Chapter 54: Everyone Has Their Own Challenges

Sigh!

Failed to cultivate a disciple!

Su Qinghu gave Chen Lie a meaningful look, shook her head, and walked away.

She let it go for now—after all, they weren’t that close yet. But once they got a bit more familiar, if he still dared to refuse her like this… well, she’d see about that!

Chen Lie instinctively went on the defensive after catching Su Qinghu’s look, even preparing to dodge in case she tried anything physical. But in the end, she didn’t do anything out of line. Instead, she stepped back, grabbed her bag from the living room, waved her hand—so fair it seemed to outshine the sunlight—and left without looking back, her departure full of flair.

Chen Lie stood quietly in the yard for a moment.

He quickly locked the door and hurried after the kids along the route they usually took to school.

With his long legs, he walked fast even without training—let alone with it.

Da Dan and Er Dan didn’t notice Chen Lie following them. Da Dan was feeling down and walked slowly, while Er Dan was bubbling with excitement but didn’t dare show it, even unconsciously matching his pace to Da Dan’s.

Chen Lie watched them all the way to the school gate, only leaving after seeing them step into the campus and waiting five more minutes.

Once inside, Er Dan wanted to dash off, but Da Dan grabbed his backpack before he could take off.

Er Dan turned back, “Bro?”

Da Dan frowned and warned him seriously, “Don’t show off to anyone. Not even your best buddies!”

“Why not?” Er Dan pouted, clearly unhappy. “My bros are all our own people!”

Showing off to your own people—can you even call that showing off? That’s just sharing the joy!

“I said no, so no!” Da Dan shot a glare at him, grabbing his own backpack strap as he spotted the old man who usually rang the school bell walking by. “If you dare tell anyone, I’ll beat you up! And don’t spend that money either!”

With that, he turned and ran toward his classroom. Then, remembering something, he looked back at Er Dan, who was still standing there dazed. “Run! The warning bell’s about to ring!”

Er Dan took a deep breath and sprinted toward his classroom.

The teacher had said that students with good grades and fewer than five tardies a year would get a soft-cover notebook and a pencil as a reward.

He had to get that prize!

Thinking this, Er Dan reached his classroom door and looked at his classmates, letting out a sigh.

Bros, it’s not that I don’t want to share (show off) about the huge allowance—I just can’t, my brother won’t let me…

He was still small, not as tall or strong as his brother, so… he’d just have to hold it in.

At the same time, Su Qinghu strolled into her workplace fifteen minutes before the official check-in time.

Everyone in her assigned department had already arrived; some were even busy with their tasks.

Hearing the click of heels on the floor, they knew the new university graduate had arrived. Even those with work on hand glanced up.

In recent years, only two new hires had shown up in heels—the “clack-clack” sound was light and full of youthful energy.

Back when they first started, no one cared so much about appearances, nor were people so tolerant about dressing up. Only after getting familiar with the workplace did they dare to make small, barely noticeable changes to their style…

Things were better now. The country’s progress really showed in every aspect—even in the newsroom, more and more young women were wearing high heels.

Originally, it was just a quick glance in the middle of a busy day, but when they saw her, everyone froze.

How to put it?

She was beautiful! Stylish! Sophisticated!

But there was nothing showy or ostentatious about her.

It was as if… as if this was just how she was meant to look. Pleasing to the eye, harmonious, and comfortable—both in attitude and appearance.

“Good morning, everyone. I’m the new hire reporting in today, Su Qinghu.” Su Qinghu gave a slight bow and greeted everyone with a smile. “You can call me by my full name, or Xiao Su, or Qinghu—whatever you like.”

Sister Li smiled, “Xiao Su, is it? Go check in with the director and see which team you’ll be assigned to.”

Yuan Hang pointed the way, smiling as he spoke to Su Qinghu, “That’s the director’s office. I hope you get assigned to our team—we’re really short-handed.”

Su Qinghu nodded with a smile and headed in the direction he indicated.

As soon as she left, Sister Li raised an eyebrow at the young Yuan Hang, “Don’t go dragging her into your team right away. She just got here—give her some time to settle in.”

They all knew why the photography team was short-staffed. The girl’s resume was impressive, but her family background might not be enough to support her…

Yuan Hang grinned, “I get the feeling she’s not short on money.”

“That’s just your feeling.” Sister Li shook her head and went back to her work. “Don’t go pestering the director just yet.”

This girl came from a remote small town, lost both her parents, and only got into the newsroom through her teacher’s connections. The director had mentioned it to Sister Li before, hinting that she should look out for the girl…

Su Qinghu entered the director’s office, smiled, greeted him, and waited for her assignment.

The director waved her off with a smile, telling her not to be nervous. “Normally, you’d rotate through several teams to get familiar with everything. But our photography team has been short-handed for a while now, and Yuan Hang keeps pestering me about it—it’s driving me crazy…”

He said it with a smile, though.

Su Qinghu understood—Yuan Hang was one of the director’s favorites.

She smiled too, but didn’t comment.

The director nodded to himself—this girl could keep her cool. He continued, “I’m happy to have you here. Partly because of your teacher, and also because she said you’ve helped her organize and format materials, and even had some experience with cameras under her guidance.”

Su Qinghu nodded, “I haven’t used it much, just learned about focusing and basic composition.”

“That’s great. With a foundation, it’ll be easy for the team to train you up.” The director smiled. “Are you up for a challenge?”

Su Qinghu: “What kind of challenge?”

“Go out on assignment today.” The director grinned. “We’ll have a meeting soon to assign topics. You can follow Sister Li to cover a story at the Women’s Federation—how about it?”

Su Qinghu smiled, “Photography?”

“That’s right,” the director said. “See if you can capture our female comrades looking spirited and confident.”

Su Qinghu nodded, “Sure.”

“But photography isn’t easy, and I don’t have enough experience yet,” Su Qinghu said modestly. “Director, I’ll need a mentor to guide me.”

“Yuan Hang,” the director said with a wave, making the decision on the spot. “He’s got an assignment today, a big one. You two can get acquainted today, and you’ll start learning from him tomorrow.”"