Chapter 33.2: First Performance (8)
Shen Xiu, along with his team and their revamped version of Blood Romance, was once again rocketed onto the trending charts thanks to the passion of fans-turned-promoters.
Meanwhile, in the makeup room of a TV drama adapted from a popular novel, agent Du Heng entered a livestream studio and saw Duan Mingfei, already done up in full costume, frowning down at his phone.
Duan Mingfei was filming a school drama. After getting his makeup done, he holed up in the dressing room and wouldn’t come out. He had the stylists leave and didn’t say what he was doing inside.
The production crew, worried about losing the perfect sunset lighting and falling behind schedule, had no choice but to ask his agent Du Heng to go in and hurry him along.
Concerned, Du Heng asked, “Brother Ming, is something wrong?”
Ever since Duan Mingfei shot to fame on the idol survival show Better Days of Youth, fans had affectionately called him “Brother Ming.” He liked the nickname a lot. Though Du Heng was older than Duan Mingfei, since Mingfei was now the company’s top star, he followed suit and called him that too.
Duan Mingfei didn’t hold back with his agent. He handed over his phone with a frown and asked, “Which company is he signed to?”
The momentum was too strong—even stronger than when his own “soar to fame” persona was first crafted.
Both came from boy group survival shows. Both hit center stage every time. This guy was clearly retracing the same path he had once taken.
Ever since Youth Unstoppable began airing, this guy named Shen Xiu had been clinging to the trending topics nonstop.
What bothered Duan Mingfei even more was that, just now while browsing his own super-topic, he saw one of his diehard fans complaining that Shen Xiu’s fanbase was getting way too cocky—and to his shock, the replies weren’t flooded with criticism of Shen Xiu.
This wasn’t looking good. Duan Mingfei knew he needed to keep a close eye on this.
“…Can we sign him to our agency?” he asked. “After all, I came from a survival show too. Technically, I’m his senior.”
Du Heng’s gaze landed on Shen Xiu’s face—that cold, strikingly handsome face that once seen, was hard to forget. Especially the powerful presence that radiated off Shen Xiu, something impossible to ignore. As an agent, how could Du Heng not know about Shen Xiu?
But… it was just that. He only knew of him.
Du Heng spoke honestly: “I couldn’t find anything. The production team’s keeping everything tightly under wraps. A lot of people in the industry are asking around about Shen Xiu, but there’s not even a whisper of information.”
To be able to work as an agent, you had to be sharp. And Du Heng immediately understood what Duan Mingfei truly meant.
Duan Mingfei had an unusual relationship with the company’s boss. If they signed Shen Xiu and wrapped him up in a contract, it wouldn’t take much to mislead someone like Shen Xiu, who had only just debuted. As long as there was a contract binding him, and as long as Duan Mingfei refused to let go, Shen Xiu could forget about ever rising to the top.
Duan Mingfei said, “Once the show ends, find a way to set up a face-to-face meeting with Shen Xiu. I want to talk to him in person.”
Du Heng nodded. “No problem.”
“Oh, and one more thing.” Duan Mingfei stood up, scrolled back to the comment section he’d seen earlier in the super-topic, and tossed his phone to the floor. “Tell the people under us to get moving. They’re not getting paid to sit around.”
“Got it.” Du Heng nodded again.
After Duan Mingfei left, Du Heng picked up the phone, glanced at the screen, and made a call to get the studio staff on it.
Once he hung up, he watched the comment section start to flood with posts dragging Shen Xiu’s name, then finally exited the super-topic.
As he exited, his finger slipped onto the trending tab. There, on the top trending topics, every one of the entries about Shen Xiu had a blazing “BOOM” icon next to it.
Du Heng sighed to himself.
No wonder Duan Mingfei was panicking. Anyone in his shoes would be.
He’d watched the livestream. Shen Xiu wasn’t just some rising star—he was the real deal. A true powerhouse.
Duan Mingfei had every reason to be nervous.
Just as Du Heng was about to exit, his finger accidentally slid across the screen. The trending page refreshed—and a hot topic popped up with words that looked oddly familiar.
#Mr. S, Shen Xiu, “Blood Romance” Credit Addition#
Du Heng: “??”
Mr. S—renowned across the entire music industry, known to everyone, a mysterious figure who had debuted under a pseudonym years ago. He’d composed countless iconic songs, and major singers across the scene scrambled for the chance to collaborate with him.
And Blood Romance—according to a written interview with Mr. S—was a song he’d created at age 15, with an MV he directed himself.
The infamous and borderline cringe Blood Romance had, for years, been jokingly referred to as Mr. S’s “trip through hell and back” creation.
Why did Du Heng, a talent agent for actors, know all this? Of course—because after Duan Mingfei made his C-position debut in Better Days of Youth, he’d tried to get Mr. S to write a song for him—only to be ruthlessly rejected.
That rejection had become a long-standing sore spot for Duan Mingfei.
And now Mr. S’s name was trending alongside Shen Xiu’s?
Du Heng, curious, clicked into the topic.
Five minutes later—
Du Heng exited the trending thread and took a deep breath.
The famously aloof Mr. S, known for never revealing his true face, someone who wouldn’t even write for money—only on a whim—had actually posted a Weibo himself.
He had officially added Shen Xiu’s name under lyrics, composition, and choreography for Blood Romance!
Du Heng couldn’t begin to imagine what kind of meltdown Duan Mingfei would have when he saw this trending post.
Meanwhile, in the livestream chatroom for Youth Unstoppable, fans were going wild with excitement:
[Sisters, GO LOOK! Mr. S just posted! He said the Blood Romance stage reworked by Shen Xiu is exactly the kind of stage he always envisioned! He even officially added Shen Xiu’s name to the credits! AND he said he’s picking our Demon King Xiu because they share the same taste—planning to dive deep into “Shen Studies”!]
[I have a bold guess—could Mr. S actually know Boss Shen?!]
[Ahhh recognition from the original creator— Boss Shen forever the GOAT, I’m already screaming!]
[LOL Mr. S’s other works really do show amazing taste, but the original Blood Romance MV? Let’s not pretend that was tasteful, lmao]
[Just finished watching and all I can say is: Boss Shen, what other surprises are you hiding from us? 👑🐶🌹]
After posting his Weibo, Shi Buwen (Mr. S) cheerfully tapped like on every single comment praising Shen Xiu in the livestream chat. He muttered to himself with glee:
“That’s right, that’s right, I do know Shen Xiu!”
“Anyone who can revive my Blood Romance like that—he clearly has the same elite taste as me! I’m not listening to anyone else’s opinion!”
…
10th Floor Practice Room.
After Shen Xiu’s team’s training footage aired, the rest of the teams’ practice room clips rolled in—just as many of the trainees had guessed: early stages filled with routine lyric and choreography breakdowns, and later stages showing endless, repetitive rehearsals. Nothing particularly unique.
The only vaguely entertaining parts were the group part-division segments, where members got frustrated and started battling each other over who got what.
From the length of the edited clips, even the trainees themselves could tell their team’s training process was too boring to be screen-worthy—and in their hearts, they were seriously envious of Shen Xiu’s teammates.
Not only were they carried hard, but they also got tons of screen time just by being around Shen Xiu in the final cuts.
And now that Blood Romance had gone viral, there was no way Shen Xiu’s team members would end up as “nameless extras in a 100-member boy group.” With the styling Shen Xiu personally designed for them, it was even possible that directors might take notice and toss them a minor acting role or two.
The more they thought about it, the less they dared look at Shen Xiu directly. Instead, they stared at Shen Xiu’s teammates with eyes full of envy.
This was divine-level luck from the heavens!
The members of Shen Xiu’s team, knowing that Shen Xiu had their backs, were eager to let their tails wag to the sky. But for the moment, they could only manage a composed smile.
If one word could describe their feelings, it would be: ecstatic!
…
At 5 p.m., the group viewing of the practice room training sessions ended.
He Ting said, “Alright, everyone, come with me to choose tonight’s outfits.”
The trainees were stunned. “Brother He, the production team is even providing evening wear?!”
None of the talent shows they’d watched before joining this program ever did anything like this!
He Ting playfully winked. “Of course. Isn’t it obvious how loaded our production team is?”
“Ah, yes, yes! Brother He is right—our show is so generous!”
He Ting, seemingly lifted by everyone’s excitement, continued, “Let me tell you a little secret—the evening outfits provided are all custom-made by luxury brands.”
“No way—what kind of god-tier production team is this?!”
“Production team is amazing!”
“Production team is amazing!”
He Ting: “Alright, follow me. Everyone can pick one outfit—mix and match however you like.”
He Ting led the massive group of a hundred trainees toward the “wardrobe room.”
What he didn’t tell the trainees was this: when Director Shi Buwen himself was eliminated from Better Days of Youth, he didn’t get a proper send-off. In the final cut shown to the audience, all they saw was him awkwardly dragging his suitcase out of the set.
As for footage of any trainees seeing him off? The production team didn’t bother editing it in.
So now, even for eliminated trainees, as the director of Youth Unstoppable, Shi Buwen wanted to make sure that every goodbye was grand, dignified, and joyful—so that no one would leave with regrets.
The wardrobe room had been transformed overnight from an entire floor. When the trainees entered and saw the wardrobes full of luxury custom pieces, their jaws practically hit the floor.
“This… this is the wardrobe of my dreams!”
“Gourmet food and designer clothes—honestly, I was feeling down, but now I’m not even sad anymore. Even if I get eliminated, this is totally worth it!”
“Everything looks so expensive… Can I really just pick one outfit?!”
He Ting watched from the doorway as the trainees excitedly buzzed around the wardrobe room, exclaiming in awe and practically dizzy from trying to choose. He didn’t step inside.
“You’ve got thirty minutes to pick. Once you’ve chosen, take your outfit back to your dorm. I can’t wait to see your looks tonight.”
“A little reminder—tonight’s banquet will also be livestreamed, so remember to show the audience your most dashing side.”
[I take back everything I said about the production team—this show is next level!]
[I admit I’m basic, but I live for fancy banquets with glitz and glam!]
[What’s Boss Xiu going to wear? I’m so curious! I’m in full-on impatient king mode—can we fast-forward to the banquet already?!]
[What a coincidence, I’m also an impatient king!]
[Pre-squealing over Team Shen Xiu’s new looks! That vampire count vibe has me shook! Bring on the banquet looks—chop-chop, I’m an impatient king too!!]
To avoid making the trainees feel self-conscious, He Ting quietly turned and left the wardrobe room.
As he walked away, he gave a small nod to Shang Yu, who nodded slightly in return.
This exchange didn’t escape Shen Xiu, who had been waiting by the door for everyone else to go in before entering himself.
Shen Xiu: “……”
He felt like… he might have just discovered something big.
When He Ting finished nodding and met Shen Xiu’s cool, indifferent gaze—so calm it was as if he hadn’t seen a thing—he breathed a silent sigh of relief.
He thought to himself: As expected of someone who’s seen the world—Shen Xiu can pretend like nothing happened at all.
Shang Yu naturally looked toward Shen Xiu. “Shall we go in?”
“Mm.” Shen Xiu nodded.
Shen Xiu responded with a quiet “mm,” waited for Shang Yu to go in first, and only then entered the room as the last one.
No one was watching him from behind—what a relief!
Shang Yu, stepping into the wardrobe room, saw the space filled with luxurious outfits and couldn’t help the slight twitch at the corner of his eye.
As expected of him. In his own way, still as… impressive as ever—so impressive that Shang Yu never quite knew what to make of him.
The styles were so over-the-top he almost felt like blacking out, but judging by everyone’s reactions, this kind of flashiness seemed to be a hit.
Behind Shang Yu, Shen Xiu stood silently, his gaze sweeping over the room.
“……”
These clothes… they looked expensive. Could he even afford to wear them?
He stayed frozen in place, too awkward to touch anything for fear of damaging it.
“Ahhh! Shen Xiu! Shang Yu! What are you two doing standing by the door?! With all these amazing clothes—how are you holding back? Are you Ninja Turtles or what? Look at me, do I look handsome or what?!”
Xiang Yueting’s rapid-fire chatter made Shen Xiu break into a cold sweat.
Xiang Yueting had thrown on an outrageously flamboyant coat and rushed over to pose in front of them.
Looking at how the oversized coat clearly didn’t fit Xiang Yueting’s slim frame, Shang Yu’s mouth twitched. With a smile, he pointed to another coat and said, “I think that one would show off your handsomeness more.”
Shen Xiu looked at the coat Shang Yu indicated and nodded without hesitation. “Yeah.”
Xiang Yueting followed their gaze, frowned, and said, “Really? I kinda think the one I’m wearing looks better though?”
Before Shang Yu and Shen Xiu could say anything, Xiang Yueting’s eyes lit up as he spotted yet another outfit. “Ah! That one suits me even more!”
He darted off toward it, and as Shen Xiu and Shang Yu looked in that direction, they saw something even more outrageous than the last coat—a flamingo-colored outfit with matching feathers.
Shang Yu truly blacked out for a second. “……”
Shen Xiu: “……”
Well… as long as Xiang Yueting’s happy.
Shang Yu turned to the still-frozen Shen Xiu. “What are you planning to wear tonight?”
If Shen Xiu picked something like that, he might actually pass out on the spot!
