Reborn as a Substitute

Due to Ji Sheng’s uncivilised actions during the live broadcast, the scene was chaotic for a while, and then the live broadcast room was hurriedly closed by the staff.

The host watched in amazement as Ji Sheng retracted his international friendly gesture, walked straight to the corner and looked down at a staff member condescendingly.

The man shrank under his cold gaze; Ji Sheng clenched his fists, and everyone on the live broadcast heard his knuckles crunch.

The staff member was a little optimistic, thinking that maybe Ji Sheng wouldn’t do anything in front of so many people… He suddenly heard the sharp swish in the air, and the fist approached his face.

The staff member leaned back in horror, his mouth opened silently, as he watched the fist continue to enlarge in front of his eyes.

The fist was a few centimetres away from his cheek and he already felt the air displaced by the motion when Ji Sheng stopped.

Xie Xuanming behind him grabbed his wrist and whispered, “Forget it.”

Furious, Ji Sheng struggled a little. But Xie Xuanming’s grip was so firm that he couldn’t move.

The staff member fell to the ground, shivering with his mouth open, and gasped for breath.

At this moment, the director hurried over and saw this scene of attempted violence as soon as he entered the door. He was irate: “What’s the matter? What the hell?!”

No one answered.

The director pointed his finger at the two of the contestants bitterly and yelled “Isn’t anyone going to pull them away yet!”

The other staff members awoke as if from a dream and crowded around the three people. Some of them dragged Xie Xuanming and Ji Sheng backwards, while one picked up the staff member who had fallen to the ground.

The tension went down a bit and a staff member timidly asked, “Is it still broadcasting?”

“No way!” The director had calmed down a little, but he was angered by this insensitive person again. He yelled angrily, “What else to broadcast, hurry up and prepare for public relations to work!”

He stretched out his hand and pointed to Ji Sheng and Xie Xuanming: “Take them back to the dorm first.”

Sheng Kongzhi ended his performance and curtain call, and hurried from the stage to the dormitory.

He knocked on the door hurriedly, pushed the door open without waiting for a response, and asked Ji Sheng straightforwardly: “What did you do during the live broadcast?”

Ji Sheng was lying on the bed in a daze; when he heard Sheng Kongzhi, he turned over and sat up.

After calming down, Ji Sheng also knew that he was too impulsive. He rubbed his scattered hair, avoiding Sheng Kongzhi’s stern eyes, and began to talk about the live broadcast accident, omitting the specific content of the vicious comment.

As he retold what had happened, the bathroom door opened and Xie Xuanming emerged from it with his hair wet.

Ji Sheng stopped talking briefly.

“Xiao Xie.” Sheng Kongzhi greeted him, then turned back to Ji Sheng without waiting for a response, “Continue.”

Ji Sheng cleared his throat and continued to speak. Xie Xuanming stood still and listened silently.

“…The host asked me if I had anything to say about the comment, I said no and then, and then gave the camera a middle finger…” Ji Sheng paused, “That’s it.”

Sheng Kongzhi’s face turned black and white, and he finally whispered sharply: “What did I tell you before we came here? This is a variety show. Who you are in the show depends entirely on your appearance in front of the camera… How much effort did it take for Brother Tan to send us in? For what you did today, KUZI can demand compensation from Qingchu. How much money do you think Brother Tan has in his pocket to compensate for you?”

Ji Sheng lowered his eyes: “Right…”

“It doesn’t have anything to do with Brother Ji.” Xie Xuanming immediately apologised, and said calmly, “The responsibility lies with me. Brother Ji was angry because of me.”

“Xiao Xie, don’t protect…”

“That comment was aimed at me.”

“…what did it say?”

“Xiao Xie!” Ji Sheng suddenly raised his voice, shook his head and gave him a stern look.

Xie Xuanming didn’t seem to see it and continued: “Said I’m a broom star(1) and a dead mother’s son.”

The room was suddenly quiet.

Ji Sheng frowned, pursing his mouth tightly, turned his head and looked over worriedly. Xie Xuanming seemed calm and his emotions couldn’t be seen on the surface.

Sheng Kongzhi opened his mouth.

“Sorry, I didn’t expect…”

“It’s okay.“ Xie Xuanming said, “Don’t worry too much, things started because of me, and I will find a solution.” 

“How will you solve it?“ Sheng Kongzhi and Ji Sheng asked in unison.

“I called home just now.“ Xie Xuanming said.

Sheng Kongzhi’s expression relaxed: “I forgot that you had this connection, Xiao Xie.”

Ji Sheng frowned, “When did you…”

“Just now.” Xie Xuanming said, “I went to the bathroom to call.”

The program team stipulated that mobile phones should be confiscated, but Xie Xuanming had hidden a spare phone in the toilet tank in case of special circumstances.

Sheng Kongzhi was a little surprised. He knew that Ji Sheng had hidden his mobile phone, but Xie Xuanming, a well-behaved child, actually broke the rules…

He glanced at Ji Sheng reproachfully: “Look at how you brought up Xiao Xie.”

Ji Sheng ignored him. His expression was rarely serious as he looked at Xie Xuanming: “I’m not asking about the time you called, you and your family…”

“It’s settled.“ Xie Xuanming said, “After all, there is a blood relationship, no matter how it is, it is not easy to be too distant.“

Ji Sheng looked at him, opened his mouth, and finally said, “It’s up to you to decide.”

Sheng Kongzhi didn’t share a dormitory with Ji Sheng and Xie Xuanming, he sneaked in, so he had to leave now.

When he pushed the door and was about to walk away, Ji Sheng suddenly remembered something, stopped him and asked, “What is our ranking?”

Sheng Kongzhi looked back and said with some amusement: “Are you still thinking about this?”

“We practised a lot, why shouldn’t I think about it?“ Ji Sheng said confidently.

Sheng Kongzhi stretched out his hand and showed a “1”, adding, “Congratulations.”

He also said: “However, the magazine shooting may be a no go, because of the live broadcast… unexpectedly, the program team gave the spot to second place.”

“It’s okay, taking the first place is enough!“ Ji Sheng waved his hand happily.

Xie Xuanming actually wanted to have a photo session with Ji Sheng and frowned slightly when he learned that he had no chance.

But Ji Sheng turned his head and smiled at him: “Xiao Xie, we are number one!“

The unhappiness in his heart disappeared; he smiled back at  Ji Sheng and said, “En.”

“Apologise for me to the other players. “After Ji Sheng was done being happy, he turned to Sheng Kongzhi and said, “The program team won’t let me out of the room.” 

“Because of what? Because they are afraid you’ll get beaten for taking the first place?”

“No.“ Ji Sheng shook his head, “Because they lost the live broadcast.”

The practice of deliberately letting players see bad comments was disgusting, but it was undeniable that live broadcast was indeed an important channel for players to show themselves to the audience. For those players who were not taken seriously in the editing of the main story line and were edited down to a few shots, this was even the only opportunity.

After calming down, the thing that made Ji Sheng feel the most guilty for his giving a middle finger was that the follow-up live broadcast was cancelled, and none of the subsequent players were able to participate in it.

“It’s not your problem.“ Sheng Kongzhi understood what he meant and comforted him, “I will apologise for you, and you can say sorry again when you come out.“

“Okay.”

Sheng Kongzhi left.

Xie Xuanming and Ji Sheng were locked up until noon the next day.

Ji Sheng basically figured it out after a night’s sleep. KUZI’s deliberate act of putting up bad reviews for the players to read was so disgusting that if he went back in time, he would still overturn the table on the spot.

After thinking it over, Ji Sheng didn’t care anymore. Although he wanted to make his debut, even if he was kicked out of the show, it is not impossible to go back to the bars to do odd jobs. Anyway, he just wanted a place to play drums. It didn’t matter if the venue was a bar or a big stage.

As for Xie Xuanming, Xie Xuanming did not care as long as he stayed with Ji Sheng. What’s more, he tricked Ji Sheng into singing three lullabies to him last night on the grounds of “sadness”.

Although they were all heavy metal rock versions.

But Xie Xuanming still slept soundly.

Just as Xie Xuanming and Ji Sheng, one more relaxed than the other, were busy entertaining themselves, the public opinion in the outside world had already gone through several twists and changes.

Live broadcast clips were flying all over the Internet; Ji Sheng’s middle finger set the entertainment sector on fire, even reaching beyond the entertainment circle.

If previously “Music First” had only been a splash in the fan circle, this accident sent netizens from all around scrambling to see which dumb kid made an international friendly gesture to the camera on air.

KUZI also pre-empted the explosion of public opinion by directing remarks towards Ji Sheng’s personal qualities, intending to make Ji Sheng take the blame before discarding him to save the show’s reputation.

Very soon, photos of Ji Sheng’s performances in various bars a few years ago were dug up. In those few hours, due to prejudice and stereotypes about the bar scene, Ji Sheng’s reputation fell to the bottom. “Gangster”, “thug”, “street kid” and similar titles were generously poured over his head.

Everything seemed to be proceeding smoothly along the path determined by KUZI’s public relations, but suddenly, a breaking news disrupted all plans.

Some netizens tracked the ID that Ji Sheng mentioned during the live broadcast—”Lazy pig” — and examined this account.

The account’s posts were not deleted in time, and netizens quickly found the comment that was selected during the live broadcast.

Cursing words involving family members and cursing others with bad luck.

Netizens looked at the vicious comment and were silent for a moment…

Public opinion had reversed.

[This… is too much]

[More than that, this is simply abnormal, recommended to go to a mental hospital for examination]

[Damn, I just checked, Xie Xuanming’s mother seems to have really passed away]

【????? Is it true? If it is true, it would be too vicious!!!】

【Fuck! Not only do I want to show my middle finger to that pig now, I also fucking want to beat him up, what an idiot! 】

In the chaos, some netizens cut out the scene when Ji Sheng and Xie Xuanming looked at the screen during the live broadcast. The expressions of the two instantly froze, then Ji Sheng suddenly turned to look at Xie Xuanming… The unnatural reactions of the two once again verified the authenticity of the speculation.

If someone gives a middle finger in front of the camera for no reason, the public will judge him as being of low quality, but if he strikes back because his family has been insulted, the public will show understanding.

And if you get out of control to protect your friend…

Ji Sheng’s image was suddenly transformed from a lowlife thug to a passionate and loyal young man.

The reversal continued as “Lazy Pig” was revealed to be a member of “Music First” staff, and the public outcry came to a final bang.

Provoking the contestants by writing bad comments on purpose and showing them during the live broadcast to make them act out of control.

How deliberate, how vicious, simply unscrupulous for the sake of heat!

Not only the fans, but also the passers-by were angry.

Angry netizens rushed to the official accounts of “Music First” and KUZI. The public relations department didn’t expect that public opinion would flip 180 degrees so soon and they hurriedly prepared to control the situation…

Instead, a few phone calls from the top completely cooled them down.

Several sponsors called and questioned the show head-on about whether it had done anything of such poor quality as making contestants read bad comments. If it had, they demanded a swift explanation and apology, or else they would have to cancel their partnership with the show due to its poor image and demand compensation for the corresponding damages.

Under pressure from the sponsors, the program team had to kneel down.

The public relations department held an urgent meeting and issued an apology overnight.

In the statement, the program said that selecting comments during the live broadcast was a personal mistake of a staff member. The program had already fired him and would hold him accountable. Taking into account the psychological damage caused to the corresponding contestants, the program would apologise on the Internet and would also apologise to the contestants face to face, hoping to gain the understanding of the two contestants…

“I’m sorry.” The director personally went to Ji Sheng and Xie Xuanming’s dorm to release them from confinement, bowing his head and apologising for the programme team’s mistake and his own poor attitude.

Ji Sheng and Xie Xuanming looked at each other.

They were isolated from the outside world and didn’t know what was happening on the Internet. When the director knocked on the door, the two thought he was here to raise hell, so they quickly hid the poker and hurriedly stood up.

Who would have thought that… public opinion would flip so quickly.

After a moment of silence, Xie Xuanming was the first to speak: “Since you apologise, is there any compensation?”

“Huh?” The director looked up, stunned.

Xie Xuanming looked expressionlessly: “The psychological damage I have suffered, and the negative comments Ji Sheng has received on the Internet, need more than just verbal apologies to make up for.”

Well said.

Ji Sheng secretly kicked the poker exposed under the bed into the shadows, giving Xie Xuanming a thumbs up in his heart.

Xiao Xie was worthy of being brought up by Brother Ji and Brother Su and learned a lot about extortion.

The director’s face was quite black. He had never seen such daring players. The one who was cursed in the comment was calm and collected, looking like a businessman who “didn’t want dignity but wanted profit”, while the one who gave the middle finger to the camera was kicking the poker cards under the bed as if thinking he was blind, while straightening his back with the expression of “yes, I am a gangster and if I don’t get the compensation, I will pull out the knife and kill you on the spot”.

“What do you want?” The director said helplessly.

“Isn’t there a magazine photo shoot?“ Xie Xuanming showed his hidden fangs, saying calmly, “It was supposed to be the prize for the first place, and now we’re taking it back, it’s not too much to ask.”

1. Bringing bad luck to others