ASPWL Ch104: Welcome back, Melon King! 

To prevent Ye Leyao and Huo Yan from arguing again and to ensure that everyone can smoothly enjoy the gossip later, the Huo family members stood up and intervened.

“Forget it, forget it; Xiao Yao don’t argue with your inconsiderate second brother,” said Mama Huo.

“You really—can you not bring up such things casually?” Papa Huo lowered his voice and pulled Huo Yan away. “You should know Xiao Yao is sensitive about this!”

Huo Ze quickly stepped forward and stopped Ye Leyao. “Alright, alright, you know second brother hasn’t been in a relationship for years, he’s just jealous!”

Huo Jing: “Mhm.”

Huo Yan was so angry his teeth itched. What does he have to be jealous of? Just as he was about to speak, Papa Huo stopped him. “Say less!”

Qin Yao also stood up at the right moment, holding Ye Leyao’s hand. “Shall we go for a walk?”

Without waiting for Ye Leyao to agree, he dragged him outside.

Once the hottest part of the day passed, the staff of the crew who were resting began to emerge from their rooms, preparing for the afternoon shoot.

Song Zhehan and Zhang Qiran followed the two out. Zhang Qiran was about to suggest they sit in his resting room first when he saw Ye Leyao tugging at Qin Yao’s sleeve. “There!”

The others instantly followed his gaze.

The director’s resting room wasn’t far from theirs, and at that moment, the director and assistant director were standing at the door, chatting with a young man who looked very similar to a big star.

From the distance, they couldn’t hear the conversation clearly, but from the director and assistant director’s expressions and body language, it was clear they were very pleased with the man standing in front of them.

Ye Leyao’s eyes brightened. “That’s Cao Qu!”

Without Ye Leyao even saying it, they had all guessed.

Song Zhehan’s gaze lingered on the man for a moment before he scoffed lightly. “He does look like a person.”

Zhang Qiran facepalmed. “First of all, he is a person…”

Song Zhehan shot a faint glance at Zhang Qiran.

Zhang Qiran fell silent.

Ye Leyao chuckled.

Qin Yao spoke loudly, “Seems like you’re quite bothered.”

Ye Leyao nodded repeatedly in agreement. Not only bothered, it seemed like the jealousy jar had already overturned.

At that moment, the director and assistant director noticed Zhang Qiran and called out, “Xiao Zhang, come over, I want to introduce you to someone.”

Ye Leyao loved such excitement and, imitating the tone of Song Zhehan and Zhang Qiran, exclaimed, “Oh, they’re specifically introducing you!”

Zhang Qiran: “Stop making fun of me!” He glanced at Song Zhehan, which made him immediately feel a bit of a headache.

Song Zhehan showed no anger and even had a faint smile.

Zhang Qiran was about to step back when Song Zhehan placed his hand on his shoulder and gave him a friendly smile. “Why are you stepping back? Didn’t you hear the director call you? Go over there.”

Zhang Qiran took a deep breath and explained, “…I’m just working with him!” He emphasized again, “Working!”

Song Zhehan responded indifferently.

Zhang Qiran added, “Besides, as Ye Leyao said, this is all just a script. Even if I meet him, he might not fall in love at first sight!”

Song Zhehan responded coolly again.

Zhang Qiran felt like his words were like hitting cotton, soft and ineffective. He glared at Song Zhehan and turned to walk away.

Ye Leyao sniffed the air. “Why do I smell vinegar?”

Qin Yao nodded. “I smelled it just now. It’s a strong vinegar smell.”

Watching Zhang Qiran’s back as he walked away, Ye Leyao looked at Song Zhehan. His face had completely fallen. Ye Leyao couldn’t help but laugh again. “Aren’t you going?”

Song Zhehan, with his hands in his pockets, didn’t even glance at Zhang Qiran and ignored Ye Leyao.

Ye Leyao grinned and took Qin Yao’s hand. “If you’re not going, President Qin and I will go.”

As they walked, Ye Leyao didn’t forget to tell Qin Yao, “I’ll send a message to my parents. Looks like Cao Qu’s audition is over, so the good show should be starting soon…”

Ye Leyao quickly sent the message and suddenly realized someone had followed them.

When Ye Leyao turned around, he saw Song Zhehan with a cold expression on his face.

“You came?” Ye Leyao asked with a smile.

Song Zhehan: “Who said I came to see him? I came to watch the gossip.”

Ye Leyao shook his head with a chuckle and leaned close to Qin Yao’s ear. “It’s been two years, but Teacher Gou Shi is still the same as before.”

Qin Yao sharply commented, “Stubborn.”

Song Zhehan: “…”

“You’re not much better,” Song Zhehan calmly retorted.

Ye Leyao took it as a compliment and pulled Qin Yao along, walking faster.

At this moment, the Huo family members also saw the message and came out of their resting rooms.

The director and assistant director were already familiar with each other, after all, they had a scene together today, so there was no harm in introducing themselves. They casually called over Zhang Qiran, and not only did they call Zhang Qiran, but Ye Leyao and Qin Yao also came along, followed by the rest of the group.

The director and Qin Yao were old acquaintances, and as for Song Zhehan, his relationships in the industry were well-known.

What were they doing? Were they getting to know Cao Qu?

Or was it because Huo Jing was dissatisfied with their casting?

The director and assistant director felt uneasy, very nervous.

As for Cao Qu, he was even more nervous. Cao Qu was just a small actor who had been in the industry for about a year. Although he had already acted in a few shows, most of the roles were minor ones, and many of his characters didn’t even have names.

This time, he finally got a good opportunity to audition for the male fourth role in a show, and just after passing the audition, he was now facing a crowd of people.

Cao Qu couldn’t help but nervously size them up.

He was familiar with Zhang Qiran and Song Zhehan. These two were not only a couple but also top stars in the industry. Behind them was Qin Yao, the famous “Emperor Qin” whose name even every drama student had heard of. As for the person next to him—

He looked somewhat familiar, but Cao Qu couldn’t recall his name.

However, these few people weren’t the only ones; there were even more behind them!

One was Huo Yan, another was Huo Ze, and then their older brother, the investor of the drama—Huo Jing.

Cao Qu took a deep breath and placed his hand on his chest. Could it be that the investor didn’t think he was suited for the role and was going to replace him?

Cao Qu’s forehead was covered in sweat.

At this moment, he heard Huo Jing speak, “It’s fine, you don’t need to mind us, we’ll just walk around.”

The director and assistant director both sighed in relief, and Cao Qu felt like a weight had been lifted off his chest.

As long as they weren’t dissatisfied with the casting or planning to replace him, everything was fine!

The director quickly said, “Alright, Mr. Huo, you all go ahead. I’ll take Xiao Cao to meet Ling Feng.”

Ye Leyao immediately tugged at Qin Yao’s hand, “We’ll go too.”

The director: “?”

Before Qin Yao could speak, Huo Jing said, “Then thank you, director.”

The director: “…” Although he wasn’t sure what they were doing, since Huo Jing had spoken and with Qin Yao standing next to him, the director could only respond politely and lead them to meet Ling Feng.

Ling Feng was already in the makeup room, as his scene was scheduled for the afternoon.

When the director brought a large group into the makeup room, Ling Feng was startled.

It wasn’t until the director explained and introduced them that Ling Feng roughly understood what was going on, but— 

With so many well-known actors and big names showing up, why was he only being introduced to Cao Qu?

Who exactly was Cao Qu?

Ling Feng couldn’t help but study Cao Qu, and just as he did, Cao Qu was also looking at him.

After a while, Ling Feng noticed the nervous look on Cao Qu’s face.

Huh??? Wait, why is Cao Qu nervous?

Could it be that Cao Qu didn’t know?

Ling Feng’s expression turned a little more complicated, and he even looked at Cao Qu with a hint of sympathy, as if encountering an old acquaintance in the makeup room.

Ye Leyao, who had a clear view of both of their expressions from the side, almost burst out laughing and couldn’t help but mock them.

However, Ye Leyao couldn’t laugh out loud in front of them, especially with the director and assistant director still present!

So, Ye Leyao quickly had an idea.

The next moment, a familiar voice echoed in the minds of everyone in the Huo family and Qin Yao.

Even Song Zhehan and Zhang Qiran heard this voice.

Ye Leyao: [No wonder both of them caught Tang Yan’s eye, looks like these two victims have pretty similar brainwaves.]

Upon hearing Ye Leyao’s thoughts again, everyone from the Huo family couldn’t help but show a hint of nostalgia on their faces, and in the next moment, they struggled to hold back their laughter.

To be honest, what Ye Leyao said was very true!

After the initial shock, Song Zhehan and Zhang Qiran quickly regained their composure. Since they had already accepted Ye Leyao as a system, any further bizarre situations didn’t seem that hard to accept.

However, Song Zhehan suddenly realized and turned to Qin Yao, asking, “So, are you guys always one step ahead of me like this?”

Zhang Qiran was about to ask what “ahead” meant, when he suddenly remembered the many coincidences that had occurred when he participated in variety shows two years ago—

Zhang Qiran’s eyes widened in realization. “So, you were able to… back then?”

Qin Yao nodded.

The next moment, Ye Leyao’s thoughts echoed again: [Here it comes, Tang Yan is here!]

Everyone instantly became alert, turning to look with Ye Leyao. They heard two voices talking outside the makeup room:

“You’re too kind, why did you bring us gifts? How can I accept this…”

“You definitely should accept them, it’s nothing expensive, just a small token of appreciation for taking care of Feng-ge. I can’t always be around, so I’ll leave it to you to look after him.”

“Looking after Feng-ge is what I’m supposed to do as his assistant. As for you, Yan-ge… I’m so touched!”

Ye Leyao immediately looked over at Ling Feng and Cao Qu.

Ling Feng had clearly recognized Tang Yan’s voice and his face brightened with joy.

As for Cao Qu, he blinked slowly, his brows furrowing as he mumbled, “It sounds like I’m hearing my boyfriend’s voice.”

His voice was so quiet that it was hard to catch unless you were paying attention.

Unfortunately, no sound could escape the watchful system.

Ye Leyao couldn’t help but smile, thinking: [Could it be… that this is your boyfriend?]

The conversation between Tang Yan and his assistant grew closer, and soon the door handle was turned from the outside. The assistant’s voice cheerfully rang out: “Feng-ge, guess who’s here!”

With that, the assistant even took a considerate step back.

The Huo family also thoughtfully moved aside, making room for Cao Qu and Ling Feng to clearly see who was standing at the door.

Cao Qu’s eyes widened in shock as he saw Tang Yan standing there.

Ling Feng was even more excited. He hadn’t seen Tang Yan in a long time, and he hadn’t even noticed standing up, already preparing to run toward Tang Yan, when Cao Qu suddenly spoke up: “Tang Yan, why are you here?”

Tang Yan, standing at the door, froze, staring at the group inside with wide eyes, but it was Cao Qu who surprised him the most.

His lips moved, and it took him a while before he managed to say, “Cao… Cao Qu, what are you doing here?”

Ling Feng looked at Cao Qu, then at Tang Yan, “Do you two know each other?”

Cao Qu’s mind was in a whirl. He had just overheard the conversation between Ling Feng’s assistant and Tang Yan. What was this about Tang Yan giving gifts to the assistant? And about not being able to come often and leaving the care of Feng-ge to the assistant?

Could it be that Ling Feng was related to Tang Yan?

“You… are you his…” Cao Qu asked.

Tang Yan’s pupils shrank, and he quickly tried to interrupt Ling Feng, but Ling Feng spoke faster, saying, “He’s my boyfriend, and you guys…?”

The next moment, Cao Qu broke down and shouted, “He’s also my boyfriend!”

His voice was so loud that every word seemed to come from deep within his throat.

The room fell silent, the sound of a pin dropping could be heard.

Ye Leyao, seeing Tang Yan’s trembling figure at the door, struggled to hold back a smile.

[I can’t laugh… I can’t laugh… hahahahahahaha—]

Ye Leyao couldn’t hold it in at all.

Except for him, everyone else in the room was trying hard to suppress their laughter.

Ye Leyao could even feel Qin Yao’s hand gripping his tightly, as if it were trembling slightly.

Looking around the room, Ye Leyao thought: [Hmm, looks like everyone is struggling to hold it in!]

Everyone turned their eyes to Ye Leyao with somewhat resentful expressions.

Ye Leyao quickly looked away and focused back on the three main characters.

Ling Feng felt like a whirlwind had passed through his mind, everything was in chaos. He stood frozen, looking at Cao Qu, then painfully turned to look at Tang Yan. “He… what did he say…?”

Tang Yan’s face turned bright red. At this point, he couldn’t care about anything else and turned to leave.

But neither Cao Qu nor Ling Feng was going to let him leave so easily.

Both of them chased after him.

“Tang Yan! What’s going on?” Ling Feng shouted.

Cao Qu’s eyes were red: “You told me you’d be home these past few days, but you never came to see me?”

“Just what is your relationship with Cao Qu?” Ling Feng demanded.

Cao Qu, with tears in his eyes, glared at Ling Feng: “We’ve been together for over a year, and this is how you treat me?”

“Tang Yan—”

“Say something!”

Ye Leyao followed them out, and upon hearing those two lines, it was even harder for everyone to hold back their smiles.

[What do you expect Tang Yan to say?]

[Are you going to accuse him of cheating, saying that not only is he dating you, but also several other people?]

In the afternoon, as filming began, people bustled around the set. 

Cao Qu and Ling Feng didn’t try to lower their voices, so many of the crew members turned their attention toward them, casting curious glances. A few extras, in small groups, cautiously approached to eavesdrop.

Tang Yan had been trying to leave quickly, but now he was blocked by both of them.

With more and more people gathering, he grew increasingly flustered: “Move aside, move aside—”

Cao Qu said, “Explain yourself, and I’ll let you go!”

Ling Feng added, “Same here.”

Tang Yan was so angry his face turned red: “What do you want me to explain? What’s there to explain?”

“You all have eyes and ears, don’t you?” Tang Yan snapped. “Can’t you see and hear? The truth is right in front of you, yet you’re still asking about it?!”

It was clear that Tang Yan had given up, ready to let things fall apart.

Not only were Cao Qu and Ling Feng stunned, but the crowd watching was also taken aback.

Wait, hold on… So, was it really like that?

The director and assistant director were even more confused. Could someone really say something like this in front of so many people?

The director, just about to call someone to stop it, turned around to look at Mr. Huo.

Mr. Huo gave him a brief glance and shook his head.

The director froze.

Mr. Huo nodded slightly, signaling for him not to intervene.

The director: “…”

Well, if the investor says not to interfere, then there’s nothing to be done.

Because of Mr. Huo’s signal, everyone was treated to quite a spectacle.

Cao Qu, hearing Tang Yan admit his relationship with Ling Feng on the spot, was so angry he trembled, tears streaming down his face. “Tang Yan! Do you think you deserve me?! Do you think you deserve me?!”

Cao Qu cried loudly.

Ling Feng was even angrier. “So you’ve been lying to me this whole time? Last week, when I went to see you, you said you were too busy to meet me, but you were actually meeting Cao Qu?!”

Cao Qu cried even louder, defending himself: “I didn’t meet Tang Yan last week!”

Tang Yan explained coldly, “I didn’t go to meet him last week.”

Ling Feng, fuming, said, “Are there others? How many people have you been secretly hooking up with behind my back?!”

Tang Yan responded, “Oh, plenty more!”

He was completely done caring.

The next moments were spent with the three of them standing at the makeup room door, hashing it all out.

The more they talked, the more hopeless Cao Qu and Ling Feng felt.

As for Tang Yan, who had put on a mask and hat at the start, once he saw their anger fading, he immediately turned and left.

By this point, an hour had passed.

Cao Qu’s tears were all but dried up when Ling Feng suddenly started crying loudly. “I… I love him… Ugh… Why? Why did he betray me?!”

Cao Qu: “…”

What the heck? He’s been with Tang Yan for so long!

Now, the two of them, heartbroken, were sobbing together.

Although they were clearly in a miserable situation, their crying had an almost comedic aspect to it.

The crew and other onlookers exchanged looks, unable to hold back their laughter, but when they tried to console them, the two cried even louder and more pitifully.

It was clear that the day’s shooting was ruined, but neither the director nor assistant director seemed concerned. After all, if the investor wasn’t bothered, there was no reason to worry. Once the spectacle had ended, the director waved and told everyone to disperse.

Ye Leyao, having seen all the drama, also decided to leave.

After witnessing the chaos, what was left for them to do there?

As they exited the set, Zhang Qiran and Song Zhehan caught up with Ye Leyao and Qin Yao. “How about we grab a bite to eat?”

Ye Leyao smiled. “Sure, let’s go!”

After dinner, when they left the restaurant, it was already 9 PM.

Zhang Qiran had filming the next day, and Song Zhehan had work, so despite not wanting to leave, they both waved goodbye.

Just before leaving, Zhang Qiran couldn’t help but ask, “Will we… meet again?”

Ye Leyao suddenly smiled.

The warm streetlight bathed him in a soft glow, outlining his features beautifully, and his eyes sparkled with a playful smile.

Zhang Qiran was momentarily stunned.

Ye Leyao smiled and said, “I won’t be leaving again. Just call me when you want to grab a meal!”

Zhang Qiran was about to be pushed into the car by Song Zhehan. “We’ll leave now, but we’ll keep in touch.”

Ye Leyao nodded with a smile. “Sure, let’s keep in touch.”

As the car doors closed, their figures blurred in the distance, and Zhang Qiran muttered to himself, “Compared to him, he’s really become part of our world.”

Song Zhehan recalled the first time he saw Ye Leyao, when he looked like a child, unsure and unfamiliar with the world.

After a long pause, Song Zhehan nodded, “Yeah.”

He had truly become part of it, and it was because he understood feelings now. That was why the system, which was once completely ignorant of emotions, was now working hard to change their fates.

Zhang Qiran rested his head on Song Zhehan’s shoulder and suddenly straightened up, “Ah! I forgot to thank him today!”

Song Zhehan smiled lightly, the fast-moving lights outside reflecting in his eyes. He held Zhang Qiran’s hand and said softly, “I already thanked him.”

Zhang Qiran looked puzzled. “When?”

Song Zhehan gazed out of the window, his eyes curving. “I thanked him a long time ago.”

Zhang Qiran looked at his jawline, no longer pressing the issue. After a long while, he smiled. “Then I won’t thank him. He probably doesn’t like hearing us say thanks anyway.”

Song Zhehan nodded slightly. 

Yeah, they just needed to keep their gratitude in their hearts.

…

Meanwhile, after Song Zhehan and Zhang Qiran left, Ye Leyao and Qin Yao got into their car, heading home.

On the way back, Ye Leyao couldn’t help but ask, “You really don’t need to go back?”

Qin Yao knew what he was worried about and smiled, shaking his head. “No need.”

The company had Qin Hongxi keeping an eye on things, and earlier that day, Qin Yao had received a message from Qin Hongxi asking him to spend more time with Ye Leyao.

Ye Leyao felt relieved and took out his phone, ready to scroll through Weibo when suddenly a call came in.

He answered, and it was his mother’s voice, “Hello, Xiao Yao, did you see Weibo?”

“Weibo?”

“Ah, someone must’ve taken a video of us watching the commotion today and posted it online. And they just happened to catch you and Xiao Qin.” His mother said.

Ye Leyao put it on speaker, and Qin Yao quickly took out his phone and opened Weibo. As soon as he opened the search page, he saw a trending topic with the bold headline:

#Welcome back, Melon King! 

Ye Leyao: “…”

“Such a cheesy name, did my third brother really buy this trending topic for me?”

He hung up the phone with his mama.

Before he could think further, his phone vibrated again.

He looked down at the screen. The caller was Li Siyuan.

Ye Leyao hesitated to pick up.

Before he could decide, another call came in.

This time, it was from Zhou Zijian.

Ye Leyao held his vibrating phone in his hand, feeling an inexplicable sense of anxiety.