Chapter 25: You Go Sit at the Kids' Table

"No, what are you two laughing at? Is his basketball playing that bad?" Meng Ziyi asked, puzzled.

"Yeah, what’s the deal? Don't just stand there laughing, share the joke with us too," Wang Sulong chimed in, leaning closer.

Wu Dajing shook his head. "Don't ask me. If you want to know, ask him."

Everyone turned their eyes to Xu Xiu, who walked aside with the unhurried composure of a seasoned artist.

"Chicken, you are too beautiful!"

The music started. Xu Xiu began to gyrate to the rhythm.

[Ding! Detected host performing absurd behavior, gaining exposure. Exposure +69... Exposure +69...]

Numb. Everyone was completely numb.

Why did they have to have such loose tongues? Why did they have to see a dance like this before going to bed? It was truly eye-searing!

"I give up. I finally understand why those two wouldn't say anything. They were being kind, trying to save our eyes!" Li Xueqin said, looking speechless.

Wang Sulong’s mouth twitched. "That was... quite a performance. Please, never do it again!"

"Your dancing isn't even that good. You were just winging it when you led me through it that day, right?" Meng Ziyi asked, looking at him with suspicion.

Xu Xiu didn't speak; he simply gave Meng Ziyi a look of pity, as if looking at someone intellectually challenged.

"Why are you trying to join in? Go sit at the kids' table!"

"Pfft—hahahaha!" ×13

"You! You're too much!" Meng Ziyi was fuming.

With Xu Xiu having broken the ice, the group soon dispersed to get some sleep.

The next day.

Before everyone had even woken up, several trending topics had erupted across Weibo and Douyin.

#Peach Blossom Dock Season 2 Hotly Aired#
#Chicken You Are Too Beautiful#
#Basketball in Overalls#
#An Overly Abstract Self-Introduction#
#If I Were Born in 1996, My Dream Would Be to Lead Rap#
#Sister Meng’s Scrambled Eggs Are a Disaster!#
#The Most Abstract Guest in Variety Show History#
#Xu Xiu or Not Xu Xiu#
#Shocking! He Actually Made a Female Guest Forget Her Figure Management#

"Peach Blossom Dock" lived up to its reputation as a hit variety show, especially as the long-awaited second season. It dominated the headlines of major websites the moment it premiered. Several of these keywords were burning bright red—a sign of a viral hit.

Beneath these entries were countless comments from netizens.

"Can you imagine? A few days ago, Xu Xiu was just a trainee with two and a half years of training, but the tags he created are already on the trending list!"

"The '650' group I was looking forward to the most isn't even as funny as Xu Xiu alone. This guy is a natural-born variety show treasure; he’s hilarious!"

"Do you know? His self-introduction was absolutely savage. Is this the power of two and a half years of training?"

"As for the newcomers, I only have an impression of Wang Chuanjun; all my other attention was stolen by Xu Xiu."

"He has pectoral muscles—eight of them! Sister Meng even touched them. I’m so jealous of Sister Meng!"

"And what about the fact that he sprayed Sister Meng all over? Why is no one mentioning that? The entire court of officials remains silent!"

Unsurprisingly, Xu Xiu had gone viral. He broke out of his niche thanks to "Peach Blossom Dock," though this left many unfamiliar viewers baffled. They didn't know him at all; he looked decent enough, but nothing seemed particularly outstanding. Some even suspected he was a "resource-backed" celebrity, as only someone with massive backing could achieve such a splash—blasting advertisements everywhere regardless of actual performance.

However, after looking deeper, they realized that wasn't the case at all. Xu Xiu wasn't backed by resources; in fact, his situation was quite tragic. They discovered he was an orphan with zero connections and no agency. The only thing remotely related to the entertainment industry was his two-and-a-half-year stint as a trainee. Just as he was about to debut, a government regulation shut everything down. All talent shows were halted, and his company went bankrupt. Yet, somehow, this didn't break him; instead, it led him to "Peach Blossom Dock," where he finally gained fame.

The only point of contention was how someone with no connections like Xu Xiu managed to get on "Peach Blossom Dock." People turned their gaze toward the director, Gao Liang. They suspected the director might have a "soft spot" for such pretty boys, but upon closer inspection, they realized they were wrong again—Director Gao is a man who loves women!

By this time, Weibo and Douyin were flooded with clips edited by various content creators, with Xu Xiu as the protagonist. They found that as long as they edited clips of Xu Xiu, the traffic was frighteningly high. It was like having a meal spoon-fed to them—to ignore it would be an insult to the ancestors of the industry!

Then came all sorts of bizarre videos: "Chicken You Are Too Beautiful," "Playing Basketball in Overalls," "The Self-Introduction," "I Always Hug My Feet for Rap," "Master Chef," and "The First Person to Fleece the Production Team."

There were even "ship" fans, who edited interactions between Xu Xiu and Meng Ziyi into incredibly warm and romantic segments. For them, watching variety shows was all about the chemistry; who cared about them doing chores? How boring!

Every romantic bubble was pushed to the limit, especially the scenes of them dancing or playing around in the vegetable garden, which were crafted into incredibly romantic vignettes.

Meanwhile, the Douyin account Xu Xiu had registered two years ago finally shook off the dust. His follower count had jumped from two to 320,000! Oh, right—those original two followers were his own alt accounts.

...

Early in the morning, Wang Chuanjun dragged Xu Xiu out of bed. Wang actually wanted to take him to see the ocean, which made Xu Xiu’s head spin.

"Looking at the ocean so early? What's there to see? How about we go play some basketball?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Chuanjun’s expression changed instantly. Perhaps the trauma from last time was too deep; he instinctively took half a step back.

Xu Xiu: (￢_￢) *Glares.*

What’s the matter? Are you bullying an honest man?

"No dancing, I swear! Just pure basketball. You gotta sweat it out in the morning to feel good!"

"Really?"

"Absolutely, truer than real gold!"

The two went to the basketball court together. This time, Xu Xiu was genuinely focused and didn't pull any pranks. However, they woke everyone else up, as the court was close to the dorms, and the "clanging" of the rim kept everyone from sleeping in peace.

When they returned, Xu Xiu looked at the haggard faces of the others and couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong? Why are you all up so early? And why do you all have such dark circles under your eyes?"

"You still have the nerve to ask? Who taught you to play basketball at the crack of dawn? Are you doing this on purpose?"

"With all that banging, I thought something had exploded. You scared the life out of me."

"I thought someone was blacksmithing, but it turned out it was you two 'hammering' outside!"

"..."

The group chimed in one after another, putting immense pressure on Xu Xiu.

Just as everyone was denouncing him, Song Dan stepped forward. "What is wrong with you all? What time is it? You sleep in late and then blame others for waking you up?"