After a six month hiatus, Chinese idol singer Xu Bingchao, 25, has resurfaced as a steamed bun seller.

The singer took part in the Chinese idol survival show Youth With You in 2019. He made it as far as the Top 20, then went on to debut in Desert5, which was made up of eliminated contestants from Youth With You. The group was active for 100 days, and disbanded in July 2019 after releasing a single. 

Following that, Bingchao appeared in a number of dramas, and released two solo albums, before disappearing from the spotlight.

Recently, a fan uploaded a picture of a young man with a bleached crew cut hairstyle manning a steamed bun roadside stall, saying that they believed Bingchao was now working as a steamed bun seller.

The picture quickly gained traction online, and Bingchao took to his Weibo on March 8 to confirm the rumours.

The singer wrote that he had not logged in to Weibo in half a year, and only wanted to update fans after things settled down. However, the netizen’s post went viral, which led him to log on again.

“I didn’t expect to get discovered by everyone like this, I just closed up for the day and got a shock when I saw the trending topics [on Weibo],” he wrote.

He went on to share that he’s officially retiring from showbiz, and that he didn’t start selling steamed buns on a whim. According to Bingchao, this is a decision he mulled over a long time, and he feels a sense of achievement seeing customers enjoy the buns he sells.

“I'm not advertising for my buns or anything, but it’s really very delicious,” he wrote.

Bingchao also thanked fans for their support over the years, and wrote that he hopes everyone can lead the lives they want.

“If you chance upon my stall, you still can approach me for a chat or to hear me sing a song, and try my buns at the same time,” he wrote.

A quick search on Weibo shows that fans have been flocking to Bingchao’s stall since then, with many sharing that the buns are “indeed delicious”.

Photos: Xu Bingchao/Weibo, 吃瓜综艺鹅/Weibo, 元気uu /Weibo