Chapter 74

Upon learning that Ran Jing had accepted the invitation, besides Ye Leyao and the Huo family, the happiest person was Chu Cheng.

“Really? Did Ran Jing really say he was coming?” Chu Cheng found it hard to believe and asked Ye Leyao again.

Ye Leyao smiled and nodded, “Yes, he said he’s heading here right now.”

Chu Cheng immediately stood up, took out his car keys, and hurriedly asked, “Where is he now? It’s hard to catch a car to come here. Can I go pick him up?”

Ye Le was stunned.

[If you’re asking me, of course you can, but the problem is, what if Meng Yue comes later and can’t find you?]

[If Meng Yue finds out you went to pick up Ran Jing and follows you… then won’t I miss all the fun today?]

Before Ye Leyao could figure out how to respond, Qin Yao’s voice came from the side, “If you go pick him up, who will help you greet your guests?”

Chu Cheng thought about it and his expression changed slightly, feeling a bit troubled, “That’s true, but… Cousin, could you maybe…”

“I’ll have the driver go,” Qin Yao said, his gaze falling on Ye Leyao beside him. “Leyao, have Ran Jing send over his location.”

Ye Leyao nodded repeatedly and quickly lowered his head to message Ran Jing. At the same time, he couldn’t help but mutter in his heart:

[As expected, President Qin is more reliable!]

Ye Leyao sent a message to Ran Jing, telling him that Chu Cheng was sending someone to pick him up. Ran Jing didn’t hesitate and quickly sent his address.

Qin Yao made a call to the driver, and before long, the driver called back saying he had picked up Ran Jing.

Upon hearing this, Chu Cheng couldn’t contain his excitement any longer. He rushed forward and gave Qin Yao a big hug, “Thanks, Cousin!”

Qin Yao frowned and pushed Chu Cheng away with some disdain, “Stay away from me.”

Chu Cheng chuckled and let go of Qin Yao, then turned to look at Ye Leyao.

Sensing danger, Ye Leyao quickly hid behind Qin Yao.

[Don’t come hug me too!]

Chu Cheng missed his target and sighed regretfully. Just as he was about to say something, someone in the distance called his name.

Chu Cheng responded, winked at Ye Leyao, and said, “Thanks!”

With that, he ran off.

Ye Leyao watched Chu Cheng’s back, then looked at Qin Yao.

Qin Yao thought for a moment before asking, “You don’t like physical contact with strangers?”

Ye Leyao was very surprised.

[How did President Qin notice that?!]

Qin Yao’s lips curled slightly, “Seems I guessed right?”

Ye Leyao nodded and explained in a low voice, “I never really liked physical contact with people since I was young. It’s not limited to strangers, I guess I just don’t like being too close to anyone, including my parents and my brother.” After a pause, Ye Leyao looked at Qin Yao and asked, “But even though I don’t like physical contact, I’ve been doing a good job hiding it, right?”

[I’ve been working really hard to change!]

Even during variety show recordings, when the guests were filming together, there was inevitably some physical contact.

Ye Leyao had been working hard to overcome it.

Qin Yao briefly recalled his interactions with Ye Leyao in the past and admitted that Ye Leyao had indeed hidden it well. Even he had only just noticed it.

Qin Yao said, “It’s not obvious.”

Ye Leyao smiled proudly, his lips curving up.

[Seems like I’ve made some progress!]

Then he noticed Qin Yao’s dark eyes fixed on him, and Qin Yao suddenly asked, “Then why didn’t you mind shaking hands with me?”

Qin Yao’s tone was calm, with just the right touch of curiosity.

Ye Leyao lifted his head, and his gaze unexpectedly collided with Qin Yao’s deep eyes.

Qin Yao heard Ye Leyao’s puzzled thoughts in his heart:

[Yeah, why is that?]

[It seems I didn’t mind shaking hands with President Qin the first time?]

[And even…]

A sudden excited voice came from inside the villa, “Is that Meng Yue?!”

Ye Leyao’s train of thought was interrupted, and he turned his head to look inside the villa, his expression a bit excited:

[Did Meng Yue arrive this early?]

[I remember he was supposed to confess at noon, right?! Could he have come early to prepare?]

Ye Leyao quickly looked down at his phone to check the time.

[It’s already 10:30…]

Qin Yao’s gaze fell on Ye Leyao’s bright eyes, and he quietly sighed in his heart.

It seemed the conversation was over.

“Do you want to go take a look?” Qin Yao asked proactively.

Ye Leyao quickly nodded.

[If I remember correctly, as soon as Meng Yue got out of the car, he gave Chu Cheng a bouquet of flowers. I need to go see that!]

Qin Yao extended his hand to Ye Leyao.

Without thinking, Ye Leyao took Qin Yao’s hand.

As their fingers intertwined, Qin Yao led Ye Leyao out first.

Ye Leyao’s gaze fell on their tightly held hands, and at that moment, he suddenly remembered why he didn’t mind shaking hands with Qin Yao.

“It feels nostalgic.”

Qin Yao turned back, “Hm?”

Ye Leyao, not fully understanding the reason himself, just smiled at Qin Yao, “It’s nothing. Let’s hurry.”

Qin Yao didn’t ask further, holding Ye Leyao’s hand as they walked through the villa’s main hall and arrived at the front lobby.

As soon as they entered, a commotion erupted:

“Wow—”

“Such a big bouquet of flowers! Mr. Meng is really going all out!”

“Hurry, I need to take a picture!”

Ye Leyao looked ahead and his lips curled into a smile.

He saw a heart-shaped bouquet of roses, two to three meters long, wrapped exquisitely, currently placed at the villa’s entrance.

Meng Yue stood beside the bouquet, holding a black custom cane in one hand and a small bouquet of blue roses in the other.

Everyone was stunned by the scene.

Some marveled at Meng Yue’s extravagance, while others keenly sensed something was off.

“Wait… a bouquet this big, would friends send roses? Could Meng Yue be pursuing Chu Cheng?” someone whispered.

The person next to them immediately responded, “No way? I haven’t heard that Meng Yue likes Chu Cheng, and besides, hasn’t Chu Cheng just returned to the country?”

“Yeah, I’ve never heard Chu Cheng mention that he and Meng Yue were that close.”

The guests at today’s gathering included some of Chu Cheng’s wealthy acquaintances, but most were his old middle school classmates, who naturally also knew Meng Yue, who was in their class back then.

So, someone quickly gossiped in a low voice, “Is it possible that Meng Yue has liked Chu Cheng since middle school?!”

Ye Leyao, hearing this, gave that person an approving glance.

[That’s right!]

[Meng Yue has been secretly in love with Chu Cheng since middle school, but you don’t need to be so surprised now; he has only sent two bouquets! There’s more exciting stuff to come!]

Upon hearing this, Qin Yao and Huo Yan both turned to look at Ye Leyao.

“So it won’t be a confession yet?” Mama Huo asked.

Papa Huo was still focused on the scene at the opposite villa and nodded: “What Xiao Yao means is a grand confession. Although there are roses now, it doesn’t look very formal, so let’s not rush.”

Mama Huo sighed in relief and sat down again: “That’s fine, that’s fine.”

When she saw such a large bouquet of roses suddenly appear at the neighboring villa, Mama Huo almost couldn’t help but rush downstairs to see the excitement.

After taking a sip of tea, Mama Huo shifted her attention back to the main characters of this banquet—Chu Cheng and Meng Yue.

Before Meng Yue arrived, Chu Cheng was in the hall drinking with friends.

Upon hearing Meng Yue’s name, Chu Cheng was slightly taken aback.

He expressed the same confusion as his friends beside him: Why did Meng Yue come?

After their last meeting at the bar, they hadn’t chatted much before Meng Yue suddenly ended up in the hospital.

Since then, Chu Cheng thought Meng Yue probably couldn’t handle his liquor.

Therefore, when holding this birthday banquet, Chu Cheng hadn’t planned to invite Meng Yue.

But then Chu Cheng thought, he had already met Meng Yue, and he would be staying in the country for a while, so they might run into each other again.

If he didn’t invite Meng Yue now, what if it got awkward later on?

In the end, Chu Cheng could only personally call Meng Yue and tell him that if he had time, he could come to the party; of course, it would be even better if he didn’t come.

What did Meng Yue say in response?

Oh, he said he didn’t have time.

How could someone with no time suddenly show up here?

If Ye Leyao knew what Chu Cheng was thinking, he would definitely respond: Of course, it’s because Meng Yue wants to give you a surprise!

But just looking at Chu Cheng’s expression, it was clear.

So far, this surprise only brought shock, not joy.

Ye Leyao glanced at Chu Cheng’s expression and couldn’t help but laugh.

[It seems Chu Cheng is a bit confused.]

[Yeah, clearly someone who said he wouldn’t attend because he had no time suddenly appears at the party and sends such a large bouquet with a very obvious implied meaning—]

[Chu Cheng must be feeling quite troubled, especially since Ran Jing is coming later!]

[I can’t take it anymore; the more I think about it, the more exciting it feels!]

Ye Leyao’s eyes were fixed intently on the two people ahead.

From the moment Chu Cheng walked out of the villa and saw the bouquet of roses, two full minutes had already passed.

During these two minutes, Chu Cheng hadn’t said a single word.

Meng Yue had gone from being nervous and excited at first to a bit flustered, and now he felt anxious and uneasy.

He subconsciously tightened his grip on the black custom cane in his hand, straightened his lips, took a deep breath, and mustered the courage to ask, “Chu Cheng, you… don’t like it?”

Only then did Chu Cheng wake from his stupor, realizing there were so many people around watching.

He had to quickly handle this situation, so Chu Cheng smiled at Meng Yue: “Of course I like it; how could I not like flowers sent by a friend?”

After saying this, Chu Cheng turned his head, called a few friends over, and instructed them to quickly move the bouquet inside.

Seeing this, Meng Yue finally breathed a sigh of relief and showed a smile.

However, at this moment, Ye Leyao couldn’t suppress his smile.

[Oh, why are you still smiling, Meng Yue, when he has already turned you down?]

Huo Yan was about to leave when he heard this and paused again.

Turned down?

How come?

Could it be that Chu Cheng understood Meng Yue’s feelings?

No, how could he not see it just now?@@novelbin@@

Papa Huo and Mama Huo were also taken aback.

Didn’t Chu Cheng just have them move the flowers inside?

Papa Huo suddenly reacted: “A friend! Chu Cheng just said ‘friend’!”

Mama Huo nodded repeatedly: “Yes, he said ‘friend’, so Chu Cheng has realized that Meng Yue is interested in him?”

“Definitely, otherwise he wouldn’t have said that!” Papa Huo said.

Mama Huo immediately became excited: “So when can we go to the scene to see it?!”

She really wanted to see Meng Yue’s expression in person!

Papa Huo and Mama Huo couldn’t see it, but Ye Leyao and Huo Yan could see it clearly.

Meng Yue was truly happy, his usually unsmiling face now showing a big smile. When he saw the others moving the roses inside, he walked slowly towards Chu Cheng with his cane: “I thought you didn’t like it.”

The roses were moved away, but the onlookers didn’t disperse for a long time.

Chu Cheng had to give Meng Yue some face, so hearing this, he smiled: “How could that be?”

Meng Yue’s smile grew wider, and he quickly offered the small bouquet of blue roses in his hand: “This is…”

Chu Cheng directly reached out to take it, then waved at one of the friends in the crowd, turning around and handing the flowers to that friend, instructing, “Quick, go find a vase and help President Meng arrange his flowers!”

Meng Yue’s smile immediately froze.

That was clearly the flower he sent to Chu Cheng…

Could it be that Chu Cheng didn’t like it?

Ye Leyao, however, couldn’t suppress his smile.

[A smile never truly disappears; it only transfers.]

Qin Yao’s lips curved up as he nodded noncommittally.

“President Meng, feel free to sit; I’ll go greet some other friends first!” Chu Cheng waved to Meng Yue and turned to leave.

“Chu…” Before Meng Yue could say anything, Chu Cheng had already disappeared.

At this moment, Qin Yao turned to Ye Leyao and said, “I’m going to greet him; do you want to come along?”

Ye Leyao glanced at Meng Yue again and quickly shook his head: “No, no.”

Only then did Qin Yao let go of Ye Leyao’s hand and pointed to the kitchen on the first floor: “I put the milk in the fridge. If you want to drink it, pour it yourself. I’ll greet Meng Yue and come back to find you.”

Ye Leyao nodded quickly and then jogged to the kitchen.

As soon as he entered the kitchen, Ye Leyao heard a heavy sigh from inside.

Ye Leyao focused his gaze and saw it was none other than Chu Cheng.

“What are you sighing about?” Ye Leyao asked.

Chu Cheng shot him a glare and glanced outside to confirm there was no one else before saying, “Your smile is harder to suppress than an AK; why are you pretending not to know?”

Ye Leyao covered his mouth and couldn’t help but laugh.

Chu Cheng stared at him for several seconds before suddenly realizing: “So you knew from the start, Melon King?”

Ye Leyao’s eyes widened slightly: “How did you know…”

“I’m not disconnected from the internet!” Chu Cheng sighed.

On that day at the bar, Chu Cheng did feel that the atmosphere was somewhat strange, especially Ye Leyao’s expression.

However, he hadn’t thought much of it at the time; after all, he wasn’t a narcissist—how could he think that Meng Yue liked him just because he saw him?

If it hadn’t been for that overly extravagant heart-shaped bouquet just now, Chu Cheng wouldn’t have linked it to this.

After taking a long sigh, Chu Cheng looked a bit troubled: “So I need to find an opportunity to clarify things with Meng Yue. There were so many people outside just now, and I felt embarrassed to reject him directly. What do you think I should do now?”

Ye Leyao had no idea what to do.

He simply shook his head.

[Don’t ask me!]

Chu Cheng sighed again, then suddenly thought of something and turned to look at Ye Leyao: “By the way, I saw Ran Jing sitting with Meng Yue the other day; are they…”

Just then, Ye Leyao’s phone rang.

Ye Leyao picked it up to see: “It’s a call from Ran Jing.”

Chu Cheng: “…”

Ye Leyao poured himself some milk, walked outside while answering the phone: “Are you almost here? Okay, I’ll send someone to pick you up.”

Chu Cheng hurriedly followed: “Wait for me, I’ll go with you!”

The two of them walked out of the kitchen together, attracting quite a bit of attention.

Meng Yue, who was originally sitting on the sofa talking with Qin Yao, heard Chu Cheng’s voice and immediately stood up: “Chu Cheng, are you free to go somewhere with me?”

Ye Leyao quickly walked in front of Qin Yao, winked at him, pointed at his phone, and then walked out of the villa.

Qin Yao understood Ye Leyao’s meaning and stood up to stop Chu Cheng, who wanted to follow: “Just let Leyao go.”

Meng Yue looked at Chu Cheng with bright eyes: “Chu Cheng, isn’t it almost noon? I’ve booked a lunch banquet at the restaurant in the resort. Do you… want to bring your friends along?”

Ye Leyao had just reached the door when he heard this. He quickly walked over to a nearby staff member, told him the license plate number, and swiftly returned to the villa.

At this moment, half of the people in the hall had their eyes on Chu Cheng.

Without thinking, Chu Cheng said: “But I’ve already booked a meal…”

“You can bring the meal over to eat together,” Meng Yue said a bit shyly, “I’ve invited a five-star chef, and all the ingredients have been pre-ordered…”

Chu Cheng felt a bit awkward.

Meng Yue continued: “And I booked quite a few tables; if you don’t go, wouldn’t that be a waste…”

Chu Cheng: “…”

So, who told you to overdo it!

But thinking about it, it seemed it wasn’t impossible to go with Meng Yue. This was a good opportunity for him to clarify things with Meng Yue.

So, Chu Cheng simply nodded: “Okay, then send me the bill later.”

When Meng Yue heard Chu Cheng agree, the corners of his mouth turned up, and he said directly: “No need; today is your birthday, and this is what I should do…”

“But after all, we’re just friends; how can I let you spend so much?” Chu Cheng said.

[Hiss, Chu Cheng explicitly stated that you two are just friends! So Meng Yue—]

Ye Leyao’s gaze fell on Meng Yue.

He saw Meng Yue’s smile once again freeze on his face, but this time he quickly adjusted, and after a moment, a smile returned to his face.

Ye Leyao couldn’t help but want to laugh even more.

At the same time, he secretly hoped:

[Ran Jing, you need to hurry up and get here!]

Since they had decided to dine at the restaurant Meng Yue mentioned, Chu Cheng didn’t hesitate and turned to start calling his friends to head out.

Qin Yao suddenly asked Ye Leyao, “Should we invite Uncle and Aunt?”

Ye Leyao hurriedly said, “Then I’ll call my parents and ask if they’re coming?”

Qin Yao nodded.

Huo Yan followed behind the two and raised an eyebrow upon hearing this.

Indeed, just as Papa and Mama Huo said, Qin Yao was thorough in his actions.

It’s just—

He really didn’t agree with Ye Leyao being with Qin Yao!

Qin Yao was already twenty-four, a year older than him, and six years older than Ye Leyao!

Huo Yan followed behind the two, watching their shoulders getting closer together, and suddenly furrowed his brow.

Wait a minute.

Did Ye Leyao used to get this close to others?

Huo Yan fell into deep thought.

At this time, Ye Leyao finished the call and said to Qin Yao, “They said they’re coming!”

Qin Yao asked again, “Should we wait for them to come together?”

“No need,” Ye Leyao shook his head, “Papa Huo said they’ll go slowly by themselves and let us go ahead.”

Qin Yao nodded and continued to walk forward.

Just as Ye Leyao was about to put his phone away, his phone vibrated again. He looked down to see a message from Ran Jing.

Ran Jing: I’m getting out of the car.

Ye Leyao instantly became even more excited:

[Ran Jing timed this perfectly!]

[If I’m not mistaken, after this turn is the restaurant, and there’s a large lawn at the entrance of the restaurant—]

As Ye Leyao finished speaking, Qin Yao and Huo Yan simultaneously looked up.

In front of them, Meng Yue and Chu Cheng turned a corner, and Chu Cheng suddenly stopped in his tracks.

His friends behind him were all taken aback.

“What’s wrong? Why aren’t we moving?”

“Chu Cheng?”

“Hey, what’s this?”

“Looks like someone’s about to confess? Did we come to the wrong place?”

Hearing his friends’ discussions from behind, Chu Cheng increasingly felt that something was off.

He turned to Meng Yue, just about to speak, when he saw Meng Yue slowly continue forward: “It’s right here, let’s go.”

Chu Cheng: “…”

No, this is not right!

This is really not right!

He couldn’t go in with Meng Yue.

Seeing this, Ye Leyao’s eyes widened with excitement; without thinking, he quickly walked forward.

Qin Yao and Huo Yan closely followed.

Papa and Mama Huo, at the end of the line, also quickened their pace.

Turning the corner, there was a neatly trimmed and flat lawn.

But at this moment, not a single blade of grass was visible on the green ground; it was all covered with various fresh rose bouquets.

From a distance, a distinct fragrance of roses wafted over.

Everyone’s eyes widened in surprise.

In the middle of the lawn, there was also a path covered with rose petals, leading directly to the restaurant.

Meng Yue leaned on his cane and turned back to smile at Chu Cheng: “Shall we go?”

Chu Cheng’s face nearly turned green.

What was there for him to not understand at this moment?

Meng Yue was luring him in here!

Ye Leyao covered his face, really wanting to laugh.

[For Chu Cheng, how could this not be a banquet of ambush?]

Chu Cheng subconsciously took a step back.

But faster than his reaction were his friends, who directly blocked his path.

One friend blinked: “Chu Cheng, let’s go.”

Another friend said: “Hurry up!”

It was clear that the situation was not simple; how could they let Chu Cheng just walk away like this?

They had to see this spectacle!

Chu Cheng was both amused and exasperated by his friends, gritting his teeth: “Is this how you treat the birthday star?”

“Don’t rush; let’s go over and see what’s going on!”

“Yeah, what if it’s another surprise?”

“Let’s go, let’s go.”

Ye Leyao couldn’t help but laugh again.

Chu Cheng rubbed his forehead.

What they said did make sense; what if it was a misunderstanding?

Although Chu Cheng felt this possibility was extremely slim, regardless of whether it was a misunderstanding or not, he would refuse Meng Yue.

Just as they walked a few steps, Chu Cheng suddenly thought of something and turned back to look at Ye Leyao: “Ran…”

“He’s coming soon!” Ye Leyao quickly said.

Chu Cheng furrowed his brow.

To be honest, he didn’t really want Ran Jing to see this scene.

But since Chu Cheng originally intended to interrupt and refuse Meng Yue, thinking it over, it seemed it didn’t matter.

So, Chu Cheng turned around, didn’t say much more, and followed Meng Yue down this “romantic” path into the restaurant.

As soon as Chu Cheng stepped into the restaurant, he heard a familiar bell ringing.

Chu Cheng realized it was the class bell from their middle school.

Scanning the restaurant, he didn’t see Meng Yue’s figure but saw that the restaurant’s large display screen had begun to play a VCR.

Ye Leyao walked closer to the restaurant, and at that moment, his phone vibrated again.

Ran Jing’s message came in: ? Is this address you gave me correct? Why are there so many roses outside?

Ye Leyao’s lips couldn’t help but curl up:

[Of course, it’s because Meng Yue is preparing to confess to Chu Cheng here!]

Ye Leyao didn’t intend to hide it from Ran Jing, so he directly replied, It seems Meng Yue is preparing to confess to Chu Cheng here.

Ran Jing: ??? No way, what face does he have to confess to Chu Cheng? He hasn’t even settled my money!

From this short line, Ye Leyao could see Ran Jing’s anger.

Ye Leyao replied: You should hurry over.

Ran Jing: Three seconds!

Ye Leyao put away his phone and was just about to turn around when he felt a gust of wind pass by his side.

Everyone was momentarily stunned, and then they looked up to see that someone was already standing on the stage.

The boy ran over, panting heavily, and directly snatched the microphone from the emcee’s hand, his voice overpowering the VCR, robustly declaring: “Meng Yue! You get out here!”

The VCR that was playing was abruptly paused, and the entire restaurant instantly fell silent.

What was happening?

Some gossipers with keen interest spoke with barely concealed excitement: “Could it be an ex who hasn’t cut ties showing up?”

Ye Leyao smiled slightly.

[That’s both right and wrong; Ran Jing showed up mainly because Meng Yue hasn’t settled the payment.]

[The boss who owes wages, eh—]

Ye Leyao made a sound of disdain.