with confidence. I’ll certainly keep it a secret for you!”
Ling Ke nodded awkwardly. Sort of.
Dong Han winked and smiled at him with a “I knew it” expression on her face: “Don’t worry, even if you have one, I won’t look down on you. Connections are also a type of strength in this society. Sister Jiang is also fair. The rest is up to you once you’ve gotten in.”
Ling Ke nodded, wondering whether he should inform Dong Han about his relationship with Jiang Ying. He hurriedly took up the phone when it rang.
Qi Feng was the one who called. The guy had only just awoken from his slumber and had called Ling Ke, acting like a spoiled child, asking to hear his “Good morning!” over the phone.
Ling Ke whispered, “What time is it? Good morning? I’m having lunch with a coworker, idiot.”
Originally, Qi Feng intended to intern with Ling Ke, but Jiang Ying told him that there were enough employees and that bringing more people would be difficult. Furthermore, because they were mother and son, they had to avoid drawing suspicion. If Qi Feng wished to intern, he would be assigned to a different department. When Qi Feng inquired, he discovered that going to other departments meant he wouldn’t be able to meet Ling Ke at all, so he decided not to go. As a result, he studied video editing and drone shooting at home alone, and Jiang Ying found a young man in the television station’s post-production department to mentor him online.
When Qi Feng heard Ling Ke say “coworker,” he asked nervously, “Female colleague or male colleague?”
“Female,” Ling Ke remarked, glancing at Dong Han.
Qi Feng felt alarmed and asked, “Female? How can a female colleague ask you for lunch on the first day of your internship?! What is her age? Is she pretty?”
“She is your mother’s assistant, and I shall be helping her,” Ling Ke said, getting a headache from his string of queries.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Qi Feng’s response was a profound “Oh.” The boss’s tone was clearly unhappy.
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Ling Ke was taken aback. He’d never had anything to do with the finance and economics major before, and he was perplexed. Is it even necessary to study this in order to work in journalism?
Jiang Ying, seeing his hesitation, questioned him while holding a teacup, “What’s the problem? You’re scared you won’t understand it?”
Ling Ke couldn’t resist the challenge and immediately shook his head, saying, “No.”
Jiang Ying smiled, pleased with his answer, and explained, “I understand what you’re puzzled about. In truth, I had no knowledge of financial content when I graduated from the Broadcasting and Hosting Department. But when we host, regardless of the program we are assigned to do, we must comprehend and learn about this program, whether it is law, current affairs, or military matters — these things cannot be taught by anchoring teachers. Those who are unable to learn it on their own will be dismissed and replaced by others.”
Ling Ke gave a thoughtful nod.
Jiang Ying encouraged him once more: “I am confident in your IQ and learning capacity if you get admitted to F University. When it comes to journalism, the more you learn, the more useful it becomes. Because you’re working with me, you should first understand the program’s content. It’s not a bad idea to expand your knowledge.”
Ling Ke was inherently competitive, so when Jiang Ying motivated him, he instantly grabbed a book and wanted to read it.
“What are you doing?” asked Jiang Ying.
“Learning,” stated Ling Ke.
Jiang Ying smiled as she looked at him as if he were a fool: “These are the books you should read after work. There are other tasks that must be completed in the afternoon.”
Ling Ke: “…”
Ling Ke was dashing around like a spinning top from six o’clock in the morning to six o’clock in the evening, for a full twelve hours, and he didn’t even have time to catch his breath.
When it was time for Ling Ke to leave work, he was going to gather his belongings and head home when he heard excited cries from outside.
“Wow! Xiao Feng, are you here to see your mother?”
“How come you’re still so handsome, haha, come take a pic with auntie!”
“Are you on a break? I heard host Jiang say that you are currently a student at F university’s journalism department.”
… …
Ling Ke had a black face when he saw Qi Feng arrive at the door a few seconds later, and he said in his heart: as expected, it’s the “nympho effect” triggered by Qi Feng.
“Why are you here?” he feigned to be calm.
“I came to see you.” Qi Feng was unconcerned about the location. He longed to rub and hug Ling Ke when he saw him.
Ling Ke kept his distance and cautioned him not to come too close with his eyes.
Dong Han returned from work by chance and was surprised to see Qi Feng: “You are… Qi Feng?”
Dong Han had just had a year of experience working with Jiang Ying. Despite the fact that she had heard for a long time that the host Jiang had an unrivaled extraordinarily handsome son, today was their first official meeting.
“Hi.” Qi Feng greeted her and unconsciously charmed her with his smile.
“You’re considerably more handsome than in the video!” exclaimed Dong Han.
Qi Feng inquired, “Have you watched my video?”
“Once you and Jiang hosted a video, I peeked at it and said hello to you from the side,” Dong Han remarked, nodding repeatedly. “I am host Jiang’s assistant, freshly recruited last year, called Dong Han.”
Few women could resist the attractiveness of a stunning person like Qi Feng, let alone Dong Han, a beautiful single girl. She couldn’t help but feel the stirrings of love in her heart when she saw Qi Feng.
Qi Feng, on the other hand, merely politely addressed her as “Sister Han.”
Dong Han gave him a reproachful look and protested coquettishly: “Aiya, I’m just two years older than you. You called me Xiao Han in the video last time you know.”
Qi Feng glanced at the sullen Ling Ke, awkwardly hooking up the corners of his mouth.
“Are you looking for host Jiang?” Dong Han was all smiles, “I’ll call her for you!”
Qi Feng seized the opportunity to clarify: “No, no, I’m here to look for Ling Ke.”
“Huh?” Dong Han was taken aback and turned to gaze at Ling Ke.
Ling Ke’s heart tensed, and he got a dreadful premonition.
In the next second, Qi Feng grabbed his shoulders and smiled, “He’s my boyfriend.”
Dong Han: “……”
Ling Ke: “………”
When Ling Ke was walking downstairs with Qi Feng, he remembered Dong Han’s expression as they said their goodbyes and felt both helpless and compelled to laugh.
But he didn’t smile, instead scolding Qi Feng’s childishness with a cold face: “I’ll be reporting to her for a while. What if she makes my life difficult as a result of what you said?”
Qi Feng: “Why would she make your life difficult?”
Ling Ke: “She likes you okay.”
Qi Feng didn’t care: “She just saw me for the first time today, what does she like about me?”
Ling Ke snorted: “Saw for the first time? Then who is ‘Xiao Han’, hmm?”
“Hey…” Qi Feng knew that Ling wouldn’t let this go that easily and explained, “I don’t even remember this matter.”
Qi Feng frequently came to the TV station to find his mother before starting college, thus many employees at the station knew him. But this year he was preoccupied with love, and he had no idea what his mother’s newly hired assistant looked like. Perhaps he spotted her in the video, but he didn’t care.
“Anyway, you don’t remember anything. You don’t remember singing “Love You” to Princess Xu, you don’t remember saying you want to marry Yang Xueyun, you don’t remember bringing Sun Man to the infirmary… Humph! Humph! You’re completely sowing your wild oats and don’t even recognize it,” Ling Ke stated.
Qi Feng opened his mouth to speak but was at a loss for words because Ling Ke’s words had choked him.
For dinner, the two went to a restaurant near the TV tower. Qi Feng followed Ling Ke with a drooping head, like a huge dog who had been ignored by his owner.
Qi Feng pitifully clutched Ling Ke’s hand after entering the restaurant and taking a seat, but was brushed off by Ling Ke with a chilly face.
Qi Feng initially panicked when he learned that Ling Ke had been taken to lunch by a colleague when he called during the day.
There were a lot of talented and attractive girls at the TV station who could play tricks. Ling Ke was so exceptional that he was afraid his lover would be kidnapped if he wasn’t careful. As a result, he was anxious to assess the situation.
He never expected to be enveloped in a fishy odor as a result of an inexplicable moniker that caused Ling Ke to eat vinegar.
…Is this the fabled digging a hole for yourself to leap into?
“I’m sorry. I really shouldn’t have come.” In a depressed mood, Qi Feng said.
Ling Ke had consumed the vinegar while also displaying his nasty mood. When he saw Qi Feng in this state, his heart had long ago melted. He snorted softly when he heard this. “You shouldn’t have come here in the first place. Do you think I don’t know what you’re doing here? Silly.”
Qi Feng’s face lit up as soon as he saw some light. He beamed with joy: “You’re not angry?”
Ling Ke took up the unpacked chopsticks and gently spun Qi Feng’s hair — this smug guy had recently permed his hair and made himself look like a Korean celebrity.
“I’m not angry,” he said lightly, “but I think you’re childish.”
Qi Feng gripped Ling Ke’s chopsticks with one hand and smoothed his curly hair with the other, unconvinced: “Where am I childish?”
Ling Ke: “Isn’t it childish to rush over in such a hurry? Do you think our relationship is not public enough? As I have stated, I am gay. So why should you be worried about me having lunch with a female coworker? It makes sense to worry about eating with a male colleague, right?”
Qi Feng split the chopsticks for him and handed them to him, remarking, “You look extraordinarily straight. There’s no sign of being bent.”
Ling Ke was speechless. Did he act too well before they fell in love, causing Qi Feng to form a lasting first impression?
XD A lasting first impression! That’s one way to say that Qi Feng is still very sour and silly from beginning to end lol
“You look extraordinarily straight.” Should that be considered a compliment???