If Qiao Luo was the protagonist, then he was the person Shen Xingshuo had offended in the plot, and the source of these haters was naturally...
Looking at Qiao Luo's sweet, cheerful smile, Shen Yu scratched his head in distress and sank into thought with a stern face.
Qiao Luo was the protagonist, and anyone who offended the protagonist was cannon fodder.
So his second brother was cannon fodder.
With that chain of reasoning complete, Shen Yu, stuck at home, howled in anxiety. But his eldest brother wouldn't let him leave, so he could only fret with a gloomy face.
The first day of the auditions passed in training. Although Shen Xingshuo had a Weibo account, he couldn't be bothered to manage it. Qiao Luo, who was training with him, saw the hate comments and hurried to tell Shen Xingshuo while the cameras were off.
"Someone must be smearing you." Though Qiao Luo had grown up doted on by his family, he wasn't oblivious. Someone must have been manipulating things behind the sudden turn to nasty comments.
"Tch!" Shen Xingshuo scrolled through the deliberate comments, many of which were hating just for the sake of it, and clicked his tongue disdainfully, understanding in his eyes.
According to my little brother's thoughts, this is what they call offending the protagonist, and next I'll be vilified all the way, dragging the Shen Family into bankruptcy?
"No rush. I'd like to see who's behind this." Shen Xingshuo narrowed his eyes slightly and tapped the malicious comments thoughtfully, his lips curling in disdain.
The auditions haven't even started, and they're already this impatient. They must be an impulsive person in real life too.
And they think they can bring down the Shen Family with this? Even the world's favorite will have to crawl!
Sure enough, just as the person pulling the strings had wanted, most of the audience knew Shen Xingshuo before he even took the stage the next day. Only, ninety percent of them were haters.
The waiting room was packed. The others still clustered in groups, covertly sizing up Shen Xingshuo as he waited to go onstage, seemingly hoping to find some confidence by studying his outstanding looks.
To their great disappointment, however, he wasn't dejected, ashamed, or furious. He was even leisurely playing a match-three game and casually reassuring Qiao Luo beside him.
"So what if we go on early? The mentors are all wide awake now. By the time the later performances come around, they'll be sleepy."
"Pfft-" Qiao Luo's tense mood immediately eased. He nodded in agreement. "Good point. I don't have what it takes to wake the mentors up for me."
The onlookers' expressions changed abruptly at that. Their numbers came later. If the mentors really were tired, wouldn't they be eliminated outright unless they stood out?
Now no one had time to stare at Shen Xingshuo. They all started worrying about the order, wondering how they could attract the mentors' attention.
Shen Xingshuo glanced at that bunch of cowards out of the corner of his eye, curling his lips disdainfully.
He was well versed in psychological warfare. Whether his number came early or late, Shen Xingshuo had ways to make the onlookers wear themselves out.
Soon it was Qiao Luo's turn to take the stage. Compared with the slightly nervous performances of the contestants before him, Qiao Luo seemed calmer, even showing a heartfelt smile.
The sunny boy paired with the sweet "Love Confession Balloon" made even the drowsy audience sit up, involuntarily tapping along to the beat.
Shen Yu's bottom swayed along too. Only when Shen Jun passed by from the kitchen again did he furtively sit back down, pretending nothing had happened.
Shen Yu: Can't help it! As an older brother, I still have to maintain my image in front of my little brother.
Inexplicably confident in himself, Shen Yu nodded firmly, then continued staring at the screen and sighing.
[As expected of the protagonist! He's just that amazing, getting the whole audience to connect with one song.]
[Why is my second brother right after Qiao Luo? Is this the fate of cannon fodder, existing solely to make the protagonist shine?]
Shen Jun's wheelchair paused as he moved it forward, thoughtfulness entering his gentle gaze.
The words "protagonist" and "cannon fodder" had echoed through the house more than once.
"Little Jun, do you want to watch too?" Seeing that his little brother hadn't returned to his room for so long, Shen Yu immediately turned toward Shen Jun, his eager expression carrying an air of recommendation.
"Don't sit cross-legged. Our eldest brother said you need to rest properly." Shen Jun didn't answer, but silently steered his wheelchair around, not forgetting to correct Shen Yu's bad little habit.
"Hehe, it's comfortable like this." Shen Yu sheepishly stretched out his crossed legs. To prove that his legs had recovered, he even bounced twice on the sofa.
"Weren't you going to watch the performance?" Shen Jun watched the youngest of his older brothers bouncing around helplessly. His head, originally muddled from studying, gradually felt better, becoming amused and clear.
"Right, right, let's watch our second brother perform." Unaware that his thoughts had long since given him away, Shen Yu hurried to introduce things enthusiastically to his little brother.
"This guy who's so good at singing is our second brother's roommate. Look, all the mentors and audience members like him!" Shen Yu's voice was full of envy, hoping Shen Xingshuo could receive support from so many people too.
"It's almost our second brother's turn... Oh no! I don't even know what talents he has!" Shen Yu's eyes widened as the original plot slowly blurred in his mind.
To highlight the protagonist's prowess and the marginalization of the cannon fodder, the plot hadn't described Shen Xingshuo in detail, passing over his elimination in the auditions in a few brief strokes.
"Didn't our second brother say he could play wind instruments, bowed strings, plucked strings, and sing?" Perhaps because no one else was home, Shen Jun was much more relaxed as he chatted, even in the mood to tease the absent Second Shen.
"You actually believe him? I think he's bragging!" Shen Yu puffed out his cheeks doubtfully, his brows bunching together. "Not a word out of his mouth is true."
His resentful tone was full of heartache. Clearly, Shen Yu had been fooled by Second Shen too many times and had now lost all trust in him.
Shen Jun helplessly shut his mouth. He admitted he couldn't outtalk the chatterbox Shen Yu. Though he hadn't intended to, either.
After enjoying Qiao Luo's light, sweet singing, Shen Yu looked at the satisfaction in the mentors' eyes on the screen, then at the audience's prolonged applause, marveling that the protagonist truly lived up to being the protagonist, brimming with talent.
The livestream couldn't be fast-forwarded. After listening to Qiao Luo sing, Shen Jun was forced to endure more than ten minutes of Shen Yu's rambling until Shen Xingshuo finally appeared.
"Here he comes, here he comes!" Shen Yu was so excited he wished he could transport himself bodily to the venue. He jumped and clapped in his slippers, his eyes full of pride.
Though Second Shen was nothing at home, outside he was definitely a dazzling boy.
In a black shirt and black wide-legged trousers, Shen Xingshuo looked as though he wanted to cover himself in the words "edgy teen."
Judging by Shen Xingshuo's outfit, it should have been a recently popular song or one with a powerful burst of energy. The mentors obligingly smiled.
Shen Xingshuo nodded without the slightest reserve, as comfortable as if he were at home, but when he opened his mouth, it was the thoroughly classical-style "Not Called a Hero."
His voice was refined and free-spirited, like that of a young nobleman. Paired with his edgy outfit and spiky hairstyle, it left people amazed while making them wonder whether the voice really came from him.
Not only did the mentors smile in pleasant surprise, but the investors also looked in surprise at the boy full of contrasts and nodded in satisfaction.
In front of the television, Shen Yu was even more eager to burrow into the screen and see for himself whether the elegant, elegant Shen Xingshuo had been possessed by another soul.
[Oh no, my second brother won't get hate for lip-syncing, will he?]
Although Shen Jun was surprised, his attention was still drawn to the energetic Shen Yu bouncing all over the place. His usually calm face was covered in exasperation. "Don't get too close to the screen. It's bad for your eyes."
And, Shen Yu, your distrust of Second Shen is far too obvious.