Chapter 78 - 77: The Third Brother Returns

Chapter 78: Chapter 77: The Third Brother Returns

To enhance the livestream, the production team had decorated the tent to look incredibly dreamy. There were warm yellow string lights, balloons, fresh flowers, and an assortment of beautiful, cozy dolls and throw pillows.

In front of the tent sat comfortable inflatable sofas and a folding coffee table, which held red wine, a fruit platter, and small pastries.

Everything was perfectly prepared, just waiting for the guests to take their seats and start chatting.

Gu Qingyin was the first to arrive. She picked an apple from the fruit platter, plopped down onto a sofa, and started munching on it, CRUNCH CRUNCH, while staring out at the pitch-black sea.

The scenery was beautiful, and so was she. If you muted the livestream, it could have been a scene from a somber, artistic film.

But the sound of her crunching on the apple completely ruined the mood!

The viewers in the livestream chat didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. They all left comments saying that Gu Qingyin didn’t need to be *quite* so down-to-earth.

Seeing this, the director’s initial dissatisfaction vanished. As long as it generated buzz, he could accept Gu Qingyin’s half-hearted participation.

A moment later, Gu Qingyin finished her apple just as Huo Xinghai slowly ambled over. He had only changed his clothes and quickly fixed his hair. He wasn’t wearing any makeup, but he was as handsome as ever.

Seeing this, his fans once again erupted in a frenzy of praise. Our Haibao’er is a true god of beauty!

"Mom, you’re already here," Huo Xinghai said, dragging a sofa closer to Gu Qingyin before sitting down. His eyes scanned the table. "Want some lychees? I can peel them for you."

Gu Qingyin glanced over. The lychees were large and looked quite fresh. She smiled and nodded. "Thanks, son."

In the few minutes it took Huo Xinghai to peel the lychees, the other guests arrived one by one.

Once everyone had gathered, the director picked up his megaphone again. "There’s no mission today. It’s just a simple chat—talk about whatever you want. Afterward, you’ll interact with the livestream audience, and then everyone can pack up and go to bed."

"The only requirement!" the director raised his voice slightly, "is that the livestream’s buzz can’t drop below its average since we started. If it does, you’ll have to keep streaming until it comes back up."

"So, if you want to finish early, everyone better bring their A-game."

Lin Tian’s jaw dropped. "You call this *no mission*? This is way harder than anything before!" ’Just chatting without letting the buzz die down? Doesn’t that just mean he wants us to talk about something sensational? That’s a difficult line to walk.’

The director just gave a faint smile, effectively leaving her on read.

Meanwhile, far away in Europe, Huo Xingchen had just finished the first phase of his closed training camp and gotten his phone back. He finally saw the message from Huo Xingye.

The message wasn’t long, but he read it several times. Then, with perfect composure, he booked a flight home.

By the time his team manager found out, he was already on the plane.

The manager was so furious he cursed for a solid ten minutes, threatening to kick Huo Xingchen off the team.

The other players exchanged glances but said nothing. They all knew the manager was just blowing off steam. If it came to actually expelling Huo Xingchen, he’d be the last person to go through with it.

As the league’s most commercially valuable player, Huo Xingchen was basically the personification of the God of Wealth. They couldn’t worship him enough, let alone kick him out. Even a fool wouldn’t do something that stupid.

The manager’s behavior could be summed up in two words: impotent rage.

This wasn’t the first time Brother Chen had ignored discipline and done whatever he pleased. The other players were used to it. Only the manager got angry every time, and every time, he was powerless to stop him. ’Why even bother?’

But Huo Xingchen, sitting on the plane, was nowhere near as calm as he appeared. He was simply in such utter disbelief that he didn’t know how to react. His only impulse was an urgent need to go back and see for himself.

He hadn’t even considered what he would do after he saw her.

’My mother disappeared for twenty years. How could she just suddenly come back? Is that woman really my mom?’

Huo Xingchen lowered his gaze, hiding the darkness in his eyes.

’If she isn’t... If she dares to impersonate my mother, that woman is dead. But if she is...’ Huo Xingchen froze. He ran a hand through his hair in frustration, then put on an eye mask as if to escape his thoughts.

’I’ll deal with it then.’

The next day, after another full day of filming on the island, the current round of livestreams came to a close.

The show would start broadcasting again in a week, but there was no guarantee it would be the same cast. In any case, Gu Qingyin had no intention of returning. She was busy helping her son pay off his debts.

On the flight back to Sea City, Gu Qingyin was discussing a plan with Huo Xinghai. They could get the celebrities he had previously wronged guest spots on *Happy Family*. They didn’t need to go all at once—just one per episode. If they performed well, gaining some fame wouldn’t be just a dream.

Xue Ning had already moved quickly and poached those people. They were now at Yuehai Entertainment, the company run by Huo Yunjian. Since they had all been languishing in a state of semi-retirement, they weren’t given any projects immediately after being signed. Instead, they were all undergoing intensive training.

’We can’t have them making a horrifying debut, can we?’

Huo Zhao Hua and Lin Xiaoyun were also on the same flight back.

For some reason, Lin Xiaoyun had been much more subdued on the last day of filming. She stopped making biting remarks and no longer tried to get in Gu Qingyin’s face at every opportunity. In fact, she seemed to be deliberately keeping her distance, as if trying to avoid any association.

Huo Zhao Hua, on the other hand, had become a bit clingy after going diving and catching fish with Huo Xinghai. But since the kid was good-looking and had high emotional intelligence, his clinginess wasn’t annoying.

After they deplaned, Huo Zhao Hua successfully got Huo Xinghai’s personal contact information and asked tentatively, "Brother Hai, when you have time, let’s go diving together again?"

Huo Xinghai saw what he was up to but didn’t mind. He played along, saying, "Diving all the time gets boring. Let’s try something different next time."

Huo Zhao Hua’s eyes instantly lit up, but he forced himself to maintain a composed expression. "Okay," he nodded. "We’ll set something up." After bidding a polite farewell to Gu Qingyin, he turned and walked toward Lin Xiaoyun, who was waiting in the distance.

"That kid is interesting," Gu Qingyin said with a laugh. "I can’t tell if he genuinely doesn’t know how to hide his intentions, or if he’s doing it on purpose." ’If it’s the latter, he’s more calculating than he looks.’

"Who cares," Huo Xinghai said nonchalantly. "Most people who get close to me have some kind of ulterior motive. As long as they don’t harm the Huo Family, I don’t mind offering them a few perks. After all, mutual interests are what last."

Gu Qingyin turned to look him over. "Right now, you sound a bit like your older brother."

Huo Xinghai couldn’t help but shudder, pouting as he muttered, "I’m nothing like that old stick-in-the-mud."

Gu Qingyin roared with laughter. "I recorded that! I’m sending it to Huo Xingye!"

The color drained from Huo Xinghai’s face. "You actually recorded it?"

Gu Qingyin laughed even harder. "Are you really that scared of him?"

Huo Xinghai pressed his lips together and fell silent. For other people, the saying "an elder brother is like a father" might just be a phrase. In their family, it was a hard reality.

Ever since their father passed away, Huo Xingye had shouldered the responsibility of raising his two younger brothers. Terrified they would go astray, he never hesitated to use force when necessary.

Huo Xingye’s fearsome authority over his two younger brothers had been established, quite literally, one punch and one kick at a time.