ASPWL Ch7: The Tax That Must Be Paid

Ye Leyao was still earnestly watching the opening ceremony and didn’t notice that Qin Yao had stopped behind him.

“The Sickly Beauty’s Wealthy Husband” was a major production, and the opening ceremony was particularly grand. In addition to representatives from the investors, many industry media were also invited.

The investor representative was the first to offer incense, followed by the director’s team and the main actors.

Despite the distance, Ye Leyao could still clearly see the two lead actors.

[To be honest, although Yu Bai is not a good person, he does look quite good! No wonder so many fans were upset when his scandal broke.]

Hearing the voice again, Qin Yao was finally sure he hadn’t misheard.

What puzzled him, though, was that the boy in front of him hadn’t opened his mouth at all—how did he hear the voice?

Could it be that staying up late last night caused him to hallucinate?

Seeing Qin Yao standing still, his assistant couldn’t help but quietly say, “Brother Yao?”

Hearing the voice, Ye Leyao then noticed that Qin Yao hadn’t moved. He turned around and happened to meet Qin Yao’s eyes under the brim of his hat.

Those eyes were very attractive, with thick eyelashes casting a small shadow, deep and seemingly able to draw people in.

Ye Leyao thought he was in the way and moved aside, continuing to watch the opening ceremony.

Qin Yao motioned for his assistant to go ahead, but he himself stayed put.

After the assistant walked away, he looked at Ye Leyao and tentatively asked, “Are you a fan of Yu Bai?”

The boy in front of him looked young, casually dressed, and had delicate features. A ray of sunlight fell through the gaps in the tree leaves onto his cheek, making the fine hairs on his beautiful face especially visible.

Hearing Qin Yao’s voice, Ye Leyao glanced back at him and uncertainly asked, “Are you asking me?”

Qin Yao nodded, “Yes.”

His voice sounded exactly like the one he had just heard and was rather pleasant.

Ye Leyao then carefully examined the man in front of him—tall and upright, wearing a mask and hat, his face obscured. But just from his eyes, it was clear that this man was very handsome.

Ye Leyao went through the entertainers he remembered in his mind and found that he had no impression of him. Immediately, he became vigilant.

Although Ye Leyao didn’t know much about the entertainment industry, he had read a lot of novels!

The film city is so big that everyone inside is either an industry professional or a reporter, paparazzo, or even a fan who sneaked in.

As a newcomer about to enter the entertainment industry, Ye Leyao was especially self-aware.

He was entering the entertainment industry to make money. To make money in the entertainment industry, he had to strictly adhere to the rules at all times: never sleep when he shouldn’t, pay taxes when he should, never say what shouldn’t be said, and be careful even with what he should say!

In short, he couldn’t afford any blemishes!

Even though Ye Leyao hadn’t entered the industry yet, he had to stay vigilant at all times—what if he became famous in the future?

He Must Be a Flawless Artist!

Ye Leyao decided he had to be a zero-scandal artist!

So, Ye Leyao put on a not-so-perfect fake smile that he had just practiced and said with a smile, “No, at most, I’m just a… casual fan?”

[I’m not blind; how could I like a scumbag like Yu Bai?]

Two voices followed one after the other, and Qin Yao looked at the boy in front of him with a complicated expression.

He looked so well-behaved, who would have thought he had two faces.

At the same time, Qin Yao concluded that the voice he had heard earlier was indeed the boy’s.

But what was going on?

Could it be that staying up all night had awakened a mind-reading ability?

Qin Yao couldn’t help but reach out to check his forehead’s temperature.

Hmm, no fever.

What concerned Qin Yao more was the information Ye Leyao had just revealed.

Qin Yao took a deep breath, calmed himself, and asked, “So, what do you like about Yu Bai?”

Yu Bai was an artist signed by his company last year. Before signing with them, Yu Bai had already played a supporting role in a hit drama and gained some popularity. Because of his outgoing and approachable personality, he interacted with fans like friends and attracted a large fanbase of different ages.

Moreover, Yu Bai was humble and hardworking, and many industry professionals who worked with him praised him highly. That’s why Qin Yao entrusted him with the lead role in the S-level project “The Sickly Beauty.”

Why would the boy in front of him call such a humble and hardworking artist a “scumbag”?

Ye Leyao blinked.

[I don’t like anything about him.]

[What are Yu Bai’s good points? He has a ton of flaws.]

[Hmm… let me think.]

[Sleeping with fans?]

Qin Yao was stunned for a moment, thinking he had misheard.

[Having multiple partners? Both male and female lovers?]

Qin Yao’s eyebrows furrowed, and his lips tightened.

[He was the ringleader of school bullying in middle school, driving a student to jump off a building… Yep, definitely a scumbag!]

As Ye Leyao’s last words fell, Qin Yao’s heart skipped a beat.

Any one of these accusations, if exposed, would explode on social media.

Ye Leyao pursed his lips:

[As expected, I can’t bring myself to like such a rotten person.]

But on the surface, he still had to pretend. After all, there was still more than a year before Yu Bai’s real scandal would break. Ye Leyao said perfunctorily, “He looks okay.”

[Of course, that’s not his merit either; it’s mainly good genes.]

Qin Yao looked at the boy in front of him, unable to snap out of it for a long time.

If what Ye Leyao said was false, where did he hear such rumors?

If Yu Bai’s new drama had just started filming, could a rival company already be preparing press releases?

As soon as this thought arose, Qin Yao dismissed it.

Unlikely.

If a rival company were behind this, they would have already started creating buzz, and the PR department would have caught wind of it.

That left only one possibility—

What Ye Leyao said was true, and they hadn’t done a thorough background check on Yu Bai before signing him!

No.

Qin Yao’s aura suddenly turned cold. Yu Bai couldn’t have covered up such things by himself; someone must have deliberately helped him, so they didn’t find out.

Ye Leyao, having said his piece, continued watching the opening ceremony, completely unaware of Qin Yao’s emotional change.

Moments later, Qin Yao had suppressed his emotions and looked at Ye Leyao with a scrutinizing gaze.

Was it just a coincidence that Ye Leyao knew about Yu Bai’s issues, or—

Just then, a familiar voice rang out, “Ye Leyao! What are you running around for?”

Ye Leyao instantly turned his head at the sound, “Second brother.”

Qin Yao followed the direction of the voice and saw Huo Yan, still in costume, rushing over.

Noticing Qin Yao’s gaze, Huo Yan looked over and furrowed his brows, “President Qin?”

Ye Leyao hurriedly looked at the man beside him.

[Hmm? Does my second brother know him?]

Huo Yan said irritably to Ye Leyao, “Qin Yao, the movie star Qin, you don’t know him?”

Ye Leyao’s eyes widened.

[Turns out he really is from the industry! Good thing I didn’t say anything inappropriate earlier!]

Huo Yan: “…”

Qin Yao: “…”

Could it be that they both heard it?

At this moment, Huo Yan didn’t know Qin Yao could hear Ye Leyao’s thoughts, and Qin Yao also believed only he could read Ye Leyao’s mind.

So the two of them tacitly didn’t say anything more.

After a brief greeting with Qin Yao, Huo Yan took Ye Leyao away.

As they walked, Huo Yan didn’t forget to ask, “Why didn’t you answer your phone?”

Ye Leyao rummaged through his pockets and said quietly, “I forgot to bring my phone.”

Huo Yan said irritably, “Remember to bring it next time. This film city is huge. If I hadn’t…”

Speaking of this, Huo Yan felt a bit of a headache.

After a failed love affair, he did slack off for a couple of days.

But he didn’t slack off for long; his agent came to his house and “invited” him to the set.

Once he got busy with filming, the pain from the love affair was temporarily forgotten, and after a while, Huo Yan got used to it.

But just as he was getting used to it, Mama Huo called and sent Ye Leyao over, roughly meaning for Huo Yan to take Ye Leyao around for a couple of days before the family arranged for Ye Leyao to enter the industry.

Huo Yan had mixed feelings.

Ye Leyao had helped him see Su Rui’s true nature, but because of this, Huo Yan was now somewhat reluctant to see Ye Leyao again.

But Mama and Papa Huo didn’t give him the chance to refuse.

Today, as soon as Huo’s car entered the film city, Huo Yan, who was hanging from a wire, heard Ye Leyao’s muttering from afar, and almost stumbled and ended up face down.

On the way to find Ye Leyao, Huo Yan accidentally overheard a big scandal within the industry, and now his mood wasn’t as complicated as before. Looking at Ye Leyao, he found him much more agreeable.

“Has Qin Yao been with you the whole time?” Huo Yan asked. “What did he talk to you about?”

Although he could hear Ye Leyao’s thoughts, Huo Yan couldn’t hear Qin Yao’s questions.

Ye Leyao briefly recounted the questions Qin Yao had asked.

Huo Yan sneered inwardly. Combining this with Ye Leyao’s earlier complaints, he felt oddly satisfied.

In their elite circle, the Huo family’s Huo Jing and the Qin family’s Qin Yao were the top heirs of two leading families.

And all the other kids were compared to these two from a young age.

Because Qin Yao also entered the entertainment industry and even won the Triple Crown Best Actor award in three years, Huo Yan often found himself being compared specifically to Qin Yao. As a result, Huo Yan had never liked Qin Yao.

Qin Yao, however, was an all-round prodigy. Not only was his career in the entertainment industry flourishing, but he was also skilled in investment and management!

Starting from last year, Qin Yao had already begun taking on projects for the Qin Group.

Recently, Papa Huo had even praised Qin Yao in front of Huo Yan. Now, thinking that Qin Yao was about to face a major downfall, Huo Yan felt an unprecedented sense of satisfaction.

Indeed, human happiness is greater when it is built upon the suffering of others!

Huo Yan wanted to gossip more about Yu Bai’s affairs, so he asked, “Did you…” He couldn’t let Ye Leyao know they could hear his thoughts, so he changed to a more tactful question, “Were you just watching Yu Bai?”

Ye Leyao suddenly lifted his head and scrutinized Huo Yan from head to toe.

Huo Yan felt uneasy under his gaze and asked puzzled, “What?”

Ye Leyao shook his head.

But inside he thought, [I didn’t expect my second brother to move on so quickly?]

[His taste is getting worse each time!]

Huo Yan kicked a small stone and stumbled.

Ye Leyao quickly helped him, “Second brother, are you okay?”

In Ye Leyao’s mind, what kind of scumbag am I!

Huo Yan almost gritted his teeth to pieces; he really shouldn’t have agreed to let Ye Leyao come over!

Isn’t this just asking for trouble?

After returning to the set, Huo Yan didn’t have time to chat idly with Ye Leyao. He left him with an assistant and went back to filming.

Ye Leyao spent half the day touring the set with the assistant and decided after watching Huo Yan act for a while.

He was definitely joining the entertainment industry!

Before dinner, Ye Leyao returned to the Huo residence. As soon as he entered, he saw a somewhat familiar person sitting on the living room sofa.

Ye Leyao looked closely.

[Nah, isn’t this the second aunt who envies Mama Huo for marrying better and comes to Huo’s house once a month to pick up luxury items!]

Mama Huo’s smile instantly froze.