When she received the call from the production team, a crack appeared in Liang Shiyu’s usually gentle mask.
She couldn’t understand—why did such an unexpected situation still occur?
The show was set to premiere in just a few days.
Now, all the money she had spent on pre-release promotion had gone to waste.
She could already imagine how Shen Xi’s fans would gleefully mock her—
“Trying to ride on someone else’s popularity backfired—serves you right!”
But she had no choice.
She didn’t want Shen Xi to directly terminate the contract either, as that would bring her no benefit.
If a scandal erupted, it would only drag her down.
The good news was that, based on the current situation, the show was guaranteed to be a hit.
Being on the same program as them, she wouldn’t have to worry about lacking exposure.
There would always be opportunities.
After weighing the pros and cons, she decided to swallow her anger.
What was done was done, and overthinking it wouldn’t help.
Her manager reminded her, “There’s still one guest spot left. The director agreed to let us invite someone ourselves. Do you have a suitable candidate in mind?”
Liang Shiyu quickly adjusted her mindset, maintaining her flawless, gentle public persona.
She had no siblings, and as for friends—should she invite Shen Shuang?
Shen Shuang was her university classmate at the film academy and also Shen Xi and Shen Ci’s half-sister from their father’s side.
However, after Shen Shuang’s status as an illegitimate child was exposed, her public image had deteriorated significantly.
Appearing on a show with her might even drag Liang Shiyu down.
She quickly dismissed the idea.
It wouldn’t be easy to invite a big-name celebrity on such short notice either…
She quickly sifted through her mind for suitable candidates.
Just then, a few young girls walked past the glass door outside.
Liang Shiyu glanced casually and found one of them somewhat familiar.
She asked her manager, “Sister Yuan, who were those people just now?”
The manager took a look and said uncertainly, “They seem to be newcomers the company recently signed.”
Liang Shiyu’s mind raced, and she quickly said to her manager, “Help me check if there’s a girl named Su Tang among those girls just now.”
The manager was puzzled. “You want to bring a newcomer onto the variety show?”
And a girl at that—wasn’t she afraid of creating another competitor?
Liang Shiyu didn’t explain, only asking her to first learn more about this person.
Knowing that Liang Shiyu always had her own plans, the manager didn’t press further.
Not long after, the manager returned with Su Tang’s information.
After reading it, Liang Shiyu felt a faint sense of excitement.
If she remembered correctly, the Su Tang currently at the company should be the younger sister of Su Ye, the CEO of Yusi Technology.
Yusi Technology was the largest gaming company in the country, with numerous games under its development. Just one of its titles, New World, generated monthly revenues in the billions.
The professional and celebrity tournaments it hosted annually garnered even more attention than most hit variety shows.
Thanks to frequent collaborations with numerous big-name celebrities, it was also an excellent resource and network in the entertainment industry.
It was by chance that she had run into Su Tang backstage at a celebrity tournament and overheard Yusi staff inadvertently mention the girl’s identity.
She didn’t know why Su Tang was here, but for wealthy people like her, hiding her identity to dabble in the entertainment industry wasn’t unusual.
If she could bring Su Tang onto the variety show and make good use of this connection, this setback might turn out to be a blessing in disguise.
More importantly, it was well-known in the industry that although Su Ye wasn’t from an aristocratic or wealthy family, he was closely connected to the top-tier elite circles of the capital, led by the Fu family.
Fu family’s Jiuguang Entertainment could well be considered the biggest capital in the entertainment industry, with just one of their film and television resources being enough to spark life-or-death competition across half the entertainment circle.
Liang Shiyu looked down on those golden canaries who clung to wealthy families, but she wouldn’t pass up any opportunity that might bring her into contact with capital.
Several days later, the production team of “The Sibling Formula” finalized their guest selections and began the official announcement process.
Considering that most of the guests were combinations of artists and non-artists, the production team decided to only release promotional photos of the artists during the first round of announcements, while their partners would only be identified by their status information.
Before the broadcast, the official account would announce one group of participants each day.
Due to the rumored strong lineup, netizens and fans began eagerly awaiting each day’s announcement.
The first day’s announced guests were popular actor Cheng Yu and his sister.
Although Cheng Yu had high recognition, he didn’t have many die-hard fans, so most of the top comments came from casual viewers.
【Seriously, does his sister need to be hidden?】
【Father is a major director, mother is an award-winning actress, sister is a newly awarded future major director – Cheng Yu is undoubtedly the strongest resource-backed star in the Domestic Entertainment Industry】
【What resource-backed star? He’s just an ordinary star kid】
【Don’t be so hostile, at least his face is decent, not some ugly doll chosen by capital】
【Hahahaha when has he ever gotten particularly good resources? Don’t be ridiculous】
【As a fan, I laugh until I cry…】
After all, directors are mostly behind-the-scenes workers who don’t often appear in front of the camera.
Many viewers only watched the movies without knowing the directors, or couldn’t match faces with names, asking for explanations in the comments.
【Who is this? So beautiful! She’s not an actress??】
【Have you seen “The Gate of Delusion”? That’s this sister’s work!】
【Let me say it loud: Cheng Yuan is a genius director!】
【Also the highest-grossing female director!】
【I love this sister! Her “The Gate of Delusion” is my favorite movie in recent years!】
【Their father’s achievements rank top three domestically. Hope the sister can surpass him in the future!】
【Alright, no surprises with this group. Let’s welcome the next set of guests.】
The first group matched the online rumors, so netizens already knew about them, causing no major waves.
However, with nothing big happening recently in entertainment circles, the program’s participant selection remained quite attractive to the public, offering plenty of entertainment in the discussions.
On the second day, noticeably more people waited for the announcement.
When Liang Shiyu’s official photo was released, showing her partner wasn’t the rumored Shen Xi but rather a “junior sister” with scant information, the comments turned explosive.
【Huh? Huh?? Huh???】
【Were the previous online rumors false?】
【What’s going on?! Wasn’t it supposed to be her and Shen Xi? Changed people?】
【Wuwuwu my older sister-younger dog CP is gone… I just started shipping them】
【I only care whether Shen Xi is still participating in this show. This matters a lot to me】
【Who else could Shen Xi participate with? Shen Ci? Hahahahaha】
【Hahahaha don’t be ridiculous, everyone in the Domestic Entertainment Industry knows those two don’t get along】
【It’s really strange. They’re twins, yet their relationship is so bad they won’t even appear together on the same show】
【Junior sister? Probably some unknown from the same company】
【Making my daughter carry newcomers? Damn company should die】
【Damn, why is my girl so unlucky!】
Liang Shiyu’s fans weren’t clear about the full context of the matter, but that didn’t stop them from seizing the opportunity to play the victim.
【Can the Top-tier Traffic Star’s fans finally leave our little actress alone now? They’re always accusing others of riding their coattails—are they satisfied now?】
【Fans reflect their idol—just as arrogant and condescending. Do they think they own the Domestic Entertainment Industry?】
Upon learning this outcome, Shen Xi’s fans breathed a sigh of relief and energetically began counterattacking.
【Looks like a certain rising star is disappointed she can’t keep riding the coattails after clinging for so long】
【Acting entitled just because she’s not famous—what a strong brew of green tea】
【Does anyone not know that Liang Shiyu keeps buying promotional articles about her ties to others while also boosting CP videos? Her “uncompetitive and unambitious” public persona has long since crumbled!】
The online debate over this matter grew increasingly heated.
More people wanted to know whether Shen Xi had truly withdrawn from the program.
The director remained completely unfazed and had no intention of explaining.
Heh, this was just the beginning…
The uproar online had little to do with Sang Ji and the others for now.
Sang Ji found it rather strange—were popular celebrities really such idle creatures?
Shen Xi and Shen Ci had been coming to Beicheng Gongguan to see her for three consecutive days, staying from morning till night each time.
Shen Xi had a perfectly reasonable explanation for this.
His contract was about to expire, and with profit-sharing involved, his company wouldn’t be assigning him many activities or resources during this period.
As for Shen Ci, aside from filming, he never liked participating in public appearances anyway.
So it made sense for them to have some free time.
As for why they insisted on coming to her place, the twins answered in unison: “Because the scenery here is great!”
To some extent, the tacit understanding between twins could be quite astonishing.
Sang Ji didn’t want to bother managing them—if they wanted to stay, they could stay.
In the afternoon, after finishing the documents An Yi had given her, Sang Ji came out of the study to find Shen Xi engrossed in a mobile game while Shen Ci was watching a classic film.
Sang Ji found the visuals on Shen Xi’s screen somewhat familiar and casually asked, “Playing ‘New World’?”
Hearing this, Shen Xi’s hand slipped, nearly missing his skill shot.
“New World” was a futuristic esports game that blended popular cyberpunk and cosmic horror elements.
With synchronized account data between PC and mobile versions, it was practically a game for everyone.
Last year, during the celebrity tournament, he had practiced intensively for a while and ended up winning.
He had kept playing since then.
It wasn’t surprising that his sister knew about the game, but she probably didn’t play it herself.
Or so Shen Xi thought.
With nothing else to do, Sang Ji remembered that the game had recently launched some new event. Why not play with them for a while?
So she asked, “Want to do the event together?”
Shen Xi: “??”
Shen Xi: “!!”
Shen Xi was stunned.
Did his sister play this game too?
How did he not know!
If that was the case…
Hadn’t he missed out? Missed out big time!
He had unknowingly missed so many opportunities to spend time with his sister.
Just as he was feeling utterly frustrated, Shen Ci had already turned off the movie and moved closer to them.
Though Shen Ci didn’t say anything, Sang Ji could read a clear message in his eyes—
He wanted to play too.
A hint of amusement sparkled in Sang Ji’s eyes. “Xiao Ci, do you want to join us?”
Shen Ci nodded. “But… I’ve never played before.”
That wasn’t a problem.
Sang Ji said to Shen Xi, “Help him register an account first, then teach him how to play.”
Shen Xi: “…”
Could he refuse?
Shen Ci wasn’t a child anymore!
Shen Ci actually wanted his sister to teach him, but he didn’t dare say it out loud.
If Shen Xi was going to teach him…
He could actually figure it out on his own.
The connection between twins was a truly magical thing.
For example, at this moment, although Shen Ci showed no particular expression, Shen Xi could clearly sense his younger brother’s disdain.
Shen Xi felt that even if he was only older by half an hour, as the older brother, he still had to maintain some dignity.
He insisted on teaching him!
…
Nearby, Sang Ji opened the game interface.
Speaking of this game, she had been dragged into it by Fu Ziyin.
Truth be told, she rarely played.
Because of this, Fu Ziyin had even pulled her into a small group chat with Fu Yuheng and a few of his friends.
At the time, she found it strange—with the Fu family’s vast business empire, how did he even have time to play games?
Of course, she wouldn’t ask him about it.
She wasn’t particularly keen on talking to this iceberg, and their relationship wasn’t close enough for casual chit-chat anyway.
So she casually asked his sister instead.
At the time, Fu Ziyin’s tone was a bit odd: “My brother doesn’t really play with us. He’s too busy.”
Sang Ji was skeptical.
After all, on the few occasions she had teamed up with them, he was usually there.
But it was just a passing curiosity—whether Fu Yuheng had time to play games had nothing to do with her anyway.
It was only later that she learned why this group was so invested in the game—
These people held shares in Yusi Technology and were also co-founders of the company.
In just a few short years, Yusi’s market value had reached hundreds of billions, making it one of the top gaming companies in the country.
It boasted a wide range of games, popular both domestically and internationally.
…
Having not touched the game in a long time, Sang Ji spent a while re-familiarizing herself with the content.
Shen Ci learned quickly, and the game was easy to pick up, so he had the basics down before long.
With just the three of them now, they needed five people for a team.
Shen Ci was still a beginner, and if he ended up dragging down teammates, he might get flamed.
Sang Ji didn’t mind, but Shen Ci’s feelings could be a bit fragile at times, so it was better to avoid that.
After some thought, she made a voice call to Fu Ziyin.
As expected, Fu Ziyin had plenty of free time.
Fu Ziyin: “How strange… Sister Aji, you’re actually taking the initiative to play games…”
Sang Ji’s voice was lazy: “Mhm, keeping my brother company for a bit.”
Fu Ziyin: “Huh? Which brother? Your biological brother or that other brother?”
Hearing this, the two brothers nearby couldn’t help but perk up their ears.
Sang Ji: “…Biological brother.”
Fu Ziyin sounded excited: “You’re back in the country?!”
Sang Ji briefly explained the situation to her before returning to the main topic: “We’re still one person short. Hmm… preferably someone skilled. I remember the best player among you guys was…”
Fu Ziyin: “You mean Su Ye? His sister ran away from home again. He’s crying while looking for her.”
Sang Ji: “…”
She remembered his sister’s name was… Su Tang?