Chapter 96: Gossip Submission
As someone who regarded Shen Xiu as a thorn in his side, Duan Mingfei recognized Shen Xiu the instant he looked up and met those familiar, cold eyes.
The moment he realized it was Shen Xiu, Duan Mingfei froze on the spot.
Thinking about what he had just said moments ago, his face instantly turned pale as paper. His mind went blank with a loud buzz, and he stood there like an idiot, completely clueless about how to react.
Shen Xiu: “……”
He had only intended to secretly enjoy some gossip…
But the subject of the gossip—
Even though Shen Xiu couldn’t see the person’s eyes behind the sunglasses, he recognized Duan Mingfei from the exposed earring and the ring on the pinky finger holding the phone—the very same Duan Mingfei who had recently accused him online of copying his style.
To be caught red-handed while gossiping about someone you actually know…
In that moment, Shen Xiu had no idea how Duan Mingfei felt, but as for himself… he was so embarrassed it felt suffocating—and he was nervous too.
After all, judging by how articulate Duan Mingfei was when he confronted him online, if this turned into an argument… he’d totally lose!
Realizing this, Shen Xiu started sweating from his palms.
Next time—he swore he’d never stick his nose into random gossip again!
During the three seconds the two of them locked eyes, the silence was deafening.
Just then, a black business van pulled up a few steps in front of Shen Xiu.
As soon as it stopped, the door swung open from the inside.
“We’re here!”
“Keep it down.”
“Shang Yu is right. The area’s pretty open, and while there aren’t many people around and no one’s passing by at the moment, we should still stay low-key.”
“Okay, okay, got it!” Xiang Yueting quickly covered his mouth.
Familiar voices drifted into the ears of the two who stood there in dead silence…
Duan Mingfei was jolted back to his senses by that cheerful, high-pitched voice.
Then, as more familiar voices followed, he instantly recognized them—who else could it be but Shen Xiu’s barely-noticed teammates?
Duan Mingfei’s face grew even paler. Behind his sunglasses, his eyes shot a fierce glare at Shen Xiu. Judging by the sound of footsteps, the group was walking right toward them, and he didn’t even have time to say anything. He could only turn quickly and leave.
Since the other party averted his gaze first, didn’t confront him on the spot about eavesdropping, and even took the initiative to leave in a hurry, Shen Xiu—though still confused—gradually felt his anxiety settle.
Duan Mingfei… actually seemed kind of decent.
The moment they got out of the van, Xiang Yueting immediately spotted someone shorter than Shen Xiu standing directly in front of him. The two were facing each other, and it was unclear what they were doing.
Xiang Yueting couldn’t hold back his curiosity: “Shen Xiu, who was that just now?”
Don’t tell me… that was one of Shen Xiu’s friends?
Shen Xiu, hearing the question, instinctively replied, “Duan Mingfei.”
Everyone who had just gotten out of the van: “?”
Did they hear that right?
After everything that had gone down online—so messy and awkward—and Duan Mingfei was just standing face to face with Shen Xiu like nothing happened? And they didn’t even get into a fight? Seriously?
Ning Sinian asked worriedly, “Why was he standing in front of you?”
Don’t tell me he came to pick a fight?
Since when was Duan Mingfei the type to confront Shen Xiu head-on like that?
Shen Xiu, mortified, explained, “Because I overheard him say ‘I’m almost there~’ and someone replied ‘Okay, baby~’…”
He was grateful his mask covered his face—so even if he blushed, no one could see it.
Hearing Shen Xiu coldly and calmly recite those two obviously flirtatious lines… any trace of flirtation was instantly frozen and shattered.
But that wasn’t the point.
The point was—
This gossip is so juicy.
The next second, the group dashed off in unison, practically vanishing in a blur as they chased after Duan Mingfei’s retreating figure with lightning speed.
Left behind under the shade of a large tree stood only Shen Xiu—and the driver, who clearly also wanted to follow and catch the gossip.
Shen Xiu: “……”
Everyone really has thick skin when it comes to gossip.
He was secretly curious too, but didn’t have the nerve to chase after them and join in.
Shen Xiu glanced at the driver. “You want to go too?”
The driver quickly averted his gaze. “No, no, I’m good. Goodbye.”
Watching the driver get into the car while turning to look back every few steps, Shen Xiu felt a surprising sense of relief.
Wanting the gossip but too shy to chase it—looks like someone else is on his level.
Feeling oddly comforted by the driver’s shared restraint, Shen Xiu turned, satisfied, and headed toward his friends.
Meanwhile, a paparazzo hiding in a car nearby was totally baffled.
“What just happened? Weren’t they here for Shen Xiu? Why did they all run off?”
“No idea. But something major must’ve gone down up ahead. Let’s drive closer—we’ve gotta get a shot!”
“No way. If we get too close, security will spot us and kick us out.”
“Idiot. You stay here and film from the car—I’ll take the camera and sneak a few shots on foot.”
…
At Yulin Banxia, unless you’re a resident or someone being brought in by a resident, you have to register at the security booth to get in.
Hearing footsteps behind him, Duan Mingfei hurried to the access gate and let out a breath of relief when he saw someone coming out to meet him.
“This way.” The person inside quickly recognized Duan Mingfei, swiped them in with an access card, and led him through the gate.
At the front of the group, Song Chengwang reached the gate, removed his mask without hesitation, and passed the facial recognition system to enter.
Seeing Song Chengwang go in like that—after the whole situation with Shang Yu and Shen Xiu—didn’t shock the group all that much. Especially since Song Chengwang hadn’t been hiding anything from them since leaving the training camp.
They were only mildly surprised this time—and didn’t say much.
Most of the group’s attention was still fixated on finding out who it was that had brought Duan Mingfei inside, and they rushed in, hoping to get a better look.
Since the person who scanned their face to let others in would be held accountable if any issues arose, the security guard only did a headcount and registered everyone under Song Chengwang’s name.
Before entering, Shen Xiu steeled himself and walked over to the security booth, forcing himself to engage in dreaded social interaction: “They’re all my friends. Do we need to register?”
The security guards, upon hearing this, realized that Shen Xiu had been standing under the tree earlier to wait for them. They shook their heads. “No need.”
Shen Xiu let out a quiet sigh of relief and nodded. “Thanks.”
Even writing something down in front of strangers made him nervous.
“You’re welcome.”
Leaving the booth, Shen Xiu took off his mask and passed through the facial recognition gate. Realizing he still hadn’t gotten to the juicy part of the gossip, his steps unconsciously quickened.
He wanted to know who the owner of the bubbly voice was too!
As they watched Shen Xiu’s retreating figure, one of the security guards asked, “Should we change the registration from Mr. Song’s name to Mr. Shen’s?”
“Yeah, better switch it. Mr. Shen lives here now—safer that way.”
After updating the records, one of the guards thought back to the earlier moment and sighed, “When I saw Mr. Shen suddenly walking over, I was startled. Thought we had done something wrong. Never expected he’d come over just to ask about registration.”
“Right? Same here—I was nervous too. Mr. Shen always looks so cold and aloof, like he doesn’t want anyone near him, but turns out he’s really polite.”
“Someone who waits outside just to meet his friends—how rude could he possibly be?”
…
Outside the gated community, the paparazzi, unable to get in, could only circle past repeatedly, trying to snap what shots they could of the inside.
Meanwhile, Duan Mingfei, practically jogging behind the assistant, was cursing under his breath—these people were seriously nuts.
The assistant, who had spotted some familiar faces behind them, quickened his pace too as he led Duan Mingfei further in.
Neither of them dared to look back.
If the people behind them saw his face, his entire career might go down the drain.
Mu Zhenchu exclaimed, “Damn, why’s he walking so fast?!”
The residential complex had lush landscaping and many winding paths. Once they got inside, Duan Mingfei had already vanished from sight.
Shi Buwen, wearing a mask, was stomping his feet in frustration. Staring at the photo on his phone—just a shot of the person’s back—he nearly wanted to beat himself up for not running faster. “Damn it, who was that?!”
After all these years with no one ever catching a photo, today they finally stumbled across the scene—and he only got the back view.
Except for Shi Buwen, everyone else had just been there for the gossip. None of them had thought to pull out their phones and take pictures.
Seeing Shi Buwen looking so frustrated at his screen, Ning Sinian and the others—who didn’t know him very well—felt too awkward to ask if they could take a look.
Shi Buwen sent the video to his assistant, along with the recap of what Shen Xiu had said earlier. He instructed the assistant to package everything neatly and pass it along to media outlets and tabloid accounts.
Shen Xiu, who was the last to arrive, heard his friends talking and immediately understood: no one managed to get the juicy gossip in the end.
The realization made Shen Xiu feel a little disappointed deep down.
Looking at his dejected friends—who even from behind seemed to radiate frustration over missing out—Shen Xiu cautiously spoke up: “Are you all good now?”
That familiar, indifferent voice of his drifting from behind snapped everyone back to reality. Only then did they remember why they were even here in the first place, and a wave of awkwardness hit them.
They turned around and answered sheepishly:
“Ahem… yeah, we’re good.”
“So, uh, Shen Xiu, take us to your place already.”
Song Chengwang glanced around curiously. “Which one’s your place?” If it was close by, maybe he’d consider moving here too—though this area was a bit far from his parents’ place.
Shang Yu immediately understood what Song Chengwang was thinking just from his expression. “Don’t even think about it. Shen Xiu lives here because it’s close to Jinghe University. You really wanna take a two-hour ride home every time?”
Song Chengwang rubbed his nose. “Then never mind.”
It was too far. Living out here alone would be lonely—and Shen Xiu didn’t seem like the type who’d hang out with him anyway.
“This way.”
Shen Xiu raised a hand and pointed in a direction.
After pointing, he suddenly remembered that everyone here was an invited guest. A little late to the realization, he awkwardly stepped to the front. “Follow me.”
Shen Xiu was used to walking at the back of the group. Now, walking up front and feeling so many eyes on him—even though they were all people he was at least half-familiar with—made him nervous.
Because… when he got nervous around strangers, he would sometimes walk in that awkward same-arm-same-leg way, and strangers would usually just laugh it off.
But doing that in front of people he’d continue to see in the future—people who would go from half-familiar to fully familiar—meant he could be teased for life.
So, to avoid eternal ridicule, Shen Xiu focused all his attention on walking properly, not daring to let his mind wander.
Behind him, the others—well used to Shen Xiu’s usual cool and aloof demeanor—still couldn’t help but whisper to each other in low voices, especially with the juicy gossip from earlier still fresh.
“We were literally at the front lines of the drama, and he didn’t budge?!”
“If it were me, no way I could hold back!”
“+1. Even if I had to risk getting punched by Duan Mingfei, I have to ask who it was. Don’t make me get on my knees and beg.”
“Amateur move, Old Xiang. Isn’t it obvious? You pretend like you didn’t notice anything and secretly follow to snap photos.”
“You’re the real deal, Old Song.”
Xia Wenhao muttered thoughtfully, “What if… Shen Xiu just doesn’t care about anything? So even if it was a juicy bit of gossip, he wouldn’t be interested. That was just someone who offended him recently. Even if it was his own gossip, Shen Xiu probably wouldn’t care.”
Shang Yu nodded in agreement. “That kind of extreme indifference—yeah, that tracks.”
Mu Zhenchu stroked his chin. “Even if it was Duan Mingfei, so what? Shen Xiu probably doesn’t even consider him worth paying attention to.”
As the group chatted on, they got more and more into it, eventually stopping without realizing it. They huddled together, continuing their hushed gossip.
Meanwhile, Shen Xiu, fully focused on walking, had unknowingly gone quite far ahead. When he finally spared a bit of attention to his surroundings, he suddenly realized—there were no footsteps behind him.
Shen Xiu: “?”
He turned around in confusion, only to see that his friends were lagging way behind, still bunched together. A bolt of dismay struck him like thunder on a clear day.
This was the first time he had brought friends over to his place—and he couldn’t even lead them properly!
Were they all huddled together like that… talking about him?
Quietly and a little apologetically, Shen Xiu walked back toward them. As he approached, he spoke in a soft, remorseful voice: “Sorry, I didn’t do a good job leading the way.”
His low, cool voice drifted into their ears, and the group stiffened in place. They awkwardly looked up at him.
Meeting Shen Xiu’s cool, piercing gaze, they were suddenly reminded of his earlier faintly sarcastic tone. A chill ran down their spines.
Crap. They’d been so caught up in gossiping, they completely forgot they were supposed to be walking. Shen Xiu must be upset.
If the roles were reversed—if one of them was trying to lead the group while everyone else just ignored them to chat in the back—they’d be mad too.
Ning Sinian timidly said, “No, you’re doing… doing a great job leading…”
“Ahem, let’s keep going.”
“Yeah, yeah, let’s go.”
Since no one seemed to mind, Shen Xiu finally relaxed a bit and resumed walking at the front—but this time, he made sure not to walk too fast.
Trailing behind him, the others began to reflect on the situation—and suddenly, it hit them.
Based on Shen Xiu’s usual attitude toward strangers, he wouldn’t even bother getting mad. But just now, he had shown mild dissatisfaction toward them. Why? Obviously, because in his heart, they weren’t the same as strangers like Duan Mingfei!
Immediately, the few people walking behind Shen Xiu looked at him with even more intense, burning gazes.
Shen Xiu: “……”
So it really was that he hadn’t led the way well enough. Now his friends were all staring at him as he led the way.
Nervous.jpg
—
Back in the car, the paparazzi, freshly returned from filming, burst out excitedly: “Guess what I just got on video? I caught Shen Xiu and his group chasing after someone—guess who it was? You’ll never guess!”
“You think that’s something? I just got a tip-off submission—guess what it was? It was about Duan Mingfei being called ‘baby’! And there’s video, too!”
The two paparazzi exchanged glances and immediately grabbed the camera and phone from each other.
A few minutes later, one of them exclaimed in shock: “Brother, have you realized this? The place we filmed our video and the place in this submission—it’s exactly the same location!”
