Wang Xiaoliang tossed and turned, his mind like a pot of boiling water, all sorts of thoughts bubbling away inside it.
He went over his twenty years of life again and again, like someone hunting for treasure at a flea market, only to turn up a pile of mediocre junk.
The more he thought, the more unsettled he became.
Strangely, he had no idea where his own path led, yet he could see Wei Zijin's future path with perfect clarity.
A complete plan gradually took shape in his mind, as clear as if he were reading from a script.
Wei Zijin wanted her own show. She wanted to make a name for herself at the TV station.
But what kind of place was a TV station? Every position was taken. If the old hands didn't leave, what chance did a newcomer have? For an intern who had just arrived, getting her own airtime anytime soon was a pipe dream.
But this era gave everyone a chance to sidestep the rules.
The more Wang Xiaoliang thought about it, the more excited he became. The idea seemed tailor-made for Wei Zijin.
He hadn't figured out his own path, but he had worked hers out completely.
Early the next morning, just as dawn was breaking, Wang Xiaoliang sprang out of bed. He picked up his phone, found Wei Zijin on WeChat, and typed a message.
"Are you free at noon? Let's have lunch."
Only after sending it did he realize it was a little abrupt.
Sure enough, Wei Zijin didn't reply until more than ten minutes later. "Sorry, I'm going to look at apartments this morning, and I have to learn editing at the station this afternoon. I probably won't have time."
Wang Xiaoliang looked at her reply, unsurprised.
She didn't want to get too involved with him again. Besides, she really was busy.
He took a deep breath and typed again. "It's important. I can point you toward a way forward."
That was a rather grand claim, even an arrogant one.
A graduate with an uncertain future was going to show a rising star with a confirmed job at a TV station the way forward?
But Wang Xiaoliang had that confidence.
This time, Wei Zijin replied much faster, with just one word and a playful emoji.
"Okay."
They arranged to meet near the TV station.
Wang Xiaoliang arrived early and wandered around the area. Office towers crowded the neighborhood, and prices were clearly much higher than around campus.
He wondered what he could afford to treat Wei Zijin to.
When Wei Zijin arrived, she casually led him into an inconspicuous little alley.
A malatang shop was tucked away inside.
The shop was small, but its windows gleamed and everything was clean. There were no greasy stains on the floor. A spicy, savory aroma filled the air, without the choking smell of cooking fumes.
"The food here is good, and it's clean," Wei Zijin said with a smile.
Warmth spread through Wang Xiaoliang's chest.
He knew she was being considerate of his finances.
They each picked out their ingredients. Wei Zijin chose only vegetables and bean products, while Wang Xiaoliang quietly added a few extra skewers of beef and shrimp paste to her selection.
Two portions of malatang with extra meat and two bowls of rice didn't cost much altogether.
The little shop did brisk business. At lunchtime, it was so noisy that they practically had to shout to talk.
"Eat up." Wang Xiaoliang placed some cooked beef in Wei Zijin's bowl. "I'll treat you to coffee afterward."
This noisy setting clearly wasn't suitable for discussing any "way forward."
Wei Zijin didn't ask any questions. She nodded and ate quietly.
When they left the malatang shop, there was a café just around the corner.
It was quiet inside. Gentle music drifted through the air, shutting out the noisy world beyond.
They found a seat by the window.
Wei Zijin ordered an Americano. Wang Xiaoliang chose the cheapest lemonade.
After the server left, Wei Zijin took out her phone and looked down at rental listings, apparently still worrying about finding a place to live.
Wang Xiaoliang stopped being mysterious and got straight to the point.
"You should try creating online content."
Wei Zijin looked up from her phone at him, seeming a little disappointed.
"I thought you'd come up with some brilliant idea." She gently stirred the ice in her cup. "I've thought about that too, but I don't really know where to start."
"You don't know where to start because you don't have any content, and you don't know what direction to take. Right?" Wang Xiaoliang asked.
Wei Zijin nodded.
"I'll give you a direction," Wang Xiaoliang said firmly.
At that, Wei Zijin suddenly laughed.
She put down her phone, propped her chin in both hands, and looked at him with interest.
"You really look like a fortune-teller right now."
"Huh?" Wang Xiaoliang was a little bewildered.
"A master holding a banner that says 'Guidance for the Lost,' showing confused men and lovelorn women the way forward."
As she spoke, she solemnly held out a hand as though offering it to him.
"Master, won't you tell this humble girl's fortune? How much do you charge for a reading?"
Wang Xiaoliang froze completely.
A fortune-teller?
He suddenly remembered the strange, mystical Taoist he had met in the little park, the man who had shoved the Book of Fate into his hands.
"Do I?" he asked instinctively.
"You do." Wei Zijin smiled even more broadly and nodded emphatically. "I saw you getting a reading from a Taoist in the little park. I wonder if it was accurate."
Wang Xiaoliang realized Wei Zijin had seen his tussle with the Taoist.
He didn't want to dwell on the subject. There was no way to explain it clearly to her.
He cleared his throat and forcibly steered the conversation back, his expression turning serious.
"Your strength is hosting. When you're onstage, you're relaxed and completely at ease. You even enjoy it. That's talent."
Seeing him turn serious, Wei Zijin stopped joking and listened attentively.
"You've only just joined the TV station. Everything runs on seniority. If you want your own show and more airtime, there's simply no chance in the short term. That's the reality, right?"
Wei Zijin nodded silently.
That really was the reality. Outstanding as she was, at a TV station full of talent, she was still an unremarkable newcomer who needed time to hone her skills and wait for an opportunity.
"But online content is different. There's no barrier to entry. The only barrier is the content itself," Wang Xiaoliang continued. "So we're back to the original question. What should that content be?"
"What should it be?" Wei Zijin asked, following his lead.
"Interviews," Wang Xiaoliang said, emphasizing the word.
"You've hosted the university's welcome gala and debate competitions. To earn money, you've also worked as a guest host at nightclubs and even taken jobs as a wedding emcee."
"But there's one kind of hosting you've never done: interview shows."
"You could create your own interview series." Wang Xiaoliang spoke with complete confidence.
"Something like 'A Hundred Ordinary People.'"
"Or 'A Hundred Interesting People.'"
"Or something even simpler. Pick a stranger at random on the street every day, ask them a question, and listen to their story."
"The format doesn't matter. The basic approach is the same. Your content is the lives of the people you interview-their joys and sorrows, the little details of their everyday lives."
"With your connections at Jiang University, finding a thousand people to interview wouldn't be difficult."
The more Wang Xiaoliang spoke, the more smoothly the words flowed, and the clearer the blueprint in his mind became.
"You wouldn't be the star of this show. Those ordinary people would. Your job would be to guide them and help them tell their stories. You wouldn't need a glamorous stage or a professional camera crew. A phone and a microphone would be enough."
"If you succeeded, you'd no longer be just an intern at a TV station. You'd be a host with a signature show of your own, at least on the level of an internet celebrity. That would be a huge help to your career at the station."
"Even if-and I mean if-you failed and the show never took off, what would you have lost? Nothing. Along the way, you'd have honed your interviewing skills and your ability to think on your feet, expanding your range as a host. That would be valuable in its own right."
"Of course," Wang Xiaoliang added at the end, "you'd have to invest some money, for equipment and things like that. More importantly, you'd have to invest your most precious resource: time."
The café was quiet.
Having finished, Wang Xiaoliang lifted his glass and took a long drink of lemonade. His mouth and throat felt parched.
Wei Zijin said nothing. She simply watched him quietly. He couldn't read anything in those bright eyes; he only thought they were beautiful.
After a long while, she finally spoke, a faint smile on her face.
"You really are a master."
This "master" meant something entirely different from her earlier joke.
"Then... Master," she said, leaning forward slightly, "are there any principles I should follow when making this show?"
Wang Xiaoliang hadn't expected that question.
He pondered it for a long time.
This wasn't a business question. It was a question of values.
He thought of the Book of Fate and the words "Follow Only the Way."
"Yes." He nodded solemnly.
"First, don't do anything unethical for views. Don't deliberately manufacture conflict, don't edit maliciously, and don't exploit other people's suffering to grab attention."
"Second, and most importantly, don't try to lecture anyone."
Wang Xiaoliang looked into Wei Zijin's eyes and spoke each word deliberately.
"Your job is to present, not judge. Simply show the interviewees' lives as they truly are. That's enough. What the audience sees in them or learns from them is their own business. You're only a faithful recorder and guide."
After stating those two points, Wang Xiaoliang felt as though he had accomplished something very important.
This wasn't merely advice for Wei Zijin. It felt more like he was establishing a code of conduct for himself.
The smile on Wei Zijin's face deepened.
She suddenly stood and solemnly extended her hand toward Wang Xiaoliang.
Unsure what she meant, he instinctively stood as well.
"Master Wang."
There wasn't the slightest hint of teasing in her voice, and her gaze was so sincere that he couldn't look away.
"Would you be the first person I interview for this show?"
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