Haters, Step Back

Si You demonstrated the entire number decryption process three times.

Jiang Tingxu had actually understood it the first time Si You explained it, but for some reason, he still let Si You demonstrate it twice more. Mainly because the contrast was too striking. The person who bared his fangs and claws during streams would deliberately slow down because he was worried his boss might not understand, then lower his voice at the end and ask, "Do you get it, Boss?"

Si You was only in his early twenties and had debuted through an idol competition. He had a youthful face and a clear, bright voice. Especially when he smiled, he looked like a young man on a bridge beneath the blazing spring sun.

But that did nothing to diminish the force of his words—

"Quit meddling! Serving the boss is the most basic quality a streamer should have. What, have you been unemployed at home so long you've never worked a day in your life?"

After cursing them out, Si You directly ignored comments like, "You're an artist!" Whether he could maintain his status as an artist was still up for debate. Although his circumstances had improved a little, streaming games and returning to the entertainment industry were two different things. Si You had had plenty of haters when he was a Best Actor, but he had even more diehard fans, so fighting never took much effort. But the original owner had driven away every last fan. Once recording for Spring Heartbeat resumed, Si You would be fighting alone!

Just thinking about it made his scalp tingle a little. Mainly because Si You was worried someone might assassinate him.

With the second stream underway, fans of rival artists who had not gotten the news earlier gradually arrived. Two hours later, the comments in Si You's stream had become unbearable to look at.

An old hand from the gaming community typed: [Bro, you've offended quite a lot of people.]

Si You curled his lips into a smile and asked, "You recorded that, right?"

When he saw someone spam "1" in the comments, he planned to continue playing. Who knew the haters' remarks would only grow more vicious? Personal attacks were one thing, but they were spreading every sort of rumor. Maybe if an alien meteor crashed into Earth tomorrow, that would be Si You's conspiracy too.

Jiang Tingxu watched the man's formerly smooth brows furrow, then saw someone comment: [Back during the idol competition, you bullied Haoge. You couldn't do anything, yet you threw your weight around as captain. You were the one who squeezed Haoge out until he couldn't even perform anymore, weren't you? Wasn't it you? Wasn't it you? Wasn't it you?!]

[Sure enough, that Si bastard has no bottom line. All bullies should die!]

[What awful luck...]

Si You cleared the stage in front of him and leaned back in his chair. "I couldn't do anything? I bullied people?"

According to the original owner's memories, he seemed to have been the one who got bullied...

The comments flooded the screen in an ugly mass. Si You suddenly raised a hand and pointed. "Just wait. I'm not letting you get away with this!"

With that, the stream shut off, leaving only rows of question marks in the comments.

[Feeling guilty now? Hahaha, that Si bastard is feeling guilty!]

Jiang Tingxu frowned and exited the stream as well.

The Haoge the haters mentioned was Zhang Haoge, who had participated in the rookie idol competition with the original owner. The original owner had no background to speak of, but Zhang Haoge was different. He had taken the route of a sweet, innocent little-brother type. Back when they were in the group, it did not matter who the captain was. What mattered was who controlled the resources. The original owner had been stubborn and had come off rather forceful on camera. Later, Zhang Haoge appeared with an injury on his face. When fans asked at the airport whether he had been bullied, Zhang Haoge offered no explanation. The fans filled in the blanks themselves and pinned the blame on the original owner, whose attitude was cold and tough. The PR team thought that narrative worked well enough, so they never clarified it.

Even after the original owner and Zhang Haoge went their separate ways, the matter was never properly cleared up.

The original owner could not do much, but Zhang Haoge was no better. He played guitar terribly, got stage fright in front of the camera, then made the original owner take the blame afterward. That was just how this industry worked. If you had neither power nor influence but refused to bend, they would bully you. And Zhang Haoge's facial injury? That idiot had gotten it by falling on his way to the bathroom at night.

Now, in everyone's eyes, Si You was the original owner. There was nothing he could do about the original owner's mistakes. He would make amends where he could, and where he could not, he would lie flat and take the ridicule. But for things the original owner had never done, Si You intended to clear them up one by one.

You dared bully your daddy?!

Jiang Tingxu had just finished showering when his phone began chiming.

Still drying his hair, he picked it up in surprise and discovered that Si You had started another stream.

Jiang Tingxu raised a brow. His understanding of this person was being rewritten bit by bit.

It was not as though Jiang Tingxu had not seen the things being said online, but he had always felt they did not match the person before him.

On the stream, Si You was very close to the camera. He had not turned on any beauty filters, yet his skin was so good that his pores were nearly invisible. After adjusting the camera, Si You moved back.

Before going live, he had posted an announcement on Weibo. The haters were still mocking him on the public feed, never expecting that forty minutes later, Si You would come charging back. Was he really planning to claw his way back through horror games?!

Haters and fans of rival artists stormed in, only to find that Si You was not playing a game. He seemed to be in... a music room?

The place where Si You sat was quite spacious, but the furnishings around him were clearly visible. Various instruments hung on the walls, from guqins to guitars to long xiaos, while a guzheng stood behind him and a drum set occupied one corner.

The guys who had subscribed to watch Horror Livestream were dumbfounded.

[What's going on, bro? What are you up to now?]

Si You had found the music room by following the map. He gave the owner a thousand yuan and said he wanted to borrow it for one hour to stream, promising not to damage any instruments. His tone had been extremely polite. Since the owner had no business at the moment anyway, he agreed.

The haters cursed him while wondering what Si You was trying to do.

"Where's that son of a bitch who said I couldn't do anything and therefore bullied people? You there? Pick any instrument you can see. If I chicken out over even one of them, I'll leave Weibo and quit the industry immediately. But if I don't, do you dare call me Dad?" Si You wore an arrogant expression that made people want to smack him twice with the sole of a shoe, yet he was impossible to look away from.

There were plenty of pretty-face artists in the industry these days. Whenever it came time to perform, take away the post-production sound effects and it became an absolute disaster. Who had the nerve to say, "Pick whatever you want"?

"I'm talking to you. Silent Little Fish." Si You's tone was mild.

The rival fan who had said Si You bullied Zhang Haoge and could not do anything was called "Silent Little Fish."

Damn, this guy really held a grudge, quite a few people in the stream thought.

Jiang Tingxu found a comfortable spot on the sofa and sat down, then typed: [Can you play the xiao?]

"Oh, the boss is here." Si You immediately changed his attitude. "You want to hear the xiao? No problem!"

As he spoke, he took one down from the wall.

The next second, Si You closed his eyes and steadied his breath. Then the xiao began, clear and desolate, accompanied by the rustling sound of a bamboo forest. It was a melody no one had ever heard before, composed by Si You himself. Before long, the xiao's notes grew richer, like a phoenix amid the trees, its tail feathers sweeping past the treetops and stirring echoes that shook the eardrums.

Jiang Tingxu felt something tug at the tip of his heart as well. Before his mind could react, his hand had already sent a gift.

"Thank you, thank you! Thank you, Boss, for the Starlit Spaceship. What else would you like to hear..." Si You's service attitude was impeccable. "Haters, step back. It's not your turn yet!"