Chapter 99.1: The Romance of Buying Roses in a Storm
Very few people usually go to the cemetery, so naturally, the buses running there are also infrequent. Before leaving the shop, Shen Xiu had checked his phone — the next bus wouldn’t arrive for another half an hour.
To avoid delays, Shen Xiu decided to take a taxi.
Just as Ren Qianning finished taking photos, Shen Xiu folded his umbrella and got into the taxi.
With her heart pounding with excitement, Ren Qianning put away her phone and quickened her steps, running back into the shop.
“Sister, who was that person just now?!” Ren Qianning placed the umbrella aside and ran to the counter, phone in hand, speaking in an excited voice.
Ren Qianyu was still tidying up the scissors and wrapping paper that had been left in disarray during the recent bouquet wrapping. She heard her younger sister’s excited voice behind her.
Without turning her head, Ren Qianyu replied, “He was wearing a mask, so I couldn’t see his face clearly. I only know he was a gentleman with the surname Shen. Why?”
Ren Qianyu wasn’t into celebrities. She simply thought Shen Xiu had an extraordinary presence and didn’t give it much more thought.
“It’s him!” Ren Qianning clutched her chest, overwhelmed with excitement, and handed over the photo she had taken of his back.
“Sister, stop what you’re doing for a second — help me see if it’s really him, please?”
Even though she had personally seen Shen Xiu walk out of her sister’s shop, Ren Qianning still wanted to be absolutely sure.
Ren Qianyu sighed and turned her head to glance at her sister’s phone.
In the photo, under the torrential rain that looked as if the sky had broken open, a tall man in a black trench coat stood. Crimson roses, beaded with raindrops, lay vividly and neatly nestled in black wrapping paper. The photo captured just the edge of his left elbow.
The large black umbrella shielded him from the storm, but it couldn’t hide the chill radiating from him — colder than the rain itself.
If you had ever seen him in person, you couldn’t possibly mistake him.
“You can’t even see his face in the photo and it’s already so stunning. Even just his back looks amazing,” Ren Qianyu sighed. Then she recalled her sister’s question and nodded. “Yes, it was indeed Mr. Shen.”
“Ahhh! I knew it! Even if it’s just his back, there’s no way I’d ever mistake him!” Ren Qianning jumped in place twice, overcome with excitement.
Ren Qianyu looked puzzled. “You know him?”
“He’s my new idol! I just started stanning him recently!”
As she said this, Ren Qianning suddenly remembered the roses in Shen Xiu’s arms, and a belated sense of confusion arose. “Weird… why would Boss Xiu be out buying roses in this kind of downpour?”
Ren Qianyu recalled the conversation she’d had with the customer and said, “He said they were for his mother.”
“His mother?” Ren Qianning’s eyes lit up as she remembered something Shen Xiu had said in a past livestream. She nodded in understanding. “That makes sense now! Visiting Mom and Dad basically counts as spending time with family. Who cares about heavy rain? Of course buying roses for his mom is more important than a storm!”
“Not even a storm can stop Xiu-baby from buying roses for his mom. So thoughtful—he’s too precious!”
“A treasure like Xiu-baby must be shared with the sisters!”
Ren Qianyu only smiled at how her sister kept switching between calling him “Boss Xiu” and “Xiu-baby.” Although she didn’t quite get the whole idol obsession, she respected and understood it. Instead of criticizing her, she nodded in agreement. “To go out and personally buy romantic roses for his mother on a stormy day—he really is a sweet and filial young man.”
“Exactly! Xiu-baby is always the best! Sister, I have a feeling—he’s never going to have a scandal!”
With that, Ren Qianning laughed and ran over to sit on the nearby couch. She lowered her head and sent the photo she had taken to a fan group chat.
Strawberry Donut: “Unexpected encounter—Boss Xiu braving a rainstorm to personally buy a bouquet of red roses for his mother~”
As soon as the photo was sent, it was like a bomb dropped into a pond, triggering a flood of over 99+ excited replies.
A photo of Shen Xiu out in a storm to buy roses for his mother—whether it was the content or the mood captured—was not only moving but breathtakingly beautiful.
While the Xiuologists eagerly saved the photo to their albums to set as wallpaper, they also posted it on their Weibo accounts in admiration.
A rainstorm. A black umbrella. A bouquet of red roses. Dressed in a black trench coat and slacks with black leather shoes, the tall man’s back alone exuded a cold and commanding presence… The atmosphere was off the charts.
With the name “Shen Xiu” naturally carrying traffic, it was no surprise to the Xiuologists that he quickly shot up the trending topics.
— Just a back view holding a bouquet of roses is enough to spark countless novel-worthy scenes in my mind. I’m absolutely bewitched—just let me die from it!
— These days it’s so easy to buy flowers—he could’ve just ordered delivery in this kind of heavy rain. But no, Xiu-baby had to go out himself. The Big Bad Cool Boss Xiu everyone sees on the outside turns out to be someone who’d brave a storm just to personally buy roses for his mommy. The girls are so right—this kind of Boss Xiu is just too precious and incredibly charming!
— Flowers bought by hand have soul. That’s 100% genuine thoughtfulness!
— There were rumors that Boss Xiu had a strained relationship with his family because they didn’t attend his debut night. But now it seems like the family bond is actually full of love!
— Not just loving—but romantic too! Maybe the reason his family didn’t show up was because of privacy concerns?
— Sister, I think you’ve hit the truth! A lot of powerful tycoons are super low-key and don’t like appearing in the media.
— Speaking of that, I’m wide awake now. I have a relative who’s filthy rich, and he actually paid money to have his name removed from the rich list just to keep a low profile.
What caught the Xiuologists off guard, though, were the trending topics right above and below Shen Xiu’s on the hot search list — they felt oddly out of place.
What stood out the most was one particular unrelated topic… it was about Duan Mingfei.
The Xiuologists were utterly confused.
And what confused them even more was the big red character following Duan Mingfei’s name on the trending list: “Explosive.”
#DuanMingfei3Minute48SecondVideo
#RainstormRosesThatCaptivateTheHeart
#RomanceFromBossXiu
#ContractTermination
#SkyHighPenaltyFee
#TakingBackEverythingThatWasHers
#FromScratchStillNoMatchForDuanThird
Full of curiosity, the Xiuologists clicked into the trending topics. And within just a few minutes, they were rolling on the floor laughing at the sheer absurdity in these hot topics — thanks to the netizens who had spent thirty years professionally snatching bamboo from pandas’ mouths with their shameless wit.
— Compared to our Shen Xiu next door, it’s maddening to make comparisons. Seriously, who shoved a mic into Duan Mingfei fans’ faces? Ask them how they’re feeling right now, LOL.
— Just the other day, paparazzi caught him bending down to pick up his dropped sunglasses and hat. Last night Duan Mingfei even denied it and claimed it was some plastic surgery lookalike trying to smear him. Even posted a lawyer’s letter for show. Who could’ve guessed that today we’d get an uncensored, 18+ rated live video? That’s Thor’s hammer right there. His fans must’ve all fled—who’s even left for us to interview?
— “Tough-guy, straight-A bad-boy heartthrob”? I’m dying. They’ve already pulled That Summer from the shelves.
— Anyone got a professional take on how much Duan Mingfei has to pay in penalties this time?
— This is why home surveillance is important. Gross. Absolutely revolting. With a man that greasy and disgusting, Duan Mingfei was still able to smile? From now on, I’m traumatized by breathy voice acting.
The leaked video was so high-resolution that even the moles on Duan Mingfei’s body were clearly visible.
Both individuals featured in the video were absolute trash, and the internet showed no mercy — the roast fest was fierce and relentless.
Screenshots and captions from the video flooded every corner of the internet, ensuring that no one surfing the web could escape having their eyes scorched by the mess.
Before this incident, Duan Mingfei had already gone through two scandals. Most of his rational, career-focused fans had already left—only a small portion of active fans remained. To keep the numbers looking good, Duan Mingfei’s studio had bought fake followers after each wave of fans leaving, creating the illusion that his follower count was actually increasing.
But this time, the video nailed Duan Mingfei into the coffin so tightly that no one could pry the lid back off.
Qinghe Entertainment underwent a major executive shake-up and immediately announced the termination of Duan Mingfei’s contract. PR efforts? Don’t even think about it. This was equivalent to Duan Mingfei being carried straight to the crematorium—burned to ashes with nothing left.
Every brand he had ever endorsed, big or small, issued statements terminating their partnerships and removed all content featuring him.
Even more people came forward with stories of Duan Mingfei’s past misdeeds, adding insult to injury.
When Shi Buwen finished watching the video, he felt both thrilled and dazed.
He was thrilled because Duan Mingfei was finally done for—he’d never be able to bounce around the entertainment industry making easy money again.
But he was dazed because… after all that careful planning, everything ended so unexpectedly.
All he had done was go to Shen Xiu’s house for a livestream, saw Duan Mingfei, and casually watched some drama unfold. Who would’ve thought that just watching some drama would be enough to blow up the powerful backer Duan Mingfei had kept hidden for years—cutting off his escape route completely.
The ending was so abrupt that Shi Buwen started questioning life itself. He grabbed a bottle of liquor and went to find Shang Yu.
After feasting on the juicy scandal of Duan Mingfei, netizens—disgusted to the point of vomiting their previous meals thanks to the “breathy voice” in that cursed video—rushed to the trending topics about Shen Xiu to cleanse their eyes.
— As a neutral bystander, how is it even possible for someone to look that cool just from the back?! Sooo… when are we getting those “interrogated and locked up in a dark room” photos of the Great Demon King Xiu?
— Trying to reach him… Boss Xiu still hasn’t responded whether he’ll pick up Li Yang… Wuwuwu
— Wait, is that the official Immortal Path account replying up there? Babe, did you switch to the wrong account? Is it really okay to surf the web using the official one?!
— What?! That “kill gods and demons alike” Black Moonlight Demon Lord character is going to be played by Great Demon King Xiu?!
The Immortal Path staff, after being reminded (perhaps screamed at internally), quickly deleted the comment.
But it was too late—quick-fingered netizens had already taken screenshots.
Immortal Path was currently one of the hottest xianxia (cultivation fantasy) novels. The character Li Yang was the male lead’s enigmatic master—equal parts righteous and wicked—who left a deep psychological scar on the protagonist.
In the novel, Li Yang was arrogant, overbearing, and reckless in the early chapters. But later, when imprisoned and confined, he became tragic and pitiful—yet even then, he never once bowed his head or admitted fault.
That kind of “ride-or-die” darkness, so extreme it circled back to being irresistible, had made Li Yang the ultimate early-death, heartbreakingly beautiful Black Moonlight Master in the hearts of countless readers. As such, book fans had extremely high expectations for whoever would play him.
Anyone who ruined the role? They’d get dragged through the mud without mercy.
But now… faced with Shen Xiu’s face, fans who started digging through his idol-survival debut history couldn’t even muster a complaint. In fact, they doubted Shen Xiu would accept the role at all.
After all… Immortal Path was a low-budget web drama. Whether they could afford him was one thing—whether Shen Xiu was even interested was the real question.
Anyone could act, but with Shen Xiu’s notoriously intense “grind god” learning style, acting would likely come naturally to him. More importantly, that flawless face, his tall and lean build, and those real, no-filter abs—regardless of acting skill, his appearance alone already scored full marks.
With a tiny glimmer of hope, book fans began helping the drama’s official Weibo account slide into Shen Xiu’s DMs.
