The photo was very clear. Judging by the surroundings, it seemed to have been taken on a film set, and even the faces were visible—there was no doubt it was the secretary of Feng Sheng’s President.
Some netizens went through all the recent dramas being filmed and guessed that the photo was from the set of *Pet Fate*. Xie Xiaobao’s Weibo had also mentioned that their own pet was going to star in a movie.
But it was just speculation. What truly shocked the entire internet was Yang Qifei suddenly posting a heavily suggestive Weibo status.
[Yang Qifei: I didn’t want to say anything at first, but this time I really can’t hold it in. When faced with power, there’s nothing you can do. I admit defeat. Here, I announce my withdrawal from the *Pet Fate* crew. I hope that without me, everyone can be happier. I apologize for the unpleasantness I caused to everyone on set before.]
The Weibo post was accompanied by an unprovokable panda head emoji. As soon as this post went up, the internet exploded like fireworks.
Yang Qifei’s fans immediately flooded the comments with messages of comfort, asking what exactly had happened. Everyone knew Yang Qifei was the male lead of *Pet Fate*, so suddenly replacing him at such a delicate moment naturally led to conspiracy theories.
For example, some speculated that Xie Xiaobao, backed by Feng Sheng’s President, was acting tyrannically on set. Yang Qifei offended Xie Xiaobao and was given a hard time, causing the filming to halt. In the end, Yang Qifei, considering the overall situation, voluntarily withdrew from the crew.
↑ These were all conspiracy theories from Yang Qifei’s fans. After all, in their eyes, Fei Fei was a gentle person who wouldn’t act for his own benefit.
Opinions online varied—some felt sympathy, others took schadenfreude—but most bystanders were just there for the spectacle.
Weibo was practically going crazy with forwards, comments, and endless memes and jokes. Some even went to Xie Xiaobao’s Weibo asking him to share tips on how to hook up with male idols.
He was just an internet celebrity, yet he had managed to hook up with two major powerhouses in the entertainment industry—what kind of skills did he have?
[The blogger really keeps things hidden. Such superb tactics, pretending to be an innocent sweetheart like it’s real.]
[Falling to my knees, begging the blogger to post a male idol hooking tutorial!]
[Can the person above stop talking nonsense? Nothing’s confirmed yet. Be careful or you’ll get slapped in the face.]
[I guess the haters have forgotten the terror of getting slapped in the face.]
The message was posted in the early morning, from a small account, so at first, it didn’t get much attention. But after a major influencer shared it and Yang Qifei posted that ambiguous Weibo, it all exploded.
By the time He Entertainment’s PR team stepped in, the post had already been shared everywhere.
Xie Xiaobao and Old Wang were at the set and were the last to find out. Old Wang was so angry he cursed loudly, “Can that Yang guy just shut up for once? Is his brain full of water? Posting that kind of Weibo looking for trouble—if he wants to die, fine, but why drag you into it? Screw that guy!”
Xie Xiaobao watched the netizens’ guesses about his relationship with his big brother. It was both ridiculous and cringe-worthy, making his skin crawl. But after being criticized so much, he became more and more calm, even comforting Old Wang, “It’s okay, no need to get mad at them.”
Old Wang was still fuming but suddenly remembered a question he wanted to ask last time.
“What exactly is your relationship with President Xie?”
He’d wanted to ask the first time the secretary came but Xie Xiaobao never mentioned it. Old Wang thought he didn’t want to say, so he held back.
Xie Xiaobao scratched his face and slowly said, “He’s my big brother.”
Old Wang’s voice suddenly shot up, “Your who?”
Xie Xiaobao shyly shrank his neck. After hiding it for so long, he felt a bit embarrassed. He whispered, “My big brother, my real big brother.”
Old Wang stared at the timid Xie Xiaobao and ground his teeth with a smile, “Why didn’t you say such an important thing earlier?!”
Xie Xiaobao chuckled twice and tried to brush it off, “Big brother is big brother, and I’m me. So not saying it shouldn’t matter.”
Old Wang gave a cold snort and glared at him viciously, “I’ll deal with you after this is all sorted.”
Unfortunately for Old Wang, he never got the chance to punish Xie Xiaobao. Because the afternoon of the day after the news broke, Xie Yan showed up on set.
After the news came out, everyone on set was on edge. After all, only insiders would know such details. If anyone pissed off President Xie, no one would end up well.
Those relatively close to Xie Xiaobao kept their distance from him, afraid something else would explode and make them suspects.
—
At the moment of unrest on set, Xie Yan’s Bentley arrived at the film base’s entrance.
Paparrazi constantly lurked around the film base, but Xie Yan didn’t bother to be low-key this time. He opened the car door, adjusted his suit jacket, and strode inside.
The paparazzi who recognized him were ecstatic, snapping photos wildly without worrying about exposing themselves. The secretary smiled at them but didn’t stop them.
The photos were uploaded online immediately, leaving the onlookers stunned.
[Are they so fearless or are they really coming out of the closet? I don’t get this plot.]
[Everyone says there’s nothing between them. If there was, would they show up so openly? They’d be trying to avoid suspicion.]
[Don’t be so sure. Maybe President Xie is so powerful he doesn’t care.]
The internet buzzed, but Xie Yan had already entered the set smoothly.
Despite the controversy online, filming had to continue. Over the next two days, everyone avoided Xie Xiaobao as much as possible. Except for the Assistant Girl, who came specifically to comfort him, everyone else stayed far away, afraid of being framed.
Xie Xiaobao could only sit alone on a small stool, lost in thought.
Xie Yan entered the set and saw him sitting there, resting his chin on his hand, clearly deep in thought.
“What are you thinking about?” Xie Yan asked from behind, lowering his head to look at him.
Xie Xiaobao was startled and almost jumped up. “B-Big brother, what are you doing here?”
The secretary, sensing the mood, brought a chair over. Xie Yan sat down, took the snacks from the secretary’s hand, and said, “Came to visit the set.”
Xie Xiaobao: “???”
Even someone as naive as Xie Xiaobao wouldn’t believe that Xie Yan was here just to visit. He tested him, “You know what happened, don’t you?”
“Do you think I wouldn’t know with all the fuss online?” Xie Yan countered.
Xie Xiaobao stammered a denial.
Seeing him so timid, Xie Yan sighed, “Since it’s out, it needs to be clarified.”
Xie Xiaobao obediently nodded, “Mm. At times like this, I have to behave and not make Big Brother angry!”
Xie Yan asked, “Do you know how to clarify it?”
Xie Xiaobao thought for a moment, “Hold a press conference? Or show the household registration booklet?”
A smile appeared in Xie Yan’s eyes. “Take out your phone.”
Xie Xiaobao did as told. “Then what?”
Xie Yan took the phone, sat beside him, and put an arm around his shoulders to take a selfie. Then he also took a photo of the snacks.
“Post a Weibo saying I came to visit the set.”
Xie Xiaobao finally understood Xie Yan’s intention and edited a post with the two pictures.
[Xie Xiaobao: Big brother came to visit the set / So cute. (pic 1, pic 2)]
The post caused a huge stir. Xie Xiaobao had millions of followers. As soon as it was posted, people shared it, followed by an endless stream of face-slapping reaction memes.
Clap, clap, crisp sounds.
Fans who had been quiet like chickens suddenly got a shot of adrenaline and started fighting back.
But some people refused to believe it, clinging stubbornly to their doubts.
[How did this godfather and big brother trend even start in the entertainment industry? Poor ‘big brother’—he’s been played badly.]
[President He is a good friend, President Xie is the big brother. Tsk, tsk, the blogger is really something.]
[Stop being sarcastic upstairs. Maybe it’s all true—they were just born lucky. / Funny]
Xie Xiaobao was surprised that some people still didn’t believe it, so he looked at Xie Yan for help.
“Big brother?”
Xie Yan glanced at him. Xie Xiaobao’s face was pitiful. He withdrew his gaze, logged into Weibo after a long time, and reposted Xie Xiaobao’s post, adding a photo of the household registration booklet.
All other details were hidden, but the two names on the booklet were unmistakable. With Xie Yan’s Weibo post, Feng Sheng’s official Weibo also shared it, basically sealing Xie Xiaobao’s identity.
Yet some people still pretended not to understand.
[Who’s Xie Xiao? Isn’t that blogger called Xie Xiaobao? Feng Sheng’s graphic designer might get docked pay.]
[Check Baike. Upstairs, it’s Xie Xiaobao, real name Xie Xiao.]
Shortly after Feng Sheng’s official Weibo shared it, He Yu also reposted Xie Xiaobao’s Weibo.
[He Yu: Grandma says come over for dinner this weekend. //@Xie Xiaobao]
The haters struggled and refused to admit it, but the facts were clear: a big brother who was the President of Feng Sheng, and a childhood friend who was the CEO of He’s Entertainment. They really were born into good families.
The previous mocking comment about Xie Xiaobao being born lucky became a hot comment, with fans lining up below in support.
[Our Xiaobao really was born lucky +1]
[Our Xiaobao really was born lucky +2]
[Our Xiaobao really was born lucky +10086]
[Stop breaking formation! Upstairs, no more lining up. This layer host must be furious /doge]