Entanglement and Unease

Qi Si lay on the bed for a long time, his mind completely blank.

After a while, he sighed and rolled over.

"Ugh!"

He had not even drunk last night, so how had he gotten carried away and said he wanted to join some variety show?

More importantly, how had Qi Wang agreed to it?!

Although only the two brothers, Qi Si and Qi Wang, remained in the Qi family now, they were still a wealthy Aristocratic Clan.

Qi Wang had actually agreed to let his younger brother participate in a variety show?

Was that reasonable?

It was very reasonable.

Qi Si closed his eyes and once again hated the original owner's talent for courting death.

It was precisely because the original owner was so good at courting death, coupled with the fact that Qi Wang was an extreme little-brother fanatic.

So long as Qi Wang could afford whatever his younger brother wanted, he would satisfy Qi Si.

As a result, Qi Si had merely blurted out that he wanted to join that variety show, and Qi Wang had truly secured him a spot.

Now that he had woken up after a night's sleep, Qi Si deeply regretted it.

He wondered whether Qi Wang would hit him if he went to tell him now that he did not want to join that variety show and had just been talking big.

Qi Si got up rather late today. At this hour, Qi Wang would usually have already gone to the company.

To his surprise, when he went downstairs, he saw that Qi Wang was still home, leisurely eating breakfast at the dining table.

Qi Si froze for a moment before asking in surprise, "Brother? Why are you home?"

Qi Wang looked up at Qi Si. "What is wrong with me being home?"

"Don't you need to go to the company today?" Qi Si asked.

"Mm. I'm taking you to meet someone this afternoon."

"Meet who?"

"Eat first." Qi Wang did not answer Qi Si's question.

Only after Qi Si sat down did Qi Wang continue, "The variety show matter has been settled. Since you want to go, go have some fun. Don't put any pressure on yourself."

"Pfft—cough, cough, cough..." Qi Si choked on a mouthful of porridge and coughed violently.

Qi Wang was startled and hurriedly reached out to pat his back.

"You're already this grown up. How can you choke just from drinking porridge?"

Qi Si felt terribly wronged!

Was it not because Qi Wang had suddenly brought up the variety show? Before coming downstairs, he had still been thinking of finding a chance to tell Qi Wang that he was not going to participate.

Who would have thought Qi Wang would move so quickly? Qi Si had not even had time to stop him!

Qi Si finally managed to stop coughing, a teardrop hanging at the corner of his eye.

Qi Wang frowned and handed him some milk. "Have some milk to settle it."

Qi Si took it and drank a mouthful, soothing his throat.

After setting down the cup, Qi Si looked at Qi Wang and asked, "Brother, you settled it that quickly?"

"What?"

"That variety show!"

"It was just a phone call. You got so excited over that that you choked on porridge?" Qi Wang frowned at Qi Si disapprovingly.

Qi Si gave an awkward smile, inwardly on the verge of tears.

How was he excited?

He had been frightened!

"I was just surprised. I thought the process for something like this would not be so simple."

"It really isn't that simple, which is why I'm taking you to meet the program's chief director this afternoon."

Qi Si stared at Qi Wang in surprise. "Meet the chief director?"

"Mm. The director owes me a favor. Although he agreed to let you join, there are still some details that need to be discussed in person."

Qi Si looked at Qi Wang, hesitating to speak.

Qi Wang looked at him. "Say whatever you want to say."

"Um... Brother, you used one of the director's favors on me just like that. Isn't that too wasteful?" Qi Si asked cautiously.

Qi Wang truly was Qi Si's biological brother. One look at Qi Si's expression told him exactly what this brat was thinking.

"If you dare say now that you don't want to go after all..."

"No, no, no! How could that be? I want to go!" Qi Si hurriedly cut him off.

Qi Si felt that if he said he did not want to go, his brother—who appeared to prioritize his younger brother's wishes in everything—might break his principles today and give him a lesson in brotherly love.

"I can also help you turn it down." Only after Qi Si stated his position did Qi Wang slowly add.

Qi Si: "..." He had every reason to suspect that his brother was doing this on purpose, and he had evidence.

Seeing Qi Si's aggrieved expression, Qi Wang could not hold back his laughter.

Watching Qi Wang laugh so happily, Qi Si became even more certain that his brother was teasing him.

With his younger brother looking at him so resentfully, Qi Wang did not dare take it too far.

"All right, I won't laugh anymore. I mean it. If you truly don't want to go, your brother won't force you. You know that."

"I know. It's just..." Qi Si scratched his head, unsure how to explain himself.

"Forget it. I've just never participated in this kind of variety show before, so I'm a little at a loss."

That was a lie.

But Qi Wang believed him.

"It's all right. Don't be nervous. You're only going there to have fun; you won't be making a living from this in the future. Don't put pressure on yourself. Your brother is here for everything."

"Mm, thank you, Brother."

"Why are you being so polite? You're my younger brother. It's only right for me to do anything for you." Qi Wang raised a hand and gently ruffled Qi Si's hair.

For the first time in his life, Qi Si experienced what it felt like to be cherished by someone without reservation.

His eyes grew slightly moist.

But at the same time, another voice sounded in his heart.

You aren't really Qi Si. He treats you well only because he doesn't know his younger brother has already been replaced!

Once Qi Wang learns that his real younger brother died long ago and that the person before him is only an impostor, do you think he will still treat you this well? You'll be lucky if he doesn't make you pay with your life for his real younger brother!

The more Qi Si thought about it, the worse he felt.

The plain porridge in his mouth had already been tasteless, but now it carried an extra hint of bitterness.

Qi Si suddenly found breakfast difficult to swallow.

After breakfast, Qi Si went back upstairs to his room.

He suddenly did not know how to face Qi Wang.

He wanted to tell Qi Wang the truth, but he was afraid Qi Wang would not be able to bear it.

When reading the book, Qi Si had noticed that Qi Wang seemed to treat his younger brother as the energy source that kept him alive.

Not motivation, but an energy source.

Like how people needed air.

From the contents of the book, the Qi Si in the story was like the "air" Qi Wang relied upon to survive.

Qi Si did not know whether this was due to the book's setting. The Qi Wang in the book was confined within the framework of his so-called "character setting," unable to deviate from it in the slightest.

Qi Wang was indeed obsessed with his younger brother, but judging from the setting in the book, Qi Wang's fixation on Qi Si had long surpassed the scope of mere brother obsession.

The Qi Wang in the book was more like an all-purpose robot by Qi Si's side. Whatever Qi Si needed, Qi Wang gave him.

He had no thoughts of his own at all.

Qi Si was not sure whether the current Qi Wang had yet broken free of the original story's setting. If he told Qi Wang that the original Qi Si was already dead, would Qi Wang directly "collapse"?

That was not an outcome Qi Si wanted to see either.

The current Qi Si was a little greedy. He wanted this kind of familial love, yet he did not want to live in deception.

Qi Si lay on the bed and stared blankly at the ceiling for a long time, unable to think of a good solution.

In the end, he realized that participating in the variety show might be good too—it would let him leave Qi Wang for a while.

Perhaps if they were apart for longer, Qi Wang would realize that his life did not contain only his younger brother, and that he could have a brilliant life of his own.

"Maybe I could get Qi Wang to fall in love?" Qi Si stroked his chin thoughtfully.

Perhaps once Qi Wang had a lover of his own, he would no longer place all his energy and emotional reliance on his younger brother.