Ruining Brother Ye's Big Moment—Will He Still Let Me Off?!

"Since you're all full, forget it." Huo Wenye's expression remained blank, but when he turned, his eyes were unusually bright. "You still look hungry. Eat with me."

Xie Chen, "..."

Which eye of yours says I'm still hungry?!

Oh, was it because I was too eager when grabbing meat earlier?!

How about we rewind and let me do that part over?!

Xie Ran was still sniffling outside the restaurant when he saw the production crew carrying dish after dish inside. He asked in confusion, "What's this?"

"Brother Ye is treating everyone to dinner," a staff member replied absentmindedly. "Director Li approved it."

The moment Xie Jinran heard that, he grew even angrier and turned to rush back inside, but Xie Ran grabbed his sleeve. "Third Brother, I don't want to keep escalating the conflict."

Xie Jinran calmed down.

That was right.

He had joined the variety show to help Xie Ran win over the other guests, not to end up isolated like this.

Something that should have been so simple—why had it become so complicated?!

Seeing Xie Jinran remain silent, Xie Ran looked even more aggrieved. "Third Brother, I really don't know what I did wrong to make everyone hate me so much. Is it because I took Brother Xie Chen's place? If so, I can give it back to him!"

"Don't say that." Xie Jinran's heart ached whenever he saw Xie Ran looking so pitiful. "The Xie Family's young master was supposed to be you. There's no question about it. If you hadn't been abducted back then, why would we have adopted Xie Chen?"

Exactly!

Xie Chen had stolen everything from Xie Ran, yet he still acted like the victim.

A person like that wasn't worth pitying at all!

"But..." Xie Ran raised his face, tears sliding from the corners of his eyes. "Brother Wenye seems hostile toward me."

At that, Xie Jinran's expression darkened. "I don't know why Huo Wenye has been acting so strangely either."

They clearly had some history together, yet Huo Wenye kept tearing all pretenses apart.

Could it really be because of Xie Chen? Did he want to stand up for him?

That made no sense.

The two of them had never crossed paths before!

"Third Brother, those photos..." Xie Ran trailed off, looking reluctant.

Xie Jinran immediately understood what he meant. "Big Brother knows what he's doing. He'll probably release them at the right time."

Xie Ran said, "Actually, I don't want to..."

"I know you're kind." Xie Jinran patted Xie Ran's shoulder and pulled him into his arms. "But what Xie Chen has done has already pushed the Xie Family beyond its limit. If we don't act now, he'll probably climb right up to the heavens!"

The two brothers were being sickeningly clingy in the courtyard, and even the cameraman couldn't be bothered filming them.

He headed straight back into the restaurant to look for a chance to mooch a meal.

Come on!

Brother Ye was paying!

He had heard it was the best restaurant in town, with incredibly authentic farmhouse cuisine!

Who wanted to stay outside filming these two?!

By then, the surroundings had quieted down, and Xie Jinran and Xie Ran finally noticed the rowdy voices coming from somewhere nearby.

The two turned their heads at the same time, their expressions instantly turning ugly.

"If you're a man, down three in a row! Can Li Sifan even handle it?!"

"Why wouldn't I?! You think I'm scared of you? I'll prove what I can handle tonight!"

"Where's Xie Chen? Weren't you talking big?! Come on, come on! Let's see how I drink you under the table today!"

"Hehehe, I'm so scared. How about we switch to baijiu?!"

"No, no, my alcohol tolerance is terrible. Jingfei, spare my life!"

"I haven't even admitted defeat yet, and you're already saying you can't do it?!"

Comments, [...]

[The vibe changed a little too suddenly, didn't it?! Weren't they all acting shy just now, saying they were full and planning to go back to sleep?!]

[Has it even been ten minutes? They seem like completely different people now?! Especially Luo Mingyu—he's totally back on home turf, looking like a little nightclub prince!]

[I'd like to interview Brother Ye, who's sitting primly amid all the boo-hoo nonsense. How does he stay so calm?!]

[More than calm?! I can see a faintly indulgent smile at the corner of Brother Ye's mouth. Who's it for?! It can't be Xie Chen again, can it?!]

[So annoying! Can you all stop dragging my Brother Ye into everything?! Is Xie Chen even worthy?!]

[He's just some obscure nobody! Our Brother Ye is only being polite because he's too kind!]

[Then why isn't he polite to Xie Ran?! Someone explain that!]

Director Li, sitting behind the monitors, had taken advantage of the chaos to drink a couple of glasses too. Looking at the comments on the screen, he slurred, "Forget the netizens suspecting something between Xie Chen and Huo Wenye—even I think something's off!"

He turned to his assistant, eyes unfocused. "Xie Chen is good-looking, I'll admit he's the visual of the group, but judging people by their looks is a little..."

"Director Li," the assistant said quietly, "why do I think Xie Chen is pretty outstanding?"

"Outstanding my ass!" Director Li spat. "He... he... he's hot-tempered, uncivilized, argues with everyone he sees, and even ruins the variety show rules!"

"But Xie Chen helped the village solve its water problem," the assistant cut in, raising his voice.

Director Li glared at him. "You've learned to talk back too now?!"

"Is it really that hard to admit someone else is outstanding?!" The assistant looked dissatisfied.

"You've had too much to drink, haven't you?!"

Director Li stood up and made to kick him, but the assistant darted far away in an instant.

The guesthouse cafeteria stayed lively until quite late.

No one knew who suggested playing Truth or Dare.

They made Luo Mingyu and Li Sifan kiss.

The two were so drunk that they actually obediently hugged each other. But the instant their lips touched, they sobered right up and both bent over to spit at the floor. "Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey, ptooey!"

"That's disgusting!"

"I can't drink this anymore. I'm going back to sleep!"

Xie Chen glanced over and saw that both Luo Mingyu and Li Sifan had an unnatural flush on their faces. He couldn't tell whether it was the alcohol or whether they had really been disgusted.

"Let's call it a night. There's still a task tomorrow." He stood, preparing to pretend he was drunk and stumble back to the dormitory.

Then a warm palm covered his wrist, and it felt as though faint currents of electricity passed through him.

"Wait." A low, magnetic voice sounded at the same time.

Xie Chen stiffened all over. After half a second, he lowered his gaze. "What?"

Huo Wenye lifted his face. "Stay with me for a while."

After a pause, he muttered, "You left too early last time."

"What?!" Xie Chen hadn't heard him clearly, but he had a feeling the second half of that sentence was extremely important.

Huo Wenye's expression became increasingly unreadable. He pressed his lips together, and as his Adam's apple bobbed, he was just about to speak—

But someone interrupted from beside them. "Brother Ye, Director Li asked me to tell you that filming starts again tomorrow morning..."

Huo Wenye looked back, a chill spreading across his incomparably handsome face.

The staff member was terrified, his face on the verge of tears.

I said I didn't want to come, but you guys insisted I come. Now look what happened?!

I ruined Brother Ye's big moment—will he still let me off?!

My career is over!

While he anxiously cursed to himself, Huo Wenye stood up. At nearly six foot three, he loomed like Mount Tai bearing down on them.

"Go home."

The moment he spoke, Xie Chen and the staff member bolted, and in the blink of an eye, only one person remained in the restaurant.

The tall figure slowly walked to the window. His hawk-like gaze fell into the darkness, locking firmly onto that glimmer of light. His pale lips drew close to the phone's receiver as his low voice drifted out.

"I know what I'm doing."

"I just don't want to scare him..."