Chapter 79

At this moment, Ye Leyao really wanted to interview Liu Yan.

[Weren’t you just laughing so cheerfully?]

[Why aren’t you laughing now? Are you naturally not fond of laughing?]

Ye Leyao was laughing so happily and uncontrollably, his laughter loud, and he even looked back while laughing.

The regular guests of Let’s Go Traveling Together were all quite sharp, so they noticed something unusual right away.

What was Ye Leyao laughing at?

Song Zhehan was the first to follow Ye Leyao’s gaze and saw Liu Yan, who was sitting stiffly in place.

Liu Yan had always been the least noticeable guest in their show, not because she had fewer camera moments, but because while the other guests were engrossed in gossip, Liu Yan always stayed on the fringes.

It’s not that Liu Yan didn’t like gossip; it’s just that after suffering a setback during the first episode’s filming, she became much more cautious. While most guests dived into gossip, Liu Yan chose to stay out of it, observing from the sidelines and keeping a low profile.

But unexpectedly, after several episodes of filming, Liu Yan had gradually become more cheerful, clearly letting go of the issues from the first episode.

Just now, Wen Huai had been sitting right behind her, and even then, she couldn’t suppress her laughter, causing Wen Huai to glance at her several times.

It wasn’t hard to see that Liu Yan was ready to completely let loose during this episode’s recording.

So why had the person who was just laughing so brightly gone completely silent at this moment?

Song Zhehan raised an eyebrow slightly and looked ahead at Shen Chong.

Shen Chong had a handsome appearance, and as soon as he got on the bus, he cheerfully introduced himself to everyone.

But while he was introducing himself, he kept gazing affectionately toward the back right.

There were only four guests sitting in the back right: a family of three and Liu Yan.

Shen Chong had only just debuted, so he definitely didn’t know Zhou Zijian and Wen Huai, and it was even less likely that it was Wen Xiangyue.

So, the only person he could have been looking at was Liu Yan.

The corner of Song Zhehan’s mouth suddenly lifted as he tapped Duan Tingyan, who was sitting in front of him, on the shoulder: “Do they know each other?”

Duan Tingyan, evasive, vaguely replied, “You’d have to ask them.”

Li Siyuan, sitting in the back seat, was incredibly curious. Upon hearing this, he instantly rolled his eyes, “Say it if you want to!”

Hearing Li Siyuan’s remark, Duan Tingyan immediately turned around, smiling deeply, and instantly switched to a female voice: “Of course, if it were you asking me, Siyuan, I’d definitely tell you!”

Li Siyuan: “…”

The veins on his forehead throbbed wildly, and his voice rose several octaves in anger: “Duan Tingyan, I’ve warned you! If you keep talking to me in that tone, I’ll really hit you!”

Duan Tingyan immediately switched back to his male voice, sounding aggrieved: “Siyuan is really fierce.”

Li Siyuan clenched his fist and stood up in an instant.

Duan Tingyan immediately turned his head and went silent.

Ye Leyao, eager to watch the drama, saw Duan Tingyan turn away and smiled even wider: “Why did you provoke him?”

Duan Tingyan looked troubled and lowered his voice: “I didn’t provoke him; he’s just too hot-tempered.” After a pause, he suddenly leaned in and asked, “But I’m curious—how did you know about me and him…?”

Duan Tingyan left half the sentence unsaid, but Ye Leyao understood what he meant.

Ye Leyao blinked innocently.

[Cough, cough… Well, of course, I can’t tell you that!]

“Secret.”

After dropping that word, Ye Leyao quickly turned away and looked at Shen Chong. Then, he suddenly got excited and shook Qin Yao’s arm: “President Qin, look, look! We were talking so loudly just now, yet Shen Chong hasn’t even glanced at us!”

Qin Yao’s gaze lingered on Ye Leyao’s hand resting on his arm for a moment before he nodded lightly: “Mm.”

Not only had Shen Chong not looked at them, but from the moment he got on the bus until now, his eyes hadn’t left Liu Yan.

His gaze was sincere, filled with barely suppressed excitement, and tinged with shyness.

Looking back at Liu Yan.

At first, she was clearly stunned, sitting frozen in place for a while. But gradually, a faint blush crept onto her face. She tried to avoid Shen Chong’s gaze, but after turning away, she quickly glanced back at him again.

Their unusual reactions were far too telling, especially considering the meaningful comment Duan Tingyan had made when he left Liu Yan’s side.

Who would believe there wasn’t something going on between them?

Wen Huai, sitting beside Zhou Zijian, had initially been flustered and unsure, but now his attention was drawn elsewhere.

Wen Xiangyue, on the other hand, watched with a serious expression, occasionally glancing at Zhou Zijian. If Wen Huai weren’t sitting beside her, she probably would’ve leaned in to whisper something to Zhou Zijian by now.

The guests were already picking up on the signals, and the live-stream audience, with their sharp eyes, were even quicker to notice.

As soon as Ye Leyao had turned around to ask Duan Tingyan, the viewers sensed something was up.

After that, the viewers couldn’t take their eyes off Ye Leyao. When they saw him turn and smile at Liu Yan, they followed his gaze and looked at Liu Yan’s reaction, then shifted to Shen Chong.

The live chat erupted in laughter, echoing Ye Leyao’s teasing:

—”Hahaha, Liu Yan, why did you stop laughing?”

—”No way, no way! Is this episode going to be packed with gossip? I haven’t even finished processing the drama between Li Siyuan and Zhou Zijian, and now there’s gossip about Liu Yan?”

—”I’m full, full of gossip! The livestream’s only been going for thirty minutes, and I’ve already had my fill of drama! What a great day!”

The viewers were buzzing with excitement, while Liu Yan’s fans were in shock:

—“No way?”

—“Wait!”

—“Hold on, how did you all decide Liu Yan has gossip?”

—“Yeah, our girl has been spotless since her debut! You better have proof before you talk!”

As usual, her fans were as fierce as ever. The gossip-loving crowd, amused, couldn’t help but smile and respond:

—”Why are you fans getting so worked up all of a sudden?”

—”Yeah, yeah, no one said Liu Yan is definitely caught up in some scandal.”

—”Right, it could just be romance gossip.”

This comment struck a nerve with Liu Yan’s fans, and they immediately exploded.

—“What do you mean by romance gossip?”

—“Stop spreading false rumors!”

—“I’m speechless. Are you guys so obsessed with gossip that you throw dirt on people without thinking?”

The fans were furious.

The gossip-hungry viewers, though, didn’t argue back. After all, they had learned from experience: sometimes, it’s better not to speak too soon.

They just needed to wait and see.

At that moment, Shen Chong seemed to finally realize that he had been staring at Liu Yan for too long. He quickly averted his gaze and offered an apologetic smile to everyone: “Sorry, I got distracted…”

Ye Leyao couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

[That excuse is a bit weak.]

Before Ye Leyao could laugh out loud, he heard Song Zhehan’s faint voice from behind: “Oh, so you were just distracted? I saw you staring at Liu Yan the whole time. You scared me—I thought you liked her.”

Before Ye Leyao could even laugh, Shen Chong hurriedly explained: “No, no! You misunderstood, I don’t… I just… I, I…”

Shen Chong stammered for a long time but couldn’t get a coherent explanation out, only making himself more flustered, his face and neck turning red with embarrassment.

At this point, who would believe that Shen Chong didn’t have feelings for Liu Yan?

Ye Leyao couldn’t hold it in anymore. He leaned his head on Qin Yao’s shoulder and let out a loud laugh.

[Alright, alright! Teacher Gou Shi has really stirred things up today!]

[It seems like Teacher Gou Shi was carrying some serious grievances from the last episode.]

After laughing, Ye Leyao turned to look at Liu Yan’s reaction.

He saw Liu Yan close her eyes in resignation.

Looking at the other guests, they all had knowing smiles, clearly aware of the situation but choosing not to speak.

Seeing this, Shen Chong became even more flustered and stammered, “Really… I really don’t like her…”

But even as the words reached his lips, Shen Chong hesitated for a long time and still couldn’t bring himself to say them.

Ye Leyao laughed so hard he could barely keep his balance:

[No way, Shen Chong, why didn’t you finish what you were saying?]

[Could it be that you think saying it out loud would bring bad luck?]

[But do you realize that being so hesitant with your words will get you exposed pretty quickly!]

Duan Tingyan spoke up at the right moment: “Alright, we get it. You don’t like her. Now hurry and find a seat.”

Shen Chong became anxious immediately after hearing this: “No, I don’t dislike Liu Yan. I actually like—”

He almost blurted out the truth, but stopped himself just in time.

The other guests looked at him, their faces barely holding back their laughter.

Shen Chong’s face flushed bright red.

At this point, Liu Yan finally couldn’t take it anymore. She stood up as if resigned to her fate: “Just stop talking already and quickly find a seat!”

The tone of her last sentence had a clear hint of gritted teeth.

Shen Chong quickly looked up at Liu Yan, his eyes sparkling.

But after a few seconds, he still hadn’t moved.

Liu Yan’s fans in the live chat were both frustrated and amused:

—“Hahahaha! You don’t dislike Liu Yan, so that means you do like her?”

—“I swear, what is going on? Who are you, man? Could you stop clinging to her?”

—“Clinging? It doesn’t seem like that. How about you take a closer look at Liu Yan’s reactions?”

The fans had been observing closely. That’s precisely why they were freaking out.@@novelbin@@

No one knows their idol better than her own fans.

If this were any other time, Liu Yan would have already spoken up to clear things up.

But since Shen Chong got in the car, he’s been dropping hint after hint, and has Liu Yan said anything?

Not only did she not say anything, but she also handed Shen Chong a way out of the situation!

How are her fans supposed to take this?

Liu Yan’s fans were officially losing it.

But it wasn’t just the fans breaking down, Liu Yan herself was exhausted.

She started wondering why she hadn’t checked the lunar calendar before agreeing to this episode’s filming. Why didn’t she check Shen Chong’s schedule beforehand?

And seriously, who suggested that Shen Chong participate in a variety show?

Shen Chong had made things so obvious, and then Duan Tingyan threw in that suggestive remark.

The audience and other guests weren’t fools, so it was clear that her relationship wouldn’t stay hidden any longer.

Liu Yan suddenly had a headache, but when she looked at Shen Chong, she couldn’t bring herself to say anything harsh. She could only speak again, “Why are you still standing there?”

Then Shen Chong cautiously asked, “C-can I sit next to you?”

Liu Yan: “…”

She wanted to die.

“Do you really need to ask?” Li Siyuan couldn’t help but chime in, teasing, “If you like her, just sit next to her. There’s no one else sitting there anyway.”

Hearing Li Siyuan speak, Duan Tingyan was delighted and immediately added, “Exactly! This isn’t school with assigned seating. If Liu Yan is willing to let you sit next to her, then go ahead.”

Encouraged by their words, Shen Chong eagerly turned to look at Liu Yan.

Ye Leyao couldn’t resist whispering, “The power dynamics in this relationship are so obvious!”

Qin Yao chuckled.

Huo Yan raised an eyebrow and stood up: “Alright then, if you don’t want to sit, I’ll…”

Before he could finish, Shen Chong rushed to Liu Yan’s side and plopped himself down next to her.

Everyone turned to look.

[Ooooh—]

[Someone’s a little too eager.]

Once seated, Shen Chong seemed to realize he had acted a bit hastily and hurried to explain: “Mr. Huo, I wasn’t…”

Liu Yan finally lost her patience. She grabbed his arm and glared at him: “Just stop talking already!”

Huo Yan chuckled and sat back down in his own seat.

Shen Chong let out an “oh” and then slowly looked down, his gaze settling on the hand Liu Yan had used to grab his arm. He smiled brightly, clearly excited.

Liu Yan: “…”

She was completely done with this.

After letting go of his arm, she covered her face with her hand.

At this point, all the guests had arrived. After the director got into the car and announced their destination, the driver started taking them there.

It was going to take a while to reach their destination, and the guests were free to do whatever they liked during the ride.

Normally by now, Liu Yan would have taken out her phone to browse Weibo.

After all, once the opening segment of the show airs, the gossip and trending topics related to their program are always quite entertaining.

But today, she didn’t even have the courage to check her phone.

Just because Liu Yan didn’t dare open her phone didn’t mean the other guests wouldn’t.

Ye Leyao was the first to pull out his phone. As soon as he opened Weibo and glanced at the trending topics, he couldn’t stop the smile spreading across his face.

After all, today’s netizens were all amateur detectives, and that wasn’t even counting the media and gossip accounts with even more insider information.

Shen Chong had only appeared in the live broadcast for about a minute, but his basic information was already known to everyone.

Shen Chong, 19 years old, currently a sophomore at A University and, by the way, the campus heartthrob.

At first glance, there didn’t seem to be anything unusual about this information. But those who knew Liu Yan would also know that she had graduated from A University.

In other words, Liu Yan and Shen Chong were college alumni!

They were already alumni, and he had looked at Liu Yan with such obvious affection as soon as they met—how could that not raise questions?

By this point, a large number of Liu Yan’s fans were enraged and began tagging her studio and management company, demanding an explanation.

Ye Leyao saw these comments and shook his head.

The fans still didn’t know the half of it!

[Liu Yan and Shen Chong aren’t just alumni; they’re also neighbors who’ve known each other since childhood.]

[Shen Chong has always liked Liu Yan. He couldn’t hold back and confessed to her in high school, but Liu Yan turned him down, saying she wanted to focus on her studies and didn’t like dating someone younger than her.]

[But Shen Chong didn’t give up. In order to keep up with Liu Yan, after graduating from high school, he applied to the same university as Liu Yan and started pursuing her once they entered college.]

[He pursued her for a whole year before Liu Yan finally agreed to be with him. But not long after, Liu Yan graduated from University A and participated in a talent show, debuted, and became famous. Since then, Shen Chong and Liu Yan have been apart more than they’ve been together.]

Huo Yan, upon hearing this, finally understood why Shen Chong was so excited earlier but still acted cautiously.

But, to be honest, while Shen Chong’s initial intention was to get closer to the person he liked, wasn’t his behavior a bit too obvious?

Now that Liu Yan’s career is on the rise, wouldn’t revealing their relationship at this critical moment be bad for her?

Thinking this, Huo Yan couldn’t help but glance back at the two of them. At that moment, Huo Yan really wanted to poke out his own eyes!

This was a matter between a couple, so what did it have to do with him?

Why did he have to concern himself and look back at them?!

And now, after looking, Huo Yan felt a sharp pain in his chest.

If you ask him, this show should definitely change its name.

What was it called, “Let’s Go Traveling Together”? What nonsense. Just change it to “Let’s Fall in Love” already!

Huo Yan’s reaction was so dramatic that it caught Ye Leyao’s attention, making him glance over curiously.

[Huh? What’s going on with Second Brother?]

Qin Yao, having witnessed everything out of the corner of his eye, signaled Ye Leyao to look behind him.

Ye Leyao turned around, and a smile spread across his face again.

[Liu Yan’s fans and Shen Chong’s fans are fighting right now, and yet here you two are, secretly holding hands!]

[Well, well, well, no wonder Liu Yan ended up with Shen Chong. Turns out both of them are love-obsessed!]

[But exposing their relationship didn’t really have much impact on their careers.]

[After all, Liu Yan isn’t just a pretty face. She’s an all-rounder singer and dancer. Even if she didn’t take the idol route, she could still carve out a path in the music industry with her talent.]

[As for Shen Chong…]

Ye Leyao couldn’t help but glance at his memo under Qin Yao’s watchful eyes. After reading it, his smile grew wider.

[Well, Shen Chong may not be able to sing or dance, but he’s hardworking and eager to learn.]

[Later, with his impressive acting skills, he gained fans’ approval. More importantly, because Shen Chong genuinely loved Liu Yan, even her fans eventually came to accept him. Plus, in every interview, Shen Chong never stopped talking about Liu Yan, which helped them gain a lot of couple fans and propelled their careers to new heights.]

Ye Leyao, satisfied, closed his memo and opened the trending searches again, ready to dive back into the drama about Li Siyuan. But before he could even find the tags for Li Siyuan and Duan Tingyan, he noticed that his and Qin Yao’s names were at the top of the trending list.

[Huh?]

Ye Leyao looked confused and then poked Qin Yao beside him, lowering his voice, “President Qin, we’re trending together.”

Qin Yao lowered his gaze slightly, meeting Ye Leyao’s clear and puzzled eyes.

“What did we do? Why are we trending?” Ye Leyao glanced at Qin Yao, then quickly looked down and clicked on the trending topic.

Qin Yao distinctly felt his heartbeat skip a beat, and the left hand resting next to Ye Leyao’s shoulder clenched slightly in a rare moment of nervousness.

The first post under the trending topic was a question:

—”Do you guys really not think something’s going on between Ye Leyao and Qin Yao?!”

Ye Leyao blinked, puzzled.

[Something going on? Between me and President Qin?]

[What could possibly be going on between me and President Qin?]

The moment Qin Yao heard Ye Leyao’s inner thoughts, he felt his heart, which had been suspended, rise once again.

As expected, Ye Leyao still hadn’t figured it out.

At the same time, across the aisle, the corner of Huo Yan’s mouth involuntarily curled upward.

See! He knew Papa and Mama Huo were wrong.

Even Ye Leyao didn’t know he liked Qin Yao. How could that be liking him?

Huo Yan, in a good mood, opened WeChat and shared Ye Leyao’s inner thoughts in the group chat.

A second later, his phone vibrated slightly, and a message popped up from Mama Huo: [Seems like it won’t be long now.]

Huo Yan: [?]

Papa Huo chimed in: [Once he starts thinking about it, it shouldn’t take long for Xiao Yao to realize his feelings for Xiao Qin.]

Huo Yan: “…”

No way.

Ye Leyao hasn’t figured it out yet, so how could it be soon…

Suddenly, another inner thought echoed:

[What? I like President Qin?]

[Huh? How come I didn’t know?]

[Could the netizens just be making things up?!]

The corner of Huo Yan’s mouth lifted again.

Confidently, he sent a message to the group chat: [Just now, Ye Leyao said the netizens are making things up!]

After sending the message, Huo Yan, not sure what he was expecting, glanced at Qin Yao.

Then he saw Qin Yao’s jawline tense slightly, his gaze lowered, and he looked… a bit disappointed? Maybe even a little sad?

Huo Yan’s heart skipped a beat.

No way.

Why would Qin Yao be sad?

Qin Yao’s intentions were pretty obvious.

But Ye Leyao hadn’t expressed anything yet, so Qin Yao shouldn’t be sad, right?

Could it be that Qin Yao also heard…

Before Huo Yan could think further, another inner thought from Ye Leyao popped up:

[What do you mean, “if you don’t like someone, why would you want to be close to them”?]

[Have I been close with President Qin…?]

Ye Leyao furrowed his brows, recalling the intimate interactions between him and Qin Yao.

As he thought, Ye Leyao’s expression froze.

Then, in disbelief, he glanced at Qin Yao.

Qin Yao, with his head slightly lowered, kept his gaze fixed on Ye Leyao.

Caught off guard, their eyes met.

In the next moment, Qin Yao was the first to look away, staring straight ahead.

Ye Leyao vaguely felt as if some kind of barrier had been broken, and countless images flashed quickly through his mind.

But when he tried to grasp them, those images dispersed like clouds and mist.

For a moment, two voices began to clash in Ye Leyao’s mind.

One voice told him not to think any further.

The other voice told him he had to figure it out right now.

Yet for some reason, Ye Leyao was particularly clear that even if he kept thinking, he still wouldn’t find an answer.

So, he could only focus on Qin Yao beside him.

Without hesitation, Ye Leyao directly asked, “President Qin.”

Qin Yao slightly turned his head.

Ye Leyao then asked in a confused and puzzled tone, “What does it mean to like someone?”

The bus was very quiet, and as soon as Ye Leyao’s words fell, nearly everyone on the bus turned to look at him.

Duan Tingyan immediately leaned his head between the two seats, first looking at Ye Leyao and then at Qin Yao, and then he laughed, “Why did you suddenly ask that? Could it be—”

Qin Yao furrowed his brows tightly.

But Ye Leyao was quite candid: “I was scrolling through Weibo and saw people saying I like President Qin, so I became curious.”

His straightforward answer felt like a heavy blow.

Huo Yan almost dropped his phone.

What was Ye Leyao doing?!

How could he just ask Qin Yao directly?

Did he really want Qin Yao to give him an answer?

Duan Tingyan covered his mouth, gasping in shock, his eyes full of disbelief.

Is this something you can just say out loud?!

In the back, Song Zhehan couldn’t help but laugh out loud, unreservedly saying, “What’s up, Ye Leyao? You’re so sensitive when it comes to other people’s gossip, but now that it’s your turn, you don’t understand?”

“You really don’t understand,” Song Zhehan raised an eyebrow, his tone sharp and piercing, “or are you just pretending…”

At this moment, Ye Leyao had already turned his head, his clear and innocent eyes staring at Song Zhehan without blinking, his face still a bit expectant.

Song Zhehan suddenly found himself at a loss for words, his brows knitted together in disbelief as he said, “No way, Ye Leyao, you really don’t get it?”

All the other guests’ gazes landed on Ye Leyao at this moment.

Ye Leyao rarely displayed such a confused look, like a thirsty student eagerly seeking knowledge, looking at everyone with utmost seriousness. It made everyone realize that Ye Leyao was genuinely waiting for an answer.

“Are you joking?” Li Siyuan found it unbelievable.

Zhou Zijian was even more astonished, forgetting about Wen Huai sitting next to him, glancing over at Wen Xiangyue.

Ye Leyao usually loved to gossip and could often read between the lines of the guests’ expressions, but why was it that when it came to himself, he couldn’t figure it out?

The guests all quietly watched Ye Leyao, yet not a single one spoke up to give him an answer.

Feelings are inherently complex, and at that moment, the guests felt helpless.

Ye Leyao waited silently for quite a while, but no one answered him. He furrowed his brow, and for some reason, he suddenly felt a bit sad.

He turned around, lowered his head, and unconsciously tightened his grip on his phone.

At that moment, Qin Yao suddenly reached out and held his other hand.

In the moment their hands clasped together, Ye Leyao looked up at Qin Yao, his eyes filled with a hint of grievance.

Qin Yao’s heart softened, and he let out a light, helpless sigh, speaking gently, “Don’t be sad, and don’t rush. Human emotions have always been complex. Not understanding is normal; it’s because you’re encountering this situation for the first time.”

Ye Leyao stared blankly at Qin Yao, opened his mouth, and after a while said, “Then, President Qin, do you like…”

“Like,” Qin Yao responded without hesitation, his expression serious as he reached out with his other hand to gently ruffle Ye Leyao’s soft hair. “So I’m very patient. Yaoyao, you can take your time thinking.”

Hearing that familiar nickname again, the corners of Ye Leyao’s mouth involuntarily turned up slightly.

[I like this nickname.]

Ye Leyao thought for a moment and then spoke, “Although I’m still not sure if I like you, President Qin, I think the netizens got one thing right.”

Qin Yao maintained his gentle tone, his black eyes sparkling with amusement, “What is it?”

Ye Leyao smiled, “It’s just that besides you, I seem to have a hard time accepting physical contact with others.”

[Mm, including my Second Brother!]

Huo Yan: “…”

Damn!

The smile on Qin Yao’s lips deepened as he nodded seriously, “I’m very happy.”

Huo Yan: “…”

Hahaha, what the hell are you so happy about?!

Could Qin Yao please roll away!