ASPWL Ch66: He Likes Him

“Song, Song Zhehan, stop talking nonsense!” Zhang Qiran glared at Song Zhehan.

The guests present all turned their heads, their gazes falling on Zhang Qiran.

All the garden lights were now turned on. Under the bright streetlights, everyone could clearly see a flash of panic on Zhang Qiran’s face.

Ye Leyao was also stunned by what he saw.

[Hey, that line from Song Zhehan was clearly meant to scare Zhang Qiran, but why do I feel like Zhang Qiran actually got scared? Could it be that he really has some big secret, and that’s why he’s feeling guilty?]

Huo Yan and Qin Yao simultaneously raised their eyes to look at Ye Leyao.

Ye Leyao was lost in thought.

Song Zhehan also seemed a bit surprised by Zhang Qiran’s reaction, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes, and then he smiled slightly, “I’m not talking nonsense; I just spoke from the heart after seeing Yu Bai being taken away.”

Li Siyuan laughed directly, “That’s quite a heartfelt expression.”

Zhang Qiran: “…”

It took several seconds for Zhang Qiran to barely force a smile, taking a step to the side to distance himself from Song Zhehan, and he said in a low voice, “That joke isn’t funny.”

Song Zhehan’s lips curled up, smiling happily, “Exactly. I was just joking. There’s no need for such a big reaction, right?”

“When did I overreact?” Zhang Qiran couldn’t hold it anymore, his tone rising slightly, “I just, I just…”

“What ‘just’?” Song Zhehan blinked, looking quite curious.

Zhang Qiran stammered for a moment, then suddenly shifted his gaze away, “Don’t stand so close to me!”

“Alright, alright, I know you hate me.” Song Zhehan showed a helpless smile, then turned to Zhou Zijian beside him and said, “Brother Zhou, look at him; he says he’s not overreacting! Does this look like he’s not overreacting?”

Zhou Zijian: “…”

How did this conversation end up involving me?!

Zhou Zijian sighed inwardly and stepped in to mediate, “Alright, alright, it’s getting late, and everyone must be hungry. I’ll go ask the director what we should do about tonight’s ingredients.”

After saying this, Zhou Zijian didn’t look at Song Zhehan or pay attention to Zhang Qiran beside him and quickly walked towards the direction of the director’s group.

He ran really fast.

Once Zhou Zijian left, Wen Xiangyue naturally followed him.

And Liu Yan, afraid that Song Zhehan might turn the conversation on her next, also left with Wen Xiangyue.

Qian Yue said to Xia Yang, “Let’s go have a talk too.”

Although Yu Bai had been taken away temporarily, this matter was far from over.

Both Qian Yue and Xia Yang needed time to think carefully about what to do next.

And more importantly, their fans were still waiting for their response, so they had to give them an explanation.

Plus, the show was still being recorded, so they needed to make the most of their time.

Xia Yang nodded and left with Qian Yue.

Turning back to Zhang Qiran.

After a brief moment of emotional loss of control and panic, he regained his composure. Watching Qian Yue and Xia Yang’s departing figures, he finally threw out a “I’ll go help Brother Zhou” and then ran off.

A hint of regret flashed in Song Zhehan’s eyes.

Li Siyuan leaned over, “Can’t take a scare, huh.”

“That’s not right,” Song Zhehan corrected him, “I wasn’t scaring him.”

Li Siyuan knew that Song Zhehan was a cunning person, so he saw no need to expose him.

He smiled and changed the topic, “Alright then, shall we go help too?”

Song Zhehan had no objections this time and glanced at Ye Leyao.

At this moment, Ye Leyao had put away his phone, his face showing rare confusion and puzzlement.

[Strange, I didn’t see any scandal involving Zhang Qiran.]

[Aside from maintaining his image, the biggest gossip about him is that he snatched a few roles and endorsements from Song Zhehan. Other than that, there’s nothing related to his morals or character.]

[So the question is, what is Zhang Qiran panicking about?]

After hearing Ye Leyao’s thoughts, Huo Yan and Qin Yao were equally puzzled.

In the entertainment industry, it’s common for artists to have their roles and endorsements taken by others. While this is criticized, it doesn’t necessarily reflect on one’s morality or character.

So, what exactly is Zhang Qiran panicking about?

Could there really be some gossip that even Ye Leyao doesn’t know about?

Qin Yao and Huo Yan both looked at Ye Leyao.

Seeing this, Qin Yao frowned.

But Huo Yan spoke up first. He quickly stepped forward, grabbing Ye Leyao’s arm, his brows furrowed, “What’s wrong with your arm?”

Hearing Huo Yan’s exclamation, Ye Leyao finally snapped out of it. He looked at his arm and was startled, “Ah, I got bitten by a mosquito!”

[Darn, it itches. I was so focused on the gossip earlier that I didn’t notice I got bitten.]

Huo Yan: “…”

Since childhood, Ye Leyao’s skin had always been fair. Whenever bitten by insects or mosquitoes, a big bump would swell up and remain prominent for about a week.

“Did you bring any ointment?” Huo Yan asked, sounding quite helpless.

Ye Leyao thought for a moment, “I think I did… maybe?”

“Maybe, my foot!” Huo Yan said, exasperated, “I’ll go ask the doctor.”

Qin Yao spoke up, “I have some. You can come with me to my room to get it.”

Huo Yan nodded, “Alright, you two go get the medicine. I’ll go check on the ingredients.”

The group split up.

As Ye Leyao followed Qin Yao upstairs, he was still pondering what Zhang Qiran had panicked about earlier.

But after thinking for a long time, he came up with nothing.

Could it be that he had missed something?

Ye Leyao simply stopped thinking about it. He turned to look at Qin Yao beside him and lowered his voice to ask, “President Qin, have your people started revealing things?”

Qin Yao nodded slightly.

He had made many preparations in advance for today’s event.

As soon as Yu Bai messed up during the recording, related revelations would be posted online.

Qin Yao wanted to make sure that Yu Bai could never make a comeback, and it was also a warning to the people behind him.

Ye Leyao, of course, had no idea what Qin Yao was planning. He only knew that there was more gossip to come!

So Ye Leyao quickly took out his phone and opened Weibo.

Out of the top ten trending searches, seven were related to Yu Bai.

Ye Leyao couldn’t help but smile, a bit mischievously, “Yu Bai is really famous now.”

Qin Yao couldn’t help but smile as well and did not deny it.

When he clicked on the first trending topic, the first post that popped up was a summary of all the dirt on Yu Bai.

Not only did this post provide a detailed introduction to the main characters of Yu Bai’s past relationships, but it also introduced Zhang Tao, a boy who had been bullied by Yu Bai in school many years ago. A series of evidence was listed, leaving no room for doubt.

The two had already reached Qin Yao’s room.

Qin Yao told Ye Leyao to sit wherever he liked, so Ye Leyao sat down on the sofa and then asked Qin Yao, “President Qin, you’ve had this evidence for a long time, right?”

It had only been a few minutes since Yu Bai was taken away. Even if things were to escalate online, it would be impossible to compile all this dirt in just a few minutes.

Therefore, this post could only be Qin Yao’s doing; he must have had this evidence in his possession for a while but hadn’t released it yet.

Qin Yao pulled out his suitcase, then glanced at the room’s camera, confirming it was off before nodding, “Yeah, I’ve been waiting for this opportunity.”

As he spoke, Qin Yao paused, then looked up at Ye Leyao with a smile, “Actually, I have to thank you for that.”

Although Qin Yao had indeed been preparing for a long time, he still needed an opportunity.

Originally, Qin Yao was planning to wait for Qian Yue and Xia Yang to slowly figure things out and confront Yu Bai.

Unexpectedly, Ye Leyao had just coincidentally made everything go smoothly.

Ye Leyao, however, was a bit confused.

[Thank me for what?]

[It seems like I didn’t do anything?]

[I guess I just got lucky?]

Hearing this, Qin Yao smiled as he took out the ointment from his suitcase.

Not everyone could have such luck, so he still wanted to thank Ye Leyao.

Handing the ointment to Ye Leyao, Qin Yao asked, “Can you apply it yourself?”

Ye Leyao took the ointment and nodded.

After leaving the garden, under the white string lights, the swollen bumps on Ye Leyao’s arms and legs looked even more obvious.

Qin Yao took a closer look and found that not only his arms and legs but also the back of Ye Leyao’s fair neck had a big swollen bump.

As Ye Leyao applied the ointment to himself, he grimaced, “To be fair, these mosquitoes sure know where to bite—they didn’t bite my face.”

Qin Yao chuckled and reached out to Ye Leyao.

Ye Leyao looked up, puzzled.

Qin Yao said, “There’s one on the back of your neck; I’ll help you apply the ointment.”

Ye Leyao gave a soft “oh,” obediently handed the ointment to Qin Yao, and then turned around, facing away from him.

The villa they were staying in this time was larger, with more indoor amenities.

Qin Yao’s room not only had a small living room but also a bathroom.

When Ye Leyao turned around, he was facing the bathroom’s glass door. Their reflections were cast on the glass door, and Ye Leyao could clearly see all of Qin Yao’s movements.

He saw Qin Yao put the ointment on his fingers, slightly lowered his head, and the slightly long bangs on his forehead covered Qin Yao’s deep-set eyes. Then, with a cool sensation, Qin Yao’s fingers with the ointment touched Ye Leyao’s neck.

Ye Leyao couldn’t help but shrink forward a bit.

Qin Yao’s voice sounded right behind his ear, “Does it hurt?”

Ye Leyao blinked.

It wasn’t pain.

It was just a bit cold.

And for some reason, this scene seemed strangely familiar to Ye Leyao.

It felt as if it wasn’t the first time this had happened.

Could it be that Qin Yao had applied ointment for him when they were kids?

Ye Leyao couldn’t figure it out, but he didn’t think too much about it either, because he quite liked Qin Yao applying the ointment for him. It felt like some part of his heart was being filled.

Ye Leyao smiled and said, “No, it doesn’t hurt.”

Qin Yao nodded and continued his actions.

His warm fingers evenly spread the ointment on the swollen bump, then quickly pulled away.

“All done,” Qin Yao said, handing the ointment back to Ye Leyao, “Keep the ointment. Remember to apply it again before you sleep tonight.”

Ye Leyao took the ointment, turned around, and gave Qin Yao a smile, “Okay, thank you, President Qin.”

Qin Yao didn’t say anything more, turned around, washed his hands in the bathroom, and then went downstairs with Ye Leyao.

Zhou Zijian and the others had already brought back the ingredients, and even Qian Yue was surprisingly helping out in the kitchen.

Seeing this, Ye Leyao’s eyes widened slightly.

Before he could speak, Song Zhehan came over, “Her brother came over personally to help her handle things, so she doesn’t have to worry about anything. Truly enviable.”

Ye Leyao couldn’t help but chuckle and sincerely suggested, “Then why don’t you find yourself a lawyer as a partner?”

Zhang Qiran glanced at the two of them, quickly looking away.

Noticing Zhang Qiran’s gaze, Song Zhehan slightly smirked and rolled his eyes at Ye Leyao, “Forget it.”

Li Siyuan, hearing their conversation, casually asked, “Why? Afraid you can’t win an argument?”

Song Zhehan scoffed, “Do you think I would lose?”

“Then you underestimate our Master Gou Shi,” Ye Leyao said, looking at Li Siyuan and shaking his head.

Song Zhehan raised an eyebrow, aiming his retort at Ye Leyao, “What did you just call me?”

Ye Leyao slowly blinked twice, then turned and ran towards the kitchen, “I’m going to help!”

Li Siyuan couldn’t help but laugh out loud, “What, don’t you like your new nickname?”

Without even looking at him, Song Zhehan turned and walked away, “Shut up, you brute.”

Li Siyuan: “…”

The live stream viewers could no longer hold it in after seeing this.

—”Ye Leyao is really surfing the web at 5G speed. He even called him Master Gou Shi!”

—”Don’t forget, our Melon King stands at the pinnacle of gossip. What doesn’t he know?”

—”That’s right, that’s right. But seriously, their banter is quite funny, hahaha—”

—”Yeah! I can’t stop smiling.”

The barrage was rare and peaceful.

Just then, someone said:

—”Quick, go see! Xia Yang’s side just released a statement!”

—”Not only has Xia Yang’s side released a statement, but Qian Yue’s studio has also released one!”

With the Yu Bai scandal escalating to this point, although some netizens haven’t finished digesting all the gossip, it’s now pretty much certain that Yu Bai won’t have any chance of making a comeback in the future.

In the statements from Xia Yang and Qian Yue, not only did they provide detailed timelines of when each of them was together with Yu Bai, but they also attached all the evidence of Yu Bai pursuing them.

There were not only screenshots but even recordings!

Even though Yu Bai had already been completely exposed, after seeing the evidence provided by both sides, netizens and fans couldn’t help but feel angry.

—”The time between each relationship was just a day apart?”

—”So Yu Bai was chasing both Qian Yue and Xia Yang at the same time, and he actually managed to get both of them?”

—”Damn, this makes me so angry! I can’t even manage to date one person, and you, Yu Bai, managed to date two at once? You’re truly a scumbag!”

—”He didn’t just date two. During that time, he also had two ex-boyfriends and ex-girlfriends he hadn’t completely broken up with… Six people at once.”

—”… This really makes me laugh in anger. To think I was such a sincere fan of Yu Bai before…”

—”It’s not too late to stop being a fan now! Let’s just find someone else to follow qaq.”

The netizens chatted lively throughout the night.

After dinner, Ye Leyao was also browsing Weibo in bed until midnight, only then putting down his phone, satisfied, and going to sleep.

The next morning, Ye Leyao was woken up by Huo Yan knocking on his door.

He glanced at the time; it was only 6:30 a.m.

Ye Leyao, still sleepy, opened the door for Huo Yan, his face full of resentment: “So early in the morning, what’s up?”

Huo Yan, speechless, shoved the ointment into Ye Leyao’s hand: “Mom and Dad heard you got bitten by mosquitoes yesterday, so they specifically sent this over early this morning.”

After saying that, Huo Yan also let out a long yawn.

Ye Leyao immediately became a bit more awake: “Where are Mama and Papa Hup?”

Mentioning this, Huo Yan’s tone also carried a bit of resentment: “They’re outside for a walk. For some reason, they’ve been waking up super early recently. They started calling me at 5 a.m. to get the ointment…”

Ye Leyao looked at Huo Yan in disbelief: “So that’s why you came to wake me up at 6?”

Huo Yan chuckled, “Brothers share the tough times together!”

[Thank you very much!]

Ye Leyao glared at Huo Yan, said nothing, and reached out to close the door.

Even after being glared at, Huo Yan wasn’t angry; he lowered his voice and said to Ye Leyao, “Don’t go back to sleep. The weather’s nice today. As young people, we should go out and walk around more.”

The response to Huo Yan was a heavy snort.

Huo Yan laughed, not bothering with Ye Leyao anymore, and went downstairs to catch up on his sleep.

Once Ye Leyao was disturbed awake, it was hard for him to fall back asleep. He decided to change clothes, wash up, apply the ointment, and head downstairs for a walk.

When they arrived at the villa yesterday, it was already getting late, so there wasn’t time to properly explore the surroundings.

After going downstairs, Ye Leyao was followed by the cameraman.

Ye Leyao first headed to the river behind the villa.

It was a man-made river, with many roses planted on both banks. It was midsummer, and the flowers were in full bloom.

After walking around for a bit, Ye Leyao headed toward the woods on the other side.

However, he had only taken a couple of steps when a familiar, frustrated voice suddenly rang out—

“No! I want to breach the contract! What’s wrong if I breach the contract? It’s not like I can’t afford the penalty! I just don’t want to film anymore!”

Ye Leyao paused, then quickly turned around to look at the cameraman.

The cameraman was so excited his hands were shaking.

What kind of luck was this?!

Last night in the garden, they accidentally ran into Yu Bai and Xia Yang.

And now, this morning, Ye Leyao randomly wandered around after waking up and ran into Zhang Qiran making a phone call here!

And he even said he didn’t want to film the show anymore and wanted to breach the contract—

The cameraman stared at Ye Leyao with burning eyes.

Ye Leyao was even more shocked:

[No way, is my luck really this good?]

[Also, what’s up with Zhang Qiran? Could he really have been scared by what Song Zhehan said last night?]

[But I really can’t think of any dirt on Zhang Qiran… Could I really have remembered wrong?]

At the same time.

Huo Yan, who had just fallen asleep, opened his tired eyes when he heard the voice.

Is there more drama?

Was Ye Leyao eavesdropping on Zhang Qiran?

Qin Yao also quickly sat up in bed, reached for his tablet, and opened Ye Leyao’s livestream.

As soon as it opened, he heard Zhang Qiran’s aggrieved voice, with a hint of a sob:

“But… boohoo… but I don’t want to keep filming. To hell with saving face, why do I have to save face in front of Song Zhehan? He’s like a mad dog now, biting me whenever he sees me. I can’t take it anymore…”

Ye Leyao almost couldn’t hold back his laughter.

[Hahahahahahahahahaha—]

[Alright, it’s basically confirmed now. Zhang Qiran really was scared by Master Gou Shi’s words last night.]

[So what exactly is the dirt on you?!]

Anxious to get some dirt, Ye Leyao was a bit impatient, but he couldn’t rush it now. He still had to keep listening.

It was unclear what was said on the other end of the phone, but Zhang Qiran’s emotions seemed to finally stabilize a bit, and he said, “But… I really don’t want to film anymore. I know this thing, even if exposed, isn’t a big deal, but… but I… but if it gets exposed, Song Zhehan will definitely mock me for the rest of my life! That Ye Leyao is also a bit scary…”

“Yeah, he may not be important now, but I just don’t want my weakness to fall into his hands… Anything else is fine, but this one thing just can’t be!”

Zhang Qiran’s voice sounded choked, as if he had touched a sore spot.

Ye Leyao turned back to glance at the cameraman again.

[Why does he look like he’s about to cry?]

[Is it inappropriate for me to keep listening?]

Just as Ye Leyao was about to signal the cameraman to leave, he heard Zhang Qiran’s voice behind him—

“This show is really too scary… I’m really terrified!”

This time, Ye Leyao really couldn’t hold back and started coughing violently.

[Why is he so scared? Our show doesn’t eat people!]

Because of Ye Leyao’s coughing, Zhang Qiran, not far away, heard the sound and turned around with a startled look: “You—Ye Leyao? What are you doing here?”

Ye Leyao coughed for a long time, until tears came to his eyes, and finally calmed down. Seeing Zhang Qiran walking towards him, Ye Leyao took a deep breath: “I… How about you go back and watch my live stream recording? I really just happened to be passing by!”

“And I didn’t hear anything. I only heard you say you don’t want to record our show anymore.”

After all, Ye Leyao had already gone through all the plotlines related to Song Zhehan last night, and he really didn’t find any gossip about Zhang Qiran.

But Ye Leyao vaguely remembered that Zhang Qiran had indeed been involved in a scandal, though he couldn’t immediately recall what it was about.

What he could be sure of was that Zhang Qiran definitely hadn’t done anything truly wicked.

So, Ye Leyao asked with concern, “Are you okay?”

Zhang Qiran: “…”

Zhang Qiran’s face turned bright red.

Why did it have to be Ye Leyao who ran into him again?!

Zhang Qiran saw all the trending searches from last night, and he understood that Ye Leyao was like a walking gossip king—there seemed to be no scandal that could escape his notice!

If Ye Leyao found out about his secret—

For a moment, Zhang Qiran felt like he couldn’t breathe.

It took quite a while before Zhang Qiran remembered that there was still a cameraman in front of them.

But at this point, he really wasn’t in the mood to hide anything: “Forget it, even if you heard it, it doesn’t matter. I already didn’t want to film this show…”

As he spoke, Zhang Qiran seemed a bit resigned to fate and turned around to head back to the villa.

This left Ye Leyao and the cameraman standing there, staring at each other.

“Just now… he didn’t even smile at me,” Ye Leyao said to the cameraman.

[Could it be that Zhang Qiran is planning to drop his act as well?]

How would the cameraman know?

He only knew that the number of viewers in Ye Leyao’s live stream had just started to soar again, and the director was telling him through his earpiece to hide and not get noticed.

But in the blink of an eye, Ye Leyao coughed out loud and gave himself away.

Ye Leyao didn’t expect the cameraman to have any answers for him. Since it was still early, he wandered around the area for a bit, and it wasn’t until almost seven that he leisurely returned to the villa.

By this time, most of the guests were already up.

Zhou Zijian was in the kitchen preparing breakfast, with Qian Yue, Liu Yan, and others helping out.

Huo Yan and Qin Yao both looked up at him as they heard him come back.

Ye Leyao glanced around the room and asked, “Where’s Zhang Qiran?”

Song Zhehan, hearing this, raised his head slightly: “Why are you suddenly concerned about Zhang Qiran?”

Ye Leyao cleared his throat: “I just… accidentally ran into him while he was on a call…”

Li Siyuan widened his eyes: “Don’t tell me you accidentally overheard something again?”

Ye Leyao nodded.

It was really a bit awkward!

Eavesdropping is never good, so Ye Leyao still wanted to find Zhang Qiran and apologize seriously.

Just then, Qin Yao spoke up: “His agent just contacted the director, saying that he’s not feeling well and wants to withdraw from this episode’s recording.”

Ye Leyao: “Huh? He really wants to quit?”

Li Siyuan immediately turned his head to look at Song Zhehan: “Could it be that you scared him away?”

Song Zhehan, speechless, said, “How did I scare him?”

After a pause, Song Zhehan continued, “Besides, he dislikes me so much; how could he quit the show just because of me?”

As soon as he said this, Ye Leyao’s pupils shrank sharply.

[Dislike?]

[Zhang Qiran dislikes Song Zhehan?]

[No, Zhang Qiran shouldn’t dislike Song Zhehan…]

Blocked memories suddenly surged into Ye Leyao’s mind, and his voice pitched up: [I remember now!!!]

Huo Yan closed his eyes.

He almost couldn’t resist covering his ears.

Ye Leyao!

Can’t you speak a bit more quietly in your mind?!

Qin Yao pressed his temple, reminding himself to get used to it as soon as possible.

You’ll get used to it eventually.

He took a small breath and looked at Ye Leyao again.

So what exactly is it that’s so surprising to Ye Leyao?

Zhang Qiran and Song Zhehan are sworn enemies, so why wouldn’t he dislike Song Zhehan?

At this moment, Ye Leyao had already taken out his phone and started searching for something.

After a while, he said:

[I found it! So it’s this plotline, and it’s from a different book than Song Zhehan’s… No wonder I didn’t remember it!]

[Here it explains why Zhang Qiran entered the entertainment industry… Hm???]

[What?!]

Huo Yan straightened up a bit.

Qin Yao picked up his water cup and took a sip.

So—

[Zhang Qiran actually entered the entertainment industry because of Song Zhehan?!]

[Zhang Qiran has had a crush on Song Zhehan since middle school?]

[Huh?]

Qin Yao accidentally choked on his water and started coughing violently.

Huo Yan was so shocked he almost dropped his phone.

He let out a confused exclamation, just like Ye Leyao:

Huh?

Zhang Qiran likes Song Zhehan?

Aren’t they supposed to be rivals fighting over resources?!

Could it be that because Zhang Qiran couldn’t have him, he wanted to destroy him, and thus his love turned into hatred?