Chapter 19: Someone Wants to Commit Suicide During a Live Broadcast!
At night.
“Talk About the World”’s broadcast studio.
Ten minutes before the broadcast began, Zhang Ye, who was the guest, came inside. Wang Xiaomei was already here, head bowed and busy with her preparations. She did not bother to look at Zhang Ye. Her phone call editor was also in the room, a youth whose face had many moles. Compared to Wang Xiaomei, he was much nicer.
“Teacher Zhang, you have come? Please, take a seat here.”
“Okay. This is my earpiece?”
“Yes, please put it on and test it. I will adjust it for you.”
“Yes, it sounds just nice; the mic is fine, too.”
“Then, the live broadcast is nine minutes away. I will go to the other side.”
The phone call editor went into the soundproof room. With every minute that passed, he gave a gesture to signal.
In the last thirty seconds, Wang Xiaomei suddenly said, “I’ll repeat it; do not speak without thought and follow my views and rhythm.”
Zhang Ye replied indifferently, “Alright.” She was, after all, more experienced than him. Regardless of results or experience, Zhang Ye could not compete. Moreover, he was here with hopes of promoting his program. Therefore, he did not take her attitude to heart.
Three, two, one. The broadcast began!
Wang Xiaomei fiddled with her equipment. She said, smilingly, “I hope everyone is well. Welcome to ‘Talk About the World’. I am your DJ, Wang Xiaomei. Some of you might know that today’s live broadcast topic is about the matters of the heart. We are fortunate to have a guest with us today. He’s our very own channel’s “Late-night Ghost Stories” host, also known as the author of ‘Ghost Blows Out the Light’, Teacher Zhang Ye. Please say a few words to our listeners.”
Zhang Ye immediately spoke into his attached mic, “Hello, listeners and friends. I am Zhang Ye. I’m very honoured to be here today with Teacher Wang to listen and try to solve everyone’s matters of the heart.”
Wang Xiaomei followed up, “The hotlines are already open. If you have met with any love issues, please feel free to call in.”
On the broadcast platform, there was a computer shown, which displayed the listeners’ and website’s real time comments. Just as expected of the Literature Channel’s top program, the discussion atmosphere was very strong.
User3577: Love topic program? Haha, this is great. Let’s see Teacher Wang take on love issues!
User1041: Teacher Zhang Ye is here, too? My wife and I are listening to “Ghost Blows Out the Light” every night these days!
User5502: “Ghost Blows Out the Light”? It’s a ghost story, right? There aren’t any good ghost stories these days. I’ve been let down by supernatural novels long ago!
User2890: Friend above, that’s where you are wrong, I guarantee you that “Ghost Blows Out the Light” is different from any supernatural novels you have listened to before; it’s a classic amongst classics!
User5502: Is that so? Then, I will go give it a listen tonight.
User0019: Just the title alone sounds good. I will listen to it tonight, too.
A star program’s promotional effect is really good. Zhang Ye knew that tonight’s broadcast rating should be able to go up a little more.
On the other side, the phone call editor signalled; the call screening was done. Of course, such calls have to be screened. After all, it was a live broadcast and there would be troublemakers. As such, a professional phone call editor had to judge and pick, filtering for the correct topics and the reliable callers.
Wang Xiaomei nodded, “Okay, our first caller has connected.”
“Hello? Is it me?” It was a female listener, excited, “Is it really me?”
Wang Xiaomei said softly, “Haha, yes. How can I help you?”
The female listener quickly answered, “Teacher Wang, Teacher Wang, you are my idol. My boyfriend and I both like you very much….” Upon saying that, her tone became a sigh, “But my boyfriend has been ignoring me recently. In the past, he wouldn’t get angry with me and now, he’s been throwing his temper at me every day. He even goes to the internet to chat with other girls and flirts with them. I peeked at his messages and they all say “Are you awake?”, “Have you slept?”, “Good night.”, and “Remember to eat on time.” He has never been this concerned towards me before! Teacher. please tell me… What should I do?”
Wang Xiaomei frowned, “Lady, towards these kind of men who don’t care about you, my suggestion has always been to break up. Such kinds of messages of concern might not seem like a big deal. It could be concern for ordinary friends. But let me tell you, this is actually a big issue. If it goes on, it could get dangerous. It also shows that his heart is not with you. If you mention an intention to break up, you are also sending him a message of where your limits are. If you bear with it, he will only be more encouraged and get further and further away from you. If that is so, why not just break up now? See if he is willing to change; if he does, you can consider being with him. If not, then it goes to show that he really does not care about you. It’s better to end it early in that case.”
The female listener replied, “Is that really so?”
Wang Xiaomei looked at Zhang Ye, “What do you think, Teacher Zhang?”
Zhang Ye blinked, “I feel it’s better to communicate first. A relationship is basically between two people. It might be because you have him too tight on a leash, leading him to feel like running away.” Noticing Wang Xiaomei’s stern eyes, Zhang Ye added, “If communicating doesn’t work, Teacher Wang’s suggestion could be a way out, too.”
On the computer display, the listeners had big reactions.
“Teacher Zhang Ye is a troublemaker!”
“You should just break up with this kind of guy. Teacher Wang is right!”
“Correct. If it were me, I would have given that guy a good scolding! Whatever does he mean by a problem between the two!?”
“Haha, I like listening to Teacher Wang’s talking down about people; it’s so forthright. Teacher Zhang Ye, don’t make trouble!”
One phone call……
Three phone calls……
Five phone calls……
Wang Xiaomei was talking down to all of them! She advised them all to break up!
Wang Xiaomei obviously thought that Zhang Ye spoke too much and did not follow her directions, so for the next few calls, she did not even ask for Zhang Ye’s views. Zhang Ye sat in his seat for a good half hour without saying anything. Zhang Ye wasn’t too happy either; he was here as a guest to express his views. Oh, but you are good, forcing me to express views that are yours? Based on what!
“Our program is coming to an end soon. Let’s go for a commercial break and we will be back to answer the last call.” Wang Xiaomei signalled with a finger to her phone call editor.
Zhang Ye simply switched off his mic since he was prepared to not speak anymore.
During the commercial break, Wang Xiaomei stared coldly at Zhang Ye, “What did I tell you earlier?”
Zhang Ye retorted: “We were just giving our own opinions; what’s the problem with it? I feel that matters of the heart should be given advice; as to whether they will break up or not should be left to themselves. We are only giving a point of view and our thoughts to them, not encouraging them to break up. This encouragement is well-liked by the listeners, but they just want to see the world burn. Who doesn’t like some excitement? But what about the couple? What about their feelings?”
Wang Xiaomei was on fire, “Do I need you to teach me?”
Zhang Ye threw back his arms, “So I will not say a thing anymore; you talk.”
The two of them were very unhappy. Zhang Ye did not care about respecting seniors anymore; anything can be solved amicably, but not something concerning principles.
After the commercial break, the live broadcast continued.
Wang Xiaomei suppressed her anger, “Let us answer the last call.”
“Hello?” A voice of a very quiet female, young and likely not over twenty five years of age, spoke.
“How are you? What issues did you encounter? You can tell it to us.” Wang Xiaomei said.
But it was this last call that had a big problem. The girl said “My name is Xiao Li and I am twenty-three years old. I am a third year university student and my boyfriend graduated this year. But, his family arranged for him to further his studies overseas and he will only be back after five years.”
Wang Xiaomei questioned, “Where will he be going?”
The university student said, “New York. I know that if he leaves, our relationship will end. So I am trying my best to make him stay, but he refuses. He even made me promise to wait for him, saying that he will marry me when he is back after five years. But, I don’t believe it.”
Wang Xiaomei, seemingly unaffected by Zhang Ye’s words earlier, instead became more persistent in her way of handling these matters, “Lady, if your boyfriend really loves you, I think he would choose to stay behind. But it seems that he puts his career and development over your love. Such a guy doesn’t deserve to be kept. If you really wait for him for five years, then you are really silly. I don’t believe in long-distance relationships; even if the love is strong, it will fade, eventually. End it sooner than later; you should think about it.”
The university student replied weakly, “I’ve already thought it through.”
“That’s good.” Wang Xiaomei pleasingly said, “That is all we can help you with.”
The university student laughed lightly, “Thank you, Teacher. I know what to do now. This phone call will serve as the last message from me. I hope my boyfriend can hear this.”
Oh no! There was something unusual with the call.
Wang Xiaomei sensing something was wrong, “What are you doing?”
The university student replied lightly “Holding my boyfriend’s razorblade. Without him, there is nothing for me to live for anymore. Goodbye!”
Zhang Ye shivered in fear!
Wang Xiaomei suddenly felt anxious!