My little brother is the most hated rising star on the internet. When we joined a family reality show together, he was walking on eggshells, while I roasted everyone in sight—I would have kicked a passing dog just on principle. My brother: "Sis, keep a low profile, I'm begging you." The fans: "This is so satisfying! Keep roasting them, we love to see it!" 01 I had just returned from studying abroad when my younger brother, Hayes, took a gig on a family reality show. He invited our mom. She took a sip of her coffee and said coldly, "No. I can't afford that kind of humiliation." He invited our dad. Dad didn't even look up from his stack of corporate files. "For five million an episode, I'll consider it." Hayes: "..." So, he could only turn his pleading eyes toward me. I waved a hand dismissively. "It's just a reality show. I'll go with you." My mom looked at me like she wanted to say something, but held back. Hayes was so moved he practically cried. He hugged me tight. "Sis, you're the absolute best. I'm so grateful for you." I patted his head modestly. "Hayes is a big deal now. Having a superstar brother is my pride and joy." Hayes looked a little embarrassed. "Sis, maybe you should check the internet first?" I had rushed back to the States so fast I hadn't caught up on local news. Hearing him say that, I pulled out my phone and opened Twitter with a smile. Then, my smile froze. He was "popular," alright—but not in a good way. Ever since he debuted two years ago, the internet had been flooded with non-stop hate. His singing and dancing were mediocre at best, yet he had debuted near the top of an idol survival show. People accused him of "crying" his way to a debut spot, and someone had even edited his dance compilation to look like a "geriatric physical therapy" video. In that exact moment, I severely regretted saying he was my "pride and joy." And soon enough, Hayes would severely regret saying he was "grateful" for me. 02 The show, Dearest Family, was shooting at a luxury resort. It was a seven-day live-streamed event. From the moment we stepped onto the property, camera drones buzzed overhead. When Hayes and I arrived at the foot of the hill, another pair of guests was already there. The guy was around twenty-five, tall with a slight tan, accompanied by a girl in casual clothes. They were whispering to each other, and the girl looked visibly annoyed. Seeing us, she tilted her chin up and let out a cold scoff. Hayes leaned in and whispered in my ear. "That's Carter Vance. He ranked twelfth and got eliminated in the survival show two years ago. The internet says I stole his debut spot." I instantly understood. The producers were just trying to stir up drama for the ratings. As we walked over, Carter lowered his eyes and greeted us meekly, looking like a bullied victim. Hayes was so traumatized by the online hate that he was practically walking on thin ice. He reached out to shake hands with a painfully eager, people-pleasing smile. But even then, the live-stream chat was going rabid: "Carter is so pitiful. He actually has to shoot a show with the guy who stole his spot." "Seeing Hayes' fake, pretentious face makes me sick." "Carter is too nice for initiating the greeting. Hayes has zero social awareness." "If it wasn't for his face, Hayes would have nothing on Carter!" I stood to the side, staring blankly at Carter until he flashed me a friendly smile. "You must be Hayes' sister, right? I'm Carter Vance, and this is my little sister, Riley. She won the National Youth Dance Championship last year." Right on cue, Riley smugly lifted her chin and looked at me with disdain. "Oh, Hayes actually has a sister?" Carter chimed in softly, "Hayes doesn't like mentioning his family in public. It's normal you didn't know." Riley's sneer deepened. "Makes sense. For someone who debuted purely on his looks, his family probably isn't very presentable anyway." 03 The Vance siblings were coming out swinging from second one. I didn't know if the producers put them up to it, but the chat was eating it up. "True, I've never found any background info on Hayes online." "Some influencers analyzed that his family must be poor, otherwise he wouldn't have used the 'pity card' to debut and make a quick buck." My brows furrowed slightly. Seeing this, Hayes quickly grabbed my hand. "Sis, endure it. Please. Fan outrage is terrifying." While we waited for the other guests, Carter and Riley rattled off like a machine gun. "The Youth Dance Championship—do you even know what that is? Ah, I forgot you probably never studied dance. You definitely wouldn't know." "Winning a national title is okay, I guess, but my real goal is to win an international competition within five years." The chat showered them with praise: "Expected nothing less from Carter. Even his sister is outstanding." "A dance champion! Compared to a certain someone who debuted high and knows nothing, the irony is thick." "His sister isn't even saying anything. Guess that whole family is just empty pretty faces." As Riley got more and more carried away, I suddenly turned to my brother. "Go get me a bottle of water." Hayes nodded obediently and trotted off to find a staff member. Watching him disappear, I finally turned my deadpan gaze back to them. "Carter? Your sister is a dance champion, but what about you? What titles or honors do you have?" I looked at the mocking man, pulled out my phone, and opened a search bar. "All the info I can find on you online is that you placed twelfth on a reality show. If you had any actual achievements, considering how much you love showing off, the PR articles would be flying everywhere by now, wouldn't they?" Carter: "..." I turned to Riley. "National Dance Champion? Which competition? Which category? What scale? As far as I know, there are no less than twenty youth dance competitions in the US every year, and a dozen of them are worth even less than your brother's twelfth-place finish." Riley: "..." 04 Their faces turned from red to a very ugly shade of green. I calmly looked away. Sigh. I should hold back a little. No need to bully the kids too hard. I was ready to call a truce, but they weren't letting it go. Riley's eyes widened in defiance. "My brother is just low-key! Everyone knows he was better than Hayes on Idol Maker!" "Oh." She choked, then took a deep breath. "Last year, I won the Dance Revolution championship. That's a hell of a lot better than you and your talentless brother." Dance Revolution. The name rang a bell. My nine-year-old niece had won it three years in a row. But last year, she thought the judging system was flawed and rejected the organizers' invitation to return. Listening to Riley's arrogance, I frowned. With the drone hovering above and the crew standing nearby, I walked over, pointed at Riley, and asked the staff, "She's making personal attacks. Does production not care?" The crew member made a hand gesture. "This is a live broadcast. The directors can't interfere during filming." I had an epiphany. "So, you don't care about insults?" "According to the rules, we can't step in." "Understood." My simple questions sparked massive outrage in the chat. "What is she doing? Tattling? Is she in elementary school? Disgusting!" "Exactly like Hayes!" "I admit Riley is a bit arrogant, but at least she has talent. Does this woman only know how to run to the teachers?" "Production obviously wants drama. Tattling is useless. She looks like a clown." "She only knows how to play these pathetic tricks behind people's backs. Riley is much more straightforward." 05 By the time I returned to the group, two more sets of guests had arrived. Riley was still dramatically recounting her glorious competition days. I listened for a moment, then spoke up. "Dance Revolution, huh? That rings a bell." Everyone instinctively looked at me. Riley's smile stiffened, but she raised an eyebrow smugly. "I'm impressive, aren't I?" I smiled faintly. "They invited me, but I didn't go." "Why?" "Because I was overseas at the Golden Swan International Cup." She was completely playing into my hands. Her eyes went wide in disbelief. "What place did you get?" The Golden Swan International Cup was one of the most prestigious, heavyweight dance competitions in the world. The chat went wild: "She's bluffing, right? Does she even know how big the Golden Swan is?" "The competitors are the elites from every country. If she's that good, how could Hayes be so untalented?" I raised my eyes and, under everyone's expectant gazes, said completely deadpan: "Oh, I was a judge." Riley: "..." The silence lasted for a full ten seconds. Then Riley shrieked, "You're lying! You're only in your early twenties! That's impossible!" I tilted my head. "The Golden Swan is divided into twelve regional tracks. I was just a judge for one of them, not the grand finals." Remembering something, I looked over at Carter, who was staring blankly. I let out a dry laugh. "Twelve tracks. That's so funny. Just like your ranking." Carter: "..." Riley was practically jumping in anger. "Impossible! You're definitely lying." I looked at her like she was an idiot. "The judges' roster is public online. Oh, right—my name is Blair Sterling." 06 At first, the audience reacted just like Riley—complete disbelief, fiercely accusing me of bragging. That was until someone posted a screenshot of the official judges' roster from the Golden Swan website. In the screenshot, under the five judges for the sixth track, the name "Blair Sterling" was unmistakably there. "Holy shit, Blair Sterling really is a judge." "My god, just competing is incredible, but she's actually a judge?! How good is she?!" "She might be awesome, but Hayes still has zero talent. The fact that he stole Carter's spot remains. His sister's talent doesn't change that." "Exactly, don't get it twisted. Even if Blair is a god, Hayes should still get out of the entertainment industry." "Am I the only one who thinks Blair's comebacks are brutal? Lmao, look at Carter's face, he looks sick." "..." The conversation ended when Hayes ran back happily with a bottle of water and handed it to me. I took it naturally and opened it. "What took you so long?" "They were short-handed setting up the venue, so I helped out a bit." "Oh. Well, everyone's here. Let's go." Hearing that, Hayes finally looked up and smiled at the others. Then, he shuffled closer to me and asked, thinking he was whispering, "Sis, why does the vibe feel so weird? What did you guys talk about while I was gone?" Carter and Riley's venomous glares immediately locked onto me. I stayed completely composed and tilted my head. "Huh? Weird vibe? Not at all, we're getting along fabulously."
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