Chapter 52: If He Is Xu Shujian, Then Who Am I?

"Who? Xu Shujian? He is Xu Shujian? Then who am I?"

"The sky has fallen! The original idol is back, and I, Xu Shujian from Liuzhou, can only be the second most handsome guy now."

"Is he really back? Any confirmed news? We've been waiting for him forever. Please, can some wealthy bigwig actually make his return happen? What kind of flashy trash are current idols anyway?!"

"Holy crap! I just saw a video on Douyin, he's really back! Looks like he joined some variety show!"

"Is this the prestige of China's last genuinely talented idol? So much buzz even before an official comeback!"

"I was wondering who it was, turns out it's him. No wonder. A while ago, LG boy band's old stage performances went viral again; he definitely has genuine talent."

"Come, come, let me show you ladies how well-fed we used to be back then!"

"Song Yue! Stealing my husband is an irreconcilable blood feud!!!"

......

Xu Shujian kept scrolling down, feeling more and more astonished. Needless to say about his old fans, the key was that there were still many running jokes and memes of his own, which constantly kept the name Xu Shujian golden.

Many passersby commented that seeing that man was Xu Shujian made this trending search entirely reasonable.

Mainly because of comparison—there were truly very few current idol artists who could hold a candle to him.

There was one more point Xu Shujian had overlooked: his retirement after marriage was actually a plus, aligning with many women's romantic ideals.

He had a family, and the moment he decided to retire, he completely vanished without a trace. The crucial part was that Xu Shujian used to be an idol.

Forget the idol category; even across the entire entertainment industry, very few could pull off what Xu Shujian did. The fermentation of the past few days made his ten-year hiatus for marriage carry even more weight.

Xu Shujian tilted his head to look at Song Yue: "Am I that handsome?"

Song Yue let out a burst of laughter and then started the car.

If you weren't good-looking, would I have spent so much effort to win you over back then?

Xu Shujian leaned forward, peering into the rearview mirror to check his own face, feeling it looked just so-so, pretty much the same as his past self.

The next destination was Lugu Lake, rumored to be an even larger cross-regional lake than Erhai, with a total driving time of six hours.

After entering the navigation details, Xu Shujian placed his phone in the storage box beside the center console.

Before long, the smooth road began to curve upward into the mountains, and the ordinary two-lane road wasn't very wide.

Xu Shujian reminded her, "Switch with me if you're tired."

Song Yue cooperated by letting out a deliberate yawn, and Xu Shujian instantly glared at her.

Song Yue smiled and said, "Afraid? I'm just kidding. I can still handle this much driving. If I'm really tired, you can just pinch me."

"My suggestion is still to take turns driving."

"No, I want to finish driving this last stretch. It seems this is about all I can do."

Xu Shujian was momentarily stunned, then turned his head to look out the car window.

Song Yue glanced at Xu Shujian, her mind relatively at ease.

At first, she had thought that even after a divorce, she could win Xu Shujian back again, but the reality was that the family enterprise still needed her.

Just as she said yesterday, even if they could stay together after the show ended, would she truly have the time to live the life she desired?

It would be extremely difficult, unless her eldest brother returned. But even if her eldest brother did return, the handover process would take a very long time.

Song Yue felt she needed some time. Rather than forcing things now, it was better to let Xu Shujian go for a while and see how far he could go.

Even if Xu Shujian found someone new during this period, she felt she could accept it, seeing as she was the one who failed to cherish him first.

Could old Xu, who had already experienced one marriage, plunge into another marriage so quickly?

Song Yue felt that would also be very difficult.

Xu Shujian and Song Yue's car was in the lead, closely followed by Zhang Qidong and Lin Xiaoxian's vehicle.

Zhang Qidong sat in the front passenger seat, continuously scrolling down his phone while Lin Xiaoxian drove, occasionally glancing over at him.

"This road is a bit tough to drive on. How about you take over?"

Zhang Qidong turned his head to look at Lin Xiaoxian: "You know me, after ten minutes of driving, my eyes will immediately shut."

Lin Xiaoxian stopped talking.

Inside, Zhang Qidong was somewhat unhappy. He had discussed this with Lin Xiaoxian before coming: this show was just going through the motions.

Once the show aired, he would step back behind the scenes and let Lin Xiaoxian take center stage.

Since it was something they had already agreed upon, why did she have to start taking things so seriously after arriving?

Moreover, Zhang Qidong had also seen the news online. Even before the show aired, Xu Shujian had rocketed to the top of the trending search list, and crucially, the sentiment in the comments was mostly positive.

From Zhang Qidong's perspective, nothing was going right anymore.

"They say driving on mountain roads gives you a great driving experience, you should really try it out properly," Zhang Qidong suddenly said to Lin Xiaoxian.

Lin Xiaoxian smiled: "What kind of experience is this? I just feel it's kind of hard to drive, and the road is so narrow."

"Just think about it, how many years has it been since we encountered a road like this? Wouldn't it be quite an achievement? When you mention this to your friends later, won't they think you're pretty awesome?"

Lin Xiaoxian frowned, but she actually pondered Zhang Qidong's words for a second, feeling it made a certain amount of sense.

Seeing Lin Xiaoxian didn't argue back, Zhang Qidong felt slightly more at ease.

He figured his wife should still be reasonable enough not to truly bicker with him.

......

Crossing mountain after mountain, they slowly entered a plain—or rather, a higher plateau—where many fruit trees could be seen.

Song Yue let out an actual yawn, occasionally casting a glance at Xu Shujian.

Xu Shujian had browsed from Weibo to Douyin, where he was also trending. The discussion topics on Douyin were much more specific, with quite a few people making videos about him.

Some people took out various items from their idol-chasing days with a nostalgic flair, feeling deeply moved upon seeing news about Xu Shujian again after stepping into the next stage of their lives.

Hearing Song Yue yawn, Xu Shujian put down his phone: "Pull over to the side, I'll drive."

Song Yue didn't pull over: "How about you tell me a joke instead?"

"Where am I supposed to pull a joke from out of nowhere? Don't force it; a billionaire CEO and a future mega-star are both riding in your car."

Song Yue burst into laughter: "Fair enough. Why don't you actually pinch me?"

Seeing that Song Yue had no intention of stopping, Xu Shujian really reached his hand over, clearly feeling Song Yue's body tense up slightly.

Xu Shujian withdrew his hand again: "I honestly don't dare. What if you accidentally step harder on the gas pedal and we both check out?"

Song Yue rolled her eyes at him, but she was wide awake now.

Peninsula No. 3 was located on the northern side of Lugu Lake, an area inhabited by ethnic minorities.

It was said that the setting of the Women's Kingdom in Journey to the West originated from this very place.

Following the road as it curved downward, there was a huge flat area by the lake, which also divided this location into two parts.

On one side was a valley with gentle slopes leading from top to bottom, dotted with orderly buildings. On the other side was Peninsula No. 3, a peninsula extending right into the middle of the lake.

Along the way, Xu Shujian had looked it up. This area was currently restricted and seemed scheduled for reconstruction,刚好 catching this window of time to be rented by the production team.

Song Yue parked the car and stretched, her full breasts pushing tautly against her clothes.

She noticed Xu Shujian's gaze and the corners of her mouth curved upward. It seemed she still held some attraction for old Xu.

"Old Xu, believe it or not, if you ever run into trouble in the future, call me first thing. I'll definitely help you with all my heart."

Xu Shujian pushed open the car door and muttered under his breath: "When did you pick up this motherly vibe?"