The conflict suddenly shifted to Xie Chen's side, and the hater trolls guarding the livestream room instantly became active. Their fingers hammered furiously on their keyboards as bullet comments flashed by in a blur,
[That's right, it was Xie Chen who slandered Brother Ye! Is he crazy to get famous? He actually tried to rub shoulders with Brother Ye?!]
[My Brother Ye has never had any interaction with such a washed-up, obscure nobody. He can just talk nonsense with an open mouth—isn't the cost of spreading rumors way too low?!]
[Look! This is the power of rumors. They clearly only said there was an issue with the anal region, and by the time it reached Wei Mingqi, it became an anal fistula?! How hateful must the instigator be?!]
[Is Brother Ye here to participate in the filming? The gossip dropped by the fandom circle yesterday was actually pretty accurate! Did Brother Ye really become an observer for Transform, Freaks?!]
[Doesn't this give Xie Chen an opening?! In case he starts pulling some weird stunts during the filming?! He might not bite, but he sure is disgusting!]
[Hahahaha, is it only me who thinks Brother Ye came to whip this variety show into shape?! I guess Xie Chen isn't far from death!]
In fact, a minor entertainment gossip blogger had already leaked news last night saying that Huo Wenye not only invested in Transform, Freaks, but also accepted an invitation to serve as the show's observer.
Because this explosive revelation was far too bizarre, almost no one on the internet believed it, so its share count never took off.
After all, Emperor Huo's schedule was tightly packed, and he never participated in variety shows—let alone a small-scale production like this... which looked super low-budget and utterly bizarre at first glance.
As a result, no one expected that Huo in the flesh would actually appear in the livestream room and ask with a straight face, "What is a zero?!"
For a time, the vast majority of netizens ran around spreading the news, forcibly raising the traffic limit to the tens-of-millions level.
Xie Chen, who was sitting cross-legged in front of the livestream camera, was naturally not stupid enough to take the initiative and explain.
That would be like holding up a sign saying "the missing 300 silver coins are not stored here."
Anyway, Huo Wenye had a brain; he should be able to tell clearly whether someone was deliberately stirring up trouble and looking for a fight.
Therefore, Xie Chen curled the corners of his lips indifferently, wearing an arrogant expression that screamed, I'm a villain, so who the hell am I scared of?
Seeing this, Director Li was just about to chime in to retort against Wei Mingqi a few times when his peripheral vision caught sight of the eccentric guests walking into the assembly lobby all at once.
Their swaggering strides were quite impressive.
Those who knew better realized they were here to participate in a show, but those who didn't would have thought they were here to wreck the place!
"Oho, isn't this show way too shabby? They could at least have found a six-star hotel. It really lowers my class!" The venomous Best Actress Li Jingfei spoke in a harsh and acid-tongued tone.
"Not only is the setup low-end, but the person who made the rules is also a moron. They actually had to pick ten o'clock in the morning for assembly—don't they know I always wake up at night?!" This one was the irritable, spoiled scion Luo Mingyu.
After the two of them finished speaking, they cast identical gazes toward the remaining guest.
Their unfriendly expressions seemed to be coercing him into complaining along with them.
As a result, the last one to walk in kept his hands shoved in his pockets without making a sound, nose pointed up toward the ceiling, exuding an intense aura of middle-school syndrome.
Without an introduction, he was the rap singer Li Sifan.
Catching sight of the three abnormal individuals, Director Li felt like his head was splitting into two, but he still suppressed his rising anger and said with a stiff face, "Since everyone has arrived, get on the bus and let's go."
"So late and still talking so much nonsense!"
As soon as he finished muttering, he turned toward Huo Wenye, his attitude abruptly shifting, "Brother Ye, the follow-up contract hasn't been completely signed yet. Why don't you come with me?"
Huo Wenye displayed a slight, imperceptible hesitation in his expression, and then his lips parted as he was about to speak when another soft and weak voice drifted over from the lobby's entranceway.
"I'm sorry, I'm late."
This delicate, white-lotus voice was far too familiar, causing Xie Chen's entire body to stall. He slowly turned his head, and after seeing clearly who it was, the corners of his mouth hooked upward into a playful and vicious arc.
Oh, even the heavens can't stand it and are personally delivering a human head to me so I can vent my anger?!
That's right, the person who arrived was none other than the true young master who had caused Xie Chen's miserable death in his past life—Xie Ran.
His paper-thin figure trotted over, and the moment he stood steady, he delivered a one-hundred-and-eighty-degree bow. "I'm sorry, Director Li. I rushed here non-stop the moment I received the notice, but I still ended up being late."
When he straightened up and raised his face, his cheeks were slightly flushed, and a strand of damp bangs blocked his eyes as he wore an extremely sincere expression.
Upon seeing this, Xie Chen clicked his tongue inwardly, thinking that this acting skill belonged at the Oscars, so why was he bustling about in a variety show?
Yet upon second thought, he felt it was only natural.
Whatever belonged to him, Xie Ran wanted to snatch away; even if he couldn't steal it, he still had to forcefully insert himself into the mix—supposedly as payback for his occupying the magpie's nest...
Faced with this sudden addition of a guest, Director Li was somewhat dazed, and his assistant hurriedly hurried over to explain, "The Xie Family greeted the higher-ups this morning and wanted to arrange for their youngest son to join. The higher-ups agreed..."
Director Li frowned. "Such a mess!"
"There's nothing we can do; Xie Zhenting applies way too much pressure, and the higher-ups couldn't hold out..." The assistant wore a crying face.
Director Li waved his hand. "Whatever. He won't be able to endure this kind of high-intensity variety show anyway, so just wait for him to quit on his own."
With that, he pulled Huo Wenye toward the office.
The atmosphere inside the assembly lobby instantly grew tense with swords drawn and bows bent.
Xie Ran tucked a stray strand of hair behind his ear and politely greeted the other guests,
"Brother Mingqi, hello."
"Sister Jingfei, hello."
"Brother Luo, hello."
"Brother Sifan, hello."
"Brother... Xie Chen, hello."
He intentionally paused his voice, a provocative flash briefly revealing itself within his eyes.
Hearing this, Xie Chen immediately curled his lip and let out a light, disdainful scoff. "Don't call me brother, I can't afford that weight."
"Brother Xie Chen, are you still angry?" Xie Ran blinked his innocent, watery eyes. "I really didn't mean to fight with you for our family, and I also knew I shouldn't have come back, but... blood is thicker than water, after all."
"Why don't you hurry up and shut your mouth? Who the hell cares about fighting you for those trashy dogs in the Xie family?" Xie Chen said coldly. "Putting on a pitiful act for who to see? Everyone in our variety show consists of villains—who are you expecting to sympathize with you?"
"Those low-IQ, brain-damaged types from the Xie family are rare enough as it is!"
The sudden crossfire exploded beside his ear, leaving Xie Ran stunned on the spot for a moment.
Although Xie Chen had also displayed a rebellious streak while at the hospital, he had simply written it off as an emergency reaction after being wronged—after all, how could a person's transformation be so drastic and so fast?!
Perhaps it was just another one of his tricks to catch the Xie family's attention.
Thinking of this, Xie Ran's face flushed red. "You can direct any grievances you have at me! You're not allowed to insult my family like this!"
He glanced toward the livestream camera, thinking, My older brothers must be guarding the screen watching the show, so this will only make Xie Chen even more unlikable.
This variety show was worth the trip!
"At you? What the hell are you?" Xie Chen curled his lip, turned around, and asked the staff member, "Is the bus outside? I'm heading up first. There's a stench of white lotus flowers here—it's suffocating!"
The staff member nodded in a daze. "Ah, ah, okay."
Before his voice had even faded, Xie Chen strode with large, brisk steps toward the outside of the hotel.
The remaining guests had yet to react.
Xie Ran put on a bitter smile and sighed, "Sorry for making a laughingstock of you all. Actually, I..."
Halfway through his sentence, he realized that absolutely no one was paying attention to him, as all the guests' gazes were fixed firmly on Xie Chen's retreating back.
Wei Mingqi: "...Even more out of control than me?"
Li Jingfei: "...Even more venomous than me?"
Luo Mingyu: "...Even more arrogant than me?"
Li Sifan: "...Even more middle-school-syndrome than me?"
Before you continue