"Oh! Oh! The livestream is finally moving again. It was lagging so badly I was questioning my life. Thank goodness it's stopped now.
This is great. Oh, the competition's starting, it's starting! Who's going first? I can't wait."
"Aaaah, this season is full of hot guys! They're all so handsome, my God! So handsome my scalp's tingling! I can't even keep my legs closed, hehehe..."
"Sis above, please show a little restraint. You'll scare people being that wild, you know? What I mean is, you're kind of scaring me. I'm a guy."
"Huh? Guys watch idol survival shows now too? Do you dream of becoming an idol too, and want some pointers? (≧ｗ≦) Hahaha..."
The livestream comments were as lively as ever. Seeing that the comments hadn't devolved into arguments over the earlier freeze, the broadcast director instantly relaxed.
Onstage, Lei Linya was holding her microphone and moving things along. That inner voice that had resounded through the heavens had frightened her earlier.
Fortunately, she was quick on her feet and had kept her expression under control. Otherwise, she would probably have gone pale with fright and left the stage by now.
Without betraying anything, she glanced toward Shang Shujue in the trainee seats. His casual, loose posture radiated carelessness and laziness, and her thoughts churned.
It seemed it was true that they could hear Shang Shujue's thoughts.
"...Our first round will consist of solo performances, with the order determined by the numbers each trainee drew. Now, let's welcome the trainee who drew number one to the stage and let him bring us a wonderful performance."
As soon as Lei Linya finished, she gave a small, polite bow, turned, and left the stage.
After leaving the stage, she hurried backstage and took a sip of water to steady her nerves. Her assistant Duoduo also touched up the makeup on her face that had become a little messy from cold sweat.
"Duoduo, did you hear that just now?"
"Shh... Yaya, there are too many eyes and ears here. Let's not talk about this. We can discuss it once we get back."
At Duoduo's reminder, Lei Linya instinctively glanced around, then nodded. Some things really couldn't be spoken of casually.
Like the astonished Lei Linya, the mentors at the recording venue were inwardly shaken while maintaining calm expressions, even though they had heard it before.
But they had been farther away from Shang Shujue and had only heard some ethereal sounds drifting closer from a distance. What they had heard then couldn't compare to the impact now.
No matter how shocked everyone was, the first trainee to perform still had to take the stage. The first person up was Xu Jiaqiao, who was sitting on Yu Zeqi's other side.
When Xu Jiaqiao stood up, everyone finally remembered to clap. Amid their applause, the camera turned to him.
The boy wore a blue-and-white school-style outfit and looked fresh and clean-cut. Just the bright smile on his face was enough to tell that he was a cheerful, happy guy.
Looking at his short, slightly curly hair, Shang Shujue thought he resembled a fluffy little bear. He unconsciously shifted position, a glimmer of curiosity entering his narrow eyes.
"Hello, everyone. I'm trainee number one, Xu Jiaqiao. Xu as in 'proceed slowly,' Jia as in 'a harmonious family prospers in all things,' and Qiao as in 'the bridge of a pillar of support.'"
"Hehe, ૮(˶ᵔᵕᵔ˶)ა please enjoy my song-and-dance performance-'I'm a Piece of Popping Candy.'"
"Aaaah! What a sweet, delicious cutie! I love him so much~ Xu Jiaqiao! Xu Jiaqiao, I'll remember you! I'm going to vote for you right now!"
"Hot guys everywhere, just as promised! What a feast for my eyes! Hehehe... Handsome, come into my bowl!"
"I'm a piece of candy~ A lively, energetic, colorful piece of popping, banging, popping candy~ Bang! Jump one second, pounce the next, and roll into bed together in the last~ Hahahahaha..."
"You actually dared to sing that? I can't even bear to listen! You filthy-minded girl, does seeing a hot guy stop you in your tracks?!"
"Aaaah, so handsome! Hot guy, hot guy, hot guy..."
After finishing his confident introduction, Xu Jiaqiao cheerfully got ready. The music began at that moment, and his entire presence changed.
As the upbeat drums kicked in, he moved to the music and began singing. Although the lyrics were simple, his dance moves were anything but.
Shang Shujue hadn't expected his hater to quote a song by Da Zhangwei. He raised his eyebrows slightly and smiled, his foot unconsciously moving to the beat.
Xu Jiaqiao finished his performance with a perfect backflip. Excited screams and applause filled the venue, and some people were already starting to get nervous. Then...
[Xu Jiaqiao-isn't he that helpful citizen who was nearsighted and forgot his glasses when he went out, mistook a mop head on someone's balcony for a person, and spent ages downstairs talking it down because it was going to jump?]
Everyone froze for a moment, then found angles where they could avoid the cameras and snicker secretly. Pfft, hahaha...
Xu Jiaqiao stumbled and nearly fell flat on his face onstage. Fortunately, he managed to brace himself, or he really would have embarrassed himself.
Holy shit, seriously? How does this guy know everything? He even knows about such an embarrassing part of my past?
Xu Jiaqiao: ...⁄(⁄⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄⁄)⁄ Fuck...
"Ahem... Sorry, mentors. My foot slipped just now. I've finished my performance."
Xu Jiaqiao noticed someone on the mentor panel avoiding the cameras to laugh at him... ( ⩌ - ⩌ ) He was inwardly speechless...
He had been a little nervous about the mentors' assessment, but now he wasn't nervous at all.
He only felt the veins bulging on his forehead and wanted to go down immediately to stop Shang Shujue's wandering thoughts.
[...Wait, why does this helpful citizen end up so miserable too? Nuomi, don't tell me this place has bad feng shui and everyone ends up terribly?]
Xu Jiaqiao: "..." What? Am I going to die horribly too? ˚‧º·(˚ ˃̣̣̥᷄⌓˂̣̣̥᷅ )‧º·˚
Everyone: Seriously? Is this kid another big shot hiding his identity... Pfft, no, a big shot's long-lost biological son?! They were dumbstruck. ( Ꙭ)
Before the mentors could speak, Shang Shujue's inner voice rang out again.
His inner voice paused at this point. He was probably chatting with the Nuomi he had mentioned, but they couldn't hear what Nuomi said.
*[...ε=(´ο｀*))) Sigh, true. After all, this world's protagonists are a bunch of dumbasses. A vicious villain like me and minor supporting characters like them are naturally cannon fodder. Those who are meant to die die, and those who are meant to suffer suffer...]*
Everyone looked bewildered and shocked. What protagonists? What supporting characters? What cannon fodder? Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing? What did I just hear? ∑(´△｀)?!
[It's all that dumbass Su Youchuan's fault for sucking up all the world's luck... Heh~ Now that I'm here, would I just watch him live carefree? Absolutely not!]
*[Hiss... Come to think of it, those perverts who took a fancy to Yu Zeqi seem to be Su Youchuan's friends...
Birds of a feather really do flock together...
Then doesn't that mean I can't just make a move against those dumbasses... We haven't recovered our luck yet?]*
Everyone: Wait, what does this have to do with Su Youchuan? What did you say? He's the protagonist, and we're all cannon fodder!
His friends are the culprits who turn Yu Zeqi into human fragments. Then he's no good either! (ꐦ°᷄д°᷅)
*[...You mean save people first and accumulate merit? Well, isn't that convenient? Fine, I'll save whoever I can, one at a time. Let's have Yu Zeqi return to his family first.
This kid isn't suited to the entertainment industry. He'd be better off leaving early and going to the Yu Family for further education. As for Xu Jiaqiao, I should save him too. They're all my merit.]*
Everyone paled in shock. It seems... this Young Master Shang might no longer be the Young Master Shang he once was. Does he need to do good deeds and collect merit to reclaim everything that belongs to him?
Zhang Zhichen unconsciously looked toward Shang Shujue and happened to meet Bai Zhiyi's gaze. He paused, then gave a reasonably polite nod.
Why does this person look a little like me? He isn't my old man's illegitimate son, is he?
Bai Zhiyi also paused, returned a smile, then glanced at Shang Shujue.
He turned back toward the stage, thoughts churning as he brainstormed...
He hadn't expected there to be someone in this world who looked so much like him...
From certain angles, the resemblance was truly exact. Could they be brothers with the same father but different mothers?
Shang Shujue's inner voice stopped there, and the mentors immediately took their microphones to assess Xu Jiaqiao. It was mostly praise and encouragement. They were so gentle that the fans barely recognized them...
The fans, who were out of the loop: "...Wait, you were never this gentle before?!" ⦁֊⦁꧞