Chapter 46.1: Second Performance (1)
“The people in their team have been looking so gloomy lately, I don’t even dare to ask.”
“Has Shen Xiu’s entire team… turned dark?”
“Turned dark? Put away your chuunibyou nonsense.”
[Damn it, what exactly did Demon King Xiu say to them that day to make everyone look so dead overnight?!]
[Even though it’s been a while, just thinking about that terrifying look on Xiu Xiu’s face that day still gives me chills.]
Amid the other teams’ speculations and the audience’s curiosity, the second performance finally arrived.
After some adjustments by the production team, the general flow of the second performance was about the same as the first, with only a few minor differences.
For example, the drawing of lots was no longer done by just the team captains going on stage alone in front of the live audience. Now, each captain had to bring their entire team up on stage.
Onstage, beside the host He Ting, stood a staff member dressed in a suit and wearing white gloves, holding a pure black box in their hands.
“Dear live audience and friends watching the livestream, welcome to the second performance of Youth Unstoppable!”
“Ahhh, it’s finally here!”
The venue exploded with enthusiastic applause and cheers.
“Now, let’s invite the nine teams onto the stage to await the drawing for the second performance group battles!”
As He Ting finished speaking, the nine teams of trainees walked out from backstage, taking their designated spots according to the rehearsal the day before.
He Ting: “Now, for the next ten minutes, whether you’re one of our trainees or part of the live audience, feel free to cheer as loud as you want and show your excitement!”
Seeing the trainees come up on stage, the audience went wild, completely forgetting about the host, shouting out their support chants passionately, and showering their chosen trainees with love.
“Shen Xiu, I’ll pick you forever, ahhh!”
“Captain Xiu, look over here! You’re the brightest star in the night sky!”
“Brother Wang, if you have the guts to throw shade, have the guts to take your shirt off too!”
“Captain Xiu, take me flying!”
“Xiang Yueting, eat more walnuts to boost your brainpower!”
“Demon King Xiu, forever the greatest!”
“Captain Shang, please weld your glasses permanently to your nose!”
“King Xiu reigns supreme!”
“Tongtong, Sister loves it when you cry the most!”
“Xiao An, you’re so silly, rua rua~”
“Wolf Xiu loves you!”
“Killer Xiu, charge!!!”
…
The production team had given the audience ten minutes to cheer, and as everyone loudly shouted the trainees’ names, they waved their light sticks and support signs enthusiastically.
The atmosphere at the venue was electric, but thanks to the production team’s rules, everyone stayed in their designated areas, so it wasn’t chaotic at all.
Of course, the trainee who received the most cheers and had the most support signs was still Shen Xiu.
The other trainees couldn’t help but feel a pang of jealousy.
[Who drank several bottles of vinegar today? Oh, turns out it’s me. Sob, that makes it even sadder.]
[It feels just like a concert scene! It’s a pity that even though it’s the weekend, I’m still stuck working overtime at the office. Who else understands the pain of a corporate drone?!]
[The tickets weren’t even expensive — cheaper than my usual taxi rides. Getting a ticket was basically a steal. Now that I think about it, it hurts even more. Sob, but it’s okay, I’m also sneaking a livestream at work.]
Most of the trainees standing on stage couldn’t suppress the excitement in their hearts in response to the audience’s passionate cheers. When they heard someone calling their name, they couldn’t resist making little hearts with their hands and playful gestures back at the crowd.
Before the drawing began, eight out of the nine teams were enthusiastically waving, making heart signs, or pulling funny faces for the audience’s photos.
The members of Shen Xiu’s team — from the captain down to the trainees — all stood in complete silence, as if they couldn’t hear the crowd’s passionate cheers or see the lively scene in front of them.
Compared to the other eight groups, they seemed completely out of place.
But if Shen Xiu’s team had shown up like this a few days ago, everyone would have found it strange.
Now, after days of seeing them like this on the livestream, neither the audience at the venue nor the viewers online were surprised anymore.
Not only were they unsurprised, but all kinds of speculation started to pop up.
“Team Xiu has such a strong aura. I have a feeling they’re planning something big!”
“It must be! This is Team Xiu we’re talking about — their second performance is definitely going to blow us away.”
“Team Xiu’s vibe is so intense. Ever since that day when something happened during their private meeting, they’ve all been acting like this.”
The members of Shen Xiu’s team heard their fans shouting their names. Normally, this would have made them happy — overjoyed, even. But now… they couldn’t feel happy at all.
No, more precisely — they didn’t dare to feel happy.
Captain Xiu had already said it: with their current skills, they wouldn’t even survive until the third performance.
Being as weak as they were — did they really deserve the audience’s love?
Clearly, they didn’t!
Overwhelmed with guilt, the members of Team Xiu didn’t even dare make eye contact with the audience. They were so ashamed they wanted to find a hole to crawl into.
They didn’t feel worthy of the support they were getting!
Watching the other teams’ trainees enthusiastically interacting with the audience, Shen Xiu silently screamed at himself that he had to do something — anything — or he’d be letting down all the people shouting his name, all the people who liked him.
But… why was there no reaction from the teammates behind him?
This wasn’t right!
If it were anyone else, maybe it would make sense, but Zhao Mingwei had such a lively and outgoing personality — this really wasn’t like him at all.
Thinking back to the past few days of training, Shen Xiu quickly realized what was going on.
It turned out that, without even realizing it, everyone had become more composed.
And people with a mature and steady mindset not only talked less but also rarely showed their emotions outwardly.
Faced with the lively atmosphere, the team members all managed to stay calm — while he, Shen Xiu, was the only one internally panicking, unsure how to respond.
Clearly, he wasn’t as steady as his teammates.
Feeling embarrassed about it, Shen Xiu didn’t dare blatantly copy what the others were doing to make the audience happy. Instead, he sneakily glanced at the others out of the corner of his eye.
He quickly noticed that the audience seemed to love the “finger heart” gesture — every time someone made a heart with their fingers, the crowd would erupt into cheers.
Alright then — he would do that!
Resolving himself, Shen Xiu raised both hands over his head and made a big heart, directing it toward the area of the audience that was shouting his name and waving his light sticks.
The moment Shen Xiu formed the heart, the roaring cheers seemed to hit a mute button — the noise disappeared in an instant.
The entire stage fell into a bizarre silence.
The audience and the other trainees onstage all stared at Shen Xiu with wide, disbelieving eyes, as if they had seen a ghost.
Shen Xiu, having just made his very first finger heart: “…”
This was…awkward.
Why did it suddenly get so quiet?
Did he not make the heart properly?
Ugh, he felt like such an idiot!!!
Was it because the audience didn’t like this gesture?
Alright, no problem — he had learned other moves too! Like cupping his face with his hands, tilting his head and smiling sweetly at the camera, raising his hands and swaying to the rhythm… He could just switch to another one until he found something they liked!
Shen Xiu steeled himself through the suffocating embarrassment, and just as he was about to lower his hands from above his head…
The audience — who had just been shocked into silence by the sight of the usually cold and stoic Shen Xiu making a huge finger heart on stage — were still too stunned to even speak.
After snapping out of their shock, the crowd exploded into even louder cheers and wild excitement.
In the audience, Shen Xiu’s fans who had picked him were shouting with joy while squeezing in excited conversations with their friends.
“Ahhh, my eyes aren’t playing tricks on me, right?! What did I just see? A finger heart from Xiuxiu!”
“Hahaha, it’s the first time I’ve ever seen someone make a finger heart with such a deadpan expression — the contrast is so cute! I never in my life thought I’d see our Cold Wolf Shen doing something this adorable! He must be doing it for us, right? It’s a mutual love, who else understands this feeling?!”
“He can’t help it, Xiu Xiu is naturally a cold, cool guy — he literally can’t smile! But seriously, Cold Wolf Shen is killing me hahaha.”
“This is the true Shen ‘Iceberg Demon King Cool Guy’ Xiu!”
Shen Xiu hadn’t even had time to lower his hands or switch to another pose when he suddenly heard the crowd erupt into a frenzy of cheers again.
Shen Xiu: Huh?
So it turned out…
Everyone did like it!
Phew… Shen Xiu let out a breath of relief inside. As long as they liked it, everything was good.
“Xiu Xiu, look this way!”
“And over here!”
“Here too!”
Since the audience was loving it, Shen Xiu decided not to change poses anymore.
He methodically moved from the left side of the audience to the right, making a big heart in each direction and pausing for five seconds each time.
The production team hadn’t collected the audience’s phones, so Shen Xiu’s fans were screaming internally while frantically snapping photos.
With his cold, stoic face and his whole body radiating that distant, aloof aura, Shen Xiu making such a ridiculously cute gesture created an irresistibly funny contrast — and the fans were loving it.
While making the hearts, Shen Xiu could clearly feel the fiery gazes of the other trainees burning into his back.
It was… extremely awkward.
But to give back to the adorable audience, Shen Xiu figured… his pride wasn’t that important.
As for the embarrassment… well, if you stay embarrassed long enough, you just get used to it.
The members of Team Shen Xiu: “……”
Sure enough, in their group, only the captain had a steady mindset.
Unlike them — their mental states had already collapsed — they didn’t even dare face the audience.
But… if the captain was trying this hard and they stood there doing nothing, would he think they were completely useless?
In order not to be seen as hopeless by Shen Xiu, even though they were still mortified about facing the crowd, the team members all raised their hands, imitating their captain’s posture, and began making finger hearts from the left side of the stage to the right, just like him.
