Esports world champion, debuted as the center of a talent show

All of this stemmed from a statement issued by Xu Xiao and her agency.

Everything was calm and peaceful at the beginning of the afternoon practice.

Jiang Zhiyu and Qi Sixian sat side by side in the corner of the training room, with a notebook full of lyrics spread out between them.

He twirled the pen between his fingers, his movements relaxed, his gaze fixed on the paper, listening attentively to Qi Sixian's thoughts.

"This is the section I envisioned," Qi Sixian pointed to one of the sections with the tip of his pen, his tone confident, "The rhythm will be a little faster, so the expression of this section needs to be concise, otherwise it will sound rushed when sung."

Jiang Zhiyu nodded, casually picked up a pen, and drew a small circle next to that paragraph as a mark: "Anything else?"

In fact, Qi Sixian had already sighed inwardly that Jiang Zhiyu's ability to write such lyrics in such a short time completely exceeded his expectations. The rhythm, phrasing, and paragraph progression were all just right, and the melody matched his expectations very well.

So Qi Sixian honestly shook his head: "There's nothing for now. We'll go through it all again once you finish the second half... But if you keep writing at this pace, I don't think there will be any problems."

He paused for a moment, then continued sincerely, "You're really amazing! You managed to write such excellent lyrics on your first try."

[No, isn't anyone paying attention to us? Let us see you too.]

I'm waiting anxiously, I really want to see Jiang Jiang write lyrics!

[The production team is really good at playing hard to get; they only show us the words praising Jiang Zhiyu, but they won't show us the actual content. It's infuriating!]

[It should be soon. We'll hear it during the whole rehearsal after the stage design is finished!]

[The number of viewers in Jiang Zhiyu's team's live stream is still consistently high. I just clicked into several other perspectives and found that the number of viewers was inexplicably low this afternoon.]

[They probably went to get some gossip about Xu Xiaoyu from lunch?]

The guesses in the comments were correct. At this moment, on the Internet, pictures and videos of Xu Xiao squatting on the ground crying were being forwarded everywhere.

Not only fans of the talent show, but also many people outside the entertainment industry came to watch, wanting to understand why he had an emotional breakdown.

This vulnerability is always widely spread. The internet's instinct to pity the weak is at play, and Xu Xiaoyu's personal account gained tens of thousands of followers in just a few hours.

Many netizens left messages directly on Xu Xiaoyu's account:

[Don't cry, little brother, it breaks my heart.]

Why are you crying? Tell us, and we'll support you.

[Was the production team treating you badly? Was it malicious editing? Targeting you? Or were you bullied?]

While words of sympathy flooded the screen, various conspiracy theories targeting the production team and other trainees were also quietly brewing.

In the eyes of most netizens, Xu Xiaoyu was perfectly fine and it was impossible for her to suddenly break down. There must be an external factor behind it, and this "external factor" most likely came from the program team or other trainees around her.

Fueled by unknown forces, the topic gradually veered off course, extending from "the pressure on trainees" to "how young people should deal with workplace bullying" and "hidden violence in friendships," transforming a minor entertainment industry issue into a social topic that sparked nationwide discussion.

It wasn't until public opinion reached its peak that Xu Xiaoyu's agency belatedly released a statement regarding her health condition.

The statement was brief, but contained a great deal of information.

[Recently, public opinion regarding our artist Xu Xiaoyu has attracted attention. Our company hereby issues the following statement:]

Xu Xiaoyu has long suffered from chronic psychological and emotional problems. Her emotional state is inherently sensitive and fragile, and she is easily affected by the environment and interpersonal atmosphere.

Artists have always tried their best to adjust themselves and participate seriously in the recording of the schedule, but the pressure on their minds and bodies has far exceeded their capacity.

We sincerely hope that the program team and fellow trainees can show more tolerance, consideration and kindness, and work together to build a gentle and friendly growth environment.

Our company will arrange for the artist to focus on rest and recuperation. We also kindly request the public to respect their privacy and understanding, and work together to protect the artist's physical and mental health.

This statement plays word games everywhere, never mentioning the pressure from the production team and other trainees, but every sentence implies the negative impact of those around Xu Xiaoyu.

As expected, the statement issued by the agency caused a huge uproar. Some people directly questioned the program team, while others had doubts about the content of the statement. Under the impact of various groups, the popularity of this matter soared.

Not long after, Xu Xiaoyu's blog post put the production team in the spotlight.

[@ShiningProject-XuXiaoyu: Hello everyone, I'm Xu Xiaoyu. I'm very sad that you all know me in this way. I do have a history of mental illness, but I'm currently actively undergoing medication and trying to adjust my state. This emotional breakdown is mainly due to my own issues; I lack resilience and can't easily cope with criticism under pressure. In the future, I will work harder to adjust my mindset, live up to everyone's concern, and face every training session and stage performance in the best possible condition.]

He also included a picture showing his daily medication regimen.

Xu Xiaoyu's post quickly went viral, with the mental health issues of celebrities and whether there was real hidden violence on camera in "Shining Project" becoming hot topics on the internet. Xu Xiaoyu herself gained more than 10 followers within hours of posting the article.

The program's public opinion monitoring team was stunned by the situation. Many impulsive netizens directly bombarded the program's official account, leaving comments questioning Xu Xiaoyu's condition. The top-rated comment, "Do you know he's sick? And you keep putting pressure on him?" received tens of thousands of likes.

A few scattered comments in the comment section, such as "This is a talent show, it's inherently very cruel, why participate if you can't handle the pressure?" were also angrily attacked by some irrational people, leaving the comment section with no choice but to delete them.

As things have developed to this point, many discerning people have realized that this is a media frenzy orchestrated by Xu Xiao and her agency, with layers of clues leading to one conclusion after another, inciting public sentiment at minimal cost and reaping maximum publicity.

Unfortunately, these rational voices were ultimately too weak. Most netizens were either swept up in their emotions or remained indifferent, and no one was willing to delve into the truth behind it.

Until Xu Xiaoyu's agency became desperate and set its sights on "Shining Project," the biggest cash cow with an overwhelming lead in popularity.

"Are you sure it's okay to mess with him? Jiang Zhiyu doesn't have a company background, but he's too popular. What if things go wrong..." The manager of the agency said with some concern.

"Don't worry, boss. Jiang Zhiyu is offering us this opportunity for free, so we shouldn't pass it up. This time it's definitely going to work out. Just leave it to me, and Xu Xiaoyu will be number one from now on."

As a result, the trend of the Internet gradually shifted towards another extreme.