Chapter 35.2: Farewell Banquet (2)
[That kind of refined coldness with a knife hidden in every word? Pierced straight through me—WHO CAN RELATE?! He’s exactly the kind of legendary character who remains ruthless even in a world of indulgence and excess. This is him!]
[Ahem… this isn’t a drama. It’s actually just a screen recording of a banquet from the boy group talent show Youth Unstoppable. Feel free to check it out—these boys are seriously giving it their all!]
Curious netizens who usually don’t follow talent shows clicked into the trending tags out of sheer FOMO. And once they saw the video, they were hooked—flooding into the livestream after getting hyped by enthusiastic viewers.
The intense, slow-burn chemistry between Shen Xiu, Song Chengwang, and Shang Yu instantly became one of the iconic highlights of the evening’s banquet.
(The other iconic highlight? A video of Xiang Yueting in a flamingo-inspired outfit wildly dancing behind Jiang Yanxi and Ning Sinian. Yes. Flamingo.)
Meanwhile, Du Heng had just bought a trending spot on the entertainment chart for the behind-the-scenes clip of Brother Ming the campus badboy from That Summer We Were Young.
He opened the chart to check the results… only to be greeted by an endless row of Shen Xiu-related trending tags flooding the top rankings like they were free giveaways. His vision went black—he nearly passed out.
For onlookers without fan affiliations, their eyes are sharp—they can tell at a glance what’s worth watching. Shen Xiu’s dramatic banquet showdown had everyone talking, while the BTS clip of Duan Mingfei’s campus badboy got barely any clicks beyond a few fans and random passersby.
…
Shi Buwen, staring at the trending chart, was practically giggling. With Shen Xiu’s name leading the charge, the hot topics tied to their show Youth Unstoppable were hitting the charts one after another like it cost nothing.
Clapping the assistant director’s shoulder in praise, Shi Buwen beamed:
“Nice! Great placement work! No wonder you’re on this team—we’re simply a match made in—”
Cough cough cough!
He quickly corrected himself, “—in heavenly harmony, of course!”
Assistant Director: “…”
Did the Chief Director almost blurt out his real thoughts just now?
The assistant director, looking innocent but extremely done:
“Director Shi! I swear, I didn’t—I wasn’t—please stop saying things like that!”
He’s being framed, okay?!
The seating had been arranged through a random draw—each trainee pulling a number from a box. How could he have known that Shen Xiu and Lin Jiashi would end up sitting directly across from each other?
Shi Buwen leaned back in his chair, propped his feet on the black office desk, and clicked his tongue:
“Explaining is just covering up. Fast forward to the part where you tell me a story—I get it.”
The assistant director’s mouth twitched. “Whatever makes you happy, Director.”
——
By the time the banquet ended, Lin Jiashi never returned to his original seat.
Shen Xiu, meanwhile, stayed put, too socially anxious to walk around. But just sitting there doing nothing felt wrong—he didn’t want people to think he was weird.
So he quietly observed how others were eating, studied their movements, and once he’d gotten the hang of it, bent his head and focused on eating.
By the end of the meal, Shen Xiu had one overwhelming thought:
The production team didn’t lie. The food really is amazing!
But there was one thing he regretted.
Like the sashimi, abalone, and sea cucumber—he hadn’t tried any of those. They were on the far end of the banquet table, and to get them, he’d have to stand up and mingle with the others.
Which meant… small talk.
Shen Xiu immediately chose peace. And sat still.
But to the others watching, his behavior was interpreted very differently—
“Is this… the elegance they always describe in novels? Eating slowly and deliberately like that?”
“Did Shen Xiu really come to this banquet just to eat? He’s only said a single sentence to Song Chengwang the whole time!”
“What’s so hard to understand? Have you ever seen a real bigshot in movies care about socializing at banquets? The truly powerful ones stand at the top—they don’t need to network. Others are too intimidated to approach. So of course he just came to grab a bite and bounce.”
[LOL the students of ‘Shen Studies’ among the trainees is growing fast—the analysis is simply perfect!]
[His hands, holding the knife and fork, were long and slender, with distinct knuckles. When his thin lips parted slightly to bring the food to his mouth—it was pure elegance… tsss haaa tsss haaa (heavy fangirling noises)]
Huang Kangdi glanced at Lin Jiashi, then at Shen Xiu.
Both of them sat alone, with no one nearby.
The difference was—Shen Xiu sat in the middle of the banquet hall, looking aloof yet at ease, as if he were in his own home. The icy aura surrounding him was so intense that no one dared approach.
Even so, Shen Xiu’s every movement effortlessly drew attention. There was no doubt—he was always the focal point in the room.
Lin Jiashi, on the other hand, sat alone in a corner of the banquet hall, unnoticed and abandoned.
Huang Kangdi’s gaze drifted to the live broadcast camera and he let out a soft chuckle.
He hadn’t expected that even in this situation—clearly at a disadvantage—Lin Jiashi had still managed to find a spot that, while not in the center of the camera frame, was still within easy view of the livestream audience.
The light shining from above cast a glow over Lin Jiashi, making his pale pink hair appear almost bathed in holy light—just like that day on the Blood Romance stage, when Shen Xiu stood under the lights as a vampire count.
Huang Kangdi took a sip of his drink, picked up another glass of red wine, and walked toward Lin Jiashi.
Seeing Huang Kangdi step in front of the camera and block his shot, Lin Jiashi frowned slightly, but said nothing.
Huang Kangdi held out the glass to the seated Lin Jiashi. “Drink with me?”
Lin Jiashi: “……”
Was Huang Kangdi trying to recreate the scene from earlier, when Song Chengwang had walked up to Shen Xiu and clinked glasses?
Lin Jiashi picked up his wine from the table, and as their glasses gently touched, he gave a faint smile. “Of course.”
Might as well stick together—after all, getting screen time at a banquet this lavish, dripping with money from every corner, even if it’s controversial, is still better than being completely overlooked.
Lin Jiashi and Huang Kangdi, both of whom had mishaps during their first public performance, knowingly chose to recreate that eye-catching moment between Shen Xiu and Song Chengwang under the cameras.
And just as Lin Jiashi expected, once the audience noticed, they weren’t impressed.
But even while getting roasted, the scene Lin Jiashi and Huang Kangdi copied still made it to the trending charts, gaining them a fair bit of buzz.
The trainees, who’d been grinding nonstop and suppressing their true personalities under the intense pressure brought on by Shen Xiu’s high-performance standards, had finally reached a breaking point.
In the second half of the banquet, surrounded by good food and a lively atmosphere, one by one they began to let loose. What was meant to be a “decadent and glamorous” party gradually devolved into a high-end version of a chaotic KTV night—complete with wild dancing, off-key singing, and a whole lot of hilarity, much of which also went viral.
By the end of the Youth Unstoppable ranking reveal and the ensuing banquet night, nearly the entire entertainment trending board had been taken over by the show.
Other production companies watched on with envy.
They’d hosted plenty of idol survival shows too, so why hadn’t any of theirs exploded the way Youth Unstoppable had?
At midnight, the banquet finally came to an end.
Just as Shi Buwen had hoped, the eliminated trainees left the stage smiling, radiant, and at peace—ready to embark on the next chapters of their lives.
——
On the third day after the farewell banquet and celebration, the 72 ranked trainees and the 6 successfully revived auditing trainees received a notice to gather in the 10th-floor practice room.
When the trainees saw Xue Yi standing on stage, they immediately sobered up from the lingering daze of the feast, reminded of his sharp tongue.
Everyone was afraid of being dragged onstage to perform on the spot and then picked apart by Xue Yi — that would be no different from a public execution!
Their minds and bodies instinctively resisted!
Seeing the trainees sitting so obediently below, Xue Yi showed a satisfied expression. “Not bad, not bad. Looks like your hearts are back where they should be.”
“I was originally thinking that if your minds were still floating around, I’d have to call each of you up here to perform so I could pick out your flaws. But it looks like I won’t have to do that.”
The trainees: “……”
Thank goodness they pulled themselves together in time! Teacher Xue was as devilish as ever, not hiding his desire to torment them in the slightest!
Looking at the now-silent trainees, Xue Yi continued, “Before the second round of performances begins, you’ll be undergoing group training.”
“The training will cover three areas: vocals, songwriting, and dance. The center position for the second performance will also be decided based on your performance during this group training.”
“So now, tell me — which of these three are you most interested in? Or rather, what do you most want to learn?”
“Vocals!”
“Definitely songwriting! I feel like my soul was born to create! I’m the next Mr. S, no doubt!”
“Dance, I love dance!” Xiang Yueting not only shouted loudly but also raised his hand high in the air. Even though he was sitting in the corner of the last row, it did nothing to hide the fact that he was the most conspicuous person in the room.
Shen Xiu heard the loud voice next to his ear and began questioning life.
He couldn’t understand why Xiang Yueting had to sit next to him!
Sitting next to Xiang Yueting, Shen Xiu lowered his eyes and stared at his toes, wishing he could dig a hole in the ground, shove Xiang Yueting’s mouth into it, and bury him right then and there.
That way, even if Xiang Yueting ended up buried, he wouldn’t be able to shout from underground and drag Shen Xiu down with him into the realm of center-of-attention disasters.
What baffled Shen Xiu even more was this: fine, whatever, Xiang Yueting sitting with him in the last row was one thing. But why were Shang Yu, Song Chengwang, Jiang Yanxi, Zhuang Yi, Ning Sinian, Mu Zhenchu, Lu Fei, and the rest of them all sitting in the last row too?
Shen Xiu: “……”
He couldn’t make sense of it at all!
And the worst part? Shen Xiu didn’t even dare to ask. Just utterly confused!
The other trainees also couldn’t understand why this whole group of top-tier debut contenders was so obsessed with sitting in the last row.
By all logic, if seats were assigned by ability, the top dogs should be front and center!
But the top dogs stayed completely silent. No one dared say anything. No one dared ask anything.
Also seated in the last row, though as far as possible from Shen Xiu, Ning Sinian and Mu Zhenchu were quietly whispering among themselves.
Mu Zhenchu: “I tried it. The last row doesn’t seem to have any special powers… so why is Shen Xiu always so keen on sitting back here?”
Ning Sinian: “…The last row is the highest up. Maybe someone as strong as Shen Xiu just likes the feeling of surveying the whole room from above?”
Lu Fei: “That makes sense. That must be it!”
On stage, after listening to the trainees express their preferences, Xue Yi beamed with a devilish grin and said, “Unfortunately…”
Trainees: “Hm?”
“You’re all too naive,” Xue Yi sighed dramatically. “Did you forget? The core mission of our show is to select trainees with well-rounded development to debut.”
Xue Yi: “So—don’t even think about slacking off. All three: vocals, songwriting, and dance—you’re learning everything. No one’s getting out of it!”
As Shen Xiu was silently digging a hole for Xiang Yueting in his mind, he suddenly heard the news: “!”
There was such a good thing?!
The production team was too generous—no need to pay anything and you could learn so many skills!
At first, when he heard Teacher Xue ask what everyone wanted to learn, he thought each person could only choose one thing.
Now, everything was fine—no need to worry about it anymore!
“Learn everything? What kind of devilish arrangement is this?!”
“Wahhh, but in other shows, contestants only learn the one thing they’re interested in!”
“High five!”
“I hate songwriting. I can’t stand it!”
Xiang Yueting hugged the person on his right: “Wahhh, I don’t want to learn songwriting. I have no talent for it! I just want to dance!”
The practice room was filled with cries of despair.
Xue Yi looked toward Shen Xiu, who hadn’t said a word from the start: “Shen Xiu, what do you have to say about this?”
