Chapter 26

Qin Yao took a deep breath, suddenly very glad he was participating in the show. Knowing some details in advance, at least he wouldn’t always be on the back foot!

After sorting out his emotions, Qin Yao got on the bus.

Ye Leyao was still lost in his thoughts:

[If it really is our variety show—]

Ye Leyao dragged out his words, smiling brightly:

[I can’t imagine how lively and cheerful I’d be if I could see Du Yueqin confessing to Zhou Zijian in person!]

[President Qin really has a unique eye for selecting guests!]

Qin Yao paused, feeling he might need to sort out his emotions a bit more.

Ye Leyao heard the noise and looked up.

[Ah, speak of the devil!]

Ye Leyao’s smile was radiant as he waved to greet Qin Yao.

Du Yueqin also noticed Qin Yao and greeted him warmly, “Oh, Xiao Qin is here too? It’s hot outside; it must have been tough coming all the way here, right?”

Ye Leyao’s radar suddenly activated again.

Qin Yao suddenly felt uneasy.

Sure enough, the next moment, Ye Leyao said excitedly:

[No way, no way, could it be that Du Yueqin also has a thing for the handsome and wealthy President Qin?]

[Although President Qin might not have exaggerated muscles like Zhou Zijian, he also seems like the type who looks slim in clothes but muscular when shirtless?]

Qin Yao: “…”

At this moment, Qin Yao finally understood why some skilled actors occasionally have uncontrollable expressions in front of the camera.

Because right now, he had mixed feelings and couldn’t bring himself to smile!

Looking at Du Yueqin in front of him, Qin Yao instinctively took a step back, clenched his jaw, and forced a distant and somewhat tense smile: “Thank you, Ms. Du, but I’m not hot.”

Du Yueqin, smiling broadly, patted the seat next to her: “Then come and sit here!”

Qin Yao put his suitcase away and walked straight to Ye Leyao without stopping, sitting down right next to him.

Du Yueqin frowned slightly in confusion.

Qin Yao smiled, pointing at Ye Leyao: “He’s my friend’s younger brother; I need to take care of him.”

Ye Leyao widened his eyes.

[No need, no need, President Qin, you don’t have to sacrifice yourself for me…]

“Leyao.” Qin Yao almost gritted his teeth as he spoke.

Ye Leyao paused his internal murmuring and blinked in confusion: “President Qin?”

“No need to call me President Qin,” Qin Yao paused, then added, “since we’re recording a show, just call me by my name.”

Ye Leyao nodded obediently, indicating he understood.

But in his heart, he wondered:

[Why suddenly tell me this? But wouldn’t it be too informal to call him by his name?]

[Maybe I should call him Teacher Qin instead.]

Qin Yao breathed a slight sigh of relief.

He thought it didn’t matter what Ye Leyao called him, as long as he didn’t continue talking about the earlier topic.

Qin Yao was here to record the show; he didn’t want to become the subject of gossip!

In the front, Du Yueqin saw that Qin Yao had no intention of coming over and looked back at Zhou Zijian, somewhat regretfully, and resumed chatting with him.

In the front seat, Song Zhehan only gave a brief greeting to Qin Yao before turning back around.

Soon, the bus was filled only with the conversation between Du Yueqin and Zhou Zijian.

Meanwhile, the livestream chat saw a surge of excitement due to Qin Yao’s appearance:

—”Ahhh, it’s been so long since I’ve seen my idol! Qin Yao, you heartless man, you finally decided to appear!”

—”Damn, if I had known Qin Yao was on this show, I wouldn’t have needed my friends to drag me here to watch the livestream!”

—”Yeah, if they had said earlier that Qin Yao would be on the show, I would have watched without being pushed!”

—”I didn’t expect Ye Leyao to know Brother Yao.”

—”Honestly, the two of them sitting together is quite pleasing to the eye.”

This comment instantly received numerous likes from the viewers.

Of course, it would be perfect if Du Yueqin’s voice were quieter.

With Qin Yao sitting beside him, Ye Leyao felt it inappropriate to keep looking at his notes, so he regretfully put his phone away.

It wasn’t long before two more guests arrived.

From a distance, a female voice laughed: “We’re here! Can someone give us a hand?”

Ye Leyao immediately looked at Song Zhehan in the front seat.

Perhaps due to Du Yueqin’s earlier impact, he hesitated again and didn’t get up immediately.

[Song Zhehan, do you remember your persona?! You’re supposed to be the gentle white moonlight! How can you not react right away?]

In contrast, Zhou Zijian stood up immediately, ready to go help.

But before he could move, Du Yueqin grabbed his arm: “Where are you going?”

Zhou Zijian was momentarily confused, instinctively replying, “To help…”

Du Yueqin, sitting close to the bus door and the window, could see the two new guests clearly with just a glance. Without thinking, she said, “Those two girls only have two suitcases. They can carry them up themselves. Why are you helping?”

Zhou Zijian was dumbfounded, thinking he must have misheard: “What?”

Ye Leyao’s eyes widened slightly, his tone excited and somewhat incredulous:

[Mm mm mm? How long has it been, and Du Yueqin is already not letting Zhou Zijian help? Could it be that Du Yueqin has fallen for Zhou Zijian so quickly? So Du Yueqin sees the new female guests as love rivals?]

Before Ye Leyao could snap out of his surprise, a very faint but extremely contemptuous voice came from beside him: “So, you just consider yourself a person, huh.”

Ye Leyao quickly looked up at the front seat where Song Zhehan was sitting.

Song Zhehan had already stood up from his seat, regaining his previous gentle and elegant demeanor, as if the sarcastic comment just now hadn’t come from him.

Ye Leyao could no longer control the upward curve of his mouth, looking very satisfied.

[Joining this variety show was definitely the right choice. Watching the drama unfold live is just too interesting!]

[In just half an hour, Song Zhehan’s persona has already collapsed twice!]

Qin Yao, being close by, naturally heard Song Zhehan’s sarcastic remark as well. The corners of his mouth twitched slightly.

Actually, aside from the fact that this variety show was a key investment project for his company this year, following Ye Leyao and watching the drama was indeed very entertaining.

But now the problem was that Qin Yao couldn’t just let it go.

He really had invested a lot of money into this variety show!

Forget it; he could only take it one step at a time now.

Ye Leyao suddenly turned his head.

Qin Yao was puzzled: “Hmm?”

“Should we also go help…”

[After all, they are two girls.]

“I’ll go.” Qin Yao stood up, following Song Zhehan. They bypassed the still-entangled duo and got off the bus to help the two female guests with their luggage.

On the bus, Du Yueqin was still holding onto Zhou Zijian’s arm.

Zhou Zijian’s face had turned red by now. Du Yueqin’s behavior was so obvious that Zhou Zijian couldn’t help but understand what was going on.

The sharp-eyed viewers in the livestream also noticed Du Yueqin’s odd behavior:

—”Why do I feel… Du Yueqin’s attitude towards Zhou Zijian is a bit strange?”

—”Yeah, yeah! I think so too. She must have a thing for Zhou Zijian, right?”

—”But isn’t this show… called ‘Let’s Go Traveling Together,’ not ‘Fall in Love Together’?”

“Hahahahaha, even if it is ‘Fall in Love Together,’ how come Zhou Zijian is so unlucky that he’s being pursued by a female guest who could be his mom?”

Luckily, Ye Leyao couldn’t see the bullet comments, or he would have definitely given that comment a thumbs up.

And he would have asked the soul-searching question: How do you know Zhou Zijian isn’t enjoying it?

While the livestream chat was buzzing with discussions, Qin Yao and Song Zhehan had already returned, each carrying a suitcase, followed by the two female guests.

By now, Zhou Zijian had pulled his arm back, taking the luggage from Qin Yao’s hand and ignoring Du Yueqin’s disapproving look as he helped put the luggage away.

After that, he didn’t return to his seat but followed Qin Yao and Song Zhehan to the back row.

Du Yueqin’s expression instantly turned unhappy.

Ye Leyao couldn’t control the upward curve of his mouth again.

[Good, good, Zhou Zijian still has some sense of male virtue.]

[And Du Yueqin’s micro-expressions… truly splendid! Interesting, very interesting!]

In the staff car, Papa and Mama Huo shared the same thoughts as Ye Leyao.

The filming had just started, and there were already two dramatic moments! They were watching with great satisfaction.

[If I were in post-production, I’d definitely edit these clips carefully, zooming in on each guest’s micro-expressions and adding captions—hehe.]

[Who says travel shows don’t have drama?! With these clips, why can’t we trend? If we edit it this way, this show might even go viral!]

Just as Qin Yao sat back down next to Ye Leyao, he heard this remark.

He furrowed his brow slightly, thinking carefully, and suddenly felt that this idea wasn’t bad.

After all, the travel show had become a drama field even before filming started. Instead of cutting out these dramatic events in post-production, why not do the opposite?!

Qin Yao’s eyes lit up, and he quickly took out his phone to message the post-production team and the director.

Keep it! Not only should these scenes be kept in the main episode, but they should also be edited into highlights!

Ye Leyao didn’t notice Qin Yao’s actions; he was still engrossed in watching the drama unfold in front of him.

The two new female guests were popular star Yang Qi and newly debuted idol Liu Yan.

Having been in the industry for many years, Yang Qi immediately sensed Du Yueqin’s hostility towards them. Although she didn’t know where Du Yueqin’s hostility came from, as an industry senior, Yang Qi couldn’t afford to offend her, so she pretended not to notice.

Liu Yan, on the other hand, had been so well protected by her family that she didn’t sense anything unusual and was still smiling and greeting Du Yueqin.

Du Yueqin responded coldly and indifferently before lowering her head to look at her phone.

Liu Yan didn’t notice anything wrong either. Seeing that Du Yueqin ignored her, she pulled Yang Qi towards the back of the bus, greeted Ye Leyao and the others briefly, and happily sat next to Zhou Zijian: “Teacher Zhou!”

Zhou Zijian had been Liu Yan’s mentor during her talent show days, and they often collaborated after the show, maintaining a good relationship.

It was normal for Liu Yan to greet him after sitting down, but—

Ye Leyao glanced at the two chatting happily with his peripheral vision, then carefully looked at Du Yueqin’s expression in the front.

In the next moment, Ye Leyao said cheerfully:

[Wow, her face is turning pale with anger!]

Qin Yao raised his hand to his lips.

Papa and Mama Huo couldn’t hold back their laughter.

[Exciting, interesting, love it, want more!]

Papa and Mama Huo nodded in agreement.

Yes, yes, more of this!

They loved watching these dramatic moments!

Du Yueqin’s face alternated between red and white. She was impatient by nature, and as the conversation between Zhou Zijian and Liu Yan grew louder, she couldn’t help but turn around to look.

Worried about being seen, Du Yueqin could only glance quickly before turning away and sulking again.

She thought no one had noticed her actions, but little did she know that all her small movements and micro-expressions were already under the watchful eyes of Ye Leyao and his gossip squad.

Papa and Mama Huo even had Li Li contact the director to set up a special camera angle for Du Yueqin and Ye Leyao, ensuring they wouldn’t miss any of their actions.

At this point, Li Li had also figured it out.

The variety show had only just begun filming and was already full of drama. Could it be that the chairman and his wife had known about this in advance and came to join the fun?

Regardless of the reason, Li Li was no longer worried about Ye Leyao.

After all, the hidden undercurrents among the other guests were far more exciting than anything involving Ye Leyao!

On the bus.

The more Ye Leyao watched, the more he wanted to laugh. Whenever he couldn’t hold it in, he would turn to look out the window.

Fortunately, this atmosphere didn’t last long.

A few minutes later, the last guest, Li Siyuan, arrived, and all eight guests were finally together.

Ye Leyao quickly scanned the group.

[Yes, it’s truly a gathering of heroes and hidden dragons!]

Qin Yao: “…”

Indeed, who could say otherwise?

With everyone present, the bus headed to their first destination.

The first episode was filmed on an island, and once the bus started, the director boarded to briefly explain today’s tasks.

Since it was the first day of the show and the guests were meeting for the first time, the main task for the afternoon was an ice-breaking activity.

Thus, the first task was for the guests to prepare dinner together.

Making dinner wasn’t too difficult, and most of the guests had no objections except for Liu Yan—

Upon hearing they had to cook, she frowned and complained softly, “But I can’t cook. What should I do?”

Seeing this, Zhou Zijian quickly reassured her, “Cooking doesn’t need that many people. If you can’t cook, you can just help out.”

Liu Yan immediately smiled sweetly and said, “Okay!”

Ye Leyao had been keeping an eye on Du Yueqin. As he expected, she turned her head the moment Liu Yan spoke.

Hearing Zhou Zijian’s words, her expression instantly darkened, and her mouth moved quickly as if cursing something.

Ye Leyao’s eyes widened:

[What did she say?!]

[Her voice was too low to hear clearly!]

[Damn, do I need to learn lip-reading now?!]

“You young girls really have energy,” Du Yueqin said, having stood up and walked slowly to the back rows without anyone noticing.

But Liu Yan had already taken the seat next to Zhou Zijian.

Du Yueqin could only sit in the row ahead but turned her body towards the back.@@novelbin@@

Liu Yan, thinking Du Yueqin was complimenting her, smiled shyly, “Sis, you’re not old either. You’re about the same age as my mom.”

[No, Liu Yan, who taught you to speak like that!]

[Women are sensitive about their age, especially Du Yueqin, who was just flirting with Zhou Zijian. And now you say she looks like your mom in front of him? She’s definitely going to explode!]

Sure enough, Du Yueqin’s face instantly fell.

Yet Liu Yan, oblivious to the tension, continued smiling, “Sis, you don’t have to worry about your age. My mom also—”

“Enough!” Du Yueqin could no longer control her expression, angrily glaring at Liu Yan. “What do you mean by that?”

Liu Yan froze, bewildered.

She came from a wealthy family and had been doted on by her parents, always speaking and acting freely. It was only after entering the entertainment industry that she started to curb herself slightly.

But the problem was that Liu Yan had only debuted six months ago.

Meaning she had little to no skill in reading the room.

“I…” Liu Yan looked at Zhou Zijian, then at Yang Qi, and belatedly asked, “Did I say something wrong?”

Du Yueqin, her chest heaving with rage, flushed red, “You were practically calling me old to my face, and you say you didn’t say anything wrong?”

[Uh-oh, things are about to escalate!]

Ye Leyao looked worried but couldn’t hide his excitement.

Qin Yao had mixed feelings.

He wanted to continue watching the drama but was also worried if the show could go on, feeling uneasy.

Liu Yan, never having been scolded like this, teared up immediately, “But didn’t you just—”

“Shut up!” Du Yueqin, furious, couldn’t hold back any longer, “I knew you weren’t a good person from the start. And now, so soon, you’re already sticking to him like glue. I’ve seen many little green teas like you; don’t pretend in front of me…”

“Sister Du…” Seeing Du Yueqin’s words getting harsher, Zhou Zijian couldn’t help but interrupt, “Liu Yan doesn’t speak well. Don’t take it to heart…”

“Do you think I want to take it to heart?” Du Yueqin was even angrier hearing Zhou Zijian defend Liu Yan, “Didn’t you hear what she just said? How can you side with her?”

Zhou Zijian opened his mouth but couldn’t say anything.

“She’s not wrong, though.” A voice came from behind.

Ye Leyao immediately turned around, shocked to see Song Zhehan.

[No way, Song Zhehan! Do you remember your persona?!]

[And at this moment, saying something like that is just adding fuel to the fire!]

Ye Leyao suddenly remembered something and glanced towards the front of the bus. He saw Li Siyuan, who had been covering his face with a hat, suddenly lift it off, and his heart skipped a beat.

[Li Siyuan… looks like he’s about to lose his temper.]

[Will we even be able to finish filming on the first day of this show?]

Qin Yao: “…”

You’re a bit late to start worrying now!

Du Yueqin obviously didn’t expect Song Zhehan to say something like that, and her face turned even redder with anger as she turned her head furiously, “You—”

“Can you all just shut the hell up? If you have the energy to stay up, fine, but I need to rest.”

“Is this bus your home? Why don’t you grab a loudspeaker and argue?”

“If that’s not enough, I can bring the camera over and stream it live for you.”

A rebellious and discontented voice suddenly came from the front, each sentence more shocking than the last.

[Here we go.]

[Liu Siyuan really has a bad temper and truly hates being disturbed when he’s sleeping…]

Ye Leyao silently lit a candle for Du Yueqin in his mind.

“One crazy woman, two rude brats, yapping since we got on the bus. People might think it’s a market if they didn’t know it was a show.”

Ye Leyao covered his mouth with his hand.

[So good at scolding, so brave! Well said!!!]

Everyone was stunned by Liu Siyuan’s words; Liu Yan forgot to cry, and Du Yueqin’s anger was interrupted. She looked at Liu Siyuan in shock and said, “You—”

Liu Siyuan, still fuming, kept going—

“What? You think you’re the youngest? I’m forty, you’re eighteen, you think you’ll outlive me?”

“Liu Siyuan!” Du Yueqin was livid, her eyes red with anger.

Liu Siyuan raised his chin, “What? Got a problem with me? Fine, contact the director right now and tell him you don’t want to film anymore. I won’t stop you. Don’t ask me why I won’t quit. Because I didn’t start any trouble, nor do I dislike anyone. If you can’t stand these two rude brats and me, then you leaving is the best solution.”

[Hahahahahaha—]

Ye Leyao was almost bursting from holding back his laughter, his shoulders shaking.

Qin Yao also wanted to laugh, but if he hadn’t invested in the show, he could probably laugh as freely as Ye Leyao.