ASPWL Ch70: Fingers Intertwined

Ye Leyao couldn’t hold it in and the corners of his mouth lifted into a smile.

Li Siyuan paused in his steps and laughed outright, “Song Zhehan, aren’t you going back to check?”

Song Zhehan merely tilted his head and gave Li Siyuan a cool glance without saying anything, then headed straight towards the elevator.

Ye Leyao cast a slightly reproachful look at Li Siyuan, “What Zhang Qiran needs now is absolute solitude. If you ask Song Zhehan to go back now, it will only make Zhang Qiran feel worse!”

[Besides, we’ve already seen enough of the drama. You can’t be too greedy when eating popcorn!]

Ye Leyao didn’t say this part out loud.

“Let’s go downstairs,” Ye Leyao said as he reached out to push Li Siyuan’s back, but Li Siyuan remained standing still.

Qin Yao tilted his head, his gaze landing on the hand Ye Leyao had placed on Li Siyuan’s back.

After two seconds, he shifted his gaze and said, “Let Zhang Qiran be alone for a while.”

No one else had any intention of staying to watch the drama unfold, so Li Siyuan, feeling bored, shoved his hands into his pockets as Ye Leyao pushed him all the way to the elevator.

Just as the elevator doors opened, Ye Leyao was about to continue pushing Li Siyuan, but a hand gently reached out and held his wrist, lowering Ye Leyao’s hand.

Ye Leyao blinked, and before he could say anything, Qin Yao spoke, “Be careful.”

[I thought President Qin wanted to hold my hand, turns out he was just worried about me.]

Qin Yao: “…”

Why did you sound like you were a bit disappointed?

Huo Yan couldn’t help but glance at the two of them.

After confirming that Qin Yao didn’t hold Ye Leyao’s hand, he withdrew his gaze.

But just to be safe, Huo Yan immediately grabbed Ye Leyao by the arm, pulling him in front of him, “Stand properly.”

Although Ye Leyao didn’t understand the meaning behind Huo Yan’s action, he obediently stood still.

Meanwhile, he silently muttered to himself:

[Although we can’t watch the drama live, I remember that the camera in Song Zhehan’s room is still on, right?]

Ye Leyao pressed his lips together, suppressing a smile.

[Hopefully Zhang Qiran realizes it, so he doesn’t embarrass himself in the living room again.]

Unfortunately, Zhang Qiran couldn’t hear Ye Leyao’s thoughts, so he really did experience a second wave of embarrassment.

The moment Zhang Qiran confirmed that everything that happened last night wasn’t a dream, his brain stopped working.

Even when transferring money to Song Zhehan, his mind was completely blank.

After Ye Leyao and the others left, Zhang Qiran didn’t even have the strength to walk to the bedroom. Instead, he squatted down in the living room and began to wail.

The living room camera caught this scene clearly, and both the sound and expression were perfectly visible in the livestream.

As Zhang Qiran squatted on the floor, questioning why he was still alive on this planet, countless viewers couldn’t help but smile.

—“Hahahahaha, help, just imagining it and I feel secondhand embarrassment!”

—“This isn’t just some ordinary embarrassment; this is something that will haunt Zhang Qiran for the rest of his life!”

—“Don’t even mention it, Zhang Qiran’s fans are probably wishing they could escape Earth right now.”

—“It’s okay, life isn’t that long.”

—“That doesn’t help at all! That kind of ‘comfort’ just makes me want to leave this cruel world even more!”

—“Hahahahahahaha, I don’t usually laugh, but this, I just couldn’t hold it in.”

On the screen, Zhang Qiran sat on the floor with his face in his hands, still wailing in pain, “Aaaaaah—why didn’t anyone stop me last night?!”

Comments popped up on the screen:

—“You actually expected the other guests to stop you?!”

—“Hahahaha, they were probably eager to watch the drama unfold.”

—“But in all seriousness, Zhang Qiran was so drunk last night that even if someone tried to stop him, they probably couldn’t have.”

Zhang Qiran continued crying out, “It’s over, it’s over, Song Zhehan will definitely make fun of me for this for the rest of my life… Waaaaah, why did I even agree to participate in this show in the first place…”

The more pitiful his cries, the wider the smiles of the viewers.

However, when Zhang Qiran mentioned, “Song Zhehan will make fun of me for this for the rest of my life,” Song Zhehan’s fans couldn’t stay quiet anymore.

—“Stop right there, Zhang Qiran, get a grip! Have you forgotten that Teacher Gou Shi just added you on WeChat and asked you to transfer 52,000 yuan to him?!”

—“52,000 yuan?”

—“No, seriously, how did none of you catch Teacher Gou Shi’s little scheme? What shirt costs 52,000 yuan?!”

At this point, many viewers finally realized.

Yeah, what kind of shirt costs 52,000 yuan?

And there were quite a few fans who stayed up watching the livestream last night. Although Song Zhehan covered the living room camera in the second half of the night, the first half wasn’t hidden!

They had seen clearly that after Song Zhehan and the others brought Zhang Qiran to the room, they didn’t hear any more screams from Zhang Qiran. It was pretty clear that he had gone to sleep by then.

And during Song Zhehan’s multiple trips in and out of Zhang Qiran’s room, no one ever saw him change his clothes!

So, the whole thing about being puked on was just a lie made up by Song Zhehan!

When the viewers realized this, they couldn’t hold back:

—”Wow, no wonder you’re Teacher  Gou Shi! Your heart is truly black!”

—”So, Song Zhehan made up all these stories just to add Zhang Qiran on WeChat?”

—”Aaaaaah, I suddenly feel excited! So, 52,000 yuan really means what I think it means?”¹The number 520 is a popular way to say “I love you” in Mandarin Chinese.

—”Even if it doesn’t mean that exactly, it’s pretty close… but looking at Zhang Qiran, he seems like he totally didn’t get it!”

—”Damn, how did I not realize Zhang Qiran was this clueless before? This fool is still whining! You should be secretly thrilled! You may not have succeeded in confessing, but you’re not far off!”

—”Hahahahahahaha, maybe he just needs a little more time to process. After all, anyone would struggle to react right after recalling their mortifying behavior from last night.”

—”Wait… my brain is starting to freeze too. So, does this mean Teacher  Gou Shi also likes Zhang Qiran? Huh? That fast?”

Song Zhehan’s fans had already discussed this topic last night.

Now, after witnessing Song Zhehan’s attitude towards Zhang Qiran, the fans had developed new insights:

—”It’s not necessarily that he also likes him, but at least we can confirm that Song Zhehan definitely doesn’t hate Zhang Qiran.”

Other fans quickly chimed in to like the comment.

—”Exactly! If he really hated him, Teacher Gou Shi wouldn’t have gone over to settle scores with Zhang Qiran last night!”

—”As we all know, once enemies settle their scores, they can become friends!”

—”Hehe, at worst, at least in Teacher Gou Shi’s mind, Zhang Qiran is already his friend!”

—”Yes! That’s right!”

—”Okay, okay, since Song Zhehan’s fans are saying this, it would be rude of me not to ship them!”

The comments quickly spiraled into discussions about potential ship names for the two of them.

Meanwhile, Zhang Qiran remained in his original position, sitting on the floor, continuing his self-imposed isolation.

Until the sound of a phone ringing broke the silence. Zhang Qiran picked up his phone, and his manager’s furious voice came through: “Get up right now!!! Take your medicine and get downstairs, everyone is waiting for you!”

Zhang Qiran’s eyes reddened, and he sniffled, “Brother, I… wait, we’re still filming?”

“What did you think? Unless you want to stay trending on social media, you better get up and get downstairs right now.” With that, the manager hung up.

Zhang Qiran’s face went ashen.

No matter how much he didn’t want to face reality, he had no choice.

So, he slowly stood up, went back to his room to take his medicine, tidied up a bit, and walked downstairs with the air of someone headed to their doom.

The other guests, seeing Song Zhehan come downstairs, quickly put away their phones.

But Ye Leyao was different. After sitting down, he took out his earphones and opened the livestream.

Seeing Zhang Qiran finally shuffling downstairs, he couldn’t help but say to Song Zhehan, “Zhang Qiran’s here. He hasn’t eaten much since last night, do you want to bring him something to eat?”

Song Zhehan didn’t even lift his eyelids: “If you care so much, why don’t you do it?”

Ye Leyao put away his phone and earphones, pursed his lips, then looked at Qin Yao, “President Qin, is it okay to drink milk after taking hangover medicine?”

[That oatmeal milk Qin Yao made earlier was really tasty. There should be some left.]

Qin Yao shook his head, “You shouldn’t drink milk with hangover medicine. There’s still some porridge and steamed dumplings in the pot, Zhang Qiran can eat those.”

Ye Leyao stood up, “Alright, I’ll go heat them up for him.”

Qin Yao’s gaze lingered on Ye Leyao for a moment before he too got up and followed him into the kitchen.

The kitchen in the villa was semi-open and a bit far from the living room.

Qin Yao heated up the porridge while Ye Leyao warmed up the steamed dumplings.

As Ye Leyao looked around, his gaze fell on the blender containing the leftover milk.

Before he could say anything, Qin Yao asked, “Want more?”

Ye Leyao nodded quickly, “This milk is really good.”

Qin Yao walked over, poured the remaining milk into a thermos, and handed it to Ye Leyao. “Take it with you, you can drink it later.”

Ye Leyao’s eyes lit up and curved into a smile, “Thank you, President Qin.”

Just then, the sound of the elevator door opening echoed, signaling that Zhang Qiran had finally come downstairs. Everyone momentarily paused and looked up at him.

One glance, and Ye Leyao almost burst out laughing.

[This is just too much!!!]

[Why not just wear sunglasses and cover your eyes completely?]

Yesterday, Zhang Qiran wore a baseball cap for the entire recording. Today, his hat was even more exaggerated, with a brim so large it almost completely hid his face. And to top it off, he was wearing an equally exaggerated mask, leaving only his still-puffy eyes visible from the side.

The other guests couldn’t help but stifle their amusement.

It was obvious that Zhang Qiran was too embarrassed to show his face.

Song Zhehan glanced at Zhang Qiran, the corners of his mouth curling into a smile, but he quickly looked away without saying anything.

Knowing Zhang Qiran felt awkward, Ye Leyao waved him over for porridge.

Zhang Qiran hurried over, giving Ye Leyao a grateful look and whispering a thanks.

Once Zhang Qiran finished the porridge, the group finally started filming for the day.

According to the original plan, they were supposed to wake up early and hike up the mountain to watch the sunrise and sunset, then camp at the summit.

But now the sun had long risen, so after a brief discussion, they decided to go ahead with the hike and settle for watching the sunset later.

The show had prepared all the camping equipment, so the guests only needed to bring some personal items.

Ye Leyao didn’t have much to bring, so he packed a small bag and went downstairs.

The villa they were staying at was right at the foot of the mountain, so there was no need to take a car; they could just walk there.

But climbing the mountain was, after all, a physically demanding task, and the difference in physical stamina soon became evident.

Unsurprisingly, Zhou Zijian was in the first group.

He worked out regularly and had excellent stamina.

Wen Xiangyue often worked out with Zhou Zijian, so her stamina wasn’t bad either. Plus, Zhou Zijian kept holding her hand while climbing, saving her quite a bit of energy, and the two of them quickly left everyone else behind.

Huo Yan, Li Siyuan, and Xia Yang formed the third group. They also worked out regularly, but since today’s climb wasn’t a race, the three didn’t push themselves too hard. They climbed for a while, then looked back at the people behind them, calling out for them to hurry up.

Naturally, Ye Leyao was among the ones left behind.

As someone who didn’t like going out or socializing—a typical homebody otaku—Ye Leyao truly hated all forms of exercise!

Why do humans need to exercise?

He hated exercise!

After only a short distance, having barely left the foot of the mountain, Ye Leyao plopped down on a stone step by the roadside. “I can’t, I can’t go on! I need to rest for a while.”

Qin Yao looked at him, amused. “But you just rested a minute ago.”

Ye Leyao weakly waved his hand. “Let me rest a bit longer. And Qin, you really don’t need to stay with us; we’ll climb slowly.”

The ones with Ye Leyao were female guests Liu Yan and Qian Yue, as well as Zhang Qiran, who had only just recovered from a hangover, and Song Zhehan, who for some reason was also climbing slowly.

Since this wasn’t a race, Ye Leyao wasn’t in a hurry at all.

He was just a bit puzzled as to why Qin Yao, who wasn’t even out of breath, insisted on staying behind with them.

Qian Yue and Liu Yan were women, so their stamina was limited.

Song Zhehan’s case was even more understandable.

Every time he walked a little way ahead, he would pretend to glance back at Zhang Qiran, then continue to stroll forward slowly.

Ah, Song Zhehan’s intentions were just too obvious.

Only Zhang Qiran was still clueless, wanting nothing more than to bury himself like a turtle.

So why was Qin Yao staying behind?

Thinking of this, Ye Leyao couldn’t resist glancing up at Qin Yao.

The breeze in the mountains was gentle, and the bright sunlight filtered through the dense tree canopy, casting rays of light onto half of Ye Leyao’s body. The interplay of light and shadow outlined the handsome contours of the young man’s face, making it even softer and more attractive. Just one glance made it hard for people to look away.

Qin Yao’s gaze fell on Ye Leyao’s face, then after a moment, shifted to his eyes. Suddenly, their gazes met.

Qin Yao’s heart gave a small jump, and he quickly looked away.

Ye Leyao grew even more puzzled.

[Eh, Qin seems a little red in the face?]

[Did I see that wrong?]

Before Ye Leyao could take a closer look, Qin Yao had already turned around, his back facing Ye Leyao.

A clear look of disappointment flashed across Ye Leyao’s eyes.

At that moment, Qian Yue’s voice came from up ahead, “Ye Leyao, how much longer are you going to rest?”

Liu Yan added, “If you don’t hurry up, we won’t wait for you!”

Zhang Qiran finally climbed up to where Ye Leyao and the others were. Not seeing Song Zhehan around, he relaxed a bit, took off his mask, and, slightly out of breath, said to Ye Leyao, “Do you want me to wait for you?”

He really didn’t want to face Song Zhehan, but it was also awkward being by himself.

How could Ye Leyao not guess what Zhang Qiran was thinking?

Song Zhehan kept looking back; if he stuck with Zhang Qiran, wouldn’t Song Zhehan hold a grudge?

So Ye Leyao immediately shook his head. “No need, no need. I’ll stay with Qin; you go on ahead.”

Zhang Qiran opened his mouth, but in the end, resigned himself to continuing his climb.

After only a few more steps, Song Zhehan’s voice drifted from up ahead. “Zhang Qiran, are you really that weak? Can you still go on? Should I call someone to carry you?”

Zhang Qiran: “…”

Zhang Qiran’s chest heaved with anger, clearly infuriated, but for once, he didn’t say a word. He merely picked up his pace a little.

Watching Zhang Qiran’s retreating figure, Ye Leyao couldn’t hold back his laughter anymore.

Only then did Qin Yao slightly turn his head and glance over. “There’s a glass skywalk nearby. Do you want to go check it out?”

Ye Leyao’s eyes instantly lit up. “Really?”

Qin Yao nodded. “But we’ll have to take the cable car to get there.”

Ye Leyao blinked. “Wouldn’t that be cheating?”

Qin Yao smiled. “We’re just taking the cable car to see the glass skywalk. Besides, the show doesn’t have any rules.”

If the other guests wanted to climb, they could climb; if they didn’t, they could take the cable car. It didn’t matter.

Ye Leyao instantly perked up, jumping onto Qin Yao’s arm and shaking it excitedly. “Where is it, where is it? Let’s go right now!”

The boy was so close that Qin Yao only had to lower his head slightly to touch Ye Leyao’s nose.

Qin Yao’s heart suddenly sped up.

He pointed in a direction.

Ye Leyao released Qin Yao’s arm and happily ran off in that direction.

Watching Ye Leyao’s retreating figure, Qin Yao couldn’t help pressing a hand to his chest on the left side.

His heart was beating too fast.

So fast that Qin Yao had almost forgotten the cautionary advice he’d given himself at the start of this show’s filming.

The young boy, full of life and energy, was like a wild, untamable breeze sweeping across the plains—impossible to catch, impossible to predict.

His life should always be free and unrestrained, not tied to any one person.

So no matter what feelings Ye Leyao might have toward him, Qin Yao knew he had to be extra careful not to fall in too easily.

Qin Yao is human. He couldn’t control the speed at which his heart fell, nor could he control his emotions being led by Ye Leyao.

That’s why Qin Yao cared about the way Ye Leyao looked at Song Zhehan and also about Ye Leyao’s hands on Li Siyuan’s back.

It seemed that ever since Qin Yao realized Ye Leyao didn’t have purely innocent thoughts toward him, his heart had started to be bound by this free and untamed wind.

“President Qin, hurry up!” After running for a bit and not seeing Qin Yao catch up, Ye Leyao called out.

Qin Yao nodded, “Coming,” then corrected Ye Leyao, “I remember telling you before not to call me ‘President Qin.'”

Ye Leyao said discontentedly, “It’s just out of habit, plus I think ‘President Qin’ sounds nice!”

Qin Yao chuckled, “While ‘President Qin’ does sound nice, it isn’t very intimate.”

Ye Leyao tilted his head, “But I think it’s fine. Can I keep calling you that?”

Qin Yao met Ye Leyao’s gaze, his heart softening, and gently said, “Call me whatever you like.”

After all, it’s just a name.

Ye Leyao’s eyes were full of laughter. At that moment, Qin Yao walked up to him, and Ye Leyao directly reached out and held Qin Yao’s hand.

After grasping it tightly, Ye Leyao didn’t forget to rub it with his thumb twice, silently thinking to himself:

[Now, this feels right.]

Qin Yao was confused.

Then he heard Ye Leyao say, “Ready? I’m going to run!”

As soon as the words fell, Ye Leyao grabbed Qin Yao’s hand and started running ahead.

After running for a while, Ye Leyao suddenly laughed to himself:

[I don’t know why I’m so happy, it feels like I’ve held President Qin’s hand before and ran ahead like this!]

Qin Yao smiled.

They weren’t even that familiar before!

In fact, their first hand-holding was due to an accident.

However, Qin Yao didn’t say anything. He just felt that today the breeze in the forest was just right, Ye Leyao’s hand was warm, and it was as if he had been waiting for this moment to come.

…

At this moment, down at the foot of the mountain in the Huo family’s car, the whole family had fallen into silence.

The live broadcast was still ongoing, and they watched on-screen as Ye Leyao and Qin Yao tightly held hands, their expressions all turning serious.

The cameraman had obviously noticed this scene too and gave a close-up of their hands.

Wow—

Not just holding hands! They were interlocking fingers!

What was the relationship between Ye Leyao and Qin Yao?

How had they not noticed anything before?!

After a long while, Papa Huo sighed, “The kid has grown up; it’s normal to date…”

Mama Huo had a headache, “But why do I feel like Leyao’s feelings toward Qin are a bit strange? It doesn’t seem like he likes Qin, but he doesn’t seem to mind being intimate with him either…”

Huo Jing frowned, “Isn’t the fact that he doesn’t mind being intimate enough to show something?”

Pausing for a moment, he remembered how Ye Leyao suddenly wanted to shake hands with him and Huo Yan the other night, so he told his parents about it.

Papa Huo and mother fell silent.

It was Huo Ze who spoke: “I think Leyao just hasn’t realized his own feelings yet, but it’s only a matter of time. After all, he held Brother Qin’s hand on his own! He’s never even held my hand!”

Papa Huo and mother exchanged glances.

After a long while, Mama Huo said, “Forget it, let’s just go with the flow. After all, I think Qin Yao seems pretty reliable, but his family…”

Papa Huo also thought about that issue, his brow furrowing, “It’s fine, if Qin Yao really can’t handle his family’s issues well, we can always make him choose.”

After all, their family spoiled and doted on Ye Leyao the most. If Ye Leyao liked Qin Yao, that was fine, but Qin Yao couldn’t allow Ye Leyao to suffer in any way.

Mama Huo nodded.

At this point, that was all they could do.

But now there was one remaining question—

When would Ye Leyao realize his different feelings toward Qin Yao?

Huo parents didn’t know and didn’t dare to guess.

Meanwhile, viewers in the live broadcast room were starting to feel something was off.

—”Wait, Ye Leyao, why are you holding Qin Yao’s hand?”

—”Uh? And they’re interlocking fingers??? What???”

—”Wait… what’s going on here?”

—”No way? I came to watch a travel show, and suddenly the guests are holding hands? Are we in a dating show now?”

—”Even Song Zhehan hasn’t held Zhang Qiran’s hand yet!”

Some viewers in the chat felt something was off with the hand-holding, but others said:

—”Oh, come on, what’s the big deal? It’s just holding hands.”

—”Yeah, I sometimes hold hands with my friends, even interlocking fingers, it’s not a big deal.”

—”And Qin Yao just sees Ye Leyao as a younger brother to take care of. You CP-shippers need to stop being so sensitive!”

Ye Leyao and Qin Yao had no idea what the live broadcast audience was thinking.

After taking the cable car to the glass walkway, the two had a great time before continuing to hike.

Since they took the cable car, they saved a lot of time, so Ye Leyao and Qin Yao ended up being the first guests to reach the summit.

Right behind them were Song Zhehan and Zhang Qiran.

When Ye Leyao saw them, he immediately smiled, “So you guys took the cable car too!”

Zhang Qiran, still wearing his cap and a bit flushed, nodded but said nothing.

Song Zhehan, on the other hand, said, “What? We can’t be lazy?”

Ye Leyao laughed, “Of course you can!”

[But wait, why don’t I see their following cameraman?]

Qin Yao glanced behind the two, and indeed, no cameraman was in sight.

However, he didn’t ask about it, instead suggesting that they go ahead and start preparing their camping gear.

By the time the others arrived one after another, Ye Leyao and the group had already set up the tents.

The production team didn’t pull any more tricks this time and provided each guest with their own tent.

In the evening, the group sat together to watch the sunset, had a barbecue, and finally wrapped up the recording of the third episode.

Early the next morning, Ye Leyao said goodbye to the group and left with Huo Yan.

It wasn’t until they reached the foot of the mountain that Ye Leyao realized Huo parents had already left.

“Why didn’t they wait for us?” Ye Leyao asked.

Huo Yan replied, “It seems Huo Ze had something to do. Have you packed your luggage? Are we heading out directly?”

Ye Leyao nodded, went upstairs, and brought down his suitcase.

Before getting into the car, Ye Leyao looked back at the road leading up the mountain.

The morning forest was quiet, with only the sound of birds chirping, and no one else in sight.

[Looks like the others haven’t come down yet.]

Ye Leyao shifted his gaze and followed Huo Yan into the car.

The car drove for nearly two hours before arriving at the Huo family villa.

Huo parents had come home the night before, and when they heard the sound of the car, they came out to greet them.

Ye Leyao stepped forward and hugged them both, asking, “Hey, where’s Third Brother?”

“He went to pick someone up; he should be back soon,” Mama Huo said. “Are you tired? Why don’t you take a bath first? Lunch will be ready soon.”

Ye Leyao nodded quickly, went upstairs to shower, changed his clothes, and dawdled for a bit before finally heading downstairs.

As he reached the living room, he heard Huo Ze’s voice from the doorway: “You’re part of my team now. What’s the big deal about having a meal with my parents? Just treat this place like your own home, no need to be so formal.”

Two figures entered through the door, and Ye Leyao’s gaze immediately landed on the boy standing beside Huo Ze.

Huo Ze happened to look up and saw Ye Leyao staring straight at his new teammate, feeling a bit helpless.

Weren’t you just holding hands with Qin Yao yesterday?

How did you move on so quickly?

Huo Ze was about to remind Ye Leyao not to get into romance too soon when he heard Ye Leyao sigh heavily in his mind:

[Sigh, he is quite handsome, but what a pity—he’s an undercover spy sent by the rival team.]

[Why does my Third Brother take in just anyone? Is he an idiot?!]

Huo Ze: “…?”

What on earth?

Footnotes:

• 1
  The number 520 is a popular way to say “I love you” in Mandarin Chinese.