Chapter 98.1: Connection Ends, Burial Begins
Right after dropping the scoop on his personal account, the paparazzo immediately started a livestream, urged by the barrage of comments to connect with the boy band from The Youth Unstoppable, who were also live at the same time.
Livestreaming while watching gossip with netizens was a regular thing for him, but livestreaming with one of the gossip subjects… that was unheard of.
Still, for the sake of views and clout, he decided to give it a try.
He sent a request — and they actually… accepted?
The moment the connection went through, the livestream screen split in two.
Suddenly facing nine pairs of eyes, the paparazzo: “……”
He was dumbstruck, dazed and confused.
The Youth Unstoppable, a freshly debuted boy group, whether it was the footage of them chasing after a certain D-lister or their bold move now of openly accepting the paparazzo’s call — everything about them was breaking the unspoken rules.
In an entertainment industry where celebrities sneakily follow gossip using burner accounts, these guys were like a bomb going off.
Was there seriously no one in this industry that they were afraid of?
“Why aren’t you saying anything? Didn’t you request the connection yourself?” Xiang Yueting asked after waiting two seconds, unable to hold back when the paparazzo who had initiated the call remained silent.
Shen Xiu, wanting the gossip but too shy to ask, gave Xiang Yueting a silent thumbs-up in his heart and turned to look at the paparazzo, quietly awaiting the juicy reveal.
“Ahem…”
Put on the spot by Xiang Yueting and pinned down by Shen Xiu’s chilly gaze, the paparazzo felt like he was on a roller coaster. Choking on his own saliva, he coughed awkwardly, eyes flickering, not daring to look directly at Shen Xiu, who sat in the center.
Netizens were hopping between the two livestreams, urging the paparazzo from both sides.
[Why are you frozen? Come on, ask something! Are you trying to kill me with suspense?!]
[Weren’t you talking all big just now? Bet you didn’t expect them to actually accept! Dumbfounded now, huh? Hahaha]
[To be able to chase down the gossip source just to eat the melon, and then still have the presence of mind to submit it as a scoop afterwards — these idols clearly don’t think like normal people. No, scratch that. Ever since debuting through Youth Unstoppable, and enduring the show’s relentless barrage of crazy antics, it actually kind of makes sense that they’re not acting like typical celebrities anymore~]
[I’m dying — everyone else’s face is full of curiosity and nosiness, but Boss Xiu alone looks cold and indifferent, completely out of sync with the others, like he’s living in a whole different universe.]
Seeing the livestream comments misinterpret him, Shen Xiu couldn’t help but speak up in his own defense: “I want to eat melon too.”
Damn it, why did this have to be during a livestream? If it weren’t live, he could be openly scrolling on his phone for gossip right now!
Livestream viewers: [……]
Paparazzo: “……”
All nine boys on site: “……”
Who says they want to hear gossip in such a calm tone, with such a stone-cold expression completely devoid of curiosity?
Shen Xiu… must be trying to match the group’s gossiping vibe, right?
When Shen Xiu said he wanted to hear the gossip, his sharp gaze locked tightly onto the paparazzo. The guy felt like Shen Xiu was silently threatening him to hurry up and talk, so he finally forced himself to speak: “W-Well, the netizens just want to ask… were you all at Yulin Banxia today?”
Shen Xiu: “……”
That’s it? That has nothing to do with the actual juicy gossip!
[???]
[Come on, man! There’s already footage of it! What’s the point of asking something so obvious?!]
Xia Wenhao, who had a short temper, snapped: “Yeah, yeah, we were all there. Then what?”
Since they couldn’t use their phones during the livestream, they had to guess what the audience was saying based on the comment stream. But the comments were flying by too fast, and unlike Shi Buwen — who had his phone practically glued to his face — the others were too far from the streaming computer to read clearly. The rapid flow of messages had them all stressing out.
Xiang Yueting: “Exactly. Then what?”
Song Chengwang: “Spit it out already!”
Shen Xiu: “Mm!”
The paparazzo had long heard of Shen Xiu’s infamous double standards — doting on fans and being cold to everyone else — but now, seeing him join in to pressure him just so his teammates and their fans could eat the melon faster, the paparazzo threw caution to the wind and spoke up.
“There are two questions we need you to answer. Question one: ever since we received a tip-off from one of your members and combined it with other info, netizens are speculating that ‘D’ refers to DMF — Duan Mingfei. Is that true?”
“Question two: the ‘S’ who sent us the tip — who among you is it?”
Within the nine-member group, only three had names starting with ‘S’, so as soon as that was said, everyone instinctively looked toward those three.
The paparazzo followed up quickly: “Is it Song Chengwang, Shang Yu, or… Shen Xiu?”
After the scoop went out, netizens were torn, and even now, the speculation hadn’t stopped.
On one hand, they were convinced it had to be Shen Xiu, given his past beef with Duan Mingfei. But on the other hand, it’s Shen Xiu! How could someone like him care about a clown like Duan Mingfei? Just like during the talent show days, he hadn’t spared Lin Jiashi a second glance.
Song Chengwang clicked his tongue on the spot: “What are you even thinking? No way it’s me!”
Shang Yu’s smile toward the camera twitched slightly: “Not me either.”
Paparazzo: “!”
Could it actually be the least likely person — Shen Xiu?! He couldn’t help sneaking a glance: “It’s you…”
Before he could finish, Shen Xiu quickly clarified: “Not me.”
After answering, Shen Xiu realized the first question still hadn’t been addressed. It felt like there was one last blank space left on a test — and it was gnawing at him.
Sticking to his personal rule of never leaving a test unanswered, Shen Xiu added: “It’s Duan Mingfei.”
The paparazzo was stunned: “W–Wait, that straightforward?!”
No code names, no cryptic letters — just dropping the full name like that. He was absolutely floored.
[Hahaha, leave it to our Boss Xiu to drop the bomb right to the face — never disappoints!]
[Letters? Nah, our Xiu-baby just full-names them without even blinking. That’s how powerful he is (hands on hips).]
[Duan Mingfei: ‘Thank you… for this burial you’ve arranged for me!’]
[Big Boss Xiu: ‘You’re welcome. It’s only right.’]
[Wait… if it’s not Xiu-baby, then who could it be?!]
Still reeling from Shen Xiu’s utterly nonchalant truth bomb, the paparazzo’s confusion surged again: “If it’s not you, then who? The footage we received — the angle and the position — it’s clearly from when you guys were chasing D in front of us!”
There were so many of them, and fans had already matched every face to a name. There was no way they got it wrong.
[So it really wasn’t my Xiu-baby… But then who?!]
[Hold on… y’all forgot, didn’t you? Other than the boys, there was one more person there — a staff member from the production team. What if he was the one? His surname starts with S too, right?]
[Now that you mention it… that’s very likely!]
Not just the audience — the team members on-site seemed to realize it too. All their gazes immediately shifted toward Shi Buwen across from them.
Xiang Yueting, thinking back to the moment in question, muttered under his breath, “Director Shi—mmph!”
Before he could finish the sentence, Shen Xiu, who caught on a beat faster than the rest, reached out without hesitation and slapped a hand over Xiang Yueting’s mouth.
The second his palm made contact with another person’s face, Shen Xiu stiffened — clearly not used to such sudden physical contact.
But he didn’t move his hand. Xiang Yueting wasn’t exactly known for keeping secrets.
Shi Buwen: “!”
My dear little junior brother… I could cry.
Jiang Yanxi let out an exaggerated cough, clearly trying to cover for Shi Buwen and warn Xiang Yueting not to out the poor man: “Ahem ahem ahem…”
Xiang Yueting, mouth covered by Shen Xiu, obediently shut up. After catching the warning glances from the others, he blinked and raised his hand in surrender. Only then did Shen Xiu let go.
The moment he released him, Shen Xiu apologized softly, “Sorry…”
When he heard the words “Director Shi,” he’d reacted on instinct — his hand moved faster than his brain to stop Xiang Yueting from saying too much.
Xiang Yueting, feeling guilty, muttered, “N-No problem…”
Thank goodness for Shen Xiu — he’d saved him from blurting out something he absolutely shouldn’t.
Paparazzo: “?”
What’s going on? Director Shi?
Netizens, meanwhile, were deep in detective mode — when it came to eating melons (gossip), every last one of them turned into microscopes on legs. Nothing escaped their notice.
[From what we know, Xiang Yueting clearly said the syllables “Director Shi,” which starts with the letter ‘S’. Add him to the nine boys, and that makes ten people total. Eliminate the three ‘S’-initial boys — Shen Xiu, Shang Yu, and Song Chengwang — and that leaves only one possible tipster: Director Shi.]
[‘Director Shi’ is a staff member of Youth Unstoppable, and clearly not a low-ranking one — to get unanimous protection from all nine members? That shows serious connection.]
[Off-topic, but anyone else find Boss Xiu’s right hand kinda hot when he covered Xiang Yueting’s mouth? Those long fingers, the veins on the back — chef’s kiss, those hands are everything awsl!!]
[Also — didn’t the tipster have a soft baby-like voice? But in all the live streams from the show, not one staff member had a voice like that.]
[High status, close with the boys, clearly protected, and never appeared in a livestream… Hold up, sisters, I think I’ve cracked it! The chief director of Youth Unstoppable has never shown up, right? What if this “Director Shi” is actually Director Shi — the chief director?!]
Shi Buwen was barely done feeling touched when he glanced down at the livestream comments—and froze, stunned.
If this kept up, even the color of his underwear would get exposed.
And… Shi Buwen was going crazy. He never imagined that while he was in front filming Duan Mingfei, the paparazzo had been behind filming them.
The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. Ruthless!
If he’d known this was going to happen, he never would have submitted that tip. Now, Shi Buwen was full of regret.
After reading the netizens’ in-depth analysis, the paparazzo spoke up quietly: “Why don’t… why don’t you guys just take over being the paparazzi instead?”
Hearing that, Song Chengwang—who was sitting a bit far from the computer displaying the livestream—couldn’t hold back anymore. He reached out and pulled the laptop closer.
What was dignity compared to juicy gossip?
Sitting to Shen Xiu’s left, Song Chengwang dragged the laptop over, prompting everyone on the sofas to crowd in from both sides. Shen Xiu, ever reserved, peered through the gaps between his teammates’ heads to see the screen.
After reading the netizens’ deduction, everyone turned to Shi Buwen with sympathetic expressions.
It wasn’t that they didn’t want to protect him—it’s just that the netizens were too good at this!
Xiang Yueting, feeling like the guilty party, was too ashamed to even look in Shi Buwen’s direction.
But there was no point in regret now—netizens were still digging deeper.
