Chapter 97.1: Group Name “TG”
As soon as those words were spoken, the two paparazzi exchanged shocked glances.
“So, the one who submitted the tip… is one of the nine debut members of Youth Unstoppable?!”
“Scroll up and read properly.”
Following his companion’s words, the paparazzo swiped up on the screen. When he saw: [According to an anonymous source identified only as ‘S’, at the time, ‘D’s phone repeatedly popped up with messages like ‘Almost there!’ and ‘Okay baby’, which shocked ‘S’ for three hundred years.]
After reading it, the paparazzo swallowed hard in disbelief. “This ‘S’… could it be Shen Xiu?!”
“Don’t forget, Shang Yu and Song Chengwang’s surnames also start with ‘S’.”
“But you also shouldn’t forget… among the nine members, the only one who’s had a falling-out with Duan Mingfei is Shen Xiu.”
The other paparazzo was still unwilling to believe it. “Shen Xiu doesn’t seem like the type to write something like this. And besides… Shen Xiu into gossip? Are you kidding? Shen Xiu, gossiping? No way!”
“Are you okay? Have you been br**nwashed by the Xiuologists or something? Whatever. The informant said they didn’t just send this to us, so we can’t sell it exclusively. Best we can do is ride the wave for clicks and traffic. We better hurry back and sort everything out. Who knows — the tipster might’ve even seen Duan Mingfei’s face and heard the voice recording. Why didn’t they send us a frontal photo of him? Probably gave that to other marketing accounts. Good thing we managed to get that shot of Duan Mingfei bending down to pick up his sunglasses when the wind blew off his hat.”
—
“This place is so beautiful!” Xiang Yueting was nearly overwhelmed by all the sights.
Zhuang Yi nodded in agreement. “Even someone like me, with no sense of aesthetics, finds it beautiful.”
“Peacocks?!”
When two peacocks strutted gracefully past them, heads held high, Jiang Yanxi was stunned.
Xia Wenhao spoke faintly, “I’ve been through so many residential complexes, but this is the first time I’ve seen one that raises peacocks…”
Hearing everyone’s comments, Shen Xiu nodded in agreement. “Same.”
There was a group of peacocks in the neighborhood, specially cared for and fed. Each one had beautifully vibrant feathers, making them a unique scenic feature of Yulin Banxia.
The first time Shen Xiu, now living in the complex, saw them while out jogging, he was so stunned he froze in place for several seconds.
Though Shen Xiu said “same” out loud, judging by his calm expression, everyone could tell he was just going along with the group to fit in.
Shang Yu’s place was in Area B of the complex. He didn’t like living in high-rises, so he had never moved in before. Now, he was starting to reconsider.
As Shen Xiu led them toward Area A, Song Chengwang, Shang Yu, and Shi Buwen—who were already familiar with the setup—showed no reaction on their faces.
A mansion worth over a billion yuan, and Shen Xiu didn’t bother to live in it. Instead, he moved to this place. To Shen Xiu, a house was just an asset. He lived wherever he felt like. As for how many properties he owned? Shen Xiu probably didn’t even know himself.
Having already seen the previous villa, the group wasn’t surprised anymore.
The day after Shen Xiu moved in here, he went out to buy daily necessities and picked up both house slippers and guest slippers.
After stepping out of the elevator, Shen Xiu brought everyone into his home. He opened the gray shoe cabinet and turned his head toward the others: “They’re all new and have been washed. Everyone can pick whichever pair they like.”
After speaking, Shen Xiu quickly looked away and changed into his own slippers.
While swapping his shoes, he subtly used the corner of his eye to watch the others.
When he saw his friends all sit on the shoe cabinet bench to change into house slippers, Shen Xiu let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Step one of hosting guests—prepare a comfortable pair of slippers for them.
Mission complete!
When Shen Xiu bought over a dozen pairs of guest slippers all at once, the system was initially puzzled. Shen Xiu didn’t seem like the type to have the courage to invite friends over to hang out.
But now, watching everyone take turns sitting down to change their shoes, the system finally understood.
Even though Shen Xiu never said anything, deep down, he must’ve had the desire to invite everyone over at some point.
The way the production team set things up ended up fulfilling that hidden wish.
As they stepped into the living room area, Shen Xiu, hosting guests for the first time, was visibly nervous. He didn’t dare look at anyone’s expressions and spoke stiffly: “Please, have a seat. I’ll go change and then get drinks.”
With that, he fled into the master bedroom.
Shen Xiu didn’t feel right serving guests while still wearing his running clothes.
He took just a few minutes to rush through a shower, changed into a sports T-shirt and loose shorts, then headed into the enclosed kitchen, his heart pounding as he closed the kitchen door behind him.
The apartment had two kitchens—one open, one enclosed. Doing things like pouring water and cutting fruit in front of ten pairs of eyes… forgive him, but he just couldn’t.
Having stayed in this place for a few extra days, Shen Xiu had already explored all the rooms. At least now he wouldn’t repeat the embarrassment of last time—when he hadn’t even offered everyone a glass of water.
As Shen Xiu’s figure disappeared from view, Xiang Yueting pointed toward the open kitchen and said, “Isn’t there… water over there too?”
Ning Sinian replied, “Maybe that kitchen doesn’t have what Shen Xiu needs?”
Shi Buwen, comfortable no matter where he was, plopped himself down on the longest sofa in the middle and started directing the others to set up the equipment.
“Alright, enough chit-chat. It’s almost time. Get everything set up.”
Shang Yu handed over the black duffel bag he was carrying to Shi Buwen. “You’re the director. Do it yourself.”
“Fine, whatever.”
Shang Yu might talk to Shi Buwen like that, but the others didn’t dare. A few wanted to go help, but Shi Buwen stopped them: “Let me do it myself. After all, we’re going live soon. Why don’t you guys go fix your hair or something?”
They weren’t on stage now, and although no one was wearing makeup, they had all been in masks and baseball caps since getting out of the car. Flattened hair from headgear was totally expected.
Zhuang Yi said honestly, “I do want to freshen up, but… Shen Xiu’s place is so big, and everything looks so expensive. I don’t dare touch anything.”
Zhuang Yi’s comment struck a chord with everyone, and while Shi Buwen was setting up the equipment, the rest couldn’t help but start chatting.
Xiang Yueting ran over to the floor-to-ceiling windows and looked outside. “Just look at this view—so open and spacious. It’s either a garden or a lake in every direction. Waking up to this every morning? That would be absolute bliss!”
“A single-floor unit over 200 square meters… of course it’s spacious. Once again, this is the epitome of that legendary ‘CEO aesthetic.’ I’ve said the word envy so many times it’s lost all meaning.”
“The view outside is beautiful, and the interior design is understated and elegant, but… don’t you guys think this place feels cold and lifeless?”
The scenery was gorgeous, but the atmosphere inside the apartment felt just like Shen Xiu himself—cold and devoid of warmth.
Jiang Yanxi said quietly, “Do you think Shen Xiu might be… depressed?”
Xia Wenhao frowned and shot Jiang Yanxi a look. He replied firmly, “Absolutely not.”
Song Chengwang agreed with Xia Wenhao: “Anyone can get depressed—but not Shen Xiu. Shen Xiu has nothing to do with words like ‘repressed’ or ‘suffering.’ Not even close.”
Jiang Yanxi said awkwardly, “Sorry… it’s just this environment made me overthink a bit.”
Shang Yu gave a warm, reassuring smile. “It’s okay. You were just showing concern.”
Click…
A soft sound came from the kitchen door. Instantly, everyone fell silent.
Shen Xiu stepped out, holding a wooden tray filled with bottled water and various drinks.
Under the weight of so many heated gazes, Shen Xiu said what he’d rehearsed in the kitchen: “I didn’t know what everyone likes to drink, so I brought a bit of everything. The hot water will be ready soon.”
After speaking, Shen Xiu turned and retreated back into the kitchen.
Less than thirty seconds later, he came back out—this time with a tray in each hand.
These trays were filled with freshly washed fruit, each kind placed in a unique, irregularly-shaped clear glass container.
Shen Xiu had bought them on a recent supermarket run. Since his card had plenty of money and he’d never tried many of these fruits before, curiosity led him to buy a variety and stock them in the fridge. Now, they were finally coming in handy.
Feeling the pressure of everyone’s eyes on him, Shen Xiu thought he should say something to avoid awkwardness, and forced out, “Go ahead and eat. The hot water’s ready, I’ll bring it out.”
Then he fled back into the kitchen again.
“So… so much food.”
“Are we here to decide on a group name today, or is this a fruit mukbang livestream?”
“At this moment, I can’t help but think of the treatment Lin Jiashi and Duan Mingfei received from Shen Xiu. It’s true what they say—comparison is the thief of joy. Let’s take three seconds of silence for Lin Jiashi and Duan Mingfei. No more than three!”
By the time Shen Xiu brought out a massive tray holding glasses of hot, cold, and warm water, Shi Buwen had already started the livestream. While the others were still fixing their hair and outfits, he snuck behind the camera so the viewers wouldn’t see his face.
The tray, packed with glass cups full of water, was caught squarely on camera—and so was Shen Xiu.
Shen Xiu, completely unprepared for the livestream to already be on: “…”
It started this fast?!
[……]
[What’s Xiu-baby doing? Why so much water?]
[I even looked up at the stream title just to be sure. If it didn’t say it was a group-name deciding stream, I’d think this was a “Xiu-baby Serves Drinks” livestream.]
[It says it’s at Shen Xiu’s home—is this really his place? Why does it look totally different from last time? Look at those massive floor-to-ceiling windows! Is this a luxury flat?]
[Stay calm, fellow Xiuologists—we already saw this place during Xiu-baby’s previous stream! Unless Xiu-baby literally moves to the moon, nothing about where he lives surprises us anymore… That said, my tears of envy are now pouring down from the corners of my mouth.]
[So why exactly is Boss Shen holding so much water? Even the guys next to him look just as confused as we are.]
The eight others, now back from fixing their hair and seated on the sofa, glanced at the stream’s live chat and followed up on the question.
“Shen Xiu, the viewers are asking—why so much water?”
Honestly, even they were dying to know!
Shen Xiu replied, “I didn’t know what temperature everyone prefers, so I prepared cold water, hot water, and warm water… so people can choose freely.”
Asking each person one by one? Way too much talking. It was just easier to prepare everything!
Balancing hot, cold, and lukewarm… seriously?
Everyone: …A true Master of Serving Water!
