Chapter 135.2: Travel to Amara
Boarding had started early, and since he had a window seat, the passenger next to him hadn’t arrived yet.
To avoid having to talk to strangers, Shen Xiu took advantage of the empty seat and leaned toward the window, pretending to close his eyes and rest.
Not long after he shut his eyes, he sensed someone had sat down beside him. His whole body tensed up. Afraid they’d realize he was faking sleep, he stayed frozen in his position, facing the window and not daring to move.
As the plane took off, Shen Xiu, with his eyes still closed, eventually drifted off to sleep for real.
He didn’t know how long he had been asleep when he suddenly woke up during a bout of light turbulence.
Startled, Shen Xiu looked out the window and saw that they were still in the air, which finally put his mind at ease.
Relieved that the plane was fine, he also felt thankful that he’d woken up early.
Otherwise… Shen Xiu couldn’t bear to imagine the awkwardness of still being asleep when the plane landed and having a flight attendant wake him up.
Shen Xiu had lunch on the plane, and after quite some time, the flight landed safely.
—
At the airport.
After picking up his luggage, Shen Xiu had just exited the airport when he saw someone holding a sign with the production crew’s name on it. The person was pulling two suitcases and walking toward him.
Jin Can, the crew member picking him up, was surprised to see Shen Xiu arrive completely alone—no assistant, no manager, no one.
In the entertainment industry, someone of Shen Xiu’s status traveling without three to five bodyguards, assistants, or managers—and without a crowd of fans waiting to greet him—was considered seriously lacking in star power.
Even though they were currently overseas, having fans chase the production all the way abroad to take photos was the ultimate proof of an artist’s popularity.
Unlike other celebrities, Shen Xiu really did come all by himself—alone and low-key. He wore sunglasses, a mask, and a baseball cap, covering his face as much as possible, clearly afraid of being recognized.
If it weren’t for his outstanding height and air of elegance, Jin Can might not have recognized him at all under such a discreet get-up.
Recovering from his initial surprise, Jin Can quickly strode over.
Halfway, the two met.
Jin Can lowered his voice and asked, “Excuse me, are you Mr. Shen Xiu?”
Shen Xiu responded softly, “Yes.”
Jin Can said, “Hello, Mr. Shen. I’m Jin Can, but feel free to call me Xiao Jin. Here, let me help you with your luggage. Oh, by the way, are you hungry? There’s some food prepared in the car. If you are, I’m afraid you’ll have to make do with a simple meal on the way, but the hotel has already arranged a proper dinner.”
Still a bit tense from traveling, Shen Xiu hadn’t fully relaxed when Jin Can took the suitcase from his left hand.
Startled, Shen Xiu quickly tightened his grip on the handle of his right-hand suitcase. “I’ll carry this one myself.”
After saying that, and noticing Jin Can’s surprised look, Shen Xiu finally responded to his earlier greeting, now more composed: “Nice to meet you. Just call me Shen Xiu—no need to be so formal.”
“I ate on the plane. I’m not hungry, but thank you.” Before leaving, Shen Xiu had breakfast at home, then had lunch on the flight. There were still a few hours left before dinner, and he genuinely wasn’t hungry, so he answered honestly.
Jin Can looked up at Shen Xiu, visibly surprised.
He had picked up many celebrities before, and regardless of Shen Xiu’s background, given his current popularity and status, Jin Can wouldn’t have been shocked even if he looked down on people with his chin raised high.
He had encountered plenty of big-name stars with equally big egos—ones who wouldn’t even carry a small handbag or their own phone, relying entirely on assistants.
So when Shen Xiu said that, it genuinely caught Jin Can off guard, leaving him momentarily stunned.
After Shen Xiu finished speaking and noticed that Jin Can hadn’t responded, he wasn’t sure what he’d said wrong. But standing there awkwardly wasn’t helping, so he forced himself to speak again: “Let’s go.”
Jin Can raised a hand to his chest and replied, “Y-yes, of course!”
As he walked alongside Shen Xiu, Jin Can snuck a glance at him out of the corner of his eye, his heart still thudding wildly.
Before coming to the airport, Editor Lu had warned him not to be too nervous. “Shen Xiu might seem a bit cold, but he’s polite and easy to get along with.” Back then, Jin Can hadn’t quite believed it—but now he did.
When Shen Xiu spoke to him earlier, even though his face was expressionless and his voice cold and devoid of emotion, the words themselves carried respect. Jin Can had genuinely felt it.
Wait a minute…
Jin Can’s gaze landed on Shen Xiu’s hand, still pulling his own suitcase, and his expression turned to one of alarm.
How could he let a celebrity pull his own luggage!?
In a fluster, Jin Can spoke carefully, “Mr. Shen, really, let me take it.”
“No need,” Shen Xiu replied stiffly, his voice rigid. Worried the suitcase might get taken again, he quickened his pace.
If he hadn’t been so nervous during their first meeting and let his suitcase be taken in a moment of distraction, he wouldn’t be in this awkward position—having someone clearly smaller and weaker carrying such heavy luggage for him.
Just pulling one made him feel embarrassed enough. Letting someone else pull both suitcases while he walked alongside doing nothing…
Just imagining the scene made Shen Xiu feel suffocated.
Jin Can, now even more anxious, hurried to catch up with him.
At the car, the driver placed the two suitcases in the trunk while Jin Can opened the car door for Shen Xiu and said, “Please, Mr. Shen.”
Even though Shen Xiu had told him to just call him by name—and had indeed shown him respect—Jin Can still didn’t dare to drop the formal address. He’d seen too many “gotcha” moments with celebrities and was afraid of falling into a trap.
Once in the car, Jin Can sat in the front passenger seat. After the driver started driving, he mulled things over, then turned around to apologize to Shen Xiu:
“Mr. Shen, I’m really sorry about earlier. I shouldn’t have let you carry your own suitcase.”
Seeing Jin Can turn around made Shen Xiu a bit nervous. After hearing what he said, his nervousness turned into confusion.
“…That’s my luggage. I should be thanking you for helping me carry it,” he said.
Not the other way around—this kind of behavior struck him as very strange.
It was the first time Jin Can had encountered a situation like this, and for a moment, he was at a loss for words.
Then he quickly responded, “Mr. Shen, you must be joking. It’s part of my job for the production team. I really didn’t do…”
Bzzz… bzzz… bzzz…
Jin Can’s phone started vibrating before he could finish. He gave Shen Xiu an apologetic look.
“Sorry, I need to take this call.”
“…Sure, go ahead,” Shen Xiu replied, feeling increasingly awkward—like ants were crawling all over him from how overly polite Jin Can was being.
As soon as Shen Xiu gave the okay, Jin Can picked up the phone.
“Hello, Editor Lu… yes, I picked him up. Mm-hmm, don’t worry, everything went smoothly… Yes, I promise, I didn’t say anything… Alright, okay, got it.”
Afraid that Jin Can might start saying more strange things after hanging up, Shen Xiu used the opportunity while he was still on the phone to quickly lower his head, turn on his phone—which had been powered off during the flight—and pretend to be busy checking it. In reality, he was opening the home surveillance app to check on Lucky.
A few minutes later, Jin Can ended the call. Seeing that Shen Xiu looked busy, he didn’t dare disturb him and swallowed the rest of the words he’d wanted to say.
Then he turned to the driver and said, “Drive straight to the hotel.”
The driver responded, “Got it.”
After speaking with the driver, Jin Can couldn’t resist sneaking another glance at Shen Xiu. Seeing his cold expression and downcast gaze locked on his phone, looking every bit the aloof “keep your distance” type, Jin Can gave up on making conversation and turned back around.
Sensing that Jin Can had stopped turning to look at him, Shen Xiu finally relaxed a little. His nerves settled, and he finally dared to lift his gaze and look out the window.
The airport was quite far from where the production crew was currently based. Shen Xiu watched as the car gradually left the city behind and headed toward a desert area, where vegetation became increasingly sparse.
At the same time, photos of Shen Xiu traveling alone by plane, taken from multiple angles by different people, were spreading like wildfire online.
#WhereIsShenXiuGoing
#ShenXiuTravels
#TooColdToApproach
#ShenXiuInAkma
#DesertJourney
Under these trending hashtags, netizens analyzed the photos from his trip and managed to deduce Shen Xiu’s destination.
— I saw Big Boss Xiu at the airport today, and OMG I was so happy!
PS: Even though he was wearing a baseball cap and a mask, I still recognized him instantly by his exceptional aura and stunning physique. (arms crossed proudly)
— Is he going to the desert? Vacation trip?
— Doesn’t seem like a vacation. Big Boss Xiu never does meaningless things—there’s definitely something more going on that we don’t know!
— I also ran into Xiu-baby at the airport today. I know he just looks cold and is actually a really nice person, but when I saw him in real life, that “keep your distance” aura was so strong I didn’t even dare to say hi. I’m such a coward, wuwuwu.
— Aaaaah, Big Boss Xiu is exactly as I imagined! Spending his downtime traveling the world, going on adventures, and gaining knowledge!
— I’m booking a ticket to Amara right now to try and run into Big Boss Xiu!
— Uhhh… it looks like Shen Xiu isn’t the only one heading to Amara. Looks like the whole Galaxy crew is there too. Check out these sneak photos marketing accounts have been posting—click the link for pics [Image x14].
At first, online discussions centered around why Shen Xiu had suddenly gone to Amara. But after seeing the photos posted by marketing accounts, netizens shifted their curiosity to why the entire Galaxy team seemed to be heading to Amara in such a coordinated fashion.
Amara’s local time wasn’t too different from back home, so there was no need to adjust for jet lag. At 7:30 PM local time, the car that had picked up Shen Xiu pulled up in front of the designated hotel.
Lu Wen was already waiting. As soon as he saw Shen Xiu, he walked over quickly and extended his hand for a handshake.
“Hahaha, Shen Xiu, you’re finally here! Let Jin Can handle the luggage—I’m taking you to meet someone.”
