Sure enough, my place in Brother's heart had already fallen below Qingqing's

Bang!

The two girls jumped in fright. "What happened?"

Beep! Beep! Beep!

[Red Team's Yang Tian was hit in a vital spot and eliminated!]

[Blue Team's Xia Yu eliminated Red Team's Yang Tian!]

"Holy shit!" Qi Ning had returned just in time to witness the scene and froze in shock.

[Holy shit! My husband is so handsome!!!]

[What happened with Xia Yu? How did he spot him?]

[I'm dead. I'll be Xia Yu's ghost for the rest of my life! That look just now, kill me!!!]

[Did the Production Team give Xia Yu cheats? This is ridiculous. Can you be fairer?]

Yang Tian emerged from the bushes. Red paint had exploded over the spot where his heart had been hit, and his face was full of grievance. "How could you see me? Did you put a tracker on me?"

Xia Yu lowered his gun and smiled faintly. "Sorry, I just fired randomly."

"Xia Yu! You're so cool!" Xueli was completely fangirling over him, staring at him with sparkling eyes. "That was amazing!!!"

The bodyguards quickly came out and took Yang Tian away, removing his equipment, including a walkie-talkie.

Qi Ning snapped out of his shock and sprinted to Xia Yu's side. "Bro, bro, bro, how did you do that?!"

The four of them surrounded him, firing questions at him all at once.

"You saw him?"

"Or did you hear him?"

"It was so dark, yet you hit him right in the heart. Your aim is insanely accurate! Were you in the special forces before?"

Xia Yu felt as if a swarm of flies was buzzing around his ears. He could not help frowning. "I sensed something moving over there and fired a random shot. I got lucky."

Qi Ning clung to his arm. "I don't believe you!"

"..."

[I don't believe it either! That sharp look in his eyes, firing without hesitation—he clearly knew someone was there!]

[It's confirmed. Xia Yu is the real hidden boss. When he sniped Chu Lan in the heart before, he definitely wasn't missing his aim!]

[He just couldn't stand Chu Lan giving water to Xia Wanqing! He definitely likes Chu Lan! He was jealous! Lan-Yu forever! Childhood sweethearts are the sweetest!]

[Some boy-group member's fan is here shitting again. Can your precious brother not live without men? Every man likes your brother and fights over him? Is your brother a dumpling? Keep dragging my husband into CP bait for your brother, and I'll show you what someone even crazier than the Seven Fairies looks like!]

The Red Team members lying in wait at No. 4 Base were also in disbelief when they heard the broadcast announcing their teammate's elimination.

"Brother Tian got eliminated?!" Chen Hongyi's eyes widened. "Didn't we send him to secretly observe the Blue Team's movements? He didn't even get a single message through before getting killed? And Xia Yu killed him?"

"Did the Production Team give the Blue Team cheats?" Xiang Ziqi blurted out. "Brother Tian has always been calm and steady, and it's nighttime. He definitely wouldn't expose himself so easily, so how did he get eliminated? Xia Yu even hit him in a vital spot. Could the Production Team have given him a hint? Maybe they think we're too strong and are afraid the viewers will say..."

"Brother Ziqi!" Xia Wanqing hurriedly cut him off. "Don't make wild guesses. Maybe Brother Tian was careless and got spotted."

A faint anger had already appeared in Chu Lan's eyes as he looked at him, but he did not say anything because of the cameras.

[I agree with Ziqi. The Production Team definitely gave the Blue Team cheats!]

[The Blue Team can't handle losing, their fans can't handle losing, and the Production Team can't handle losing either. Unbelievable. They're even making AC take the blame.]

[I've been watching Brother Tian's camera the whole time. He absolutely didn't make any major noise, yet he still got discovered. If that's not cheating, what is? Did Xia Yu really serve in the special forces? Then how did Qingqing kill him once?]

[I knew you idiots who stick together would come here and spread rumors. You get an advantage and still act innocent. So the Blue Team isn't allowed to kill even one of you, and can only let your precious brothers wipe them out?]

[Everyone can see which side this shitty Production Team favors. They put all your precious brothers on one team and invited an award-winning actor and actress to build hype for your trash group. Go laugh in secret. You're still barking about unfairness? Pah, disgusting!]

"Bro, how should we arrange our strategy next?" That shot had been far too cool. Qi Ning was now overflowing with confidence in his brother. "With you here, we'll definitely win."

Xueli nodded furiously. "Right! You'll definitely lead us to victory!"

"..."

Xia Yu only wanted to find a way to earn points now. He did not care much about who won this match.

"Bro, say something! We'll all follow your orders."

He was getting annoyed by their pestering. "What is there to arrange? We'll charge straight over, finish this, and go home."

"Uh..." Qi Ning scratched his head. At first, when he thought they had no chance of winning, that had been his plan too. But now there was a turning point. They did not need to be so rash anymore; they could play it safe and still win.

Xia Yu picked up the walkie-talkie Yang Tian had left behind and called out to the Red Team. "Brother, can you hear me?"

Chu Lan replied quickly. "What is it?"

"Sorry, I accidentally eliminated your teammate. Brother won't blame me, will you?"

"..." Someone else might have stumbled onto a dead rat by chance, but not him. What was he pretending for?

"Brother really is blaming me."

"...It's a team battle. There's nothing to blame or not blame."

"Then I'll give Brother a chance to get revenge."

"What are you trying to do?"

"Since the Revival Cards are useless now, let's stop hiding. It's uncomfortable staying in the mountains. Even if Brother doesn't feel sorry for me, you should at least feel sorry for Qingqing."

"..." He really wanted to curse. Xia Yu, has your condition gotten worse again?

"Does Brother care more about me, or Qingqing?"

It was not just Chu Lan who was speechless. All four teammates were looking at him strangely.

Qi Ning shuddered, rubbing the goosebumps on his arms. "Can you stop calling him Brother all the time? What kind of brother is he to you?"

Xia Yu glanced at him. "He's my childhood sweetheart brother."

Qi Ning instantly put on a pained expression. "Oh, stop saying that creepy stuff and get to the point!"

"Brother."

"If you have something to say, hurry up."

"We'll head to No. 4 Base soon. Let's end the game tonight and go home."

"Are you sure?"

"Mm. Brother, can you go easy on me?"

"..."

"Yesterday, you and Qingqing were in cahoots and killed me. I was locked in the Black Room all night. I was really upset. Isn't Brother going to comfort me?"

Alarm bells went off in Chu Lan's mind. "What do you want?"

Xia Yu chuckled softly. "You helped Qingqing kill me once. No matter what, you should help me kill him once in return."

He looked up at Xia Wanqing, who had lowered his head in disappointment upon hearing that, and frowned. "I can let you kill me."

"Hehehe, Brother can't bear to do it. Sure enough, my place in Brother's heart has already fallen below Qingqing's."

"Xia Yu, this is a game. I'm on the Red Team now."

"When Brother was on the Blue Team, didn't you help the Red Team kill me too? Tell me, did you see Qingqing beforehand? Did you deliberately hold down the gun so I couldn't pull it out?"

Chu Lan pressed his lips together and remained silent.

Xia Yu's tone softened slightly. "I'm asking you a question. Are you deaf, or do you not dare admit it?"

"Sorry..."

"I knew it!" Qi Ning exploded. "He really colluded with Xia Wanqing to kill his teammate! You pack of dogs who stick together! Adulterous pair!"

[For fuck's sake! I thought Chu Lan was going to pull out his gun and shoot Xia Wanqing, and Xia Yu happened to reach for it at the same time. So he was actually holding the gun down to stop Xia Yu from drawing it.]

[Judging from Xia Yu's shot at Yang Tian just now, if Chu Lan hadn't stopped him yesterday, Xia Wanqing would definitely have been the one to die.]

[That shot Xia Yu fired at him on the first day was definitely because he'd guessed Chu Lan would betray the Blue Team for Xia Wanqing. Saying he missed was just saving him face. The fans still had the nerve to keep cursing Xia Yu over it. Hehehe, traitors, cliquey dogs, and CP-baiting men deserve to be shot full of holes!]

[Didn't Xia Yu and Qi Ning team up from the beginning too? So ridiculous. You only keep attacking Chu Lan and Xia Wanqing. Sure enough, popular people attract trouble.]

[Hahaha, compared to that, Chu Lan and Xia Wanqing look even lower. Those two only worked together to avoid getting killed by cliquey dogs and being unable to revive. They didn't collude to kill their own teammate. Xia Yu took Qi Ning's Revival Card and didn't even use it on himself or his teammate.]

[I like Xia Yu's aggressive personality. He should rip off these two people's masks and leave their filthy thoughts nowhere to hide! There aren't many people in the entertainment industry who dare speak like this anymore. I'm a fan now. He's my husband now!]

[Don't steal my husband, thanks!]

Chu Lan's solo fans were furious. Their idol had admitted it himself, so there was no way to defend him. They turned their fire on Xia Wanqing instead, storming into the Qing-Chu Couple supertopic and cursing the CP fans who were still shipping them to high heaven.

The normally harmonious fans of all three sides began tearing into each other. The solo fans, who had fallen behind because of Chu Lan's actions, were especially enraged. They called for the company to disband AC Boy Group immediately, refused to let Chu Lan be tied down and exploited by his teammates, and demanded that he go solo. Group fans then joined the fray as well. For a time, the fight became utterly chaotic, while Yellow Springs Passerby watched the drama with great delight.