*[This silly kid really was an idiot. Just because his brother wouldn't let him cosplay, he gave up a chance to attend a top-tier university that was practically his for the taking.*
He came to this talent show to be cannon fodder, and now the university term has already started. His enrollment information is long gone.
*If he wants to study, he'll have to repeat his final year of high school. ε=(´ο｀*))) Sigh, his poor brother raised him, changing his diapers and cleaning up after him...*
*Oh, no, his brother isn't his brother-he's his biological dad... Hiss, come to think of it, this kid has quite a complicated, bizarre background. He probably doesn't even know himself, does he?]*
Bai Xiaoze thought studying wasn't any fun at all. His brother cared only about good grades, while his parents cared only about his brother and paid him no attention whatsoever. Sometimes his brother was very strict with him, and he found it incredibly annoying.
The three of them had joined forces and confiscated all his cosplay props. In a fit of anger, he had run away from home. He hadn't contacted his family even once, and they hadn't contacted him either.
As it happened, the production team had asked him that day whether he wanted to enter the talent show, so he came. He even posted on Moments that he was going to become a star and that no one was allowed to come looking for him, or he'd block everyone, and things like that.
Thinking back on those memories of being wronged, Bai Xiaoze felt nothing but sadness. He had been about to argue with Shang Shujue, only to hear those inner thoughts, which left him rooted to the spot.
What did that mean? What did he mean, his brother wasn't his brother but actually his dad? Then, going by what Shang Shujue said, wouldn't his dad and mom actually be his grandparents? How was that possible? This had to be a joke!
Bai Xiaoze felt his entire worldview shatter, then slowly begin to rebuild itself, crack apart, rebuild again, and crack apart again. Beside him, someone drinking water had already spat it out.
"Cough, cough, cough..." Xu Zhichen wiped his mouth while waving a hand apologetically. "Sorry, I choked on my saliva while drinking water, and then I choked on the water too. I'll go grab a tissue."
Xu Zhichen quickly walked over to his bag, seemingly to get a tissue, but in reality, his eyes had gone wide. Holy crap, was this some kind of family scandal? What was going on? This was too wild!
Everyone else's expressions looked somewhat unnatural too, and they all started chatting with the people beside them as though they knew nothing.
They looked like they were chatting, but in reality, their mouths were just moving, babbling who knew what. The people they were talking to were in the same state.
"I don't want to take the college entrance exam anymore. It feels completely pointless. My family doesn't care about me at all. They only care whether my grades are good. I'm not going to give them what they want."
Bai Xiaoze quickly realized he could learn the truth from Shang Shujue, so he sat down beside him, reached for the sunflower seeds in his hand, and started cracking them too. Still, he kept talking to steer Shang Shujue a little.
"So you ran away from home?"
Shang Shujue didn't notice anything amiss. He only thought Bai Xiaoze's rebellious phase was rather severe and asked him softly. Seeing that Bai Xiaoze merely nodded without looking at him, his thoughts became lively again.
*[Sigh, this idiot probably doesn't even know Bai Qianhua comes over practically every day to check whether he's doing okay, does he?*
*He sends gifts anonymously every day, and this kid thinks they're from fans. I honestly want to laugh. And he calls that not caring?]*
Those words from Shang Shujue made Bai Xiaoze's eyes widen. His fists clenched so hard they turned white, and he didn't even notice the sunflower seeds nearly digging into his flesh. Qiao Ze caught his hand to stop him.
How was that possible? Weren't those gifts I received from fans? There were letters inside too, saying I was amazing, telling me to keep going, that they'd always support me...
Shang Shujue's inner voice continued. The way he described it sounded as though he were talking to someone.
*[...Yeah, whatever else you say, Bai Qianhua raised this kid all by himself until he was three. When it comes to raising children, whoever puts in the work is the one who cares, but caring alone doesn't do any good.*
He hadn't separated his household registration from his parents' yet, and the child was already three without being registered. Any longer and he'd be an unregistered person. He had no choice but to put him on his parents' household register.
*ε=(´ο｀*))) Sigh... You're right. Bai Qianhua really had it rough too, with a pair of bizarre parents and a troublesome kid his ex-girlfriend didn't want but gave birth to and dumped on him...]*
Bai Xiaoze looked up at Shang Shujue, wanting to speak, but Qiao Ze blocked his line of sight.
Qiao Ze sat down between him and Shang Shujue and asked a question to divert attention.
"Brother Jue, these sunflower seeds are really tasty. You bought them at the same place as the popcorn, right? Can you recommend the place?"
Bai Xiaoze instantly came back to his senses and looked away. I can't say anything. What I heard was his inner voice, not something Brother Jue said aloud.
"These sunflower seeds are just from the cafeteria store. I made the popcorn myself. If you want some, I can give you the recipe."
"You can make it yourself when you get back. But it's so high in calories-don't you need to watch your figure? The camera really makes you look fat."
Asked about the popcorn, Shang Shujue instantly became eager to give Qiao Ze the recipe. After speaking, he suddenly realized something was off. Wasn't I supposed to be hated by everyone? Why did everyone seem so friendly?
"Hahaha, never mind, then." Qiao Ze laughed it off.
Shang Shujue was puzzled for a moment, but he said nothing more and continued cracking sunflower seeds, his mind growing lively again.
[Where were we? Oh, oh, oh... It's honestly hard to imagine. Bai Qianhua really is pitiful, and Bai Xiaoze really is an unfilial son!]
Bai Xiaoze: "..." He actually couldn't argue with that...
Everyone: Just how pitiful was he? We want to know too... Brother Jue, hurry up and tell us!
*[Bai Qianhua's parents are a pair of weirdos. One only liked daughters, but because of poor sperm motility, Bai Qianhua was his only son. The other nearly died giving birth to Bai Qianhua and had never liked him. Even his name was chosen carelessly.*
Qianhua sounds pretty nice at first, but think about it carefully, and doesn't it just sound like "money spent"? Add the surname Bai, meaning "in vain," and they're saying his birth wasted the family's money. Pretty miserable.
With them being like that, how could they possibly agree to put Bai Xiaoze on their household register? In the end, they only registered him after Bai Qianhua agreed to give them three thousand yuan each every month.
*Bai Qianhua was only nineteen back then, below the legal marriage age. He couldn't register them as father and son either.]*
Bai Xiaoze's face went pale. He remembered some things from long ago. He had still been little then, and his parents-no, they should be his grandparents.
They were always making him watch Barbie cartoons, and they even made floral dresses for him, had him wear them to play elastic-band jumping games with them... They praised their daughter for being so pretty and said he would definitely marry into a good family when he grew up...
And every time he appeared before them wearing a dress and hair clips, their expressions would look a hundred times happier than usual, and they would always be so kind and affectionate toward him...
So... there had been signs of everything all along. He was the only one kept in the dark, like an idiot...
Zhang Zhichen and the others hadn't expected Bai Xiaoze's father, Bai Qianhua, to have had it so rough. They could hardly bear to keep listening.
But deep down, they were simply too curious, so they kept listening anyway...