Chapter 19: Caught Between Two Fires

What kind of brother?

Who was Ye Leyao calling brother?

It was only then that Feng Ziqi noticed there was another man standing behind his assistant.

Dressed in a perfectly tailored, high-end black suit that accentuated his tall and slender figure, the man had handsome features. However, his pitch-black eyes were devoid of warmth, coldly sweeping over Feng Ziqi .

The moment their gazes met, Feng Ziqi's heart skipped a beat, and his blood turned icy cold.

Could it be anyone else but Huo Jing?

At this moment, the live stream chat exploded.

"Brother?"

"Is it Ziqi's brother?"

"This guy looks so familiar..."

"That's Huo Jing!"

A single stone stirred up a thousand ripples.

"Huo Jing?! No way, no way, could it be that my OTP is real?!"

"Is the person above me out of their mind? Feng Ziqi just admitted that he and Huo Jing were just hyping things up!"

"So what's going on now? My CPU is about to fry! Aren't we watching the first day live stream of 'Let's Go on an Adventure'?!"

The same confusion was shared by the hidden assistant director and cameraman.

The assistant director was almost screaming. They had merely gone to film the villa's setup and exterior, how did things escalate like this?

Moreover, it seemed Feng Ziqi was about to face a major scandal.

He was a regular guest on their show! And among the regular guests, he was the one with the highest traffic and topic popularity.

To have such a huge scandal on the very first day of recording, how thrilling!

Despite their shock, confusion, and bewilderment, the assistant director and cameraman couldn't deny they were a little excited.

Who wouldn't be thrilled at the prospect of witnessing such drama firsthand?!

Huo Dad and Huo Mom were equally thrilled, having patiently waited in the monitoring room for this very moment!

The only one with the mood to complain was Ye Leyao.

Seeing Huo Jing's timely appearance, he couldn't help but whisper:

"Alright, alright, I admit it. My big brother is indeed more of a king than me!"

"This entrance, this aura, its very much in line with a villain's style. Look, Feng Ziqi is scared stiff!"

Hearing Ye Leyao's commentary, Huo Jing felt speechless inside.

If you can't speak properly, don't speak at all. And—

Huo Jing glanced at Feng Ziqi, who was staring blankly at him, unable to hide the shock and surprise in his eyes. He had been standing still for several seconds without any reaction.

Indeed, he was scared stiff.

Huo Jing retracted his gaze, giving Assistant Feng a meaningful look, indicating that he should handle the situation himself. He then walked over to Ye Leyao and sat down on the sofa next to him.

Now that his doted-upon younger brother had personally accused him, surely Assistant Feng would finally come to his senses?

Then Huo Jing heard Ye Leyao whisper:

"Why do I feel like Assistant Feng isn't quite awake yet?"

Huo Jing was taken aback, lifting his eyes to look.

Assistant Feng was now bending down to pick up his phone. Upon closer inspection, one could see that his fingers were trembling slightly, and his face was pale, clearly infuriated by Feng Ziqi's words.

Huo Jing was puzzled.

Wasn't he already furious?

Then he saw Feng assistant finally push the glasses on his nose and ask, "Ziqi, don't you want to explain yourself?"

Huo Jing: "…"

With the truth right in front of him, why did Feng assistant still want to hear Feng Ziqi's explanation?

"This isn't about wanting to hear Feng Ziqi's explanation; it's about wanting to hear how Feng Ziqi will defend himself, right?"

"If Feng Ziqi says even a single word about how it was all his agent's doing, wouldn't Feng's assistant immediately forgive him?"

Huo Jing fell silent.

Feng Ziqi was still in a daze, turning his head only when he heard Feng assistant's voice.

He looked at Feng assistant first, then at Ye Leyao and Huo Jing on the sofa.

Ye Leyao's lips curved into a smile as he winked at Feng Ziqi.

Fury ignited within Feng Ziqi, and in a flash, he suddenly understood everything.

"So," Ziqi Feng looked at Assistant Feng with red eyes, "you set this up for me?"

Assistant Feng was taken aback. "What?"

What setup?

Feng Ziqi glanced at Ye Leyao and Huo Jing on the sofa, feeling a burning pain in his face.

Huo Jing didn't deny that the boy called him brother, which meant that this boy might really be Huo Jing's younger brother. Even if he wasn't, he was very close to Huo Jing and might know many things that he didn't.

No wonder...

No wonder he said he didn't know his older brother had a boyfriend.

He felt like a clown!

Thinking about how he had arrogantly asked the boy to leave in the tone of the host, Feng Ziqi felt as if someone was choking his throat, making it hard to breathe.

He didn't dare think about how long Huo Jing had been here or what he had heard.

He couldn't bear to look at Huo Jing's expression anymore, only glaring at Assistant Feng with red eyes.

It was all his fault!

Huo Jing's presence here indicated that he must have known about this situation long ago. As his special assistant, Assistant Feng couldn't have received any information.

But not only did he not send him a message in advance, he let him be humiliated by a young boy today!

Ziqi Feng's face flushed red then pale as he glared at Assistant Feng. "What are you pretending for? Can you say you didn't know about this? You're my brother! It's fine if you didn't give me a heads-up, but now you're laughing at me with outsiders!"

Ye Leyao:

"What? What did I just hear?"

"Isn't Ziqi Feng being too shameless? It's like you steal something and get caught by the owner, then blame your brother who knew nothing for not warning you that the owner was home."

"I've seen shameless people, but never one so shameless!"

Father Huo, Mother Huo, and Huo Jing nodded in agreement.

They were in full agreement.

Ye Leyao, truly the number one mouthpiece of the modern era!

Assistant Feng clearly hadn't expected Ziqi Feng to blame him. He looked at Ziqi Feng in disbelief. "Ziqi...I just found out about this, and..."

Wasn't it because you made a mistake?

"You just found out?" Ziqi Feng's tone was mocking. "Do you think I'll believe that? You just wanted to see me embarrassed, right? Now you've seen it, are you satisfied?"

Assistant Feng tried to explain. "I didn't..."

Why would he want to see Ziqi Feng embarrassed?

He had always been proud of Ziqi Feng.

Just now in the surveillance room, he kept apologizing to Huo Jing on behalf of Ziqi Feng. How could he do such a thing?

But Ziqi Feng wouldn't listen to Assistant Feng's explanation. Coldly, he said, "Enough! I don't want to hear any more! I admit, I did all of this, okay?"

Despite having prepared himself mentally, hearing Ziqi Feng admit it left a clear disappointment in Assistant Feng's eyes. "Ziqi, why did you do this?"

"Isn't it simple?" Ziqi Feng sneered. "Of course, it's for fame, for buzz. My dear good brother, you're not me, so of course, you can't understand my hardships. You don't know how much I hate your pretentiousness! You don't think that just because you helped me get a variety show, I should be grateful and obedient to you, do you?"

"If you hadn't stopped me from hyping up a relationship with my first partner, I would have been famous by now! Why did I have to stir up rumors about a relationship with President Huo? Isn't it because you stopped me before?!"

Assistant Feng opened his mouth, looking at Ziqi Feng in disbelief, a clear hurt flashing across his face.

Not letting Ziqi Feng hype up relationships with others was because he was worried that Ziqi Feng would fall into the trap of popularity.

Popularity was a double-edged sword; it could make someone famous quickly, but if you couldn't hold onto that popularity and didn't have works to back you up, you would ultimately become a fleeting existence in the vast sea of popularity.

The development path Assistant Feng planned for Ziqi Feng was perfect. Although it was a bit slower, as long as Ziqi Feng took one step at a time, he would definitely get better and better.

To help Ziqi Feng navigate the entertainment industry more smoothly, Assistant Feng even secretly contacted many connections for him.

It was just that he had been too busy recently, so he hadn't paid attention to Ziqi Feng's activities for some time.

He had done so much for Ziqi Feng, yet he said that he had become like this because of him...

Assistant Feng suddenly felt a chill in his heart.

Ye Leyao shook her head:

"Shameless, ungrateful."

"If it weren't for Assistant Feng, could Ziqi Feng have started so high?"

"He thinks too highly of himself."

"But now, Assistant Feng seems much clearer-headed, though he still needs a little catalyst."

Ye Leyao checked the time on her phone, her eyes lighting up.

"Great, Ziqi Feng's filming team will be here in five minutes!"

Huo Jing's eyes flickered, speaking at the right moment. "Assistant Feng, it's getting late."

This short sentence instantly woke Ziqi Feng up.

The most embarrassing lie was exposed right in front of him; Feng Ziqi had long wanted to leave this place.

Yet, the production team was about to arrive for filming and an interview, and rationality kept Feng Ziqi rooted here.

Looking at his greatly shaken assistant, a flash of resentment flickered in Feng Ziqi's eyes, quickly suppressed, as he spoke with a tone that seemed to say, "As you wish": "Alright, brother, I won't hold it against you. So, you'll still help me, right?"

The resentment in Feng Ziqi's eyes was too evident, clear as day to his assistant, but in the next moment, Feng Ziqi masked his emotions, even asking for his help.

Assistant Feng felt as if a gash had been ripped open in his heart, letting the wind whistle through.

What did Feng Ziqi take him for?

Suddenly, he regretted whether he had been too indulgent towards Feng Ziqi in the past.

Ignoring the complex emotions on Assistant Feng's face, Feng Ziqi said matter-of-factly: "Brother, I will formally apologize to President Huo later, but the production team is arriving soon. You wouldn't want me to crash and burn because of this, would you?"

Feng Ziqi stepped forward, taking Assistant Feng's hand, his eyes pleading: "Brother, help me one more time. Help me plead my case to President Huo. It's just half an hour of recording..."

"Or no, ten minutes." Feng Ziqi amended his request when Assistant Feng remained silent.

"Ten minutes! At least ten minutes, okay?" Feng Ziqi asked, cautiously glancing at Huo Jing seated on the sofa.

Ye Leyao was almost laughing her head off. Seeing stunned Assistant Feng, he decided to lend him a hand, feigning confusion: "But, haven't we already started recording?"

Her words fell, leaving the room in silence.

"You lied to me!" Feng Ziqi glared at Assistant Feng. "Was it because you didn't want to help me that you made up an excuse?"

The last vestige of hope in Assistant Feng's eyes vanished. He looked at the hand Feng Ziqi held.

Ironically, he had thought Feng Ziqi's sudden change in attitude meant he wanted to apologize.

In reality, Feng Ziqi had only ever considered his own interests, never once thinking of his predicament.

Assistant Feng slowly withdrew his hand, lowering his eyes, and said coldly: "It's too late."

Feng Ziqi was bewildered: "What?"

Assistant Feng raised his red-rimmed eyes, looking at his brother he had pampered for so many years, weak yet resolute: "I said, it's too late. The recording has already begun!"

As if responding to Assistant Feng's words, the assistant director, who had been hiding at the stairwell, finally stood up slowly.

Her legs were numb from squatting for too long.

Feng Ziqi looked at her, then at the two cameras behind her, recoiling as if he had seen some monstrous beast. Without a second thought, he turned to run out.

But the moment he opened the door, two cameras outside zeroed in on Feng Ziqi.

"Hello, Ziqi. We're here for the interview!"

Ye Leyao burst into laughter:

"This isn't called an interview."

"It's called being caught between a rock and a hard place! There's no escape!"

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