When She Stops Being Dramatic

Chapter 205: Chapter 87: Top Star of the 60s Song and Dance Troupe (26)

Just then, a young man pushed his way through the crowd, excitedly extending a hand to introduce himself. "Little Hero Huo, hello! I’m Zhang Wendong, a reporter for the Xiahua Newspaper stationed here in North City. It’s a pleasure to meet you!"

Huo Tianhao was taken aback for a moment, but he just nodded with a faint smile, gave the man a brief handshake, and let go.

"Ladies, Aunts, now that you’ve seen me, you should all head home. The children need to get to school, and I have to give Xiaxia a proper explanation. Later on, if you run into any trouble, please don’t hesitate to find me."

"Even though I’m just an ordinary driver, I’m still a citizen of Xiahua."

The crowd nodded in agreement.

But they didn’t leave. They just stood there watching, whispering amongst themselves in praise, "He really is Little Hero Huo. That kind of integrity is second to none!"

After putting down the radio and changing the children’s clothes, Xia Zhaoyun grabbed her documents and got into the car, letting Huo Tianhao drive them to the kindergarten.

By this point, the reporter, Zhang Wendong, had already used his silver tongue to get Huo Tianhao’s permission to follow and document their entire day.

In the car, Huo Tianhao stressed solemnly, "Mr. Zhang, I hope you will approach this follow-up report with a serious, earnest, and fact-based attitude."

"The reason I agreed is because I hope your article can explain to everyone at the factory that I wasn’t actually killed in action. Instead, I suffered a brain injury and was unable to return for a time."

"Also, since I’m alive, I must return all the supplies and benefits my family received because of my supposed death. This will keep people from questioning the organization’s decisions. I don’t want to be the cause of any disruption to the unity among the comrades at the factory."

As a reporter, Zhang Wendong naturally had excellent social skills and a quick mind; he immediately understood what Huo Tianhao was getting at.

If he had really died, no one would have said anything about the Huo Family benefiting. After all, a young, vibrant life was lost—shouldn’t his parents receive some form of consolation?

Even so, plenty of people were green with envy, making sour remarks behind their backs. They’d say that while the Huo Family might have lost one son, they had others. With all the benefits they received, they probably weren’t even sad. Poor Little Hero Huo had just been paving the way for others.

But now that Huo Tianhao was alive, some narrow-minded people who couldn’t stand to see others prosper were starting to stir up trouble on the sly. Even if Huo Tianhao hadn’t brought it up, they would have made an issue of it.

Zhang Wendong nodded emphatically. "Of course, Little Hero Huo. I will give two hundred percent of my effort to reporting on your heroic story."

"You made a great sacrifice for the Zhaoyang Clothing Factory. The fact that you survived and are safe and sound is something everyone should be happy about. You shouldn’t be put in an unfair position over such trivial benefits."

"Rest assured, I will follow you for the next few days to get a thorough and in-depth understanding of the situation. I won’t let your heroic name be tarnished."

Xia Zhaoyun said gratefully, "Thank you so much, Mr. Zhang."

"Gossip is a fearsome thing. We’re not looking for praise, but we don’t want a good situation to turn into a bad one. We have faith in your professional abilities, Mr. Zhang. Of course, if there’s anything we do wrong, please don’t hesitate to point it out."

After a bit more polite conversation, they arrived at the kindergarten.

After dropping off the children, they headed straight for the office of the cultural troupe.

On the way, Xia Zhaoyun, with a hint of shyness, explained to Zhang Wendong, "Brother Tianhao and I have already decided. We’re going to his work unit today to get a letter of introduction, and then we’re going straight to register our marriage."

"You might be our first witness. I was wondering, would you mind taking a photo of us as a memento? But don’t worry, we won’t put you in a difficult position or take advantage of the organization. We’ll absolutely pay for the photo."