Chapter 112

By the time they got back to J City, it was already past two in the morning. Xiao Bai, yawning nonstop, went to retrieve the luggage, while Wei Sheng quickly pulled out his phone to download the opening ceremony schedule Zhou Mingxing had sent him. He skimmed through it and double-checked the parts he needed to participate in.

Just as he finished reviewing the schedule, Xiao Bai returned. Wei Sheng waved him off.

“I’ll grab a cab home. You take the company car and get some rest. Pick me up at seven in the morning to head to the convention center.”

Xiao Bai had been running around with him all day and was exhausted. If he had to drop Wei Sheng off first and then drive back to his own rented place, it’d be dawn by the time he got to bed. No normal person could survive a full night without sleep.

“Thanks, bro. I’ll bring you breakfast tomorrow…” Xiao Bai said with a goofy grin.

“No need! I’ve got breakfast at home!” Wei Sheng refused immediately.

What a joke! If he let Xiao Bai handle breakfast, it’d definitely be two boiled eggs, maybe an orange, and a glass of skim milk. Eat that kind of breakfast every day and you’d transcend into immortality or something.

A proper Chinese breakfast needs a hot bowl of congee or soy milk, a crispy youtiao, maybe a sesame ball, and a steamer of juicy pork buns. What kind of sane person eats nothing but plain boiled eggs in the morning?

Maybe the all-nighter had fried Xiao Bai’s brain, because he didn’t even suspect that Wei Sheng was secretly planning to indulge in a high-calorie traditional breakfast. After watching Wei Sheng get into a cab, Xiao Bai headed off to the parking lot to get the car.

The next morning, the two of them arrived at the convention center. They had just greeted a few backstage colleagues when a group of enthusiastic real estate developers swarmed over and pulled Wei Sheng aside.

These days, the name “Wei Sheng” carried a hint of mystique among the real estate developers of J Province. After all, even a mess like the long-abandoned Pearl Garden project had somehow been revived by this kid—purely by accident, no less. The big bosses flat-out refused to believe it was due to Wei Sheng’s intelligence. No, they were convinced it had to be some kind of mystical power!

Some of the wealthier ones had even secretly consulted familiar feng shui masters to read Wei Sheng’s face and birth chart.

According to the masters, while Teacher Wei might not be a literal celestial star descended to earth, he was certainly someone who could turn misfortune into blessing, attract wealth and good fortune, and possessed rare virtue and kindness—a truly auspicious face!

With a fate like that, if Wei Sheng had been a girl, the matchmakers would’ve already trampled down the Hu family’s doorstep proposing marriage!

But hey, even as a guy, it didn’t matter. Everyone here had a daughter or a granddaughter, right?

Feeling the eager, almost burning gazes of the big bosses, Wei Sheng suddenly felt like a juicy piece of Tang Monk meat being eyed by hungry demons. His skin crawled.

Thankfully, the TV station and Housing Bureau officials arrived not long after, and everyone rushed to greet them. Wei Sheng used the excuse of needing to prep for his segment and slipped backstage.

He couldn’t shake the feeling that the way those people had looked at him just now was exactly like how he used to stare at the best cuts of pork ribs at the market.

That morning, the convention center was packed with elderly folks, clearly drawn in by “free eggs, free rice, and raffle prizes.” Wei Sheng had assumed that since this was such a low-key event, no one would recognize him. But the moment he stepped on stage with his guitar, the crowd erupted.

“Hey! It’s Little Wei! I know him! My grandson used to be in the same class as him!”

“Isn’t that the Fox Uncle from the movie? He looks even younger in person—and so handsome!”

“Little Wei, what’s with the guitar? Gonna dance a square dance for us?”

The audience burst into cheerful laughter. The aunties from the community dance troupe shouted that they could be his backup dancers. Even the emcee joined in, teasing him to ditch the guitar and dance instead—no one here cared for guitar music anyway.

Wei Sheng glanced down at the crowd—sure enough, it was a sea of elderly folks who’d just finished their morning exercises and rushed over for freebies without even changing clothes.

“Alright then, skip the song! Give me ‘Good Days’ instead. Any aunties here know the dance? Come on up and join me!”

The moment he mentioned switching to a square dance, the place went wild. A dozen or so aunties in dance outfits rushed up on stage. The emcee, trying not to laugh, had the crew switch the original music to the upbeat and festive “Good Days.”

“Joyful drums beat out a year of celebration~”

Oh boy! The moment that familiar tune played, it stirred something deep in the veins of every square-dancing auntie and uncle. On stage, Wei Sheng led the dance, moving in sync with the aunties. Down below, the audience watched in delight, some pulling out their phones to film. Applause and cheers broke out at the best parts. To an outsider, it might’ve looked like a full-blown celebrity concert.

Most of the elderly folks didn’t use Weibo, but nearly all of them were addicted to short videos. A big star leading a square dance with them? Of course they had to post it!

So just as Zhou Mingxing was wrapping up the morning meeting, he saw his artist trending on the local short video platform. He tapped on the video, and out came the blaring, festive tune of “Today is a Good Day…”

If he hadn’t personally sent Wei Sheng the event schedule, he would’ve thought the kid was performing at some kind of Chinese New Year market.

This can’t go on! I’ve got to rein this guy in!

Zhou Mingxing made up his mind—he was going to sign Wei Sheng up for some “refined” performing arts classes.

Just as he made that decision, his phone rang. It was the new station director.

“Xiao Zhou, great job today! I’ve been meaning to say—these days, a lot of entertainment companies train their rookies in stuff that’s completely out of touch. English songs, rap—gives me a headache! Regular folks don’t even understand what they’re saying!”

“Did you see Wei Sheng’s square dance performance today? Fantastic! The public response was overwhelming! Your artist training program is on point! Keep it up! We need more artists that the people truly love in this new era…”

Zhou Mingxing hung up, completely numb.

Just end it all already—this entertainment industry ruled by square dancing!

That morning, Wei Sheng had fired up the entire convention center with just one rousing performance of “Good Days.”

After the dance, the aunties on stage and the audience below were still buzzing, shouting for an encore. The emcee glanced at the officials for approval. Seeing a slight nod, he perked up and started hyping up the crowd again.

Luckily, Wei Sheng was a seasoned veteran of J City’s public squares. He had long since mastered the “Top Ten Square Dance Hits” and “Most Popular Square Dance Background Tracks.” After a quick chat with the aunties, they settled on another crowd favorite—“The Most Dazzling Ethnic Style!”

Zhou Mingxing, who had just rushed to the venue: “…”

This idol is a lost cause!!!

But hey, he’d already signed the guy. Even if it killed him, he had to keep managing him.

Coincidentally, a new project had just landed on his desk—one that required Wei Sheng to keep being his ridiculous self.

“‘Daji Reborn’ is getting a sequel. I’ve already sent the new script to your phone. Same cast and crew.”

What the hell?

One second, Wei Sheng had been on stage, dancing his heart out. The next, he felt like his soul had shattered.

And he didn’t even know the worst part yet.

“The Justice Bureau really values the legal education aspect of this film. They’ve reached a preliminary agreement with our station to co-produce the sequel. They want to turn this into a major legal-awareness franchise…”

Hearing the phrase “major legal-awareness franchise” delivered with such trendy enthusiasm, Wei Sheng’s mouth twitched violently.

With trembling hands, he opened the script Zhou Mingxing had forwarded.

The title, printed in bold at the top, made his vision go black.

**“Nezha Reborn: Battle of Chentang Pass Again”**

{Nezha is a rebellious child deity from Chinese mythology, known for his magical powers and youthful defiance. Born miraculously, he fights evil using his Wind Fire Wheels and other enchanted weapons. After sacrificing himself to save his family, he’s reborn stronger and becomes a symbol of justice and transformation.}

Just from the name alone, it reeked of low-budget, over-the-top fantasy web movies.

But after all, Wei Sheng had spent time on the set of *Daji Reborn*, so he knew that the mysterious screenwriter—despite seeming completely off-the-wall—had a knack for wrapping sharp social commentary and just a *tiny bit* of legal education inside the guise of a comedy film.

After *Daji Reborn* became a hit, word had it that directors across the industry were scrambling to find this elusive writer. But apparently, the writer had no intention of revealing their identity, and only ever signed off with a simple pseudonym: Wang Wu.

Wei Sheng seriously wanted to ask if he and the legendary “Zhang San” were long-lost twins.

{Zhang San is a placeholder name in Chinese, like “John Doe” in English, used to represent an average or unnamed person.}

Given his trust in the mysterious Writer Wang, Wei Sheng forced himself to push through the toe-curling secondhand embarrassment and kept reading.

To his surprise, he actually started getting into it.

Just like *Daji Reborn*, this time the writer had once again dressed up the second film as a wacky, magical blockbuster. At first glance, it looked like one of those low-effort, cash-grab disaster flicks, but once you paid attention to the plot, it became clear: the writer was probably aiming to sneak this one onto the national film channel again.

*Nezha Reborn: Battle of Chentang Pass Again* tells the story of Nezha, who, thousands of years later, ends up in modern society by a twist of fate. With his adorable looks and ethereal aura, he gets scouted by a cosplay influencer to be a model for mythological character recreations.

This influencer isn’t just into cosplay—she’s also a hardcore fan of fanfiction. For the sake of her creative process, Nezha is forced to read a ton of fanfics about himself. And what he reads completely shatters the worldview and moral compass he’s held for millennia.

Turns out, in the eyes of these fanfic writers, his trusted and revered master, Taiyi Zhenren, was actually the real big bad behind the great catastrophe?

Turns out, the biological father he’s always hated and resented—whose actions seemed cruel and heartless—was actually trying to save him all along?

And then there’s Lady Shiji, who was burned to death, and the Third Prince of the Dragon King of the East Sea, who died at his hands over a petty argument… Stepping outside his own perspective, Nezha realizes that, in the eyes of these fanfic authors, he’s not at all the person he thought he was.

The people he thought were good had been using him all along.

And those he slaughtered without mercy, thinking they were evil, maybe weren’t so bad after all?

By the time he finished the script, Wei Sheng was completely numb.

This writer was a damn genius!

He thought he was reading a silly, slapstick comedy, but by the end, the writer had tackled one of philosophy’s oldest debates: Is human nature inherently good or evil?

Was Nezha born destined to be a bringer of death? No! As a child, he was just a mischievous brat, a little more unruly than most. It wasn’t until Taiyi Zhenren took him in as a disciple, taught him powerful skills, and gave him magical weapons that he gained the ability to kill with ease.

Here, the writer used Nezha’s childhood to dissect the critical role of family education in shaping a child’s values and character—while also throwing some serious shade at Li Jing, the world’s most unreliable father.

Was Li Jing innocent? Of course not! In the writer’s eyes, half the reason Nezha turned into a ruthless, lawless killer was on Li Jing.

Family education requires both parents to participate. In the original story, Li Jing completely neglected his role as a father, dumping all the parenting onto his wife. Then, when the child turned out “wrong,” he blamed it on Nezha being born a cursed star?

A perfectly normal kid, born of the same flesh and blood—so why do other people’s children turn out fine, but yours goes off the rails? Shouldn’t you, as the father, reflect on your absence in his upbringing?

Beyond this main storyline, the writer also wove in themes like “the psychological trauma of domestic violence on children,” “the importance of moral education in compulsory schooling,” “how to avoid breaking the law when defending yourself,” and “the impact of family education on a child’s personality.”

Put it this way—if Wei Sheng were an audience member, he would’ve walked into the theater expecting a lighthearted comedy.

But by the end, he’d be itching to write a thesis on childhood education.

This writer had to be toxic, right?

But what could he do? The Justice Bureau was absolutely in love with *Nezha Reborn*. The legal knowledge sprinkled throughout the film was incredibly practical for people without a legal background—and most importantly, it wasn’t dry and incomprehensible like the public service videos they paid to produce themselves.

“So? You in or not?” Zhou Mingxing asked with a grin as Wei Sheng finally finished reading.

“I’m in! Why wouldn’t I be? I’m a victim of childhood trauma too, okay?” Wei Sheng closed the document, and suddenly, a new idea for developing the Langshan Village IP sparked in his mind.

(End of Chapter)

These are the square dance songs mentioned