ASPWL Ch19: Caught Between a Rock and a Hard Place

What brother?

Who is Ye Leyao calling brother?

Only then did Feng Ziqi notice another man standing behind Assistant Feng.

A high-end tailored black suit perfectly accentuated his tall and straight posture, his features were handsome, but his dark eyes held no warmth, coldly sweeping over Feng Ziqi.

The moment Feng Ziqi met the man’s icy gaze, his heart skipped a beat, and his blood instantly turned cold.

Who else could this man be but Huo Jing?

At this moment, the livestream also erupted.

“Brother?”

“Is it Ziqi’s brother?”

“This man looks so familiar…”

“Isn’t that Huo Jing?!”

One stone stirred up a thousand waves.

“Huo Jing?! No way, is the CP I’ve been shipping real?!”

“? The person above must have a broken brain! Feng Ziqi just admitted that his relationship with Huo Jing is hype!”

“So what is happening now? My CPU is going to fry! Weren’t we watching the first day of the ‘Let’s Go on an Adventure’ livestream?!”

The assistant director and cameramen hiding were equally puzzled.

The assistant director almost screamed; they were just filming the villa’s layout and exterior, and now things had developed like this?

And it seemed Feng Ziqi was about to crash and burn.

He was their regular guest! One of the highest traffic and topic regular guests.

Crashing and burning on the first day of recording, how exciting is this?!

Despite the shock, confusion, and lack of understanding, the assistant director and cameramen couldn’t deny they felt a bit excited.

Who wouldn’t be excited to witness such drama live?!

Papa and Mama Huo were equally excited. They had patiently waited in the surveillance room for so long, just for this moment!

The only one in the mood to make sarcastic remarks was Ye Leyao.

Seeing Huo Jing appear so timely, he couldn’t help but whisper:

[Alright, alright, I admit, my big brother is indeed more Bking (kingly) than me!]

[This kind of entrance, this kind of aura, truly has the flair of a villain. Look, Feng Ziqi is scared silly!]

Huo Jing felt speechless upon hearing Ye Leyao’s comments.

If you can’t speak properly, then don’t speak, and also——

Huo Jing glanced at Feng Ziqi, who was staring at him in a daze, his eyes filled with shock and surprise that he couldn’t hide. He stood there for several seconds without any reaction.

Indeed, he was scared silly.

Huo Jing withdrew his gaze, gave Assistant Feng a look, indicating he should handle it himself. Then he walked over to Ye Leyao and sat down on the sofa nearby.

Now that his overly doting younger brother had personally framed and slandered him, Assistant Feng should finally wake up, right?

Then Huo Jing heard Ye Leyao whisper:

[I feel like Assistant Feng is still not fully awake.]

Huo Jing was stunned and looked up.

At this moment, Assistant Feng had already bent down to pick up his phone. Upon closer inspection, one could see his fingers were still slightly trembling, his face pale, clearly angered by Feng Ziqi’s words.

Huo Jing was puzzled.

Isn’t he already furious?

Then he saw Assistant Feng finally push up his glasses and ask: “Ziqi, aren’t you going to explain this to me?”

Huo Jing: “…”

The facts are right in front of him, what does Assistant Feng want to hear Feng Ziqi explain?

[This isn’t about wanting to hear Feng Ziqi explain, this is about wanting to hear how Feng Ziqi defends himself, right?]

[If Feng Ziqi were to say it was the manager who forced him to do it, would Assistant Feng immediately forgive him?]

Huo Jing remained silent.

Feng Ziqi was still in a daze. Hearing Assistant Feng’s voice, he turned his head.

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

Ye Leyao’s mouth curved into a smile, and he winked at Feng Ziqi.

Seeing this made Feng Ziqi burn with anger, and in a flash, he suddenly understood everything.

“So,” Feng Ziqi, with reddened eyes, looked at Assistant Feng, “was this all a setup by you?”

Assistant Feng was stunned: “What?”

What setup?

Feng Ziqi glanced at Ye Leyao and Huo Jing on the sofa, feeling his face burn with embarrassment.

Huo Jing didn’t deny that this boy called him brother, which meant this boy might really be Huo Jing’s brother. Even if he wasn’t his brother, he had a very close relationship with Huo Jing and might know many things he didn’t.

No wonder…

No wonder he said he didn’t know his big brother had a boyfriend.

He himself was just a jumping clown!

Thinking of how he had shamelessly used the host’s tone to chase the boy away, Feng Ziqi felt like his throat was being squeezed, making it hard to breathe.

Feng Ziqi didn’t even dare to think about how long Huo Jing had been here and how much he had heard.

He didn’t dare to look at Huo Jing’s expression anymore, only glaring at Assistant Feng with red eyes.

It’s all his fault!

Huo Jing being here meant Huo Jing definitely knew about this a long time ago. As Huo Jing’s assistant, Assistant Feng couldn’t have received no information at all.

But not only did he not warn him in advance, he also let him be humiliated by a little boy today!

Feng Ziqi’s face turned red and white, angrily staring at Assistant Feng: “What are you pretending for? You dare say you didn’t know about this? You are my brother! Not only did you not warn me, but now you’re watching me make a fool of myself with outsiders!”

Ye Leyao:

[What? What did I just hear?]

[Isn’t Feng Ziqi being too shameless? This is like you stole something, got caught by the owner, and then turned around to blame your clueless brother for not warning you the owner was home.]

[I’ve seen shameless people, but never someone this shameless!]

Papa Huo, Mama Huo, and Huo Jing all nodded.

They strongly agreed.

Ye Leyao, the true number one spokesperson of the modern era!

Assistant Feng clearly didn’t expect Feng Ziqi to blame him. He looked at Feng Ziqi in disbelief: “Ziqi… I just found out about this too, and…”

Wasn’t it you who did wrong?

“You just found out?” Feng Ziqi’s tone was mocking, “Do you think I would believe that? You just wanted to see me humiliated, didn’t you? Are you satisfied now that you’ve seen it?”

Assistant Feng explained: “I didn’t…”

Why would he want to see Feng Ziqi humiliated?

He had always been proud of Feng Ziqi.

Just now, in the surveillance room, he had been constantly apologizing to Huo Jing for Feng Ziqi. How could he do such a thing?

But Feng Ziqi didn’t listen to Assistant Feng’s explanation at all, coldly saying: “Enough! I don’t want to hear anymore! I admit, I did all this, okay?”

Despite having already prepared himself, hearing Feng Ziqi admit it with his own ears, the disappointment in Assistant Feng’s eyes was still evident: “Ziqi, why did you do this?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Feng Ziqi sneered, “Of course, it’s to get famous, to gain attention. My dear good brother, you’re not me, so you can’t understand my struggles. You don’t know how much I hate your pretentiousness! Did you really think that just because you got me a variety show, I would be grateful and obedient?”

“If it weren’t for you stopping me from hyping up a CP with my first partner, I would have been famous a long time ago! Why did I have to hype up a scandal with President Huo? Isn’t it because you stopped me before?!”

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

He didn’t want Feng Ziqi to hype up relationships because he was worried Feng Ziqi would fall into the trap of chasing popularity.

Popularity is a double-edged sword. It can make someone famous quickly, but if you can’t hold onto it and don’t have any works to back you up, you will eventually become a fleeting presence among the masses.

Assistant Feng’s development plan for Feng Ziqi was perfect. Although it was a bit slow, as long as Feng Ziqi followed it step by step, he would definitely get better and better.

To ensure Feng Ziqi could progress more smoothly in the entertainment industry, Assistant Feng even secretly connected him with many contacts.

However, he had been too busy recently and hadn’t been able to pay attention to Feng Ziqi’s activities for a while.

He had clearly done so much for Feng Ziqi, but Feng Ziqi claimed that he turned out this way because of him…

Assistant Feng suddenly felt a bit disheartened.

Ye Leyao shook his head:

[Shameless, ungrateful.]

[If not for Assistant Feng, would Feng Ziqi’s starting point have been so high?]

[He really overestimates himself.]

[However, Assistant Feng seems much clearer-headed now, though he still needs a little catalyst.]

Ye Leyao glanced at his phone and his eyes lit up:

[Great, the filming crew for Feng Ziqi’s shoot will arrive in five minutes!]

Huo Jing’s eyes brightened slightly as he spoke timely: “Assistant Feng, it’s getting late.”

A simple sentence instantly woke up Feng Ziqi.

Having his most shameful lie exposed in front of others, Feng Ziqi had long wanted to leave.

But the program team would soon arrive for an interview, and rationality kept Feng Ziqi there.

Seeing Assistant Feng, who was greatly distressed in front of him, a hint of malice flashed in Feng Ziqi’s eyes before he quickly suppressed it. He then spoke in a tone of “as you wish”: “Alright, brother, I won’t argue with you anymore, so you will still help me, right?”

The malice in Feng Ziqi’s eyes was too obvious, and Assistant Feng saw it clearly. But in the next moment, Feng Ziqi concealed his emotions and even asked for his help.

Assistant Feng felt his heart being torn open, letting in a rush of cold air.

What exactly did Feng Ziqi take him for?

He suddenly regretted it. Had he been too indulgent with Feng Ziqi?

Feng Ziqi seemed oblivious to Assistant Feng’s complex emotions, speaking as if it were only natural: “Brother, I will formally apologize to President Huo later, but now the program team is about to arrive, you don’t want me to fail because of this, right?”

As he spoke, Feng Ziqi stepped forward, holding Assistant Feng’s hand with a pleading look: “Brother, help me one more time. Talk to President Huo for me. I just need to film for half an hour…”

“Oh no, ten minutes.” Seeing Assistant Feng not responding, Feng Ziqi quickly corrected himself.

“Ten minutes! At least ten minutes, please?” Feng Ziqi said, glancing cautiously at Huo Jing on the sofa.

Ye Leyao almost burst out laughing and decided to help Assistant Feng out by speaking up in a timely manner: “But haven’t we already started filming?”

As soon as the words fell, the room fell silent.

“You lied to me!” Feng Ziqi glared at Assistant Feng, “Is this your excuse for not wanting to help me?”

The last bit of hope disappeared from Assistant Feng’s eyes. He glanced at Feng Ziqi holding his hand.

Ridiculously, he had thought Feng Ziqi’s sudden change in attitude was to apologize to him.

It turned out that from beginning to end, Feng Ziqi only cared about his own interests and never considered Assistant Feng’s situation.

Assistant Feng slowly withdrew his hand, lowered his eyes, and said coldly: “It’s useless.”

Feng Ziqi was confused: “What?”

Assistant Feng, with reddened eyes, looked up at the younger brother he had pampered for so many years, feeling weak but speaking word by word: “I said, it’s useless, it’s too late, the filming has already started!”

As if in response to Assistant Feng’s words, the assistant director, who had been hiding at the staircase, finally stood up.

Having squatted for too long, her legs had gone numb.

Seeing her and the two cameras behind her, Feng Ziqi reacted as if seeing a terrifying beast. He took a big step back and, without thinking, turned to run out.

But as soon as he opened the door, two more cameras outside focused on him.

“Hello Ziqi, we are here for the interview!”

Ye Leyao was instantly amused:

[This isn’t an interview.]

[This is a pincer attack! No escape!]