Xia Zhiyi had always known that, in the end, most people in this world were lovely.
When he learned of other people's concern for him, even if they were complete strangers, even through a screen, even if it was only a few words, it warmed his heart.
With a sweet smile, he spoke earnestly to the camera. "Thank you all for your concern. Please don't worry. I won't do anything dangerous. I only rushed over earlier because I could protect myself."
"Besides, we're in China. Apart from a very few exceptional cases, ordinary people can't get their hands on weapons that are too dangerous. That's why I dared to show myself directly."
As he spoke, Xia Zhiyi blinked, sounding as though he was both joking and seriously explaining himself. "If I were abroad, I'd have to give it a little more thought."
[Ah, Teacher Xia is so sweet.]
[He smiled at me! He has little dimples!]
[What a cute little brother!]
[Even if you can protect yourself, you can't let your guard down. Good swimmers drown, too. Take that lesson to heart.]
Some viewers also asked in the bullet comments what would happen next, while others explained relevant laws. The production team didn't say much either. After all, how things would ultimately turn out was beyond their control.
Xia Zhiyi did know that Chen Fang and the others had stayed behind. They were probably really going to help that victim with a lawsuit.
As it happened, Xiao Yang had said Chen Fang was a top lawyer, so the outcome probably wouldn't disappoint.
However, as they neared their destination, they still shut down the livestream after letting the viewers know, in order to keep it secret.
Once the livestream was off, Xiao Yang was visibly more relaxed than when they were live. He took a bottle of water from beside him and handed it to Xia Zhiyi, saying, "If you work out the timing, taking the high-speed train hasn't actually made us any slower than the group flying. The airport is out in the suburbs."
Xia Zhiyi asked, "Are all the other guests on the plane except me?"
Xiao Yang checked the time and said, "Their plane should be landing soon. But you're not the only one traveling separately. There's another guest who didn't leave with Teacher Fu and the others for certain reasons. He's traveling separately too."
Xia Zhiyi wasn't particularly surprised.
Come to think of it, the production team hadn't specifically arranged for him to meet Fu Yunyi and the others at the airport this time. It just so happened that they were all in Yue City, so the production team had booked them on the same flight.
Otherwise, following the usual procedure for other variety shows, the guests would have each set off from wherever they were.
So the little game Director Gong had said Xia Zhiyi would miss was probably originally planned for after the guests gathered. If things went smoothly on Xia Zhiyi's end, he might not miss it after all.
When they boarded the high-speed train and entered their carriage, the cameraman shot a little footage for postproduction, and then everyone took their seats to rest.
They had spent quite a while traveling that morning. Even though they had been sitting the whole time, they still felt tired.
Xiao Yang chatted with Xia Zhiyi for a bit. When he learned that Xia Zhiyi had only recently finished his college entrance exams, he said with some regret, "That's a bit of a shame, then. This is when your store of knowledge is at its fullest. If you took part in the game, you'd definitely come first."
From that, Xia Zhiyi knew the game Director Gong had prepared would most likely require some knowledge.
"Didn't you invite another non-celebrity guest? Going by your production team's requirements, he should be a student too. His store of knowledge shouldn't be too bad either."
At the mention of this, Xiao Yang's expression turned a little subtle.
Xia Zhiyi asked, "What's wrong?"
Xiao Yang gave a light cough and glanced at the colleagues around them. Seeing that no one was paying attention to them, he finally lowered his voice and said to Xia Zhiyi, "I'm only telling you this as a heads-up. Don't bring it up with anyone. Just keep it in mind."
"Our production team originally invited you and another non-celebrity guest, but then some bastard leaked the news that Fu Yunyi would be joining the filming, and an entertainer snatched the other guest's spot."
"So now you're the only non-celebrity guest on our show."
The production team had also taken a mysterious approach to promotion and hadn't released the full guest list. Only a few rumors had leaked out, so the fact that the show now had only one non-celebrity guest hadn't caused much of a stir among viewers.
Or rather, plenty of viewers who hadn't even known there would be non-celebrity guests thought Xia Zhiyi was some newcomer to the entertainment industry.
It was only because the livestream had explicitly labeled him a "non-celebrity guest." Otherwise, with Xia Zhiyi's face and his unexpectedly impressive fighting skills, no one would have thought he had been an ordinary student before this.
At this, Xia Zhiyi's expression shifted slightly, and he asked as if in passing, "Then how did Fu Yunyi end up joining our show? I'm not saying there's anything wrong with the production team. It's just that when I signed up, I heard you were recruiting non-celebrity guests because, because it was a livestreamed variety show, not many celebrities were willing to take part."
Since Xiao Yang had already started talking, and he was rather fond of Xia Zhiyi, he felt there was nothing about this he couldn't share. "That? Our production team got lucky. We originally planned on having five guests. After your spot and the other non-celebrity guest's were confirmed, Director Gong and the others ran into President Fu at a drinking party."
"Then President Fu probably thought the show had some potential, so he invested some money and arranged for Teacher Fu to join too."
From the sound of it, it seemed to be nothing more than a coincidence.
But Xia Zhiyi still found it strange.
He knew the plot. Although this show had only received a passing mention in it, according to the plot, Fu Yunyi really hadn't participated in filming this variety show.
The moment he saw Fu Yunyi, Xia Zhiyi had felt something was wrong. Yet so far, he still hadn't found the reason for such a huge change.
However, as far as Xia Zhiyi was concerned, the other non-celebrity guest getting kicked off the show was neither good nor bad.
Many things had changed after he signed up, so Xia Zhiyi couldn't be sure whether the other non-celebrity guest the production team had chosen was the molester from the plot who had caused the show to be canceled outright.
Or perhaps Xia Zhiyi himself had taken that person's place.
Still, the entertainer who had used underhanded means to force this non-celebrity guest out had already made a poor first impression on Xia Zhiyi.
Xia Zhiyi asked, "So the production team originally planned on a group of five, and it became six after Fu Yunyi joined? Fu Yunyi was an extra addition?"
Xiao Yang said, "That's right. Teacher Fu is so popular, but even he got an extra spot when he joined our show. Meanwhile, the other guest relied on the company behind him to force someone out. Tsk, tsk, tsk."
"You can see the difference right there."
Xia Zhiyi asked, "Who is it?"
Xiao Yang lowered his voice. "I can't tell you directly who it is, but I can tell you he's a male guest."