Chapter 78: Rest (1)
“Me?” Shen Xiu didn’t expect someone to ask him that at this moment, and his mind went a little blank.
After a brief two-second pause, he unconsciously furrowed his brows slightly and replied, “The training camp, I guess.”
While the others were discussing where to go today, Shen Xiu had already thought about it quietly.
After thinking it through, he realized that the dormitory was locked, and he had nowhere else to go. The system’s place wasn’t really his home either.
After weighing the options, Shen Xiu felt the dormitory was the most suitable choice.
Staying in the dorm wasn’t a bad thing — he could get in an extra day of practice and feel more confident about the stage. Shen Xiu convinced himself of this, as if doing so would make the uneasiness in his heart go away.
In the past, every summer vacation, Shen Xiu was too busy working part-time to dwell on these things. Now that he had time to think, he felt it might be better not to think at all.
When Song Chengwang saw Shen Xiu frown after hearing his question, he remembered that Shen Xiu had never mentioned his family in the dorm — unlike the rest of them, who had each at least said a little something.
He immediately understood.
Shen Xiu must have had some sort of conflict with his family, which was why he didn’t want to go back now.
Or perhaps… there was something about Shen Xiu’s family that wasn’t publicly known?
In any case, since Shen Xiu didn’t say anything, Song Chengwang didn’t pry into his personal matters, so as not to affect his mood. He simply replied, “I see.”
Shen Xiu nodded. “Mm.”
After deciding to stay in the dorm, Shen Xiu felt his mood was no longer so heavy.
But he didn’t really feel like listening to the others talk anymore, so he said to Song Chengwang, “You guys go ahead and chat. I’ll head in first.”
Song Chengwang raised a hand and waved. “See you.”
Watching Shen Xiu’s retreating figure, his whole body radiating a gloomy aura as he disappeared from view, Xiang Yueting was the first to rush over to Song Chengwang’s side. He put a hand on his shoulder and whispered, “What’s up with Shen Xiu? Just now, his voice sounded a lot colder than usual.”
Mu Zhenchu chimed in, “Shen Xiu always gives off a cold vibe, but just now he felt even colder.”
Jiang Yanxi sighed. “Why are you guys asking Song Chengwang? Would he even know?”
Song Chengwang looked over at Jiang Yanxi and said, “Shang Yu isn’t here, now it’s your turn.”
Just then, Shang Yu came out of the building and happened to catch Song Chengwang’s words. His eyes landed on him, and he said with a smirk that didn’t reach his eyes, “Talking about me behind my back?”
Ning Sinian whispered, “We weren’t talking about you — we were talking about Shen Xiu.”
“Shen Xiu?” Shang Yu recalled the moment earlier when the elevator doors opened and he was caught off guard by Shen Xiu’s oppressive aura. His curiosity was instantly piqued.
“When I ran into him at the elevator just now, I already felt something was off. Shen Xiu may be aloof, but he’s a good guy. What did you say to make him look that gloomy?”
Xiang Yueting immediately sold out Song Chengwang. “He’s the one who said something! I still don’t know what’s going on!”
Song Chengwang shoved Xiang Yueting’s hand off his shoulder in annoyance. “We were all just talking about where to go today, and Shen Xiu hadn’t said anything. So I casually asked where he was going, and he frowned — looked like he was in a bad mood.”
Shang Yu understood.
Judging from the conversation so far, it was likely something had happened in Shen Xiu’s family to cause such a reaction.
“Good question,” Shang Yu said. “Let’s just not ask next time.”
Song Chengwang made an “OK” hand gesture. “Got it.”
This was the first time anything had come up related to Shen Xiu’s family, and since he didn’t know much about it, Song Chengwang hadn’t expected to hit a nerve.
Xia Wenhao looked at Shang Yu curiously. “Then what did you go upstairs for just now?”
Shang Yu thought to himself — of course, he went to ask Shi Buwen if he wanted to go back together, only to be flatly turned down without hesitation.
But those weren’t words he could say out loud. Shang Yu simply smiled and said, “I figured I’d be gone for a day, and I might start missing this place. So I went upstairs to take one last look, to really commit it to memory.”
Xia Wenhao: “…Yeah, right. Like I’d believe that!”
Xiang Yueting huffed, “Shang Yu, even your excuses are half-hearted. That’s just shameless!”
Shang Yu smiled without replying. When he saw the production team’s van pulling up, he waved to the group and said, “See you tonight.”
Even though the show was giving them a chance to go home and reunite with their families, they still had to return to stay the night.
“See you tonight.”
Those who had decided to go home had already called the show’s van. Everyone got in and left one by one. Since they were only gone for the day and had to return in the evening, no one brought anything besides their phones.
Out of the nine remaining trainees in the training camp, Shen Xiu was the only one staying in the dorm today.
He opened the dormitory door and walked toward the chair under his bed. As he sat down, he placed his phone on the desk in front of him.
The dorm was quiet and peaceful. He no longer had to worry, like he used to, that the moment the door opened, someone might jump out and scare him half to death.
But… staring at the empty dorm and hearing only the sound of his own breathing, a sudden sense of loneliness crept into Shen Xiu’s heart.
He realized he had grown a little used to everyone being loud and rowdy together. Even though he couldn’t really join the conversations, just watching quietly had made him feel a bit happy inside.
Now that everything had gone quiet all at once, it felt like something inside him was missing.
Leaning back in his chair, Shen Xiu thought — he had already decided, back when he answered Song Chengwang’s question, that he would spend today in the practice room. But now he was just staring at his dark phone screen, with no intention of moving.
It wasn’t that he lacked energy. He just… didn’t want to move. His mood was inexplicably irritable.
Meanwhile, viewers in the livestream chat saw that after everyone went to pick up their phones, only Shen Xiu had returned to the dorm.
Especially after Shen Xiu returned to the dorm, sat down on the chair with a cold expression, eyes lowered as he stared silently at the phone on the desk, his whole face tense and not saying a word — it stirred up a flurry of speculation among the livestream viewers.
[Is Boss Shen not going home? He doesn’t look too good like this.]
[So this is the legendary aura of quiet despair? He really does look both repressed and cold.]
[The other eight didn’t come back — most likely went home to be with their families. Boss Shen stayed behind and looks like a walking cloud of gloom. Something’s probably up with his family… sigh.]
[Yeah, you can tell. There must be something going on at home that makes him not want to return. Judging by his reaction, it must be pretty bad. He’s probably heartbroken over it. Poor thing… even my eyes are tearing up. T_T]
Shen Xiu sat in the chair for a full five minutes before he forced himself to snap out of his gloomy state.
Once he did, he remembered the vlog task the production team had assigned, so he unlocked his phone and started exploring how to edit video using a mobile app.
He had used editing software on a computer many times and was quite skilled at it. But his old phone couldn’t handle video editing, so this was his first time editing a vlog on a mobile device. He wasn’t very familiar with the interface, so his progress was slow.
[Ah, with my 5.2 vision, I can guarantee Boss Shen is editing his vlog!]
[What’s the point of knowing he’s editing a vlog if we can’t even see what he’s editing? When will the production team give us a livestream interface where we can zoom in ourselves?!]
Some of the effects in the editing app weren’t clear to Shen Xiu just from the names. After saving the part he had edited, he opened Baidu to look up what some of the terms meant — but his finger accidentally swiped and opened the Weibo app instead.
Seeing 999+ messages in his inbox, Shen Xiu couldn’t help but tap it open.
Once inside, he was greeted with an overwhelming number of private messages and tags.
Five minutes later, Shen Xiu had followed the clues, typed some keywords into the search bar, understood the entire situation, and also finished watching the three-minute vlog the production team had released.
Someone claiming to be his roommate had posted an exposé online, saying Shen Xiu’s family was very poor and that he often worked part-time jobs, only returning to the dorm right before the doors closed at night.
They also claimed that outside of class, Shen Xiu was rarely seen on campus because he was too busy with the many sugar daddies who were allegedly “keeping” him.
Shen Xiu: “……”
He couldn’t quite wrap his head around the logic of a roommate anonymously revealing this kind of stuff online.
Working part-time? What’s strange about that? He had debts to pay. His family was poor. Working was completely normal.
Besides, he didn’t steal or rob anyone — he earned his money through honest labor. He never returned to the dorm after hours to disturb the dorm auntie’s rest. Everything he did was proper. After reading it all, Shen Xiu genuinely didn’t understand how working part-time had become gossip-worthy.
As for the so-called “sugar daddies”… What kind of bizarre nonsense was that? How did they even come to that conclusion?
Staring at the words on his screen, Shen Xiu frowned slightly, falling into a brief moment of confusion.
Once again, it was a day where he had no idea what was going on in his roommate’s mind.
But his confusion didn’t last long. Shen Xiu soon noticed that many fans had sent him private messages, urging him not to be upset — and he felt even more bewildered.
Upset? Why would he be upset?
Receiving messages from people who cared, sensing genuine kindness from countless strangers — he could barely contain how happy he felt!
He didn’t care about the nonsense regarding “sugar daddies,” but the fact that fans thought he was sad? That, Shen Xiu couldn’t ignore. If he didn’t explain, it would be like wasting all that kindness.
And then there was the vlog the production team had released — he needed to clear things up about that, too.
[Why is Boss Shen frowning again? Can editing really make someone frown like that? Did he film something that’s not allowed to be shown? Aaaah, production team, are you trying to kill us with curiosity or what?!]
[Ugh, Boss Shen is sitting too far from the camera — as someone with nearsightedness, I can’t see a thing!]
[Wait? That hand posture… is he typing? Could it be a message to us Xiuologists in the vlog?]
[Slightly off-topic, but who else is obsessed with Boss Shen’s hands? Those prominent veins on the back of his hand, popping when he moves, long slender fingers, sharp knuckles… so aesthetically pleasing!]
Since they couldn’t actually see what was on Shen Xiu’s phone, the livestream viewers practically turned into little Sherlock Holmeses, seizing on every possible clue.
They focused intently on Shen Xiu’s facial expressions and hand movements, trying to deduce what he might be doing or looking at on his phone.
Tap tap tap…
A minute later, Shen Xiu stopped typing and sent out the message he had just written.
@Shen Xiu: Yes, my family is indeed poor. Because of a lack of money and debts to repay, I work both on and off campus. I like money. I like earning money. Only money gives me a sense of security. Is there anything wrong with making money through my own hard work?
Xiuologists, don’t worry — I’m not upset. On the contrary, reading your messages made me very happy.
As for the ‘sugar daddies’… I honestly don’t understand what you’re thinking
The place shown in the vlog released by the production team is the home of a friend, not mine. I hope there’s no misunderstanding.
Thank you again for your concern. If there’s anything you want to see from me or anything you’d like me to do, feel free to message me. If it’s something I can do, I will.
Shen Xiu felt he couldn’t just accept everyone’s kindness without giving something back — that’s why he added that final sentence.
After posting it, he closed the Weibo app, looked up the editing terms he didn’t understand on Baidu, and reopened the editing app to continue working on his vlog.
…
As a certified topic magnet who always brings the heat, the moment Shen Xiu posted on Weibo, the comments and likes skyrocketed.
Viewers from the livestream also rushed over after hearing the news.
— I thought the whole thing would end with the production team releasing the vlog, but I didn’t expect Boss Shen to respond after getting his phone. And at the end, he even asked us to send in requests? What is this if not proof that we matter to him? Xiuologists, this is mutual affection — we’re in this together! Let’s gooo!
— So that’s what he was doing earlier — editing this Weibo post! cries Looks like my Xiuology study haven’t gone deep enough. I couldn’t even tell what he was doing! At this rate, when will I graduate?
— “I have a friend” trope 🐶… Pardon the question, but Xiu-baby, is that “friend” actually you? 🐶
— The man’s hobby? (lights a cigarette) Heh, just making money! Who in their right mind would mock someone for earning money through their own effort?
— I love money too. I love making money. Only money gives me a sense of security. Nobody knows that while working part-time, I’ve saved up 50,000 yuan already. I love watching that number slowly go up. Round it up a bit and hey, I’m a billion steps closer to Boss Shen now. So happy!
After liking and commenting on the Weibo post, the Xiuologists returned to the livestream, chatting excitedly and bouncing off each other’s energy.
[Hahaha Boss Shen being all serious and deadpan while telling us what’s basically a deadpan joke — he’s too cute! If I hadn’t already seen the leaked info from an insider at Keta, I might’ve believed it!]
[+11111 Same! If I hadn’t seen that rich lady’s exposé about that area, I totally would’ve bought it too 🐶]
[LMAO, that line from Demon King Xiu — “I honestly don’t understand what you’re thinking” — was pure savage, right? 😂 And seriously, Xiu-baby barely talks and always comes off cold, but he wrote so many words just to cheer us up… he really does care about us!]
[Translating “I honestly don’t understand what you’re thinking” as “Someone’s actually rich enough to keep me? You sure about that?” — doesn’t that hit the nail on the head, sisters?!]
[Just here to spectate the drama…]
The production staff had initially assumed that, with eight of the trainees out for the day, the livestream traffic would drop significantly.
They never expected that even with only Shen Xiu present, viewers would continue flooding in nonstop — the numbers were still climbing steadily.
After going to Weibo to follow the trending gossip and returning to the livestream, some staff members couldn’t help but sigh — there are so few people these days who genuinely care about their fans.
Even though the production team had already cleared things up for Shen Xiu in a roundabout way, the moment Shen Xiu got hold of his phone, he still earnestly took the time to explain it all over again to his fans. And this supposedly aloof guy even made himself the punchline of a cold joke just to cheer them up — who wouldn’t be moved by that?
Knock knock knock…
While Shen Xiu was editing his vlog, there came a few knocks at the door.
[Who’s… wait, why did the livestream suddenly end?!]
[What kind of shady business is the production team pulling now?!]
Shen Xiu assumed it was a staff member. He set down his phone and walked quickly to the door.
Opening the dorm door, Shen Xiu was greeted by an unexpected sight — the two directors standing there. He blinked in confusion. “Director Shi? Assistant Director?”
Why were both directors here? Shen Xiu subconsciously straightened up in nervous reflex.
He quickly ran through everything in his head — did he do something wrong to warrant both directors showing up?
The last time they interacted during the filming of the “King of Popularity” ad, Director Shi had seen him in an embarrassing state — shirtless. That memory was already hard to forget. Now seeing Director Shi again, Shen Xiu’s heart was practically doing somersaults.
He was seriously worried about losing his clothes again this time.
Director Shi gave a small smile. Just as that smile was making Shen Xiu’s scalp tingle with unease, he suddenly pulled out a jewelry box and opened it in front of Shen Xiu.
Shen Xiu: “?”
Assistant Director: “?”
‘…Director Shi, do you realize what kind of vibe you’re giving off right now!?’
Shi Buwen didn’t notice anything unusual in Shen Xiu or the assistant director’s expressions. He spoke with confidence:
“Trust me. Put the ring on your index finger. I’ve already given you the prop. Whether it works or not depends on you!”
“Phew…” The assistant director behind him patted his chest — he’d nearly had a heart attack.
Director Shi continued, “Of course, I know you don’t really need something like this, but hey, better to have it than not.”
From Shen Xiu’s demeanor, it seemed like he didn’t have the best relationship with his family — like he wasn’t the type to rely on them.
Shen Xiu: “……”
Great. After that opening attack, now he didn’t understand what Director Shi meant again.
Shen Xiu fell into a puzzled silence for a moment before asking, “Is this… a request from the production team?”
Hearing Shen Xiu’s cold voice and feeling that sharp, scrutinizing gaze, Shi Buwen didn’t even blink as he lied through his teeth, “That’s right!”
Even though Shen Xiu didn’t fully understand why the production team would have such a request, as a trainee, it was his job to follow instructions — so he obediently picked up the ring and slipped it onto his index finger.
The black ring shimmered faintly on his long, well-defined finger — cool and striking — perfectly complementing Shen Xiu’s sharp, icy aura. The dark ring became a subtle but luxurious accent impossible to ignore.
It drew the eye instinctively. People couldn’t bring themselves to look directly at Shen Xiu’s intensely aggressive face — but they could focus on the ring at his fingertip.
It was what you might call: using the ring as a “substitute meal” for Shen Xiu.
Seeing Shen Xiu wearing the ring, Shi Buwen tossed the velvet box to the assistant director and clutched his chest in excitement, exclaiming: “Did you see that?! That is exactly the look I wanted!”
The assistant director silently pulled out his phone, opened a photo, and held it up to Shi Buwen’s face.
“Director Shi, I suggest you calm down. This is what you look like wearing it. Shen Xiu’s look and yours aren’t even on the same planet.”
Shi Buwen wasn’t fat, but his face was on the rounder side — completely different from Shen Xiu’s sharp, intimidating features that could make someone shrink back with just a glance.
Especially his hands — a bit chubby — and when he wore that glossy black ring, there was none of Shen Xiu’s cool, sharp vibe. It just didn’t match at all.
His fantasy shattered, Shi Buwen was clearly displeased.
“I suggest you shut up!” he snapped.
After coldly shutting off the assistant director’s phone, Shi Buwen turned to Shen Xiu and said: “Keep the ring on, change your clothes, and come with me.”
