Big Shot Ch.92.1

Chapter 92.1: #StarlightRing#

@Shen Xiu: #Starlight# walks with me through the rain. In every gesture, we explore the fleeting moments of heartbeats. @VG. #VGStarlightRing#

Click the link to begin your journey of heartbeats: — Web link

[4 Images]

The four images in this official endorsement post show:

The first two pictures feature Shen Xiu holding an umbrella in the rain from different angles.

In the photos, his long, well-defined fingers grasp the handle of a black umbrella. The black ring on his finger complements the dark umbrella handle, enhancing the overall sense of elegance and luxury.

The last two images show Shen Xiu standing in a corridor, using one hand to brush back his slightly damp black hair.

His slender fingers, adorned with the VG Starlight Black Ring, thread through his damp hair, revealing a smooth forehead. In the cool drizzle, the subtle chill exuding from Shen Xiu blends seamlessly with the cold sheen of the ring, highlighting a sharp, damp aura that seems to come straight through the screen.

The Xiuologists thought his previous post would be the last one for the night, only to be caught off guard by this unexpected update.

And it’s another high-end luxury endorsement! The Xiuologists could hardly believe their eyes.

After repeatedly refreshing his page and confirming that the latest post hadn’t disappeared, they finally accepted that this wasn’t a dream—and promptly went wild.

Overflowing with excitement, the Xiuologists left passionate comments:

— Look what treasure I just stumbled upon! Even through the screen, I can feel the Great Demon King Shen’s aloof, icy aura. The Starlight Ring suits him so well! Today’s Demon King Shen is so dazzlingly handsome it breaks the sky—who just fell for him? Oh, it’s me. I did.

— Is this what Xiu-baby meant by “met only once”?!

— Your resident prophet has arrived~ (Hmph, even a fleeting encounter can’t stop our Boss Shen from landing that endorsement. That’s just how amazing he is!)

— The Great Demon King Shen has never stooped to lying, so it must truly have been just one meeting with Kaiser. Boss Shen told the truth—but I didn’t notice anything off. Damn it, my Xiuology studies clearly aren’t up to standard!

— Boss Shen always pulls off big moves in silence. His mind really is like a needle lost in the sea… Damn it, yet another day of failing to figure out what Boss Shen is thinking. Wuwuwu

Just as Shen Xiu’s scheduled Weibo post went live, VG’s official account also posted a scheduled update precisely at 9 p.m.

@VG: #VGSummerCoolSpokespersonShenXiu

@ShenXiu, at the meeting point of light and shadow, lies in wait in the dark with @ShenXiu, ready to soar—stay tuned!

#VGStarlightRing#

Click the link to begin your journey of discovery: — Web link

[4 Images]

The four images released by VG were completely different from Shen Xiu’s. These showed Shen Xiu from various angles while sitting inside a car.

In the photos, Shen Xiu looks out the window as light from outside falls on him, creating a stark contrast between the bright exterior and the dim interior of the car.

His hands are clasped and resting on his knees, and the black Starlight Ring on his index finger glimmers with a cool, ghostly sheen due to the play of light and shadow—perfectly echoing his own aura.

In the photos, the ring almost seems like a stand-in for Shen Xiu himself.

After both Shen Xiu and VG’s Weibo official account published their scheduled posts, each went to the other’s profile to repost the endorsement announcement.

Fans—aka the Xiuologists—after finishing their round of passionate comments under Shen Xiu’s post, immediately followed the repost to the VG official page to leave more messages:

— Which brand’s official account is this? That taste is just too impeccable! (shocked face)

— Oh my god, whose precious boy is this? He’s too handsome! Buy it, buy it all!

— Silent power moves—an absolute match with Xiu-baby!

— These are clearly casual lifestyle shots, so why do they look so high-end? Obviously because VG’s flawless aesthetic matches the Great Demon King Shen’s elite aura perfectly~

After Shen Xiu reposted VG’s official endorsement announcement, he returned to his homepage and saw that all eight of his groupmates had shared the post almost simultaneously.

Seeing their neatly lined-up reposts and congratulations in the comments section made his nose sting with emotion. It felt like a fine thread was tugging gently at his heart, a little ache wrapped in warmth.

He carefully read through every word of his friends’ messages and replied to each of them, one by one, with great care.

Because they had taken him so seriously, Shen Xiu didn’t want to let their sincerity go unanswered or make anyone feel he was playing favorites. So not only did he write a unique reply for each person, but he made sure that the number of characters and punctuation marks in every response was exactly the same.

After congratulating Shen Xiu with their reposts, the eight people in the private room felt as if they’d just completed a big task. The tense and quiet atmosphere finally lifted, and the room grew lively again.

Xiang Yueting flopped onto the sofa, phone in hand, grinning with pride: “Hehe, Shen Xiu replied to me first! I was the first one, okay~”

Xia Wenhao ruthlessly exposed him: “You seriously think there’s no reason he replied to you first?”

Song Chengwang chimed in: “If you hadn’t been so quick to type and hit send, taking the top comment spot so fans would see and like yours first, do you really think you’d be first?”

Xiang Yueting didn’t get mad and just smiled cheekily: “Even if I wasn’t first, the top spot would’ve gone to Shang Yu, who was only a few seconds slower than me. It definitely wouldn’t have been you—the seventh person to get a reply~”

Song Chengwang: “…”

Ning Sinian smoothly stepped in to de-escalate: “Xiang Yueting, enough. If you keep this up and a fight breaks out, you won’t outrun Song Chengwang.”

Shang Yu sighed and chimed in to help steer the topic away: “Didn’t any of you notice? Shen Xiu replied to each of us with exactly the same number of characters, but not a single word is repeated.”

Hearing this, Song Chengwang and Xiang Yueting paused their quarrel and immediately dove into the comment section to check Shen Xiu’s replies.

Within less than a minute, Xiang Yueting let out a shout.

“As expected of Shen Xiu—I hereby crown him the world-class Master of Fairness! Back in training camp, he was already so fair that everyone willingly accepted his leadership. And now even his replies have to be fair.”

Jiang Yanxi sighed, “Even his replies are so thoughtful… Captain Shen really has us in his heart!”

Shang Yu stood up. “That’s it for me tonight, everything we needed to do is done. I’ll cover the bill. You guys have fun—I’ve got a flight to catch tomorrow.”

Song Chengwang also got up. “I have to go with my mom to a gathering tomorrow.”

It was called “gathering” but in fact it was just to ask him to play bodyguard and carry bags.

A few minutes later, only Mu Zhenchu and Zhuang Yi remained in the private room.

Mu Zhenchu looked at Zhuang Yi, who was still sitting on the couch without moving, and asked curiously, “Aren’t you leaving?”

Zhuang Yi shook his head. “Not yet. If I leave now, who’s going to call a car for you later?”

Mu Zhenchu hesitated, words on the tip of his tongue, before finally saying, with a bit of gratitude, “Thanks.”

Zhuang Yi smiled. “Don’t mention it.”

Among the nine of them, Mu Zhenchu had it the hardest. Of all the entertainment companies he could’ve signed with, he ended up with Qinghe Entertainment—the same one as Duan Mingfei and Lin Jiashi.

Never mind Duan Mingfei. Let’s just talk about Lin Jiashi.

From the very beginning of the talent show, Lin Jiashi had shown an inexplicable obsession with Shen Xiu. Even on debut night, when he was being ridiculed left and right, he still had to show up.

And Mu Zhenchu just so happened to become Shen Xiu’s teammate. Of course Lin Jiashi would make trouble for him.

But judging by Mu Zhenchu’s expression, he clearly didn’t want to talk about those unpleasant matters, so Zhuang Yi didn’t pry.

—

Meanwhile, on Weibo…

With the reposts and comments from the other eight group members and their fans, plus Shen Xiu’s interactions with them in the comments section, the hashtags about VG’s endorsement and Shen Xiu were skyrocketing in popularity like they were free.

Even the marketing accounts that had previously “leaked” that Shen Xiu would be the summer campaign ambassador for VG were now reposting the news to ride the wave of traffic.

VG had previously only chosen second-tier or higher celebrities for endorsements, so picking newly-debuted Shen Xiu for the first time—and doing so in a coordinated campaign where both parties posted at the same time and then reposted each other—gave off the impression that they were equals in this collaboration. This led fans from various circles to start speculating.

Meanwhile, the melon-eaters were leaping around the melon field, eager to get their hands on some ripe drama.

— All based on merit? Yeah, right. What kind of ability could a rookie possibly have? You think we’re fools?

— Is Shen Xiu actually backed by capital? They met once and then signed the deal, so is this endorsement actually just two capital forces propping each other up?

— Let’s be honest, your comment really sounds like it came from a fool. Shen Xiu debuted already at top-tier popularity and strength. If he’s not already outpacing the others, he’s at least in the race. And you’re saying he has no talent? Please. Unless you think “talent” means your idol cracking notes on stage and tripping over their own feet at concerts—then yeah, our Boss Shen absolutely doesn’t have that kind of talent. Maybe Kaiser just has a good eye for talent?

— But… Xiu-baby said they didn’t sign the contract at their first meeting, so now the question is—when did they sign?

— Yeah, when exactly? (scratches head in confusion)

— Don’t celebrate too early. Choosing a rookie is a huge risk for VG. If the product doesn’t sell once the campaign officially launches, it’ll be hilarious.

— Agreed. The ring is minor. The real deal is the million-yuan luxury watch that’s tied to the summer collection. Shen Xiu just debuted—does he even have wealthy fans? I doubt it~

— I don’t know about the million-dollar watches, but that ring? I’m genuinely tempted. Gotta get the same one as Xiu-baby!

— I can’t speak for others, but as a certified Xiuologist, a million-yuan watch? That’s pocket change~

Qin Mo leaned back on the sofa, tablet in hand, scrolling through these comments and typing a reply.

He didn’t know what the full story was—but one thing was certain: He could definitely afford to show his support.

Just as Qin Mo finished typing his reply, his phone, resting on the coffee table, started vibrating. He put down the tablet, picked up the phone, and saw it was a call from a senior executive at the company. He answered, “Hello?”

“Assistant Qin, after restarting the experiment and running multiple comparisons, the new set of comparison data has come in. I’ve sent it to your email. The set marked with an ‘X’—as suspected—has an issue. The lab that submitted the old data has already been penalized. The boss is really—”

“That’s enough,” Qin Mo cut off the flattering. “Goodbye.”

What good was flattery when he’d already told them—he hadn’t even met the boss himself! Why did no one believe him?

Looking at the disconnected call, the senior executive at Keta Corp wiped the sweat from his forehead. Such a tiny discrepancy in the data, and it still got caught.

Just as Assistant Qin had warned: the boss couldn’t tolerate even a grain of sand in his eye.

Even if the production had proceeded based on the initial data set, it would have only caused minor bugs—nothing that would seriously impact the product’s direction. Most people would have turned a blind eye to it.

But the boss had somehow pinpointed it precisely. He’s a devil!

After this re-initiation of lab comparison testing, it was likely that no one would dare cut corners again for a long while.

<< _ >>