Chapter 53.2: The Unconventional Group Variety Show (3)
Looking at the rugged mountain path ahead, the eight team members couldn’t help but feel a wave of nervousness for Shen Xiu.
[It’s only 50 meters, but there’s grass everywhere — who knows if the ground is even. Plenty of team leaders have tripped during flag grabs in past episodes. I’m worried for Brother Ming.]
[LMAO, what’s the panic? That short distance is nothing. We Xiu Scholars aren’t worried at all.]
[Exactly! Look at the sneakers on Captain Xiu — he must’ve been prepared for this before even joining the show. Look at his eyes locked on the goal, full of confidence in his victory!]
[This is the master strategist, the Demon King Xiu! He’s obviously been through special training! I swear— HOLY CRAP OUR XIU IS A LEGEND!!!]
[What the heck just happened?!]
[No way — did he just grab the blue flag like that???!]
Xuan Yushu had just finished counting down “1” when a gust of cold wind whipped past him, and a black shadow dashed forward faster than the eye could follow.
By the time he raised his hand to rub his eyes and lowered it again, Shen Xiu was already back at his side — holding the blue flag.
Xuan Yushu: “……”
[Wait… isn’t this supposed to be the mountains? That cool guy just ran like it was flat ground. Did I wake up too fast this morning? Am I hallucinating?]
[Just the usual~]
[……66666 What talent show is he from? I need to pick him hard!]
[Demon King Xiu is the best! See? I told you he must have received some sort of elite training. This is proof +1! No one understands Demon King Xiu like us Xiu Scholars!]
[To explain to those who are not familiar with Master Xiu, it is like this, Master Xiu has always been so excellent. Our Master Xiu is basically playing with cheat codes!]
Group A’s eight members: “……”
Even though this was standard behavior for Shen Xiu, they still couldn’t help but marvel: ‘That’s Shen Xiu for you!’
Song Chengwang stroked his chin thoughtfully: I wonder if it’s too late to send him to special training too…
Having successfully retrieved the blue flag, Shen Xiu turned to see Duan Mingfei still frozen in place. Just as he relaxed, he realized — his idol was staring straight at him.
Instant nerves.
This was his idol — not someone like Duan Mingfei whom he disliked. Shen Xiu panicked internally but forced himself to look away… and awkwardly turned his gaze toward his idol, Xuan Yushu.
Standing stiffly with a guilty conscience, Shen Xiu asked, “Excuse me, is there a problem?”
Hearing Shen Xiu’s calm and casual tone, and meeting his indifferent expression, Xuan Yushu shook his head. “No.”
Outwardly composed, Xuan Yushu was inwardly shaken: Is this the calm indifference that comes from true strength? That speed — he was definitely the fastest contestant in Crossing the Primeval Forest history to grab a flag! Had Shen Xiu trained before?
Duan Mingfei, still standing frozen in place: “……” Damn it, he’s cheating!
He didn’t need anyone to say it — Duan Mingfei already knew he looked like a complete joke right now.
He even began to suspect that Shen Xiu’s words were subtly mocking him, and the glance thrown his way was full of open contempt.
‘Shen Xiu must be looking down on me!’ Duan Mingfei was seething inside.
Xuan Yushu, barely able to contain his excitement, announced, “Congratulations to Team A’s leader, Shen Xiu, for successfully retrieving the blue flag and becoming the mission team!”
Shen Xiu had completed the flag-snatching task so fast that the competition ended before Duan Mingfei even got the chance to start.
Fans of Crossing the Primeval Forest were showering Shen Xiu with praise, and many new viewers were falling for him instantly.
Even Duan Mingfei’s fans were stunned. They hadn’t expected Shen Xiu to be a total monster — all they could do now was stay quiet.
Once the announcement was made, Xuan Yushu finally recovered from his shock and looked toward Duan Mingfei, who was still rooted in place. He reminded him, “Xiao Duan, according to the show’s rules, you also need to run over and retrieve the white flag.”
“…Alright.”
If both had run at the same time, it would’ve looked like a fair competition. But now, running solo to retrieve a flag that essentially symbolized failure? What was the production team thinking? Couldn’t they be more considerate?
Even though Duan Mingfei was fuming inside, he could only grit his teeth and endure it.
Forcing himself to endure the awkwardness, Duan Mingfei ran toward the white flag under everyone’s watchful eyes. Because of the uneven terrain, even though the round trip was only about 100 meters, he stumbled several times and nearly fell.
It was thoroughly embarrassing.
[Go, Brother Ming!]
[You’ve got this, Brother Ming!]
[Where did this random hater come from? Can you shut up already?]
[Who even are you? I’ve been a fan of Brother Ming for five years — what gives you the right to call me a hater?]
[Why are you even cheering right now? Use your brain, OK?]
[Oh wow, did I just walk into a classic fanbase civil war?]
Watching Duan Mingfei’s retreating back, Shen Xiu tried to comfort himself with self-deception: ‘It’s fine, I wasn’t thinking too much while running. As long as I didn’t think about it while running, then it wasn’t awkward.’
After Duan Mingfei brought back the white flag, Xuan Yushu pulled out a map and laid it out in front of Shen Xiu and Duan Mingfei. “This is the map of Wolong Mountain. In ten minutes, I will take it back.”
Duan Mingfei was stunned. “Director Xuan, in previous episodes, they didn’t take the map away…”
Xuan Yushu replied, “That’s a new rule added for this episode.”
Duan Mingfei: “……”
With the weight of a one-million-yuan donation and the trust of his eight teammates on his shoulders, Shen Xiu was afraid he wouldn’t remember everything clearly. The moment the map was unfolded, he didn’t waste even a second. His eyes locked onto the map as he automatically blocked out all surrounding noise, carefully studying and calculating the shortest and safest route between point A and point B.
Though the map didn’t label the rivers and mountains with text, they were clearly illustrated. As long as someone had attended high school geography class, it was easy to recognize what the symbols represented.
Instinctively, Duan Mingfei glanced at Shen Xiu, trying to ease the tension and extend a friendly gesture, hoping Shen Xiu would say something too.
But as his gaze fell on him — forget getting Shen Xiu to talk — Shen Xiu didn’t even spare him a glance, despite the obvious stare.
Duan Mingfei: …Great, he’s ignoring me on purpose again.
So what if I hired a private investigator to dig up his background and didn’t find anything? We’re all in the same industry — we’ll be seeing each other all the time. Does Shen Xiu really have to act like this?
[That’s just disrespectful to my Brother Ming. In the industry, he’s technically Shen Xiu’s senior, isn’t he?]
[Doesn’t matter who you are. Our Xiu is just that clear-cut about who he likes or dislikes.]
[Same thing I always say — Master Xiu equally looks down on every slacker. If you don’t like it, tell your fave to stop throwing himself at the show.]
Being cold-shouldered by Shen Xiu in front of so many livestream viewers and on-site staff, Duan Mingfei had no choice but to pretend he didn’t care and shifted his gaze onto the map.
Since Shen Xiu hadn’t said anything about the map being taken away, Duan Mingfei couldn’t be the one to complain. Otherwise, the audience might think he had a bad memory or was too scared to take on the challenge — both terrible for gaining fans or building his persona.
Wait… what the hell is this? Duan Mingfei’s eyes scanned the map, and he was stunned.
Why is this so complicated? Why is the distance between points A and B so far? And they’re only giving us ten minutes? How are we supposed to memorize this?!
Now, Duan Mingfei had no energy to worry about Shen Xiu anymore.
Ten minutes later, Xuan Yushu collected the map without mercy. “Got it memorized, everyone?”
Facing his idol’s question, Shen Xiu nodded seriously. “Yes!”
He would never allow himself to mess up in front of his idol!
Duan Mingfei: “…Yeah.”
What a show-off. With a route that long, there’s no way Shen Xiu remembers it all!
Xuan Yushu nodded in satisfaction. “Very good. For everyone’s safety, the production team has hired two elite special ops trainers. Coach Hu Jiayan will be with Team A, and Coach Wei Chengwen with Team B.”
Seeing the trainees looking around for the coaches, Xuan Yushu chuckled, “Don’t bother looking — the coaches are in the helicopter.”
After speaking, Xuan Yushu continued, “Each team has three chances to ask their coach for help. If all three are used up and you still haven’t completed the mission represented by your flag, the task will be deemed a failure.”
Qiao Pengyi handed over two coils of rope. “This is the only tool the production team is providing to help you cross Wolong Mountain. Of course, along the way, you’re allowed to make your own tools if you choose.”
“A kind reminder: no food or water will be provided during the next two days and one night.”
“Alright,” Shen Xiu replied promptly, taking the rope coil from Qiao Pengyi with one hand. Without hesitation, he slung it smoothly over his elbow.
[Help… how can even hanging a rope look so cool?!]
[Is this the legendary ‘starting off with a single rope’?]
Though Duan Mingfei didn’t want to admit it, Shen Xiu’s seamless, fluid movements just now were sharp and handsome.
Handsome enough that Duan Mingfei didn’t hesitate — he was going to copy it.
Qiao Pengyi handed the rope to Duan Mingfei, who reached out his hand. Before he could mimic Shen Xiu by transferring the rope from his right hand to his left elbow, the weight of the rope suddenly pulled his arm down.
If he hadn’t quickly increased his grip, the rope would’ve hit the ground.
Forcing a calm front, Duan Mingfei explained, “…Slipped.”
Damn it, how can a rope be this heavy?
That bastard Shen Xiu must have done it on purpose — acted all effortless just to make me look ridiculous!
[Didn’t we just have a trending topic saying Duan Mingfei once carried sandbags with one hand? That’s just one rope, you know.]
[Stop nitpicking, okay? Didn’t you hear my Brother Ming say his hand slipped?]
[Just FYI — this rope is specially made. It might not look long, but it’s probably in the five-kilogram category.]
Three minutes later, as the countdown on the timer hit zero, Xuan Yushu announced, “Teams A and B, begin your Crossing the Primeval Forest journey!”
Shen Xiu, who had studied the map carefully, already had a clear route in mind. He looked toward his teammates and their team leader, Qiao Pengyi.
Although he wasn’t good at communication, Shen Xiu knew that as the team captain, he couldn’t avoid it—he had to give clear instructions.
Still, he was nervous when speaking, worried that people wouldn’t like being told what to do.
He first mustered the courage to say to Qiao Pengyi, “Teacher Qiao, please follow behind me.”
Qiao Pengyi was older than the others, and if anything unexpected happened along the way, Shen Xiu wanted to be able to respond quickly.
Qiao Pengyi smiled and nodded. “Sure, I’m just here to keep the mood up. I’ll follow your lead.”
Shen Xiu then turned to his teammates. “Everyone, line up behind me and Teacher Qiao.”
The eight team members gave an “OK” hand gesture. “No problem.”
People say that with more people comes more disagreement, but that didn’t exist at all in Team A—because their captain was Shen Xiu. No one understood better than the eight of them just how strong and reliable he was.
No one objected to his arrangements, and Shen Xiu thought to himself: aside from drawing lots earlier and getting the short end, he’d actually been quite lucky—every time, he ended up with genuinely good people.
The eight quickly fell into line behind him.
Shang Yu said, “I’ll take the rear.”
Among this group, only he and Shen Xiu had undergone special training. With Shen Xiu leading and him at the back, it was the perfect formation.
Seeing everyone in place, Shen Xiu gave the signal: “Let’s go.”
Hearing Shen Xiu’s calm, steady voice, the teammates behind him suddenly felt a strong sense of reassurance—as if they’d found a solid pillar to lean on. Trusting him, they followed Shen Xiu as they headed into the forest.
Duan Mingfei stood there stunned, quickly saying to Xuan Yushu, “Director Xuan, let’s hurry and follow them too!”
Xuan Yushu nodded, and the two of them followed behind Shen Xiu’s team. “Xiao Duan, did you and Shen Xiu plan out the same route?”
Duan Mingfei felt guilty, but still answered, “Yes.”
Shen Xiu didn’t like Duan Mingfei. When he heard that response, he thought their thinking must have coincidentally overlapped, which annoyed him. He suddenly spoke up, “Sorry, hold on a second.”
Once he heard the footsteps of his teammates stopping behind him, Shen Xiu also came to a halt and turned around. His gaze landed on Duan Mingfei, and he raised his hand to point in a direction. “I’m going this way—are you going this way too?”
