Chapter 52: An Unconventional Variety Show (2)
After a long and bumpy journey to the show’s filming location, Duan Mingfei hadn’t even had the chance to get chummy with the production team or find out who the other guests were besides himself, when they put headphones and a blindfold on him. Still confused, he obediently followed instructions and lay down on the ground in disguise.
The black cloth covering his eyes was removed, and Duan Mingfei blinked. The moment he saw light again, he was greeted by the sight of nine trainees standing across from him, led by Shen Xiu — all from the show Youth Unstoppable.
Thanks to Youth Unstoppable constantly trending online like it cost nothing, he recognized all of the trainees here — especially Shen Xiu.
Duan Mingfei’s pupils widened in shock. He never expected to see this group of nobodies here.
Duan Mingfei: “???”
He must’ve come to the wrong show!
Weren’t the guests on this program usually big-name celebrities? At the very least, second-tier stars?
Yet this group was still in the competition phase — not even fully debuted. What right did they have to be on the same live variety show as him, someone destined to become a top-tier star in the near future?
And there were nine of them at once? Was the production team out of their minds? What did they take Duan Mingfei for?!
What garbage producers — always acting so high and mighty in public, yet in reality, all they care about is money. The team behind Youth Unstoppable clearly poured in a ton of cash to squeeze all these people in.
Oh well. Since he was already here, at least… he got to see Shen Xiu, right? If putting up with the rest of these no-name rookies meant he could see Shen Xiu, he’d deal with it.
Convincing himself internally, Duan Mingfei raised his hand to cover his mouth in feigned shock, as if he didn’t recognize anyone in front of him, and stayed silent.
Given his status in the industry, it was only proper for them to greet him first.
When the black blindfold and leaves were removed from Duan Mingfei’s face and head, Shen Xiu instantly recognized him. In that moment, memories of what the system had once said—and the profile it had transmitted into his mind about Duan Mingfei—surfaced. He unconsciously furrowed his brows.
Why is it him?
Shen Xiu harbored strong dislike toward Duan Mingfei, who had once secretly hired a private investigator to look into him. Seeing Duan Mingfei here didn’t bring him any joy at all.
The livestream bullet comments were full of fans shipping the two.
[Ahhh they’ve met—our soaring, sky-rocketing center Brother Duan and the unstoppable, god-tier top-rank Boss Shen! What kind of sparks will fly between them?]
[Anyone care to analyze what it means that our Boss Shen frowned when he saw Duan Mingfei?]
[Who’s this flop trying to associate himself with our idol? Don’t try to boost your fave’s rank by clinging to others, okay?]
[What else could it mean? Did you all forget what our Boss Shen absolutely can’t stand? Lazy freeloaders with no talent and no work ethic~ No one understands Boss Shen better than we Shen Scholars—he definitely knows about that slacker’s reputation and just doesn’t respect him, simple as that~]
[Hahaha it’s official—he’s the slacker monster now~]
[A flop is a flop. Besides passive-aggressive shade, what else do they have?]
[LOL is there even such a thing as a flop who keeps trending organically? Hmm, I wonder who keeps buying hot search spots only to be ruthlessly stomped down by us Shen Scholars. Royal fans, stay away from our people’s choice, okay?]
[We Shen Scholars don’t start drama, but we’re not afraid of it either. If the slacker dares, come battle us—link here—click to see the slacker’s “breakout” moment, hahaha.]
[Ahhh can everyone shut up already? Stop with the wild speculations and just quietly enjoy the show, please?]
Ever since Duan Mingfei appeared on Crossing the Primeval Forest, Du Heng had been lurking in the livestream chat, curious to see who the mystery guests would be this episode.
Generally speaking, the guests who appear on this show are all at least second-tier celebrities. No matter who Duan Mingfei shared the spotlight with—enduring “hardship” together to manufacture a “highlight moment”— it was always perfect material for his studio to hire paid commenters and run PR campaigns to boost his image and attract fans.
Du Heng had been eagerly waiting for that kind of “highlight moment.”
But instead of a highlight, what he got was… a lowlight of doom.
Seeing the nine trainees led by Shen Xiu on the livestream, Du Heng leaned back in his office chair, wearing the classic “old man on the subway staring at his phone” expression.
This has got to be a joke, right?!
How much did the Youth Unstoppable production team pay? How did they manage to stuff all nine of those trainees into the show just to leech off Duan Mingfei?
Ah right… leeching!
In the entertainment industry, when a lesser-known artist collaborates with a more famous one, fans of the bigger star often accuse the other of being a leech.
Familiar with how the industry works, Du Heng immediately bought a trending topic spot.
Meanwhile, the livestream of Crossing the Primeval Forest had fallen into an eerily awkward silence.
Among the nine trainees present, aside from Shang Yu and Song Chengwang, the rest were all very familiar with Duan Mingfei.
After all, Duan Mingfei was the only male idol from recent years who had debuted through a talent competition and actually risen to the top-tier of fame.
Not to mention, in the past two years, he had successfully crossed over from the idol scene into acting. Regardless of his acting skills, he had starred in many TV dramas and even acted in films. His resources were insanely good, and he trended on social media constantly. His fans claimed that Duan Mingfei had not only “soared to the skies” in the idol world, but was also making waves in the acting world.
In short, setting aside his opportunistic and lazy behavior during the competition days—Duan Mingfei was very popular.
It was impossible for the trainees not to know who he was.
Of course, it was a one-sided familiarity. Judging by the way Duan Mingfei was looking at them now, it was clear he didn’t recognize any of these still-undeclared, rank-308-level no-names.
Everyone had originally planned to greet Duan Mingfei the same way they had greeted the two senior guests earlier.
But then, they caught a glimpse of Shen Xiu’s tightly furrowed brows and cold, sharp gaze directed at Duan Mingfei. Surprised, the trainees hesitated and forgot to greet him. Their eyes darted between Duan Mingfei and Shen Xiu.
Inwardly, they couldn’t help but sigh — Shen Xiu was still the same Shen Xiu: eternally confident and unafraid.
Even though the person standing across from them had a much higher status, Shen Xiu still dared to show his disdain for Duan Mingfei — that opportunistic slacker — right in front of a live audience and all of Duan Mingfei’s fans.
They didn’t know if, once they debuted and entered the industry, they would also become overly calculating — sucking up to anyone who had power, status, or benefits, no matter if the person was decent or despicable.
But at least in this moment, after Shen Xiu instinctively stepped forward to protect them in a dangerous situation, they couldn’t turn their backs on him.
If Shen Xiu didn’t speak, neither would they.
Staring at Duan Mingfei, Shen Xiu suddenly realized — with a jolt of panic — why was everyone so quiet?
Even without turning his head, he could feel all the trainees’ gazes locked on him and Duan Mingfei.
Shen Xiu: “?”
Wait, what was going on?
Don’t tell me… they’re all waiting for me to greet Duan Mingfei?
That thought made Shen Xiu’s frown deepen. The incident from the past was a line even he didn’t dare cross in his own mind.
Even if people thought he was rude or immature, he refused to greet Duan Mingfei!
But… why was Duan Mingfei staring at him like that? Was he waiting for Shen Xiu to say hello?
He had the nerve to investigate me and still expects me to greet him? Dream on!
Fueled by a wave of indignant defiance, Shen Xiu was suddenly seized by a strange sense of competitiveness. He forced himself not to blink, holding Duan Mingfei’s gaze in an intense stare-down.
Shen Xiu: He can lose to anyone—but not to Duan Mingfei. If he did, the memory alone would haunt him in his sleep!
[Uh… is this… is this a battlefield?!]
[I can feel the awkwardness through the screen. Can someone tell me—what’s going on between those two?]
[What else could it be? Someone tried to copy our Brother Ming’s rise to fame and now feels guilty and hostile seeing him in person.]
[Pfft, shameless. Who would want to copy your water-king’s lazy slacker path?]
[Yu the Great saw DMF, turned around and left. He said, “Too much water, too much.”]
Qiao Pengyi and Xuan Yushu were now over eighty combined in age, and after so many years in the entertainment industry, they’d seen every kind of drama imaginable.
One look at the standoff between Shen Xiu and Duan Mingfei, and they immediately knew the two had some serious beef.
As senior celebrities, they naturally couldn’t take sides. Otherwise, they’d be scolded by both fandoms. Better to sit back, enjoy the show, and let the two sort it out themselves.
Facing Shen Xiu’s icy gaze, Duan Mingfei’s throat went dry. He nearly broke character, struggling to maintain the facade he was putting on.
He used to scroll through trending topics on Weibo and thought the audience’s praise for Shen Xiu—their claims that he was a cold and domineering alpha—was all exaggeration.
Now, experiencing that ice-cold stare firsthand, the overwhelming sense of pressure hit him like a wave. Shen Xiu hadn’t said a word, but the aggression in his silence was palpable. Duan Mingfei suddenly realized—not all of that online hype had been overblown.
This kind of harsh, unyielding presence… was not the type of attitude big bosses tended to like.
Wait… could it be that Shen Xiu wasn’t backed by any major entertainment powerhouses, but rather… came from a powerful family himself?
Duan Mingfei’s own boss might be willing to give him resources, but would never risk offending someone who had a strong background from the start.
Shen Xiu had acted like he owned the stage from day one of the idol survival show. He knew Xu Shaoming. Even the elusive Mr. S—who wouldn’t even grant Duan Mingfei a meeting—had added Shen Xiu’s name in the credits of his own project. Now, Shen Xiu dared to openly frown at a top-tier artist like himself without blinking an eye.
That kind of confidence and audacity—Could only come from an overwhelmingly powerful family.
After figuring it out—and remembering that he’d once hired a private investigator to dig into Shen Xiu—Duan Mingfei suddenly felt a wave of fear. He definitely didn’t want to keep making eye contact with Shen Xiu.
But he also didn’t want to lose face in front of the audience. So, pretending to casually avert his gaze, he looked toward Xuan Yushu with an apologetic expression.
“Sorry, Director Xuan. I’ve really been swamped lately. I just wrapped filming a drama not long ago, so I haven’t had time to watch TV. This sudden reveal… kind of caught me off guard.”
In other words, he was saying: I don’t know these nine people. Seeing them out of nowhere stunned me.
And his shifted gaze wasn’t because he was scared of Shen Xiu—it was just a normal reaction after being momentarily surprised.
Seeing Duan Mingfei look away first, Shen Xiu: “!”
Phew… He won!
But… his eyes were so sore from holding the stare.
With his eyes burning, Shen Xiu still didn’t dare blink dramatically in front of the camera—worried the audience would think he’d lost to Duan Mingfei. He barely let his eyelids droop, sneaking in a blink as discreetly as possible.
Shang Yu, upon seeing Duan Mingfei, had thought he looked familiar—like he’d seen him somewhere before.
After thinking it over while Duan Mingfei spoke to the director, it finally hit him: Wasn’t this the guy in that photo stuck in Shi Buwen’s revenge notebook?!
Realizing that Youth Unstoppable and Crossing the Primeval Forest were now colliding in this live-streamed variety show, Shang Yu fell silent.
Back when he was studying abroad, Shi Buwen had visited him and kept ranting nonstop. Shang Yu had casually thrown out a few suggestions to calm him down.
But heaven help him—he really hadn’t expected Shi Buwen to actually go through with them!
Meanwhile, Xuan Yushu had merely wanted to watch some juicy drama unfold… only to get sucked into a live showdown himself.
Watching his friend suffer, Qiao Pengyi was trying hard not to laugh.
“Ahem… is that so?”
Xuan Yushu turned to look at Qiao Pengyi and dragged him down with him. “My throat’s a little sore. Why don’t we have Teacher Qiao give everyone a brief introduction?”
Qiao Pengyi: “……”
[LOL this is what true friendship looks like!]
[Qiao Pengyi: I was just here to watch the drama, how did it end up in my own living room?]
Qiao Pengyi pretended not to notice the tense atmosphere between Shen Xiu and Duan Mingfei—or rather, the one-sided hostility Shen Xiu directed at Duan Mingfei—and said cheerfully, “Alright, alright, I’ll give everyone a quick introduction.”
Qiao Pengyi said, “This is Shen Xiu.”
Duan Mingfei: “……”
Damn, this old guy is doing this on purpose, right?
Duan Mingfei forced a stiff smile at Shen Xiu but stubbornly refused to greet him.
“And this is Shang Yu…”
For the rest of the introductions, Duan Mingfei stopped smiling entirely. He just nodded slightly, pretending to listen attentively as Qiao Pengyi introduced the others, responding with the occasional polite “oh” and humble nods toward Qiao Pengyi.
The trainees, watching Duan Mingfei’s behavior, quickly realized what was going on—he clearly looked down on them for being nobodies.
They couldn’t help but recall how Shen Xiu had frowned at Duan Mingfei the moment he saw him. Now it seemed likely that Shen Xiu had seen right through Duan Mingfei’s character at a glance.
As expected of Shen Xiu—a man who sees through hearts with a single look!
After introducing the nine trainees, Qiao Pengyi turned to them and said, “This is Duan Mingfei.”
Shen Xiu looked at Qiao Pengyi and responded seriously, “Got it, Teacher Qiao.”
Song Chengwang, holding back laughter, copied Shen Xiu, “Got it, Teacher Qiao~”
Shang Yu added, “Mhm, well introduced, Teacher Qiao.”
The remaining few, stifling their amusement and stomach cramps, followed suit: “We got it, Teacher Qiao!”
In short—not a single one of them acknowledged Duan Mingfei with even a word. While speaking, they all kept their eyes fixed on Qiao Pengyi, making it clear that they were only listening to him.
Duan Mingfei?
Who’s that? Never heard of him. Totally unfamiliar.
Qiao Pengyi: “……”
Well… what could he say? They really were all from the same show—their personalities were exactly alike. It had been a long time since he’d seen such blunt emotional expression in the entertainment circle.
Thoroughly ignored, Duan Mingfei: “……”
If he’d known it would be like this, he never would’ve lowered himself to come on this damned variety show! When was the last time he’d been treated like this? And by a bunch of nobodies, no less! Once this aired, how many people in the industry would laugh at him?
Duan Mingfei was currently full of regret.
Overwhelming, soul-crushing regret.
And more than that, he couldn’t wrap his head around it—wasn’t it standard at times like this for the nobodies to try and suck up to the big shots?
Why weren’t these nobodies playing by the usual script?
[No respect for seniors—what’s that supposed to mean? So rude!]
[LMAO 6666 double standards much? When your precious Brother Ming got introduced, wasn’t he acting the same way? Everyone else was just copying him—what’s wrong with that?]
[This really is a battle arena LOL]
[Let me explain—don’t misunderstand. Our “Youth Unstoppable” trainees… they usually don’t… you know what, forget it, I can’t lie. They really are just this arrogant—especially our Brother Xiu, arrogant to the max!]
As the saying goes: you have to be strong to forge iron.
And Duan Mingfei? Known for skating by and half-baked acting—anyone with eyes could see it.
Duan Mingfei’s fans tried to control the narrative in the comments, but by now, regular viewers had grown sick of their constant manipulation. Add to that the massive fanbase of “Youth Unstoppable” showing up, and the fans simply couldn’t keep up.
At this moment, the entire bullet screen was filled with things like “battle arena 6666” and comments hyping the trainees.
Seeing Qiao Pengyi’s pleading look, Xuan Yushu stepped in at just the right moment and said, “Alright, eyes up here.”
He raised his hand and waved it to get everyone’s attention before continuing, “According to the show’s rules, this episode’s ten guests will be split into two teams—Group A and Group B. Teacher Qiao and I will serve as team leaders.”
“We’re called team leaders, but really, Qiao and I are just here for team morale. So, according to the show’s arrangement, Team A will be led by Shen Xiu, and Team B will be led by Duan Mingfei.”
Hearing that he wouldn’t be on the same team as Shen Xiu, but that they’d each be team leaders, Duan Mingfei let out a sigh of relief.
Since they were both serving as leaders in this two-day-one-night live broadcast variety show, as long as he performed better than Shen Xiu, and with Du Heng supporting him externally by coordinating trending topics, going viral and gaining popularity wasn’t out of the question.
As for the others… a bunch of no-name nobodies without any backing. They didn’t matter.
Unaware of what Duan Mingfei was thinking, Xuan Yushu looked at the eight remaining trainees.
“Team A or Team B—please make your choices.”
Just as the words left his mouth and before the trainees could choose, Xuan Yushu seemed to remember something and quickly added: “Oh right—your choices this round will trigger a special reward.”
He swept a meaningful glance across the group of guests.
“Trainees, make your decisions carefully. Whether you unlock the special reward… that’s up to you~”
