Chapter 176.1: The Seamless Switch Between Director Shen and President Shen
Shen Xiu nodded. “Mm.”
Although admitting to investing in his own movie gave him a deep sense of self-funded cringe, the facts were facts—he couldn’t deny them.
Thanks to a twist of fate orchestrated by the system, he had not only gained the close friends he’d always hoped for in his life, but also the love and support of countless fans.
Now that he remembered everything, he couldn’t bring himself to lie to his fans or the public.
Everyone: “!”
This was like Thor’s hammer coming down—Shen Xiu himself had confirmed it!
Even though his expression was calm when he answered, the fact that he acknowledged it himself meant he probably wasn’t angry. The reporters were emboldened and pressed on.
“Director Shen, the villa you took Xiang Yueting and the others to during training camp…”
The reporter trailed off, worried Shen Xiu might own multiple properties he had taken The Galaxy members to. They quickly clarified:
“The one that appeared in your training camp vlog—wasn’t that also your own villa, not a friend’s?”
Shen Xiu: “……”
Are they seriously not going to leave him a shred of dignity?
Thinking back to what he had said at the time, Shen Xiu could only respond with shame and difficulty: “…Yes.”
Back then, he truly hadn’t known he was lying!
After giving his answer—and knowing this interview would be published—Shen Xiu looked into the camera, and through it, offered an apology to the netizens he had unintentionally deceived.
“Everyone, I’m very sorry. What I said back then caused misunderstanding—I ended up deceiving you.”
The reporters hadn’t expected Shen Xiu to suddenly apologize. They had plenty more questions lined up, but for a moment, they were all stunned.
One by one, question marks popped up in their minds:
Was he seriously apologizing… for a cold joke from back then?
But very soon, the reporters figured it out.
After all, Shen Xiu was no longer just Idol Shen Xiu, Actor Shen Xiu, or Director Shen Xiu. He was now also President Shen of K Corp.
In Shen Xiu’s current mindset, as President Shen, he could no longer behave like he did in the entertainment industry—making harmless jokes or tossing out dry humor. Everything had to be treated with more gravity and precision.
So, as someone who had shifted into a corporate identity, Shen Xiu was now so serious that he felt the need to apologize even for his old jokes.
Acting according to one’s role—and cleaning up after what was done in a previous role—this version of Shen Xiu made the reporters’ hearts race even more.
With that thought in mind, their gazes toward Shen Xiu became even more intense.
“Director Shen, about a week ago, there were eyewitness accounts claiming that, over the course of one night, countless self-driving cars left your villa—it was apparently quite the spectacular sight. Is that true?”
“…Yes.”
Shen Xiu knew the system had taken cars out for a joyride. At the time, he had just uploaded his stored memories into his brain through the holographic pod and had returned to Yulin Banxia, fully preoccupied with digesting and coming to terms with everything. He hadn’t paid attention to the system’s actions.
So, if the reporter hadn’t brought it up today, he might never have found out.
Countless cars?
Thinking of the system’s many past chaotic antics, Shen Xiu silently pulled up the villa’s underground garage surveillance footage—and saw, in the middle of the night, a dazzling stream of sports cars in every color imaginable flooding out of the garage in orderly lines.
It was… a spectacular sight indeed.
Shen Xiu fell silent.
He had known the system’s aesthetic taste was on par with Xiang Yueting’s, but he hadn’t expected the system to actually send the cars out in rainbow order.
The level of flashy flamboyance was truly neck-and-neck with Xiang Yueting.
How had he never realized before that, aside from being a mischievous troublemaker, the system was also an absolute show-off?
As the one responsible for resetting and restraining the system, Shen Xiu now numbly stepped in to clean up the mess, so as not to frighten the public.
“All the vehicles were operated by intelligent AI systems. There’s no need for alarm.”
“Of course, the lack of prior announcement regarding this event was an oversight on K Corp’s part. Although no traffic accidents occurred, it was still poorly handled. I sincerely apologize—my apologies.”
The cast of New Life and the surrounding reporters, who had come with Shen Xiu to the station for a pre-recorded interview, watched as he calmly faced a barrage of cameras.
His expression was cold, his tone level and composed, and the icy sharpness in his gaze as it swept across the cameras—
It all made people unconsciously swallow hard, their nerves tightening. It felt almost surreal, as if Shen Xiu wasn’t being interviewed in a parking garage, but President Shen holding a formal press conference.
When Shen Xiu finished speaking, no one said a word.
His gaze swept over the reporters, and he asked considerately:
“Any more questions?”
As Shen Xiu’s cool gaze swept across the crowd and his low, frosty voice washed over them, a reporter finally snapped out of it. Recalling what Shen Xiu had just said, they seized the moment, asking excitedly:
“President Shen, is autonomous driving going to be K Corp’s new project?!”
Shen Xiu: “……”
It wasn’t supposed to be.
After all, while autonomous driving technology was still far from perfect, driverless delivery vehicles and buses were already fairly common in the market.
K Corp’s main focus remained on cutting-edge intelligent technologies—like aerospace, spacecraft, and floating cities. But now…
Shen Xiu responded with a firm tone: “Yes.”
After all, the system—aside from him—was one of the critical executors maintaining stability across parallel timelines. He couldn’t separate from it, so all he could do was clean up its mess.
“A week from now, K Corp will release an official announcement detailing this line of intelligent driving systems. Please stay tuned.”
Reporters: “!”
They had just come for some juicy gossip—and unexpectedly walked away with a major scoop on K Corp’s next technological milestone!
Shen Xiu finished speaking, then slightly raised his arm and looked down at his watch. His gaze returned to the reporters.
“Apologies, the scheduled interview time is about to begin. That’s all for today. Everyone, goodbye.”
No one dared ask another question after that. The tone of his “goodbye” brooked no refusal. The reporters immediately forgot whatever follow-ups they had planned and instinctively responded one after another:
“Goodbye, President Shen.”
“See you next time, President Shen.”
“Take care, President Shen.”
…
With Shen Xiu’s formal farewell, that brief round of social interaction was—by his logic—now complete. He turned to the cast of New Life and said apologetically:
“Sorry to keep you all waiting. Let’s go.”
The New Life cast, who had witnessed the entire exchange: “……”
In just five short minutes, they had all watched with their own eyes as Shen Xiu effortlessly and seamlessly switched between Director Shen and President Shen—two entirely different identities.
Was this… what true presence and command looked like?
It had genuinely left them a little bit stunned.
This wasn’t some unexpected ambush interview—this was basically an impromptu K Corp press conference in disguise!
And now, they finally understood why every time Shen Xiu stepped out wearing a baseball cap, mask, and sunglasses, people still recognized him instantly from his outstanding physique and presence—but only dared to snap photos from the shadows. Almost no one ever approached him for autographs or tried to crowd him.
With that kind of aura?
If it had been them facing it head-on, they’d shrink back too—no way would they have dared!
“N-no, we weren’t waiting long…”
“Haha, all good!”
…
The artists all responded and followed behind Shen Xiu, heading toward the elevators.
Jin Can led a few actors who were purely part of New Life ahead, deliberately leaving Ning Sinian, Xiang Yueting, Zhuang Yi, and Jiang Yanxi behind.
Xiang Yueting, who was never good at holding back his thoughts, had finally recovered from the earlier shock. Walking beside Shen Xiu, he quietly asked, “Next time we go out, can we let the intelligent driving system handle the driving?”
He had ridden in self-driving cars when booking a ride before, but a self-driving sports car? He had never been in one, and his curiosity was overwhelming.
Shen Xiu agreed without hesitation. “Sure.”
Xiang Yueting turned to Zhuang Yi and the other two. “Who wants to go with me?”
Jiang Yanxi, who was a bit of an extrovert, raised his hand. “Me!”
Xiang Yueting looked at Ning Sinian and Zhuang Yi. “What about you two?”
Xiang Yueting liked convertible sports cars, but Zhuang Yi couldn’t help imagining them just sitting there, doing nothing while the car drove itself—and worse, everyone around could see into the car. Just the thought made him so embarrassed his toes were metaphorically digging a hole into the ground to hide.
So Zhuang Yi shook his head decisively. “No thanks.”
Sitting in the car in front of everyone, like a monkey on display? No way.
Ning Sinian blinked in curiosity, hesitated for two seconds, then nodded. “I’m in too.”
Xiang Yueting looked at Shen Xiu. “Captain Xiu, want to join us?”
Shen Xiu pictured the scene in his head and decisively declined. “No, just have fun.”
Just imagining himself as a walking spectacle in a convertible was enough to make him want to flee this world overnight.
Shen Xiu’s response didn’t surprise Xiang Yueting. After all, Shen Xiu was K Corp’s President Shen. Among all the cutting-edge technologies K Corp possessed, intelligent driving was honestly not that impressive.
It made sense he wouldn’t be interested.
The reception staff, having coordinated with Jin Can, were already waiting at the elevator exit.
As soon as they saw the group step out of the elevator, they immediately approached Shen Xiu—who was naturally at the center of attention, though everyone still kept a respectful distance from him—and greeted with a smile, “Welcome to our TV station, everyone. Please follow me this way to get ready. The interview will begin shortly.”
The New Life cast followed the staff into a room to begin hair and makeup preparations.
—
While New Life was in the middle of recording their interview, the media outlets that had suddenly appeared in the underground parking lot earlier had already organized Shen Xiu’s answers, videos, and photos. They began posting them on their official social media accounts.
Within less than half an hour, the posts had climbed onto several trending lists:
#DirectorShen and PresidentShen
#K Corp Intelligent Driving System
#ThatFriendofBossXiuWasActuallyHim
#UndergroundGaragePressConferenceFootage
…
— If the media hadn’t specified that this took place in an underground garage, judging by Boss Xiu’s tone and demeanor, I would’ve thought it was a formal new product launch.
— Who would’ve thought? At first, I just thought I was stanning a hardworking idol. Then I found out he’s also an actor and a director—which was already pretty wild—but the craziest part? He’s actually the boss of my dream company. If I told anyone that, who would believe me?
— Why is K Corp suddenly doing intelligent driving systems? Based on their past projects, that’s barely even in their wheelhouse—it’s just “smart” adjacent at best.
— As a seasoned Xiuologist, I say: It’s Boss Xiu. That explains everything!
— Everyone calm down—this is just Boss Xiu being Boss Xiu (hands on hips proudly).
— LOL, the New Life actors standing off to the side looked completely stunned during President Shen’s impromptu press conference.
— The New Life cast: “Wait, did I just wake up too fast? Isn’t this an underground parking lot? Why does it feel like we’re at a product launch?”
…
After seeing the media posts and the ridiculous comments from netizens, K Corp employees were collectively baffled.
Were they really launching a new intelligent driving system? Why didn’t they know about it?
Just like the employees, the higher-ups—equally confused—eventually traced the matter back to Qin Mo.
Everyone was low-key panicking about their job security.
They were worried they’d been cut out of the loop because of the surprise inspection Shen Xiu had conducted previously.
“Special Assistant Qin, are you the one in charge of this project?”
“Yeah, Special Assistant Qin, how come we haven’t heard a word about it?”
“Do you have any inside info you can share, Special Assistant Qin?”
“K Corp’s always focused on advanced tech R&D, but intelligent driving systems? That’s not really our field, is it?”
Qin Mo, who was being bombarded with questions: “……”
He didn’t know squat!
This was bad. During Shen Xiu’s surprise inspection last time, every department had issues.
And when President Shen left, his expression was cold as ice—clearly not pleased.
Suddenly bringing up a new intelligent driving project… Could it be that the company is planning to parachute in a new project lead directly from headquarters? Maybe this seemingly small project is just a pretext to send a warning to everyone?
The more Qin Mo thought about it, the more it seemed like the only logical explanation.
So, with a smile, Qin Mo looked around at the group of veteran managers and gave a vague answer:
“The specifics aren’t clear yet.”
“No need to worry, everyone. When the time comes, all will be revealed.”
Then he turned to Li Nuo. “Is it time?”
Li Nuo instantly caught on and replied formally, “Yes, Special Assistant Qin. You have a scheduled meeting with Mr. Xu, the CEO of Yutai. It’s time to depart.”
Qin Mo turned to the VPs. “Apologies, everyone—I’ve got business to attend to. Please carry on.”
As Qin Mo and Li Nuo left, the group of vice presidents started grumbling the moment his figure disappeared into the distance, heading toward the elevator.
“That Special Assistant Qin—he’s always playing Tai Chi. I’d bet anything he knows something but is too afraid to tell us because of President Shen.”
“I’ve got a theory: he’s probably the one in charge of this project. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been so vague.”
“Ugh, it’s frustrating. Even if it’s just a small project, President Shen just visited the company, and now there’s suddenly this new initiative? It’s clearly a warning.”
“Apparently scaring the cast of New Life wasn’t enough. Now he’s throwing in a small project just to keep us on edge. President Shen really is the demon king the internet’s Xiuologists say he is.”
“He’s clearly younger than all of us. I really don’t get how he managed to earn President Shen’s trust.”
“I heard Special Assistant Qin was financially supported by President Shen from middle school all the way through graduate school. After graduating, he joined the company right away. That level of trust? We could never compete.”
“But President Shen… he doesn’t look very old. I’ve always been curious—how did he become President Shen?”
“He doesn’t seem… entirely human.”
“What, are you saying he’s a god now?”
“Hahaha, come on, that’s ridiculous. From what I’ve heard, President Shen studied finance back in the day—otherwise, how could K Corp exist? He probably changed his age just to mess around in the entertainment industry for fun, and maybe picked up another major in college while he was at it.”
“Totally possible. Who knows what goes on in the mind of someone like President Shen, a workaholic genius.”
…
The more they talked, the more it all seemed to make sense to them—and the more fired up they got.
Meanwhile, the system, which had quietly tapped into K Corp’s surveillance feed and overheard everything: [……]
How was it supposed to explain to these people that—surprise!—they were actually kind of right… but also completely off track?
Tsk. It didn’t even know where to begin.
——
Two hours later, after finishing the interview, Shen Xiu sat in the car on the way back.
Thinking about what he had said earlier in the underground garage, he pulled out his phone, intending to message Qin Mo.
He had decided to leave the intelligent driving system in Qin Mo’s hands—he trusted Qin Mo to handle it appropriately.
While in the middle of a conversation, Qin Mo suddenly heard a notification chime he hadn’t heard in a long time. Instinctively, he raised his hand. “Just a moment—I need to check a message.”
The person across from him fell silent immediately.
Qin Mo took out his phone, and the moment he saw Shen Xiu’s message, his heart began pounding wildly. A smile tugged at his lips before he even realized it.
The person opposite noticed Qin Mo’s sudden change in expression. Half out of curiosity and half out of flattery and a desire to get closer, they asked, “Judging by Mr. Qin’s expression, it must be something very good. Congratulations.”
Qin Mo replied with a smile, “Yes, it is something very good. Thank you.”
Thankfully, he was still the Qin Mo whom President Shen trusted—he hadn’t been excluded.
After replying to Shen Xiu’s message, Qin Mo looked back at the person in front of him. “Apologies. We can continue now.”
