The lie had been dragged into the open and flogged over and over. Shen Shuangjian had never imagined that Shen Sixian, who had always preferred to sit aloof and disregard everything, would travel over a thousand kilometers to stand before him over such a transparent lie.
Or, to put it another way, perhaps he had not seen through the lie at all. He had believed it, only to arrive and discover that it had been nothing but a joke.
But Shen Shuangjian still did not understand. He did not understand why, when his brother had already shown his indifference and made his position clear through silence, he would change his mind. Why had he come?
"Brother..."
Shen Shuangjian lowered his eyes, never quite daring to meet Shen Sixian's somewhat dark gaze.
He had never been treated this way. In either his previous life or this one, this was the first time Shen Shuangjian had experienced someone else's questioning, displeasure, and discipline.
Shen Shuangjian did not know how he had been forced into this situation, either. It was as though he had been made into a child who had done something wrong and now faced a scolding after being caught by his older brother.
"Shen Shuangjian."
Shen Sixian finally rose. Standing a few steps away from him, he delivered his final verdict without any regard for the cameras or the other people present.
"Come home with me."
He said those few words with utter ease, but only Shen Sixian himself knew whether his journey from last night until now had been easy.
In truth, he could scarcely remember that instant when Shen Shuangjian had told him he had encountered a bear in the forest.
He had not doubted him at all. All that remained was his tightly strained reason.
The very first second after hanging up, he had drawn on his reason and common sense and told his assistant to contact Donglin City's search and rescue team immediately.
He himself had driven a thousand kilometers, hurrying to Donglin as fast as he could.
A thousand kilometers would take at least eight hours by car, yet he had somehow shaved a full hour off the journey.
At his most irrational, Shen Sixian had even wondered whether, if he was going there only to collect Shen Shuangjian's body, he would have any regrets for the rest of his life.
Over that so-called three-million breach-of-contract penalty, he had let Shen Shuangjian come into these remote mountain forests to film a show, where he might even have encountered a bear.
He had let a coward who did not even dare apply medicine himself after getting hurt-his own younger brother, his flesh and blood-meet an end like that.
Shen Sixian, was this really worth it?
Shen Sixian did not know what he was thinking, either. But he knew he had been an absolute fool. He had not even thought to look up the livestream online, or to call the production team directly and ask whether any of it was true.
All he knew was that he had been halfway there when his assistant called to tell him the search and rescue team had gone up the mountain, only to discover that it was nothing but a misunderstanding, a joke.
In other words, all his reactions and all his decisions had become a game for people to laugh at on camera.
Even so, Shen Sixian had refused to turn back. He did not know what he was being so stubborn about. The thread that had remained taut in his heart seemed unable to settle until he saw Shen Shuangjian safe and sound with his own eyes.
He had refused to let the search and rescue team leave, yet he had not wanted them to disturb the quiet of the night.
And so Shen Sixian had driven for seven hours, arriving before dawn at this protected forest area with no safety to speak of, and had seen this dilapidated two-story building.
A disorderly house, cramped and cheap surroundings.
He had sat in the only tidy corner of the sofa with a dark expression, like a parent waiting to discipline a brat, having already prepared every word of his scolding before the boy appeared.
He should not have let Shen Shuangjian off so easily. Yet now that the moment had actually come, seeing Shen Shuangjian standing at the foot of the stairs, avoiding even his eyes, his anger had suddenly drained away.
He thought he would settle every score once they were home.
What he had to do now was stop Shen Shuangjian from staying in this shabby excuse for a place and mixing with a bunch of disreputable people.
He knew that, with Shen Shuangjian's temperament, he could never have played such a pointless, terrifying joke on him. Someone had deceived him. Someone had forced him.
And so, the more Shen Sixian looked at the people behind him, the more displeasing he found them.
Every one of them was disheveled and looked ill-intentioned. Whatever they said or did, they even had to cast a glance at Shen Shuangjian, only making their attempts to hide something more obvious.
He, Shen Sixian, had taken charge of the entire Shen Family at twenty-two. What sort of wolves, jackals, and scheming villains had he not seen?
Even if Shen Shuangjian was easy to fool, he, Shen Sixian, was not dead. If they thought they could use their dirty tricks to latch onto the Shen Family and Shen Shuangjian, they would not manage it even in their next lives.
His expression dark, Shen Sixian took hold of Shen Shuangjian's wrist without hesitation.
"Brother-!"
The young man's startled cry was faint, as though he had not expected such a sudden move, but Shen Sixian did not care.
He did not care about the production team's predicament, much less anyone else's dignity. All he noticed was Shen Shuangjian's resistance at that moment.
"Brother, if I leave the show..."
Shen Shuangjian had not even finished half of what he wanted to say when Shen Sixian cut him off sharply. "Shut up!"
His gaze swept over the crew members outside the camera's frame, who did not dare step forward to stop him. His voice was icy, filled with an imperiousness that brooked no refusal.
"Never mind three million. Even if it were thirty million, I, Shen Sixian, could still afford to pay it."
Shen Sixian no longer wanted to delve any further. He would rather throw three million, or even thirty million, down the drain just to buy back their former peace.
As long as Shen Shuangjian stayed obediently at home, living peacefully under the same roof as before, and neither of them broke that false semblance of brotherly affection and respect, remaining beyond the boundary and disregarding each other, that would be enough.
"Brother, I already said no!"
Shen Shuangjian stopped in his tracks, refusing to let Shen Sixian pull him along or obey his demand to go home.
Because in Shen Shuangjian's heart, Shen Sixian could not truly occupy the place of an older brother. To him, that three million was a shackle, a favor he could never repay.
He had no way of paying Shen Sixian back three million in a short time, much less of moving out naturally once the show ended.
He was resisting, rejecting Shen Sixian's overbearing supervision.
"Mr. Shen."
And so, amid the standoff, Xie Jinghui, who had not said a word and had even hoped to let things take their course, finally spoke up to stop him the moment Shen Shuangjian voiced his unwillingness.
"Why force him?"
Xie Jinghui reached out. Lowering his eyes to Shen Shuangjian's restrained wrist, he spoke as if offering a reminder. "It's already red. Mr. Shen, can't you see?"
No sooner had he spoken than Shen Sixian, whose anger had only risen further at Shen Shuangjian's refusal, finally remembered his delicate skin, which had been left bruised by a mere light bump two days earlier.
Instinctively, he let go. But that did not mean he was giving in.
"Mr. Xie, this is a private family matter."
Shen Sixian's gaze fell on Xie Jinghui's hand, loosely encircling Shen Shuangjian's slender wrist. He made no effort to conceal the icy sharpness in his eyes.
As for Xie Jinghui, he was even less willing to yield a single step.
In truth, in his heart, if Shen Sixian really could take Shen Shuangjian away without any trouble, it would bring him a hundred benefits with only a single drawback.
Because then there would be far fewer eyesores around Shen Shuangjian. Without this show to connect them, people like them would never have a chance to get close to Shen Shuangjian in their entire lives.
Because they were not worthy.