ASPWL Ch42: Face-to-Face Confrontation

Song Zhehan turned his head and saw Ye Leyao giving a thumbs up. He raised an eyebrow slightly.

As expected, his guess was right.

Ye Leyao loved to watch drama unfold, even if it was directed at himself.

The viewers in the live stream were laughing hysterically:

—”Hahaha, this is the first time I’ve seen someone voluntarily offer their face to be slapped!”

—”Why does this feel so satisfying?”

—”I didn’t expect Ye Leyao to actually be personally invited by Qin Yao?”

—”Qin Yao has admitted it, what’s there to doubt?”

—”Could it be that Qin Yao valued our drama king’s ability to stir up drama and invited Ye Leyao?”

If Qin Yao saw this comment, he would definitely give it a thumbs up.

There was indeed some truth to that reason, but it wasn’t the only one.

The discussion in the live stream grew more intense:

—”I’m shocked by how every guest on this show ends up in a fight. When did the entertainment industry become so honest!”

—”Hahaha, it’s not that the entertainment industry has become honest, it’s that our show’s guests are genuine.”

This comment quickly gained a lot of likes from netizens.

Yes, they loved watching guests openly tear into each other!

This was much better than sneaky backstabbing behind the scenes.

Keep going, don’t stop the drama!

The netizens were secretly hoping for more drama when Qin Yao suddenly turned to look at Ye Leyao.

Ye Leyao met Qin Yao’s gaze in confusion, unsure if it was his imagination, but he felt a hint of unnoticeable grievance in Qin Yao’s eyes.

Then Qin Yao spoke softly, “I’m really hurt. I stood up for Leyao, and he completely ignored me.”

Ye Leyao was stunned for a moment, then his eyes filled with laughter. He quickly gave Qin Yao a thumbs up too, sincerely praising him, “Boss Qin, you’re awesome too!”

And silently thought:

[If it weren’t for Boss Qin’s personal endorsement, my brother couldn’t have confronted face-to-face.]

[But Boss Qin seems to forget that if he hadn’t invited Duan Haoyan, none of this would have happened.]

Qin Yao: “…”

He heard that!

Huo Yan couldn’t hold back anymore and smiled, giving Ye Leyao a thumbs up before slowly turning back to continue enjoying Duan Haoyan’s reaction.

Duan Haoyan’s face was already dark. He hadn’t expected Qin Yao to stand up for Ye Leyao.

It felt awful to have the tables turned on him. But thinking of Su Rui’s grievance when he came to him, Duan Haoyan regained some strength.

Noticing Huo Yan’s provocative look, Duan Haoyan glared at him, gritting his teeth, “What are you so proud of? Just because you have a good family background?”

Ye Leyao had been holding back, and if not for Huo Yan and Qin Yao interrupting him earlier, he would have already retorted.

Hearing Duan Haoyan’s words now, he immediately countered, “No need to be self-conscious, Brother Duan. Don’t you also have a good agent?”

After speaking, Ye Leyao didn’t forget to smile politely at Duan Haoyan.

Unsurprisingly, Duan Haoyan’s face turned even darker, his chest heaving with anger.

Seeing this, Ye Leyao couldn’t help but praise himself inwardly:

[Aren’t I polite? I even called him brother!]

Qin Yao almost couldn’t hold back his laughter.

Huo Yan outright laughed.

So why was he even worried earlier?

Ye Leyao wasn’t as easy to bully as he appeared!

Looking at the other guests.

Zhou Zijian wanted to laugh, but Wen Xiangyue beside him tightly grasped his hand, seemingly reminding him of the cameras.

Meanwhile, Li Siyuan, now in a much better mood, took off his hat and looked up to watch the commotion. Hearing Ye Leyao’s words, his mouth curled up.

The new guest, Lu Bo, still had some reservations and didn’t laugh outright, but he didn’t intend to involve himself either. His eyes remained on the unfolding drama.

The viewers in the live stream, however, had no such reservations:

—”This is hilarious! I love watching Ye Leyao clap back at Duan Haoyan!”

—”Huo Yan’s disdain is just chef’s kiss. So satisfying!”

—”Qin Yao’s defense was perfect. Never thought he’d stand up for Ye Leyao like that.”

—”Duan Haoyan really set himself up for this one. Classic!”

—”I can’t get enough of this show. The drama is off the charts!”

—”Leaf Leyao is a gem. His comebacks are gold!”

The internet was buzzing with reactions, loving every moment of the unfiltered drama.

—”Hahahaha Ye Leyao, Ye Leyao, I’ve realized something. You’re even better at being sarcastic than Li Siyuan!”

—”Did you guys just realize that? I’ve thought for a while now that Ye Leyao is secretly a dark horse!”

—”Hahaha, I’ve heard that ‘Let’s Go Traveling Together’ is a spicy show, but I didn’t expect it to be this spicy. Even our drama king has become a part of the drama!”

—”It’s not just us who didn’t expect this, I bet Ye Leyao didn’t expect it either!”

Some viewers were curious and asked:

—”So why is Duan Haoyan targeting Ye Leyao? Logically, Ye Leyao, who just debuted, wouldn’t have had the chance to offend anyone, right?”

At this point, a viewer explained:

—”Is it possible that Duan Haoyan isn’t targeting Ye Leyao, but Huo Yan?”

—”Yes, I noticed that when Duan Haoyan got on the bus, Huo Yan’s expression was very subtle!”

Mentioning Huo Yan made the viewers even more confused.

They usually loved entertainment news, but there was rarely any news about Huo Yan. They hadn’t even heard of Huo Yan having any enemies in the industry. When did Duan Haoyan have a conflict with Huo Yan?

Seeing this, the viewers immediately directed their questions to Huo Yan’s fans.

—”Fans, speak up!”

—”Come on, fans, explain this!”

Huo Yan’s fans looked at each other, seeing confusion in one another’s eyes.

Why were they asking them?

They didn’t know either!

Everyone in the industry knew that Huo Yan was very mysterious. Not to mention fans, even paparazzi rarely managed to dig up any dirt on Huo Yan. If the paparazzi didn’t know, how could the fans know?

The comments fell silent for a moment.

In the bus, only the sounds from outside the windows could be heard, creating an unusually quiet atmosphere.

Until Liu Yan’s voice broke the silence from outside the window, “Could someone kindly give me a hand?”

Song Zhehan was the first to turn his head, glanced at Liu Yan outside the window, and a hint of regret flashed in his eyes.

It seemed the conflict was over.

Sure enough, Duan Haoyan took a deep breath. “I won’t argue with you. After all, those who owe others will eventually pay the price.”

After saying this, he turned around and walked to the back of the bus with a sullen face.

Huo Yan sneered but didn’t say anything more. He simply got off the bus to help Liu Yan with her luggage.

The viewers in the live stream were very dissatisfied:

—”That’s it?”

—”Duan Haoyan, you’re just leaving?”

—”What do you mean by those who owe others will pay the price? Duan Haoyan, don’t leave us hanging!”

—”Ugh, is the show’s rating too high? Why didn’t the fight escalate?!”

—”Hahahaha, I’ve noticed that the comments are all about stirring up trouble. Of course, so am I, hehe.”

—”So is there more drama?”

—”What does our drama king Ye Leyao have to say?”

The audience turned their attention to Ye Leyao.

Ye Leyao didn’t expect Duan Haoyan to just let it go either. He looked at Duan Haoyan’s retreating figure in surprise and muttered to himself:

[Duan Haoyan just let it go?]

[I thought he would directly expose the matter between my brother and Su Rui!]

Huo Yan, who was helping Liu Yan with the luggage, heard this and glared at Ye Leyao.

Are you really not afraid of escalating things?

Then Ye Leyao continued:

[But I feel it’s coming soon. Duan Haoyan seems like a fool who’s been completely manipulated by Su Rui. He probably came on this show because Su Rui instigated him, trying to get revenge on me.]

[But Su Rui didn’t expect my brother to join this episode too.]

Thinking of this, Ye Leyao’s lips curled up uncontrollably as he looked up at the camera in the front of the bus.

[So now the one who should be anxious is Su Rui, right?]

[After all, one is his ex with his dirt, and the other is his current sucker. If they start exchanging information in front of the cameras… ew—]

Ye Leyao’s smile widened.

[And it’s quite the coincidence that our recording location for this episode is in the grasslands. If Su Rui can’t get in touch with Duan Haoyan…]

[Hehe, that would be exciting!]

Huo Yan’s expression changed slightly upon hearing this.

Yeah.

Why didn’t he think of this earlier?

Duan Haoyan always had a sour face towards Huo Yan, but he wasn’t an impulsive person. As Qin Yao mentioned earlier, this guest spot was begged for by his agent.

Given Duan Haoyan’s current status, appearing on this show wouldn’t affect his career much.

So why did he insist on being on this show?

Once you figure this out, it’s easy to understand why Duan Haoyan started causing trouble for Ye Leyao as soon as he got on the bus—

Duan Haoyan was provoked.

As for who provoked him, the answer was obvious.

Huo Yan sat down next to Song Zhehan, his eyes filled with coldness.

After discovering the truth about Su Rui’s deception, Huo Yan felt both heartbroken and disappointed. Even so, he hadn’t thought about revenge after their breakup.

After all, Huo Yan genuinely liked Su Rui. Even though things ended badly between them, he sincerely wished Su Rui well after their separation.

But clearly, Su Rui didn’t think the same.

If this revenge by Duan Haoyan was aimed at Huo Yan, he wouldn’t be so angry.

But Su Rui and Duan Haoyan didn’t know Huo Yan would participate in this show. They were targeting Ye Leyao.

Trying to bully his younger brother right under his nose?

What a joke.

Huo Yan’s eyes grew colder and more menacing.

Even Song Zhehan, sitting next to Huo Yan, sharply sensed something was off and kept turning his head to look at him.

Hadn’t Ye Leyao just won that argument?

He just went to move some luggage, so why was he suddenly angry?

Song Zhehan turned around to glance at Ye Leyao and saw that Ye Leyao had already put on his SpongeBob sleep mask and was ready to sleep.

Turning back again, he noticed Huo Yan taking out his phone, seemingly sending a message to someone.

Although he wasn’t sure what was going on, Song Zhehan could already sense the presence of some juicy drama.

Sure enough, after Huo Yan finished sending the message, he suddenly stood up and walked towards the director’s team below.

Song Zhehan took out his phone and logged into his side account, rarely posting a tweet that wasn’t about mocking his colleagues:

“Gossip: So which unlucky guy is going to get it? Kind of looking forward to it~”

Not long after, Huo Yan returned to the bus, and the director’s team followed, announcing their itinerary.

Since their first destination was quite far, they wouldn’t arrive until evening, so the guests could rest on the bus.

Ye Leyao had been waiting for this moment. As soon as he heard it, he put on his sleep mask, reclined his seat, and settled in for a nap.

He thought he would wake up at their destination.

Unexpectedly, when he woke up and opened his eyes, it was already dark outside, but the bus was still moving.

At some point, someone had placed a small blanket over him. He stared at the blanket in a daze for a while, then turned to look inside the bus.

Only a warm, small light was on, and the bus was quiet, indicating that most of the guests were resting.

Perhaps his movements had been a bit large, as Qin Yao slowly opened his eyes and asked softly, “Awake?”

Ye Leyao nodded and lowered his voice as well, “Did I wake you?”

Qin Yao shook his head and explained, “I’m not used to sleeping on a bus,” then checked the time and added softly, “There’s still an hour of travel left, you can sleep a bit more.”

Ye Leyao nodded, then pointed at the small blanket on himself, “Did you cover me with this, President Qin?”

Qin Yao nodded.

Ye Leyao’s eyes curved into a smile, “Thank you!”

Qin Yao waited a few seconds in silence before smiling.

No inner complaints this time.

Thinking about it, he glanced at Ye Leyao again.

The temperature difference between day and night on the grasslands was significant. Even without the air conditioning on, the bus was slightly chilly. When Ye Leyao had sneezed lightly in his sleep, Huo Yan in the front seat immediately turned to look.

Qin Yao then took out a blanket from his luggage and covered Ye Leyao.

The pure white blanket had a lazy cat printed on it, just like Ye Leyao at that moment, with half his body curled up, an eye mask covering half his forehead, and a lock of hair hanging in front of his face, revealing half of his fair face.

It seemed that Ye Leyao sensed Qin Yao looking at him. He slightly raised his chin, and the dim warm light reflected in his eyes, making them look sparkling. He blinked his pretty eyes, full of confusion, as if asking, “What’s up?”

That moment of tranquility felt endlessly prolonged.

After several seconds, Qin Yao finally averted his gaze slightly and shook his head.

The next moment, he heard Ye Leyao’s inner thoughts:

[Strange President Qin!]

[A man’s heart is as inscrutable as the bottom of the sea!]

Qin Yao’s mouth curled into a smile again.

An hour later, the bus stopped on the pitch-dark grasslands.

Hearing the director call them to get off, everyone woke up.

Looking outside at the darkness, Ye Leyao couldn’t help but ask, “Director, are you taking us to live in yurts or to herd sheep?”

Li Siyuan joined in, “If I didn’t know we were filming, I’d definitely turn around and run right now.”

“Come on,” Song Zhehan was the first to get off the bus, “don’t tell me there’s not enough budget?”

Director: “…Why don’t you ask Qin Yao?”

Qin Yao, arms crossed: “I paid enough.”

Ye Leyao nodded repeatedly.

[President Qin, with his big spender look, probably paid extra!]

Qin Yao: “…”

I’ll take that as a compliment.

The producer laughed, “Everyone, get off quickly!”

Once everyone was off the bus, the production crew turned on the lights.

Instantly, this small patch of grassland was brightly lit.

Four tents were set up in a circle, with a large carpet in the center. On the carpet, besides fruits and vegetables, there was a large foil-wrapped item that looked like a whole roasted lamb.

A gust of wind blew by, carrying the smell of cumin and chili, making everyone’s mouths water.

“So this episode is camping?” Zhou Zijian asked excitedly.

The director nodded, “Yes, the theme for this episode is to get close to nature. We’ve prepared tents for you in advance and, considering the long journey, we’ve also prepared a whole roasted lamb for you. As for other food, you’ll have to make it yourselves!”

Everyone was delighted to hear there was a whole roasted lamb.

“What are we waiting for? Let’s divide the tents and get things sorted so we can start cooking!” Zhou Zijian said with a smile.

“With four tents, that means two of them will have to accommodate three people?” Wen Xiangyue said, “I’ll share with Xiao Liu.”

With only the two of them being women, no one objected.

Then it was the men’s turn to choose tents.

Huo Yan took the initiative, “How about Ye Leyao and I share a tent? We can fit one more person…”

Qin Yao said, “I’ll join you.”

Li Siyuan, who disliked both Lu Bo and Duan Haoyan, turned to Song Zhehan, “How about the two of us?”

Song Zhehan suddenly remembered his persona and smiled, “I’m fine with anything.”

Li Siyuan, annoyed by his fake smile, said bluntly, “Then I’ll share with Duan…”

Song Zhehan quickly walked over and, out of the camera’s view, instantly changed his expression. He lowered his voice, “Would it kill you to say a little less?”

Li Siyuan raised his eyebrows. Maybe it was because they were on the grasslands, but he felt particularly cheerful and replied with a smile, “You too.”

Stop pretending!

The remaining Zhou Zijian, Duan Haoyan, and Lu Bo took the last tent.

Ye Leyao went in first to check it out and found that the tents prepared by the show were quite spacious. Not only could they fit three people, but even six people could sleep in it comfortably.

He casually placed his suitcase and went out to wait for the roast lamb.

Zhou Zijian was already handling the ingredients, with Song Zhehan helping beside him. Zhou Zijian said to Song Zhehan, “Xiao Song, could you please fetch two buckets of water for me? I asked the production team, and there’s water where the lights are on ahead.”

Song Zhehan nodded, picked up two empty buckets, and was about to leave.

Just then, Lu Bo called out to him, “Xiao Song, I’ll go with you?”

Ye Leyao’s eyes instantly lit up at this scene.

[No way, no way. Is Lu Bo really that confident and outgoing? He just got rejected by Li Siyuan this afternoon and is already preparing to pursue Song Zhehan?]

[He’s really brave, daring to pursue even Song Zhehan! Hmm… Good luck.]

Just as he was thinking, he saw Lu Bo reaching for the water bucket in Song Zhehan’s hand.

The handle of the bucket was so long, yet Lu Bo’s hand went straight for Song Zhehan’s hand.

Ye Leyao couldn’t help but let out a sharp internal scream:

[Lu Bo, what are you doing——]

Just as Lu Bo’s hand was about to touch Song Zhehan’s, Song Zhehan suddenly let go, and the iron bucket clanged loudly on the gravel, drawing everyone’s attention.

Zhou Zijian looked up puzzled, “What happened?”

Song Zhehan’s smile didn’t change, but he gave Lu Bo a meaningful look, then turned to Ye Leyao, “Ye Leyao, come with me.”

Ye Leyao quickly suppressed his gossip and responded, walking over to Song Zhehan.

Bending down to pick up the iron bucket, Ye Leyao and Song Zhehan turned and walked away, completely ignoring Lu Bo.

Lu Bo’s expression looked bad, and just as he was about to say something, he heard a very soft voice:

“Looks like a kappa, but has such pretty thoughts.”

Ye Leyao: “Pfft——”

[Help, hahaha, I can’t take it, Song Zhehan is too good at insults.]

[So what was Lu Bo thinking, exactly? In just one afternoon, he managed to antagonize the two best verbal sparring partners of our show and got scolded by both?]

[This is too funny…]

“What are you laughing at?” Suddenly, Song Zhehan’s voice sounded beside Ye Leyao’s ear.

Ye Leyao quickly stopped smiling and said without hesitation, “Of course, I’m laughing because I’ll soon get to eat roast lamb!”

Song Zhehan gave him a faint look, still smiling as always, “Oh, really?”

Ye Leyao looked sincere, “Absolutely.”

[I’m not laughing at you scolding Lu Bo!]

[Really, I’m not.]

Song Zhehan looked away and didn’t ask further.

The two quickly returned with water.

The production team was very considerate, even preparing a barbecue grill for them.

Zhou Zijian was cutting vegetables, with Wen Xiangyue standing beside him, skewering all the ingredients. The others were helping out, but Zhou Zijian and Wen Xiangyue seemed to have a barrier around them, and no one could get close.

Ye Leyao quickly glanced at the two of them and smiled brightly.

[Our show has really turned from a travel variety show to a dating show~]

[Those pink bubbles, tsk tsk tsk——]

Huo Yan waved to Ye Leyao, “Leyao, come here.”

Ye Leyao obediently walked over, thinking Huo Yan was going to ask for help. As he got closer, he heard Huo Yan lower his voice and ask, “Can your phone connect to the internet right now?”

[Hmm?]

[Why is my brother asking this?]

Ye Leyao was puzzled but still took out his phone and opened WeChat.

Then the two brothers saw the WeChat refresh screen spinning continuously until a red error message appeared.

Ye Leyao’s eyes instantly brightened.

[It really can’t connect to the internet! So my brother must be thinking——]

Ye Leyao quickly looked up and saw Huo Yan provocatively nodding towards Duan Haoyan.

Although Duan Haoyan didn’t know what Huo Yan was planning, his face immediately darkened.

Ye Leyao tried hard to hold back his laughter.

[It’s over!]

[Su Rui! You’re doomed!]

Soon all the ingredients were ready, and the roast lamb was divided by Zhou Zijian. The barbecue grill was set up in the middle, and everyone sat down around it.

“Come on, come on, let’s eat roast lamb while we barbecue!” Wen Xiangyue invited everyone to sit.

Ye Leyao didn’t sit down first. Instead, he waited until Duan Haoyan sat down and then chose a seat opposite him.

Huo Yan sat next to Ye Leyao, with Qin Yao on Ye Leyao’s other side.

Song Zhehan noticed the seating arrangement and sensitively sensed something, then chose a seat diagonally to Duan Haoyan’s right.

Seeing that the guests were ready to eat, the production team promptly brought over drinks and beverages.

Ye Leyao took a sip of soda and ate a piece of lamb, his eyes lighting up, “Delicious!”

Everyone else also started eating.

The atmosphere suddenly felt oddly harmonious.

The director couldn’t help but say to the producer next to him, “If only it could always be like this.”

The producer smiled and nodded, but before he could say anything, Huo Yan’s voice suddenly came from the monitor——

“Duan Haoyan, is it because of Su Rui that you don’t like me?”

Director/Producer: ???

Wait, what?

Su Rui?

What about Su Rui?

They hadn’t invited a guest named Su Rui to the show, right?

Only Ye Leyao, who knew the truth, looked excited and thrilled:

[It’s happening! It’s happening! My brother is going all out!]