Chapter 37: What Kiss?

Chapter 37: What Kiss?

In the banquet hall, glasses clinked as the party continued, but soon after, sirens echoed outside the villa.

Gossip spreads fast, and it wasn't long before the events that had just unfolded on the fourth floor became common knowledge.

When the guests heard the commotion outside, their eyes sparkled with curiosity and gossip.

Yang Kun and Yang Yuan led the way out.

The guests were eager to follow but decided against causing further trouble for Yang Kun by going outside.

Ye Leyao attempted to sneak out, but he was stopped by Huo Jing.

With no choice, Ye Leyao obediently stayed in the hall.

Not long after, Yang Yuan returned, but Yang Kun didn't come back until the end of the banquet.

Given what had happened to the hosts, the banquet didn't last much longer. Before everyone dispersed, Ye Leyao found Yang Yuan and exchanged contact information with him.

Back home, Ye Leyao was pondering how to ask Yang Yuan about the afternoon's events when he saw that Yang Yuan had posted a lengthy update on his social media. In summary:

He first berated the entire Yang Jie family, then briefly recounted what happened next.

Ye Leyao learned that what he had seen before the door closed—Yang Jie hitting Yang Tian—was indeed accurate.

Yang Jie was truly enraged, especially when he realized that Yang Tian dared to hit him. In that moment, his anger reached its peak.

Without thinking, he turned and started fighting with Yang Tian.

Jiang Fang couldn't bear to see her precious son being bullied, so she immediately joined in to help Yang Tian attack Yang Jie.

Zhong Kang stood nearby, unsure whom to help. When he saw the intensity of Yang Tian's attacks, he nervously stepped in to separate them and called the police and an ambulance.

When Yang Kun and Yang Yuan went outside, they found Yang Jie sitting on the ground, bleeding from the head and yelling at Yang Tian.

Yang Tian was also injured, but he didn't shed a single tear. Instead, he continued to lash out at Jiang Fang and Zhong Kang.

Yang Kun followed the ambulance to the hospital with Yang Jie.

Soon after Yang Jie's wounds were treated, the police arrived to take statements.

Yang Kun was ready to leave when he saw that Yang Jie was alright, but Yang Jie suddenly grabbed him, sobbing and begging for forgiveness.

Yang Kun and the Yang family hadn't given up on Yang Jie before; over the past decade, they had given him countless chances. It was Yang Jie who pushed them away.

A heart is made of flesh, and once hurt, even if the wound heals, the scar remains forever.

No matter how much Yang Jie repented, the damage he inflicted on the Yang family could never be undone.

But Yang Jie was still Yang Kun's younger brother, and Yang Kun couldn't simply ignore him.

Before leaving the hospital, Yang Kun arranged for a lawyer to contact Yang Jie.

Yang Jie was deeply grateful.

"It seems that Yang Jie has made up his mind to divorce," Ye Leyao sighed, shaking his head.

"Pity. For such a family with such skewed values, I hope they stay locked together."

Huo Ba and Huo Ma shared Ye Leyao's thoughts, but since this wasn't their family affair, they couldn't intervene too much.

After the first episode of the variety show was filmed, Ye Leyao had no other shooting tasks for a while, so Li Li arranged some acting classes for him.

However, every time he attended class, Ye Leyao felt like he had forgotten something important.

But he couldn't recall what it was right away.

A week after the classes began, Yang Yuan's social media had another update.

Yang Jie ultimately decided to divorce Jiang Fang.

But one condition of the divorce was that custody of Yang Tian must go to Yang Jie.

Ye Leyao was momentarily stunned when he read this:

"What? Even though Yang Tian isn't your son anymore, why do you want custody?"

"And, doesn't Zhong Kang know that Yang Tian is his biological son? Why didn't he fight for custody?"

Huo Ba and Huo Ma were equally surprised.

"Could it be that after raising him for over a decade, he developed feelings?" Huo Ba asked, puzzled.

Huo Ma frowned. "That's unlikely, isn't it? If there were real feelings, why did he attack him so fiercely at the banquet?"

Huo Ba agreed.

Both felt that there was more to Yang Jie's actions than met the eye. They suspected that Yang Jie was planning something significant.

Sure enough, they soon heard Ye Leyao's laughter:

"Hahaha! I never expected it to be like this! I have to say, Yang Jie is truly talented!"

"If Jiang Fang wants money, she must give up custody of Yang Tian. But if she insists on keeping custody, she won't get a penny..."

"After all, over the years, neither Yang Jie nor his wife had proper jobs. Yang Jie has been living off his older brother. All the money he has is from the Yang family. If Yang Jie refuses to pay, Jiang Fang really won't get a cent!"

Jiang Fang's actions also surprised me; I thought she truly loved her precious son... but in the end, it took only two days for her to sign the divorce papers, take the money Yang Jie gave her, and leave the country directly. As for Zhong Kang—

He must have been frightened by Yang Tian's attitude; he didn't even fight for custody, let alone demand a paternity test, and he cut off all contact with Jiang Fang.

Finally, there's Yang Tian...

And then? What happened to Yang Tian?

Ye Leyao couldn't hold back any longer, lying in bed and laughing for a long time.

"Yang Jie thinks Yang Tian is mentally ill, that there's something wrong with his head, so he took him straight to the hospital for an examination. After getting the doctor's diagnosis, he threw him into a mental institution!"

"Indeed, he still cares about being beaten up by Yang Tian, doesn't he!"

Huoba and Huoma couldn't help but laugh when they heard this.

Evil people are ground down by other evil people; it's not surprising how Yang Jie treated Yang Tian.

Huoma said, "That child seems too ruthless; to put it bluntly, he's a bit inhumane... he could even be so cruel to his parents who raised him for over a decade."

Huoba nodded in agreement: "It's better to send him to the hospital for treatment early on; otherwise, if he grows up like this, he'll be a danger to others... Yang Jie did do a good deed, I suppose."

After reading through the entire WeChat Moments post, Ye Leyao laughed for a long time. But as he laughed, he suddenly thought of a question:

"What about Jiang Fang's two daughters?"

"That's right," Huoma also thought of this, "Jiang Fang wouldn't have left her two daughters behind, would she?"

Those two children were just sixteen and fifteen years old.

If Jiang Fang really left them behind, how would they live from now on?

Yang Yuan's WeChat Moments didn't mention where the two daughters went, and Ye Leyao was genuinely curious, so he simply opened his chat window with Yang Yuan. Just as he was hesitating about how to bring it up, a message popped up on his phone.

Ye Leyao looked at it; it was from Qin Yao.

【Qin Yao: Interested in coming to the set for a visit?】

【Ye Leyao: ?】

"What set?"

【Qin Yao, as if knowing what Ye Leyao was thinking: Don't you want to see the set of the drama you invested in? The other lead actor has already been confirmed and started shooting today.】

Ye Leyao instantly perked up: 【Which actor was chosen?】

Qin Yao played coy: 【Wouldn't you know if you came and saw for yourself?】

As a homebody who preferred not to leave the house unless necessary, and having spent the past few days in acting training classes, today was finally a day off. Did he really have to go out?

But then Ye Leyao thought, no, he had to see for himself to feel at ease.

After all, he was an investor in this drama, and he had actually put money into it!

What if that unlucky Qin Yao chose another disastrous actor? Wouldn't Ye Leyao's money go down the drain?

This money was supposed to be Ye Leyao's from the Yang family later on; he absolutely wouldn't allow such a thing to happen!

So Ye Leyao quickly replied: 【Okay, I'll come and see today!】

Qin Yao promptly sent over the address.

As Ye Leyao was thinking about getting up to change clothes, he suddenly remembered the lingering doubt. Since Qin Yao was related to the Yang family, he should know some inside information, right?

So Ye Leyao simply sent the question over.

Soon, Qin Yao replied: 【My uncle helped them get in touch with their biological father, and now they've both been taken away by their biological father.】

Seeing this message, Ye Leyao breathed a sigh of relief.

"The two sisters have been neglected by Jiang Fang and Yang Jie for so many years; being taken away by their biological father can be considered a good outcome."

Hearing Ye Leyao say this, Huoba and Huoma also felt completely relieved.

They had finally finished eating the whole melon; satisfying!

...

Ye Leyao hurriedly changed his clothes and rushed downstairs, saying a word to Huoba and Huoma before setting off with a slightly anxious heart towards the set.

On the way, Ye Leyao kept flipping through his notes, trying hard to remember the names of a few actors with juicy gossip, determined to protect the drama he had invested in.

But what Ye Leyao never expected was that when he arrived at the set, he would see a familiar face—Yang Yuan.

Yang Yuan hadn't expected that the investor Qin Yao mentioned would be Ye Leyao. He quickly stepped forward and warmly gave Ye Leyao a hug.

Before Qin Yao could explain, Yang Yuan began to explain to Ye Leyao the reason he joined the cast.

Yang Yuan studied acting while studying abroad.

This time returning to the country wasn't just for Old Master Yang's birthday banquet; he also wanted to develop his career here.

Coincidentally, Qin Yao's production team hadn't found a suitable actor yet, so Yang Yuan offered himself up.

Upon hearing this, Ye Leyao glanced at Qin Yao.

Qin Yao had a confident smile playing on the corner of his mouth.

Rather than sifting through the murky waters of the entertainment industry to find an actor without any scandals, it was better to choose a newcomer whose background was known.

Would things finally go right from now on?

Qin Yao looked at Ye Le Yao with some anticipation.

Ye Le Yao sighed inwardly,

"Looks like Brother Qin has finally come to terms with his own judgment."

"Good, admitting a mistake is the first step to correcting it."

Qin Yao: "…"

But he couldn't really go against his own money, could he?

Then Ye Le Yao's tone turned excited,

"But if Yang Yuan is here, I can ask more about the Yang Jie family gossip!"

Qin Yao: "…"

Did Ye Le Yao remember why they were there in the first place, to see the actors?

Still, Qin Yao was also curious about what would happen next.

It just so happened that Yang Yuan's shooting wrapped up that afternoon, and the three of them chatted into the evening, even having dinner together before Ye Le Yao, still not quite satisfied, got into the car to head home.

After returning home, Ye Le Yao continued to muse,

"I never would have thought Jiang Fang's lover would run off with her money…"

"So her lover was after her money too?"

Dad and Mom Huo were chatting in the living room when they heard this and were both taken aback.

There was more to this story?

What happened then?

What happened to Jiang Fang after her money was taken by her lover?

"Well, penniless Jiang Fang had no choice but to slink back to the country and look for the two daughters she abandoned."

"But unfortunately, the two daughters were thoroughly hurt by her and didn't want to see her. As for the father of the two daughters—"

"They were all fish in Jiang Fang's pond. Each fish thought they were Jiang Fang's one true love, but after the Yang Jie incident blew up, they realized they all had a bit of green on their heads."

"Who doesn't care about their face? Plus, they were all prominent figures in the business world; how could they possibly rekindle their relationship with Jiang Fang?"

"Even… Yang Jie wouldn't allow her to visit Yang Tian in the hospital."

Dad and Mom Huo exchanged a glance, both feeling that Jiang Fang got what she deserved.

If Jiang Fang hadn't cheated on Yang Jie after they got married, given Yang Jie's level of romantic obsession, he probably wouldn't have divorced her in this lifetime.

Now she not only lost her family but also her wealth.

It could only be said that Jiang Fang brought it upon herself.

But what about Yang Jie now?

The Yang family shouldn't have any contact with him anymore, right?

Then they heard Ye Le Yao laugh,

"But the funniest thing is still Yang Jie hahaha, he went to the old Yang family residence again a few days ago. This time, before Yang Kuan could come out to chase him away, Old Master Yang actually came out with his cane!"

"Yang Yuan recorded a video. Just thinking about Yang Jie getting hit with Old Master Yang's cane makes me want to laugh hahaha—"

Dad and Mom Huo couldn't help but smile as well.

Ye Le Yao finally finished changing her shoes and slowly walked towards the sofa.

Mom Huo asked first, "Le Yao, have you eaten yet?"

Ye Le Yao nodded, "Yes, I have."

Mom Huo said, "A while ago, didn't your older brother help me auction off a ring? Do you remember?"

Ye Le Yao instantly remembered and quickly nodded.

"The pigeon egg retrieved from Second Aunt's stomach?"

Mom Huo: "…"

She didn't need to remember it that clearly.

It was rather unlucky to bring it up.

"The ring has already been sold. The money arrived yesterday, and I transferred five million to you. It should have arrived by now?" Mom Huo said.

Ye Le Yao's eyes widened instantly, "But didn't you just give me five million a while ago?"

As Ye Le Yao took out her phone, she had been so engrossed in listening to Yang Yuan's family gossip that she hadn't checked her phone much. Now, looking at the incoming message on her phone, Ye Le Yao's lips curled up involuntarily:

"Five million! A full five million! Waaah, I have money again!"

In order to make more money, Ye Le Yao had bitten the bullet and invested all her money with Qin Yao for the recent investment.

Although Mom Huo still gave her pocket money, and the "Let's Go Traveling" production team had sent over part of her salary a few days ago, seeing the balance of only a little over one million in her bank account still made Ye Le Yao feel uneasy.

Mother Huo chuckled, "Just take it. There's an auction in a few days, and there's an item I'm quite interested in. Would you like to come with me to check it out?"

Having the money in hand, Ye Leye was in no position to refuse, nodding repeatedly. "Sure, no problem!"

"Just for accompanying Mother Huo to an auction, she gives me five million. Where else can you find such a good deal?"

Ye Leye was overjoyed.

Two days later, Ye Leye attended the auction banquet with Father Huo and Mother Huo.

The banquet and the auction were separate events.

It was still early, before the auction began, so all the guests gathered in the banquet hall.

Father Huo and Mother Huo were always surrounded by people eager to socialize wherever they went, but Ye Leye hated socializing the most. Without hesitation, he slipped away again.

Tonight's auction banquet was of a charitable nature and had invited some popular stars from the entertainment industry.

So when Ye Leye arrived at the inner hall, it was no surprise that he saw Qin Yao again.

"What a coincidence," Qin Yao greeted him first.

Ye Leye nodded.

"Who would have thought? It feels like I've been bumping into President Qin everywhere lately."

Could it be because you used to be too much of a homebody? If you had often accompanied your parents to banquets before, you might have run into each other frequently as well?

Qin Yao smiled helplessly.

"Oh, right, President Qin, I suddenly remembered that the recording for our second episode is in a few days. Have we found a replacement for the absent guest?" Ye Leye asked.

Qin Yao picked up a glass of champagne, took a small sip, and smiled at the corner of his mouth. "Yes, we have."

And she was the one who reached out to them.

Ye Leye became instantly curious. "Who is it? And Sister Li told me a few days ago that Du Yueqin won't be participating in the upcoming recordings. Doesn't that mean we need two replacements?"

Qin Yao nodded. "Yes, that's right."

"Both found?" Ye Leye was surprised.

Qin Yao: "Yes."

Ye Leye silently stared at Qin Yao.

"So who are they? President Qin, stop keeping us in suspense!"

Qin Yao found Ye Leye's expression amusing and didn't tease him further, revealing a name. "Wen Xiangyue."

Ye Leyao blinked.

"Is that name familiar?"

Qin Yao smiled but said nothing.

Ye Leyao's pupils suddenly widened: "She seems to be Wen Huai's mother?"

Qin Yao nodded with a smile: "Yes."

"Ahhhhhh—so Brother Zhou is preparing to bring his girlfriend onto our show?!"

"It's a bit exciting! Won't our travel variety show really turn into a dating one then?!"

Ye Leyao's mouth curved up wildly: "The recording of the second episode should be very interesting!"

Who could say otherwise?

Qin Yao was very satisfied with Ye Leyao's reaction and looked forward even more to the audience's reaction when they announced the guest list at that time.

Ye Leyao suddenly thought of something and asked again: "Then what about the other guest? It can't be Wen Huai, right?"

Ye Leyao's eyes sparkled.

"Ahhhhh, if we also invited Wen Huai, wouldn't our show become a top-tier arena of chaos?"

"I can't even imagine how exciting it would be!!"

Qin Yao stood a little further away from Ye Leyao.

Mainly because his ears were really hurting a bit.

"It's not Wen Huai," Qin Yao said.

It wasn't that they hadn't invited Wen Huai, but Wen Huai had rejected the show's invitation without hesitation.

According to the staff member who contacted Wen Huai, they originally contacted Wen Huai's agent, but the response they received ended up being from Wen Huai himself.

Although Wen Huai's tone and attitude were good, they could still feel that he was very unhappy about Zhou Zijian and Wen Xiangyue recording the next episode together.

Wen Huai even asked the show's staff to try their best not to put his mother and Zhou Zijian together.

The staff member almost burst out laughing at the time.

Qin Yao briefly recounted these amusing incidents to Ye Leyao, who laughed so hard she could barely stand straight.

The boy had very fair skin, no makeup on his face, and his eyebrows curved gently when he smiled.

Qin Yao's gaze fell on Ye Leyao's face, and he suddenly couldn't look away.

A voice came from behind, "Little Yao."

Qin Yao was jolted back to reality.

Ye Le Yao also reined in her laughter and waved at Madam He.

Seeing Qin Yao, Madam He greeted him warmly before saying, "The auction is about to start. Are you coming with us, Little Yao?"

Qin Yao nodded. "Sure."

The three of them walked together towards the venue of the auction.

Before they could reach the entrance, an exaggerated voice rang out—

"Junyi! You're as popular as when you were young. The young man accompanying you is quite the sight!"

This comment was particularly unpleasant. Ye Le Yao turned around and saw a well-dressed woman approaching them, followed by two men. One was about Mr. He's age, while the other looked younger than her.

"How can this person be so rude? Did she eat a stink bug or something?"

Upon recognizing Zang Lin, Madam He's smile faded, but hearing Ye Le Yao's words, she burst into laughter again.

Zang Lin was Madam He's college roommate, and they had never gotten along since their university days.

There wasn't any major conflict between them. If anything, Zang Lin considered Madam He her rival, always boasting in front of her whenever they met.

In college, she boasted about her grades.

After marriage, she bragged about her husband.

Whenever Zang Lin felt superior to Madam He in any aspect, she would flaunt it.

But Madam He had no intention of competing with her. Despite this, Zang Lin still sought validation from her, which annoyed Madam He every time.

This time was no different. Since Zang Lin had approached them first, Madam He couldn't just walk away rudely.

However, she wouldn't give her a pleasant response either. She held onto Ye Le Yao's arm, her gaze lingering on the two men behind Zang Lin for a moment before nodding. "Yes, you're right."

Zang Lin's expression shifted slightly. "What do you mean?"

"My son is indeed handsome." As Madam He spoke, her eyes seemingly glanced casually over the two men behind Zang Lin before quickly returning to her, the meaning clear.

Ye Le Yao almost broke into a grin that reached her ears.

"Well, well, well. I should learn more about the art of language from Madam He!"

Qin Yao also struggled to suppress his amusement, hiding his smile behind his wine glass.

Zang Lin's face twisted momentarily at Madam He's retort. After a long pause, she gritted her teeth and said, "Oh, he's your adopted son then. It seems I misunderstood. I'm sorry, don't be angry with me!"

Mrs. Huo’s expression was calm; she didn’t say she wasn’t angry, nor did she say she was.

She merely gazed quietly at Zhuang Lin, waiting for her next act.

It had to be said that Mrs. Huo knew Zhuang Lin very well.

Zhuang Lin’s husband, Zheng Xiu, approached the group at this moment. Zhuang Lin quickly turned around and linked arms with him. "Husband, you’re so slow! Do you not want to accompany me to the auction anymore?"

Zheng Xiu smiled and said, "How could that be?"

Zhuang Lin feigned dissatisfaction. "You must think I’ve been spending too much money lately!"

Zheng Xiu replied, "How could that be? I’m afraid you won’t spend enough!"

Zhuang Lin giggled coyly, then turned to face Mrs. Huo. She casually lifted her wrist, revealing an extraordinarily dazzling diamond on her ring finger. With a graceful smile, she said to Mrs. Huo, "It seems I misunderstood him. He’s just a quiet type. He upset me recently, and I ignored him for several days. Then he secretly bought this huge diamond ring to apologize! Can you believe how wasteful it is?"

Ye Leyao’s eyes widened the moment she saw the ring.

"Ah? This… How can this be…"

Ye Leyao and Mrs. Huo exchanged glances, both seeing shock in each other’s eyes.

Ye Leyao confirmed:

"So it really is that coincidental, it’s the same ring?"

Then they watched as Zhuang Lin extended her hand to Zheng Xiu. He took her hand and kissed the ring.

"Ahhhhhhhh—Although the ring has been cleaned, but! But! But ahhhhhhhhhhhh—Help! My eyes!"

"I can’t take it anymore!"

Qin Yao looked puzzled.

So what exactly happened?

Wasn’t it just a kiss on the ring?

Or was there some etiquette about kissing rings?

Qin Yao was utterly confused.

Mrs. Huo tried hard to suppress her laughter.

Unable to hold back, she took a small step backward.

Ye Leyao was trying so hard not to laugh that tears were welling up in her eyes:

"So the ring retrieved from Second Aunt’s stomach was bought by them? But why did you have to kiss it when you could just wear it?"

"Second Aunt, oh Second Aunt! You have truly done all the wrong things!"

Qin Yao: “!”

What?

Where did you say you retrieved the ring from?