Chapter 95.2: Yulin Banxia
Meanwhile, after sending his location to Xiang Yueting, Shen Xiu—feeling a bit flustered—couldn’t resist pulling out his phone to search online:
“How to avoid awkwardness when inviting friends over for the first time?”
Reading through the online advice, his overheated brain gradually cooled down.
Then, thinking back to his conversation with Xiang Yueting, he suddenly realized—he was still standing by the riverside, quite far from Yulin Banxia.
There was no way the others would come here only to turn around and walk back with him. Standing there foolishly waiting made no sense.
Shen Xiu opened WeChat and sent the location for Yulin Banxia.
Shen Xiu: I’ll wait for you guys.
After hitting send, he tucked the phone back into his pocket, turned around, and started running back…
Xiang Yueting stared at the two new messages in the chat and muttered, cheeks flushing with embarrassment, “So it really was Yulin Banxia…”
Shang Yu sighed and explained, “Think about what you asked Shen Xiu. You asked where he was, so of course he sent you his current location. But we’re not going to where he is, we’re going to where he lives. So obviously he followed up with his home address.”
Xiang Yueting: “…Got it. Honestly, I didn’t think that far when I asked.”
Turns out the clown was him all along.
He meant well—it’s just that his mouth had started running before his brain had caught up. And as for exactly what he said? Sorry, he talked so much he didn’t even remember.
Everyone who overheard the whole conversation had the same thought:
Shen Xiu really spoils Xiang Yueting.
Even that much confusion and Shen Xiu still went along with it!
The fact that Shen Xiu sent his current location first, then followed up with the actual address they needed—wasn’t that enough of a clue?
Still, it was lucky that Shen Xiu’s final message said: “I’ll wait for you guys.”
That “guys” was important—it meant that in Shen Xiu’s eyes, they all still mattered. Sure, he spoiled Xiang Yueting, but he hadn’t forgotten the rest of them!
Relieved!
After all, who could really hold a grudge against Xiang Yueting?
While everyone was comforting themselves with this thought, Xiang Yueting zoomed out on the two location pins to compare, then gasped:
“It’s that far apart?!”
“Why the heck is Shen Xiu running that far so early in the morning?!”
Shang Yu leaned back on the couch, too lazy to even force a smile. He replied lightly: “Maybe… Shen Xiu’s just out for a morning run.”
“He ran that far?! As expected of Shen Xiu. Go ahead and crush me with your work ethic!” Xiang Yueting exclaimed in awe.
The others didn’t say anything, but deep down, they were all thinking the same thing.
They recalled Shen Xiu’s superhuman stamina back at the training camp—like a machine that never got tired. Now it all made sense.
Running like that every morning… No wonder he had those perfect body lines and visible abs. That kind of physique clearly didn’t come easy.
Just then, Shi Buwen finally came out of the bathroom, patting moisturizer onto his face as he asked, “All set?”
“All set!” Xiang Yueting raised a hand.
Shi Buwen high-fived him without hesitation. “Nice!”
Shang Yu: “…”
This morning, he was the one who drove around to pick up the other seven. It was only after that Shi Buwen casually mentioned that Shen Xiu had turned off his phone last night and missed his call.
Without a second thought, Xiang Yueting volunteered to call Shen Xiu and talk it out. He moved so fast that Shang Yu didn’t even have time to stop him.
As for Shi Buwen? He just handed off the task like it was no big deal and rushed into the bathroom with his bedhead still intact—didn’t even consider that maybe Xiang Yueting wasn’t the best person to handle something so delicate.
And Xiang Yueting? Never once questioned whether he was the right person for it either.
Judging from how both their minds worked, neither of them had ever stopped to ask if something was appropriate or not.
Watching the two of them casually high-five, Shang Yu could only think one thing: ‘Where there’s a sleeping dragon, there must be a Phoenix chick.’
Even if you cracked their skulls open, you’d be disappointed—zombies would take one look inside and spit in disgust.
As the rest of the group watched Xiang Yueting high-five the executive director like it was the most natural thing in the world, they collectively thought:
Confirmed—Xiang Yueting isn’t just socially fearless anymore.
He’s graduated from social butterfly to social terrorist.
There’s no one else like him.
It must be said—aside from Shang Yu and Song Chengwang, today was everyone else’s first time meeting the chief director.
And this wasn’t just any director. This was Shi Buwen, the once internet-infamous idol trainee who had supposedly been driven to depression and even rumors of s**cide from online hate.
From the moment they saw Shi Buwen, the rest of the group had been on edge—nervous and too scared to even speak freely.
But Xiang Yueting?
He’s just built different. Brave as hell.
Once Shi Buwen changed into fresh clothes, all nine of them left his house and got into the black business van Shang Yu had called over.
Shang Yu was the last to get in, and he gave the driver the address: “Go to Yulin Banxia.”
“Yes, Young Master Shang,” the driver replied respectfully.
The sleek black van started moving. A quiet tension filled the air for a while—until a soft, slightly hesitant voice broke the silence: “…Is it that Yulin Banxia?”
Recognizing Jiang Yanxi’s voice, Song Chengwang leaned back in his seat lazily and replied, “Yep.”
Zhuang Yi gasped dramatically, “If Shen Xiu doesn’t live in a private estate, it’s Yulin Banxia. I’m so jealous, the word ‘envy’ doesn’t even cut it anymore.”
Xiang Yueting scratched his head, “But Shen Xiu said he’s just renting, not his actual home…”
Xia Wenhao turned to look at him with a gaze full of tender pity.
“We’ve got an honest man in the group.”
Song Chengwang chuckled, then reached into the van’s mini fridge and pulled out a popsicle—which he promptly shoved down the back of Xiang Yueting’s shirt: “Then what are we waiting for? Time to b*lly him!”
Still believing Shen Xiu’s dry jokes… Xiang Yueting really is a big ol’ innocent goofball.
—
At eight o’clock, just as he was about to reach the entrance of the residential complex, Shen Xiu put on a mask, slowed his pace, and finally stood under a large tree not far from the entrance to wait for someone.
To avoid drawing attention from passersby as much as possible, Shen Xiu listened to a recording of a textbook being read through his left earphone while memorizing it.
During the day, the security guards at the gate were still the same two who had been there the first time Shen Xiu came. Ever since moving in, the guards often saw Shen Xiu going out for a run at seven in the morning, then heading out again carrying things after he returned, only to come back in the afternoon.
Very routine.
Even though they still couldn’t clearly see Shen Xiu’s face, his height and that naturally cool presence he exuded just by standing there made him unmistakable.
This time, instead of entering the complex after his run, Shen Xiu stood under the big tree nearby, wearing earphones. The security guards couldn’t help but glance at him a couple more times.
They soon realized they weren’t the only ones watching Shen Xiu—quite a few passersby were also staring at him, and some were even sneaking photos with their phones.
Immersed in the sea of knowledge, Shen Xiu’s gaze was unfocused, completely unaware of this.
Screech—
A harsh braking sound rang out.
The sudden noise yanked Shen Xiu out of the sea of knowledge.
He looked up slightly and saw a black sedan pull up not far from where he stood.
Recalling the screech he had just heard, Shen Xiu frowned more deeply and gave the black car a few more glances.
Duan Mingfei, who was sitting in the backseat without a seatbelt, was putting on a mask when the abrupt braking sent him lurching forward, slamming into the back of the front seat.
“Argh…”
Clutching his head in pain, Duan Mingfei unleashed a string of curses at the assistant driving up front.
And just to finish it off, he snapped, “Do you even know how to drive?”
Xiao Gong felt very wronged. He had already said this was the city center and he couldn’t drive too fast, but Duan Mingfei kept rushing him from the back seat, constantly yelling commands. Feeling anxious, he had nearly rear-ended the car in front.
Thankfully, he braked in time and had just arrived at their destination, smoothly pulling into an empty spot nearby.
Besides, if you don’t wear a seatbelt, who else is going to suffer the pain?
In his heart, Xiao Gong rolled his eyes so hard they could’ve hit the ceiling, but out loud he muttered meekly, “I’m sorry, Brother Ming, I really didn’t mean to… I’m sorry…”
“Bad luck!” Duan Mingfei snapped.
If he hadn’t been in such a rush, Duan Mingfei would’ve kept cursing him out before getting out of the car.
After replying to his boss, Duan Mingfei put on his sunglasses, mask, and baseball cap, his face dark. “Open the door,” he ordered.
“Yes, Brother Ming,” Xiao Gong replied quickly.
As the assistant got out of the car, he immediately noticed a person standing under a tree about ten paces away—dressed in a black T-shirt, face fully covered so that no features were visible.
Even with his face hidden, the person’s presence was striking. Having been around many celebrities while working for Duan Mingfei, even Xiao Gong couldn’t help but glance again.
That height, that aura… it was kind of eye-catching…
Noticing someone looking at him, Shen Xiu assumed it was the car owner catching him staring earlier. He quickly lowered the brim of his cap and nervously cast his eyes downward.
Seeing the person under the tree move slightly, Xiao Gong got flustered and quickly lowered his head as well. Remembering his own duties, he hurried over to the car door and opened it for Duan Mingfei.
The car door opened, and Duan Mingfei stepped out while typing on his phone.
Without even pausing, he tossed a sentence to Xiao Gong: “Pick me up tomorrow morning.”
Xiao Gong replied nervously, “Yes, sir.”
Xiao Gong was genuinely afraid of Duan Mingfei. As soon as Duan got out of the car, Xiao Gong got in and drove off immediately without wasting a second.
A few seconds after the car pulled away, it stopped at a red light. While waiting, Xiao Gong recalled the man he saw standing at the entrance of the Yulin Banxia complex when he dropped off Duan Mingfei, and blurted out in shock, “That height and presence—was that Shen Xiu?!”
Thinking about the past conflict between Duan Mingfei and Shen Xiu, Xiao Gong realized that if Duan Mingfei was entering Yulin Banxia, he would have definitely passed right by Shen Xiu.
Which meant Shen Xiu must have seen him…
Just imagining the scene made Xiao Gong’s chronic secondhand embarrassment flare up again. He couldn’t help curling his toes and nervously scraping the soles of his shoes.
As for going back and telling Duan Mingfei about it? No way. After the verbal abuse he’d just received, this was the only revenge he could muster—he could only pray that Duan Mingfei had indeed walked right into Shen Xiu.
As for Duan Mingfei, after getting out of the car, he didn’t even look where he was going. He was used to coming here, so he walked with his head down, typing on his phone.
Texting wasn’t enough—Duan Mingfei raised his phone to his mouth and recorded a voice message: “I’m almost there~”
After recording it, he played it back to himself to make sure it was just right. A satisfied smile crept up beneath his mask as he sent it off.
Standing just three steps away, Shen Xiu heard “I’m almost there~” not once but twice, and couldn’t help glancing sideways.
As he did, Shen Xiu finally understood why everyone back at the training camp loved gossip so much.
You just can’t help it. It’s impossible to resist!
Right after Duan Mingfei sent the message, he got a reply.
“Okay, baby~”
Hearing the bubbly, syrupy voice from the phone speaker, Duan Mingfei frowned in disgust and paused his steps. Silently, he repeated to himself lines like “money’s hard to earn, crap’s hard to eat, but this opportunity can’t be missed” while furiously typing a reply.
After sending off just two words, Duan Mingfei sighed in relief, letting his hand with the phone drop to his side, and finally looked up.
At that exact moment—just as he looked up—he locked eyes with Shen Xiu, who had turned to listen in on the gossip and happened to be frowning at the overly sweet voice he’d just heard. The eye contact came out of nowhere and caught both of them completely off guard…
Hmm