Chapter 171.1: Behind the Scenes of “New Life”
The two elevators arrived and opened almost simultaneously.
The moment they saw the B2-level parking garage, everyone’s eyes widened.
“!”
This garage… could it all belong to Shen Xiu?!
Everyone’s gaze involuntarily shifted back and forth between Shen Xiu and the underground garage that looked more like an auto show.
As the host, Shen Xiu wasn’t able to hide at the back of the elevator this time and was forced to stand at the front.
When the elevator doors were halfway open, Shen Xiu stepped out first. As he turned to face everyone, he began to speak: “Everyone, please—”
But before he could finish the line he had originally prepared, he caught sight of the shocked and astonished expressions on everyone’s faces and had to abruptly change what he was going to say.
“You guys… what’s wrong?”
Their expressions were exactly like the ones he often saw during filming.
And in movies, this kind of reaction usually signified that the protagonist—right now, that would be him—had something unspeakably terrifying standing behind them.
But Shen Xiu could clearly feel that there was absolutely nothing behind him except cars.
Before stepping out of the elevator, he had also quickly scanned the entire garage. There was no living thing behind him that shouldn’t be there.
Shen Xiu was even more confused by everyone’s reaction.
Could it be… that he’d acted too serious and authoritative during filming, and now the others were dissatisfied with his intimidating “adult” persona and were deliberately playing a prank on him?
After thinking it through, Shen Xiu felt that this explanation made the most sense.
So… should he go along with their act? Or pretend not to see it?
Just as Shen Xiu was debating with himself, someone burst out of the elevator.
“Cool!” Xiang Yueting rushed toward the brightest, most eye-catching lime green sports car and pulled out his phone to take pictures all around it.
The rest of the group gradually snapped out of their shock. Recalling how Shen Xiu had asked them so indifferently what was wrong, they belatedly responded:
“It’s nothing…”
“Yeah, nothing—just caught us off guard a bit.”
“And kind of… stunned.”
…
As they spoke, people continued stepping out of the elevator one after another before the doors closed.
They had known since the filming of Storm that Shen Xiu owned countless luxury cars, but since he had only ever driven two vehicles in the country, they assumed his domestic collection was limited.
They hadn’t expected their perspective to be so narrow.
No matter where he was, Shen Xiu owned more cars than anyone would think possible.
They strongly suspected that in every place Shen Xiu lived, his underground garages were filled with cars he had bought and never even driven.
Shen Xiu: “…”
Judging from their reactions, he had clearly guessed wrong earlier.
Fine. He really wasn’t good at reading people’s minds after all.
Xiang Yueting had always been unable to resist brightly colored objects—let alone a sports car in vibrant lime green with iridescent rainbow accents. In his eyes, this car was the epitome of cool.
He looked at Shen Xiu expectantly. “Captain Xiu, I want to drive this one. Is that okay?”
Having already received system approval, Shen Xiu replied, “Sure. The keys are either on the car roof or in the box on the ground.”
Xiang Yueting shouted, “Captain Xiu, YYDS!”
With that, he couldn’t wait another second. He grabbed the car key from the box on the ground, pressed the button, and jumped into the driver’s seat, immediately opening the roof.
And just like that, a dazzling, lime-green convertible sports car came to life.
Under the dim lighting of the underground garage, Shen Xiu’s gaze landed on the car’s paint job, and the corner of his eye twitched.
If it already looked this offensively bright under such low light, he couldn’t begin to imagine how blinding it would be out on the open road.
At that thought, Shen Xiu couldn’t help but silently mutter to himself—
As expected of Xiang Yueting. When it comes to being a walking neon sign, he’s absolutely committed.
Feeling his eyes start to ache, Shen Xiu looked away and turned toward Ning Sinian, Zhuang Yi, and Jiang Yanxi, who had asked to drive as well. “Any of them is fine.”
Among the four members of The Galaxy who came, only Xiang Yueting was a social butterfly in the extreme. The other three—Zhuang Yi, Ning Sinian, and Jiang Yanxi—were all fairly introverted. It wasn’t until Shen Xiu gave the green light that they finally relaxed and began walking into the garage to pick a car.
“You got it, Captain Xiu.”
“Been waiting for your word!”
“Captain Xiu, I want to drive that one!”
At that moment, the cast of New Life and the accompanying interview crew led by Yu Xiangwan all looked at the four members of The Galaxy with envy in their eyes.
A man like Shen Xiu, who had such a strong territorial instinct, actually let The Galaxy members drive his cars?
The people still spreading rumors online that The Galaxy only had fake brotherhood within the group—those people clearly had no heart.
They were so tired of saying “I wish I had debuted in The Galaxy.” It was already worn-out from overuse!
There were five cars in total, each able to seat four people—just enough for everyone.
Shen Xiu was grateful to have his four teammates with him. Without them, he wouldn’t have known how to ask others for help driving his cars.
While Ning Sinian and the others were choosing their cars, Shen Xiu found himself torn between a newly delivered black vehicle and a gray one.
After three seconds of hesitation, he decisively chose the gray car—for luck.
After all, the last time he drove that black car, he’d gotten into a rear-end collision. He had a fear that driving black cars would bring bad luck—especially when he was carrying other people. If he got into another accident, he didn’t want to drag anyone else into his misfortune.
It was one thing if only he got into an accident. He couldn’t let others suffer because of it.
As Shen Xiu made his selection, voices around him started chiming in:
“I’m driving this one. Who’s riding with me?”
“I picked this car—anyone want to join?”
…
Xiang Yueting declared, “After careful consideration, this glorious lime green still captures my heart. Who wants to join me in witnessing its brilliance?”
Before anyone could respond, he quickly added, “I’m leading the convoy—don’t even think about taking my spot!”
Upon hearing this, Shen Xiu instantly cut in before Zhuang Yi and the others could respond: “I’ll send the address in the group chat. I’ll take the rear—you guys go ahead.”
He needed to keep his distance from Xiang Yueting. That car was way too eye-catching—it scared him!
Everyone: “!”
As expected of Shen Xiu—no matter the time or place, he always preferred staying behind the scenes, quietly observing and strategizing from the rear.
While they silently admired this trait, their bodies were already moving—rushing to open car doors and claim seats in other people’s vehicles.
Didn’t matter who was driving. As long as it wasn’t Shen Xiu—they were getting in!
It wasn’t that they disliked Shen Xiu—far from it. But just the thought of being in the same confined space with him made them instinctively tense up. They didn’t even dare to breathe too loudly. The pressure was immense.
During the scramble for seats, it quickly became obvious to everyone—they were all thinking the same thing.
In the end, only three people hadn’t reacted fast enough: Ji Huaiyin, Yu Xiangwan, and Jin Can.
The three of them exchanged glances filled with silent misery, then reluctantly boarded Shen Xiu’s car.
Jin Can, having lost the battle for a back seat to Yu Xiangwan and Ji Huaiyin, ended up in the passenger seat next to Shen Xiu. He was so nervous his hands were shaking as he buckled up.
“D-Director Shen,” he stammered, “maybe I—I should drive instead?”
Jin Can genuinely questioned whether he was even worthy of sitting in Shen Xiu’s car.
With three people in the car—when he’d only ever driven with one—Shen Xiu was feeling a bit of psychological pressure himself.
Catching a glimpse of Jin Can’s trembling hands from the corner of his eye, Shen Xiu firmly rejected the offer: “I’ll drive.”
Even though he was under pressure, compared to Jin Can’s shaking hands, Shen Xiu figured he was still the more reliable one to be behind the wheel—at least his grip on the steering wheel wasn’t trembling.
As they headed toward the restaurant, Xiang Yueting’s car led the way.
Inside the cars up front—
Those who weren’t riding with Shen Xiu couldn’t help but speak up.
“So many different cars—how does Director Shen resist the urge to drive a new one every day just to show off? If he ever did, those people in the industry who love pretending to be rich kids, don’t act seriously, and post one photo of a luxury car a hundred times would be utterly humiliated.”
“You’re asking the wrong question. What you should ask is—why, with so many different cars and the ability to hire as many assistants as he wants, does Director Shen still prefer taking the bus? Even Assistant Jin is just a temp.”
“Click your tongue, listen to yourselves. So shallow. Director Shen only cares about being low-profile and efficient when traveling. Cars? Totally secondary. He can’t even be bothered to drive most of the time.”
“Hahaha, exactly! You just can’t apply normal human logic when trying to figure out what Director Shen is thinking.”
Compared to the lively conversations in the other cars, the atmosphere inside Shen Xiu’s car was so quiet it was hard to even breathe.
While waiting at a red light, Shen Xiu glanced at the convertible in front. Inside, four people were chatting and laughing. Looking at the car’s flashy, multi-colored exterior, Shen Xiu tightened his grip on the steering wheel, suddenly tempted—once the light turned green, maybe he should put more distance between himself and Xiang Yueting.
The sports car Xiang Yueting was driving was far too flashy and flamboyant—on top of that, it was a top-tier model. Trailing behind it were four equally luxurious cars. Of course they got photographed.
By the time the group sat down to eat, trending topics were already flooding the internet. Following the New Life crew’s live broadcast came a new wave of headlines about their luxury car convoy to dinner.
#NewLifeCrewDinner
#WalkingHighlightXiangYueting
#FlamboyantAndProud
#DirectorShen’sJoyIsBeyondImagination
#HowManyCarsDoesDirectorShenEvenOwn
#RevisitingNewLifeCrew’sGlitzyLateNightFeasts
— So there really is such a thing as a multi-colored lime green sports car in this world. And the crazy part is—it doesn’t even look tacky. It’s just pure awesome. I’ve seen it all now!
— Based on the landmarks caught in the background of the photos, it’s clear the cars drove out from Yulin Banxia. So… they’re all Boss Xiu’s—ah no, we should say Director Shen’s—they’re all Shen Xiu’s cars!
— I really don’t get you extroverts. Just driving a convertible is already a spotlight magnet, but a rainbow-colored lime green convertible? I don’t even know what to say.
— I was waiting at a red light and saw this flamboyant car roll up, and I thought, who could possibly be this extra? Looked closely—it was Xiang Yueting. Oh, never mind then. (dog head emoji)
— So… is the new trend now: ‘If you’re not a good actor, you’re not qualified to be a good director’? What a plot twist.
— Am I the only one jealous of the New Life crew? Whether during filming or post-wrap gatherings, they always eat so well! Wuwuwu… I’m crying tears of envy straight from the corners of my mouth!
