In the thick of the night, early summer frogs croaked in chorus.
Ji Xizhi, wrapped in a coat, entered the courtyard of the show’s small house.
The lights in the courtyard had already been turned off, leaving only a faint glow at the front gate to guide the way.
Just as Ji Xizhi was about to hurry back to rest.
She was suddenly called by someone.
The voice came from the dim corner, a spot not covered by the show’s fixed cameras.
Ji Xizhi had just sent the fans back, and considering how late it was, she hadn’t let the PD follow to film anymore.
The surroundings were empty, with no cameras.
Ji Xizhi paused for a while, and then someone walked out from the darkness of the corner.
Tonight was different from last night, Director Wang wasn’t around, and several staff members were missing, so the guests could squeeze in to at least get a proper sleep in the rooms.
Ji Xizhi returned late after sending the fans off; the other guests from the show had already caved in and went to sleep, especially Sheng Yaoyao and Guan Fengyan—the former had just adjusted her sleep schedule, and the latter was used to sleeping and waking early.
The rest, even if they hadn’t slept, were basically lying in bed, fiddling with their phones by now.
Bai Zhe suddenly appearing outside the door at this moment clearly suggested he was waiting for Ji Xizhi.
Without avoiding him, Ji Xizhi nodded and greeted, "Not asleep yet? Looking for me?"
Bai Zhe had an awkward smile on his face and softly murmured, "Mm," before cautiously speaking, "I have some legal questions I want to ask Teacher Ji, is that okay?"
As he spoke, not waiting for Ji Xizhi to respond.
He added, "I was originally supposed to ask Teacher Yue, but I didn’t expect Teacher Yue to have an issue tonight. I’m afraid of missing this opportunity and who knows when there will be a chance to record together again, so I can only bother Teacher Ji at this hour."
"Although Qin Yutian and I debuted in the same team, I’m different from him. He’s a favored star, and fans always praise him, while I’ve always been the most controversial in the team. From the start, I’ve had black fans constantly attacking, fabricating lies about my education, plastic surgery, cheating. I’ve endured a dark period of being hated online. Like you, I’ve experienced those helpless and confused moments. It was you, like a ray of warmth, that gave me courage to walk out of that phase of confusion."
Bai Zhe’s voice gradually turned somber, his gaze increasingly intense, capturing the mood perfectly.
Online, it’s said that he can collect and replicate any kind of mesmerizing gaze; now he was using the "wet puppy eyes" look beloved by female fans.
"I know expressing might seem sudden..."
Bai Zhe hesitated, pausing to look up at Ji Xizhi, ready for eye contact.
However, he hadn’t even gotten to his key point when Ji Xizhi surprisingly responded quickly.
"It’s okay, it’s not sudden. You can ask anything, let’s go inside and talk."
Ji Xizhi’s agreed faster than Bai Zhe expected, her voice steady, no longer carrying the earlier distance.
Considering previous instances witnessing Ji Xizhi’s iron will, Bai Zhe thought he’d have to put in more effort to get this one-on-one chance, but strangely, Ji Xizhi was easily moved this time; apparently, his words resonated with her.
Bai Zhe felt secretly pleased, his face still brimmed with surprise.
"Great! But everyone should be asleep now, let’s go to the rooftop to discuss in detail, as my questions might be somewhat complicated."
Ji Xizhi didn’t object: "Sure."
The other guests were almost all resting in their rooms on the first floor, while Ji Xizhi and Bai Zhe went upstairs alone.
The top floor was the room Ji Xizhi chose initially; scholars had just gathered there. Though it was decorated, it lacked the necessary hardware equipment, so guests couldn’t rest there.
Originally, according to the show’s arrangement, such rooms and floors wouldn’t have fixed cameras for live streaming because guests wouldn’t come, hence no need for fans to watch.
But when Ji Xizhi and Bai Zhe reached the fourth floor, opposite the entrance to the room, there suddenly was a fixed camera from the crew.
Within the camera view, only a few fans passed by.
It was mostly Bai Zhe’s fans who traced him to this camera’s live streaming room.
Seeing Ji Xizhi leading Bai Zhe into the room alone, Bai Zhe’s fans exploded in discussions.
[Everyone’s asleep, why is Ji Xizhi going into a room alone with Bai Zhe?? I smell some juicy gossip!]
[Ah, love it, love it! Ji Xizhi and Bai Zhe, they match so well! Puppy and older sister is just perfect, I adore it!]
[Taking our brother away, not meeting, shippers please leave on your own, okay? Clearly, Ji Xizhi took Bai Zhe into the room proactively!]
[Taking Bai Zhe in proactively? All I’ll say is, Bai Zhe’s legs are his own, unless I was seeing things, and Zhi Zhi actually carried Bai Zhe in?]
[Whatever the case, a lone male and female, late at night, going into a room alone, you can’t spin this into just friendship!]
[No, who’s talking about just friendship? Do they even have friendship? Confused~]
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The initially sparse live stream room suddenly became bustling because of Ji Xizhi and Bai Zhe’s entrance.
Quick-handed fans immediately uploaded GIFs of Ji Xizhi and Bai Zhe entering the room and closing the door onto Weibo for public judgment.
#Ji Xizhi Bai Zhe Midnight Private Meeting# This pre-established tag, by someone unknown, soon surged to the top of the trending list.