Time rewinds to the early evening.
Capital City — Qingyan Middle School.
Class had just ended, and the girls were linking arms, begging Zhang Xuanxuan to invite them to her birthday party.
Standing at the very edge was Shao Jia. She had always been marginalized in their little group because her father’s wealth wasn’t substantial enough.
At the center of everyone’s attention was Zhang Xuanxuan. Among all the girls present, her family background was the most privileged.
Zhang Xuanxuan said lazily, “Whoever tells me a juicy piece of gossip gets an invitation. Lin Shiran will be coming to my birthday this year too, he’s my brother’s friend.”
Everyone was shocked.
“Lin Shiran? The super popular idol Lin Shiran?”
“Xuanxuan, please, just let us come! I really want to see Lin Shiran up close!”
Zhang Xuanxuan said proudly, “My brother said that when I have my coming-of-age ceremony, he’ll bring Shao Yuye to attend.”
“Wow! Really?! Brother Ye ahhhh! Xuanxuan, your brother is incredible!”
“Well, we’ll see. It might be hard. Shao Yuye is a top idol, not someone just anyone can invite. Money alone isn’t enough.”
Just as Zhang Xuanxuan was about to continue showing off, the always-muted Shao Jia suddenly spoke up: “Actually… Shao Yuye is my brother.”
One sentence. Instantly, everyone’s attention snapped to her.
Even Zhang Xuanxuan froze for a moment, then burst into laughter, joining the others in mocking her:
“Shao Jia, that’s way too fake. You’re just making things up.”
“Then I’ll say that Qi Luozhou is my brother too.”
“Isn’t Shao Yuye supposed to be an orphan? Where would he get a younger sister…?”
“It’s true.”
Shao Jia seriously took out a family photo. “He never let me tell anyone. I’m only telling you guys because we’re friends.”
Seeing the family photo, everyone was stunned.
“This…”
Shao Jia said, “My brother just didn’t want to rely on our family back then, that’s why he hid his identity!”
The others exchanged glances. They still found it unbelievable.
But… Shao Jia… Shao Yuye… they did both share the surname Shao.
Everyone started wavering.
Zhang Xuanxuan still didn’t believe it. She looked Shao Jia up and down.
“But you two don’t really look alike…”
Shao Yuye’s face was the kind that would stand out even in a crowd of a thousand.
Shao Jia’s appearance was too ordinary by comparison. Plain, unremarkable, nothing eye-catching.
Shao Jia looked embarrassed and awkwardly changed the subject: “But he really is my brother.”
To support her claim, she pulled out even more photos.
All secretly taken at home in the past.
Everyone was shocked again.
Oh my god.
This was a massive, earth-shattering piece of gossip.
In an instant, everyone’s attitude flipped. They became extremely attentive:
“Shao Jia, your brother is really Shao Yuye?!”
“Why didn’t you tell us earlier? Ugh, come on, can you get me his autograph?”
“He’s your actual brother, it should be easy, right?”
Even Zhang Xuanxuan tried ingratiating herself: “You’ll come to my birthday the day after tomorrow, right?”
Just like that, the situation turned around completely. For the first time, Shao Jia experienced the power of the title ‘Shao Yuye’s little sister.’
“The day after tomorrow…” She pretended to think deeply. “I should be able to. But I can’t stay too late. My brother’s show is ending soon and he’ll be coming home.”
“You absolutely have to come!”
Zhang Xuanxuan eagerly held her arm. “Didn’t you always want to meet my childhood friend? I can introduce him to you at my birthday—”
In barely ten minutes.
The entire social dynamic had flipped upside down.
As a sixteen-year-old girl, Shao Jia’s vanity was immensely satisfied.
Everyone moved toward her. She no longer had to chase after others, hoping they’d let her join. Instead, they were the ones reaching out to hold her arm. For the first time, she felt what it was like to be the center of everyone’s attention…
She was Shao Yuye’s little sister.
The top idol Shao Yuye’s little sister…
How wonderful.
That night, Shao Jia was practically lifted to the heavens by everyone’s flattery.
Meanwhile, Zhang Xuanxuan experienced being ignored for the first time. When she got home, she exploded at her brother.
“Why didn’t you debut?! Why didn’t you become a top idol so I could look good in front of others?!”
Her brother was baffled. “What are you talking about?”
Zhang Xuanxuan fumed. “My classmate’s brother is Shao Yuye! Shao Yuye!”
Her brother froze. “Where would Shao Yuye get a sister?”
Zhang Xuanxuan angrily exaggerated the whole story, focusing especially on her own humiliation. But the more she talked, the more excited her brother became:
“Xuanxuan, so Shao Yuye really has family? Has he been hiding it all these years?!”
“Mm.”
Zhang Xuanxuan nodded. “My classmate showed us the photos!”
Time returns to the present moment, 11 p.m.
Completely unaware of the cause behind it all, Brother Li clicked into that post in shock.
Before debuting, Shao Yuye was already the type to attract storms and bloodshed. During the talent show, he had to be protected from crowds several times. Any entertainment news even remotely related to him skyrocketed in popularity. Marketing accounts loved artists like him the most. Whenever Shao Yuye so much as stirred a little, they would swarm in to post.
Not to mention that this time the news was so explosive. It didn’t take long before the entire internet was flooded with it.
In that post, the original poster was still typing leisurely, yet the comments below had already blown up.
[No way, right? People tried to dig up Shao Yuye’s background back when he was in the talent show, but nobody ever found anything. How come there’s suddenly dirt now?]
[Terrifying when you think about it… is it possible that the reason nobody could dig anything up before was because there was capital backing him?]
[I always felt he wasn’t simple. Someone who ranked 10 suddenly debuting as center on finale night? Are you kidding me? If you say there was no capital pushing him, not even ghosts would believe that!]
[So where’s the OP? Don’t open with a big claim and then let everyone else fill in the blanks. Are you going to show evidence or not?]
As the buzz continued soaring, major marketing accounts pounced on it and began reposting the headline. Finally, the OP released new content.
[(photo.jpg)]
A family photo.
A family of four, looking quite harmonious.
[Let me give everyone some info. The man beside Shao Yuye? Not an ordinary figure.
[Shao Hongyuan, CEO of Hongyuan Group.
[You may not recognize the name, but the biggest sponsor of that season’s <One Pick>, ‘Zhenxian Fresh Milk,’ belongs to Hongyuan Group.
[So as for why someone who was stuck at rank 10 before the finale suddenly debuted as center… I think you all get it, right?
[Don’t tell me you ‘Yu Yu’s really believed your idol got the center position purely because of your support! Too naive!
[The final debut lineup is always a game of capital. From the moment Shao Yuye participated, the script was already written! How many of you were heartbroken that night? Raise your hands! And now you’re all his die-hard fans, aren’t you?
[All I can say is, the setup was brilliant. Truly brilliant.]
Countless ‘Yu Yu’s were stunned speechless in the thread.
The whistleblower spoke with such detail and confidence that many fans were fooled by his serious tone.
[No way… is this real?]
[I really was devastated back then… our abandoned Brother Ye… we only had him…]
[But when I rewatch the videos before the finale, everything feels so real! That fear of being one step away from debut… and his sobbing when he debuted as center… it didn’t look fake at all… If this was all a scam, I’ll never stan anyone again!]
[I don’t believe it! Marketing accounts always talk nonsense! One picture at the start, and everything else is made-up!]
The discussion snowballed, quickly becoming a trending news explosion.
Social media nearly crashed.