Recently, the most talked-about variety show on the internet is the upcoming When the Smoke Rises.
The director's background alone had already sparked a massive wave of discussion online.
His grandfather is a founding father of the nation, his grandmother a diplomat, his father the CEO of the Zhou Group, and his mother an international Best Actress.
As soon as the news of the show's upcoming filming broke, celebrities from all over began promoting it voluntarily.
The guests revealed so far are all the hottest stars of the moment.
Superstar Xie Siheng, Best Actor Shen Huaiqiu, Best Actress Li Qiuchi, top-tier idol Jiang Yanchen, and talent show center debutante Sang Ranbai...
The buzz generated by these few alone was already astronomical, but the name of the final guest remained unannounced, keeping everyone in suspense.
Just who could it be, with a status even higher than the already confirmed guests?
The other guests were also very curious about the identity of the final guest, but the director kept it a secret from them.
"Director, are we really going to choose her? But her recent reputation..."
The man interrupted him, "Someone needs to drive the conversation. Who wants to watch a bunch of celebrities being overly polite to each other, treating the show like a vacation?"
The staff member sighed. If they really invited her over, he felt the production team would be cursed out relentlessly.
Seeing that the variety show was about to start filming but the final guest was still unannounced, the internet kept guessing who it could be, with many minor celebrities jumping on the bandwagon for clout.
At this moment, Ji Zhaoxi's fan group was having a gloomy discussion in a quiet corner of the internet.
[Xixi is going to When the Smoke Rises.]
[??? Holy crap, who said that? How is that even possible?]
[Xixi said it herself. When I went to pick her up at the airport yesterday, she told me personally...]
[Ah, so she actually knows she has fans?]
[That's amazing, you actually dared to go to the airport. I wouldn't dare, I'd be afraid of getting beaten to death.]
[What do we do? Xixi is definitely going to get scolded to death on the show, but she should be able to get a lot of screen time.]
[Does she even need to fight for screen time? All the catfight scenes will definitely feature our Xixi, crying face.]
[Let's just stay hidden properly. As long as she's happy, that's what matters.]
There were only a dozen or so people in the fan group.
Even the process of establishing this small fan group had been extremely difficult.
At first, whenever they tried to create a fan group using Ji Zhaoxi's name, it would be reported and taken down immediately, and even their accounts would get reported.
Later, they had no choice but to disguise it as a middle school student group chat to escape detection.
Every fan invited in had to go through layers of questioning, out of fear of letting in a spy who would blow up the group.
After all, finding a fan of Ji Zhaoxi on the entire internet was no simple task...
Ji Zhaoxi continued to post beautiful photos every day. She never closed her comment section, displaying an incredibly strong psychological resilience.
A phone rang suddenly.
Ji Zhaoxi ignored it, but after a short while, it rang again.
She answered the call and said lazily, "What?"
Mother Ji's voice came from the other end of the line, "Xixi, you finally answered the phone. Mom's heart broke when I saw all those comments cursing you online. Xixi, are you doing okay right now?"
The photographer was beside her editing photos. Hearing Mother Ji's words, she glanced at Ji Zhaoxi.
Sure enough, Ji Zhaoxi's strong mental fortitude was inseparable from having a happy and perfect family.
But the very next second.
"None of your damn business."
The photographer shuddered in shock, looking at Ji Zhaoxi in disbelief.
Huh?
She had been working with Ji Zhaoxi for so long, yet this was the first time she had heard her swear.
Mother Ji obviously choked up for a moment, "Mom is just caring about you, you silly child."
Ji Zhaoxi ignored her entirely. She had recently become obsessed with needle felting and spent every day poking away at it.
"Xixi, when are you coming home? Mom and Dad miss you." Mother Ji's voice was a bit choked with emotion.
The photographer looked at Ji Zhaoxi, wanting to say something but stopping herself. Her mother's voice sounded so humble, why wasn't she reacting at all?
Ji Zhaoxi looked up, her gaze meeting the photographer's. She looked at her apologetically, "Sorry, is this disturbing your editing?"
The photographer quickly waved her hands, "No, no, not at all."
"Can you stop crying? Don't you know you're disturbing someone's work?" Ji Zhaoxi said angrily into the phone.
After scolding her mother, she nodded at the photographer, who managed to squeeze out a smile.
Ji Zhaoxi continued poking at her needle felt.
"Xixi, your dad was secretly sitting on the bed crying last night, saying he misses you."
"You really are something, not coming home for the New Year, and now not coming home even when you don't have work."
"Your younger brother also said yesterday that he misses his sister, and kept repeating that he wanted to see you."
Mother Ji sighed, "When will our family finally be able to reunite?"
"Oh right, Xixi," Mother Ji said as if she suddenly thought of something. "Didn't you hire an IELTS tutor before? You must know which teachers are better. Help your brother sign up for an IELTS prep academy."
"Mom and Dad are getting old, we don't understand these things."
Ji Zhaoxi was a bit puzzled, "Why is he taking the IELTS? Are you sending him to study abroad? But you guys are so poor."
The photographer secretly eavesdropped on the big star's family gossip.
So even a female celebrity's family couldn't escape the patriarchal preference for sons over daughters.
Mother Ji was obviously silent for a long time before she sighed, "Xixi, your brother isn't as successful as you. He can't keep up with his studies domestically. Your dad and I plan to work at the construction site for a few more years to earn the money for his study abroad, and then save up a bit for your dowry."
Ji Zhaoxi also sighed deeply. Mother Ji paused, her voice tinged with expectation, "Xixi, what do you want to say?"
Ji Zhaoxi encouraged her, "Keep it up, Mom and Dad! You can do it. There are people in their seventies still working on construction sites nowadays. You're only in your fifties, you can easily work on the site for another dozen years."
Infuriated, Mother Ji's tone suddenly turned cold and hard, "Alright, Xixi, if there's nothing else, I'll hang up now."
Without waiting for Ji Zhaoxi to say goodbye, she abruptly hung up the phone.
The photographer's gaze toward Ji Zhaoxi now held a bit of sympathy.
Even though Ji Zhaoxi appeared indestructible on the outside, acting as if she didn't care about anything, she was actually very fragile on the inside.
With a family like that, she must have suffered quite a bit.
Ji Zhaoxi suddenly let out a cry, looking at the photographer with bright eyes, "Shu Yu, can you Photoshop a picture of me on a date with Xie Siheng? He just officially announced his new movie!"
The photographer was shocked, "Of course not! I'd get sued."
Ji Zhaoxi lowered her head in disappointment, "Okay, I don't want you to get sued."
Seeing her like this, the photographer suddenly felt a sense of guilt and comforted her, "It's fine, you already have enough popularity, you don't need this extra bit."
Ji Zhaoxi shook her head, "Popularity is never enough."
Since that route was a dead end, Ji Zhaoxi went back to poking her needle felt.
"Miss Ji, can I ask what you're making all these needle felts for?" the photographer asked curiously.
Ji Zhaoxi paused for a moment, holding up the needle felt in her hand, "This? I'm giving it to my fans."
The photographer was also stunned.
So she actually has fans?
