Chapter 144.2: Going Home for the New Year
During the break while waiting for the next scene to be set up, Xuan Yushu reviewed the playback. Shi Yu hadn’t left—he stayed beside Xuan Yushu, watching the footage with him while muttering to himself, “Shen Xiu’s acting is incredible. The way he transitions in and out of character is so smooth—it takes less than a second. And that’s not even the most impressive part; his command over the atmosphere is insane. The moment he stands there, the world described in Storm instantly comes alive.”
“You’re just realizing that?” Xuan Yushu replied coolly. “I knew from the very first time I saw Shen Xiu.”
No matter where he was or what the setting, the moment Shen Xiu appeared, everyone’s eyes were involuntarily drawn to him. And yet no one dared to meet his gaze directly—they only dared to sneak glances, captivated and intimidated all at once.
Meanwhile, Shang Yu, Ning Sinian, and Xiang Yueting were upstairs getting their makeup touched up.
Once the makeup artists had left and only the group of friends remained, Ning Sinian finally said, “I really want to know how Captain Xiu was trained to have such a presence. It’s incredible. He’s made Han Fei’s character so convincing. I’m getting more and more curious about Captain Xiu’s parents.”
Xia Wenhao said quietly, “Captain Xiu has never talked to us about his family. He’s also never asked about ours. It’s probably best not to ask—everyone has their own secrets.”
Shang Yu withdrew his gaze from downstairs. “Agreed.”
…
Once the next scene’s set was ready, there was no more time to chat—they immediately threw themselves back into filming.
After several intense days of shooting, just two days before the New Year, the cast and crew finally wrapped filming and officially announced the start of the New Year holiday.
The nine members of The Galaxy all had different destinations to head to, and the rest of the production team also had various plans. So, after reimbursing the plane tickets, the Storm crew dispersed individually on the same day they finished shooting at the Bosen Manor.
Shen Xiu left the hotel, pulling two suitcases behind him, wearing a mask, and took the hotel’s shuttle to the airport.
—
At 8 a.m. the next morning, Shen Xiu’s plane landed.
After queuing up to collect his luggage, Shen Xiu, wearing a mask, walked out of the airport.
There was some distance between the airport and his residence at Yulin Banxia. With two oversized suitcases in tow, taking public transportation wasn’t convenient, so Shen Xiu planned to hail a cab outside the airport to go home.
Once outside, Shen Xiu didn’t feel comfortable raising his hand to flag down a cab—worried he’d have to say the address out loud—so he took out his phone, intending to input the destination in a ride-hailing app and avoid speaking altogether.
Just as he pulled out his phone, a taxi suddenly pulled up in front of him. The front window rolled down, and a head poked out: “Sir, do you need a ride?”
Caught off guard, Shen Xiu’s mind briefly short-circuited. He instinctively opened his mouth and stammered, “…Y-yes.”
As soon as he spoke, Shen Xiu realized he hadn’t managed to control his stutter. Embarrassed, he tightened his grip on the suitcase handle.
The cold wind blew against him, and in that moment, Shen Xiu was immensely grateful. Grateful that he habitually wore a mask when going out, and grateful it was winter—his face was so frozen it couldn’t even flush red.
While Shen Xiu was silently frustrated, the driver had already swiftly gotten out of the car and opened the trunk. “Let me get that for you!”
“…Okay.”
The driver was very enthusiastic. He and Shen Xiu each lifted a suitcase and placed them in the trunk.
After loading the luggage, the driver looked at Shen Xiu and said, “It’s cold out, hop in quickly.”
“Mm.” Not used to such warmth, Shen Xiu didn’t dare sit in the front passenger seat. Afraid the driver might enthusiastically open that door for him, he walked straight to the back seat without a moment’s hesitation, opened the door, and got in.
Once the door was shut and he was seated in the back, Shen Xiu’s wildly pounding heart slowly began to calm.
Thud!
The driver shut the trunk, and a second later, his cheerful voice rang in Shen Xiu’s ears: “Where are you headed?”
Shen Xiu’s hand trembled slightly as he held his phone. He secretly lowered his gaze to glance at the screen, unlocked it with his fingerprint, opened the Notes app, and, with a blank mind, read aloud the address he had prepared earlier: “Zhongtian Century, Yulin Banxia, Gate No. 2.”
After reciting it, Shen Xiu belatedly added, “Thank you.”
“Got it!”
The driver entered the address, and within five seconds, the taxi started moving.
The ride was smooth, and after about a minute, Shen Xiu finally realized he could turn off his phone screen. The anxiety that had been churning in his chest slowly settled.
Thankfully… he’d only embarrassed himself once this year, and even that was while wearing a mask!
The driver kept sneaking glances at Shen Xiu through the rearview mirror. Thinking back on Shen Xiu’s earlier behavior, he nodded inwardly—those online comments were right. This man named Shen Xiu really did own a ton of properties. So many, apparently, that he had to rely on notes in his phone just to remember which address he was going to.
An hour later, the taxi pulled up in front of Yulin Banxia.
Five minutes before arriving, Shen Xiu had already opened the payment QR code on his phone. When the driver handed him the code to scan, Shen Xiu asked stiffly, “How much?”
Driver: “That’ll be thirty-six.”
Shen Xiu entered the number, double-checked it twice to make sure he hadn’t mistyped, then keyed in his password to confirm.
“Thank you. The payment’s gone through.”
“You’re welcome.”
As the driver responded, Shen Xiu opened the car door to get out. Just as he pushed it open, the driver suddenly called out, “Uh, excuse me, would you mind giving me an autograph?”
The driver had been debating with himself the whole ride. Now that Shen Xiu was about to leave, he finally mustered the courage to ask, despite the cold aura Shen Xiu gave off.
Thanks to his daughter, the driver had recognized Shen Xiu immediately when he stepped out of the airport—just by his figure. After all, this was the celebrity his daughter had used as her laptop lock screen.
He had shamelessly approached to offer a ride, thinking—based on what he’d read online—that someone like Shen Xiu, with such a wealthy background, would surely have a private driver picking him up. But to his surprise, it worked—Shen Xiu really got into his taxi.
When Shen Xiu heard someone ask for his autograph, he froze for a moment.
Seeing that Shen Xiu didn’t respond, and noticing that even with a mask on, Shen Xiu still gave off a distant chill, the driver quickly said, “Sorry, if I’m bothering you, I—”
Shen Xiu snapped out of it and quickly said, “Sure.”
“Huh? Really?!” The anxious look vanished from the driver’s face, replaced with excitement as he eagerly pulled out a notebook and a black pen he had clearly prepared in advance. “Uh… could you do a ‘To’ autograph?”
Shen Xiu: “?”
What’s a ‘To’ autograph?
For a moment, just as he took the pen, Shen Xiu’s mind went blank.
Seeing that Shen Xiu hadn’t moved, the driver assumed he was just unsure what to write and gathered his courage to say, “Could you write ‘To Yingying—may you always be happy’?”
Shen Xiu let out a quiet sigh of relief and nodded quickly. “Of course!”
It was only at that moment that Shen Xiu finally realized—this middle-aged man was asking for an autograph for his daughter.
Inside the enclosed car, sharing space with a stranger, Shen Xiu—wearing a mask—was starting to feel a bit short of breath. He lowered his head, forced his trembling hand to stay steady, and quickly scribbled down the message.
Shen Xiu nervously handed the paper over. “Is this okay?”
Hearing Shen Xiu’s cold voice from behind the mask, the driver quickly nodded. “Yes, yes, absolutely—thank you so much!”
“You’re welcome.”
Shen Xiu handed the notebook and pen back, opened the car door, and helped the driver retrieve his luggage from the trunk. After saying goodbye, he grabbed both suitcases and, under the driver’s watchful gaze, hurried into Yulin Banxia—almost as if fleeing.
The driver only got back into the car after watching Shen Xiu’s figure disappear from view. Grinning from ear to ear, he snapped a photo of the autograph and sent it to his daughter.
When Shao Ying saw the photo from her father, she immediately began spamming voice messages in their chat, overwhelmed with excitement.
After sending all the voice messages, Shao Ying couldn’t resist sharing the signed picture on her social media.
@YingyingNeverGetsFat: Boss Xiu’s autograph—I’m in love! My dad is amazing! [Image x1]
Shao Ying was a well-known fan editor in the fandom. She had been making edited videos of Shen Xiu since his idol survival show days, gaining the attention of countless “Xiuologists.” As soon as she posted the autograph, the comment count skyrocketed.
—
— Xiu-baby is back?!
— What the hell, not even a hint of news?! This is criminal, absolutely criminal—sob, I really wanted to be at the airport!
— I used to get sick of all the airport hot searches and celeb fan meetups… but now, seeing that no one met Xiu-baby at the airport, I’m actually kind of heartbroken. I want to welcome him too!
— Is Xiu-baby spending New Year here? Not celebrating with his parents?
—
At the same time, Qin Mo was staring at the numbers in his bank account, a satisfied smile tugging at his lips. Just as he had expected, his year-end bonus was very generous.
But… wasn’t this a little too generous?!
Staring at the numbers in disbelief, Qin Mo began to suspect something was off. Failing to figure it out on his own, he decided to call Shen Xiu.
Shen Xiu had just arrived at the building he lived in and hadn’t even stepped inside when his phone started vibrating.
He sighed helplessly, set down one of his suitcases, and pulled out his phone from his pocket.
Seeing the name “Qin Mo” on the screen, a wave of dread washed over him—his scalp tingled.
Shen Xiu really didn’t want to answer the call, but he didn’t have the courage to hang up on someone either.
He stared at the phone screen for a few seconds, thinking that maybe—just maybe—Qin Mo would give up and hang up after five seconds.
However… a full minute passed, and the call still hadn’t ended.
Shen Xiu: “……”
Left with no choice, Shen Xiu braced himself and finally answered the call. “Hello… Mr. Qin?”
His voice was stiff and uncertain. After that, Shen Xiu didn’t know what else to say, so he simply waited in silence for the other person to speak.
Once the call connected, Qin Mo chuckled and greeted him warmly. “Good day, Mr. Shen. I just wanted to ask… are you sure there’s no issue with my year-end bonus?”
