The show <Extreme Challenge> already had a large audience, and with that massive wave of buzz this morning, the ratings took yet another leap upward.
Shao Yuye’s impressive performance during the obstacle challenge also caught the attention of renowned director Zhang Zhifeng.
Especially the moment when Shao Yuye leaped over the giant pendulum in one big stride.
That kind of boldness and athleticism—combined with his almost unfairly handsome face—
He was exactly the kind of lead Zhang had in mind for his new work <Last Shot1>.
So when Brother Li received an inquiry from Zhang Zhifeng’s team expressing interest in a collaboration, he was completely stunned.
Shao Yuye has been in the industry for seven years, always focused on the stage. He’d considered branching out into drama, but as a top idol, he never entertained the idea of acting in romance series. As for other genres, both directors and investors had only ever offered him shallow ‘eye-candy’ supporting roles.
And Shao Yuye is someone with both pride and ambition. If the market didn’t want him, he wouldn’t force it. He just focused on perfecting his performances.
“Sorry, just to confirm, you said the role is… the male lead?”
A top-tier director! Big-budget production! Main male lead!
Hell, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it a pie falling from the sky!
“Yes,” the voice said. “I’ve already sent the audition script to your email…”
Brother Li didn’t even hear the rest.
He just stared, dumbfounded, at the live broadcast feed, where Shao Yuye was being casually flattered by Shen Wanwan and was practically floating from the praise…
Thinking: Dude, what the hell are you doing at a time like this, still fooling around while talking gibberish nonsense?!
—You don’t even know who just called me!
—Damn it,just saying his name would scare you half to death!
Shao Yuye and Shen Wanwan came in first place on the first day at this area.
In second place were Zhang Yiran and Jin Xiaoyu, who’d painfully lost 200 tokens.
Qi Luozhou and Jiang Yuan remained steady and calm in third place.
Li Yan and Jiang Qianfan placed fourth. Bai Ling and Su Tingxuan were last and, understandably, had to accept punishment.
That evening, the production team didn’t pull any more pranks on the guests.
Considering everyone had been through a long day, the team treated them to a lavish spread of local Zhucheng cuisine.
After all, this was a high-intensity challenge show. If the guests weren’t well-fed, they’d probably all collapse within a few days.
After dinner, just before the group dispersed, Bai Ling brought Shao Yuye a small jar of cooling muscle balm.
Shao Yuye blinked. “Why are you giving me this?”
Bai Ling smiled gently. “I thought you might need it…”
“No thanks.” Shao Yuye rejected it without even thinking.
He knew she meant well, but why did it still feel like she was mocking him?
Clicking his tongue, he asked her, “Do I look that frail to you or something?”
“Eh?”
Bai Ling didn’t understand where that was coming from.
“No?” she said.
Shao Yuye grumbled, “Then why are you giving me this?”
His voice wasn’t quiet, and instantly drew the attention of everyone in the room.
Bai Ling choked on her words, her cheeks reddening.
“I… I just saw you carrying Shen Wanwan up the mountain this morning. I thought your arms might be sore by now…”
The livestream chat was full of people saying [Brother Ye is hopeless.]
[Bai Ling is trying to take care of you, and you can’t even tell!]
[Brother Ye, seriously, why are you yelling like that!!!]
[Bai Ling: I’m done with you, you insufferable brat. Break your arms for all I care next time!]
Only then did Shen Wanwan glance their way.
Shao Yuye casually said, “Oh. She’s not heavy.”
[Awwww that’s such a sweet thing to say!]
[To be fair, Shen Wanwan does look light. Maybe Brother Ye was just stating a fact?]
[It is a fact. What, were you expecting him to sugarcoat it or something?!]
Then, this brutally blunt guy proudly added:
“I could carry ten more.”
The comment section:
[ … ]
You know what, never mind.
Even though there was obviously a lot of bragging in that sentence, Shen Wanwan didn’t believe a word of it. But since he was her biological Brother, she gave him a very appreciative look anyway.
Shao Yuye caught her eye signal and was instantly pleased.
His self-esteem was immensely satisfied.
“Alright then.”
Bai Ling choked on her words for a while. Seeing how boring he was—flirting with Shen Wanwan instead—she decided to leave.
She had just turned around when Shao Yuye called out behind her, “Hey.”
“What is it?” she asked, turning back with hope in her eyes.
Shao Yuye handed the ointment from the table back to her. “Your ointment.”
The livestream comment section exploded with laughter:
[Help, there’s a reason Brother Ye is still single.]
[Who else gets this joy of being a Shao Yuye fan? Other celebs might have scandals, but only Brother Ye, he just doesn’t deserve a girlfriend hahahahahaha!!!]
And so the day’s livestream ended in a chorus of laughter.
Shao Yuye returned to his room completely satisfied.
Starting from this round, the production team had arranged for each guest to have their own room so everyone could get proper rest.
He happily took a shower, and while blow-drying his hair and admiring his muscles in the mirror, Brother Li’s phone call came in at just the right moment.
Shao Yuye casually hit the answer button.
Brother Li heard the whirring of the hairdryer. “Blow-drying your hair?”
“Yeah.” Shao Yuye ran a hand through his damp hair. “What’s up?”
Brother Li said, “There are a few main things I wanted to talk to you about today.”
As the two chatted, Shao Yuye finally realized just how much had happened over the course of the day.
First off, the ‘Yu Yu’s had misunderstood and thought he was being bullied by Shen Wanwan in the workplace—
“That’s ridiculous!”
Shao Yuye was speechless. How could his fans think that?!
He—Shao Yuye—might bow to his sister, but never to money or power, okay!
He’d been in the industry for seven years already, and had been through a lot. Didn’t his fans trust him even this much?!
He was a bit annoyed and immediately went on Weibo. Under the trending topic #Shen Wanwan Uses Capital To Force Shao Yuye#, he posted:
[You guys actually think I’m being bullied? I’ve been in this business all these years for nothing, huh! (photo.jpg)]
Attached was a cold-looking photo taken from a terrible angle, showing a displeased expression.
The ‘Yu Yu’s who had just left the livestream came rushing back to comment:
[I’m begging you, Brother Ye, please just use your face properly, okay!]
[Wuwuwu, Brother Ye, we’re sorry! It’s just Shen Wanwan’s whole rich-girl branding made it seem logical at the time…]
[Don’t be mad, Brother Ye! It was all a misunderstanding. We ‘Yu Yu’s are polite and respectful fans!]
Shao Yuye was quite pleased reading the comments, scrolling through all the praise while listening to Brother Li’s updates. His hands didn’t stop either, he posted another post with just one tsundere word:
[Hmph.]
Only after all that did he hear the rest of what Brother Li was saying.
“But she already deleted the family photo.”
Shao Yuye paused.
He put down his phone and said seriously, “What did you just say? Say that again, fully.”
Brother Li raised his voice a bit: “I said—your stepsister posted a family photo on Little Red Book, saying she didn’t do well on her exams, but it’s okay because her Brother is Shao Yuye.”
Shao Yuye was utterly speechless. He said coldly:
“Those two women really have no shame.”
“But for now she’s already deleted the family photo. The fans just think it’s a meme and haven’t picked up on anything serious yet. My suggestion is that you prepare early and try to coordinate things with that side…”
Shao Yuye grew irritated and didn’t want to hear anything else about Xu Qingxin and her daughter. He interrupted with a frown:
“Anything else?”
“Yes.”
Brother Li smoothly changed the subject:
“Do you know Zhang Zhifeng?”
“Hm? The famous action film director?”
Shao Yuye casually stepped out of the bathroom, grabbed an apple and fruit knife from the coffee table, leaned lazily on the sofa, and began peeling the apple leisurely.
“Yes, that’s him!”
“Today, someone from his team contacted me. They want to invite you to audition for his new work <Last Shot> and it’s for the male lead!”
Brother Li was clearly excited.
Even though it was just an audition and not a final decision, at least the door to acting wasn’t closed to Shao Yuye anymore. It had quietly opened a crack.
Having been Shao Yuye’s agent for so long, he knew Shao Yuye’s skills and abilities didn’t need to be questioned. As long as he got a good script, he could take off on the spot.
Who knows, maybe Shao Yuye could use this project to successfully transition and finally shed the label of ‘the weakest top star.’
Apple peels fell bit by bit into the trash can.
Shao Yuye let out a “yo” and said, “This director has pretty good taste.”
Brother Li was silent for a few seconds on the other end of the call: “…When are you going to fix that narcissistic habit of yours?
“This is a golden opportunity! You’d better make me proud! I want you to see the script tonight. And from now on, spend more time improving your acting skills whenever you’re free, we’re aiming to land this role!”
The apple was already peeled.
Shao Yuye took a bite. It was crisp and delicious.
He replied lazily, “Mm. Got it.”
- 绝杀 (juéshā). 绝 (jué) means “absolute,” “ultimate,” or “decisive.” 杀 (shā) means “to kill” or “to defeat.” It is a term that refers to a win at the final moment that leaves no room for the opponent to respond (though it is mostly used in competitions, like to refer to the buzzer beater in basketball game). ↩︎