Before appearing on the program, Gao Yang almost had no communication with the TV station. He left everything to Murphy, who found soone unknown, and in short, all Gao Yang needed to do was make a TV appearance to satisfy the burgeoning curiosity of the public.
Therefore, Gao Yang was not familiar enough with the program he was going on. He knew the program was special and highly regarded, but he was still startled when he saw the hosts because the lineup was too grand.
Fox News arranged for three hosts: one was O’Reilly, the ace host of Fox’s flagship news program, an old man known for his sharp tongue. He always liked to pose tricky questions to interviewees, making him a very acerbic and challenging host to deal with.
Perhaps thinking that one ace host wasn’t enough, or maybe fearing that O’Reilly’s acerbity might tense up the atmosphere, Fox News also sent Ryan Seacrest, the host of Arican Idol.
O’Reilly hosted serious news programs, while Ryan hosted lighthearted entertainnt shows. This combination was unprecedented, but there was still a third.
An Asian female host, Lili Zhang, although not as prominent as the other two, was also a popular host on Fox. Her identity as an Asian woman played a very important role in her presence.
One guest, three hosts—it seed a bit reversed. When Gao Yang learned all this, he was sowhat dumbfounded, uncertain if he could handle three hosts, especially the notoriously sharp-tongued O’Reilly.
"This is a special program, a highly anticipated program, because we have invited the person everyone is most concerned about and eager to see. Who is he? That’s right, it’s New York’s new hero, Gao! Let’s now welco, Gao!"
The introduction was done by Ryan, who, as an entertainnt host, was evidently better at creating an atmosphere than the other two.
The audience stood up and applauded, as did the three hosts. Gao Yang walked out from backstage, waving his hand, his face showing a slight mix of apprehension and tension, as he approached the hosts.
"Hello, Lili Zhang, hello, O’Reilly, hi, Ryan, hi, everyone, nice to et you all."
After greeting everyone, the eldest, O’Reilly, reached out and said, "Please have a seat, Gao, please sit down."
It was obvious that Ryan was there to set the atmosphere, while O’Reilly was mainly there to ask the questions.
"I’m not quite used to this, because it’s my first ti having colleagues, and it’s two of them, interviewing one subject together with ."
Sitting down on a semicircular sofa, O’Reilly first remarked, and Gao Yang imdiately smiled and said, "I’m flattered, but sitting with three famous hosts, it seems I am the one who should be the most nervous."
After a light laugh, the four of them settled in, and imdiately O’Reilly said, "Mr. Gao, I would like to first express my gratitude on behalf of everyone you saved, as well as all the people who do not wish to be hard by terrorists. Mr. Gao, you saved many lives."
Gao Yang slightly bowed and said, "I am glad for what I did, and I am glad I succeeded."
Lili Zhang gestured towards her throat, and with a face full of concern, said, "Your voice still sounds quite problematic. I hope our conversation doesn’t cause much damage to your throat."
Gao Yang nodded with resignation and said, "I find it hard to accept my voice as well. I hope it’ll be okay. Of course, I indeed cannot say too much right now, but it seems like you wouldn’t agree if I kept silent."
After a light chuckle, O’Reilly sternly said, "Mr. Gao, what happened last week was a tragedy. It’s fortunate that the terrorists didn’t cause the death of innocent citizens, which is what we wanted, and this is your credit. But there were still five innocent people injured, which is sothing we didn’t want to see. I can’t help but wonder why terrorists could easily launch an attack and why such a large-scale attack could happen after 9/11. If it weren’t for you, the consequences would have been severe."
The tricky questions were coming, and Gao Yang felt a tightening in his heart.
O’Reilly was never polite with questions, and now his first question was already difficult to answer.
Sure enough, O’Reilly sternly asked, "Who do you think should be held accountable?"
Gao Yang wasn’t naive, and given his special status, he didn’t have to answer O’Reilly’s questions, so he casually replied, "I don’t know."
O’Reilly indeed was not used to co-hosting with others. He was accustod to being in control, interrupting the interviewee, asking the questions he wanted, and getting the answers he sought. If he didn’t get them, he’d lead them to it. But today, that was not possible because Gao Yang had guidance from experts, and Fox News arranged other hosts to avoid a direct confrontation or an awkward situation.
Gao Yang was there to be celebrated, not to be interrogated.
O’Reilly was very dissatisfied with Gao Yang’s answer. He quickly said, "Don’t you think soone should be held accountable? You’re a hero, but if soone had been responsible, you wouldn’t have needed to beco a hero."
Gao Yang still casually replied, "I don’t know. I haven’t thought about any of that. I’m just an ordinary person. I’m sorry, unlike the subjects you’ve interviewed before, I’m just a regular guy who happened to do what needed to be done, that’s all. Furthermore..."
Before Gao Yang could finish, O’Reilly imdiately said, "What you had to do was... Do you think it’s your responsibility to fight terrorists? Isn’t it..."
Gao Yang was equally adept at interjecting. He imdiately and loudly responded, "Yes! Fighting terrorists is everyone’s responsibility. I’ve always believed that."
Lili Zhang started to smooth things over, with a curious look she asked, "Mr. Gao, could you tell us what you were thinking at the ti? We all know when you stood out, you had no weapons in your hands. So, what were you thinking when you rushed out to prevent a tragedy from happening?"
This question required a good answer.
Gao Yang spread out his hands, wearing a wry smile, and said, "What was I thinking at the ti? If I told you what I was thinking at that ti, it would be a lie, because I wasn’t thinking anything. I was totally dumbfounded, perhaps even scared silly. I saw those terrorists shooting, and my girlfriend was in front of , so I just rushed out. Um, I really wasn’t thinking anything."
After speaking, Gao Yang pointed to his own head, with a look of helplessness, he said, "Everyone says I’m a hero, that my brave actions saved many people, but it was just an instinctive move. I just felt soone had to stop them. As for the rest, um, I didn’t even have ti to think about it."
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