ASPWL Ch103: The last melon

The man outside, Huo Yan, was eventually dragged away by Huo Ze and Huo Jing. But even so, Ye Leyao couldn’t bring himself to go downstairs. 

“I don’t want to see Second Brother today… No, I don’t want to see him tomorrow either!” 

Ye Leyao paced around, his face red as he circled the room. Qin Yao watched his flushed face, a hint of a smile rising in his eyes: “What will you do when Uncle and Aunt call you to eat later?” 

“I won’t eat!” Ye Leyao rubbed his face with his hand, “Of course, I won’t eat, but…” 

Ye Leyao turned his head and immediately met Qin Yao’s face, which couldn’t hide his smile. Ye Leyao’s brows furrowed and he snapped: “President Qin! You’re still laughing!” 

Qin Yao tried hard to suppress the corners of his mouth. After much effort, he managed to stop smiling, but when he looked up and met Ye Leyao’s gaze, he almost broke his composure again and quickly turned his head away. 

Ye Leyao deliberately glared at Qin Yao with a fierce expression. 

Suddenly, Ye Leyao’s eyes lit up. “Looks like this is the only way.” 

Qin Yao laughed for quite a while, then suddenly realized that Ye Leyao was standing in front of him. 

The redness had almost faded from the young man’s face, and now he was staring at him with round eyes. 

Qin Yao was slightly stunned: “Hm?” 

Ye Leyao flashed a bright and radiant smile: “President Qin, you don’t need to go to the office today, right?” 

Qin Yao looked at Ye Leyao, pausing for a moment before answering: “No.” 

Then Ye Leyao suddenly laughed: “Great! Then President Qin, come with me to meet someone today!” 

Qin Yao instinctively asked: “Didn’t you say you didn’t want to see Huo Yan today?” 

“Who said I’d see Second Brother if I go out?” Ye Leyao blinked his eyes. 

Qin Yao was confused: “Then we…” 

Before he could finish his sentence, Ye Leyao suddenly turned and quickly walked to the balcony, opening the glass door of the floor-to-ceiling window. 

Qin Yao’s pupils constricted. Could it be what he thought it was? 

Before Qin Yao could ask, Ye Leyao quickly turned around and grabbed his hand: “Are you ready?” 

“What ready—” Before Qin Yao could finish his question, Ye Leyao immediately took him up into the air and swiftly flew out the window. 

Ye Leyao hummed a couple of times, realizing he couldn’t scare Qin Yao, so he stopped teasing him. Soon, he brought him to a place where no one was around. The sensation of weightlessness was particularly interesting, with the warm breeze of summer brushing against their faces, carrying a hint of heat but not too hot. 

Qin Yao looked down at the ground and noticed that the once tall buildings had now turned into low houses. 

Qin Yao smiled. 

Ye Leyao tilted his head and looked at him: “Aren’t you scared?” 

Qin Yao urgently grabbed Ye Leyao’s hand, smiling: “With you here, why would I be scared?” 

His words sounded very natural, making Ye Leyao’s ears blush a little. 

As soon as they landed, Ye Leyao immediately sent a message to Mama Huo, saying that he wouldn’t be going back for dinner today with Qin Yao. After receiving a reply from Mama Huo and briefly explaining, Ye Leyao put away his phone: “Let’s go.” 

“To see whom?” Qin Yao asked. 

Ye Leyao thought for a moment: “I can’t say we’re going to meet him specifically, just going to have a little gossip.” 

Qin Yao’s eyes curved into a smile: “Just the two of us?” 

Ye Leyao knew what Qin Yao was asking, and he hesitated for a moment before answering. 

“If it’s just the two of us…” Ye Leyao paused for a second, “Seems like it’s not really good.” 

Qin Yao smiled and took out his phone: “Should I call Huo Ze? Then we can have lunch before they arrive?” 

Ye Leyao had no objections. He couldn’t help but mutter quietly: “But I’ll still have to see Second Brother… so what am I even fussing about?” 

Qin Yao wanted to laugh but was worried it would make Ye Leyao more upset, so he turned away and made the call. 

After the call, Qin Yao also booked a restaurant nearby, and the two of them held hands and had a simple lunch. 

After they finished eating, the Huo family was ready. Mama Huo’s call came: “Xiao Qin, where should we meet?” 

Ye Leyao leaned over: “Mama, why didn’t you call me?” 

Of course, Mama Huo knew that Ye Leyao was upset, and she didn’t want to make things more awkward! But on the phone, Mama Huo laughed and said: “What’s the difference between calling either of you?” 

Ye Leyao replied with an “oh” and then gave her an address. 

On the other end, Huo Yan’s voice was heard: “Isn’t that where big brother invested?” 

Ye Leyao nodded: “Yes, it’s for the drama set.” 

Two years had passed, and the final plotline of the A20231007 world was about to be concluded.

After this plotline ended, Ye Leyao, as the last task of the supervision system, would also completely come to a close. Qin Yao contacted the family driver, and after their meal, the two of them got in the car and headed towards the filming set. 

An hour later, the Qin family’s car and the Huo family’s car arrived at the filming set of the drama, which was invested in by Huo Jing. 

The family gathered outside the set. Ye Leyao carefully observed Huo Yan’s expression. Seeing that his face showed no other emotions, he then glanced at the rest of the family members and didn’t notice anything unusual, so he let out a slight sigh of relief. 

What he didn’t know was that after Ye Leyao turned around, both Papa and Mama Huo had a smile hidden in their eyes. However, the considerate adults didn’t actively expose it. 

Huo Dad said, “The eldest has already spoken with the director, let’s go.” 

Ye Leyao, holding Qin Yao’s hand, walked ahead, casually explaining the background of today’s gossip to the family. To sum it up in one sentence: “After being cheated on, I met my true soulmate.”

Hearing this simple and straightforward summary, the family’s expressions turned full of anticipation. 

“Cheated on?” Huo Ze’s eyes lit up, “Could this person also be an actor?” 

Ye Leyao nodded repeatedly: “Yes, yes.” 

He quickly gave them a brief overview of the plot. The actor who was cheated on was named Cao Qu, the protagonist of this storyline. This was Cao Qu’s debut year, and it was also his second year dating his boyfriend.

Unfortunately, due to work, Cao Qu had been living apart from his boyfriend for nearly a year and a half. During this time, his boyfriend had an affair, not only that, but he also flirted with several people and even developed relationships with two of them. 

Upon hearing this, the family’s expressions varied. 

“So Cao Qu’s boyfriend was seeing several people at the same time?” Huo Ze’s eyes widened. 

Ye Leyao nodded: “Yes,” then added a more shocking statement, “And one of them just happens to be an actor in the same drama group as Cao Qu.”

What? 

“This is quite a niche situation,” Huo Yan said. 

Huo Jing nodded. 

Huo Ze thought for a moment and then blurted out, “So his first and second boyfriends are both in the same drama group? How was this discovered?” 

When Ye Leyao heard this, the corner of his mouth couldn’t hold back a smile: “Well, you’ll find out later.” 

The family’s eyes all turned toward him. 

Mama Huo sighed: “Ah.” 

“I kind of miss the times when I could hear your thoughts,” Huo Yan said. 

The others nodded in agreement. 

Yes, they really did miss it! 

Ye Leyao smiled slightly and suddenly turned to Qin Yao: “By the way, there’s also a familiar face in this drama group!” 

“Who?” Qin Yao asked. 

Huo Jing thought for a moment: “Is it the one who recorded the show with you guys before?” 

Ye Leyao nodded: “Yes, it’s Zhang Qiran.” 

Qin Yao suddenly remembered, realizing he had forgotten something. 

While they were talking, they had already entered the drama set. 

The director of the set, knowing that Huo Jing was coming to visit, had arranged for staff to greet them. Seeing the group from a distance, the staff quickly walked over, greeted them, and then led them to the lounge. 

At this moment, the sun was high, and the set had not yet started working. 

As soon as they entered the lounge, the director and producer came over. Huo Jing went to discuss matters with them, while the rest of the Huo family stayed in the lounge. 

“Yaoyao.” Qin Yao, holding Ye Leyao’s hand, told him about the incident with Zhang Qiran and Song Zhehan that had happened a few days ago. 

Ye Leyao was surprised when he heard it: “So they’ve also regained some of their memories?” 

Qin Yao nodded. 

Ye Leyao thought for a moment and said, “It should be because the time resets happened too many times, causing them to have residual memories…” 

He said this with a calm expression, as if explaining something completely normal. 

But the others in the room immediately changed their expressions. 

Qin Yao, holding Ye Leyao’s hand, instinctively tightened his grip. 

Ye Leyao was slightly stunned, wanting to ask what was wrong, but when he looked up, he noticed that everyone in the lounge had flickering eyes. 

A sense of sourness filled Ye Leyao’s chest, and he quietly said, “There won’t be any more resets.” 

Ye Leyao had successfully changed Qin Yao’s predetermined outcome, and there was no longer any need to reset time. 

So, there was no need for them to be sad anymore. 

Everyone present understood his unspoken meaning, but the two years of hardship left a lingering shadow in their hearts. 

Even though the rain had passed and the sky was clear, the wounds soaked by the rain would occasionally hurt. 

Qin Yao took Ye Leyao’s hand and gently kissed the back of his hand, changing the subject: “Well, should we go see Zhang Qiran?” 

Ye Leyao replied: “Of course!” 

“Great, Zhang Qiran is one of our main characters today,” Ye Leyao said with a big smile. 

The others were taken aback when they heard this.

“Huh? Isn’t Zhang Qiran with Song Zhehan?” Huo Yan asked.

Huo Ze said, “Yeah, Ning Xu told me not long ago that he’s a fan of their CP and asked me to get an autograph for him!”

Qin Yao also looked puzzled. What does this have to do with Zhang Qiran?

Ye Leyao realized they had misunderstood and quickly explained, “Because Zhang Qiran is the one Cao Qu fell in love with at first sight!”

“Then how could he fall in love at first sight…” Huo Ze was confused.

Huo Yan couldn’t stand it anymore and pushed him lightly: “So, after you started dating, you never met anyone who confessed to you awkwardly?”

Huo Ze replied frankly, “Second brother, I’ve never dated.”

Huo Yan: “…”

He was left speechless and slightly amused.

Huo Ze then asked, “So, will Zhang Qiran get together with Cao Qu? If he agrees to Cao Qu’s confession, what will happen…”

“Who said he will agree to that… that trash, Cao Qu?” Ye Leyao suddenly turned around and saw Song Zhehan, who had appeared at some point, leaning against the door of the lounge with a foul expression on his face.

Huo Ze hadn’t expected that the person he was gossiping about would overhear, and his face turned bright red with embarrassment. He quickly exchanged glances with Ye Leyao.

Ye Leyao, as expected, immediately responded, “It’s been two years, and Teacher Gou Shi’s face is still as ugly as ever.”

As soon as he spoke, both Qin Yao and Huo Yan couldn’t hold back their laughter. They both chuckled, and even Mama and Papa Huo joined in.

The entire atmosphere in the lounge instantly became much lighter.

Only Song Zhehan still wore a sour expression, glaring at Ye Leyao. But Ye Leyao wasn’t afraid at all, even winking at him smugly.

The next moment, Song Zhehan was the first to crack. A clear smile flashed in his eyes, and he lowered them slightly, organizing his emotions before speaking: “When did you come back?”

Ye Leyao smiled: “I just came back the day before yesterday. Where’s Zhang Qiran?”

Song Zhehan moved a bit to the side, revealing Zhang Qiran, who had been hiding behind him. The moment he stepped aside, Ye Leyao happened to see a tear roll down from Zhang Qiran’s eye.

Ye Leyao’s eyes widened: “Hey, no, you… why are you crying again?!”

Zhang Qiran, standing by the door, looked up at the sky and, while crying, said, “I don’t know… I don’t want to cry either, it should be something to be happy about, but I just… woo woo woo… ahhh—”

Ye Leyao quickly turned to look at Song Zhehan. 

Then he saw Song Zhehan’s eyes flash with clear helplessness, before he reached out and pulled Zhang Qiran into his arms.

Ye Leyao, excited, immediately grabbed Qin Yao’s hand: “President Qin!”

He just hugged him? He just comforted him in his arms like that! Teacher Gou Shi—!

Huo Ze was equally excited, even taking out his phone and messaging Ning Xu while asking, “Can I take a picture? Don’t worry, I’ll only send it to one person!”

Song Zhehan, face dark with frustration, covered Zhang Qiran’s face with his hand and said with a frown to Huo Ze, “Don’t take a picture of his face.”

“Really? You actually won’t let him take a picture?” Ye Leyao was even more shocked, “Has Teacher Gou Shi become so generous?”

Ye Leyao shook Qin Yao’s arm: “President Qin, before, whenever I teased him a little, he would hold a grudge, but now… huh?”

As Ye Leyao spoke, he kept glancing at them.

The whole Huo family was watching with great interest.

Zhang Qiran, still extremely emotional, stopped crying after hearing Ye Leyao’s words. His face even turned red, and he quickly reached out to push Song Zhehan away.

Song Zhehan helplessly moved to the side, and just then, the sound of a camera shutter was heard.

Zhang Qiran, with red and swollen eyes, locked eyes with Huo Ze.

Huo Ze said: “I promise, I’ll only send it to Ning Xu! Ning Xu absolutely will not share it!”

Zhang Qiran then looked at Song Zhehan.

Song Zhehan opened his phone and showed a payment code: “Twenty thousand.”

Huo Ze stared in shock: “With your and my brother’s relationship, you’re still charging me money?”

Song Zhehan, expressionless, said, “You and he aren’t related, right?”

Ye Leyao didn’t forget to tease Huo Ze: “Right, I don’t know him.”

Huo Ze gritted his teeth and then happily transferred one hundred thousand, saying: “Then the photo of you two hugging and showing your faces, I’ll send to Ning Xu too.”

“Do whatever you want,” Song Zhehan said, taking the money and transferring the one hundred thousand to Zhang Qiran, then suddenly recalling something and asking: “Why do you want to send everything to Ning Xu? Do you like him?”

Huo Ze replied, “Yeah, I like him, ah—? Wait!”

Ye Leyao: “Huh?”

Papa and Mama Huo: “Huh?”

Qin Yao, seeing everyone was confused, also joined in: “Huh?”

Although they hadn’t seen each other in two years and despite the fact that Ye Leyao and Zhang Qiran didn’t have much interaction, once they sat together, neither of them could stop talking.

Huo Ze’s face turned red: “I don’t like Ning Xu! Why do you talk so recklessly?!”

Song Zhehan raised an eyebrow, looking at Zhang Qiran beside him: “You don’t have to feel embarrassed now. Now it’s his turn to feel embarrassed.”

Zhang Qiran: “…Well, it’s not necessary.”

Huo Ze: “… Huh?”

Huo Ze VS Song Zhehan.

Song Zhehan won.

Ye Leyao laughed loudly. As expected! Teacher Gou Shi was still as cunning and vengeful as ever! Third Brother was no match for him.

After the commotion, the atmosphere in the lounge became lively. Ye Leyao asked about Song Zhehan’s “chasing wife battlefield.”

Zhang Qiran asked about Ye Leyao’s identity and future plans. When he learned that Ye Leyao wasn’t leaving anytime soon, Zhang Qiran smiled happily: “Great! It looks like we’ll be seeing President Qin smile more often in the company.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, both Qin Yao and Song Zhehan turned to look at him. Ye Leyao couldn’t help but glance at Qin Yao, feeling a little sour in his heart. He parted his lips but hadn’t spoken yet when he suddenly heard Song Zhehan’s dissatisfied voice: “So, every time you come to the company, you just observe President Qin?”

Zhang Qiran suddenly felt something was wrong, sensing danger, and without thinking, he tried to deflect: “Didn’t you observe too? You even told me not long ago that President Qin looked a lot more haggard!”

Ye Leyao: “…”

Qin Yao: “…”

The whole Huo family: “…”

Ye Leyao hesitated, wondering if he should say thank you now? Would that be appropriate?

Seeing the two about to start arguing, Ye Leyao quickly coughed twice: “By the way, how about we talk about something more exciting?”

Upon hearing this, Song Zhehan immediately sneered: “Oh right, I almost forgot. Not only are you observing President Qin, but you’re also about to have a new romance. Congratulations.”

Zhang Qiran’s face turned red with anger: “Song Zhehan! You’re just making trouble for no reason!”

Song Zhehan mocked: “Where am I making trouble? Aren’t I just stating facts?”

“Really… okay then!” Zhang Qiran was clearly enraged, his chest heaving violently. 

Then, in the next second, Ye Leyao saw his eyes turn bright red.

No exaggeration, it was like his eyes instantly became red.

Ye Leyao pursed his lips, feeling a bit nervous and cautiously asked Qin Yao: “President Qin, I…”

Qin Yao tightened his grip on his hand and whispered in his ear: “It won’t last more than two minutes.”

Sure enough, as soon as Qin Yao finished speaking, Song Zhehan suddenly reached out and pressed his thumb to the corner of Zhang Qiran’s eye: “All you do is cry.”

Zhang Qiran’s voice was full of tears: “I don’t want to… but it’s your fault!”

That damn tear-prone body of his!

Huo Ze, holding his phone, watched while saying to Huo Yan beside him: “This hundred thousand was really worth it!”

Huo Yan slowly looked down at the screen, noticing Ning Xu on the other side. Realizing that Huo Yan had spotted him, Ning Xu awkwardly waved his hand.

Huo Yan: “…”

Watching the CP live-stream, Ning Xu was quite happy.

Two minutes later, the argument between Song Zhehan and Zhang Qiran ended. Huo Ze turned off the live stream, and at that moment, Huo Jing, who had been talking with the director and producer, returned to the lounge.

The conversation shifted back to the topic of today’s gossip.

It was clear that Song Zhehan still held a grudge against Cao Qu, a person he had never met, but since everyone was waiting to hear the gossip, Ye Leyao decided to ignore his sour face.

Cao Qu’s boyfriend was named Tang Yan, and Tang Yan’s other boyfriend was Ling Feng, the second male lead in Zhang Qiran’s drama. 

In theory, Cao Qu and Tang Yan lived apart most of the time, only meeting on scheduled occasions. The issue arose because Tang Yan knew that Cao Qu wouldn’t suddenly show up, so he decided to take the opportunity to meet his other boyfriend—Ling Feng. 

What a coincidence, though—Cao Qu happened to come to Zhang Qiran’s drama group for an audition that day, and the three of them ran into each other.

“So, Cao Qu found out today that he was being cheated on and fell for Zhang Qiran at first sight?” Song Zhehan understood.

Zhang Qiran, knowing how petty Song Zhehan was, quickly tried to reassure him: “Ye Leyao also said this is part of the original script, it doesn’t necessarily mean it will happen today, right?”

Ye Leyao thought for a moment and carefully responded: “It’s definitely going to happen that he gets cheated on, but whether it’s love at first sight, I’m not sure.”

Song Zhehan scoffed: “Seems like I came to visit the set today, and I really hit the mark, huh?”

Zhang Qiran: “Song Zhehan, stop being so sarcastic.”

“When have I ever been sarcastic?” Song Zhehan responded.

Seeing the two about to start arguing again, Ye Leyao couldn’t help but lean into Qin Yao’s ear and whisper, “Is this how they always are?”

Qin Yao thought for a moment and suddenly realized something: “You don’t know?”

Ye Leyao blinked, confused about why he would know.

A wave of emotions surged through Qin Yao, and he looked at Ye Leyao with a much softer gaze. After a long silence, Qin Yao finally smiled and said, “It’s nothing.”

Ye Leyao was still puzzled, pressing: “What’s wrong? Is it weird that I don’t know?”

Qin Yao’s smile deepened, and he couldn’t hold it back anymore. He said, “It’s nothing, I’m just happy, Yaoyao.”

Ye Leyao was even more confused: “What exactly is going on?”

Huo Yan, unable to hold back anymore, gritted his teeth and said, “Still asking! Don’t you know what’s strange? Qin Yao is smiling because you only care about him and don’t care about anyone else!”

Ye Leyao stared blankly at Huo Yan, then turned to look at Qin Yao. Qin Yao covered his lips.

This wasn’t something he said.

Ye Leyao’s face slowly turned bright red. He opened his mouth, “I… I didn’t only care about Qin Yao! I care about all of you too!”

Huo Yan snorted: “Yeah, you ‘care’ about us on the side.”

Ye Leyao, annoyed, gritted his teeth: “I don’t!”

At that moment, Zhang Qiran came to his senses and looked at Ye Leyao, his eyes full of hurt: “So, we’re not worth your attention?”

Ye Leyao: “…”

Song Zhehan chimed in: “Looks like the system is biased too.”

Ye Leyao: “…”

Ye Leyao sighed, “Fine! I’m biased, okay?! I’m biased toward Qin Yao! What’s wrong with that? I like him, and if I don’t show bias toward him, who else should I?”

Although the little system had already encountered many instances of “human malice” and knew to respond cautiously, today it still accidentally stumbled into a trap.

The whole lounge immediately erupted in teasing. Ye Leyao’s face turned scarlet, and when he turned around, he happened to lock eyes with Qin Yao, who was looking at him tenderly.

Qin Yao’s eyes were deep, filled with a complex mix of emotions. Ye Leyao, no longer the naive little system he once was, could read the emotions in Qin Yao’s eyes—a strong affection tinged with a noticeable sense of tenderness and care.

Qin Yao really liked him.

Ye Leyao’s breath hitched. His heart began to race uncontrollably. The hand that Qin Yao was holding also became even warmer.

At that moment, Ye Leyao suddenly thought about the chaotic kiss from last night, which had the same temperature that sent a chill down his spine.

Ye Leyao buried his head in Qin Yao’s chest, trying to hide his flushed face.

Qin Yao cooperated fully, gently rubbing his hair and then looked around at the others in the room. Everyone, being very perceptive, stopped teasing and even turned their gazes away in cooperation.

Of course, except for Huo Yan.

“After kissing right in front of me, now you’re embarrassed?” Huo Yan asked.

Song Zhehan and Zhang Qiran chorused: “Wow—”

Ye Leyao: “…”

“Second Brother!!!”