Chapter 11: Battle Between A-Ranks (1)
Shen Xiu: “…”
Xiang Yueting… you little troll, you really are the worst!
Maybe… he really should just run for it?
At that moment, the spark in Shen Xiu’s eyes flickered out—extinguished in an instant.
Note to self: add one more name to the assassination list.
Frozen in place, Shen Xiu stood rigidly at the doorway, scared stiff.
Meanwhile, Xiang Yueting’s face radiated pure joy, clearly pleased with having “surprised” Shen Xiu successfully. Seeing Shen Xiu stand there in silence, face frozen in a chilly expression, he scratched his head in confusion:
“Not touched?”
Besides him, the other four A-class had all stayed behind to wait specifically for Shen Xiu. He’d heard strong people liked to spar with other strong people—to push themselves and grow stronger.
So he’d arrived early and asked the others if they’d be interested. As he expected, the moment he mentioned “sparring with Shen Xiu,” all four of them agreed without hesitation—and now, here they were, all waiting in the dorm.
Surely Shen Xiu must be thrilled, seeing everyone gathered here like this.
A newbie dropped into a den of bosses, now being stared down by five alpha-level trainees. Shen “Shaking in My Boots” Xiu.jpg
Touched?
Heh.
He didn’t dare be touched.
He didn’t dare move.
Shen Xiu cast a ghostly look at Xiang Yueting and said in a low voice: “Thank you so much.”
Later that night, when he woke up thinking about this moment, he was pretty sure he’d grind his teeth into powder.
Shen Xiu rarely smiled, and rarely cried. He was the kind of person who, even if a car were speeding toward him on the road, would feel terrified inside but still dodge it swiftly with a blank expression. No one could tell he was afraid.
So, Xiang Yueting couldn’t read Shen Xiu’s true emotions at all from his cold, stoic face. Carefree as ever, he thought Shen Xiu was actually thanking him, and grinned even wider. “Come on, we’re brothers—no need to be polite.”
Song Chengwang urged, “Why are you just standing there at the door? Didn’t you hear what Shang Yu said? Get in and drop your stuff. After that, the six of us are heading to the practice room for a battle. Consider it our dorm’s first team-building session.”
Shen Xiu: “…”
Out of the wolf’s den and into the tiger’s lair—team-building was his worst nightmare. He really didn’t want to go in.
But—
That wasn’t an option. If he kept standing there awkwardly at the door, his five roommates would think he was a weirdo, and the tens of thousands watching the livestream would also find his behavior strange.
“…Okay.”
Shen Xiu forced himself to respond, barely holding back from clutching his heart that had nearly been scared into cardiac arrest. He stiffly dragged his suitcase inside like a puppet on strings.
The livestream audience, always thrilled by drama, exploded with comments.
[Fight, fight, fight! I love chaos!]
[Didn’t expect A-Class to start battling even before tomorrow’s theme song assessment. The six top-ranking trainees from the initial evaluation going head-to-head? I’m living for this.]
After walking into the dorm, Shen Xiu saw that everyone’s suitcases were piled in the middle of the room, untouched. The dorm layout was exactly the same as his old one: a bed on the top bunk, and a personal desk underneath.
The only difference from his university dorm was the size. That one had been cramped, meant for four people—just enough space for four beds.
This room, however, was an entire floor opened up into one big space, with twenty beds set up—and it still didn’t feel cramped.
Jiang Yanxi teased him good-naturedly, “Our ‘King of Popularity,’ hurry up and pick your bed. We’ve all been waiting—no one dared to choose before you.”
Shen Xiu: …What kind of title is that? The production team really knew how to make things awkward for him.
Without needing to think, Shen Xiu dragged his suitcase straight to the farthest corner of the room, swift and decisive.
Looking at the two walls on either side, Shen Xiu felt incredibly safe. He was very satisfied with this spot.
With twenty beds in this massive room, he figured just like his last dorm, no one would want to squeeze into a corner. After all, the best spots were in the middle of the room.
Shen Xiu felt a little bitter. This was the only bit of comfort he’d found after the nonstop stress and shock.
As he settled into the corner—
The five roommates: “???”
Did Shen Xiu just short-circuit?
Livestream comments:
[???]
[What kind of weird move is this? Doesn’t everyone usually go for the best spot in the middle?]
[All I can say is, trying to figure out a top-tier guy’s mind is like fishing a needle from the sea. Totally unpredictable.]
Zhuang Yi said, “Uh, Shen Xiu… want to reconsider?”
With his back to them, Shen Xiu answered with unprecedented firmness, “No. Right here.”
Please, just let him stay in his dark little corner!
Even though the others didn’t understand Shen Xiu’s choice, they didn’t press the issue. What they really wanted now was to drag him to the practice room for a proper showdown.
When it came down to it, apart from Xiang Yueting, the other four weren’t exactly close to Shen Xiu.
Song Chengwang nudged Xiang Yueting with his elbow. Xiang Yueting immediately got the hint.
He strode over to Shen Xiu and, as he approached, instinctively reached out to throw an arm around Shen Xiu’s shoulder. “Shen Xiu, let’s…”
Before Xiang Yueting’s hand could land on Shen Xiu’s shoulder, Shen Xiu dodged swiftly—like he had eyes in the back of his head—twisting away while turning to look at Xiang Yueting.
Seeing his own hand awkwardly hanging in the air, Xiang Yueting blinked and met Shen Xiu’s slightly displeased, icy gaze. In that instant, he understood.
He’d often heard that strong individuals had a heightened sense of territorial awareness—not only did they hate others touching their belongings, they also disliked people getting too close.
Xiang Yueting sheepishly withdrew his hand. “Sorry, I wasn’t thinking. That was too forward. Hope you don’t mind.”
Seeing Xiang Yueting lower his hand, Shen Xiu quietly let out a breath of relief and replied, “It’s my issue. It has nothing to do with you.”
It wasn’t that he had a deep aversion to physical contact with others—it just took a bit of mental preparation. Sudden touch made him tense.
Shen Xiu blamed this kind of reflex on his own cowardice.
Viewers in the livestream chat, watching the whole exchange, suddenly felt like they got it.
[Damn, the way Shen Xiu dodged and then looked back at Xiang Yueting with that cold, warning glare—I totally get it now. That’s the untouchable aura of a true big shot!]
[Totally. A lot of powerful people are like this. Take my sister for example—she’s the CEO of a listed company. Besides family, she hates people touching her stuff or being in her space. Doesn’t even like coworkers coming to our house. Her territorial sense is strong, and she gives off that distant, icy vibe. People with weaker nerves don’t even dare make eye contact.]
[Big sis CEO, I wanna stick close! Does your sister need another little sister?]
Back in the dorm—
Shen Xiu’s face was still as expressionless as ever, but since Xiang Yueting didn’t see him frown and heard him speak calmly, he was sure Shen Xiu wasn’t angry at him.
Xiang Yueting didn’t try to initiate any more physical contact. Instead, he smiled and said, “Let’s head to the practice room. We’re all dying to get started.”
Shen Xiu, who wasn’t used to refusing others: “…Okay.”
Think positive, he silently encouraged himself.
When it came to a battle, he could still sing both full songs.
As for the songs the other contestants had performed during the initial evaluation—Shen Xiu hadn’t given them his full, undivided attention. His focus had often drifted to other things happening on stage. He’d spaced out a few times and could only remember fragments of those performances—not enough to piece together a complete song.
As for dancing… well, that was a bit of a disaster.
The stage had been pretty far from the trainees’ area. Sure, he could see the performances, but during the dance routines, the flashing stage lights were blinding, and a lot of the movements were unclear. He hadn’t really focused on memorizing the choreography and had only managed to catch a few dance steps here and there.
His dance knowledge was disjointed. If he was being honest, he couldn’t perform a single full routine.
‘Better avoid a dance battle if I can,’ Shen Xiu decided internally.
Just as he made up his mind, a voice interrupted his thoughts: “Shen Xiu? Why aren’t you dancing?”
The words snapped him out of his daze.
Turns out, while he had been zoning out, his body had automatically followed his new roommates into the practice room.
Now, five pairs of eyes were fixed squarely on him.
Song Chengwang urged impatiently, “Come on, dance.”
Shen Xiu: “…”
Was he not dancing because he didn’t like dancing?
Ha—he laughed wearily to himself—it was because he couldn’t dance at all!
Staring at the tightly shut door of the practice room, Shen Xiu realized there was no escape. Resigned, he admitted honestly, “I don’t know how to dance. Let’s battle with singing instead.”
“No,” Shang Yu spoke up this time, clearly disagreeing. “We’ve already experienced your vocal skills. Now we want to see your dancing ability.”
Zhuang Yi chimed in, “Shen Xiu, is it that you’re unwilling to give it your all, or do you look down on us?”
Jiang Yanxi raised his hand to wipe away nonexistent tears, playing the drama king: “In the end, is it that we’re just not worthy?”
Shen Xiu was caught in a difficult situation, his mind racing in panic: “I didn’t…”
Not wanting his roommates to think he looked down on them, Shen Xiu decided to push himself hard: “Fine, I’ll do it one by one.” If everyone danced together, his brain would short-circuit trying to keep up—he couldn’t remember all those moves.
“I’ll dance whatever you dance.”
He’d just try to imitate as best he could—if he died of embarrassment, so be it. As long as they weren’t upset, he thought.
The next moment, Shen Xiu saw Song Chengwang’s face visibly darken.
Song Chengwang not only looked pissed, but his words came out sharp: “What do you mean by ‘I’ll dance whatever you dance’? Do you look down on us? We’re all taking you seriously, trying to show you our best moves—what about you?”
Shen Xiu was using their best skills to defeat them, without even needing to use his own strengths—that was a level of confidence!
It was arrogant to the point of not caring about what the other side threw at him. Not only was he perfectly replicating their moves, but he planned to beat them with their own moves.
The viewers in the livestream weren’t surprised by Shen Xiu’s words—in fact, they were rather pleased.
[Nice, nice. As expected of the Shen Xiu I want to pick—he’s got that top-tier big shot vibe.]
[Shen Xiu: I’m not looking down on any of you here, I’m just cold-hearted and ruthless, defeating you all with your own best moves. That’s me showing you some respect.]
[No wonder they call him the ‘Shura Field’, with that ‘everyone here is trash and doesn’t deserve my best moves’ kind of swagger. Hahaha.]
[The five of them: Thanks for the invite. We’re in the practice room, insulted and furious, swearing to get back at you!]
Shang Yu, Zhuang Yi, Jiang Yanxi, and the others all thought of this at the same time, their expressions turning a little darker.
In the silence, Shang Yu’s face was serious, but he was used to smiling with the corners of his mouth slightly up when speaking. This time, even his smile seemed stiff: “Shen Xiu, you’re really arrogant.”
Song Chengwang, quick-tempered as ever, couldn’t hold back his words either: “Shen Xiu, do you not even see us as your opponents? Are we not worth your attention?”
Xiang Yueting quickly stepped in to smooth things over: “Hey, hey, no need to get mad. I’ll vouch for Shen Xiu’s character. He’s not like that.”
Jiang Yanxi forced a stiff smile and said, “Alright, alright. Shen Xiu’s already agreed to battle with us. It doesn’t matter what kind of dance we use to battle.”
Zhuang Yi stroked his chin: “Fine, let’s battle with whatever we want. Shen Xiu, this was your idea, so don’t complain afterward if you lose and say we’re bullying you.”
The change in expressions was so fast that Shen Xiu was left speechless.
Was there something wrong with what he said?
He told the truth—he couldn’t dance. They got mad. He agreed to dance, and they didn’t seem very happy about it either.
New roommates were hard to please.
Living in a new dorm was tough, Shen Xiu sighed.
He just wanted to get this over with quickly. “So, who’s going first?”
Boy….