Chapter 80.1: Rest (3)
The account @Mr.S had been in the fandom for many years. Every song released was polarizing—either a timeless classic or something wildly absurd and shocking. Despite that, he had a massive fanbase.
The photo had only been posted for a short while, yet Shi Buwen saw that the likes and comments had already skyrocketed to the point where, for the first time, he felt too nervous to even check.
Holding onto a sliver of hope, Shi Buwen opened the comment section.
— Aaaaah Xiu-baby, my Xiu-baby posted a photo… Wait a second, I looked carefully at the account that made the post—this isn’t my Xiu-baby’s Weibo!?
— What the hell (rubs eyes in disbelief), this is… Mr.S’s Weibo account! There’s gossip, sisters, come quick! @Xiuologists!
— Aaaaah I was right! When Mr.S added Xiu’s name before, I said they must know each other privately! The prophet is here—come worship me already! (hands on hips proudly)
— What is Xiu-baby wearing? Aaaah why is it only a side profile? Why is the lighting so dim? I can’t see my Xiu-baby’s stunning face clearly, damn it!
— Wait… Isn’t the key point here the words “little junior brother”? Ughhh, I knew it! Of course, great minds know each other!
— Feeling the pressure from Mr. S lol. Having such an amazing little junior brother definitely brings some stress.
There was some overlap between the Xiuologists and those followers of the @Mr.S account.
Because of this one post by @Mr.S, which revealed that Shen Xiu was his little junior brother, fans from both sides—especially those previously unconnected—started paying close attention.
As the follower counts for both Shen Xiu and Mr.S’s accounts kept rising, the buzz around the topic pushed “Shen Xiu is Mr. S’s little junior brother” onto the trending list.
Shi Buwen logged out of his @Mr.S account and scrolled to the trending topics.
#Mr. S Shen Xiu
#Shen Xiu Little Junior Brother
#The Prophet, Slayed
Looking at the trending topics, Shi Buwen knew clearly that at this point, deleting the photo was obviously too late.
No one was faster or sharper than netizens who transformed into amateur detectives the moment gossip dropped.
The moment he posted the photo—quite possibly within the first second—fans had already taken screenshots and saved it.
Deleting it now would be like covering one’s ears while stealing a bell. Fans would just keep asking questions.
Shi Buwen didn’t particularly care, but…
His gaze fell on Shen Xiu, who was watching the movie attentively. Just thinking of Shen Xiu’s cold, piercing eyes made him shiver.
According to Shang Yu, people like Shen Xiu valued their privacy immensely.
He had taken a photo of Shen Xiu without permission… and even accidentally posted it on his @Mr.S account.
What he did… could it be considered an invasion of Shen Xiu’s privacy?
Crap. What if Shen Xiu gets mad?!
The more he thought about it, the more uncertain and guilty Shi Buwen felt.
“Ahem…” Following the principle of ‘the sooner you die, the sooner you reincarnate,’ Shi Buwen braced himself and spoke up: “Shen Xiu, I…”
Shen Xiu didn’t like being disturbed when doing his assignments.
Even the smallest interruption could disrupt his train of thought. And if he were analyzing a movie and missed a detail or got something wrong…
Just imagining that possibility was unacceptable to him.
So when he heard a voice next to him, Shen Xiu didn’t even register who it was or what was being said. He instinctively responded:
“Don’t talk.”
To avoid interfering with the movie’s audio, Shen Xiu spoke in an extremely soft voice.
After saying that, Shen Xiu heard no more sounds from beside him and quickly immersed himself back into the movie, pushing the brief interruption out of his mind.
Shi Buwen, interrupted by Shen Xiu’s low and cool voice, had all his gathered courage instantly drained away.
Such a cold voice!
Was this movie… more important than what he had to say?
Shi Buwen’s puzzled gaze fell on the movie screen in front of him.
It was a comedy that had premiered during this summer’s blockbuster season. He had already seen it before. Though it used comedic presentation to tell a tragic story, the execution wasn’t quite polished. From a professional standpoint, it wasn’t all that impressive.
And yet, Shen Xiu was watching it so intently?
Shi Buwen couldn’t make sense of it.
But thinking back to that cold and stern response from Shen Xiu just moments ago, he could only keep quiet, deciding to wait until the movie was over to explain and apologize.
—
Not being able to collaborate with Mr. S had always been a sore spot for Duan Mingfei.
Over the years, Duan Mingfei had tried to pull every string he could but still hadn’t been able to find anyone who could introduce him to Mr. S.
So, he had used one of his alternate accounts to set a special alert for the @Mr.S account.
Naturally, the moment Mr. S made a post, Duan Mingfei received the notification immediately via his alt.
He opened Mr. S’s Weibo, clicked on the photo, and when he saw clearly who was in it, he didn’t want to believe his eyes.
It wasn’t until he opened the comments section—full of Mr. S’s fans and “Xiuologists” enthusiastically bonding—that his face turned ashen with rage.
Back when Shen Xiu’s fans were speculating that he and Mr. S knew each other, Duan Mingfei had scoffed at the idea.
He thought it was nothing more than delusional fan imagination. Shen Xiu was just some pretty-faced kid who, knowing he was being filmed live, put on a show of diligence, got himself labeled a “genius,” and rode the wave of that PR campaign to where he was today.
In Duan Mingfei’s eyes, Shen Xiu was just like he himself used to be: a contestant handpicked and pushed by the production team.
Even now, Duan Mingfei hadn’t watched “Youth Unstoppable” in its entirety—he had only skimmed through a few clips. So it was no surprise he still held that belief.
Especially after seeing the photo Mr. S had posted, Duan Mingfei felt even more certain that his suspicions were correct.
First there was “Crossing the Primeval Forest”, and now Mr. S had “accidentally” posted a photo of Shen Xiu. If this wasn’t the work of someone with strong industry connections—someone hyped up by the production team—then his surname wasn’t Duan!
“Tch, I really don’t know how he had the nerve to act all innocent in front of me during the live broadcast. Absolutely disgusting…”
He hadn’t even finished cursing when he suddenly remembered that he himself had debuted through the same path as Shen Xiu. His expression shifted slightly, and the insults that had reached the tip of his tongue were swallowed back down.
Duan Mingfei used to think that Mr. S had integrity, that he wouldn’t be blinded by profit. Though Duan wasn’t happy about being rejected, he still sincerely admired Mr. S for his character.
But now, it seemed the problem had been that he simply hadn’t offered enough.
See? Shen Xiu must’ve paid enough—Mr. S ended up bowing down after all.
Face darkening, Duan Mingfei unfollowed Mr. S’s account, no longer seeing him as a personal thorn in his side.
He had more important things to deal with now. Lin Jiashi had snatched up too many of his resources recently. But now that “That Summer” had been released—and with him playing the delinquent school bully Jiang Ming—it was gaining decent traction thanks to his fitting performance.
He had to seize this opportunity to land the new season’s endorsement with VG, to prove to the company—and to the boss—that when it came to making money, Lin Jiashi couldn’t hold a candle to him.
He was going to reclaim everything that rightfully belonged to him.
Duan Mingfei put away his phone and looked toward his assistant not far away. “Xiao Gong, did you manage to get in touch with Mr. Kaiser’s assistant? Have they set up a meeting yet?”
The new assistant looked a little embarrassed. “I added their contact, but… they haven’t responded yet.”
—
At the Jiang family’s screening room.
One hour and twenty-five minutes later, the first movie ended.
When Shen Xiu started playing the second film, he noticed Shi Buwen asleep on a chair nearby—and was a little stunned.
When did Director Shi get here…?
Oh, right—he’d been here for a while.
But why hadn’t he left?
If he wanted to rest, wouldn’t outside be more comfortable? Shen Xiu couldn’t figure out what Shi Buwen was thinking.
Then again, this wasn’t the first time Shen Xiu didn’t understand what others were thinking, so he didn’t dwell on it.
He continued watching the second movie. As for who had spoken to him earlier, or what they had said when he’d been interrupted, Shen Xiu had already forgotten it all.
While Shen Xiu was engrossed in the movie world and Shi Buwen was immersed in sleep…
Sharp-eyed netizens followed the trail, and in just a few short hours, uncovered an even bigger secret.
— This is Professor Jiang from Qinghe University… huh? You don’t know who that is? Okay, let me put it another way—this is the woman who has provided special consultation for countless classic films, known in the industry as the “Red and Blue Buff of Film and TV”—Professor Jiang. That’s all to say: here are some photos of her home theater. [image][image][image]
— Wait a second… how come these photos look exactly like the place in Mr. S’s post—where Xiu-baby was?!
— N-no way, it can’t be what I’m thinking… right? Or maybe it’s just that all these big shots have similar home theater designs? That’s way too coincidental.
— Your friendly neighborhood Xiuologist reporting in! Fellow Xiuologists, gather round. I’ve already circled key details in red on the pictures: the half-human-sized decorative vase on the floor, the painting on the wall, the color of the sofa, the design of the cushions on it… Clearly, after comparing everything, it’s obvious: the theater Demon King Xiu is in is the very same one Professor Jiang once posted on Weibo!
— Aaaah this just proves that saying again—when someone’s a big shot, their friends are big shots, and their elders are big shots too! No wonder my Xiu-baby is both hard-working and amazing. With so many impressive people around him, how could he dare slack off? I mean, if he did, he’d instantly become the obvious underachiever in his social circle. (dog head emoji)
— With this kind of background and connections, Demon King Xiu is 100% a real-deal boss. For those people who used to say he just has a bunch of sugar daddies—what were you even thinking?!
…
At 3 p.m., Shi Buwen finally woke up from his nap in the home theater.
When he opened his eyes, he realized the screen had long since been turned off, and Shen Xiu, who had been watching movies beside him, was nowhere to be found.
Shi Buwen: “Where’d he go?”
He rubbed his eyes in confusion, and just then, his stomach gave a loud growl.
Usually, when he woke up from a nap, Shi Buwen’s first instinct was to scroll through his phone—he didn’t care much about his empty stomach.
He figured he’d finish browsing social media first before going to find something to eat. As for Shen Xiu… well, he was obviously still somewhere in the professor’s house. Not like he could run off.
Three minutes later…
Shi Buwen saw what netizens had uncovered—and his eyes nearly popped out of his head.
“!!!”
Help!
He never expected those silly, chaotic netizens to be this meticulous!
Were they all modern-day detectives or what?
Thanks to just one sentimental photo, he hadn’t only exposed Shen Xiu’s privacy—he’d also accidentally revealed his own connection with their teacher, and Shen Xiu’s connection too.
Not to mention, their teacher had always been notoriously low-profile. And Shen Xiu…
Wuwuwu—he was just here for a meal, not to blow everyone’s cover!
Collapsing back onto the black sofa, Shi Buwen let out a long, miserable sigh: “Heaven’s out to get me!”
Grrrrrr…
His stomach kept playing its hungry symphony, but having accidentally exposed two people’s private lives with a single photo, Shi Buwen didn’t dare step outside at all.
The only thing Shi Buwen could feel even a little relieved about was that the account @Mr.S had no public connection to him, Shi Buwen. No one would link the two together.
Hmm, really? lol.