The entertainment industry was glamorous, but it was also crueler than ordinary society. With eighty young people living together, conflicts and friendships intertwined into something worthy of a palace intrigue drama. It was quite a spectacle.
Shi Yuan now watched Magic Sound's livestreams over meals. Every time, Wei Zelin ended up forcing him to switch off his device for not eating properly, but Shi Yuan did it again the next time.
The first public performance was exhilarating, but also brutal. Half the contestants would be eliminated immediately afterward, leaving only forty of the eighty.
That afternoon, Shi Yuan took Xiao Xi to the Stadium to watch Lu Budai perform. Auntie Qiu put Xiao Xi in a pale blue dress, braided her slightly long hair, and secured it with cartoon hair clips. Shi Yuan changed into a gray silk shirt with elbow-length sleeves, cropped pants, and sneakers. He and Xiao Xi wore matching baseball caps in the same color, looking like a strikingly attractive pair of siblings.
"Xiao Xi, make sure you stay close to your big brother. You mustn't run off on your own, understand?" Auntie Qiu doted on Xiao Xi like her own granddaughter and couldn't help worrying.
"Don't worry, Auntie Qiu." Shi Yuan led Xiao Xi out by the hand. The driver was waiting outside the side entrance.
Xiao Xi hadn't seen her brother in a long time. She was very close to Shi Yuan now, and livelier and more talkative than before. She asked him several questions on the way.
"Brother Yuan, is my brother competing against lots and lots of people?"
"Then he'll definitely come first."
Shi Yuan actually saw nervousness and an attempt at self-reassurance in this tiny child.
"Xiao Xi, whether your brother comes first or not, his hard work will pay off. Even