Ch 17: The Cannon Fodder Won’t Play Along Anymore [QT]

On Weibo, on various video platforms, and across countless self-media and marketing accounts, there had been a surge of MRC-related content in recent days.

More precisely, it was about the old MRC — the group back when Mu Xing was still a member.

It all began with an interview.

The person being interviewed was MRC’s former captain, Chang Yiming.

In the interview, the host asked:
“What do you think about your former teammate Mu Xing’s current success in livestreaming? Are you still in contact?”

Chang Yiming replied with a tone of sincerity.
“When Xing Xing first left the industry, we were all worried about him. Now that I see he’s doing well and has rebuilt his career, I’m very happy.”

The host continued, “Do you have anything you’d like to say to him?”

Chang Yiming said, “We went from strangers to living under the same roof for two years — that’s a very precious bond. I wish Xing Xing all the best. And no matter what, MRC will always be your backing.”

After the interview aired, many people in the industry who knew the inside story called Chang Yiming shameless. Fans, however, reacted completely differently.

Many were moved almost to tears, flooding the comments with lines like “divine friendship,” “so caring,” and “my group is so warm.”

Countless clips from the interview began circulating on major video platforms, and MRC’s super-topic became busier than it had been in years.

It was no surprise, then, that Mu Xing’s livestream had suddenly been filled with those kinds of comments.

After reading through the whole chain of events, Mu Xing felt as though there were question marks floating above his head.

Chang Yiming?

In his memory, that captain was a distant presence.
He had never openly bullied Mu Xing, but in videos where others stepped on him, Chang Yiming’s face was rarely absent.

Mu Xing had never planned to have anything to do with that group again. His departure was partly due to the group’s environment, partly due to his own personality. In his mind, that chapter ended the day he left — they had gone their separate ways.

But now, with a little popularity, someone was already rushing to tie their name to his again. And in the process, MRC’s own popularity had climbed noticeably over the past week.

Didn’t it make them feel even slightly uncomfortable hearing themselves say such things?

Liu Xue had just finished lunch and was resting in the guest room; carrying a camera around all morning was no easy task.

Mu Xing had planned to rest too, but the whole matter left him feeling unpleasant.

He thought for a moment, then went to the study and turned on the livestream.

On Yunduo Video, if a streamer you follow with “special attention” goes live, you receive a brief notification.

Many viewers were surprised.

Mu Xing had just gone offline not long ago — based on his recent schedule, he normally didn’t start his afternoon broadcast until around two o’clock.

Despite the confusion, plenty of people clicked in quickly.

On screen, Mu Xing’s expression was clearly unhappy.

“Hello everyone. I suddenly started the stream because of some comments I saw at noon.” He paused. “Originally, I could have waited to talk about this during the afternoon stream, but the more I thought about it, the more disgusted I felt. It really makes me uncomfortable.”

Comments poured in asking what had happened, offering to support him, and demanding to know who had upset him.

Mu Xing briefly explained that some remarks in the livestream had led him to search for related news online during lunch.

In fans’ eyes, he almost always wore a smile — very few had seen him look any other way.

But today, he was clearly angry. His brows were furrowed, and the warmth in his eyes was gone. No one could mistake the fact that he wasn’t joking.

“MRC,” he said with a short laugh. “If I had to call joining Zhongxing and joining MRC a kind of fate, I would call it a misfortune.”

Fans were stunned.

He looked at the camera with open disdain.
“‘Amicable parting’ is the nicest thing I could possibly say to you.”

“After I left the group, I was very happy. I don’t ever want to be connected to you again.”

After getting the words out, he immediately felt lighter.

His smile returned as he waved at the camera. “Alright, that’s all. Goodbye, everyone.”

Before fans had processed his unusually firm tone, the livestream had already ended.

Satisfied, Mu Xing shut off the camera and went to take a nap.

Online, however, his blunt response quickly caused a stir.

The hashtag “Mu Xing willing to go live overtime just to cut ties with MRC” began trending, followed by “Mu Xing: Don’t come near me” and “Mu Xing hints at bad relationship with MRC members.”

The clip from his livestream was quickly uploaded and spread widely, often edited together with Chang Yiming’s earlier interview.

Many viewers commented that it was obvious Mu Xing truly couldn’t stand MRC. Longtime fans said it was satisfying to see him speak out, recalling how he had been heavily targeted during his time in the group, while his so-called “brothers” never defended him. Now that he was popular, they were scrambling to use his name.

Some noted that “amicable parting” being his nicest choice of words suggested he had cursed them countless times in his heart already. Others in the industry claimed that the other three members had never respected him back then, and “brothers” was a far cry from the truth.

By the time Mu Xing started his afternoon broadcast, online discussion had already shifted from curious gossip to Chang Yiming’s fans controlling the comments and starting to attack him.

“Hmm?” Mu Xing glanced at the screen and chuckled. “This morning you were still sighing over how deep my brotherhood is with your idol, and now you’re calling me heartless and ungrateful? Can’t you think for yourselves just a little?”

The viewers who had been worried he might be affected and were ready to send him gifts and flood the screen with supportive comments instantly relaxed.

Their relaxation, however, made the haters unhappy.

Since there was no rush to pick persimmons at that moment, Mu Xing leisurely began reading the live chat.

“‘Mu Xing got famous and turned his back on people, showing his petty side’?”

Mu Xing gave a deadpan reply. “Wrong. Even before I was famous, I’d already turned my back on them. You just didn’t get to see it. If you lot hadn’t insisted on marketing some so-called deep brotherhood between me and MRC, I wouldn’t have lost my patience.”

“‘Didn’t think you were the kind of person who doesn’t value old friendships. I don’t like you anymore. Unfollowed.’”

Mu Xing shook his head. “It’s not that I don’t value old friendships. It’s that there was never any friendship between me and your idol to begin with. Not liking me is your freedom. And for all the fans in my livestream, you don’t have to like me. It’s enough if you like the persimmons from Xiaoxi Village.”

“As for this long string of characters that got censored,” Mu Xing added sincerely, “stop wasting your time cursing me. It’s useless. If you can actually make me angry by insulting me, I’ll admit defeat.”

…

[Hahaha, is the streamer really this savage?]
[First time seeing Xingxing’s sharp tongue — love it!]
[What? This is the same guy who just sells persimmons every day? Tell me, did someone swap him out today?]
[A Star who can throw shade? I’m in love.]

“In short,” Mu Xing concluded, “from the moment I terminated my contract with Star Entertainment, I cut all ties with that company and everything and everyone related to it. Whatever you do, don’t drag me into it.”

“That’s all I have to say.”

After this, Mu Xing never mentioned the matter again in his stream. Just as he’d promised before, once things were wrapped up in Xiaoxi Village, he contacted Director Wang and soon left for another town in Xincheng County.

This town had a large jujube plantation and an extensive persimmon orchard.

The villager who came to pick him up was beaming with excitement. “Anchor Mu Xing, I know you! Our whole family watches your persimmon-selling livestreams.”

“For such a big-name streamer to agree to help us sell our produce for free, we really don’t know how to thank you!”

The man looked to be in his forties, with dark, rough hands and thick knuckles — clearly used to hard labor. The moment he saw Mu Xing and Liu Xue, he wanted to help carry their things.

Mu Xing shook his head. “It’s fine, it’s not heavy, we can carry it ourselves. Uncle, I assume you’ve heard about my requirements?”

The man nodded quickly. “Yes, yes. When do you want to check our produce?”

“Right now is fine.”

Mu Xing followed him into the orchard, personally picking a few fruits to taste. He also inspected the harvested fruit in the warehouse, making sure the quality was good before nodding in approval.

He said with a serious expression, “I hope you understand — I’m very grateful for my fans’ trust, which means I absolutely can’t betray that trust.”

The man thumped his chest. “Of course we understand. We farmers have our conscience. We’d never sell bad produce to people.”

He also knew very well that with Mu Xing helping them this time, they had to maintain top quality to make the most of the opportunity and build a lasting reputation.

That was the real long-term plan.

---

At 2 p.m., Mu Xing’s livestream started right on time.

[Oh? Xingxing’s live again?]
[Haven’t seen you for two days, I missed you so much!]
[Is this up in the mountains? Picking persimmons again today?]

Mu Xing shook his head. “Not picking persimmons today — still selling produce though. Take a look at the link under the screen.”

[Ah, it’s not Xiaoxi Village’s store anymore — streamer, are you finally cashing in?]
[So happy! Xingxing is finally making some money, mama’s happy.]
[Still selling persimmons, and fresh jujubes too. How’s the quality? Can it compare to Xiaoxi Village’s?]

[Xiaoxi Village’s persimmons are huge and sweet. My mom loved them and, when she heard they were only 1.5 yuan a jin, she made me buy dozens more to send to my aunt and uncle.]

Mu Xing said, “If you have doubts, don’t rush to place an order. Come with me and the cameraman to take a look first.”

The camera panned down to reveal washed persimmons and jujubes laid out in front of him.

Mu Xing broke open a persimmon for a close-up — the flesh was deep red, glistening with juice.

“Very sweet.”

Then he picked up a jujube and bit into it with a crisp crunch.

“The jujube is sweet too, and very juicy.”

After eating one of each, he stood up. “Now, follow me up the mountain to see the fruit on the trees.”

[Going up the mountain again? I’m here for it.]
[I’ve rarely seen big-name anchors with millions of followers stream like Xingxing — personally going up the mountain to show us the real source of the product.]
[Agreed. So many sellers just sit there in full makeup with a plate of perfect-looking fruit in front of them. Who knows if it even came from their own orchard?]

Mu Xing toured the back mountain, randomly picking fruits from several trees to taste on the spot.

“I’m not doing this as a stunt,” he said. “I just want to show you that any product I agree to promote, I’ll taste before you do. Whatever taste and quality I get, that’s exactly what you’ll get.”

He smiled, eyes crinkling. “Now, you can place your orders.”

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