Chapter 111.2: K Corp Invests in Immortal Path
Netizens who previously believed there was no way Shen Xiu would return to Immortal Path began taking back their words. Now they believed it was highly likely that he would return to the cast.
The Xiuologists were delighted, but since neither the Immortal Path production team nor Shen Xiu had made any official announcement, their comments remained cautious.
Compared to Lin Jiashi’s fans from before, the difference was stark, and regular netizens found Shen Xiu’s fans much more likable.
—
The next day, at school.
Shen Xiu was afraid of getting to class too early and having to sit around awkwardly making eye contact with everyone, not knowing what to say. He had a habit of arriving right on time.
There were five minutes left before the first class began, and students were slowly trickling into the classroom.
Ever since Shen Xiu moved out of the dorm, only Ling Yuanzhen and the other two roommates were left.
The two roommates were fed up with Ling Yuanzhen’s passive-aggressive attitude and didn’t enjoy hanging out with him.
Today, once again, the two roommates didn’t call him along, so Ling Yuanzhen walked into the classroom with a dark expression on his face.
Both roommates were already in the classroom, and Ling Yuanzhen didn’t dare say anything to them. Instead, he took out his frustration on Shen Xiu, who hadn’t arrived yet, while scrolling through Weibo.
“Tch, always showing up so late. I bet he’s long since lost interest in studying.”
“Every single day… can’t he just be quiet for once…”
Ling Yuanzhen’s snide comments weren’t exactly quiet, but they weren’t loud either.
This was a required course, and there were only a little over a dozen students in the class. Anyone who said anything could easily be heard by everyone.
Although Ling Yuanzhen didn’t mention Shen Xiu by name, anyone with half a brain could tell who he was talking about.
Jiang Wan mimicked Ling Yuanzhen’s sarcastic tone: “Some people haven’t apologized enough holding their ID up, huh?”
With that one line, Jiang Wan cracked open the dam of pent-up dissatisfaction others had with Ling Yuanzhen.
“Definitely not enough. Probably itching to get sued by someone’s lawyer again, haha.”
“Thick-skinned like no other.”
“He got lucky last time. All he had to do was hold up an apology note and his ID. Next time, who knows how much he’ll have to pay.”
“Money’s not the worst part. One wrong move and he could lose his student status—or worse, land in jail. Tsk tsk…”
“No one said anything before just to spare someone’s dignity. Who knew that person would take it for granted~”
…
The class chimed in one after another. Ling Yuanzhen was furious but didn’t dare talk back. Remembering how he had leaked stuff about Shen Xiu to a gossip account and ended up being sued—forced to publicly apologize with his ID in hand—his face turned bright red.
If it were just one or two people, Ling Yuanzhen might have snapped back. But with practically the whole class ganging up on him, he didn’t have the guts. He scowled and stayed silent.
With 30 seconds left before the class bell rang, Shen Xiu stepped into the classroom.
The moment he entered, he could feel the eyes of the whole class on him.
Shen Xiu paused for a moment, scalp tingling, then walked quickly to a seat, pretending not to notice the stares.
As he sat down, he secretly resolved that next time, he’d sneak in through the back door of the classroom.
The teacher arrived shortly after, and Shen Xiu’s awkwardness gradually faded as the lecture began.
Meanwhile, the Immortal Path operations team sent a finalized draft to Zhao Heng for review. Zhao Heng glanced at it and forwarded it to Xuan Ji.
After confirming everything looked good, Xuan Ji instructed the Immortal Path team to schedule the Weibo post for 9 PM and contacted Shen Xiu’s agent to coordinate a repost.
At 9 PM sharp, Immortal Path’s official Weibo account posted:
@ImmortalPathOfficial: After many twists and turns, destiny brought us together. A pleasure to work with you @ShenXiu @Keta [6 images]
After posting the announcement, the Immortal Path team actively responded to comments in the thread, directly confirming that the drama was now fully funded by Keta Corporation.
— No wonder the scale just went up by a billion! Whether it’s Boss Xiu or Keta, this is next-level indeed!
— I am a prophet! Praise me, praise me! Is there a reward? (innocent blinking) Wait… Keta???? Is that the Keta I’m thinking of?
— I’m crying. I heard rumors before that the investors had pulled out, and I thought Immortal Path was doomed. I didn’t expect it had secretly found a powerhouse investor behind our backs. Shen Xiu, Keta… is this still a web drama? Hoping for a full production upgrade!
— Is no one pointing out the key detail? Keta’s tag came after Boss Xiu’s! Could it be… just maybe… Keta invested in Immortal Path because of Shen Xiu?
— Sister, the scale just went up by a billion! No matter what happens, as long as it involves Boss Xiu, all we need to think is, “It’s Boss Xiu, so it’s all good,” and we instantly share his calm confidence!
The bystanders eating popcorn were shocked by Shen Xiu landing the role of Li Yang and also speculated a lot about Shen Xiu’s relationship with Keta.
As soon as Immortal Path’s official post went live, the system instantly made Shen Xiu’s and the “Xiu Xiu Studio” accounts successfully repost it.
Keta’s official operations team received the mention (@) and also reposted it immediately.
With Shen Xiu confirmed to play Li Yang, the Xiuologists finally felt comfortable openly congratulating him and the Xiu Xiu Studio account.
— Looking forward to Xiu-baby as Li Yang!
— Boss Xiu and Li Yang are such a perfect match~
— Xiu-baby, fly with confidence, your Xiuologists will always support you!
— Can’t wait for Xiu-baby’s first acting role — ready to be amazed!
The comment sections under Immortal Path and Shen Xiu’s Weibo accounts were full of congratulations and gossip.
However, the trending topics about this matter also attracted a lot of critics.
Some said Shen Xiu was just a rookie idol daring to cross into acting, blatantly relying on his money to act recklessly, pulling in investors himself, trying to monopolize power on the set. They warned that Shen Xiu’s one-man show might ruin both the character Li Yang and Immortal Path itself.
Others mocked Shen Xiu for treating it like a game — tired of the idol world, now trying the entertainment circle. They admitted he was ambitious but accused him of having the wrong attitude.
No matter what others said, the Xiuologists firmly chose to believe in Shen Xiu.
—
Teacher Sun Yue saw the trending topics about Shen Xiu and Immortal Path while Shen Xiu was studying the script.
Especially after seeing that the famously wealthy Keta had confirmed full investment in Immortal Path, and someone posted pictures in the comments of Qin Mo and Shen Xiu shopping together, Sun Yue quietly left the room before Shen Xiu finished studying and went to find Jiang Jinya.
“You really hit the nail on the head! Shen Xiu really does like to keep everything tightly under his control — not allowing any surprises,” Sun Yue exclaimed excitedly when she saw her close friend downstairs.
To ensure nothing goes wrong with Immortal Path, Shen Xiu directly secured full investment for the project. You have to admit, that’s just like Shen Xiu.
Jiang Jinya raised her head confidently: “Of course! I’m his teacher; I’ve taught him for so long, so I definitely understand him!”
Sun Yue laughed softly: “The way you say that sounds just like the Xiuologists online.”
Jiang Jinya replied seriously, “To be honest, I am one, and I’ve successfully joined their group.”
Sun Yue: “…I’m still a billion steps behind!”
Without a doubt, the official announcement of Shen Xiu and the investor for Immortal Path was met with celebration from Xiuologists and support from intrigued onlookers — but for Shen Xiu’s rivals and Lin Jiashi, it marked the collapse of their carefully constructed world.
Sun Yue returned upstairs, where Shen Xiu had already finished reading the script.
“Teacher Sun, I—”
Before Shen Xiu could finish, Sun Yue interrupted him: “Shen Xiu, Immortal Path has officially announced you.”
Huh?
Hearing this, Shen Xiu felt utterly bewildered.
He didn’t really understand why his acting teacher suddenly brought this up. Not knowing what else to say, Shen Xiu cautiously replied, “Okay, I understand. Thank you for letting me know, teacher.”
This response… should be fine, right?
Sun Yue: “…”
Did he really have to be so calm, as if this wasn’t even worth mentioning?
But—
Sun Yue glanced at Shen Xiu, who was still holding his script, not even reaching for his phone after hearing such big news. Instead, he remained focused on the acting lesson, composed and humble. Her fondness for him only grew.
After giving his reply, Shen Xiu noticed his teacher staring intently at him and instinctively straightened his back.
Uh-oh. The teacher isn’t saying anything… Did I say something wrong?
As Shen Xiu fretted over whether his response had been inappropriate, Sun Yue spoke again: “According to netizens, it was Qin Mo from Keta who made the final call to invest in Immortal Path.”
Shen Xiu jolted and blurted out instinctively, “Mr. Qin is such a good person.”
Thinking of how he’d tried to avoid Qin Mo during the VG offline event, Shen Xiu felt a pang of guilt and made up his mind to properly thank him the next time they met.
Sun Yue: “……”
Even handing out a compliment, this kid sounds so indifferent—probably because there are too many people fighting to do things for him!
What might be earth-shattering news to others was, to Shen Xiu, just another ordinary event—barely worth a reaction.
Having genuinely praised Qin Mo, Shen Xiu noticed that his teacher had once again fallen silent because of his comment. Thinking he’d made her speechless with another awkward response, his grip on the script tightened nervously.
There was no doubt—he had failed today’s round of social interaction.
Fully aware of his lackluster social skills, Shen Xiu instinctively sought to retreat into his comfort zone: class.
In order to get back to that safe space, Shen Xiu mustered his courage and asked, “Teacher… may I start my scene now?”
“……”
At that moment, Sun Yue had only one thought: So competitive!
“…Alright.” Clearly, Shen Xiu had zero interest in gossip.
Hearing his teacher finally respond after fearing he’d triggered a third awkward silence, Shen Xiu quietly let out a breath of relief.
“Then I’ll begin.”
Afraid she might change her mind, Shen Xiu immediately set the script down without wasting a single extra second, jumping straight into his performance.
Sun Yue: “……”
No matter how many times she saw it, she was always stunned by how effortlessly Shen Xiu could drop into character—and then just as easily snap back out, even after the most emotionally intense scenes.
And yet people still dared to say he was just playing around? Who “just plays around” like this?
—
At the apartment.
Lin Jiashi was shaking with rage as he stared at trending topics on the entertainment chart—one after another filled with Shen Xiu and Immortal Path.
“He did it on purpose… It’s all on purpose!”
“He clearly turned it down at first—only to accept after hearing I wanted the role. If that’s not intentional, then what is?!”
In his mind, Shen Xiu had deliberately stolen the role as payback for Mu Zhenchu.
Otherwise, he couldn’t make sense of why Shen Xiu would reject the offer and then suddenly accept it after all.
Furious, Lin Jiashi muttered to himself over and over like a madman.
—
At the same time, Mu Zhenchu had the exact same thought when he saw the trending news.
He wanted to thank Shen Xiu, but knowing how Shen Xiu had rescued him from Qinghe without even saying a word about it, Mu Zhenchu figured he must’ve taken revenge on Lin Jiashi for him this time too—without feeling the need to mention it.
So in the end, Mu Zhenchu didn’t dare call Shen Xiu directly.
But he couldn’t contain his excitement and ended up secretly calling Xiang Yueting instead.
“Shen Xiu returning to Immortal Path—it has to be for me! Wuwuwu, Xiang Yueting, I’m seriously so touched. Captain Xiu is just too good. He’ll always be the best captain in my heart!”
Xiang Yueting, feeling sour, replied with a quiet voice, “Don’t talk to me right now. I’ve turned into a giant lemon…”
When Song Chengwang saw the news, he couldn’t hold back anymore and called Shang Yu.
“Don’t you think Shen Xiu takes the idol game really seriously? And now that he’s done with it, he’s ready to take the actor game seriously too?”
Shang Yu replied, “Or maybe… Shen Xiu’s just been grinding experience points the whole time. Idol, actor—maybe more to come. Maxing out every class.”
Song Chengwang: “…More to come?”
“No wonder the Xiuologists all call him ‘Demon King Xiu.’ They really get him. When he starts grinding, he’s even scarier than a devil!”
After venting, Song Chengwang let out a long sigh.
“Whether Shen Xiu’s grinding or not, all I know is—I’m definitely not interested in grinding actor XP. So I just want to know: after we release this last group album, is The Galaxy disbanding or not?”
Shang Yu: “No idea. Ask Shen Xiu.”
Song Chengwang: “……”
If he could ask Shen Xiu directly, he wouldn’t be this conflicted in the first place!
Frustrated and still without an answer, Song Chengwang ended the call, too annoyed to keep talking to someone who always managed to deflect his questions with ease.
Staring at the ended call screen, Shang Yu raised an eyebrow slightly. Even though Song Chengwang was the only one who’d said it out loud so far, he suspected everyone else felt the same way—nervous and uncertain.
He opened WeChat and sent the question straight to Shen Xiu:
Shang Yu: Is The Galaxy going to disband?
