Chapter 57: Livestream (1)
Surrounded by the sharp gazes of the team captains, the trainee who had just spoken suddenly realized what he’d done. He quickly clamped a hand over his mouth, his muffled voice leaking through his palm:
“Everyone said it… it wasn’t just our group!”
Sorry, folks—since we boasted together, of course we’ve got to be mocked together too.
Team members on-site and watching from their screens: “……”
We’re screwed. The teammate who couldn’t keep their mouth shut accidentally revealed that we’d been bragging with borrowed confidence, and the captains found out.
“Captain Zhuang, don’t look at me like that. I only said it because they did.”
“Yeah, everyone was saying it. If we were the only ones being honest, we’d look really lame…”
“Blame it on our damn competitiveness.”
“So basically, we were all spouting nonsense. Doesn’t that make it fair?”
“Come on, everyone has just a tiny little bit of pride, right Captain Song? You understand, don’t you?”
“It’s not about winning or losing, it’s about saving face. Everyone said they were doing great—how could we say we weren’t? That’d be humiliating…”
Hearing their chaotic attempts to explain themselves, the team captains didn’t know whether to laugh or scold.
Song Chengwang couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Wow… you guys really are something.”
Xiang Yueting slapped his thigh in amusement.
“Unbelievable! When we first started, we were such a mess—I wouldn’t have had the guts to brag like that, seriously, hahaha.”
[LMAO, even if the sky falls, their mouths will hold it up.]
[While the captains weren’t watching, the team members secretly unlocked some weird competitiveness, hahaha.]
[When the captains aren’t home, the group can’t eat properly—so they gather in the cafeteria just to hype each other up?]
Shen Xiu looked at the group members in the front row with eyes full of admiration. As the saying goes, “When you’re out in the world, your reputation is what you make of it.”
Thanks to his teammates for protecting their team’s image—
They really gave it their all for the sake of face!
Sitting in the front row, Xia Wenhao and the others felt a chill down their spines from Shen Xiu’s gaze behind them.
It’s over. Did Captain Xiu think that their boasting outside had embarrassed the whole team? Brought down his standards?
But come on—everyone else was saying they trained well too. What were they supposed to do?
Xue Yi said, “Since you brought it up yourselves, and Captain Shen Xiu’s video just finished playing, let’s go ahead and show the livestream clip you mentioned.”
The trainees: “……”
The production team has once again become that heartless production team that doesn’t care about their survival.
On the big screen, the video of a group of trainees in the cafeteria awkwardly testing each other before devolving into shameless bragging wasn’t long, but it still made all involved turn beet red with embarrassment.
To make matters worse, the production team was truly ruthless—not only did the video include full audio, but each trainee had a flashy subtitle frame over their head highlighting exactly what they were bragging about.
Trainees: This is pure social death. Next time, no more bragging unless the cameras are off!
“Finally… it’s over.”
“The video was so short, but it felt like a century passed!”
“As one of the people involved, I can confirm: I regret everything. Deeply.”
The atmosphere in the practice room was relaxed and cheerful. Xue Yi flipped to the footage from Group Nine—the audit trainees’ internal training cut.
“Let’s continue.”
The Group Nine training footage for Just revealed utter disarray, mainly due to the lack of a single strong and convincing leader who could unite the rest.
Whether it was composing lyrics, writing music, or later rehearsals, everything was chaotic.
Everyone had their own opinions and insisted on their own way, leading to constant arguments and tension.
Though they always patched things up in the end, the time wasted during these disputes significantly shortened their actual training time.
Group Nine’s footage was only a bit over ten minutes, but it exposed a lot of problems.
After the internal training footage from all nine groups finished playing, Xue Yi closed the player and looked toward the jib camera.
“As for more details—such as each group’s creative intentions, their initial drafts, sketches, and so on…”
At this point, his gaze shifted to Shen Xiu:
“For example, the short story concept that Captain Shen Xiu’s team developed, which everyone has been curious about, will all be posted on the show’s official Weibo account.”
Hearing this, Shen Xiu immediately understood—the production team had filmed the contents of his notebook. He silently gave thanks that the pages with his speech notes had already been torn up and tossed in the bathroom trash.
Upon hearing the news, viewers in the livestream immediately opened a second device—another phone, computer, or tablet—to check the official Weibo account they followed…
“This morning’s session ends here. At 2 p.m., the production team will return each trainee’s phone. You’ll use it to log into your personal Weibo accounts and start your individual livestreams. You may choose your own content for the stream, but obviously, the production team forbids using the phones for anything unrelated to the stream. Anyone caught breaking this rule will have their phone confiscated immediately.”
As Xue Yi finished speaking, the trainees were visibly excited.
“Livestreams?!”
“Forget the livestream—I just miss logging into my own account. It’s been ages!”
“I declare that the production team is officially kicked out of the ‘evil’ category. They’ve been promoted to the ‘sweet and caring’ team.”
The trainees all understood what this meant. The production team allowing them to livestream on their personal accounts at this time was clearly a perk—an opportunity to gain followers.
And how many followers they could gain from this opportunity? That would depend entirely on their own abilities.
Weibo account?
When Shen Xiu heard those words, he froze. He remembered classmates in school talking about setting up social media accounts so they could post their video work online.
He hadn’t been very interested before, so he’d never bothered—he didn’t even have a Weibo account.
Also… could his phone even handle livestreaming?
[What?! There’s actually something this good? Why didn’t the production team give any warning?!]
[We’ll finally be able to find Master Xiu’s Weibo account today!]
[This surprise hit me out of nowhere—smack! I wanna give the production team a big ol’ kiss!]
[I can already see the hot topic on the Baba Forum today: “Master Xiu’s Weibo Account Revealed!”]
Xue Yi continued: “I’ll be away from the training camp this afternoon, so I’m letting you all know in advance: tomorrow at 9 a.m., please gather in the 10th floor practice room on time. We’ll be announcing the details for the third performance round then.”
“You’re free to go now.” He turned to Shang Yu. “Shang Yu, come with me.”
“Alright.” Shang Yu responded and stood up, following Xue Yi out of the practice room.
“What’s Teacher Xue calling Shang Yu for? So mysterious?”
“Are you dumb? Shang Yu was the popularity king of the second performance round—this must be about his reward! Ahhh, when will I get to be the popularity king?”
“You? Keep dreaming. In your dreams, anything’s possible.”
Xue Yi and Shang Yu walked out of the camera’s view. Xue Yi waved a hand.
“Go in by yourself. I’ve got other things to do.”
“Okay. Goodbye, Teacher Xue.”
After watching him leave, Shang Yu knocked on the door. When a voice from inside said, “Come in,” he opened the door and walked in.
Shi Buwen was staring at his computer screen. When he looked up and saw Shang Yu, his hands didn’t stop typing.
“You’re here? Come over.”
Shang Yu closed the door and walked behind Shi Buwen.
Shi Buwen turned the notebook in front of him to face Shang Yu.
“See this? Your idea really worked. As expected—when it comes to being cunning, no one tops you!”
Shang Yu glanced at the notebook screen that had been turned toward him. On it was a gossip account with eight million followers.
In the account’s backend, in addition to private messages from netizens and Duan Mingfei’s fans, there were countless DMs from Duan Mingfei’s own studio.
Shang Yu shifted his gaze away from the screen, his smile not reaching his eyes as he corrected: “Cousin, was that… supposed to be a compliment?”
Shi Buwen paused. “Wasn’t it?”
“Come on, I even said you were smart—don’t be too greedy, okay?”
This cousin of his was beyond help—smart, yes, but moody as anything. He didn’t even like being complimented.
Shang Yu pulled up a chair and sat down. “Great compliment. Don’t do it again.”
“You’re impossible to please.”
After grumbling, Shi Buwen rubbed his hands together excitedly.
“Just like you said, livestreaming the reveal worked wonders. In no time at all, Duan Mingfei lost 130,000 followers. He’s now spamming my DMs, begging me to fake a joint statement with him. Hah! No way I’m doing that.”
“Like you predicted, next up, Duan Mingfei’s going to lash out in desperation. He’ll try to redirect the public’s attention by creating an even bigger scandal to bury his own.”
“Hmm…” Shi Buwen rubbed his chin and thought for a couple of seconds before concluding, “Shen Xiu will be his target.”
Then he sighed. “Can’t be helped—Shen Xiu is just too good. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call him the strongest contestant to come out of a talent show in years. I have a feeling he’s going to become an unstoppable rising star in the entertainment industry.”
“With how petty Duan Mingfei is—smaller-minded than a needle’s point—even if Shen Xiu doesn’t give him the time of day, he’s still going to be consumed by jealousy and won’t rest until he’s trampled Shen Xiu underfoot.”
“Mhm.” Shang Yu nodded. “But never mind that—what I want to know is, since when did you have such a good memory? You actually remember what I said back then?”
If Shi Buwen hadn’t brought it up just now, Shang Yu would’ve nearly forgotten the whole thing.
“When did I say that my memory is good? Ever heard the phrase ‘a good memory is no match for a voice recorder’?”
Shi Buwen pulled open a drawer, took out a voice recorder, and set it on the table.
“Here. Bought this recorder when I went abroad to find you. Every single thing you said back then—it’s all in here.”
“These past few years, I’ve done everything exactly the way you said.”
At this point, Shi Buwen suddenly stood up from his chair.
“Don’t you dare tell me you forgot!”
Shang Yu: “…” Damn. That was careless.
Back then, he honestly thought Shi Buwen was just venting and wanted a few words of comfort. He never imagined Shi Buwen would actually go buy a recorder and record everything he said.
If Shi Buwen found out he hadn’t even been serious at the time, he’d definitely explode.
And once Shi Buwen blew up, there was no telling what chaos he might cause. Shang Yu gave him a calm smile.
“Cousin, what nonsense are you talking about? Of course I didn’t forget.”
Satisfied, Shi Buwen sat back down and switched tabs on the laptop.
“This stuff has nothing to do with our company. Pick whatever endorsement you want.”
“Alright.”
—
Meanwhile, since the other party was completely ignoring him, Duan Mingfei had no choice but to change tactics. He decided to play the victim while redirecting public outrage toward Shen Xiu.
At 1 p.m., with his makeup freshly done, Duan Mingfei came downstairs from his apartment looking pale and fragile.
He had barely stepped out when a crowd of entertainment reporters and paparazzi swarmed around him.
“Mr. Duan, how do you respond to what you said on the livestream—calling your fans ‘idiots’ while talking to your manager?”
“Wasn’t that what you really think? Former fans have exposed your studio for issuing sales quotas in fan groups—care to comment?”
“You couldn’t even lift an 80-pound female lead. Have you ever really worked out?”
“Is it true what your longtime fans are saying—that just looking at your face, you can tell you have kidney issues?”
“One of your fans of five years exposed your close relationship with a certain businessman surnamed Wang, even saying you two traveled to Country F together?”
Faced with the relentless cameras shoved in his face and the sharp, invasive questions, Duan Mingfei bit his lower lip, his eyes turning red. He stumbled back several steps before falling hard to the ground.
When he raised his hand, his palm was covered in blood.
“Hiss…” Duan Mingfei winced and furrowed his brow in pain.
“Brother Ming!” Du Heng burst out from the apartment building, forcefully pushing away the paparazzi while shouting, “What the hell are you doing?!”
“Brother Ming’s already suffering from being framed—why are you still hurting him?”
At the accusation of “hurting someone,” the reporters hesitated for a moment, afraid of being falsely accused of assault, but they still circled tightly around Duan Mingfei, refusing to let him leave.
“We didn’t touch him—he fell on his own.”
“Exactly! Don’t try to smear us. We’ve been filming the entire time.”
Du Heng looked like he was shaking with rage. With a dark expression, he helped the injured Duan Mingfei up from the ground, his voice filled with concern.
“Brother Ming, are you okay?”
Standing upright again, Duan Mingfei shook his head and looked up at the cameras, forcing a bitter smile.
“Don’t blame Brother Du. He’s just too worried about me.”
“Maybe…”
Duan Mingfei lowered his gaze, his bloody hand trembling slightly.
“Maybe I was just in someone’s way.”
Du Heng, visibly angry, added, “Everyone knows Crossing the Primeval Forest isn’t a show you can just walk onto. Brother Ming’s just a regular artist—he worked so hard behind the scenes to get on the show. But some people… they’ve got connections, huh? Bringing a whole group along at once…”
“Brother Du!” Duan Mingfei snapped, frowning, “Don’t talk nonsense!”
“You’re suggesting,” one reporter immediately picked up, “that the nine contestants from Youth Unstoppable getting onto Crossing the Primeval Forest involved some shady dealings?”
“You’re implying the reason those nine could get on the show together is because someone among them has connections? That this is all a move by capital to prop them up?”
Duan Mingfei hurriedly denied it, “Don’t listen to Brother Du’s nonsense, he—”
“Who let you all gather here? Move it, move it, disperse! If you don’t leave, we’re calling the police!”
Before Duan Mingfei could finish his sentence, a group of security guards in uniform rushed over.
While the security guards were tangling with the reporters, Du Heng quickly shielded Duan Mingfei and led him away from the scene at speed.
Once in the car, the assistant quickly took out a first-aid kit.
“Brother Ming, let me treat your wound.”
Duan Mingfei leaned back in the seat and extended his hand, silently allowing the assistant to clean the injury. Then he asked Du Heng, who had just gotten in, “Did you search him thoroughly?”
Du Heng replied, “Don’t worry. We checked him and the car. Besides the two of us, there are no electronic devices here.”
Duan Mingfei was now extremely cautious—once bitten, twice shy.
Without any audio recordings, even if the assistant heard their conversation, no one would believe him without proof.
And if he dared to spread baseless rumors, Duan Mingfei could easily sue him for defamation.
Duan Mingfei knew very well—Shen Xiu’s dislike for him wasn’t hidden.
With Du Heng’s planted remarks and the fact that he himself had never admitted to the leaked livestream recording, fans with simpler minds would easily self-justify and come to their own conclusions.
They would convince themselves that Shen Xiu was the one being obstructed, and that everything happening now was retaliation by Shen Xiu and the capital backing him.
In their eyes, all the leaks and bad press were orchestrated by Shen Xiu’s team.
Their focus would naturally shift toward Shen Xiu, with efforts to uncover who the mysterious backers behind him were.
As for Duan Mingfei—he hadn’t done anything at all.
He had even stopped his manager from making reckless assumptions. No matter what others thought, the injury he sustained after being hounded by the paparazzi—and his move to defend Shen Xiu—would at the very least leave fans with the impression that he was magnanimous and tolerant. It would only deepen their sympathy for his situation.
Duan Mingfei had always excelled at playing the victim and emotionally manipulating his fans. Du Heng never worried about that.
“Do you want to buy some fake accounts to stir the pot and direct the heat onto Shen Xiu?”
Duan Mingfei rejected the idea without hesitation. “I’ve already said enough. Don’t interfere further.”
He didn’t want Shen Xiu’s backers to trace anything back to them and use it as leverage against him.
Besides, as much as he hated to admit it, Shen Xiu genuinely drew traffic. Any speculation involving him would naturally generate buzz.
Du Heng was seeing this side of Duan Mingfei for the first time—so cautious. “Alright, the act’s done. We’ll step back and watch how it all plays out.”
—
#AllNineJoinShowTogetherCapitalPowerAtPlay
#ShenXiu’sInsaneResources
Trending hashtags pointed directly at Shen Xiu.
— Brother Ming is so pitiful, he lost so much blood, wuwuwu. Even after being smeared like this, he still tries to protect the evil capital-backed star. He really didn’t let my days of waiting go to waste.
— How dumb. People still fall for such an obvious pity play to redirect attention? Ming fans really are brainless. Then again, what else can you expect from fans of someone who never puts in effort?
— No wonder Shen Xiu is so arrogant. He’s backed by capital! Brought eight people onto the show in one go—no wonder everyone follows him. They’re just sucking up to him.
— You’ve got some nerve, trying to imply our Xiu Xiu is involved in shady deals? Got a brain? Anyone who’s watched Youth Unstoppable knows that the top nine getting onto the variety show is a reward from the second round of performances, OK?
— LMAO. You really think Shen Scholars won’t fight back? Our Xiu hasn’t even officially debuted, and every stage he’s on becomes a viral hit. And your guy? Been in the industry for years and still a useless flop.
— Sister, let’s be real—it’s more like “debuted years ago, and still only knows how to play the victim, throw shade, and emotionally manipulate fans.”
— As a newly minted Shen Scholar who became a fan through “Crossing the Primeval Forest,” I gotta say—friends, even a cursory glance at Shen Xiu’s stage performances versus Duan Mingfei’s debut shows who really has the resources.
— Wait a sec, sisters—weren’t we celebrating over at the trending #ShenXiuWeiboReveal? Why are we even looking at this lower-tier trending tag? Don’t give them the attention.
— Well… maybe a little attention’s okay. Like clicking this link: “Shen Xiu vs. Duan Mingfei Stage Performance Comparison” — [Video Link]
Just as Duan Mingfei expected, the buzz around Shen Xiu being a “capital-backed idol” was climbing fast.
But then…
Duan Mingfei looked at the stage comparison video under the trending post and started questioning his entire existence.
His fans, after watching the side-by-side video, had a total meltdown and began changing their stance.
— Let’s just focus on supporting our own.
— We’re pulling Brother Ming out of this. Not getting involved.
— Both are excellent in their own way. Please stop pitting them against each other.
Neutral netizens, after seeing the video, grew irritated with the fanbase trying to spin the narrative, and began sarcastically clapping back in the comments.
— LOL. Shen Xiu is the real deal. Who’s trying to “get involved” with Duan Mingfei? “Not getting involved”—girl, nobody’s asking.
— Excellent? Ming fans, do you even know what that word means? Shen Xiu’s excellence is ceiling-level. Your guy? Floor-level at best.
— Pit them against each other? No need. From the dance comparison alone, Duan Mingfei’s already being dragged across the floor.
— If Shen Xiu really is backed by capital… I mean, imagine that—the entertainment industry version of “the classmate with a better family background than mine who also works harder than I do.”
— As someone who watched the entire talent show from start to finish—I’m not even mad at Shen Xiu. He deserves every bit of it.
Passersby were rebelling, and Duan Mingfei’s fans couldn’t control the situation at all.
The more Duan Mingfei read the comments, the darker his expression became. “A bunch of useless fools!”
Du Heng was also reading them and could only try to comfort Duan Mingfei from another angle. “Brother Ming, at least now everyone’s attention is really focused on Shen Xiu, right?”
Duan Mingfei thought about it and realized that was true. He could only swallow his frustration and stop torturing himself by reading the endless praise netizens were giving Shen Xiu.
—
As for all the drama happening online, Shen Xiu, who was in the training camp, was completely unaware.
At 2 p.m., a staff member brought the trainees’ phones to their dorms for distribution.
Knock knock knock…
The staff knocked on the door of Class A’s dorm. The door opened.
When Xiang Yueting saw the staff holding phones inside a transparent bag, his eyes lit up. “You’re giving them back now?”
For someone used to having a smartphone, going so long without one was pure torture!
The staff member smiled and nodded. “Yes. When I call your name, please come get your phone from me.”
“Jiang Yanxi…”
Shen Xiu listened as his roommates each got their phones back one by one. His eyes drifted to the remaining phone in the clear plastic bag, full of confusion.
Where was his phone?
The staff checked the name on the last phone and handed it to him. “Shen Xiu, this is yours.”
Looking at the unfamiliar phone in front of him, Shen Xiu: “…”
Did the production team think his old one was too outdated and replaced it with a new one?
The phone looked expensive. Even if the show had bought it for him, he couldn’t just accept it without paying.
Shen Xiu opened his mouth: “How mu—”
[I’m the one who changed it for you, not the production team! It was this system!!!]
The phone had become so laggy it was like watching a PowerPoint slideshow. The system couldn’t understand how Shen Xiu had still been using it!
The system, unable to stand by any longer, stepped in and replaced Shen Xiu’s phone with the latest model: [When you start making money, remember to thank me properly. Oh, and the password is your fingerprint.]
Hearing the system’s voice in his head, Shen Xiu responded solemnly in his heart: ‘Got it!’
The system had even helped him deal with Duan Mingfei trying to investigate his parents—it was so helpful he felt like he owed the system a retirement plan!
The staff member scratched his head in confusion. “You were saying ‘how much’?”
Shen Xiu took the phone and replied, “Thank you.”
“…You’re welcome.”
Wow, so polite.
Before leaving, the staff repeated the rules again and reminded everyone that their livestream activities would be constantly monitored in the background. Any violations would be caught immediately.
After closing the dorm door, Shen Xiu heard the sound of his roommates starting their livestreams.
Since he had absolutely no clue how livestreaming worked, when he passed by Xiang Yueting and saw him just beginning his stream, Shen Xiu naturally stopped behind him and openly watched how he operated.
Shen Xiu’s presence was far too noticeable—Xiang Yueting found it impossible to ignore. He had no choice but to turn around. “Shen Xiu, what’s up?”
