Of course Xie Jinghui had his own selfish wishes, even though, if Shen Sixian took Shen Shuangjian back to the Shen Family, he would no longer be able to share a bed with Shen Shuangjian or see him day and night.
But every gain came with a loss. Xie Jinghui also knew that, outside this show, he would still have ten thousand perfectly legitimate reasons and excuses to see Shen Shuangjian.
He would never disappear completely from Shen Shuangjian's world just because Shen Shuangjian unilaterally left, but other people would.
So he could hardly wait for Shen Shuangjian to obediently leave with Shen Sixian, could hardly wait for Shen Shuangjian to say he was willing instead of wasting his time on this loathsome show.
That was why he had not stopped any of it, and had even watched it all in silence. If Shen Sixian could do it, if Shen Sixian could just be a little more useful...
But Shen Shuangjian clearly did not truly hold this older brother close to his heart. They were brothers with the same surname, yet, just like him, Shen Sixian had been pushed beyond Shen Shuangjian's boundary.
Even so, Xie Jinghui could actually have kept watching. He could have watched Shen Sixian forcibly take Shen Shuangjian away, and he also knew Shen Sixian would not do anything to him.
Except... Shen Shuangjian had said no.
And so Shen Shuangjian's furrowed brow, his resistant rejection, and the wrist bone pressed beneath those knuckles, marked faintly red and even still slightly white, all became reasons for Xie Jinghui to intervene.
"Mr. Shen."
As Xie Jinghui slowly lifted his eyes, the hint of pity in his gaze gradually turned dismissive and cold.
He looked at Shen Sixian, his voice low and deep. "Didn't you hear him say no?"
[Holy shit...]
[...?]
[What kind of ridiculous turn is this? The more I watch, the more confused I get. So Shen Shuangjian's brother was so worried that he rushed straight to Donglin after hanging up?]
[So he looked that pissed because he was waiting to teach his little brother a lesson?]
[So even though he was that angry, he still remembered to make the search and rescue team stay quiet, and insisted on waiting until Shen Shuangjian woke up before they left?]
[I'm so shook...]
[Just yesterday we were asking what idiot would believe such an insane dare. Look, now someone's turned up who believed it.]
[Isn't Shen Sixian supposed to be a domineering CEO? Whose domineering CEO drives a thousand kilometers from the capital to Donglin over one ridiculous prank call and even gets a search and rescue team involved...]
[And insists Shen Shuangjian leave the show because he's still scared over what might have happened...]
[Noooo, I can't lose my wife! Big brother, are you really only concerned about our wife Shuangjian's safety, with no regard for whether we live or die?!]
[He can afford thirty million in compensation... Is this even still a language I speak? Why can't I understand it anymore...]
[Thirty million is like three bucks to him. I'm done with life.]
[Pinduoduo, didn't you say I was the luckiest person in the whole world?]
[Please, give me a slash...]
[And what's going on with Xie Jinghui? What kind of deranged battlefield of love is this? Why do all those other big stars who are usually so alpha look like lackeys now?]
[Because celebrities are ordinary people too, but someone from a wealthy, powerful family like this has both money and influence. Of course his presence is different.]
[Bruh, wife, so our big brother never agreed to this show in the first place?]
[Who exactly said Shen Shuangjian was an illegitimate child? Who exactly said Shen Shuangjian and his brother didn't get along? Come out here. I'll rip your mouth apart!]
[Didn't you all say lots of people hated Shen Shuangjian? I only just managed to comfort myself yesterday by saying heaven wouldn't open countless doors for one person.]
[Our big brother practically has "please come home with me" written on his face. He's even thrown out thirty million. Wife, maybe you should just agree.]
[How dare you! You're a mole!!!]
[The liberated serfs sing their song. I thought we were in for a bitter fight, but all we did was roll over, and the rock weighing down on us exploded by itself.]
[Wind and snow weighed on me for years; I laugh at them, light as cotton.]
[Haters, speak up!!!]
[Nothing to say. I'm a hater, and I'm giving up the fight. This whole fucking world has gone mad. They're all sick, sick!]
[Okay, but... is double Shen really off the table? (thinking)]
[It is. (Xie Jinghui x Shen Shuangjian)]
[I think so too. (The "I Take It All Back" ship)]
[I object. (Yu Sheng x Shen Shuangjian)]
[All of you, get lost. Stay away from him. (Shen Shuangjian's die-hard husband fan)]
[Not popular, but sure loves leeching off him. (Shen Shuangjian solo stan)]
[All I feel right now is satisfaction. My wife got smeared, then woke up from a nap and casually sparked a battlefield of love worthy of being called the battle of the century.]
[I accept it, I'm used to it, and I love to see it.]
[Why aren't the haters barking anymore? Go on, bark.]
[Now that's a satisfying face-slapping!!!]
In fact, Shen Sixian did not care at all what Xie Jinghui had said. So what if Xie Jinghui had far-reaching power and connections? Trying to meddle in the Shen Family's affairs crossed the line by far.
"Shen Shuangjian."
A trace of impatience had already settled between Shen Sixian's brows as he lowered his eyes to Shen Shuangjian's tightly pressed lips.
"I'll ask you one last time. Are you coming home with me or not?"
With that forceful question and his stance that brooked no argument, Shen Sixian had no idea he had already stepped on Shen Shuangjian's tautest nerve.
Acting this way served no purpose at all except to make Shen Shuangjian push him farther away to preserve a safe distance for himself.
"No."
Just as Xie Jinghui had expected, Shen Shuangjian did not hesitate for even a second. He avoided Shen Sixian's oppressive gaze and slowly took a step back.
"I won't go back with you."
At this point, Shen Sixian really had nothing left to say.
Shen Sixian did not believe Shen Shuangjian would choose to stay on this attention-seeking show for three million, but he could not work out what exactly was going through Shen Shuangjian's head.
Shen Shuangjian had clearly taken it upon himself to push him into a position of mutual disregard, yet still insisted on relying on that word "older brother" to make him tilt his umbrella toward him without limit.
And so he had become the only clown in this farce, the one making unreasonable trouble, while Shen Shuangjian stood behind an outsider like Xie Jinghui and joined him in opposing him.
He was the villain. He was the dangerous one.
"Fine. Suit yourself."
Shen Sixian turned and, without the slightest hesitation, walked out of this place he might never have set foot in his entire life if not for Shen Shuangjian.
"Everyone, head back. No one here needs search and rescue."
His voice icy, Shen Sixian dismissed the search and rescue team he had kept there all night. He opened his car door and got in, starting the engine and turning the car around in one smooth sequence.
He did not even glance back. As the car gradually drove away from the grounds of the little villa, quiet returned inside as well.
The livestream's bullet comments continued to scroll and cycle wildly, as though reminding everyone that a farce had taken place here, an utterly absurd farce.
It had begun with Shen Shuangjian and ended with Shen Shuangjian too.
"Shuangjian..."
"Shuangjian..."
The others, who had been forced into the background, finally had a chance to get a word in.
Yu Sheng was the first to come down the stairs and move beside Shen Shuangjian, lowering his gaze to the faintly reddened wrist cradled in Xie Jinghui's hand.
"Are you okay? Actually, I think your brother was just worried about you all night, so he sounded a little harsh."
He reached out, seemingly wanting to take a closer look at the red marks on Shen Shuangjian's wrist, but before he could get close, Xie Jinghui loosely caught his hand first.
"Sorry, I think Shuangjian might need to go freshen up."