Chapter 33: Snow in July

Chapter 33: Snow in July

Zhou Zijian was still on the phone not far from the beach, but he had removed his earpiece, and the production team tactfully moved the camera further away, no longer picking up any sound.

The audience in the live stream could only see the scene, unable to hear a single sound.

The guests present occasionally caught a word or two of Zhou Zijian's conversation with the person on the other end of the line, but at this point, they had no energy left to speculate about what topic Zhou Zijian was discussing with the other party. They hadn't even digested the jaw-dropping guess that had just stunned everyone!

Du Yueqin's expression was even more grim. She still maintained her previous posture, staring in shock at Zhou Zijian in the distance. After a long while, she suddenly came back to her senses, her expression desolate as she returned to her seat and sat down.

No one spoke, and no one comforted Du Yueqin.

Silence spread among the guests, but the live stream was bustling with activity.

As soon as they heard Zhou Zijian admit that he had a girlfriend, the chat exploded.

But before the CP fans could begin to break down, the next moment they heard the word "Mom" coming from the receiver.

The capacity of the CP fans' and viewers' brains nearly exploded from that one word "Mom."

"Huh?"

"Hold on, my mind is a bit jumbled..."

"????? No, what's going on?"

"Does Zhou Zijian not only have a girlfriend but also a son?"

"When did he have a son?"

"It's not his. Did you guys listen carefully? This son should be his girlfriend's son. Didn't you hear him say that his son disagreed with his mom being with Zhou Zijian?!"

The explanation didn't help; seeing the chat explanations, the fans and viewers were even more bewildered.

"So my CP is doomed?"

"Isn't it obvious? He already revealed that he has a girlfriend... Waaah... Let me cry for a bit..."

"My feelings are so complicated. I knew the CP I was into was fake, but finding out the truth like this, I still can't accept it."

Suddenly, a fan sighed,

"I see! I was wondering before, when this drama aired, all the data was pretty good, yet there wasn't any indication that the two male leads would stir up CP rumors... It turns out both teams knew the truth all along!"

This chat message instantly received numerous likes.

Nowadays, after almost every popular drama airs, there will be some CP promotion. Not only is it to attract attention and heat for the drama itself, but it's also to bring traffic and buzz to the actors themselves.

BL dramas are no exception, and in fact, they often go even further in promoting CPs.

Yet, in the new drama that Zhou Zijian starred in recently, Zhou Zijian and his co-star Wen Huai seemed to have agreed beforehand. Aside from necessary promotions, neither of them showed any intention of stirring up rumors.

Even after the drama ended, both Zhou Zijian and Wen Huai clarified in front of the cameras that they were just good friends and hoped their fans would remain rational.

However, due to the success of this BL adaptation, the drama viewers got carried away. Regardless of whether the main characters agreed or not, they were going to ship this CP!

That's how domineering modern netizens are!

During the airing of the drama, Zhou Zijian and Wen Huai each gained a large number of free-flowing CP fans, and their CP super-topic even dominated the top spot on the popular super-topic list for a whole week.

After the drama ended, their number of CP fans only increased.

Now, with the sudden revelation that Zhou Zijian had a girlfriend, the CP fans were stunned.

Just as the chat discussion was in full swing, Ye Leyao suddenly noticed that Du Yueqin, sitting across from her, looked terrible.

"Why do I feel like she's about to cry?"

Upon hearing these words, Qin Yao instantly turned his head and followed Ye Leyao's gaze.

After returning to her seat, Du Yueqin still seemed dazed, her eyes blankly fixed on the deck of cards in front of her.

After a long time, she suddenly reached out and picked up the heart ace in front of her, tearing it into pieces, then threw it forcefully, scattering the fragments on the beach.

"You can't just litter when you're upset!"

When Ye Leyao looked up again, she found Du Yueqin's eyes suddenly reddened.

Ye Leyao thought,

"Oh no! Du Yueqin really seems to be about to cry!"

"Is the news of Brother Zhou having a partner such a blow to her?"

"What do we do now? I don't know how to comfort people!"

As it happened, Qin Yao didn't either.

Liu Yan, sitting next to Du Yueqin, also noticed her abnormal behavior. Instinctively, she sought help from Li Siyuan.

Was Li Siyuan someone who knew how to comfort others?

He was in a good mood today if he didn't continue to argue with her. He was even more afraid that if he opened his mouth, he might upset Du Yueqin, so he simply turned around and pretended to be dead.

Liu Yan then looked at Song Zhehan.

Song Zhehan remembered his character, and was in the midst of mustering his emotions, when he saw the producer and director heading straight over.

"That's it for this shoot, everyone. We're wrapping up today's filming!"

With those words spoken, the live stream was shut down.

Du Yueqin could no longer contain her emotions. She stood up abruptly and turned to head towards the villa.

Her agent and assistant hurried after her to offer comfort.

The other guests heaved sighs of relief.

Thank goodness.

They wouldn't have to rack their brains trying to console someone with their limited vocabulary.

But while the guests were relieved, the netizens in the live stream were not pleased. They hadn't even finished their melon-eating yet. Zhou Zijian was still on the phone next to them, and they had just cut off the live stream?

"I want to see! If you don't show me, I'm going to make a fuss!"

"What? Is there something that my VIP status doesn't allow me to see?"

"Quickly, put the live stream back up!"

"But did anyone notice that Du Yueqin's expression seemed off?"

"Saw it, but right now, I'm more interested in Zhou Zijian's gossip!"

"Yes, so I want to watch the live stream—"

No matter how the netizens expressed their dissatisfaction, the production team remained unmoved.

Netizens were impatient by nature and couldn't bear the lack of a place to discuss things. So, one by one, they all turned to Weibo.

Weibo was bustling at the moment.

Clips from the "Let's Travel Together" live stream had been edited out, and hashtags like #ZhouZijianRevealsGirlfriend and #ZhouZijiansSon were trending high on the hot search list.

The super topic for Zhou Zijian and Wen Huai's CP fans was filled with CP fans who had just broken down.

The fans were genuinely heartbroken, and the melon-eating netizens also genuinely loved to join in the fun, watching the highlights of the live stream over and over again.

As they watched, they quickly noticed something unusual with their keen eyes—

"Is it just me, or does Zhou Zijian's son's voice sound familiar?"

"+1 I think so too! It sounds like I've heard it somewhere."

Until a CP fan of Zhou Zijian and Wen Huai posted:

"Am I being too sensitive? Why do I feel like the male voice on the phone is very similar to Wen Huai?"

Once this Weibo post came out, the comments were all:

"You're not kidding, it really does sound alike."

"Don't scare me!"

"You CP fans can't be stepping on your own ship like this if you're breaking up, can you? Who chases their best friend's mom? How would the hierarchy work then?"

"Zhou Zijian to Wen Huai: From today on, you're my brother, and I'm your dad?"

The shameless netizens burst out laughing.

Seeing the topic's popularity rising, marketing accounts soon compared Wen Huai's voice to the man's voice on the phone.

It might have been better not to compare, but once the comparison video was made, the CP fans were speechless upon seeing it.

The netizens were even more shocked, their jaws nearly dropping.

"Holy sh*t? Holy sh*t! F*cking hell!"

"Is this real or a joke?"

"The super moderator of the CP fan group has gone dark...it's probably true."

"So Zhou Zijian really stole his best friend's mom?"

These lines were explosive no matter how you looked at them.

Just as one melon hadn't settled, another one arose. At this critical juncture, Zhou Zijian's Weibo account went online.

Ye Leyao was startled when she saw the sudden notification pop up.

"Is Brother Zhou going to respond?"

The filming had already ended, and the guests could start leaving.

The first to leave was naturally Du Yueqin, who walked out of the villa with her suitcase, her eyes red.

The other guests left one after another.

Father and Mother Huo, who hadn't had a proper chance to play around these past three days, suggested taking Ye Leyao out for a few days before returning home.

Ye Leyao agreed without hesitation.

At this point, Ye Leyao had already followed Father and Mother Huo to the Huo family's chain hotel. The trio was sitting in the living room of the suite, eating fruit, when Ye Leyao's inner voice was heard. Father and Mother Huo simultaneously took out their phones.

But Ye Leyao was faster than them in surfing the web:

"Ahhhhhh, Brother Zhou posted on Weibo!"

"My goodness! He actually admitted it!!!"

Admitted what?

That he's indeed with Wen Huai's mother?

Mother He was the first to click on Zhou Zijian's Weibo post, and the top one was clearly his post from a minute ago:

The post was short, only four characters: "I love her deeply."

Accompanying the text was a photo of two hands clasped together, with matching couple rings on their respective ring fingers.

In the comments section, there were hardly any voices of blessing; they were all filled with fans' and netizens' confusion:

"So... is the girlfriend really Wen Huai's mom?"

"Brother Zhou, do you really have a son named Wen Huai?"

"Have you really become Wen Huai's godfather?"

"Husband, say something, husband!"

"It's still the netizens who lack virtue! Their questions are truly piercing to the heart!"

"How can Brother Zhou answer this?"

Ye Leyao refreshed the comment section and didn't see Zhou Zijian's response, but she did see Wen Huai's latest reply:

"Wen Huai: So what if it's true? Is my mother not good enough for him, Zhou Zijian?"

This irritable tone, this disgruntled attitude, this appearance as if he couldn't wait to fight Zhou Zijian again.

"Aaaaaah—"

Ye Leyao screamed.

She logged out and then logged back in, repeating this twice before finally confirming that she hadn't read it wrong.

"It's Wen Huai himself!"

"He was adamantly against Zhou Zijian's relationship with his mother, wasn't he? Why is he coming out to admit it now?!"

Father and Mother He were also quite surprised by this.

They both browsed through their Weibo feeds more seriously than ever.

But Ye Leyao's internet speed was still faster:

"So that's how it is... Wen Huai just wants to protect his mother..."

"As soon as news broke that Zhou Zijian's girlfriend might be older, netizens and fans reacted strongly."

"Now that public opinion has developed to this point, some radical fans have started digging up real information about Zhou Zijian's girlfriend. Zhou Zijian stepping forward at this time to admit the relationship is to protect his girlfriend."

"The same goes for Wen Huai."

"No matter how much he opposes Brother Zhou being with his mother, he's the only one allowed to oppose it. Netizens aren't allowed to say a single word against it."

At this moment, the CP fans also discovered that the two main figures, who hadn't interacted on Weibo for a long time, had interacted.

It was this interaction that left all the CP fans feeling like they'd been hit with a ton of bricks after seeing it.

CP Fan 1: How could it not be real? The CP I ship is now a family! A legal family! I'm so happy hahaha.

CP Fan 2: Let's see who dares to say it's not real now. One of them has become a father to someone else's child, how could it not be real? If this isn't real, then tell me what is?

CP Fan 3: Alright, alright, alright. I hereby declare that the CP I ship is real!

CP Fan 4: So, you're coming out to admit it so eagerly now, wanting our blessings? Are you blessing Zhou Zijian for having a precious son at the young age of twenty-seven? Or are you blessing Wen Huai for gaining a godfather at the young age of twenty-three?

The CP fans were thoroughly broken.

Netizens were also thoroughly enjoying the spectacle!

"I never would have expected it to develop like this!"

"Exciting, too exciting! I really want to interview Wen Huai right now and ask him how he feels."

"Upstairs, Wen Huai would definitely tell you to get lost."

"Hahaha, but to be honest, Zhou Zijian is quite responsible."

When Ye Leyao saw this comment, she gave it a fierce thumbs-up.

"Who said otherwise!"

"If this were any other celebrity, with such a big commotion, they would surely feel ashamed and unwilling to clarify. But not only did Brother Zhou come forward to admit it, but he also openly expressed his love for his girlfriend on Weibo—"

"How could this not be true love!"

Father and Mother He also rarely agreed.

Zhou Zijian was indeed a very responsible man.

"I can't help it, I have to support Brother Zhou."

Mother He was a little curious about how Ye Leyao would show her support, and then the next moment, the notification for special attention on Weibo sounded. Mother He looked down:

One second ago, Ye Leyao had forwarded Zhou Zijian's new Weibo post, accompanied by the words: "Wishing Brother Zhou and Sister-in-law a long-lasting happiness!"

Your so-called support is just retweeting Weibo posts!

Mrs. He chuckled and decided to use her own Weibo account to retweet in support as well.

It was getting late, and Mrs. He and Mr. He were quite satisfied with the gossip they had consumed today.

Mrs. He and Mr. He got up to return to their room, not forgetting to remind Ye Leyao to get some rest early.

Ye Leyao nodded repeatedly while holding his phone.

After posting on Weibo, he didn't bother checking the comments and went straight back to his room for a shower and to prepare for bed.

However, the online discussion did not completely cease.

But with Zhou Zijian and Wen Huai's consecutive statements, netizens' attention shifted from "curiosity about Zhou Zijian's girlfriend's identity" to "when did Zhou Zijian fall for Wen Huai's mother" and "when did he start dating Wen Huai's mother."

Some netizens, driven by curiosity, directly asked under Wen Huai's Weibo post.

Wen Huai actually replied, and his response was straightforward and crude: "How would I know? Go ask that dumbass Zhou Zijian yourself!"

The netizens instantly found it even more hilarious.

"Hahahahahaha—"

"It's clear that Wen Huai is really losing it!"

"His biological mother became his good friend's girlfriend. Who wouldn't lose it in that situation?"

"Well said. A good friend is a bosom buddy, but a bad one is an enemy. Bosom buddies and enemies (apologies for the gender mix-up)" *1

Unable to pry information from Wen Huai, the netizens redirected their focus to Zhou Zijian.

Thus, after some digging, a meticulous netizen pointed out, "So, on the first day of filming 'Let's Travel Together,' Zhou Zijian's panda eyes were caused by Wen Huai beating him up?"

A single stone stirred up thousands of waves.

Netizens quickly found common ground and started rewatching the live broadcasts from the past two days together.

This digging revealed something significant.

On the first day of the live broadcast, when Zhou Zijian got into the car, Du Yueqin asked him about his eyes. Guess what happened?

At that moment, Ye Leyao was actually giggling behind his hand in the corner!

This proved that Ye Leyao had noticed something fishy at the time; he was just secretly enjoying the gossip alone!

Finally, netizens dug up footage from that night's beach live stream. When Zhou Zijian was taking a call, Ye Leyao took out his phone and seemed to have found a video, which he played. The sound was too brief for netizens to hear clearly, but at that moment, Ye Leyao's expression became particularly intriguing.

"!!! Ye Leyao, you couldn't have known this early, could you?"

"I knew it! Ye Leyao must have known some big gossip we didn't!"

"Alright, alright, I get it. From now on, I'm following Ye Leyao for my gossip fix!"

The direction of the online discussion veered further off course. Some netizens, while indulging in gossip about Zhou Zijian, ended up investigating Ye Leyao's mysterious smile instead.

Even Zhou Zijian hadn't anticipated that Ye Leyao could divert attention onto himself.

Zhou Zijian was genuinely grateful and even sent Ye Leyao a large red envelope via WeChat as a token of appreciation.

When Ye Leyao checked Weibo in the morning, he was somewhat surprised.

But he hadn't really helped much, and it was true that he had been secretly enjoying the gossip.

How could Ye Leyao accept Zhou Zijian's red envelope? He returned it immediately.

"I won't take the red envelope, but I will definitely take your wedding candy in the future!"

Zhou Zijian replied almost instantly: "Leyao, thank you so much!"

Ye Leyao hurriedly responded: "No need, no need!"

After all, he had genuinely enjoyed the gossip.

Over the next few days, Ye Leyao thoroughly enjoyed himself on the island with Mr. and Mrs. He.

On the last day, as Ye Leyao and Mrs. He were sunbathing on the cruise ship, Mrs. He suddenly said, "By the way, Xiao Yao, your Uncle Yangkun's father is turning ninety, and your dad and I are going to attend the celebration at his house the day after tomorrow. Do you want to come with us?"

Although Mrs. He knew that Ye Leyao usually disliked socializing, she and Mr. He still hoped that Ye Leyao could accompany them more often to gain exposure, especially since Ye Leyao had also debuted. There would be situations where he would have to face fans, and it would be beneficial for him to practice beforehand.

Ye Leyao understood Mr. and Mrs. He's intentions, but he really didn't want to go, so he declined without hesitation, "No, thanks."

Mrs. He looked helpless.

Mr. He silently suggested:

Forget it. If Xiao Yao doesn't want to go, let it be. His happiness is most important.

After all, the shooting had been quite demanding over the past few days. Let Ye Leyao rest properly for these few days.

Mrs. He wouldn't force Ye Leyao. Since he had already said so, she could only nod and refrain from saying more.

She stood up, intending to fetch a drink from inside the cruise ship, when she suddenly heard Ye Leyao muttering to himself,

"Uncle Yangkun? Why does that name sound familiar?"

Mrs. He paused in her steps.

Mr. Huo also turned to look.

No way?

They couldn’t possibly attend one banquet and discover that there was drama to be had, could they?

Ye Leyao rolled over, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt that this matter seemed quite important. So, he simply got up and went straight into the cruise ship to get his phone.

Mr. and Mrs. Huo stood on the cruise ship, not daring to even breathe heavily for fear of disturbing Ye Leyao.

Before long, they heard Ye Leyao exclaim—

"Turns out Mr. Huo was injured at the Yang family’s banquet!"

Mrs. Huo and Mr. Huo’s expressions changed simultaneously.

They exchanged glances. Injured?!

There really was drama?

Wait, they had only attended an ordinary banquet, so why would Mr. Huo’s arm be injured?

Ye Leyao’s voice continued:

"It seems that because of Mr. Huo’s injury this time, someone took advantage of the situation…"

Mr. Huo’s expression immediately changed, and he hurriedly waved his hand at Mrs. Huo.

What was this nonsense?

How did someone take advantage of him?

Mrs. Huo naturally believed in Mr. Huo, signaling him not to worry and to listen to what Ye Leyao had to say first.

"Oh—"

"So Mr. Huo also reunited with his childhood sweetheart at the Yang family’s banquet?"

Mr. Huo’s pupils were shaken.

What childhood sweetheart?

How could he not remember having a childhood sweetheart?

Mrs. Huo was equally shocked, her eyebrows furrowing as she shot a glare at Mr. Huo.

Mr. Huo felt wronged, shaking his head and lowering his voice to explain: "Don’t you know who’s in my social circle? Where did I get a childhood sweetheart from?!"

Mrs. Huo knew very well that Mr. Huo didn’t have any childhood sweetheart, but that didn’t stop her from getting angry: "You’d better not have one!"

"I really don’t!" Mr. Huo was in a headache.

Inside the cruise ship, Ye Leyao read quickly.

"Looking at it this way, the Yang family truly suffered an undeserved calamity!"

"A relative’s brat came over to play and not only smashed all the figurines in Uncle Yang Kun’s son’s room but refused to apologize!"

Ye Leyao was livid when he read this.

"All those were limited edition figurines! How dare that brat do such a thing?!"

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhh—If anyone dared to burn my figurines, I’d definitely fight them to the death!"

"After being forced to apologize, the brat still held a grudge and, after all the adults left, sneaked into Uncle Yang’s son’s room and burned all the remaining figurines?!"

Ye Leyao was already fuming just reading the text.

"Unreasonable! Too much! I’ve never seen such a bad person!"

Mr. and Mrs. Huo also felt uncomfortable listening to Ye Leyao’s description.

Whose child was this? So ill-mannered?

Then what? What happened next?

If the brat burned the figurines and no one was in the room, wouldn’t it cause a fire?

After venting his anger, Ye Leyao calmed down slightly and continued reading, confirming Mr. and Mrs. Huo’s suspicions—

"In the end, because no one was in the room and many of the furnishings at home were wooden, the entire Yang family villa was burned down…"

"Oh! So Mr. Huo was injured protecting Mrs. Huo!"

Ye Leyao suddenly understood.

"You gave me a scare! I thought Mr. Huo was saving his childhood sweetheart…"

Mr. Huo’s voice was aggrieved: "It’s snowing."

Mrs. Huo: "Huh?"

Mr. Huo’s tone was melancholy: "Snow in July, I’m more wronged than Dou E!"

Mrs. Huo could no longer hold back, her lips curling upward uncontrollably.

At this moment, Ye Leyao also emerged from the cruise ship: "Mrs. Huo, I just thought about it and decided to go to the banquet with you guys!"

Mrs. Huo nodded with a smile: "Good."

I have already started looking forward to the banquet two days from now.