Big Shot Ch.136.2

Chapter 136.2: “Storm” Gathering

Shen Xiu, still completely in the dark about what had just happened, returned to the hotel along with the others.

When Xuan Yushu spotted Jin Can, he raised his hand and called out, “Jin Can, over here. Take Shen Xiu back to his room first. We’ll meet in Room 8 in fifteen minutes.”

The Storm production team had booked the entire hotel for a full week, and everyone—cast and crew—was staying and eating on-site.

Jin Can responded quickly and jogged over to Shen Xiu. “Mr. Shen, this way please.”

“Alright.”

After answering, Shen Xiu glanced toward his idol, Xuan Yushu, with a bit of personal emotion in his tone. “Director Xuan, see you later.”

Then, feeling a bit guilty, he turned and said, “Screenwriter Lu, goodbye.”

“Mm.”

“Got it.”

Only after receiving their responses did Shen Xiu turn and follow Jin Can away.

As Shen Xiu’s figure disappeared from view, Lu Wen couldn’t help whispering to his long-time friend, reflecting on their earlier interactions.

“Don’t be fooled by Shen Xiu’s cold appearance. He looks all aloof and hard to approach, all cool and untouchable—but he’s actually very polite. Still, even though he’s polite, he gives off this vibe that keeps people at a distance. You just don’t dare get too close. What’s that word for it again…”

Xuan Yushu shot Lu Wen a helpless look and answered for him, “Detachment.”

“Yes! That’s the one!”

Xuan Yushu rubbed his forehead. “We agreed this time was to repay him for helping Xuan Ji. Don’t come looking for me again after this.”

After high school, Xuan Ji had gotten into a university but decided not to go, rebelliously thinking he was some genius who could take on the entertainment industry on his own.

Kids in their rebellious phase won’t listen to their parents no matter what they say.

Fortunately, he’d run into Shen Xiu, who had given him a brutal wake-up call. That changed Xuan Ji’s mind and convinced him to go back to school. Because of that, Xuan Yushu agreed to Lu Wen’s invitation to direct Storm.

Lu Wen, thinking of the wild speculations of the Xiuologists, had his own ideas in mind and scoffed, “Yeah, yeah. Next time you’ll be the one begging to direct my stuff.”

—

Jin Can led Shen Xiu to the door of the hotel room that had been arranged for him. He swiped the key card to open the door, then handed it to Shen Xiu.

“I’ll come up to get you later,” he said.

Shen Xiu took the card. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Watching Jin Can’s figure disappear down the hall, Shen Xiu finally closed the hotel room door.

Downstairs, he had remembered Director Xuan saying to meet in private room No.8 in fifteen minutes. Now, after the trip upstairs, he only had thirteen minutes left. Shen Xiu didn’t dare waste time. He opened his suitcase, quickly grabbed a change of clothes, and went into the bathroom.

Although Director Xuan hadn’t said it outright, Shen Xiu could guess that he was going to meet the other actors from Storm.

Ten minutes later, Shen Xiu opened the hotel room door with his phone in hand.

As soon as the door opened, he saw Jin Can standing outside. Shen Xiu was slightly startled, then quickly apologized:

“Sorry for keeping you waiting.”

Jin Can hurriedly replied, “No, no, I just came early on my own.”

Used to celebrities being late, Jin Can was once again pleasantly surprised by Shen Xiu’s initiative and punctuality.

Even though Shen Xiu was already out, Jin Can still wasn’t entirely sure and asked, “Shall we… head down?”

Shen Xiu gave a slight nod. “Mm.”

They were going to meet a group of strangers. With more people, maybe conversation would flow more easily. At least it wouldn’t be as awkwardly quiet as it was now between just him and Jin Can, with neither knowing what to say.

Jin Can led Shen Xiu to the door of private room No.8 and stopped.

“Mr. Shen, you can go in on your own. I won’t go in.”

Shen Xiu looked at the closed door, unsure how many strangers might be inside. He felt nervous and didn’t quite dare to enter.

He hesitated at the door for a few seconds before asking Jin Can, “Is Director Xuan and Writer Lu inside?”

Even Shen Xiu hadn’t expected that someone like Writer Lu, who had made him so tense just a short while ago, would now become his source of comfort.

As expected, whether someone feels familiar or not really depends on the comparison.

Jin Can shook his head. “No, this is a surprise party just for you, Mr. Shen. Director Xuan and Writer Lu aren’t here.”

Surprise party?

Shen Xiu was so exhausted he couldn’t even force a smile. More like an ambush!

Bzz bzz bzz…

Jin Can glanced at the caller ID, then looked at Shen Xiu apologetically.

“Mr. Shen, I have something to take care of, so if you could…”

Shen Xiu replied, “Go ahead.”

‘Just let me quietly die here!’

Jin Can answered the call and quickly left. Shen Xiu watched his figure disappear, then turned his gaze to the tightly closed door.

A hotel staff member stood not far away. Shen Xiu didn’t dare press his ear to the door to eavesdrop—it would look suspicious. But just standing there without going in felt even weirder.

Under the hotel staff’s puzzled gaze, Shen Xiu had no choice but to steel himself and raise his hand to knock.

Knock knock knock…

After a few knocks to alert those inside, Shen Xiu finally pushed the door open…

“I don’t believe it! How am I not the protagonist? That makes no sen—”

The moment the door opened, a familiar voice rang out. That voice—who else could it be but Xiang Yueting?

The next second, Shen Xiu’s eyes met those of everyone in the room.

! Not only was Xiang Yueting here, the rest of The Galaxy were all here too!

It really was a surprise party!

As joy and surprise surged through him, Shen Xiu also felt a bit guilty for having assumed darkly moments ago that it was a trap. He’d clearly misjudged the situation, thinking in such a negative way.

The moment Xiang Yueting saw Shen Xiu, he froze for a second, then suddenly jumped up and dashed toward him.

Xiang Yueting originally wanted to give Shen Xiu a hug, but when he met Shen Xiu’s indifferent gaze, he immediately hit the brakes and just stood in front of him, his voice brimming with excitement:

“Shen Xiu!”

Right after speaking, Xiang Yueting seemed to remember something and turned to look at Shang Yu, who was sitting in a chair.

“Shang Yu, what’s your brain made of? How do you always guess right?!”

Before Shang Yu could respond, Xiang Yueting patted his own chest and added:

“Thank goodness I didn’t join your bet!”

Then he turned to Song Chengwang and said gleefully:

“Hahaha! I told you not to bet against Shang Yu, but you didn’t listen. Serves you right—lost, didn’t you? Hahaha…”

Song Chengwang: “…Shut up!”

Meeting Shen Xiu for the first time and immediately having his bet loss exposed by this human golden retriever of a person, Song Chengwang felt thoroughly embarrassed.

Hearing Xiang Yueting’s familiar rambling, Shen Xiu suddenly felt like he was back in the training camp. A deep sense of security washed over him, and his gaze lingered on Xiang Yueting.

Xia Wenhao looked at Shen Xiu—who was now blocked at the doorway by Xiang Yueting—and couldn’t help but speak, his cold expression tinged with helplessness toward Xiang Yueting:

“Xiang Yueting, have you had enough? How long are you planning to block Shen Xiu there?”

Shen Xiu quickly said, “He’s not blocking me.”

God knows how happy he felt inside, hearing Xiang Yueting’s voice and seeing all his old teammates again.

Song Chengwang gave a dissatisfied snort: “Just let him do whatever he wants, huh?”

Shen Xiu: …Why is Song Chengwang so strict today too?!

Shang Yu said with a smile, “Alright, we’re all hungry. Let’s eat.”

Shen Xiu gratefully looked at Shang Yu and replied, “Mm.”

The room was filled with his familiar teammates. Even the way Shen Xiu closed the door behind him felt noticeably lighter. The heavy feeling from before he entered was completely gone.

While Shen Xiu was closing the door, Xiang Yueting had already returned to his original seat.

He patted the seat next to him: “Here, here! I saved this spot just for you!”

Shen Xiu looked at Xiang Yueting with gratitude, walked over, and sat down under his expectant gaze: “Thank you.”

That feeling—of someone saving a seat for him—was like being kept in someone’s heart.

Before Shen Xiu arrived, the hotel staff had already delivered dinner. They had just been waiting for him to start the meal.

Everyone had taken long flights from different parts of the world to gather here, and most were already hungry.

Ning Sinian said: “Let’s eat first and chat while we eat.”

They were all close friends and didn’t care much about “no talking during meals,” so everyone chimed in:

“Yes, eat and chat.”

“Ahhh I’m starving, let’s dig in!”

Shen Xiu picked up his chopsticks and said apologetically: “Sorry for keeping you all waiting.”

Mu Zhenchu only spoke after chewing his food: “Not at all, I got here just a minute before you.”

Jiang Yanxi added: “Me too. I’d barely walked in before you arrived.”

As the first to arrive, Zhuang Yi said: “I was the first one here and only waited five minutes. Not long at all.”

Hearing his teammates’ responses and confirming that everyone had arrived in a staggered manner and no one had waited long, Shen Xiu finally relaxed and began eating.

At gatherings like this, Shen Xiu was usually quiet, and the rest of the group was used to it. The other eight chatted happily.

Midway through the meal, Xiang Yueting suddenly realized something: “Wait… based on your earlier analysis, it can’t be me who’s the main character. So who is it?”

Shang Yu looked at Shen Xiu: “Captain Xiu?”

Only then did Shen Xiu recall what Director Xuan had said—that he’d be meeting the rest of the Storm cast.

So, the eight people sitting here with him weren’t just his old teammates—they were also the colleagues he’d be acting alongside for the next two-plus months.

Shen Xiu set down his chopsticks and, almost out of habit, picked up a napkin to gently wipe his mouth. Then he looked up at Shang Yu and said: “It’s not me.”

“According to the script, I’m the second male lead—and the villain.”

Xiang Yueting had been watching Shen Xiu’s entire set of movements. Though simple, there was a certain elegance to them—and they were very…

His gaze shifted to Shang Yu sitting across from Shen Xiu, and he clicked his tongue: “The same.”

Shang Yu nodded in response: “Looks like I’m the lead, then.”

Xiang Yueting suddenly jumped to his feet: “What the—so you’re the one who has the most scenes with Shen Xiu, and you didn’t say anything earlier?!”

Shang Yu looked at him with a helpless tone: “You never asked me.”

Xiang Yueting thought about it carefully—he really hadn’t asked. Feeling a little guilty, he awkwardly sat back down:

“Well, when I missed you, couldn’t you have reminded me or something?

“Made me waste all that time trying to figure out who the lead was.”

Shang Yu replied faintly: “I wanted to, but you talk so much I couldn’t get a word in.”

Song Chengwang raised an eyebrow slightly: “So… in Storm, I’m teammates with Captain Xiu?”

Mu Zhenchu asked, “And I’m one of his opponents?”

At this point, Shen Xiu couldn’t help but chime in quietly: “You guys… don’t have the full script?”

Ning Sinian nodded: “Writer Lu said time was tight and was worried we wouldn’t be able to remember too much if we read it all at once. So they didn’t give us the complete script—only our individual parts. They said that was Director Xuan’s idea. So right now, the only reason we even know who’s an ally and who’s an enemy is because Shang Yu helped piece it together.”

Shen Xiu: “……”

No wonder he’s Director Xuan… what a bold approach. Is it really going to work like this?

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