Rebirth from the Ashes

The group watched Mr. Xixi leave with regret before exchanging glances. They then cleared out the filming set.

The fans also vacated the stadium.

Unlike regular fans, the bunch of International Class had special access. They made prior arrangements and left the stadium only to make a U-turn backstage. They went to see Song Wenye.

Yu Yuanxi intended to leave, but Pei Xu dragged him to come along. The International Class students circled him like a shark as though they were afraid he would escape.

The group advanced forth in droves.

Chu Ying suddenly let out an exaggerated scream, “Mr. Xixi!”

Lifting her head to the source of the noise, Shen Xi noticed her bunch of classmates with Yu Qiubai, and now, Yu Yuanxi the tag-along.

Before anyone knew it, Chu Ying happily bolted over despite the look Mr. Xixi pulled. “Mr. Xixi, I’m a fan of yours. Can I have your autograph?”

Shen Xi uttered in a low voice, “Sorry.”

“Please, Mr. Xixi. Only an autograph for the little old me.” Chu Ying was not one to give up that easily. She even had a pen and paper ready.

Nevertheless, Mr. Xixi was just as aloof as in the rumors. She was curious about the half-face hidden behind the mask.

Pei Xu was quick to stop her. “Chu Ying, come back.”

Finding it odd, Chu Ying turned back for a glance. She was reluctant to let the chance to ask for an autograph slip in this rare encounter. Asking for an autograph was no big deal.

Still, she had to listen to Pei Xu. Chu Ying apologized to Mr. Xixi and stepped back in line, waiting until Mr. Xixi took off before dejectedly moaning, “Alpha Xu, why did you stop me?”

Pei Xu turned back to catch a glance of the person who was almost out of sight and said with a smile, “What’s the rush? You’ll have lots of opportunities soon.”

Since they practically hung out every day, what was the point of asking for an autograph? He wondered how the group would react when they found out that Mr. Xixi was Shen Xi?

Yu Qiubai darted a dithering look at Pei Xu. Was Pei Xu aware of Mr. Xixi’s identity too?

Pei Xu returned the gaze but kept mum.

The International Class girls found the whole situation regretful as well since they had taken to Mr. Xixi being fans of Qi Xiu.

However, it was not proper to get in Mr. Xixi’s face now that he had said no. Their upbringing disabled them from acting beyond the boundaries of classiness.

Yu Yuanxi looked back at Mr. Xixi’s receding figure. He got a familiar feeling when Mr. Xixi walked past. Was it all in his head?

“Say, do you think Mr. Xixi is a hottie?” Chu Ying’s imagination went wild. Mr. Xixi had never made an appearance sans mask.

The semi-secrecy left a lot to the imagination after all. Before, when netizens had no idea who Mr. Xixi was, they would say he was too hideous to show his face.

The situation took a complete turn when Mr. Xixi’s identity was revealed. Ditching the negative tone, netizens praised him to be the hunk of the year. His talent only added to his charm.

“I think so too.” One of the girls was starstruck and appeared lovesick. “I want to remove his mask with my bare hands!”

Clearing his throat, Pei Xu let out a warning. “Behave yourselves!”

Hunk? Hottie? More like a doll. He hoped they would be shocked to bits should they find out one day.

Meanwhile, Yu Qiubai was holding a conversation with Yu Yuanxi. “Are you coming back to school tomorrow?”

Yu Yuanxi answered, “Yes.”

Yu Qiubai grinned. “Are you going to apply for any schools?”

Tomorrow was the 23rd of July, which was the day for college application submission. With National College Entrance Examination’s results out, it was announced that the overall top achiever and the highest scorers in both liberal arts and science were students of No. 4 High School. The title of overall top achiever eluded Yu Qiubai by two points.

The person next to him was the top scorer in liberal arts.

The other person who brushed past them was the top achiever in science.

In previous years, the media would flock the top achievers for interviews once the result was out. It was a different story this year with the media nowhere to be found.

The person seen on TV the most was Shen Xi’s father, Shen Zhangqing. He accepted two interviews and proudly praised his daughter without holding back. Humility was needless because his daughter was brilliant.

“Capital University.” Having signed onto Cosmos Entertainment last year, Yu Yuanxi had merely begun his journey in showbiz. Since he never had plans to step into the entertainment world before, applying for the film academy never crossed his mind.

“Any faculties in mind?” Yu Qiubai was intrigued because this was the person Shen Xi had her eye on and signed into her company.

“Journalism.” Yu Yuanxi was not that committed to his field of study following the realization that he enjoyed acting after dabbling in it. Since he missed the college examination on this specialty and the film academy not being an option, he had to enroll in a related field of study.

“That’s nice.” Yu Qiubai was not very close to Yu Yuanxi to delve deep into the conversation. They soon kept to themselves.

The talk about applying for their choice of college dampened the International Class bunch’s high spirits. Chu Ying was especially unhappy.

Oh, right!

Tomorrow was the day they were to register for colleges. Many of them would not be filling in the forms since the application was for within the country. They had already received offers from colleges abroad.

They were going abroad after the summer holidays. It would be donkey years before they could get together like right now.

Leading the pack was Pei Xu, who was on the phone, suddenly turned to them. “You guys should go ahead and meet Song Wenye. Give her my best. I have an emergency to attend to in the capital.”

Chu Ying blurted, “What happened?”

They were a step away from meeting Song Wenye. What was the big rush when they all agreed to celebrate her victory?

“I need to pick someone up.” Pei Xu swiftly took off.

Yu Yuanxi glanced at Yu Qiubai.

Yu Qiubai shrugged. How was he supposed to know who was so important for Pei Xu to pick up and miss out on Song Wenye’s victory celebration? In fact, Yu Qiubai was unclear why he was hanging out with the International Class, but it was a great feeling.

With Pei Xu gone, Song Wenye kicked up a fuss about it, but she was about to overlook the fact since Alpha Xu made an effort to come to her every performance.

The next day was application day. The International Class might not have a part in this, but they arrived early to school and stepped into their classroom, which had been so for the past three years.

Shen Xi set foot into the class on time and took notice of the seat beside her. The chair at Pei Xu’s seat was pushed to the side and replaced by a young man in a wheelchair.