Song Qiusheng was a top-tier celebrity with the most loyal and biggest-spending fans.
Who wouldn’t show him some respect?
Countless brands begged to collaborate with him.
Newcomers in the entertainment industry had to obediently call him “teacher” when they saw him, and even the most respected veteran artists had to give him some face.
Even the diva Yu Xiutao, no matter how much she looked down on him, wouldn’t dare make things difficult for him in person.
Yet, this youth standing before him—who hadn’t even debuted yet—was showing him no respect at all.
Didn’t he fear that this would make his life difficult in the entertainment circle?
With that thought, Song Qiusheng cast a sharp glare at Ye Ansheng, who was laughing loudly beside Xie Feiran.
“I think you might have some misunderstanding about me,” Song Qiusheng offered a fairly gentle smile.
“How about we have a meal together to clear up this misunderstanding?”
If it weren’t for Qiyu urging him to win over Xie Feiran, he would have left long ago.
“Thanks for your kindness, Teacher Song. Feiran and I have been practicing dance lately, so we can’t eat anything too greasy,” Ye Ansheng said, poking Xie Feiran.
“Right, Feiran?”
Xie Feiran nodded, then looked at Song Qiusheng seriously and gave him sincere advice: “Artists should maintain their figure well. Teacher Song, you shouldn’t eat such greasy food.”
With that, Xie Feiran and Ye Ansheng turned and headed toward the cafeteria, leaving Song Qiusheng standing alone with a dark expression.
A moment later, Song Qiusheng’s assistant arrived, handing him a bottle of water and saying, “Qiusheng, where is that person Mr. Qiyu asked you to invite?”
As soon as the words fell, Song Qiusheng slammed the bottle onto the ground with a crash.
The sound of breaking glass and splashing water startled the assistant, who quickly glanced around for any hidden cameras.
Song Qiusheng turned sharply and left, his face clouded with fury.
“Qiusheng! Qiusheng…” the assistant hurriedly chased after him.
Behind them, Ye Ansheng laughed heartily, then looked at Xie Feiran.
“How are you so good at roasting people?”
Seeing Song Qiusheng’s breakdown, Ye Ansheng felt that Xie Feiran had mercilessly pressed his sore spot.
But Xie Feiran calmly replied, “I was just repeating what others said.”
“Heh heh.”
Ye Ansheng laughed and then said, “Come on, let’s eat.”
Youth Boy was a program with its own cafeteria, providing three meals a day for the trainees.
Of course, trainees rated A-Class or above could have staff deliver meals to them.
This time, Xie Feiran and Ye Ansheng chose to eat at the cafeteria to get to know their new teammates.
At a long table in the cafeteria, Xie Feiran looked at the few teammates sitting across from him and said, “Hello, my name is Xie Feiran.”
“Hi, I’m Luo Wen,” a shy boy quietly introduced himself.
“I’m Wei Yunnian. I study vocal music and can do some modern dance, but I can’t complete the entire routine,” said the oldest among them.
“I’m Cheng Linxi, a dance major,” the speaker glanced at Xie Feiran.
“But I’m telling you upfront—asking me to dance the full ‘Flame’ is doable, but singing it? No way.”
The song “Flame” lasted five minutes, and the choreography involved large movements and difficult tricks like backflips.
Without sufficient stamina, it was impossible to complete the routine, let alone sing while dancing.
“You don’t have to worry too much about stamina,” Xie Feiran said, lowering his gaze.
Cheng Linxi chuckled at this and looked at Xie Feiran.
“Isn’t the hardest part the stamina issue?”
The next moment, Xie Feiran’s eyes fixed on Cheng Linxi.
“You can trust me.”
Cheng Linxi was slightly taken aback but felt the same inexplicable trust in this youth—trusting that with him around, all problems would be solved.
Luo Wen and Wei Yunnian felt the same way; somehow, everything Xie Feiran said seemed convincing.
The truth was, Xie Feiran didn’t consider stamina a problem at all.
As a Main Carry during the early stages of the game’s development, he had used more stamina potions than he had eaten meals.
“If that’s the case, then let’s start practicing after we finish eating,” Ye Ansheng smiled, noticing the confident looks on everyone’s faces.
That afternoon, in the practice room of the S-Class Dormitory, five young people sat together as the MV for Starlight’s “Flame” played on the big screen.
At the same time, Xie Feiran’s Live Room was open, attracting a large influx of fans.
[Wow, so handsome, so cool, so difficult!]
[I didn’t realize how hard the dance was just from the song difficulty. Watching the MV now, I’m suddenly worried that Feiran might not even keep his S-Class rating.]
[Don’t kill your own ambition before trying!]
“Finished watching? How much of the choreography do you remember?”
Xie Feiran paused the video and asked.
“About seventy or eighty percent,” Ye Ansheng said after taking a bite of an apple.
Cheng Linxi and Wei Yunnian nodded, though remembering the moves and actually executing them were two different things.
Only Luo Wen quietly said, “The speed’s too fast. I didn’t remember it.”
Xie Feiran looked at Luo Wen.
“No worries, I’ll teach you.”
[Wait, could he have learned it after watching just once?]
[Impossible, even the fastest learners took two days.]
[If it’s Xie Feiran, I wouldn’t rule it out.]
[Stop bragging.]
The staff in the Live Room saw these comments and hurried over to tell Xie Feiran, “Isn’t this ready-made content to prove you wrong? You should definitely do it.”
After hearing this, Xie Feiran sighed and stood up.
As the music started again, he quickly followed the rhythm and performed the dance.
His movements were crisp and smooth; the backflip was flawless with no awkwardness, the spins formed beautiful arcs with even his clothing flowing gracefully.
The intense five-minute routine flowed effortlessly from him without a single gasp for breath.
Compared to the original wildness of the song, Xie Feiran’s performance added a layer of elegance—an entirely different kind of beauty.
The viewers in the Live Room were stunned as they watched the entire performance.
After a moment, someone posted, [This is terrifying. He doesn’t seem tired at all. He could definitely handle singing while dancing.]
Followed by a flood of [+1] comments. After watching Xie Feiran dance “Flame,” they all felt he still had energy left afterward.
The staff at Polar Bear Entertainment happily clipped the footage for promotional use.
Soon, the Hot Search #GeniusYouthLearnsFlameDanceInOneWatch# climbed into the top ten.
This trend attracted many Starlight fans who initially thought it was a clickbait stunt but were surprised it was true.
The video showed a white-haired youth who, after watching the “Flame” MV once, said he could teach another boy the dance.
A few discordant comments appeared on screen, and then the Polar Bear staff whispered something into the boy’s ear.
Then they saw the boy look helpless and stand up.
The music for “Flame” began again, and the boy spun and leapt quickly, every step perfectly on beat.
The landing after his backflip struck the viewers’ hearts, making their breath catch.
As the dance grew more difficult, the boy’s eyes glistened faintly red, and his movements grew faster—like a mysterious and graceful black cat leaping across rooftops at night.
When the dance ended, the crowd finally exhaled.
[So beautiful! Too bad he’s a bit young and not as wild as the original.]
[Damn, combined with the comments on the video, this is a perfect rebuttal.]
[I can’t believe someone really learned it after watching just once!]
[As a Starlight fan, I think that white-haired youth’s skills can totally rival the group’s members.]
[He’s Xie Feiran, a trainee on Youth Boy. He got three S-level scores in the first round. Please support our little Feiran.]
[But still, Polar Bear Entertainment is really ruthless.]
Xie Feiran was unaware of the online comments.
Even if he knew, he would only smile slightly.
After all, as a game character, all he had to do was memorize the moves to perform the dance flawlessly and fluidly. It wasn’t a difficult task for him.
Right now, Xie Feiran’s priority was to teach Luo Wen the dance and correct the moves of Ye Ansheng and the other two.
“Don’t be afraid during the backflip,” Xie Feiran whispered behind Luo Wen.
Luo Wen blushed.
He could smell the faint, cool scent of Snow Pine from Xie Feiran.
“Even if you mess up, I’ll catch you. I can catch you on stage, too,” Xie Feiran added.
“Okay.”
Luo Wen nodded and, using the technique Xie Feiran had just taught him, perfectly executed a backflip.
As expected, once he overcame the mental barrier, Luo Wen performed better than before.
An hour later, everyone except Xie Feiran collapsed on the ground, drenched in sweat and gasping for air, looking utterly exhausted.
They stared at Xie Feiran, thinking his stamina was terrifying.
After resting a bit, Luo Wen got up and handed water to the others lying on the floor.
When he reached Xie Feiran’s side, he couldn’t help but ask, “Why did you pick me?”
Compared to the others, Luo Wen was unremarkable.
He had no outstanding singing or dancing skills, yet Xie Feiran had chosen him.
When Luo Wen asked this, everyone in the Live Room wanted to know why Xie Feiran picked him.
The truth was, after selecting his ideal secondary carry, support, and healer, Xie Feiran thought anyone who didn’t slack off or cause trouble would be manageable.
“You don’t need to belittle yourself. You’re great too,” Xie Feiran said, then added, “Your original song is really good.”
Xie Feiran remembered Luo Wen had performed a self-written song during his first talent show—a beautiful, serene piece, perfect for praising the God of Light.
Luo Wen smiled and said, “Thank you.”
[That makes sense. Luo Wen is a creative talent.]
[Feiran’s team sure has some big shots.]
[Luo Wen is so soft and cute—a precious little brother.]
After a short break, the five resumed training.
Meanwhile, after leaving the Youth Boy recording site, Song Qiusheng was boiling with anger and flicked through his phone, increasingly irritated by the new Hot Search about Xie Feiran.
Suddenly, Song Qiusheng asked his assistant, “Wasn’t there a Hot Search about Xie Feiran called ‘Fugitive Character on Tina Continent’?”
That Hot Search had just appeared.
The assistant thought for a moment and nodded.
“What were the players’ reactions?”
Song Qiusheng continued.
The assistant quickly searched the Hot Search.
Most comments said the resemblance was striking; a few accused Xie Feiran of exploiting a fictional character.
Song Qiusheng smiled faintly at the result.
It was well-known that fan circles and game circles had an inherent barrier.
If fans crossed the line, the game community would ruthlessly punish them, sometimes even stripping them of their status.
In recent years, several minor celebrities had offended the game community by relying on their fanbases, only to be taught a harsh lesson—getting roasted on Hot Search for days and losing many business opportunities.
Especially with games having strong 2D elements, if a celebrity tried to appropriate their beloved idols, they would be immediately attacked.
“Buy some water army accounts and claim Xie Feiran is using game character marketing to forcibly exploit fictional characters,” Song Qiusheng said, curling his lips smugly.
Having been a top-tier celebrity for so long, Song Qiusheng understood that for these gamers, 3D people exploiting 2D characters was intolerable.
If the narrative was controlled well, Xie Feiran would be cursed for at least a week, and his debut might even be affected.
“Yes.”
Song Qiusheng had bought water armies many times over the years—for controlling comments, whitewashing himself, or slandering others.
The water army even gave him discounts.
Within ten minutes, the assistant had purchased the water army.
An hour later, the Tina Continent Forum was in chaos, with players unanimously cursing Xie Feiran for shamelessly exploiting fictional characters.
“Been a player since the game opened three years ago. Really don’t want a celebrity to replace the Xie Feiran who’s been grinding with me. Stop draining him, 3D people, don’t exploit 2D fictional characters!”