Chapter 47: The Peach Blossoms Bloom, the Sword Opens in Vain

Wang Shou’s head throbbed as he personally came to the set to retrieve Shen Chao, who refused to leave. Shen Chao stared fixedly at Su Xuan. Su Xuan gave him a hug and a smile. “I’ll wait for you to come back. Go do what you need to do.”

Shen Chao’s eyes softened uncontrollably. He embraced Su Xuan, resting his chin in the hollow of Su Xuan’s shoulder. His voice was light, carrying a certainty that brooked no doubt. “Soon, you’ll be with me again.”

Su Xuan was confused: “?”

But Shen Chao didn’t elaborate. Instead, Wang Shou gave Su Xuan a complicated look.

“…How did they get so close, like brothers, in such a short time?”

He did understand what Shen Chao meant by “soon you’ll be with me.” Shen Chao was about to fly to Yang City for the conceptual meeting on Hua Wei’s “Nine Streams 2” movie. The main cast and script were already set. Shen Chao was going to discuss the casting for the role of Rouge Young Master.

Shen Chao still insisted that Su Xuan play Rouge Young Master in the film.

If he succeeded in convincing the team again, then indeed, Su Xuan would soon meet him.

But it wasn’t that easy. Even though Shen Chao had been negotiating with the “Nine Streams” film team about using Su Xuan since the web series role change, the film team had yet to confirm whether they would use Su Xuan.

Changing a major role in a big movie was a different ballgame from changing a role in a web series. Wang Shou initially thought Shen Chao would give up fighting the film team, because a commercial team like Hua Wei’s would never agree to a role change.

But with the explosive popularity of the “Nine Streams” web series, Hua Wei began to soften.

Hua Wei had been dead set against using Su Xuan, but after seeing the finished product of the web series, he wavered.

The web series had now aired into its second half, and the episode “Killing Mother to Prove the Dao” was about to air. Su Xuan’s performance… Hua Wei could only describe it in one sentence: “Hua Na, as a son, the only role he directed better than I ever could is Rouge Young Master.”

Su Xuan’s performance could no longer be described simply as good or bad. The audience no longer cared about his acting skills. Every appearance of Rouge Young Master sparked massive arguments—but not about Su Xuan’s acting.

Instead, it was about Rouge Young Master himself. Women adored him, men envied and loathed him. A comedy blogger had even joked that the number of viewers supporting or dissing Rouge Young Master in the bullet comments could indicate the male-to-female ratio of the audience.

When a character transcends the actor’s performance and captures the audience’s attention completely, leading them to debate the depth of the work, the rightness of actions, and values, it means the character has come alive beyond the actor. The work reaches a deeper level.

Acting is only the first layer. Identifying good acting isn’t the mark of great acting. But when the audience starts to love or hate the character, the character is made, brought to life.

No director could refuse an actor like Su Xuan. Hua Wei was no exception.

Hua Wei sat in the meeting room, arms crossed, face stern. Around him were the relevant personnel for the “Nine Streams” film preparation. On the projection screen across from him played Su Xuan’s behind-the-scenes clips and finished scenes. Su Xuan, dressed in white, moved gracefully from a distance, his face and the peach blossoms inside his clothes complementing each other. He struck a leisurely sword thrust, only to have it parried. He calmly twisted his wrist, a smile on his face, and performed a brilliant flourish with his sword around his opponent’s blade. Then his eyes sharpened, and he brought the sword around from below—

—and slapped himself across the face.

Su Xuan covered his face and howled in pain. In the background came frantic shouts: [Su Xuan slapped himself again!!] [Medical team!!] [Makeup team, touch up!!] [Oh no, this is going to be tough, his face is asymmetrical!] [Ice!! Damn it!! Su Xuan, that ice is for icing your face, not for eating!!]

Hua Wei: “…”

The rest of the meeting room: “…”

Shen Chao subtly averted his gaze, coughed into his fist.

This actor… didn’t seem very bright.

This was a widely circulated behind-the-scenes clip of “Nine Streams” titled “Rouge Young Master Shows Everyone a Big Sword Slap! Old Ties, Like and Share!”. The clip had an especially high number of shares, second only to the clip of “Shen Chao Kills Thirty People in Anger and Defects.”

But the shares were mostly [HAHAHAHA], [LMAO!!!], and [????]

Someone even turned Su Xuan’s self-slap into a meme video, with over three million views. Some straight male fans who hated Rouge Young Master but liked the male lead played by Shen Chao edited Shen Chao into the video, happily slapping Su Xuan. That video also got high views and sparked a debate about disrespecting Rouge Young Master with such edits.

Yes, even though the one being slapped was Su Xuan himself, he had no name. The argument even trended on the hot search.

While these fans argued fiercely over justice for Young Master Rouge, Su Xuan’s fans were still confused and tried to mediate: “This is just a joke, don’t take it too seriously! Xuanxuan wouldn’t want you to fight over him!”

Some fans of Rouge Young Master, now embroiled in a heated battle, asked in confusion: “Who’s Xuanxuan?”

Su Xuan was just a tool actor playing your idol!

A mere stand-in.

But this effect never occurred when Wang Muzhe played the role. Correspondingly, it meant Su Xuan didn’t reap much role benefit from the drama.

Role benefit refers to the goodwill an actor gains from playing a beloved character, leading audiences to become fans of the actor. That’s advantageous for the actor.

But playing well doesn’t directly translate to winning audience affection for the actor himself. The industry is full of veteran actors with decades of quality work, and how many of them made it big?

This was also a direct reason why Hua Wei finally allowed Shen Chao to continue carrying the “Nine Streams” big IP.

Shen Chao had a certain quality: while acting brilliantly, he unconsciously drew audience attention away from the character and onto himself. This quality was exceedingly rare in the entertainment industry.

Shen Chao’s ever-growing popularity through his works was due to this.

This was also the main reason Hua Wei hesitated to choose Su Xuan to carry the film role of Rouge Young Master.

He feared Su Xuan would falter mid-film.

Hua Wei was a very commercial director, and “Nine Streams” was not just a grand film but also a huge, complex investment project backed by massive capital. Xinghai had planned a five-to-ten-year roadmap for the “Nine Streams” film, involving tens of billions in investment. Movies and web series are different concepts; each role selection and change carried enormous risk.

Not to mention “Nine Streams” was a series. The female lead dies in the first part, leaving the male lead and male second lead to carry the banner.

Shen Chao had performed exceptionally in both the web series and the film, balancing word-of-mouth and traffic. So the only risky option was the casting of the male second lead.

Hua Wei wanted to play it safe and choose Wang Muzhe. Wang Muzhe had an Emperor of Actors title that could gild the film. Although his opening performance in the first part wasn’t as stunning as Su Xuan’s, it was still commendable. From a commercial director’s perspective, Hua Wei felt that to minimize box office risk, he would choose Wang Muzhe.

But Hua Wei had to admit, after seeing Su Xuan, the part of him that was an artist itched. When a director sees an actor who can interpret a role so perfectly, it’s truly tantalizing.

However, the problem was that Su Xuan couldn’t consume the role benefit from “Nine Streams.” After the web series ended, the buzz around him would gradually fade. His next project was Qian Huai’s arthouse film. Qian Huai’s movies always favored word-of-mouth over box office, often losing money while gaining acclaim. If the box office wasn’t impressive, Su Xuan’s popularity would diminish further.

Su Xuan was almost 27, and taking this artistic acting path was understandable. But he had no awards to his name.

An actor who would lose buzz after the drama ended and lacked official award recognition to carry the male second lead of “Nine Streams”—Hua Wei considered that too risky.

After much deliberation, Hua Wei ultimately opposed Shen Chao’s idea of changing the actor.

But if Shen Chao could be easily opposed, this concept meeting about Rouge Young Master’s casting wouldn’t be held in Yang City.

Hua Wei and the review team finished watching the clips and cuts related to Su Xuan. Hua Wei sat with his legs crossed, nodding a few times. He had to admit Shen Chao was right.

“Much of the traffic and buzz for this show came from Su Xuan. He did a lot for both promotion and the finished product,” Hua Wei sighed. He turned to Shen Chao. “But Shen Chao, couldn’t someone else do the same?”

Shen Chao’s gaze lingered on the screen where Su Xuan, wincing from the ice pack, still smiled and gave a peace sign to the camera. The staff around him seemed exasperated yet amused, apparently talking to Su Xuan.

Shen Chao shook his head. “No one else can.”

Hua Wei argued forcefully, flipping through the PPT on the projection. “Why? Why can’t someone else?”

Shen Chao was calm, answering a different question: “Hua Na’s only role that surpasses yours is Su Xuan. Why do you think that is?”

Hua Wei paused, his gaze drifting back to the screen.

This was an action scene with a minor accident. Su Xuan’s face dragged on the ground from the wire, and a group of panicked staff rushed to pull him up. He knelt, still dazed, nose bleeding, being wiped clean by someone. His son Hua Na asked in horror if Su Xuan wanted a stunt double.

Su Xuan finally waved his hand, smiled, and declined, saying he could do it himself.

Hua Na as a director—Hua Wei knew his son’s skills. Good, but timid and restrained. Yet after this shoot, he had become much bolder.

Before filming the “Killing Mother to Prove the Dao” scene, Hua Na had called Hua Wei, saying, “Dad, what if I can’t shoot this well?”

Hua Wei comforted him: “I took a month too. It’s normal.”

Hua Na laughed bitterly: “No, I’m not afraid of taking long. I’m afraid Su Xuan and Shen Chao will push me until I break, and I still won’t capture what they want.”

Hua Wei was taken aback.

Hua Na continued, dazed: “Dad, I’m scared. I’ve put off this scene for too long. Su Xuan is so serious. Every single day he trains like crazy. I’m afraid my skill will let down his effort. If I can’t shoot the effect he’s trained so hard for, I… I’ll have failed him.”

Hua Na choked up toward the end: “I think I’m really terrible. Song Xiao said it’s a director’s shame to make good actors sit on the bench. I’m truly useless. I don’t deserve actors like Su Xuan, Shen Chao, Song Xiao. But Dad, I still want to try.”

Hua Wei was silent for a long time.

It was the first time his son, under such immense pressure, told him, “Dad, but I still want to try.”

Hua Wei thought he would have received a call for help from Hua Na earlier. But as the “Nine Streams” situation grew more complicated, Hua Na’s calls became fewer. Actor injuries, public opinion, capital struggles over role and director changes—one major incident after another. Hua Na handled it all on his own. This was something Hua Wei had never dared to imagine.

Even if he had been in Hua Na’s place, he might not have done better.

The next day, Hua Wei received a call from Hua Na, sobbing with joy and babbling incoherently: “Su Xuan and Shen Chao nailed it in one take!!”

Hua Na cried: “Su Xuan trained for half a month; Shen Chao performed injured. I was so nervous I could die. But they cooperated perfectly! One take! I shot it! Thank them!”

Shen Chao looked at the stunned Hua Wei and said, “You think Su Xuan is replaceable only because you haven’t seen what he’s done.”

“Once you know, you won’t say that,” Shen Chao met Hua Wei’s eyes. “Because it would be very disrespectful to everything Su Xuan has done.”

Hua Wei stared at Shen Chao in prolonged silence.

The tense atmosphere between them made everyone else afraid to speak. The meeting room fell into dead silence, only the projection screen flickering. Su Xuan’s disheveled face on the screen forced a smile, seemingly still cheerful. His smile was so bright it made people laugh, but after laughing, they felt a pang for this disheveled guy—though he himself didn’t seem to mind.

Hua Wei glanced at the projection screen and suddenly said to Shen Chao, “Back when we were making the movie, the other preparers and I were here, discussing whether to use you as the male lead.”

“I wasn’t keen, but they showed me a blooper from ‘The Horse’s Dust’—you shooting an arrow on horseback.” Hua Wei half-closed his eyes, his gaze unfocused on Su Xuan’s face on the screen, as if recalling the past. “Old Master Liu made you fall many times. The final shot was great. We almost used a stunt double, but you insisted. So I said, let’s try, see if you can do it.”

Hua Wei turned off the projection, stood up leaning on the table, his gaze distant. He asked somewhat absentmindedly, “…The episode of ‘Nine Streams’ airing tonight—is it the ‘Killing Mother to Prove the Dao’ scene?”

Someone answered cautiously, “Director Hua, yes. At 8:30 PM. The preview is out.”

Hua Wei seemed to pull his gaze back from afar, slowly settling on Shen Chao’s expressionless face. Finally, he gave a resigned, helpless smile: “Let me see this scene. If it works, I’ll give it a try.”

Shen Chao said, “Okay.”

Hua Wei was a bit peeved by Shen Chao’s calm response. He thought, ‘This attitude as if I’ll be rushing to confirm Su Xuan after watching.’ Somewhat unyielding, he said, “I want to see what kind of scene made Hua Na cry about giving you a pass in one take!”

Shen Chao glanced at him: “A better scene than what you’d shoot in a month.”

Hua Wei: “…”

Damn, he was going to be pissed off by Shen Chao even before entering the crew!

At 6 PM that evening, the official Weibo of the “Nine Streams” web series posted another promotion: “Right and wrong defy wishes; the Dao originally is but a false book. The Nine Streams are empty, the peach blossoms brilliant. When the Rouge Young Master’s sword falls, the Peach Blossom Lady’s life is taken. The spring peach tree blooms; the reed sword opens in vain.”

The original novel’s chapter title was “The Spring Peach Blooms, the Reed Opens in Vain.” It was a very meaningful title, one of the most famous chapter titles in “Nine Streams.”

In this chapter, “spring peach blooms” refers to Rouge Young Master using magic to make the peach tree in Spring Peach Residence bloom after killing his mother. It seems the blossoms are real, but the Peach Blossom Lady has perished. The blooms are merely illusions woven by Rouge Young Master. He abuses his magic to alter the seasons, but cannot change the fact that it’s not the season for peach blossoms.

The peach blossoms bloom in vain.

“Reed opens in vain” refers to the male lead’s sword, the Reed Sword, which always draws blood when unsheathed. But during the fight between the male lead and Rouge Young Master, he uses the back of the blade, not the sharp edge—opening in vain. Yet ironically, the Reed Sword only draws blood once in this fight: at the beginning, when it severely wounds Rouge Young Master.

So the Reed Sword appears to open in vain, but actually opens for real.

This chapter garnered countless long reviews and was one of the most brilliant parts of the entire “Nine Streams” novel.

It not only reflected the vastly different personalities and choices of the Dao between Rouge Young Master and the male lead but also sparked discussions about: “The sword-bearer doesn’t intend to harm, but the sword does; are the Peach Blossom Lady and Rouge Young Master right or wrong? Should the male lead’s subsequent compensations to Rouge Young Master be justified?”

From then on, “Nine Streams” became more brutal. Those with different paths do not conspire together. What is this book “Questioning the Dao”? What sacrifices does it demand? These questions began to unfold.

Su Xuan ordered a hundred yuan of malatang and waited at home for this episode. He had been run ragged by Liu Pangpang’s packed schedule, not even having time for meals. But tonight was his major scene, so Liu Pangpang gave him a few hours off to watch the finished product.

Good thing Liu Pangpang wasn’t around; if he saw Su Xuan eating so recklessly, he’d have a heart attack.

Alas, no way around it. Su Xuan felt he lost his soul watching dramas without malatang.

Su Xuan took a selfie with his malatang, trying hard to make the bowl look like it cost only ten yuan. After all, a hundred-yuan bowl looked way too big. Su Xuan thought he still had some sense of idol image.

He reluctantly Photoshopped the bowl, shrinking it proportionally, then reposted the “Nine Streams” promotion Weibo with the picture. He captioned it: “After finishing this bowl, I’m taking Rouge Young Master on the road.”

Because in the upcoming episode, Rouge Young Master would soon be almost killed by Shen Chao’s sword.

But witty netizens weren’t fooled by Su Xuan’s terrible editing.

The top comment was: [Wake up! By the time you finish that bowl, Rouge Young Master’s mom will be dead and gone.]

[When you hit the road, you can take Rouge Young Master’s mom along in that bowl. I want to see how big a bowl you can finish.]

[I was wondering why this selfie looks so weird. I thought, what did you edit? Your face looks normal. Then I saw—you shrunk the bowl! Other celebs edit their faces; you edit your bowl.]

[But Su Xuan, can you put more effort into editing? Your computer is as big as the bowl, and both are smaller than your head.]

[I’m laughing so hard I’m about to throw up!! Bowl-editing master Su Xuan!!]

Su Xuan: “…”

He miscalculated. He thought netizens only focused on whether his face was edited, but they didn’t spare his bowl either.

Before Liu Pangpang discovered the Weibo and called him shouting to shut up, Su Xuan wisely blocked him on the blacklist to avoid unnecessary disturbance while watching. He would unblock him after the show.

Su Xuan opened the Douhua app. One minute until the update. Honestly, he was very nervous at this moment. When nervous, he wanted to eat—hence the hundred-yuan malatang.

Su Xuan bit into a beef ball. He hovered the mouse for a moment, then refreshed. As he clicked into the latest episode, he bit through the beef ball.

“Killing Mother to Prove the Dao” updated.

Su Xuan had only seen a rough cut of his own performance—no editing, no post-production, no camera transitions. The difference from the final product was huge.

He also didn’t know if he had captured the drunken disorientation of Rouge Young Master pouring out his heart.

On screen, Shen Chao’s broken sword emitted a cold, piercing light. His eyes were like electric sparks as he thrust the sword into Su Xuan’s body, a dull thud as flesh and blood tore apart. In the background, the swaying gorgeous silks of Spring Peach Residence glowed with the characteristic soft light of the pleasure quarter, but upon the woman’s startled scream, splatters of blood droplets scattered.

The dream of the pleasure quarter shattered; winter moon, thin dusk. The Reed Sword opens.

Spring dreams scatter. Rouge Young Master slashes away the peach-colored gauze drifting from the sky in front of his face, revealing a face pale as gold paper, with bloodstains under his eyes. He coughs twice, his lips and teeth stained with blood spilling from injured internal organs. His lip color is vivid, and he cracks a bloody smile: “The Dao wants me to kill you. If I don’t, I’ll die.”

Shen Chao said, “I won’t let you kill her.”

Rouge Young Master slowly lifted his eyes. The wound under his eye traced a blood streak. He smiled enigmatically: “That’s right. You’ve already killed me. What difference does it make whether I kill her or not?”

Su Xuan slowly bit into a crispy sausage. Crunch, crunch.

The camera cut to the pale Peach Blossom Lady sitting on the ground. She closed her eyes, took one last look at Rouge Young Master, her hand gripping a silk handkerchief tightly. As Rouge Young Master suddenly lunged at Shen Chao with his sword, she stood up and rushed forward, blocking the blow.

The woman’s body collapsed like spring mud, falling softly to the ground. His chest still had Rouge Young Master’s sword embedded in it. She died with eyes wide open, unwilling to close, but a faint smile lingered on her lips.

Rouge Young Master slowly, slowly pulled his sword from her chest. Blood gushed out, staining his white robe red. In the background, Fu Mu’s desolate voice began to sing, from the theme song “Penetrate.”

[A sword comes from the reeds, daring to ask where the broken sword goes?]

Here, there was a close-up of Rouge Young Master and Shen Chao’s eyes. In Rouge Young Master’s eyes, peach blossoms seemed to wither, carrying a decadent madness. The corners of his eyes reddened, and the corners of his mouth lifted in a light laugh. Shen Chao, on the other hand, remained as still as a deep sea in a dead calm, as if life and death were nothing out of the ordinary, only the way of the Dao.

A single drop of blood dripped from both their swords simultaneously.

Su Xuan got goosebumps. He slowly stopped chewing.

Rouge Young Master raised his sword and attacked. Shen Chao countered with a sweep of his sword, deflecting the blow. This was a battle of their Daos, with life and death as pawns and peach blossoms as the backdrop. The Dao had arrived; who dared to retreat their sword?

It was a breathtakingly brilliant fight scene.

The music of “Penetrate” reached its climax as Rouge Young Master bit his sword and flipped to cut Shen Chao’s throat. The sword light swept over Rouge Young Master’s crimson eyes, and a tear fell onto the blade. He felt regret, enlightenment, hatred. Hysterically, Rouge Young Master bit his sword and slashed at Shen Chao, shouting incoherently: [Ah!!]

Fu Mu’s voice also turned hoarse, soaring up wildly: [I swing my fan through the nine streams of the world! Do you want me to live, die, be a walking corpse, or a soulless being? I have penetrated all! Just obstacles of the devil!]

The sword stopped an inch from Shen Chao’s eye. Rouge Young Master gave a low, mad laugh, retracted his sword, lifted his chin, and let blood drip from the corner of his mouth. He looked at Bai Di and said only, “Back then on the stage, you didn’t kill me. Cutting the ribbon is like cutting off the head. I am the same.”

With that, he cut off Bai Di’s headband. Black hair cascaded like a waterfall across Bai Di’s bloodstained profile. Rouge Young Master sheathed his sword and staggered away.

In the end, Rouge Young Master’s white robe was all bloodstains. He stumbled, kicked open the door of Spring Peach Residence, and went up to the second floor. Using his mother’s peach blossom fan, he fanned the peach tree in the courtyard center.

The tree burst into brilliant bloom.

At this moment, in the cold winter night, small snowflakes fell from the sky, landing on the peach blossoms on the treetops. The blossoms slowly drifted to the ground.

Rouge Young Master stood quietly at the window, head bowed. He gazed for a few minutes at Bai Di, who stood downstairs as if waiting for Rouge Young Master to come out.

Snow had settled on Bai Di, motionless like a wooden statue. His brain was also made of wood, insisting on distinguishing right from wrong, every twist and turn.

Bai Di stood below, surely thinking he had done something wrong, waiting for Rouge Young Master to come out so he could repay him face to face.

Between Rouge Young Master’s index and middle fingers, he held a peach blossom petal. Thinking about it, a smile finally broke across his face. A tear slipped from the corner of his eye: “What a fool. I guess… I’ve killed you once too, and avenged myself.”

“I’ll repay you with your own Dao. From now on, separate roads, never to meet again.”

During the Flying Swallow tournament, Shen Chao said he wouldn’t kill a good person, and he cut off Rouge Young Master’s headband, indicating he had killed him. Rouge Young Master was unconvinced and maliciously cut off Shen Chao’s headband as well.

After saying this, Rouge Young Master closed his eyes, his smile fading like the tide. He turned and cut off his own headband. Amidst the falling peach blossoms, his long hair fell softly, beautiful yet carrying the Dao and killing intent of the cold winter. Peach blossoms and light snow landed in his hair. In his bloodstained robe, lonely, he departed.

From then on, severing the ribbon is like cutting off the Dao, treating it as if they had each killed the other once. Each goes their own way.

The final shot showed Shen Chao and Su Xuan: one inside Spring Peach Residence, holding a peach blossom fan, the peach blossoms brilliant; the other standing on the street, sword in hand reversed, snow drifting. Through a broken window, they exchanged a distant glance before going their separate ways.

Su Xuan opened the fan and caught a peach blossom that had fallen to the window ledge in the snow. The blossom melted into the fan’s surface, transforming into a smiling beauty covering her face with a fan. Below was inscribed: “Peach Blossom Lady.”

“Penetrate” sang its final line, soft and hoarse: [Questioning the Nine Streams, where are the Nine Streams? After penetration, it’s just different paths, no conspiracy, clinging to right and wrong.]

After watching, Su Xuan stared blankly at the ending credits and let out a long breath. He rubbed his arms, disbelieving: “Holy crap?! Shen Chao and I acted this well?!”

He immediately unblocked Liu Pangpang. Liu Pangpang’s call came instantly, but not to scold Su Xuan for eating a bowl of malatang.

Liu Pangpang, also still in shock, said dazedly, “Su Xuan, have you seen your performance in the latest episode?”

Su Xuan, hearing Liu Pangpang’s tone, tensed up: “I saw it. What’s wrong?”

Liu Pangpang took a deep breath, then exhaled: “What’s wrong…”

Su Xuan swallowed: “Damn, don’t scare me…”

Liu Pangpang suddenly screamed: “You were so awesome!! Damn it, your acting was incredible!! Awesome! Freaking awesome! Me and my wife both cried! Man, when Fu Mu’s song came on, I got goosebumps all over! That fight scene was so cool, so cool again!! It gave me that feeling I had watching martial arts movies as a kid—tough and thrilling, really badass! When your mom died and you left, I couldn’t stop crying…”

Su Xuan: “…Don’t say it so unluckily. ‘My mom died and I left’…”

Su Xuan: “…”

Liu Pangpang: “…Sorry, let me apologize to your real mom.”

Su Xuan could almost see Liu Pangpang gesticulating wildly on the other end. He found it amusing: “Is it really that good?”

Liu Pangpang said seriously, “Really. If I’m lying, I’ll eat Dobby’s poop.”

Su Xuan: “…”

That’s not necessary.

Even if you wanted to, Dobby might not oblige. When Su Xuan cleaned the litter box, Dobby always hissed at him angrily, as if he was stealing her poop.

Liu Pangpang kept gushing about Su Xuan. Embarrassed, Su Xuan said he had to go clean Dobby’s litter box and could save the poop for Liu Pangpang if he wanted it, then hung up.

Liu Pangpang: “…”

I was just talking. Don’t take me literally.

Su Xuan breathed a sigh of relief after hanging up. He immediately wanted to call Shen Chao, but just as he found Shen Chao’s number, Shen Chao called him. He asked bluntly, “Who were you on the phone with just now?”

Su Xuan remembered Andy saying Shen Chao cared about who he talked to, so he honestly reported: “It was Liu Pangpang, my agent. He saw my latest episode and was so excited he offered to eat cat poop.”

Shen Chao: “…”

“…Stay away from him.”

Su Xuan obediently: “Okay.”

Su Xuan couldn’t contain his excitement either. He said into the phone, “Shen Chao, you acted so well! Super handsome!!”

Shen Chao’s tone softened almost imperceptibly: “You too.”

Then they held their phones. Su Xuan felt hopeless; even hearing Shen Chao breathe made him blush. He sat cross-legged on the bed, nervously digging his fingers into his knees. Just as he was about to start a new topic, he heard Shen Chao say, “Su Xuan, if I invite you to continue acting with me, to act in ‘Nine Streams’…”

Su Xuan slowly sat up straight. He looked at the phone in disbelief. Shen Chao paused for a few seconds, then asked seriously, “Are you willing?”

[Su Xuan, do you still want to act with me?]

[Do you want to come to Xinghai?]

[The Siheyuan has already aired. Are you coming?]

The face of 19-year-old Shen Chao in the dim corridor light, looking at Su Xuan, as if both gazing and saying goodbye, calmly asked again: “You want to stay here for Fu Mu.”

“You won’t come with me, right?”

From four years ago until now, Shen Chao had always extended his hand to Su Xuan, asking if he wanted to continue acting with him. But Su Xuan always refused. It wasn’t that he hadn’t seen Shen Chao’s outstretched hand.

But Su Xuan always rejected Shen Chao for the sake of others or to protect himself.

No matter how many times he was rejected, Shen Chao calmly kept his hand extended. It seemed he had never withdrawn it from Su Xuan.

Shen Chao had only rejected Su Xuan once, but Su Xuan had rejected Shen Chao countless times.

Su Xuan’s eyes suddenly moistened. He opened his mouth to answer, but heard Shen Chao say calmly over the phone, “If you don’t want to…”

Su Xuan shouted loudly, “I’m willing!!!”

He held back his red eyes, suppressed his nasal voice, and emphasized, “I’m willing!!”

On the other end, Shen Chao let out a very soft breath of air. After a long pause, he said, “Mm.”

Neither spoke. Su Xuan whispered, “What are you thinking now?”

Shen Chao said, “You.”

Su Xuan couldn’t say a word. He buried his head in the pillow and thumped it a few times to vent his excitement. Then he lowered his voice: “I miss you too.”

Even though he had just seen him on screen, even though they had just stood together in the TV drama, Su Xuan missed him more. Everything about Shen Chao from the memories of filming was so vivid.

Alas, Su Xuan sighed. Shen Chao was truly harmful. If they were no longer in the same crew, he would die of longing.

The reaction to this episode of “Nine Streams” was explosive. It instantly dominated all platforms and forums, with discussions everywhere about Rouge Young Master, Shen Chao, and Su Xuan.

Yes, this time, Su Xuan was included in the discussions.

He was exceptionally outstanding in this episode. The earlier ups and downs of Rong Yanzi’s storyline hadn’t shown it, but in this episode, Su Xuan’s character and action scenes fully exploded. Coupled with the plot reaching its climax, the earlier extreme arguing atmosphere had almost disappeared. Whether it was female fans who liked Rouge Young Master or male fans who hated him, they all discussed with mixed emotions—

—Su Xuan acted brilliantly!

This brilliance had transcended the character’s framework. People saw it and could only think: [Wow, awesome, so cool! That fight scene is stunning!]

In a successful work, there must be some iconic moments that are unforgettable. These moments must linger in the audience’s minds, and years later, when similar scenes are mentioned, they will be at the top of their list of most brilliant memories.

Like this “Killing Mother to Prove the Dao” scene in “Nine Streams.”

Such iconic scenes contain various emotions that directly shake the heart, fully immersing the audience. They won’t think about whether the character is good or bad, or the story’s development. They just watch the story with their whole being.

At that moment, it felt as if the audience was right there in the world of “Nine Streams.” This is what Rouge Young Master and Bai Di should do at that moment. An outsider questioning why they must do such things, why they must fight, would be meaningless. It was just their choice, their life, their Dao.

These were two complete, vivid people, in a fierce battle to interpret their own paths.

After the official “Nine Streams” Weibo clarified that Su Xuan didn’t use a wire stunt and that Shen Chao didn’t use any stunt double in this scene, audience praise reached a climax.

To what extent did people praise Shen Chao and Su Xuan? Some critics had to come out and say, don’t over-praise these two too much; it’s unfair to other actors who also put in such effort.

But audience praise was subjective; data reflected objectivity.

Five minutes after watching this episode, Hua Wei stared blankly at the cover image of Su Xuan for five minutes. Then he checked the data for this episode and immediately called Shen Chao, quickly confirming Su Xuan’s role.

Nothing demonstrated how good Su Xuan was more directly and shockingly than the data.

After this episode was released, it gained a bug-like 500 million views within 24 hours. The number of new member subscriptions on the Douhua app increased by 450% compared to the previous month.

After the “Killing Mother to Prove the Dao” episode aired, the new members added within one day equaled the previous month’s total. And within 7 hours of airing, “Nine Streams” surpassed “Chen Nian” to become the highest-grossing paid TV drama on Douhua.

This episode scored as high as 9.1 on major websites. A large number of users flooded in to rate “Nine Streams,” directly pulling the overall rating from 8.2 to 8.5. It later fell back a bit as some gave 1-star ratings to balance the extreme scores—not out of insult, but to caution against overly enthusiastic grading.

Even some authoritative state media reposted the “Nine Streams” official Weibo, praising Shen Chao’s performance despite illness and Su Xuan’s wire-free action sequence, commending their professional integrity.

Before this episode, “Nine Streams” was considered a well-made web series with good plot and decent performances. After this episode, it became what many called a “god drama.” Though some professional critics said such praise was excessive, they had to admit Su Xuan and Shen Chao’s near-perfect performance.

Excellence completely silenced detractors and haters.

Trolls and nitpickers vanished across the internet, unable to say a single negative word. Brilliance is brilliance. Even haters with eyes could see this wasn’t something to casually badmouth. But those who blindly picked faults were hammered by fans: “You can’t criticize unless you can do better. Find someone else in the industry who can act like that, and you’re amazing.”

Indeed, no one could be found.

Shen Chao performing while ill was one thing, but Su Xuan’s wire-free performance was just insane!

Was this guy a gymnast who turned actor?!

Both Shen Chao’s and Su Xuan’s fan numbers skyrocketed, and they brought pride to their fans. Among all the stars online, few had such solid skills and such a positive reputation. No need for controlled commenting. Ordinary users became natural promoters, praising them even more than fans. Eventually, fans had to take over the control room, telling everyone to stop praising to avoid overhyping.

Ordinary users’ praise was more terrifying than that of fans. The visual effect was like thousands of praise groups flooding every site in praise of Su Xuan and Shen Chao. Fans had a harder time controlling the praise than they had controlling the trolls.

Fans even made memes to control the enthusiastic ordinary users:

[Ordinary user: Let me tell you, do you know Su Xuan? Shen Chao? Do you know how awesome they are! Number one on the net! Acting like gods! Wire-free performance! Sick but still owning the new generation!

Su Xuan and Shen Chao fans (frantically covering mouths): No, no, no!! They’re just ordinary, plain actors!!]

[Ordinary user: Do you know how hard they work!!! ‘Nine Streams’ got this far all because of them!

Su Xuan and Shen Chao fans (covering mouths): It has nothing to do with their hard work! All thanks to the director’s guidance! Hua Na rocks! Director forever!]

Eventually, it became a battlefield between fans and ordinary users, with fans vigilantly monitoring any attempt to praise their idols. Once someone started praising, fans would use these memes:

[Ordinary user: I want to praise Su Xuan and Shen Chao.

Su Xuan and Shen Chao fans (covering mouths): No, you don’t.]

[Ordinary user: Su Xuan and Shen Chao are awe—iuasdbfluasbf (mouth covered)

Su Xuan and Shen Chao fans: HUA NA ROCKS!!]

But all the control fans had managed was ruined that evening by a single Weibo post.

That evening, the author of “Nine Streams” updated a post: a meme.

[When someone tells me there’s no perfect thing in the world

Me: Points at the eleventh episode of ‘Nine Streams’ starring Su Xuan and Shen Chao]

This author was famously picky. Even for the “Nine Streams” movie, their comment was “good, but still far from the version in my mind.” But after this episode, the author turned into an ecstatic fan.

The top reply was: [Thank you for liking it, but Su Xuan and Shen Chao aren’t perfect; they have many flaws. Please don’t overpraise… Oh, it’s the author of ‘Nine Streams’? Then never mind.]

The author also replied to several comments under that post, clearly very excited.

A reader asked what impressed them most. The author replied: [Rouge Young Master’s fight scene without wire work. I was shocked through the Nine Streams. When I wrote the fight between Rouge Young Master and Bai Di, I never thought it could be this cool when acted out. Shen Chao and Su Xuan are amazing!]

“Nine Streams” went from hotly discussed online to explosively popular. People started playing with memes.

Like: [Tonight you are my Rouge Young Master.]

[Why?]

[Because I’m going to kill your mom.]

This meme was often used after esports matches (not really).

Also: [Young Master Rouge, Bai Di has been standing outside the brothel for three days.]

[Did he realize his mistake?]

[He did. But he still wants to fight you.]

Memes were flying everywhere, and the most popular was the “Shen Xuan” couple. After all, the brotherly bond between Bai Di and Rouge Young Master practically overflowed the screen. And since both now lacked love interests, the public immediately assumed they were a couple.

After this episode aired, the top comments on Douhua were all story chains:

[Two men who have both lost their beloved women. Finally, after one gets drunk, he does something irreversible.]

[He wants to apologize: That night, I shouldn’t have stabbed you so hard, making you hurt. We’re both men; I know it hurts. But I couldn’t help myself.]

[He knows he was wrong. He wants to make it up to you with his life, but unfortunately, it’s all for nothing.]

[They untied each other’s ribbons (hair ribbons).]

[They tangled deeply outside the brothel (fighting).]

[They stood under the peach tree, staring at each other (wanting to fight again).]

[They… damn it, I can’t hold on. I can’t make up any more dirty talk. So I’ll just wish the new couple a hundred years of happiness!]

Even more rampant were the shipping fans. If Su Xuan and Shen Chao sharing a frame used to be like New Year, now it was a full pardon. The whole world was playing with “Shen Xuan” memes. There were no longer solo stans to suppress the shippers because the solo stans were busy controlling the ordinary users.

“Shen Xuan” fans were like ducks released from a cage, cackling and running wild everywhere.

They edited Shen Chao’s sword raised at Su Xuan into roses, wedding rings, or even worse—condoms. They drew fan art, wrote fan fiction. The entire fan site was filled with joyous New Year’s Eve atmosphere.

Many shippers happily started a song chain with “Gong Xi Fa Cai” in the fan site. One person kicked it off, and they followed one by one, making Su Xuan laugh to death.

[Every street and alley, every person’s mouth]

[The first words they say are ‘Shen Xuan CP’]

[Like, like, like you. Together, together!]

[Winter is at its end. What good news!]

[The spring breeze of Shen Xuan will blow across the earth.]

[After many hardships, after many tribulations]

[How many hearts are longing for new tidings!]

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