Don't Call Me Brother Ye. It Makes Me Sick!

"If you don't complete the task, you don't get lunch? Is this some kind of abuse?" Xie Jinran utterly failed to understand the rules the production team had set and questioned them, "Xie Ran has a stomach condition. What if he gets sick from hunger?"

Director Li had no idea where his righteous indignation was coming from and was utterly speechless. "You're asking me what to do? I want to ask you the same thing! If you treasure him so much, why did you come on a variety show? Just quit already, okay?!"

As a world-class musician, Xie Jinran had never been snapped at like this before, let alone in front of a live camera.

At that moment, he understood even better why his father and eldest brother had sent him onto this variety show.

This production team was clearly targeting them!

If no one protected Xie Ran and he continued filming alone,

who knew how badly they would torment him!

Seeing that neither man was willing to back down, Xie Ran blinked and walked over. "Third Brother, it's fine if we don't eat. I'm not hungry anyway. I've gotten used to going hungry over the years, so my stomach has become very small."

"How can that be?!" Xie Jinran pulled Xie Ran into his arms, heartbroken. "You haven't eaten since last night. If this keeps up..."

Director Li truly couldn't stand the two of them being so sickeningly clingy anymore. He could not even be bothered with his usual suspense and said directly, "If you want to eat, go help the farmers with their work. Once you finish, you can eat. But your ingredients will be different from those of the other guests, so prepare yourselves mentally."

With that, he turned and left, heading straight into the monitoring room.

Before the door had fully shut, he opened his mouth to grumble, "A big forest has all kinds of birds..."

His voice was neither loud nor soft, just enough for everyone outside to hear.

Xie Jinran's face flushed red with anger. He still wanted to argue, but Xie Ran grabbed him. "Third Brother, let's just endure it."

"You're just too considerate!" Xie Jinran sighed.

The remedial task was not actually difficult. They simply had to feed the pigs.

When the staff led the overly affectionate duo to the pigsty, Xie Jinran turned to leave. "I can't do this! It's too disgusting!"

The pigsty smelled terrible, and the pig feed was made by villagers mixing leftover dishes and scraps together. If someone had never done farm work, it really was hard to accept.

Xie Ran looked over, an uncontrollable look of disgust appearing on his face, but he forced himself to stay where he was.

A staff member stopped Xie Jinran. "If you fail the remedial task, you won't even get a simple meal."

"Why the hell not?!" Xie Jinran had lost all the grace he had shown upon arrival, his features twisting as he roared.

The comments began flooding in.

[Did these brothers come here to join a variety show? They won't do this or that, and only want to eat for free?!]

[It really is hilarious. I thought the guest stars would serve as a contrast to the villains, but instead we got to watch these two put on a performance.]

[Isn't it just feeding pigs? Since they came to film in the countryside, they should have been mentally prepared to do farm work. In a place with barely any modern development, what kind of glamorous task were they expecting?!]

The paid commenters hired by the Xie Family were also watching the show, racking their brains for something to post.

The main problem was that the two of them had performed so badly that there was nothing they could spin!

There was simply nowhere to start!

Finally, one especially clever paid commenter steered the conversation in a new direction.

[There's a script, right?! The pianist I remember was refined and gentle. He's never been this unreasonable!]

[I agree with the comment above. This is definitely a script provided by the production team! Who are they trying to promote?! Could it be Xie Chen?!]

[Hard to say. Xie Chen has already given up completely and started making fun of himself!]

[...]

Watching the discussion go more and more off track, the paid commenter smacked his forehead. Heh, I'm such a clever little genius!

In the end, under the tyranny of the rules and out of concern for his younger brother, Xie Jinran chose to humble himself and pick up the bucket of pig feed to feed the pigs.

His custom-made suit and gleaming leather shoes formed a stark contrast with the snorting, white mass of pigs in front of him. Netizens frantically took screenshots and sent them soaring onto the trending list.

The guesthouse cafeteria.

Xie Chen picked up a piece of preserved vegetable braised pork with his chopsticks and put it into his mouth, a blissful smile of being healed by delicious food on his face. Just as he was about to pick up another piece, he caught sight of two figures entering from the corner of his eye.

What bad luck, he thought, turning his body toward the other side.

Xie Jinran noticed the small gesture, and a faint anger rose in his heart. Then, under the staff's guidance, he walked to the table where food had been prepared in advance, and his expression darkened even further.

Watery tofu soup paired with two bowls of rice, without even a speck of meat. How was anyone supposed to swallow that?!

Then he looked at the table on the other side. There were vegetables, eggs, and meat, and even several kinds of staple food. The difference in treatment was far too obvious, wasn't it?!

Although they had not completed the task, they were guest stars. How could they be treated the same as these villains sent here to be reformed?!

The director's brain had clearly been kicked by a donkey.

Beside him, Xie Ran also hesitated and refused to sit down.

Though Xie Chen had his back to him, Xie Ran had already imagined the smug, triumphant look on his face. Malice rose within him as he opened his mouth. "Third Brother, maybe we shouldn't eat. I'm not hungry yet."

Xie Jinran turned and saw Xie Ran's reddened eyes, immediately feeling heartbroken again. "It doesn't suit your taste? Wait here!"

He strode toward Xie Chen and ordered coldly, "Get up. Give your seat to Xie Ran!"

Xie Chen could identify that arrogant, conceited tone without even thinking. He slowly turned around, a sneer tugging at his lips. "What did you say?"

"Xie Ran isn't used to the food over there. Switch with him." Xie Jinran emphasized it again, as though such behavior were only natural.

"Where's your shame? If you lost it, go find it. Don't come here looking for attention!" Xie Chen did not want to spoil his mood or affect his appetite, so he turned away and waved a hand. "Get lost already. Keep yapping, and I'll beat you up!"

Xie Jinran had not expected his once-obedient adopted younger brother to act like this. He was furious on the spot and, without thinking, raised his hand and slapped at him.

Unexpectedly, his wrist was tightly seized the next second, and a powerful force slammed him to the ground.

He turned his head in a fury, opening his mouth to curse, only to see an icy, handsome face. "H-Huo Wenye?!"

"Why are you..."

Huo Wenye looked down at him, his cool, indifferent lips slowly parting. "Do you think this is the Xie Family, where you can throw your weight around however you want? Eat if you want to. If you don't, get out!"

Xie Chen, who had turned around to watch the spectacle, stuffed meat into his mouth while nodding in agreement. With his words muffled by food, he said, "Exactly. If you're worried your biological little brother won't eat well, then go do the task. What kind of nonsense is stealing someone else's food?!"

"Useless trash!"

"You—" Xie Jinran nearly fainted from rage.

Xie Ran rushed over at exactly the right moment, his face full of guilt as he helped Xie Jinran up. "Third Brother, are you okay? It's all my fault. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have gotten into a conflict with Brother Ye..."

Before he could finish his cloying words, a voice as sharp as an ice spike crashed down on him. "I'm not familiar with you. Don't call me Brother Ye."

"It makes me sick!"

Xie Ran's face instantly turned deathly pale.