Chapter 69.1: Third Performance (7)
Shang Yu hadn’t expected Shen Xiu to refuse—and to refuse so coldly and mercilessly.
When he heard Shen Xiu’s emotionless voice, Shang Yu was visibly stunned for a moment.
By the time he came back to his senses, his hand had already let go of the clear glass in front of Shen Xiu.
Shen Xiu glanced down. The hand that had tried to stop him from drinking was gone, so he picked up the glass again and took a small sip.
The bitter, spicy flavor spread through his mouth, but when Shen Xiu remembered this wine cost 32,000 a bottle, he swallowed willingly.
After all… who told him to pour so much into his own glass?
Regretful yet trying to rationalize it, Shen Xiu told himself he had to pay the price for his own foolish actions.
Shang Yu turned his head and frowned at Shen Xiu. This kind of strong liquor shouldn’t be drunk in large amounts. If he didn’t want to get drunk, he’d usually just sip a small glass slowly—sometimes one glass would last him a long time.
The glasses provided here were relatively large. Even half a glass was enough for him to drink four or five times at home.
When Shen Xiu initially poured more than half a glass, Shang Yu had assumed it was because Shen Xiu could hold his liquor—unshakable no matter how much he drank.
But now, seeing that Shen Xiu still wasn’t drunk after downing most of it, and recalling that cold, repressed refusal laced with gloom, Shang Yu instantly understood.
Shen Xiu hadn’t poured that much because he was a heavy drinker. He’d done it to drink away his sorrow.
Shen Xiu could crack cold jokes to ease everyone’s sadness about parting, but no one could ease his own pain. He had to drown it in alcohol himself.
Words of comfort felt too hollow. Without his family around, Shang Yu wasn’t used to getting drunk outside. Still, he poured himself a small glass of the same liquor as Shen Xiu and joined him for a drink.
Lifting his glass, Shang Yu clinked it lightly against Shen Xiu’s and drank it all in one go.
Shen Xiu only saw something flash past the side of his glass and assumed another hand was trying to stop him from drinking again. In a hurry, he placed his hand over the glass, picked it up, and took another sip.
Watching Shen Xiu’s reaction, Shang Yu understood—Shen Xiu hadn’t said anything, but his action showed he had accepted the gesture of goodwill.
Earlier, when Shen Xiu had said that cold, emotionless “let go,” his voice hadn’t been loud, but those sitting beside him had still heard it.
It was rare to see Shen Xiu show his emotions so openly. For a moment, everyone’s eyes were on him.
When they saw Shang Yu clink glasses with Shen Xiu, and saw Shen Xiu, head bowed and drinking gloomily in silence, they all understood.
Shen Xiu, who rarely showed any emotion, was feeling troubled about tomorrow’s departure.
Indeed—whether it was the cold jokes he’d used earlier to cheer everyone up, or his current tense expression and silent drinking—every bit of it showed that Shen Xiu cared deeply about them.
Especially those who were definitely leaving tomorrow felt a warm swell in their hearts.
Everyone poured themselves a glass of wine or juice. While none of them had the courage to approach and clink glasses with Shen Xiu like Shang Yu had, especially with Shen Xiu radiating such moody energy, they each silently drank a glass in their own way.
Shen Xiu was completely unaware of the looks his friends were giving him. At that moment, all he saw was the wine in front of him.
Just a little more, and he’d finish it all!
Victory within reach, even his foggy head felt a little lighter.
By the middle of the gathering, Shen Xiu finally emptied his glass—down to the very last drop.
Leaning back in his chair after finishing, he looked ahead. The figures in front of him swayed and blurred—not only could he no longer make out their faces, but the movement was making his eyes dizzy. He frowned slightly.
When everyone saw Shen Xiu lift his head and frown at them, none of them felt afraid.
They all knew—meticulous as Shen Xiu was, the sight of them had surely reminded him again of tomorrow’s farewell. He was just feeling restless.
Shen Xiu was a bit stubborn. The more he couldn’t see clearly, the more determined he was to force his eyes to focus. It became a silent challenge between him and himself.
For the rest of the gathering, Shen Xiu insisted on keeping his eyes open, staring at the blurry figures in front of him.
By the time the event ended, the swaying figures finally came into focus. Shen Xiu could at last make out everyone’s faces clearly.
Seeing that, he let out a long breath of relief.
When the party wrapped up, it was already midnight. The staff and a few trainees who had only been drinking juice helped carry the drunken ones into the production team’s vehicle.
Watching everyone helping out, Shen Xiu instinctively stood up to lend a hand.
But the moment he stood, he felt dizzy. Worried he might embarrass himself by falling, he paused where he was for a few seconds. Once the dizziness passed, he headed toward Song Chengwang, who was closest to him.
If he had been completely sober, Shen Xiu’s first choice would definitely have been Xiang Yueting. But right now, while the alcohol had worn off a little, he still wasn’t fully clear-headed—and his instinct was to help the nearest person.
Shen Xiu helped lift Song Chengwang, who had been slumped over the table.
After Shen Xiu had finished his drink earlier, Song Chengwang had gotten into a spat with Xia Wenhao about something—the two had been bickering. While Shen Xiu was sitting there sobering up, they were in a sort of drinking showdown. Though not completely wasted now, Song Chengwang clearly couldn’t walk on his own.
As Shen Xiu slung Song Chengwang’s arm over his shoulder, Song Chengwang slowly opened his eyes and stared at Shen Xiu’s face for a long moment before sluggishly speaking:
“Shen Xiu?”
Hearing someone call his name, Shen Xiu was a bit slow to respond. He paused in his steps, tilted his head with a frown, stared at Song Chengwang for two seconds, then finally replied, “Mm.”
When the staff member returned to the private room after helping another trainee out, he saw Shen Xiu tilting his head and frowning in response to Song Chengwang.
As someone who had witnessed the entire party, the staff naturally knew that Shen Xiu had also been drinking.
Although Shen Xiu looked pretty clear-headed at the moment—still sharp enough to be annoyed at how much Song Chengwang had drunk—the staff still asked, “Want me to take over?”
Everyone else was busy helping someone, so Shen Xiu felt it wouldn’t be right to slack off. He shook his head slightly. “No need.”
Still somewhat foggy-headed, Shen Xiu was too stubborn to risk the staff insisting on helping, so as soon as he spoke, he hoisted Song Chengwang up and started walking.
To avoid being followed and stopped by the staff, Shen Xiu quickened his pace—only to stumble a few steps in the process.
After regaining his balance, he steadied himself and continued supporting Song Chengwang out the door. Afraid of falling, Shen Xiu kept his eyes glued to the ground ahead, not daring to blink even once.
The staff member watched from behind as Shen Xiu staggered, seemingly being dragged down by Song Chengwang’s weight. He thought to himself, ‘Wow, Song Chengwang really drank a lot—he’s even making Shen Xiu stumble.’
A few sober trainees returned to help others still in the room. As they passed Shen Xiu, who was quietly supporting Song Chengwang out, they watched him go by in silence.
Only when Shen Xiu’s back had disappeared into the distance did they look away, unable to help sighing from the heart.
“When we were all drinking and goofing off, Shen Xiu just sat there quietly watching us for so long… He must have been memorizing how happy we all looked in that moment.”
“Shen Xiu may seem cold and distant, but he really cares. He even drank for us… It’s just that his tolerance is so high, he didn’t get drunk. Shen Xiu is seriously… I’m gonna cry!”
“He’s so capable himself, and his background’s impressive too—and still he works so hard. Honestly, when I see him making money in the future, I won’t be jealous at all.”
Shang Yu, who hadn’t drunk much and was still sober, came out at that moment supporting Xiang Yueting—and happened to overhear their conversation. He smiled at them.
The few trainees smiled back at Xiang Yueting as he passed, supported by Shang Yu. Once Shang Yu had walked off into the distance, they turned and headed back toward the private dining room where the gathering had taken place.
As they walked, they chatted in hushed voices.
“Shen Xiu is so strong, just one look from him makes my heart seize up. It’s like this instinctual, natural fear.”
“Dude, you feel that too? Same here.”
“And then there’s Song Chengwang—he’s fine when he keeps his mouth shut. But once he starts talking, I always feel like he’s targeting me. If I had to choose, I’d rather deal with someone like Xia Wenhao, who’s just blunt.”
“Are you dumb? Xia Wenhao isn’t sharp-tongued? He doesn’t hold back when he’s pissed.”
“Out of the top-ranked guys, honestly, Xiang Yueting is the easiest to get along with.”
“Totally agree. Xiang Yueting is like a human husky—so chaotic and silly…”
“C’mon, stop that. Other people call him a little angel, and you go and call him a husky—seriously, hahaha!”
“Okay, okay, enough clowning around. Seriously though, all the top-ranked guys have pretty intense personalities… I wouldn’t say that’s a bad thing, but they’re all so different. It’d be tough for anyone to keep them all in line. Who do you think will end up as team leader?”
That question sparked interest, and everyone started tossing out their opinions.
“Shang Yu, probably. He’s a little scheming, which is actually good—means the team won’t get taken advantage of. We all know how ridiculous some of the rules are in the entertainment industry.”
“I think it’ll be Shen Xiu. He can definitely keep everyone in check.”
“Sure, he can control everyone, but think about his personality. If he doesn’t like someone, he won’t tolerate them. He’ll just cold-shoulder them or call them out right there—way too easy to make enemies that way.”
“Sigh, if you ask me,” one trainee said, “the entertainment industry should be survival of the fittest. I’m so sick of all those ridiculous rules made up by so-called ‘seniors.’ Honestly, I’m kinda looking forward to Shen Xiu shaking up the industry—making it about actual ability, not about who flatters the right people or climbs the right ladders.”
The group hadn’t reached any solid conclusion when a staff member suddenly coughed pointedly: “Ahem ahem…”
Only then did they realize they had, without noticing, walked right up to the private room door while gossiping. They all fell sheepishly silent.
—
Shen Xiu helped Song Chengwang to the van. A staff member stepped in to assist, guiding Song onto the vehicle. Shen Xiu instinctively followed, settling into an empty seat in the very back row.
Once seated, he leaned against the seatback. After a while, without thinking, he closed his eyes.
On the same van, Shang Yu was the last to board, still supporting Xiang Yueting. Spotting Shen Xiu in the back row—with one seat still open next to him—Shang Yu made his way over and sat down.
The faint movement beside him caused Shen Xiu to open his eyes restlessly. He stared at Shang Yu for a couple of seconds as his brain caught up to what his eyes were seeing. Realizing it was Shang Yu—a familiar face, someone he trusted enough to share a dorm with, not some random college roommate—he relaxed slightly.
Right then, he noticed Shang Yu was also looking at him.
Shen Xiu: “…”
‘Crap. My brain is lagging. I forgot how to be subtle and just stared at him like an idiot. This is so awkward!’
Shang Yu didn’t seem interested in making conversation, which made Shen Xiu quietly exhale in relief. He turned his head stiffly and looked away, afraid Shang Yu might start talking to him, and closed his eyes guiltily.
But he didn’t dare fall asleep. Inside, he was screaming: ‘My brain’s not working right now—please, please don’t talk to me!’
