Chapter 85: Finals (5)
When he heard his name, Shen Xiu felt a sense of relief—‘Finally, it’s my turn.’
As he walked from backstage to the front of the stage, Shen Xiu was thinking about one thing: I’ve prepared so much to say… it should be enough, right?
Excluding Xiang Yueting, the others had all said an average of three sentences. He had prepared three sentences too—right at the average—so he wouldn’t stand out.
Alright then, let’s happily—
Just as he appeared from backstage, without saying a word yet, radiating such a strong presence that no one could ignore him, He Ting suddenly spoke, his voice loud and clear, interrupting Shen Xiu’s inner monologue.
“Let’s congratulate Shen Xiu on becoming the champion of Youth Unstoppable, making his debut as the center position!”
“……”
The sudden announcement from He Ting startled Shen Xiu so much, he nearly had a heart attack.
At the same time, upon hearing the host’s words, loud cheers erupted from the audience.
“The moment has finally come! Congrats to Xiu-baby for debuting in the center!!”
“Aaaah sisters, we were right all along—our boss is truly the boss! Congrats to Boss Xiu for debuting at the top by a landslide!”
“I’ve waited so long—Shen Xiu never disappoints!”
“Shen Xiu = Boss! Center debut! Our Xiu is slaying!!”
“Crowned champion and center debut—fly high, Xiu-baby! The Xiuologists will always follow!”
“We’ll walk the path of flowers with Xiu-baby forever!”
“Boss Xiu is going to lead us to dominate and cleanse the entertainment industry!!”
…
With the host’s official announcement and the cheers of the other trainees below, Shen Xiu finally confirmed—everything had truly come to an end.
He had really reached the top in Youth Unstoppable, the boy group survival show. He debuted at center.
And most importantly—he definitely didn’t have to die now!!!
Realizing this truth, Shen Xiu’s previously anxious heart finally settled down. He was overwhelmed with emotion—his whole body tingled with a bittersweet ache. Even breathing seemed to tug at his heart, pulling on it until it hurt a little.
Carrying this indescribably full and aching feeling, Shen Xiu walked to the host’s side, his eyes deeply scanning the entire audience.
He was only alive because of their support!
Looking at the passionate fans, Shen Xiu’s heart welled up with emotion—it was hard even to speak. He had to fight hard to keep from crying in front of them.
But at the same time—
This was the first time Shen Xiu couldn’t wait to speak.
The sincere love from the Xiuologists was something he couldn’t ignore. If he didn’t respond, Shen Xiu would feel guilty.
He looked at the host beside him, his gaze clearly landing on the host’s other microphone.
He had secretly watched from backstage—whenever one of his fellow contestants went on stage, the host would always hand them a mic.
So why, when it was finally his turn, was the host not giving him a mic?
Puzzled, Shen Xiu’s brow furrowed slightly.
Meeting Shen Xiu’s searching gaze, He Ting—who, as a secret Xiuologist himself, believed he understood Shen Xiu perfectly—saw the look and thought: That frown, that questioning look… He must be hinting that I forgot to say something important!
So, instead of handing over the mic, He Ting loudly announced:
“And—after discussions with the production team, we’ve decided that Shen Xiu, our center and champion, will also serve as the leader of the nine-member boy group!”
With that, convinced he had read Shen Xiu’s mind correctly, He Ting beamed proudly and looked at Shen Xiu with a grin: “Surprised? Unexpected, right?! No no no—”
Before Shen Xiu could even say a word, He Ting quickly denied his own question: “This must have been exactly what you were expecting, right Shen Xiu?!”
Shen Xiu: “…That’s not— I didn’t—”
He Ting clicked his tongue, cutting off Shen Xiu’s awkward attempt at humor: “Come on, don’t be modest. Of course you did know!”
Someone like Shen Xiu—who faced every situation by mentally building an Excel spreadsheet or outright making a PowerPoint, someone who was used to keeping everything under his absolute control—how could he not have made a precise prediction?
Impossible. Completely impossible.
Not waiting for Shen Xiu to respond, He Ting pressed on: “Shen Xiu, are you seriously going to tell me that before the announcement, you didn’t know you were ranked number one?”
Shen Xiu: “…”
Thinking about how he shamelessly said “I’m first place” on stage earlier, Shen Xiu suddenly felt even more embarrassed.
He mumbled his answer quietly: “…I knew.”
The moment Shen Xiu responded, He Ting swooshed the microphone right up to his mouth.
In the next instant, the entire audience heard Shen Xiu’s breezy, casual-sounding reply.
Caught completely off guard, Shen Xiu: “?”
At this moment, all Shen Xiu could think was—no wonder this guy was hired as the host.
Just like the production team, he knew exactly how to maximize a trainee’s embarrassment!
Of course the host hadn’t given him the mic at the start—it was all a setup! He waited until Shen Xiu let his guard down and then dropped the bomb, sending him sailing full-speed into social death.
He Ting beamed with satisfaction: “Just as I thought!”
Watching He Ting pull the mic back again, Shen Xiu shut down completely.
Not only did he experience social death, but he still didn’t get to hold the microphone.
Among the nine debut members, who else was this pitiful and awkward right now?
He just wanted a mic. Was that so hard?!
The fans, however, erupted once again at Shen Xiu’s reply:
“I knew it!!!”
“There’s nothing in this world that Boss Xiu can’t predict!”
“Boss Xiu, forever our legend!”
“Legend Xiu, eternal god-tier!”
…
The Xiuologists’ chants rang out one after another, voices growing louder and louder as they all shouted the same phrase—“Boss Xiu is forever a legend!”
The energy was electric, so much so that even the trainees in the front row and the special guests were swept up in it and started shouting along.
In the back rows, the overlapping fan voices were messy and chaotic, making it hard to tell what was being said—but the front row was close enough to the stage that every word was crystal clear.
At this point, there was no way Shen Xiu could pretend he didn’t hear what they were yelling.
Hearing the chant echo over and over, Shen Xiu froze: …Wait, what? I’m a boss?
Shen Xiu suddenly felt an urgent need to clarify this misunderstanding. Not caring whether the host was ready to give him the mic or not, he turned to him and said: “Could you please hand me the microphone for a moment?”
Everything he had done—it had nothing to do with being some sort of ‘boss.’ It was just what he was capable of doing, nothing more.
This misunderstanding… had gone way too far!
Hearing Shen Xiu’s calm but icy tone, He Ting suddenly realized—Oops, in all the excitement, he had completely forgotten to hand Shen Xiu the mic earlier. He quickly tried to make up for it and passed it over.
“Thank you,” Shen Xiu said quietly as he accepted the microphone.
Finally holding the mic, Shen Xiu turned to face the audience…
Seeing him holding the mic, expression cool and composed as he scanned the crowd, the fans instinctively fell silent, all eyes on him in anticipation.
That serious and chilly expression—Boss Xiu must be about to say something really important!
Just as Shen Xiu was mentally preparing himself, steeling his nerves to thick-skinnedly ask everyone to please stop shouting—he realized the audience had already quieted down completely on their own. No need for him to awkwardly say anything at all.
Shen Xiu: “!”
They had clearly seen through his discomfort and embarrassment—and out of kindness, they gave him back his last shred of dignity.
Truly good people… every one of them!
Not wanting to let them down, Shen Xiu composed himself, and seriously said: “You’ve misunderstood. I’m not a boss.”
“I’m just… an ordinary person.”
After speaking, Shen Xiu felt that his phrasing wasn’t quite precise. He raised the microphone and added:
“Someone as ordinary as me is only standing here today because of your support. Thank you, truly.”
His cool, low voice echoed through the venue. On stage, though his expression remained calm and distant, Shen Xiu bowed deeply toward them, his gratitude sincere.
The Xiuologists fell into an oddly quiet hush.
After a few seconds of silence, the crowd suddenly erupted—laughter mixed with choked-up sobs, full of both joy and emotion.
The audience members turned to their friends around them and whispered excitedly:
“So funny—Boss Xiu is seriously hilarious.”
“Here’s a joke: ‘Ordinary Boss Xiu, nothing special, just your average historical drama male god~’”
“Is this the legendary ‘Xiu-style cold humor’? I didn’t think I’d laugh and cry at the same time. My heart’s so full, but why are my eyes tearing up?”
“I used to think it was a rare privilege for us trainees to get cold jokes from Shen Xiu to cheer us up. I never imagined everyone would get one. I was so naive…”
“That’s just how it is—Xiu-baby and us Xiuologists are on a two-way journey! If you got one, of course we all get one too!”
“Exactly! Xiu-baby loves all of us this much!”
“I’m laughing so hard my stomach hurts! If I didn’t already know Shen Xiu’s personality, with that deadpan face of his, I might’ve actually believed him!”
“Wait—since Xiu-baby specially told a cold joke to cheer us up, shouldn’t we also play along with his performance?”
“You’re right! After all, Xiuologists and Xiu-baby are in this together—our love is mutual!”
That last line drew unanimous agreement from the fanbase. The message spread organically across the crowd, and the fans all looked up at Shen Xiu with teary eyes and smiling faces.
Shen Xiu had finished speaking. With so many people in the crowd now talking all at once—but not loudly enough to shout like before—he couldn’t quite hear what they were saying anymore. He could only try to read their expressions.
After carefully observing the expressions of the Xiuologists in the closer rows, Shen Xiu was horrified to realize—He might have made everyone cry!
Shen Xiu: “!”
Oh no, please—think of something, anything, to cheer everyone up!
Lacking experience in comforting others, Shen Xiu racked his brain in panic. But before he could come up with anything, loud shouts from the fans below suddenly rang out:
“Okay, okay, we get it already!”
“Yeah, yeah, we hear you—Xiu-baby, you’re totally ‘ordinary’~”
“Whatever you say, Xiu-baby, you’re always right!”
…
Seeing the Xiuologists cheerfully play along with his cold joke, even the eliminated trainees in the front rows started joining in on the teasing.
Hearing clearly what they were saying, Shen Xiu finally let out a breath of relief.
As long as no one was misunderstanding anymore, everything was fine.
Meanwhile, in the livestream chat, some Xiuologists had a completely different interpretation:
[Hmm… what if, in Shen Xiu’s eyes, everything he does really is just ordinary? He genuinely doesn’t see himself as a boss. And we—because we’re too weak in comparison—just assume he’s a boss-level figure!]
[Omg YES, 100% this, sister! That’s exactly it!
[Now it all makes sense—Xiu-baby said that because his level is just way beyond ours. This… this is the gap between us and Xiu-baby!]
[As expected, we mere mortals will never understand the world of a true boss.]
The audience’s misunderstanding about him being a “boss” had completely derailed Shen Xiu’s original plan for his thank-you speech. But after thinking it over, the things he wanted to say hadn’t really changed.
So he calmly spoke the words he had prepared in advance for the end of his speech:
“Here, I sincerely thank the production team of Youth Unstoppable, and all the audience members here at the venue and watching the livestream who have supported me.”
“Thank you all for your hard work!”
As Shen Xiu spoke his final words, he bowed deeply. And as he bent forward, he couldn’t stop the subtle mist from rising in his eyes.
The Xiuologists immediately responded with heartfelt cheers:
“It wasn’t hard at all!”
“Xiu-baby, you’re worth it!”
“We look forward to walking the flower path with you!”
Even though he couldn’t quite make out every word, Shen Xiu could feel their enthusiastic responses—and he knew they were speaking to him.
As he stayed bowed, Shen Xiu blinked rapidly. By the time he straightened up again, the moisture in his eyes had been pushed back down.
Shen Xiu: Whew… dignity, maintained!
If his fans saw him cry on stage, wouldn’t that totally ruin their image of him as an idol?
He handed the mic back to the host. “Thank you.”
He Ting, still recovering from the emotional moment, accepted the mic. “You’re welcome…”
Just moments ago, He Ting had been worried that Shen Xiu might be too aloof—so cold that he’d speak even fewer words than the notoriously brief Shang Yu, leading to an awkward silence.
But now, He Ting felt like a complete clown.
‘What was I even worried about?!’
Shen Xiu may not have said more than Xiang Yueting, but he definitely spoke more than any of the other trainees.
And more importantly… didn’t Shen Xiu interact with the Xiuologists perfectly?
An awkward silence?
No way. That was never going to happen!
…A strong mind is like a needle at the bottom of the ocean—you just can’t read it!
Indeed, as a true powerhouse, even though Shen Xiu was usually quiet and reserved, the moment he faced people he cared about, he could easily lead the atmosphere and make them happy.
Wait a minute… doesn’t this mean that, deep down, Shen Xiu values his fans a great deal?!
So much so that, despite his naturally aloof personality, he was willing to go against his instincts and tell cold jokes just to make his fans smile—to let them know how much he truly cares?
Yes. That must be it. No doubt about it!
As He Ting took the microphone from Shen Xiu’s hand, the remaining eight trainees naturally stepped forward from the sides of the stage, forming up around Shen Xiu, who stood firmly in the center position.
Once everyone was in place, He Ting spoke:
“The behind-the-scenes footage from the final training session will be released tomorrow. The group name will be announced with the release of their first group album—please look forward to it!”
“Of course, without realizing it, we’ve come to the end of the night. I know everyone is reluctant to part with the trainees, and the trainees feel the same. Our production team shares your feelings, too.”
“But no matter how joyful and unforgettable a gathering may be, it must come to an end. So without further ado, let’s give a thunderous round of applause and cheering to congratulate these nine as they officially debut! Wishing the Youth Unstoppable boy group a bright future as they walk the flower path together!”
As the host’s voice fell, thunderous applause instantly erupted throughout the venue, accompanied by the emotional cheers and choked-up cries of the nine trainees’ fans.
At midnight, amidst heartfelt blessings and resounding applause, the debut night of Youth Unstoppable officially came to a close.
But the heat from the debut night of Youth Unstoppable was only just beginning to spread across major social media platforms…
Meanwhile, the system happily collected all the footage from dozens of cameras, storing it with great satisfaction. When it saw the exact moment Shen Xiu’s tie fell loose, it couldn’t help but exclaim:
[As expected of my Great Demon King Xiu!]
Walking behind his teammates, Shen Xiu had been quietly following along, enjoying the rare luxury of silence because none of them were talking either. But when he suddenly heard the system’s voice, his mind went completely blank in shock:
[Y-You’re still here?!]
According to the rules, after completing the task, the system should’ve unbound from him and left him alone!
