By eleven that night, I could proudly say I'd worked pretty hard today too.
I had just finished showering and was sitting cross-legged at my desk, flipping open my diary.
Ever since I entered the entertainment industry, I'd made a habit of keeping a diary. Not every day, though. Usually, I only wrote when something happened that was worth recording.
Today was obviously worth writing down.
I picked up my pen.
“August 22. Today, I ran into Bai Shijun....”
My hand hovered in midair for a moment before I added another sentence.
“It was really him. And he was actually trapped behind a fire exit door.”
Remembering the scene from that afternoon, I started laughing again.
“What an idiot.”
I kept writing.
“That Bai Shijun—the one I've liked since I was seventeen, the one I liked so much that I came to do this job because of him, the one I never once ran into after all these years of working here, and finally met only after I'd already quit the fandom.
How many times had I imagined our first meeting?
Backstage at a concert, on a film set, at a work meeting, during a shoot…
I'd even imagined that if I ever met him, I'd have to act completely professional. There was absolutely no way I could let him find out I was EVER.”
And what actually happened?
I saw him locked behind an emergency exit.
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.
Sorry. I really hadn't meant to laugh that loudly, but seriously, how could a twenty-eight-year-old man manage to lock himself behind a fire exit?
And while he was trapped in there, he kept complaining that I didn't know how to open the door!
If I'd known, I would've left him in there for another five minutes..... No, ten. He was seriously begging to be punched.
How had I ever decided he was gentle?
But… he really was handsome in person.
Just a little. A tiny little bit.
And I really had frozen the second I saw him.
But that was normal, right?
I'd liked him for so many years. Anyone would freak out if the real person suddenly showed up less than a meter away.
That had absolutely nothing to do with still liking him.
A huge poster was stuck to the wall.
The boy in the poster wore a white shirt and smiled with his eyes curved into crescents.
His name was Jiang Minyu. He was twenty years old this year.
He was a solo singer, two years into his debut—and my current ult.
The moment I looked at his face, my mood improved.
“How is our Minyu this cute…?”
His new album showcase was this Sunday, and because I insisted on being a good person every year, I won a spot in the audience.
The instant I saw the words “Congratulations, you've been selected,” I shot straight up off my bed.
“Ahhhhhhh—I got in!!!”
I still remembered pacing around my room with my phone in my hands, unable to suppress the grin on my face. I checked my name and the session several times, terrified that my eyes were playing tricks on me.
The moment I finished confirming everything, an unshakable thought suddenly appeared in my mind—
Jiang Minyu really was my destined ult.
Otherwise, how was I supposed to explain this?
Back when I followed Bai Shijun, even getting tickets to a large concert venue required praying to every god in existence, burning incense, and preparing myself emotionally for the possibility of not getting a ticket.
So why, after I started liking Jiang Minyu, did everything go so ridiculously smoothly?
That Sunday, I got up at six in the morning.
I checked all my usual fangirl gear.
A hat, sunglasses, a mask, my camera and telephoto lens, spare batteries, and memory cards.
I stood in front of the mirror, put on a black hat, and pulled the brim low. My sunglasses covered half my face, and the mask covered the other half.
Perfect. Even if my mom walked in right now, she might not recognize me as her daughter.
After all, I was technically an industry professional now. I'd worked with quite a few artists, managers, and photographers.
If someone I knew happened to see me lugging a bazooka around the fan section and taking hundreds of pictures of a twenty-year-old boy—well, I had to protect what remained of my professional dignity.
I also didn't want anyone saying I might be abusing my position. That kind of talk could hurt Jiang Minyu's reputation.
The showcase venue was already packed with fans. I glanced at the number card I'd just received. My seat was right in the middle of the third row, with a pretty good view.
I set up my camera like a pro, adjusted the settings, and aimed the lens precisely at the stage. The pictures had to capture Jiang Minyu's beauty perfectly.
Before long, a sudden wave of screams erupted from the audience.
“Jiang Minyu—!”
Jiang Minyu walked out from backstage, his light brown hair framing his face. He wore a white jacket and jeans.
As soon as he appeared, he launched into a performance of his latest song.
I immediately pressed the shutter.
Click, click, click, click—
His hair and makeup looked amazing today. His clothes looked amazing. Even the way he lowered his eyes to adjust his in-ear monitor was unfairly gorgeous.
Why did every single strand of his hair have to grow in exactly the right place?
“Minyu!”
Maybe it was just my imagination, but the next second, his gaze swept in my direction.
And then—stopped.
My finger froze on the shutter.
Wait. Hold on. Was he looking at my camera just now?
Before I even had time to confirm it, the corners of his lips lifted into an impossibly beautiful smile aimed in my direction.
Click.
My camera captured one last photo of me, who had already lost the ability to function.
As for me—in that moment, I ascended to heaven.
Whether he had actually been looking at me or not, I was going to be delusional about it.
When I was seventeen and into idols, I had to calculate how much allowance I had left that month just to buy one album.
If I wanted to attend a concert, I had to check the exam schedule first. If I wanted to go to an event, I had to ask my mom for permission.
Now that I was twenty-six, I had a job, a paycheck, and time of my own. I didn't need anyone's approval anymore.
As long as my bank balance allowed it, no one could stop me from chasing love to the ends of the earth.
This was the joy of being an adult.
Today's showcase was incredible. Jiang Minyu explained the album's concept in detail, and I loved it.
At the end of the event, he bowed deeply to us fans, then waved and walked offstage with a smile.
After everything was over, I hugged my camera and headed outside, completely satisfied.
I'd taken more than two thousand pictures today. Sorting through them would probably take until dawn, but everything was worth it for Jiang Minyu.
I was just about to walk to the parking lot when I suddenly heard a commotion ahead.
“Shijun!”
“Bai Shijun!”
“Oppa!”
I stopped walking and turned toward the voices behind me.
Not far away, a tall man in a black coat was striding quickly in this direction.
A crowd followed behind him. They didn't feel like ordinary fans. They were absurdly close—some people were holding their phones practically against his face, while others kept shouting his name.
Someone even reached out to grab his coat.
What was Bai Shijun doing here?
And why was he being chased by sasaengs? Where was his manager?
Bai Shijun clearly saw me too, and our eyes met across a few meters.
His footsteps stopped for half a second.
My first thought was: Don't get involved.
My second thought was: This has nothing to do with me.
My third thought was:.......Serves him right for making fun of my temper on Friday.
I turned and took two steps. A louder commotion erupted behind me.
“Don't touch me.”
His voice dropped, filled with helplessness and a plea for help.
I closed my eyes and clenched my fists.
Yin Zhixia, you really love sticking your nose into other people's business.
I turned around and saw that Bai Shijun was already close by. After making sure my hat, sunglasses, and mask were in place, I walked straight over and grabbed his wrist.
“Come with me.”
My sudden move startled him. “What?”
“Shut up if you don't want to get caught.” I pulled down my mask so he could see my face.
“You're the girl from last time—”
“Shh!”
I pulled him to the side, and the people behind us immediately followed like zombies.
“Bai Shijun!”
“Oppa!”
I quickly scanned the area. I'd been here before, and if I remembered correctly, there was a staff passage behind us. I dragged him inside.
“Where are you taking me?”
“I'm selling you off.”
He still had the nerve to ask that?
“Do you seriously not understand what's happening right now?” I said as I pulled him along at a run.
“I just—”
“Duck.”
I cut him off, pressed his head down with one hand, and led him through a low doorway ahead.
“What?”
“You're too tall!”
Why was being 186 centimeters tall so inconvenient?
I stopped, took off my hat, and plopped it onto his head.
“And this.”
I took off my sunglasses and handed them to him.
Bai Shijun stared blankly for a second before accepting them.
“What about you?”
“I have a mask.”
“Wouldn't that make you more likely to—”
“Bai Shijun.”
“Yeah?”
“If you say another word, I'll send you right back.”
He obediently shut his mouth at once. It was the first time I'd ever seen him listen so well.
I kept pulling him along, while the voices behind us drew closer and closer.
This wasn't going to work. We'd still be seen.
I spotted a small door that was half open ahead and pushed it open without thinking.
“Get in!”
“What's this—”
“Just get in!”
I shoved him into the tiny space beyond the door and squeezed in after him.
Click. The door shut.
The surroundings suddenly fell silent.
We leaned against the door, gasping for breath.
A few seconds passed before I realized something extremely serious.
This place was way too small. I couldn't tell whether it was a janitor's closet or a storage room.
Cardboard boxes were stacked along one side, and cleaning supplies sat in front of us.
Once the two of us adults had crammed ourselves inside, there was practically no room left over.
Worse yet—Bai Shijun was standing right in front of me.
We were incredibly close. So close that if I leaned forward even slightly, I might bump my forehead against him.
I looked up, and he was looking down at me too.
My hat was on his head. He'd lowered my sunglasses slightly, revealing his eyes.
Footsteps sounded outside. I immediately raised my index finger.
“Shh.”
Bai Shijun didn't say anything. The footsteps outside drew closer and closer.
I instinctively tried to shrink farther into the space, only to find there was nowhere to go. The distance between us narrowed even more.
His breath was so close that I could even smell the faint scent on him.
Oh no.
That scent… actually smelled pretty good.
No, no, no! This was not the time to think about that!
The people outside seemed to have stopped by the door, and I was so nervous I didn't dare move a muscle.
I stared into Bai Shijun's eyes for five seconds before my heart suddenly began pounding out of control.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
Each beat came faster than the last. We were so close that he had to be able to hear my heartbeat too.
I frantically warned myself in my head.
Yin Zhixia.
Calm down.
This was only because we were too close. Anyone's heart would beat faster if a good-looking man stood this close.
Especially when that face belonged to someone I'd spent so many years liking.
Bai Shijun suddenly spoke in a very quiet voice.
“Your heart's beating really fast.”
My eyes flew wide.
The corners of his mouth slowly lifted.
“I can hear it.”
I immediately raised a hand and covered his mouth.
“Shut up!”
His eyes curved with amusement. He was clearly still laughing.
I stared at the face right in front of me.
My heart beat even faster. He was seriously awful. Yin Zhixia, get a grip. Stop beating like that—especially for this face.
He hadn't been my ult for a long time.
So please, stay the hell away from me!!