Chapter 109.2: Sold Out & VG Offline Event
Since VG’s full commercial had dropped, Shen Xiu’s endorsements had gone viral for two straight days, one trending topic after another. Even Lin Jiashi, who had tried hard to ignore the buzz, found it impossible to look away.
He finally clicked into the trending topic, saw the Xiuologists’ detailed sales reports and commercial performance posts, and felt his frustration deepen.
Now that even Shen Xiu’s own teammate couldn’t be b*llied anymore, Lin Jiashi’s anger had nowhere else to go—so he turned and lashed out at Du Heng.
“It’s been so long—why haven’t you figured out who stole my role?!”
Du Heng, looking worn out, explained patiently: “Immortal Path hasn’t had any contact with new investors recently. So we really can’t trace who took the role of Li Yang.”
When an investor pulls out of a show like Immortal Path, any new investment that follows is rarely without strings. It’s 90% certain the new investor would want to insert someone from their own company into the cast.
All Du Heng had to do was monitor which company ended up investing in Immortal Path—then he could look into the artists signed under that company to identify who had been inserted.
The problem was, ever since Immortal Path had publicly rejected Lin Jiashi, the entire production had gone quiet—completely low-profile. There had been no updates at all. Du Heng had no way to track it.
“Useless!”
Lin Jiashi spat, face darkening as he cursed Du Heng. Then he tapped into a livestream hosted by VG’s luxury sub-brand, which had popped up to ride the wave of Shen Xiu’s current popularity.
—
For VG, a niche luxury sub-brand was just a small piece of the pie, but for the Xiuologists, after learning that Shen Xiu had started school and couldn’t livestream for them—and with VG also unlikely to host a livestream—they flocked to any livestream related to either Shen Xiu or VG to ask the hosts questions.
It wasn’t just the Xiuologists flooding the streams—there were also gossip-loving netizens and rival fans who were jealous of Shen Xiu’s endorsement sales.
The livestream hosts tried to keep the audience engaged by introducing products from the stream links while answering the barrage of questions in the chat:
“Faked sales numbers? Impossible. VG never fakes sales.”
“Too many returns? That’s fake news, sweetie. My coworker said there haven’t been any returns in the backend so far. If you missed out, you can still buy the items in our 26th link, honey~”
“Me? I bought it too, I love it. Sorry, I can’t return it just to please you~”
Meanwhile, Shen Xiu’s buying power as a celebrity was undeniable. Countless brands quickly reached out to “Xiu Xiu Studio,” Shen Xiu’s team.
The system, upon seeing 999+ private messages and remembering the detailed semester schedule Shen Xiu had given it, didn’t dare to take on any new commitments lightly.
Especially after witnessing Shen Xiu rushing back to the classroom during the ten-minute break and spending the last few minutes before class brushing up on the written driver’s license exam (Subject One) on his phone, the system became even more reluctant to take on extra tasks.
Shen Xiu had packed his sophomore-year schedule to the brim: classes during the day, practice tests for the license exam during breaks, acting classes at Jiang Jinya’s place in the evenings, and after class, he’d go home to watch a film and write a 3,000-word film analysis.
He was so busy that he didn’t even have time to remember that Weibo existed.
The system was genuinely worried Shen Xiu might overwork himself to death.
In the midst of Shen Xiu’s packed schedule, Wednesday arrived.
That Wednesday afternoon, Shen Xiu had two required classes. He’d be done by 4 p.m.
Assistant Wen had already been in contact with the system, who served as Shen Xiu’s agent. The system informed Shen Xiu that at 6 p.m. that evening, he needed to wear the Starlight Ring and Rose Night—both items he endorsed—and attend an event hosted by VG.
So, after class, Shen Xiu didn’t go to his acting lesson. He messaged teachers Jiang and Sun on WeChat to request leave and quickly headed home.
The system told Shen Xiu that, as the face of VG’s Summer Cool & Chic campaign, this would be his first time walking a red carpet. Since he didn’t have a personal styling team, he would need to pick an outfit himself that matched the Starlight Ring and Rose Night accessories.
When it came to selecting a red carpet outfit, the system wasn’t confident about Shen Xiu’s fashion preferences. So it simply accepted every olive branch extended by various luxury brands—and made it clear to them that even it didn’t know which outfit Shen Xiu would choose.
All the luxury brands, upon receiving that reply from Shen Xiu’s agent, had the exact same thought: If Shen Xiu wears our outfit, it’s as good as beating all the other luxury brands!
He’d be their next collaborator!
To these brands, Shen Xiu was no longer just a celebrity. He was someone tightly intertwined with high society. VG’s success proved that Shen Xiu was destined to become a luxury darling. Everyone wanted to partner with him, and many envied VG’s foresight.
As a result, the outfits sent to Shen Xiu’s manager were all carefully selected and professionally photographed.
The moment Shen Xiu stepped through the front door, the system’s voice sounded in his mind:
[To make things easier, I’ve printed out all the red carpet outfit photos for tonight. Just grab them from the printer and make your pick.]
Then it thoughtfully reminded him: [You’ll need to decide quickly—Assistant Wen said VG’s car will arrive at the gate of Yulin Banxia at 5 o’clock sharp.]
Hearing that, Shen Xiu set down his books and headed straight to the study.
He pulled the printed outfit photos from the printer. In under three minutes, he pulled out a single sheet from the stack.
“This one,” he said.
The photo showed a white silk shirt paired with black dress pants and black leather shoes—the simplest and least flashy outfit among all the options.
Shen Xiu wasn’t used to wearing suits, and since he needed the Starlight Ring and Rose Night to stand out, he felt that only a simple outfit would avoid stealing their spotlight.
[…That was way too fast.]
Choosing quickly was one thing, but to be able to pick the oldest and most expensive brand among all the luxury submissions in just a few minutes—this was peak Shen Xiu. His eye for quality was still razor sharp.
The ten minutes the system had set aside for him to choose suddenly felt like a joke.
The system made one last feeble attempt to save face: [Would you like to take another look?]
Shen Xiu, who hated making others wait and would rather wait himself, didn’t really understand why the system was asking that: “…No need.”
[Alright then.]
The system sighed softly, scanned the selected image, and contacted the brand’s liaison to have the outfit delivered.
To make sure Shen Xiu would be fully dressed and ready before 5 p.m., the system had already informed the brand that they needed to deliver the clothes within thirty minutes.
So, the luxury brands that were competing for this opportunity had prepared in advance, bringing their chosen outfits and waiting just outside the Yulin Banxia residential complex.
The security guard, seeing several black luxury cars parked nearby without moving, got curious and took a photo to post on his social media.
The person from Cee, after receiving confirmation from Shen Xiu’s agent, finally relaxed. He got out of the car with a black garment box in hand and asked the guard to deliver it upstairs.
As long as they had the homeowner’s permission, outside visitors couldn’t enter the complex, but the security could help deliver packages on their behalf.
Not wanting to miss out on a potential future collaboration with Shen Xiu, the brand had already requested all of Shen Xiu’s measurements from his agent in advance and tailored the outfit accordingly, ensuring a perfect fit.
…
In less than ten minutes, the outfit was delivered into Shen Xiu’s hands.
After the security guard left, Shen Xiu looked at the black garment box placed in the living room and couldn’t help but exclaim, “So fast!”
The system typed into the chat with Cee’s liaison: [Your team was impressively fast. Shen Xiu is very pleased.]
Cee’s business contact replied: [Mr. Shen is too kind, it’s our duty. 🙂]
Putting his phone away, the person from Cee thanked the security guard and returned to his car with a beaming smile.
In another car parked not far from Yulin Banxia, staff members from competing luxury brands saw Cee’s liaison come back all smiles. A collective groan of “Ugh, so annoying…” filled the vehicle.
One by one, the other brands drove away in disappointment—each posting thinly veiled sarcastic remarks on social media, saying things like “Looks like Cee just got lucky this time.”
Back in the security booth, the guard who had been watching the entire scene unfold mumbled in confusion as he saw the remaining cars finally drive off: “That was… weird.”
Before VG’s car even arrived—well ahead of the 5 p.m. pickup time—Shen Xiu had already showered and dressed. Ten minutes before the scheduled time, he put on a face mask and a baseball cap, and headed out early.
It wasn’t quite off-work hours yet, and most residents in the complex drove directly into the underground garage and went home from there. So the shaded walkways inside the community weren’t very crowded.
But outside the gates? That was a different story.
The moment Shen Xiu exited through the face-scan gate, he instantly noticed—aside from the two security guards in the booth—several gazes landed on him.
Shen Xiu: “…”
Sure enough, dressed like this, he looked way too conspicuous! Did people think he looked strange?
Shen Xiu couldn’t stop overthinking. He avoided eye contact, pretending not to notice the stares. Fighting the urge to turn around and retreat into the safety of the complex, he forced himself to keep moving forward.
The only thing Shen Xiu could be grateful for was that less than thirty seconds after he stepped out of the complex, the VG car sent to pick him up arrived.
Seeing the license plate number Assistant Wen had given the system, Shen Xiu didn’t want to waste a single second and strode quickly toward the car.
When the driver pulled the car over to the curb, Assistant Wen spotted Shen Xiu emerging from the complex.
They had arrived a few minutes early, but didn’t expect Shen Xiu to be even earlier. Assistant Wen had handled many celebrity pickups before but had never encountered a situation like this.
Feeling apologetic, Assistant Wen hurried out of the car to open the door for Shen Xiu.
“Sorry for—”
“Thank you.”
Shen Xiu gratefully thanked Assistant Wen, quickly slid into the car, trying to avoid the embarrassing stares outside.
Assistant Wen, who hadn’t even finished apologizing, said quietly, “…You’re welcome.”
Closing the door, Assistant Wen took the passenger seat and asked the driver to start driving. Then, turning toward Shen Xiu with a sincere expression, said, “Mr. Shen, I’m very sorry—we were late.”
Shen Xiu looked puzzled. “I came out early myself; it’s not your fault.”
Just then, the makeup artist, who had been bending down behind Shen Xiu’s seat to pick something up, stood up and looked at Shen Xiu. “Hello, Mr. Shen. We meet again.”
Hearing the voice, Shen Xiu stiffened and turned his head. His gaze landed on the other person inside the car—the makeup artist who had done his makeup during the VG commercial shoot. He replied awkwardly but politely: “Hello.”
Help, Assistant Wen didn’t tell him there was someone sitting behind him!
The makeup artist, carrying her kit, stepped forward and said to Shen Xiu, who was buckled in, “When the car stops later, I’ll do your makeup and styling.”
Shen Xiu nodded.
“Okay, thank you.”
After saying that, Shen Xiu—who wasn’t good at small talk—didn’t know what else to say. As the makeup artist lowered her head to organize her cosmetics, he awkwardly and quickly averted his gaze, pretending to be admiring the scenery outside the window.
No one spoke in the car; the eerie silence made each second feel like an eternity for Shen Xiu. In that quiet moment, he found himself missing Xiang Yueting terribly.
Assistant Wen secretly watched Shen Xiu through the rearview mirror. Seeing Shen Xiu’s cold expression and pursed lips as he stared silently out the window, Assistant Wen thought Shen Xiu was probably enjoying this peaceful atmosphere, and so he unconsciously remained quiet too.
—
Outside the venue for the VG event, Xuan Ji sat in a car, waiting for Shen Xiu to arrive and walk the red carpet. When he saw the VG car pull up, he logged onto the official Immortal Path Weibo account and excitedly posted a new blog entry.
@ImmortalPathOfficial: The casting for the role of Li Yang has been finalized, and it’s guaranteed to shock everyone. Prize guessing game starts now! Friendly reminder: think BIGGER (dog head emoji)
— ??? You better be serious! I guess Lin Jiashi (dog head emoji) — is his mind open enough?
— +1111 We’ve been tricked twice already; if it happens again tonight, we’re going to track down your whole crew through the internet and shark them all (evil grin, blade licking blood emoji) Damn (screams) (forgot the blade tip was poisoned) (faints)
— I guess Duan Mingfei (dog head emoji) — no one’s got a bigger mind than me!
— Small-minded, I guess Great Demon King Xiu, I want to see who’s got a bigger mindset than me (dog head with rose in mouth emoji)
— Although I really want that to be true, sisters, let’s be real — we all know that’s absolutely impossible. Boss Xiu is in school and attending classes; how could he have time to shoot a drama?
