The brothers rubbed their bellies with matching looks of satisfaction, having absolutely no interest in the rumors online, and strolled all the way back.
The performance lasted more than three hours. When Shen Xingshuo returned to the film and television building, everyone was only just leaving the venue, exhausted, and looked at him with complicated expressions.
As his classmates, they naturally knew how capable Shen Xingshuo was, but they had never expected a teammate to screw him over at the last hurdle.
The show also became a huge hit, just as the production team had hoped, though the way it reached a wider audience was unexpected. Yang Yi's vote count, sitting high up on the rankings, was all the more ironic and ridiculous.
Unexpectedly, the trending topic was soon taken down, showing that Yang Yi still had some backing.
Shen Xingshuo entered the dorm just as Yang Yi was leaving. As they passed each other, Yang Yi suddenly turned back, sharp hatred in his eyes, and silently mouthed a few words.
I'll be back.
"Tch." Shen Xingshuo could not be bothered with that idiot's declaration. Trash would always be trash; changing the packaging would not make it recyclable.
Although Yang Yi's withdrawal caused a brief stir, it died down within a few days, and even his ranking was quietly removed.
Qiao Luo also breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Shen Xingshuo return. He had genuinely worried that Shen Xingshuo would withdraw in a fit of anger. Wouldn't that give Yang Yi exactly what he wanted?
"I checked the rankings. There's no way you'll be eliminated." Advancing was not decided by a single performance; contestants were allowed some room for fluctuation, and sixty people would remain after this round.
Only then did Shen Xingshuo take out his phone to check the votes. Mo Zeyao had surged ahead into the top three, while Lin Yan had just made it into the top ten.
Because Qiao Luo had stepped in to cover the lyrics at the last minute, he ranked just outside the top thirty, while Shen Xingshuo himself hovered around fiftieth to sixtieth.
"Tch." Remembering Yang Yi's two little lackeys, Shen Xingshuo deliberately scanned the list. To his surprise, one had stayed.
"But I heard Yang Yi signed with a company." Qiao Luo lay on his bed and wearily rolled over.
"How do you know?" Although Shen Xingshuo was not interested, remembering how Shen Yu had earnestly told him to get along with his companions made the corners of his mouth curl up.
"Because his company came to sign me too." Qiao Luo rolled his eyes. Seeing that Shen Xingshuo was unconcerned, he lowered his voice and added, "It's Sinking Boat Media, the company under that President Xu."
"Heh, great name." Shen Xingshuo clicked his tongue, expressing great interest in the company's name. "Why be so subtle? Just call it Shipwreck."
Qiao Luo choked on his words, then remembered Shen Xingshuo's seemingly mysterious background, stuck out his tongue, and moved on from the subject.
Voting for advancement continued until midnight. While many contestants stayed up late canvassing for votes, Shen Xingshuo and Qiao Luo were already sound asleep. Mo Zeyao, who returned late, almost wondered whether the two had suddenly dropped dead.
It was not until the next morning that Shen Xingshuo stretched contentedly and looked up to see Mo Zeyao opposite him with dark circles under his eyes.
"Didn't sleep?" Shen Xingshuo was surprised. Mo Zeyao's vote count was so high-had he really been too worried to sleep?
"Mm." Mo Zeyao was very curious about why Shen Xingshuo was so carefree, but remembering yesterday's upsetting events, he silently held back. He merely gave Shen Xingshuo's shoulder a gentle pat as he passed, offering some comfort.
Shen Xingshuo shrugged indifferently, opened his phone, found himself on the list of contestants advancing, and calmly began washing up.
"Was that really necessary?" Seeing how many people had left overnight, Qiao Luo leaned against the windowsill in disbelief. "They don't even charge rent here."
In any case, the fewer contestants remained, the harder the training became; with advancement growing more difficult, their training hours also grew longer.
The remaining sixty contestants were still divided into four classes, and even the mentors took turns teaching them. Quite a few major names in music were invited as well. The show could be said to have caught the wave of online popularity.
Without Yang Yi causing trouble, Shen Xingshuo's time as a trainee went fairly smoothly. He advanced all the way into the top thirty, and then even the top fifteen, only to unexpectedly stumble over Chu Yao.
"You've got some nerve!" Before Shen Xingshuo had even eaten, he heard that Chu Yao had taken his little brother to a bar. Furious, he rushed there without even changing out of his training clothes.
Shen Yu was full of energy and could not sit still, and Shen Xingshuo let the little fellow wander around nearby. That did not mean Shen Yu could be taken out drinking with women for company.
Qiao Luo clenched his fists angrily. After all, Chu Yao had stayed here because of him, so he bore some responsibility too.
They arrived at the bar in a fury. Seeing the two in white training clothes, the greeter instinctively stopped them, only letting them in with fearful deference after Shen Xingshuo flashed a black card.
The crisscrossing, flashing colored lights were dizzying, and pounding music accompanied uninhibited dancing. The moment Shen Xingshuo stepped into the bar, his expression darkened.
"The calls won't go through." Qiao Luo anxiously searched everywhere, while Shen Xingshuo tightened his grip on the phone that had received no reply.
After paying for directions, Shen Xingshuo furiously kicked open the door to Chu Yao's private room. His menacing expression instantly silenced everyone inside.
Chu Yao was playing dares with his group of friends who had "come from afar bearing modest gifts," mixing red wine, liquor, and beer together to drink, while Shen Yu sat nearby watching television with headphones on.
The others, their fun interrupted, were outrageously arrogant. They swaggered up to Shen Xingshuo, their mouths full of filthy abuse.
"You dare kick my door in? Got a death wish?"
"Fuck, you think you can leave without playing a couple of rounds?"
A blond-haired guy, throwing his weight around on someone else's authority, draped an arm around Shen Xingshuo's shoulders and looked him up and down in his pure white training clothes, his eyes full of ill intent.
"Get lost!" Shen Xingshuo kicked away the young man reaching out to grab him and walked without hesitation toward Shen Yu, who remained completely unaware.
"You've got guts, daring to offend the Chu Family!" Humiliated, the others' expressions turned ugly, and they clamored to make Shen Xingshuo pay.
Shen Xingshuo bared his teeth. Just as he was considering dealing with them all together, he saw Qiao Luo haul the groggy Chu Yao up and slap him twice. "Chu Yao, this is how you look after a kid!"
His scalp throbbed with pain. Chu Yao stared blankly before finally realizing what had happened. Looking up at the furious Qiao Luo and his friends shouting nearby, he immediately felt guilty.
"I didn't let Little Yu drink. He was watching television."
As he spoke, Shen Xingshuo had already removed Shen Yu's headphones. Absorbed in the television, Shen Yu turned his head in confusion and was still a little dazed when he saw his second brother.
"We're going home." Shen Xingshuo did not want to discipline his younger brother in public. With a cold expression, he packed up Shen Yu's little backpack, then took him by the hand and headed out.
Chu Yao stood helplessly at the door. Seeing Shen Xingshuo's silence, he seemed to want to say something, only to be rooted to the spot by a cold look.
Bringing someone else's underage brother to a place like this was indeed his fault; besides, his friends had plied him with enough alcohol to leave him muddleheaded. If anything had gone wrong, he dared not imagine the consequences.
"We've found him, so enjoy yourself." Seeing that Shen Yu was all right for the moment, Qiao Luo impassively released his grip on Chu Yao's collar, not forgetting to offer a polite apology.
"Sorry, I accidentally wrinkled your clothes."