Chapter 26.2: First Performance (1)
People continued to trickle in, and everyone who entered later — upon seeing Shen Xiu standing there like he radiated cold air — instinctively avoided disturbing him. Instead, their footsteps turned straight toward Xiang Yueting.
No one really knew why, but whenever Shen Xiu was around, the atmosphere always felt tense without anyone meaning it to.
Zhou Tong: “What are you looking at?”
Lu Qian: “When did the captain get here? Who drew all this stuff on the floor? Who set everything up?”
Ke Zi’an: “Huh? This is my part!”
Xia Wenhao: “Who brought the entire setup of the performance stage and just dropped it into our practice room?”
Ying Zi’ang: “What are the routes below the lyrics? And the little round-headed stick figures on the paths? What do the times above them mean?”
Xiang Yueting, who had arrived earlier, answered in a low voice: “Shen Xiu drew them. Shen Xiu moved them. Shen Xiu set it all up. It was like this when I got here. I didn’t do a single thing, and I don’t know the specifics.”
While everyone else was still stunned like country folks seeing a skyscraper for the first time, Xiang Yueting calmly handed out the printed parts Shen Xiu had divided: “Any more questions?”
Everyone: “…Nope.”
At this moment, everyone had just one thought: Shen Xiu… is insane (in the best way)!
With a leader like this — someone who arranged every last detail, practically spoon-feeding them the entire performance — what more could they possibly ask for?
Might as well obediently become this boss’s loyal sidekicks!
Shen Xiu was working tirelessly to rescue this socially doomed performance piece — they absolutely couldn’t be the ones to hold him back!
Compared to watching the MV, the printed lyrics were clearly much easier to digest, and everyone was reading with focus.
“Reading it by itself… it’s actually really well-written.”
“Yeah, honestly not bad. The only reason it felt cringe before was totally the MV’s fault.”
…
By 9:00 a.m., everyone had arrived, and Shen Xiu stood up.
The moment the members saw him stand, they all instinctively straightened up and looked at him — but no one dared meet his eyes. Instead, they all stared intently at his nose.
Shen Xiu, who had just stood up: “…”
Why… is everyone suddenly staring at me like that? Why so serious?
So serious, in fact, that he started feeling nervous — even forgot what he stood up for.
After being thoroughly startled by his own team, Shen Xiu took a couple of seconds to collect his thoughts, then said in the briefest way possible:
“Let’s go through the PowerPoint together.”
PowerPoint?
At those three words, everyone visibly froze for a second.
Wait a minute… are we sure this is a boy group survival show, and not some high school classroom?
No other team would ever guess that, under Shen Xiu’s leadership, this group had gone from arts and crafts… to a full-on PowerPoint lecture.
Shen Xiu, keeping the same energy he had when presenting school group projects, opened the PowerPoint and started analyzing the MV scene-by-scene and lyric-by-lyric.
“The original stage transition was too abrupt, making it hard for the audience to feel immersed. So I changed it to…”
“Jumping straight into the lyrics at the beginning felt too random. I think it should start with…”
Shen Xiu’s cool, low voice seemed to carry some mysterious kind of magic — it made everyone instinctively listen carefully. Combined with his sharp gaze occasionally sweeping across the room, not a single group member dared to zone out even a little during this “class.”
By the time Shen Xiu finished presenting the PowerPoint he’d spent hours making last night, he felt like he’d spoken enough to last the entire next week — his throat was dry.
The giant screen, normally used to play MVs, now displayed slides from the presentation.
On each slide, Shen Xiu had meticulously categorized everyone’s assigned parts, with dedicated pages for each member — easy for them to reference and study later.
His explanations were top-notch. The PowerPoint was immaculate, breaking down every second of movement, every scene transition with perfect clarity.
Even the stage lighting — exactly when the lights should turn on or off, down to the second — was clearly marked on the slides.
Anyone looking at it could understand it right away.
From dissecting the song, changing choreography, rewriting lyrics, to detailed notes on every cue — the entire performance from beginning to end, and the effect they wanted to achieve on stage — Shen Xiu had written it all down, with painstaking precision.
The sheer volume of work was staggering. Just how late had Shen Xiu stayed up last night to finish this?
As awe and respect for Shen Xiu swelled within them, the group members also felt a pang of guilt. He had taken all of this on by himself. That must’ve been exhausting.
After finishing the breakdown of his vision for the stage and each member’s “role,” Shen Xiu calmly said:
“These are all just minor details.”
Everyone: “?”
A true powerhouse is a powerhouse through and through — this was “minor”?
Why was no one asking him, “Then what counts as a major detail?”
Shen Xiu looked down at the silent group, a little stunned.
No one was following the script he had imagined at all!
…Fine. Whatever. He’d just keep going.
He was starting to get used to the awkwardness — little by little.
Bracing himself, Shen Xiu spoke up:
“The most important thing is — starting from today’s practice, each of you needs to develop a strong sense of belief.”
After speaking, he glanced down at his printed “speech” and began reading from it word for word.
“I’ve transformed this practice room into a mini version of the actual performance stage. The chalk markings on the floor indicate where the real stage lighting will hit during the show. Everyone’s movement paths and standing positions — when to move, what actions to take — are all drawn and marked on the part sheets you’ve received. I hope you’ll memorize them.”
“If you’re unsure about anything, refer to the PowerPoint.”
“From now on, I want you to treat every single practice session as if it’s the actual performance. So… we’ll be wearing our modified performance outfits starting now.”
Sorry, it wasn’t just about Shen Xiu powering through the awkwardness alone anymore — he was going to drag his poor teammates along until they were all equally used to the cringe.
After all, this song required the kind of unshakable belief that only someone like Ying Zi’ang had. Without that, they’d never pull it off.
Having fully digested the effort Shen Xiu had put in and the “spoon-fed meal” he’d prepared for them, the group members now felt fired up: We’re gonna turn this around — and win!
Everyone was suddenly brimming with energy.
“Alright!”
“No problem!”
“Don’t worry, Shen Xiu — we’ve got this!”
Shen Xiu was startled by the sudden burst of loud, enthusiastic replies.
Shen Xiu: …Looks like I really underestimated their sense of belief. At the very least… they’ve got way more spirit than I do right now.
“Then… let’s get changed and start.”
Embarrassing? Sure.
But whatever — they were all in now!
…
Over the next four days, trainees from other groups had assumed Shen Xiu’s team would crash and burn after choosing the most masculine, most insane track possible.
However… what they saw was a group of team members absolutely radiating energy — every day, they looked like they were running on pure adrenaline.
Even the usually gloomy Ying Zi’ang from Shen Xiu’s group had a sparkle in his eyes that honestly creeped the others out.
“Have they… been br*inwashed?”
“Feels more like they took the wrong meds.”
“There’s no way they’ve actually turned things around. I think this is just their ‘last flash before death.’”
“Damn it, their whole group is so secretive. They lock the doors every day — we can’t even peek. I’m dying of curiosity.”
Driven by overwhelming curiosity, the other groups all agreed to send trainees to spy and dig for intel from Shen Xiu’s group.
But Shen Xiu’s teammates had mouths sealed tighter than vaults. By the time the first public performance rolled around five days later, none of the other eleven teams had managed to extract a single useful piece of information.
…
《Youth Unstoppable》 – First Public Performance
The host looked down at the list in his hands and called out loudly to the live audience:
“Please welcome the first two teams for our group battle round — Team Shen Xiu and Team Zhuang Yi — to the stage! Say hello to our live and streaming audience!”
As the crowd erupted in cheers, Shen Xiu and Zhuang Yi each led their teams from backstage to the front of the stage, taking positions to the left and right.
Shen Xiu had scoped out the outdoor stage earlier during rehearsals, and when he saw the open-air setting and rows upon rows of seats, he had guessed that today’s crowd would be much bigger than before.
But what he hadn’t anticipated was just how big — this wasn’t just a bigger crowd. This was a sea of people. An ocean.
He stepped forward stiffly, walking with awkward, robotic movements to the center of the stage, only to be slammed by the overwhelming visual impact of a human tidal wave.
Shen “internally quaking / so many people / so scared / soul leaving body but face still blank” Xiu.jpg
Thank you — he was spiritually, metaphysically gone.
Whatever the audience was shouting, Shen Xiu couldn’t hear any of it.
He was too nervous.
All that filled his mind was a deafening, buzzing static, like a beehive had exploded inside his head.
During the training over the past few days, Shen Xiu had clearly become the pillar of strength for the other eight members of his team.
No matter the situation, as long as Shen Xiu was present, they all felt an overwhelming sense of safety.
Facing such a massive audience for the first time, even someone as outgoing as Xiang Yueting was so nervous he kept swallowing hard.
In that moment, all of the teammates instinctively turned to look at Shen Xiu, hoping to draw strength from him.
Seeing Shen Xiu’s calm gaze sweeping across the crowd, his expression cool and composed without the slightest hint of panic, their own hearts — which had been pounding wildly from nerves — slowly began to steady.
“Shen Xiu is so calm… definitely someone who’s been through big stages before. A little stage like this must be nothing to him.”
“If Shen Xiu’s not nervous, I can’t be nervous either!”
“I absolutely can’t embarrass our captain!”
It was as if Shen Xiu’s teammates had been infused with power. One by one, they straightened their backs and lifted their chins, trying to mimic Shen Xiu’s composed, forward-facing posture.
“Wow, Boss Shen’s mental game is next-level. Which company trained this future superstar? I’m dying to know!”
“Ahhh I’m finally getting to experience Boss Shen’s aura in person! As expected, not even a twitch in front of such a massive crowd!”
“I saw it with my own eyes — his teammates were totally panicking at first, then calmed down right after looking at him.”
“If I had a leader like that carrying the team, I wouldn’t be nervous either… ugh, I’m so jealous of his teammates!”
“But like… he did draw that edgy, cursed song. I’m a little worried…”
…
Meanwhile, Shen Xiu himself had absolutely no memory of how he greeted the audience or even how he made it back backstage.
His brain had glitched out so hard during that whole sequence, he simply followed whatever instructions the host gave, doing everything on autopilot.
Backstage.
One minute into helping each other with their hair and makeup, Shen Xiu, who was sitting in front of the mirror and having his wig adjusted by Zhou Tong, finally snapped out of his dazed, crashed state.
He thought back to the greeting segment before the performance, the moment he was confronted by that sea of people in the audience. As he glanced at his teammates, all busy getting ready, his heart only grew more anxious.
It was all his fault for having such terrible luck—not only did they draw a head-to-head matchup with Zhuang Yi’s team, they also got the cursed spot of first group to perform.
Shen Xiu wanted to cry from the sheer misfortune. He could only hope his teammates wouldn’t blame him.
At that moment, the staff were following Shen Xiu’s meticulous instructions to prep the stage. While the stage was being set up, they had twenty minutes to complete their hair and makeup. Once the time was up, they’d have to take the stage for their first performance.
Shen Xiu was so nervous that even his voice came out stiff:
“Everyone… feeling confident?”
The team was already on edge from the looming performance. But when Shen Xiu’s red-tinted eyes swept over them, and his cool, slightly hoarse voice sounded with what felt like a hint of chilling menace…
They were instantly struck with a strange illusion—
As if they were standing face-to-face with a real vampire, cold, merciless, and ready to pounce.
Their bodies tensed up instinctively, a collective shiver running through them. Their hearts dropped halfway to the floor.
Shen Xiu had practically spoon-fed them everything—he’d broken down the song, choreographed the moves, charted out the lighting, even mapped out stage positions with idiot-proof clarity.
After days of rigorous, nanny-level training, if they still messed up…
Judging by the eerie glint in Shen Xiu’s eyes right now—
He just might kill them backstage afterward.
Crushed under the cold, ominous pressure, no one dared say they weren’t confident.
Every single one of them nodded frantically.
“Yes! Yes, absolutely!”
Wuwuwu, Shen Xiu’s expression is way too scary—who would dare say no? Even if we’re dead, we’ll say yes!
Shen Xiu finally relaxed. Looks like the devil-style repetitive training really paid off.
“Remember,” he said, “the moment we step on stage, you and I—we all become people of the song. Got it?”
At that moment, the look in Shen Xiu’s eyes was just a little bit terrifying. The team members suddenly had the illusion that… they were more afraid of Shen Xiu than the actual performance.
“Got it! Got it!”
In this strange, inexplicable atmosphere, they somehow… weren’t nervous anymore.
Twenty minutes later, Shen Xiu’s team had finished getting into costume. The host’s voice rang out:
“Next up, please welcome Team Shen Xiu performing Blood Romance!”
“Ahhhhhhh!”
“Shen Xiu! Shen Xiu!”
As they heard the host’s booming voice and the thunderous cheers of the audience, everyone on Shen Xiu’s team had only one thought in their minds: Finally… it’s starting!
Just before stepping on stage, as the team captain, Shen Xiu felt it was his duty to give his teammates a bit of encouragement.
He had a lot of inspiring, beautiful words in his heart—but actually saying them out loud was just so hard. After a few seconds of struggling, Shen Xiu finally managed to squeeze out two words:
“Let’s go. Charge!”
