ASPWL Ch24: I’ve Decided

[Mama Huo, well done!]

Ye Leyao’s mouth curved up.

[If it weren’t the wrong time, I’d really like to interview Wen Wen to see how she feels about her most proud son and beloved husband turning into the people she despises the most?]

Still as sharp as ever, Ye Leyao. Huo Ze’s mouth also curved up.

But to be honest, he too would like to interview Wen Wen.

“You’re lying! I don’t believe it! You must be lying to me!” Wen Wen glared at Mama Huo, mumbling to herself as if convincing herself, “You must be lying to me! I don’t believe they would be…”

Wen Wen couldn’t bring herself to use the term “perverts” on her husband and son.

Mama Huo said nothing more. She just returned to stand beside Papa Huo, looking at Wen Wen with a touch of pity and sadness.

[To still not believe at this point shows that Wen Wen’s self-deception skills are top-notch!]

Mama Huo couldn’t help but agree.

Even though she really didn’t like Wen Wen, when it came to the matter of marriage, Wen Wen was indeed a victim.

She even thought that just now, as long as Wen Wen could wake up and divorce Zhao Yang, she could help.

[So we must stay away from such people. It’s not that her situation is not sympathetic, but because a “delicate wife” who is good at self-PUA (psychological manipulation) will firmly believe that the emotional problems between her and her lover are caused by others. If you help her, she will not only resent you for meddling but will also blame you for interfering and stirring up trouble after reconciling with her husband. In the end, she will put all the blame on you and continue her sweet reconciliation with the scumbag.]

Mama Huo: “…”

[In short, her brain structure is problematic! I’d better stay away from her; I’m really afraid she might go crazy later.]

Mama Huo took a big step back without hesitation.

Papa Huo looked at her puzzled.

Mama Huo took a deep breath and explained, “Respect others’ fate, enjoy a happy life!”

Papa Huo: “…”

Though her words made sense, why did she suddenly become so sentimental?

Before Papa Huo could ask further, Wen Wen suddenly turned to look at Zhao Wei and Zhao Yang.

By the time the police officers moved forward to restrain the two, they had already given up struggling.

After all, with the police coming to arrest them, it was clear that they had solid evidence. At this point, struggling and arguing would be futile. It would be better to admit guilt and seek leniency.

But Wen Wen didn’t believe it. Seeing the police preparing to take them away, she couldn’t take it anymore. She rushed forward and shouted, “My husband and son cannot be homosexuals, let alone do such shameless things. You can’t take them away!”

“If there’s a mistake, why don’t you go to the police station and find out?” Ning Xing, having heard so many disgusting things, had already regained her composure. Scumbags weren’t worth her tears. Watching this scene, she felt particularly satisfied.

“Shut up!” Wen Wen’s eyes were bloodshot, glaring at Ning Xing. She seemed to have figured out the whole situation, “It’s all your fault! If it weren’t for you, this bitch, coming here, my husband and son wouldn’t have been arrested today! I’ll kill you—”

The more Wen Wen spoke, the angrier she became, and she charged directly at Ning Xing.

“What do you think you’re doing?!” Ning Xu stepped in front of Ning Xing just in time.

The police were even quicker, restraining Wen Wen: “With us standing here, do you still want to cause trouble?”

“Let go of me! On what grounds are you arresting me? Let go of me now, or I’ll call the police—”

[Hahahahahahaha—]

[Does she hear what she’s saying? The police are right here; who does she think she’s calling?]

Ye Leyao couldn’t stop laughing.

The onlookers laughed even louder.

With the bursts of laughter, Zhao Yang and Zhao Wei were so embarrassed they couldn’t lift their heads.

But Wen Wen continued to shout, “My husband and son absolutely can’t be homosexuals, nor would they distribute obscene videos! They are being framed; someone must be slandering them—”

Zhao Wei buried his head even lower, looking like a turtle withdrawing into its shell.

Zhao Yang, both angry and annoyed, could do nothing at this moment. His face red with anger, he, too, lowered his head, wishing he could disappear into the ground.

Ye Leyao laughed so hard he was gasping for breath:

[Why are you shouting so loudly?!]

[Do you think Zhao Wei and Zhao Yang aren’t embarrassed enough?]

[Hahahaha, I wonder what’s happening in the live stream now?]

The live stream viewers, of course, laughed even harder. Just moments ago, the arrogant father and son duo had their situation turned upside down, becoming suspects. Who wouldn’t feel a sense of satisfaction after seeing this?

—”I can’t take it anymore; I’m laughing to tears!”

—”This is karma! Feels so good!”

—”Too bad we can’t egg on the streamer to watch the fun. I’ll just have to squat on the official police account for the official report.”

—”I’ll also check Ning Xu’s Weibo and KTW’s official account to see what really happened!”

On the scene, the police quickly took the three away, and Ning Xu, Ning Xing, and Ye followed to give statements. With the main characters gone, the crowd that came to see the exhibition and join the fun naturally dispersed.

Before leaving, everyone didn’t forget to complain:

“That was awful. I was going to say, what a bunch of scribbles they dared to exhibit.”

“Yeah, my three-year-old son draws better.”

“Good thing I didn’t buy anything; I saved money.”

After this incident, Zhao Wei’s reputation was completely ruined.

Moreover, because of the criminal charges, he wouldn’t be able to go abroad to escape the scandal anytime soon, effectively ending his artistic career.

The crowd at the exhibition dispersed, but the netizens waiting to gossip online didn’t leave.

Netizens, not being at the scene and lacking Ye Leyao’s inside scoop, hadn’t heard an explanation from the streamer. In the end, the streamer hastily ended the broadcast when the police arrived.

So, netizens could only search the internet for the live stream, but even after a frantic morning, they couldn’t get the full scoop.

They only knew the incident involved Ning Xu, Ning Xing, and even Huo Ze. Zhao Wei was accused of scamming money and emotions, and both Zhao Wei and Zhao Yang were arrested for criminal charges.

Netizens, unable to find the full story, flocked to KTW’s official account to ask what had happened.

After all, the much-anticipated playoffs were coming soon, and nothing should happen to Ning Xu, the team’s tactical core!

Ye Leyao was even more worried than the netizens.

After Ning Xu and Ning Xing went to the police station, Huo Ze followed them.

Ye Leyao wanted to go too, but Papa Huo said they shouldn’t cause more trouble, so the whole family returned to the Huo residence.

Upon arriving home, Ye Leyao started messaging Huo Ze, asking him to keep him updated on any progress.

Ye Leyao played a crucial role in resolving this matter so smoothly, so Huo Ze told him everything he knew as soon as there were any updates.

[Huh, they admitted so quickly! I thought Zhao Wei and Zhao Yang would deny it to the end!]

Papa Huo took a sip of tea and commented that they had no choice but to admit it since all the evidence was there. Confessing now might still earn them some leniency; otherwise…

Papa Huo shook his head—things would get much worse for them.

[Hahahahaha, Wen Wen’s criminal detention is well deserved! However, I think it won’t do much for her. Unless she sees the court’s verdict, she won’t believe it.]

Mama Huo nodded in agreement.

After all, in her mind, both Zhao Yang and Zhao Wei were outstanding. How could such excellent people be associated with something so depraved?

[Very good, excellent! But I wonder if Ning Xu and Ning Xing can get their money back…]

Mama Huo looked at Huo Jing.

Huo Jing said, “We’ve already got the legal team on it. They said it’s unlikely to recover the full amount, but they can probably get back two-thirds.”

Since the amount involved was significant and the oral agreements were indeed loans. Although Ning Xu was a love-struck fool, he wasn’t foolish enough to label the transfers as “voluntary gifts,” so it’s highly likely the money could be recovered.

Both Papa and Mama Huo were reassured.

Now the only problem was that this matter had blown up online. Once Ning Xu and Huo Ze came out of the police station, they would need to handle some public relations.

Huo Ze had the same thoughts as Papa and Mama Huo. After Ning Xu finished his statement at the police station, the two briefly discussed it and decided that Ning Xu would simply explain the truth on his personal Weibo to inform netizens and fans.

The netizens, who had been waiting to know the truth for nearly aday,y were excited.

But after reading Ning Xu’s Weibo post, they were both heartbroken and shocked.

—”Whoa… how much money did you say?”

—”Both siblings got scammed out of money and emotions by the same scumbag?”

—”Don’t tell me, God Xu, you lent all your match earnings to the scumbag?”

—”Very likely! You love-struck fool, what can I say about you! Thank goodness you woke up!”

—”God Xu was secretly dating while Z was on team? qwq Alright, fine, but this gossip makes my CP crumble.”

—”What happened?! What live stream? What did I miss this morning, anyone got a replay link?”

Soon, a netizen shared a replay of the morning’s live stream, a condensed version with only the most exciting cuts.

That evening, after finishing a full day’s work, Qin Yao also saw this trending topic. The first video he clicked on was the cut version, which he started watching immediately.

Halfway through, a familiar face flashed by.

Qin Yao quickly paused and rewound.

Watching it again, he confirmed it was indeed Ye Leyao.

Several real-time comments from keen netizens also recognized Ye Leyao.

One comment read: “Last time Feng Ziqi messed up, Ye Leyao was there too. This time, with the esports gossip, Ye Leyao is again at the scene. How are you always everywhere?”

The netizen voiced Qin Yao’s thoughts.

But after reconsidering, Ye Leyao knew some “plot” details that others didn’t, and since this matter was related to Huo Ze, his presence was reasonable.

With that thought, Qin Yao glanced at the revised guest list beside him, hesitated, and decided to call Huo Jing.

He had changed the guest list completely; this time, Ye Leyao should agree to participate in the show, right?

…

The online discussion about Ning Xu being scammed out of a million yuan in an online romance lasted for three days before the buzz finally died down.

On the fourth day after the incident, KTW faced their last match in the group stage, a crucial match for their playoff seeding.

Before the match, many fans were worried about Ning Xu’s state, fearing that the recent events might affect his performance.

Their worries eased when they saw the first game ten minutes in, with the bot lane utterly crushing the opponent. The fans finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Ultimately, KTW won the match with a 2-0 sweep.

In the post-match interview, Huo Ze had a solo session.

The host asked, “Captain Z, how do you view God Xu’s performance today?”

Huo Ze’s answer was brief: “Very strong.”

The host and the fans laughed together.

The host asked again, “Now that KTW has secured the top spot in the group, is there anyone Captain Z wants to thank?”

Huo Ze thought for a moment and said, “Ye Leyao, I guess.”

Just thinking about how their team’s core player almost got into serious trouble made Huo Ze shudder. If it weren’t for Ye Leyao, things could have been disastrous.

Hearing this unfamiliar name, the audience and host were puzzled, “Who is this?”

They had never heard of him.

Huo Ze didn’t explain further; he just smiled mysteriously.

Even before the interview ended, fans began searching for “Ye Leyao.”

The search results showed an account with only fifty thousand followers. Checking it, the personal bio had no information, and scrolling down, there was just a single selfie.

Admittedly, the young man in the photo was very handsome.

But was this Ye Leyao the same one Huo Ze mentioned?

Ye Leyao didn’t even follow Huo Ze, and he seemed to be an unestablished entertainer in the entertainment industry, without even a verification badge.

There must be a mistake, right?

The post-match interview only sparked a small wave of discussion within the esports community, and Ye Leyao, the center of the topic, was completely unaware.

At that moment, he was sitting on his own sofa, with a variety show proposal he had already seen before in front of him—

Qin Yao’s company’s big production variety show for the second half of the year: “Let’s Go Traveling Together.”

“What’s wrong?” Seeing Ye Leyao remain silent for so long, Huo Jing couldn’t help but ask.

A few days ago, Qin Yao contacted Huo Jing to invite Ye Leyao to participate in a variety show. Huo Jing initially didn’t plan to agree, as their company’s variety show “Let’s Go on an Adventure” was already in the process of being re-prepared and could start filming again in less than half a month.

Ye Leyao had just turned eighteen and had been pampered by Papa and Mama Huo. In Huo Jing’s view, keeping him under their watch was the safest option.

But Qin Yao said that after the incident with Feng Ziqi on the “Let’s Go on an Adventure” show, although Feng Ziqi had been completely discredited, there was no guarantee that his fans would completely let go. If fans caused trouble during the first day of filming, it could be detrimental to Ye Leyao, who had just debuted and had no fan base.

Qin Yao assured Huo Jing that he would also participate in the filming of “Let’s Go Traveling Together,” and he would pay full attention to Ye Leyao during the process. Additionally, the edited version of the show would be sent to him for review first, ensuring that there would be no malicious editing.

Huo Jing thought it over for two days before asking Qin Yao to send the variety show proposal over.

Huo Jing read through it himself and also gave it to Ye Leyao’s manager, Li Li, to read. They both felt that the variety show was good in terms of popularity and promotional effort, making it a suitable debut for Ye Leyao. Huo Jing then decided to bring the proposal home for Ye Leyao to review.

But Huo Jing never expected that Ye Leyao would remain silent for so long after receiving the proposal.

Did he dislike it, or…

[Why is President Qin still not giving up?]

Huo Jing was taken aback and immediately frowned.

Could it be that Qin Yao had contacted Ye Leyao privately before contacting him?

Huo Jing’s face darkened. He was very dissatisfied with Qin Yao’s actions and was about to say that if he didn’t want to participate, he should just refuse, when he heard Ye Leyao speak again:

[But seeing how much President Qin cares about this variety show, he must have invested a lot of money. I need President Qin to earn back the money I invested, so maybe I should help him out this time?]

Huo Jing was shocked.

When did Ye Leyao invest in Qin Yao?

Without giving Huo Jing time to think, Ye Leyao said, “Big brother, can I meet with President Qin?”

Huo Jing: “…”

“You can, but I must be present,” Huo Jing said. He needed to figure out what this investment was about and couldn’t let Ye Leyao be deceived by Qin Yao.

The meeting was scheduled for the next day at the Huo residence.

Early the next morning, Qin Yao arrived with the variety show proposal and contract.

Since Huo Jing had agreed to the meeting, it seemed that Ye Leyao had changed his mind.

Did this mean that Qin Yao’s choice of cast was not a problem this time?

Thinking of this possibility, Qin Yao felt quite pleased.

The butler led him into the living room, where he found not only Ye Leyao and Huo Jing but also Papa and Mama Huo.

Qin Yao greeted them all at once and sat on the sofa opposite Ye Leyao.

Before Qin Yao could speak, he heard Ye Leyao say softly:

[Still smiling? Let’s see if President Qin can still smile later.]

[Sigh—]

Ye Leyao sighed heavily.

Qin Yao’s smile froze instantly.

Not able to smile? Why?

Weren’t they meeting today to sign the contract?

Could it be that there was a problem with his choice of cast again?

Qin Yao tried to maintain his composed smile, “Leyao, what do you think?”

[What do I think? Of course, I don’t want to participate. Isn’t my expression obvious enough?]

Ye Leyao shouted in his heart.

But on the surface, he smiled lightly and said, “I only saw the basic plan and haven’t seen the guest list yet. Did President Qin bring the list?”

Now it was Qin Yao’s turn to be puzzled.

He turned to look at Huo Jing.

Huo Jing explained, “I only showed him the plan.”

After all, he hadn’t expected that Qin Yao had contacted Ye Leyao before. He wanted to hear Ye Leyao’s opinion first. If Ye Leyao decided to participate, he would then show him the detailed information on each guest.

The stone weighing on Qin Yao’s heart finally dropped heavily.

So, it was just that the new guest list hadn’t been shown to Ye Leyao yet. It gave him a scare!

He thought the cast he chose this time would be rejected again.

Qin Yao quickly took out the guest list and handed it to Ye Leyao, “This is the new guest list.”

Ye Leyao was puzzled:

[New guests?]

[Did President Qin finally realize that his choice of guests had issues?]

Ye Leyao suddenly became interested and started flipping through the guest list.

Opening the first page.

[This male celebrity’s name is somewhat familiar but also somewhat unfamiliar…]

Having learned from past mistakes, Qin Yao had significantly narrowed his casting range this time, avoiding selecting very famous artists and opting for third- and fourth-tier artists instead.

This male celebrity was already considered one of the more popular guests in this batch.

[Starred in a BL web drama?]

Ye Leyao’s fingers paused, and his eyes lit up.

Qin Yao’s eyelids twitched suddenly, sensing something bad.

Sure enough, the next moment, he heard Ye Leyao say:

[I remember now! He is the muscle-bound male celebrity who fancied his best friend’s mom, attempted to become his best friend’s stepdad by taking a shortcut to early retirement, and loves bodybuilding and fitness!]

Papa and Mama Huo’s eyes widened.

Qin Yao’s thoughts almost couldn’t keep up.

Wait, what did you say about the best friend’s what?

His mother?

What?

Qin Yao immediately lost his smile.

Huo Jing turned his head away, afraid that Qin Yao would notice his upturned lips.

Ye Leyao flipped another page.

[This male celebrity’s name is also familiar…]

Qin Yao felt a twinge in his heart, suddenly lacking the courage to continue listening.

But Ye Leyao continued to mutter to himself:

[He looks like the pure first love male lead from a novel.]

[Ah! I remember now that he’s the one fans call the gentle and warm first love!]

[But who would have thought, this persona only lasted less than a year. Soon, his secret Weibo account got exposed, revealing that this polite and gentle guy is actually a sharp-tongued king of verbal combat, insulting almost every artist he worked with in the industry!]

[His talent for cursing is truly… admirable.]

Mama Huo’s shoulders shook.

Papa Huo picked up his tea cup, wondering how he finished his tea so quickly!

Qin Yao felt the air in the hall suddenly thin.

Ye Leyao turned another page.

[Another one with a crafted persona, a foodie persona? Isn’t that the easiest to fail? I remember a female celebrity named Yang who had a foodie persona but was exposed for inducing vomiting after every live stream…]

[Hmm? Her surname is also Yang?]

[Could it really be the same person?]

Huo Jing suddenly stood up.

Ye Leyao instantly looked up.

Huo Jing hurriedly turned away, preventing everyone from seeing his upturned lips. “I need to use the bathroom.”

Mama Huo pinched Papa Huo’s arm, wishing she had thought of this excuse first!

Papa Huo looked at Mama Huo in pain.

Gently!

It really hurts!

Huo Jing quickly walked away, and Ye Leyao returned his gaze to the guest information.

[This guest likes to play the moral superiority card.]

[Hmm, this one has princess syndrome.]

[The last one… well, with so many guests combined, their tempers probably aren’t as bad as his. It seems he even fought with his manager due to differing opinions.]

Qin Yao closed his eyes in despair.

So…

Out of six guests, not a single one is problem-free?

Mama Huo now looked at Qin Yao with some pity.

This kid’s choice of guests…

It can’t be described as just poor!

Ye Leyao closed the guest list and handed it back to Qin Yao.

Qin Yao reached out to take it, not holding any hope, and stood up to leave.

Suddenly, Ye Leyao said, “I’ve decided…”

Qin Yao said, “It’s fine; if you don’t want to participate, I…”

“Who said I didn’t want to participate?” Ye Leyao looked at Qin Yao in confusion.

Now it was Qin Yao’s turn to be shocked.

Even Papa Huo and mom looked at Ye Leyao with confusion.

With six guests, each having significant issues, why would Ye Leyao want to join this variety show?

Ye Leyao’s lips curled into a smile, full of anticipation:

[Although none of these people are perfect, who is perfect?]

[With so many interesting people gathered on one variety show, I can’t even imagine how entertaining it will be!]

[It’s not that I like being in the thick of things; I just love witnessing the drama firsthand!]

Qin Yao: “…”

What is this?

Should he be laughing now?