Big Shot Ch.67.2

Chapter 67.2: Third Performance (5)

Jiang Jinya, meanwhile, had just finished watching his stage performance in the room. When she heard his hoarse voice, she simply assumed it was from overusing his voice during vocal practice—it was a common issue.

She didn’t find it strange at all. Shen Xiu always gave 120% to anything he did.

“As long as you know what you’re doing, then I’m not worried anymore.”

She didn’t mention his choked-up voice at all—clearly pretending not to have noticed it, to spare him the embarrassment.

Shen Xiu exhaled in relief. He quietly swallowed and tested his voice, making sure it wouldn’t crack again before saying:

“Thank you, Teacher.”

“Alright then, go hang out with your little teammates,” Jiang Jinya said with a smile. “Next time when you and Xiao Wen are free, come over to my place for a meal. Five new films are coming out this summer—I want the two of you to watch them all and give me a proper analysis while we eat.”

Shen Xiu had visited Jiang Jinya’s house before, so he was used to it by now. He nodded obediently. “Okay, Teacher!”

“Then… goodbye, Teacher.”

After saying his goodbye, Shen Xiu finally turned, opened the door quietly, and gently closed it behind him.

The soft click of the door latching shut was like a signal: his whole body relaxed instantly.

‘Wuwuwu, Teacher’s aura is way too strong… No matter how many times I see her, I still get nervous. Maybe… this is that natural, deep-seated fear of being dominated by a teacher?’

‘…Wait a second.’

‘Did Teacher just say to come over for dinner with Director Shi?’

Shen Xiu had already walked a few steps down the hall when he finally processed what Jiang Jinya had said.

Thinking about that humiliating commercial Director Shi made him film—shirtless—he was suddenly filled with the kind of dread that made you want to run but couldn’t.

As for analyzing five summer blockbusters? That was normal. No big deal.

—

Back in the dormitory, Shen Xiu returned to the sight of all his roommates looking at him with curious eyes. There was no ignoring it, even if he wanted to. He braced himself and spoke with his usual calm:

“What is it?”

His cool tone didn’t faze anyone—they were used to it. They knew by now Shen Xiu wasn’t cold to them specifically; he was just indifferent to most things.

The moment he spoke, Xiang Yueting couldn’t hold back anymore. He launched into a rapid-fire barrage of questions like popcorn popping.

“Who called you over?”

“Was it the director? The main director? Only the popularity king gets to see the main director, so what does he look like?”

“Why did they call you over—was there a special reward?”

“Was it—”

Xiang Yueting was firing off questions so quickly that Shen Xiu’s mind started buzzing. He hadn’t even figured out how to answer the first one before the next question had already arrived.

When Song Chengwang saw that Shen Xiu remained silent and noticed the helplessness in his cold gaze toward Xiang Yueting—like he was looking at a curious, childish kid—he couldn’t help but step in.

Wanting to hear Shen Xiu’s answer sooner, Song Chengwang had no choice but to interrupt Xiang Yueting and stop him from bombarding Shen Xiu, so he could satisfy everyone’s curiosity.

“That’s enough. Can you ask one question at a time? You’re firing them off too fast—how’s Shen Xiu supposed to answer?”

Song Chengwang didn’t say Shen Xiu found Xiang Yueting childish, because truthfully, he was curious about those questions too.

When Shen Xiu heard Song Chengwang’s words, he finally shifted his gaze away from Xiang Yueting and looked at Song Chengwang with a grateful expression.

He hadn’t expected that someone like Song Chengwang—who was always cool, strict, and sharp-tongued—would actually step in to help him out in a pinch. He was surprisingly decent.

Meeting Shen Xiu’s chilly but perceptive gaze, Song Chengwang fell silent: “…”

‘Tch, this guy’s way too sharp. All I did was try to hear the answer faster, and he already figured me out?’

After giving Song Chengwang a grateful look, Shen Xiu turned to see his roommates’ eager faces, clearly waiting for his response. So, thinking back to Xiang Yueting’s questions, he began answering them one by one:

“It was Professor Jiang Jingya who called me over. She was just worried I’d fall behind in my studies and wanted to check in on how I was doing academically.”

“It wasn’t the director who called me,” he added. “So there’s no reward or anything.”

After hearing Shen Xiu’s explanation, the room fell quiet.

Jiang Yanxi asked, “Wait… do you mean that Professor Jiang Jingya?”

Shang Yu nodded. “Yes, the very same.”

It wasn’t surprising that Jiang Jingya—who had taught Shi Buwen and was a respected figure known by their families—would stop by to check on him.

What was surprising was that Shen Xiu knew Jiang Jingya personally.

Although Shang Yu hadn’t interacted with the professor much himself, the fact that she took the initiative to show concern meant Shen Xiu must be so outstanding that even elders acknowledged his talent.

Quietly, Song Chengwang made a mental note of Jiang Jingya’s name, planning to ask his own connections for an introduction once he got home.

After all, judging by how Shang Yu and Shen Xiu acted, they both knew Professor Jiang. There was no way he could be the only one who didn’t!

The rest of the group thought: What? Someone actually got Professor Jiang Jingya’s personal concern? Huh? Oh, it’s Shen Xiu? Well, never mind then.

After all, Shen Xiu is so outstanding—getting on a respected elder’s good side when he already knows her? That’s not hard at all!

Thinking about how Professor Jiang had invited him to dinner with that terrifying director, plus the movie analysis homework that came with it, Shen Xiu continued, “She asked me to have dinner with the director.”

After saying that, he carefully reviewed the conversation in his mind. Once he confirmed there was nothing else to add, he honestly said, “That’s it. Nothing more.”

With all of Xiang Yueting’s questions answered, Shen Xiu figured there shouldn’t be anything left out, right?

His shocked roommates, still reeling from his previous answers, were caught off guard by this last bit—and now their gazes toward him sparkled with awe.

“!!!”

“Wuwuwu, why is it Shen Xiu?! Why?!”

“I can’t even be jealous. It’s impossible to be jealous!”

“Because… it’s Shen Xiu, after all!”

Shen Xiu: “?”

What’s… going on with everyone?

Not knowing how to respond to their strange comments, Shen Xiu softly said, “I’m gonna go shower and change…”

Since they had a team dinner scheduled for the evening, most of the others had already changed clothes and were getting their hair and makeup done. Shen Xiu didn’t want to make them wait, and he also worried about feeling awkward not knowing how to keep up with their conversations, so he quickly grabbed his outfit from the wardrobe and slipped into the bathroom.

The way Shen Xiu casually said all that, and then just as casually walked off, made Zhuang Yi and the others sigh with emotion.

“Judging from how natural he was, he must’ve been to Professor Jiang’s house a lot.”

“Wuwuwu, I want to have dinner at Professor Jiang’s place too!”

“Forget dinner—I’d be happy just to have Professor Jiang care about me!”

Shang Yu thought about how every time Shi Buwen came back from Professor Jiang’s house, he looked terrified, and couldn’t help but chuckle. “Shen Xiu going to Professor Jiang’s place is fine—Shen Xiu’s happy, and so is Professor Jiang. But for others? Maybe Professor Jiang wouldn’t be so happy, and the ones who go wouldn’t be happy either.”

Like Shi Buwen—after going once, for the next three months, just hearing Professor Jiang’s name would make him take a detour.

After all, not everyone can be impressive enough to earn Professor Jiang’s recognition.

Zhuang Yi cast a meaningful glance at Shang Yu. “There’s something fishy going on.”

The others in the dorm looked at Shang Yu in unison, all repeating in chorus: “Something fishy!”

Shang Yu openly admitted, “Hmm.”

Anyway, as long as he didn’t want to say more, no one would ever get it out of him.

[Something fishy!]

[Dammit, the director actually knows Shen Xiu!]

[Shang Yu is so sneaky, acting like he knows everything but won’t tell us! Ugh, so frustrating!]

[Wait, if Boss Xiu knows Professor Jiang, and he debuted from a talent show instead of going straight into acting, does that mean he loves the stage, but not acting?]

[No, no, no, sister. You clearly failed your research on Boss Xiu. As a top-tier expert on Xiuology, let me tell you—Xiu definitely thinks like this: whether as an idol, an actor, or whatever else, he can do it all!]

[Exactly, sister, you’re totally right. We all know Xiu-baby is just that amazing!]

—

At 7 p.m., the trainees took the program team’s car and left the training camp, heading to the dinner hotel.

Although the trainees had previously joked about showing off their handsome side if they encountered fans, the program team had booked a private manor restaurant for them to avoid unnecessary gatherings. They wouldn’t have any chance to meet fans during the entire trip.

The trainees initially thought they would be split into several tables since there were 36 of them.

But when they saw the large round table that could accommodate all 36 people, and noticed that the table could rotate, ensuring everyone could get the dishes they wanted, they were dumbfounded.

“Thank you to the program team, I’ve learned something new.”

“Damn it, why didn’t the program team give us our phones? If we had our phones, I’d definitely take dozens of photos and post them on my social media.”

“Small-minded! If the program team had given me a phone, I would’ve gone live.”

“Right, maybe I could do an eating broadcast, gain some followers, because who knows if I’ll have any chance of being liked after leaving here.”

While everyone was talking, Shen Xiu thought to himself that he had a tendency to kill the mood, so he quietly walked to the innermost seat and sat down.

The table was so large, he hoped fewer people would be affected by his presence. This was the thought of Shen Xiu, sitting in the corner.

No sooner had Shen Xiu sat down than Shang Yu and Song Chengwang sat on either side of him.

By the time Xiang Yueting reacted, he could only sit next to Shang Yu.

There was no other reason for this, except that Xia Wenhao sat next to Song Chengwang, and neither Xia Wenhao nor Song Chengwang could be argued with.

Although the other trainees didn’t speak up, they were still intimidated when they saw Shen Xiu’s indifferent demeanor, and silently gave up their spots next to him for those in line.

Shen Xiu heard the familiar footsteps and bickering beside him, and his tense body relaxed slightly.

Compared to the other trainees, he was more familiar with his roommates. Although… not much more familiar than with the others, at least it allowed him to feel a little more at ease, just a little bit more. It was always better that way.

The food hadn’t been served yet, and everyone had found their seats.

The trainees looked at the large table, and the thought of tomorrow being the third ranking announcement made them sigh inwardly.

Rounding it up, this was probably their last group meal together, for most of them.

Thinking this, everyone couldn’t help but feel sentimental. As everyone busied themselves with their emotions, the atmosphere in the private room became heavy and stifling, unusually dull.

Shen Xiu didn’t hear anyone speak and, afraid of making eye contact and creating an awkward moment, he dared not look around. He kept his gaze fixed on the table in front of him, while his mind wandered.

Was it because of him that the mood had turned so heavy?

Thinking back to previous meals, Shen Xiu felt his guess was correct, and his guilt deepened, each second stretching out like an eternity.

Sure enough, it didn’t matter how big the table was—everyone was still affected by his presence and mood.

Just as his university roommate had said, he was the “king of awkward silences.” No one would like someone so dull. No one would want to eat with him. In fact, eating with him felt like a torturous punishment for others.

After ten seconds of silence in his mind, with no one speaking yet, Shen Xiu, feeling full of guilt, murmured, “If my presence makes everyone uncomfortable, you can pretend I’m not here.”

“Or… I can eat in another room.”

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