Chapter 41: President Qin’s Vision

Chapter 41: President Qin's Vision

When Ye Leyao called out "Second Brother," not only were the guests present taken aback, but even the netizens watching the live stream were stunned.

"Second Brother?"

"Ye Leyao's brother has also come to participate in the show recording?"

"Another civilian?"

"But why do I feel that this Second Brother of his isn't very approachable? He's so blunt right off the bat, truly impolite..."

Before their words had fully landed, the audience and guests watched as He Yan removed his cap and mask, greeting everyone with a smile on his face.

The barrage comments that had been criticizing him instantly changed direction:

"Ahhhhhhhhh—He Yan, my god! Aaahh!!"

"Holy sh*t! You actually invited He Yan to the show!"

"Help! I've been a fan of He Yan for eight years, and this seems to be the first time he's participated in a reality show since his debut!!!"

Even Zhou Zijian, who had collaborated with He Yan before, was somewhat surprised, walking directly over to He Yan. "He Yan, it really is you. I never thought you'd actually come to participate in a variety show!"

He Yan gave Zhou Zijian a friendly hug, then waved at Wen Xiangyue, naturally calling out, "Hello, Sister-in-law."

This "Sister-in-law" made Zhou Zijian's face flush red.

Wen Xiangyue, however, remained calm, waving back at He Yan.

Before the second episode of Let's Travel Together began filming, the official Weibo account announced the four guests participating in this episode, including three mysterious guests besides Wen Xiangyue.

Before the filming started, netizens had already begun speculating online about who the three guests for this episode might be. They had practically guessed through all the artists who met the show's requirements.

But they never would have imagined that the production team could actually invite He Yan!

It wasn't surprising that fans and netizens were excited.

After all, since He Yan debuted at fifteen, he had done nothing but act. The only way fans could learn about him was through his works and some official interview videos.

Forget reality shows; they hadn't even seen He Yan participate in any variety shows.

It wasn't that no variety shows had ever invited He Yan. In fact, if he had opened his mouth, he could have chosen from any variety show. But the truth was, regardless of which variety show invited him, he turned them all down.

In response to this, He Yan's studio explained that He Yan believed actors needed to maintain a certain level of mystery. Fans and audiences should focus on his work and not overly concern themselves with his personal life.

Fans, of course, expressed understanding and support, but they still hoped He Yan would participate in some variety shows. After all, fans really wanted to see more of He Yan outside of his works.

And yet, after eight years since his debut, He Yan had never appeared on a single variety show.

Who would have thought that today, the Let's Travel Together production team would give them such a pleasant surprise?

The moment He Yan appeared on the live stream, the barrage comments exploded. For a long time, all that could be seen were meaningless "Aaahs" from netizens and viewers.

However, amidst these shocked and happy "Aaahs," there were still some voices of doubt:

"Even if it's He Yan, he shouldn't have such a brusque tone right off the bat, right?"

"Yeah, isn't his temper not particularly good?"

"No wonder he hasn't participated in any reality shows."

He Yan's fans felt speechless.

"What if there's a possibility that He Yan and Qin Yao have a good private relationship? He was just joking around?"

"Yes, didn't they take photos of He Yan and Qin Yao having dinner together recently? You guys don't read any entertainment news, do you?"

"Mentioning that, I remember now. The other guy in those photos looked a bit like Ye Leyao!"

"Maybe the three of them were just hanging out together!"

At this moment, Qin Yao could be seen smilingly standing up, giving He Yan a brief hug before saying, "Sit down."

After all, as long as he was sharing space with Ye Leyao, where was he not going to hear gossip?

More importantly, Qin Yao genuinely felt that being a little further away from Ye Leyao wasn't a bad thing.

His ears were important!

But what Qin Yao didn't know was that He Yan shared the same thoughts.

Where wasn't he going to hear it?

Who knew when Ye Leyao would suddenly start screaming in his heart?

While he was all for enjoying the drama, he also needed to protect his eardrums!

Thus, the audience and netizens saw He Yan wrap his arm around Qin Yao's shoulder with a grin. "Just kidding, and I added a bit of show effect. You sit down, I'm not sitting with that stinky kid anyway."

Ye Leyao felt speechless, retaliating without holding back, "Good, I didn't really want to sit with you either."

Then, in his heart, he cursed fiercely, "Stinky Second Brother!"

But this "stinky Second Brother" held no power at all. He Yan didn't care, turning around to sit next to Song Zhehan.

Song Zhehan, seeing this, said in surprise, "So you two are really brothers..."

The others also looked over curiously.

I hadn't heard He Yan talk about his younger brother before!

He Yan nodded with a smile. "Of course, we're on the same household registration! It can't get any more real than this, right?"

He Yan looked at Ye Leyao.

Ye Leyao frowned. "But I don't want to be on the same household registration as you anymore. Once the variety show is over, I'll go back and tell Mom He to have your name removed from it!"

He Yan's eyes widened. "Ye Leyao! Be reasonable!"

Ye Leyao blinked innocently.

"So what if I'm not being reasonable?"

The guests, seeing the bickering between the two, instantly believed them.

It was clear they were biological brothers. If this was fake, how could they argue so carefree?

The live stream chat exploded once again:

"They really are on the same household registration!"

"I remember, He Yan mentioned in an interview once that he has two younger brothers!"

"Holy moly, no wonder Ye Leyao had such good resources when he debuted. It turns out he's relying on He Yan's connections!"

"Speaking of which, could it be that Ye Leyao knows so much gossip because of He Yan...?"

"That would explain why He Yan joined the variety show this time. He must have been worried about Ye Leyao?"

If He Yan saw the comments, he would definitely clarify for himself and Ye Leyao.

Firstly, Ye Leyao's debut variety show resources weren't due to his connections. Neither did he rely on family influence.

This spot was something Qin Yao offered him voluntarily, even going so far as to make three visits to their home. Initially, their entire family strongly disapproved of Qin Yao's choice, but ultimately, it was Ye Leyao's own desire to indulge in gossip that led him to agree to participate.

Secondly, could it be possible that while He Yan enjoyed indulging in gossip, he actually didn't know much about the industry's gossip? He followed Ye Leyao's lead in that regard!

Lastly, He Yan wasn't participating in the show because he was worried about Ye Leyao. He came simply because he wanted to get up close and personal with the gossip!

Unfortunately, netizens and viewers were unaware of this.

Even He Yan's fans were flooding the comments with gratitude towards Ye Leyao.

If it weren't for Ye Leyao, they probably wouldn't have seen He Yan on a variety show in their lifetime.

Thank you, King of Gossip!

Not only did he provide them with juicy gossip, but he also brought them to the table to feast!

Some of He Yan's major fans even declared that since Ye Leyao was He Yan's younger brother, they were now family by extension!

The comments section was filled with warmth and harmony.

Just then, another guest boarded the bus.

Like He Yan, the newcomer wore an exaggerated hat and mask, covering themselves thoroughly.

Seeing this, Ye Leyao couldn't resist guessing,

"Could it be that the production team requires new guests to wear masks and hats to maintain a sense of mystery?"

He Yan, seated in front, nodded.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have worn those things. They were really hot!

"So who is the new guest?"

Ye Leyao was curious.

The new guest didn't keep them in suspense for long. Soon, they removed their mask and hat, revealing their face and introducing themselves with a smile: "Hello everyone, I'm Lu Bo, the flying guest for this episode!"

Lu Bo, the leading actor from a recently popular drama, was also a rising star in the entertainment industry.

Upon seeing Lu Bo, many viewers were delighted.

"Ahhhhh, the quality of the guests for this episode is truly high!"

"Looking forward to it, I'm really looking forward to it!"

"But, with such high-quality guests, there probably won't be much gossip to enjoy, right?"

The other guests greeted Lu Bo warmly, except for Ye Leyao, who gave Qin Yao a complicated look before briefly shaking hands with Lu Bo and quickly retracting his hand.

Ye Leyao's reaction was too unusual. He Yan and Qin Yao, who knew him well, almost immediately noticed something was off.

Even Song Zhehan, seated in front, turned around to glance at Ye Leyao.

Lu Bo...

Could there be more gossip?

Qin Yao's eyelid twitched.

Then, in the next moment, he heard Ye Leyao's inner monologue.

"How am I supposed to explain this?"

"President Qin's talent for choosing people is truly unique and impressive."

"Is it that General Manager Qin looks down on guests without any gossip?"

Qin Yao: "…"

Huoyan: "Pfft."

Beside him sat Song Zhehan. Huoyan quickly turned his head and covered his mouth, suppressing his laughter.

But Song Zhehan was an observant person.

With a slight raise of his eyebrows, he took out his phone and logged into his secondary Weibo account.

At this moment, Huo's father and mother were watching the live stream in front of their screens. Seeing this, Huo's mother hurriedly opened Weibo.

One second ago, Gou Shi had posted a new Weibo update.

"Gou Shi: Looks like there's some entertainment to be had~"

The corners of Huo's father and mother's mouths curved upward, their curiosity piqued even more.

So what kind of entertainment was it!

Why couldn't they be at the scene to listen to the gossip?!

Was Huoyan a bit too idle?

Perhaps they should contact Huoyan's agent and find him another movie to shoot?

Jealousy twists one's features!

Huoyan was equally curious about what kind of gossip Lu Bo had. After laughing, he quietly waited for Ye Leyao to start his criticism.

Ye Leyao let out a long sigh:

"Even someone who deceived others into marriage and is gay could be found by General Manager Qin to participate in the show. What else can General Manager Qin not find?"

Huoyan's pupils widened slightly.

Deception into marriage?

Gay?

Lu Bo had always portrayed himself as a macho man, hadn't he?

Even in the popular drama from a while back, his character was a high-quality human male, which had attracted many female fans.

But not only had he gotten married, he was also a man who deceived others into marriage and was gay?

Huoyan's gaze towards Lu Bo instantly became somewhat profound.

Qin Yao was similarly shocked.

Because background checks had been done, Qin Yao knew about Lu Bo's marriage.

However, Qin Yao didn't think being married was a blemish. Lu Bo wasn't an idol, so even if his marriage was later exposed, it wouldn't have a significant impact on his acting career. That's why Qin Yao had agreed to invite Lu Bo to be a guest on this episode.

But what was this about deceiving others into marriage?

Qin Yao slowly closed his eyes.

Forget it.

Qin Yao thought almost self-destructively, after all, it wasn't the first time something like this had happened. During the previous recording, two guests had even started arguing right in front of tens of thousands of viewers in the live stream!

Maybe the audience just liked watching such scenes!

Qin Yao began to desperately try to reassure himself.

After greeting everyone, Lu Bo simply sat down next to Li Siyuan and started chatting with him.

Ye Leyao's radar suddenly went off again.

"Hiss, could Li Siyuan be Lu Bo's ideal type?"

Thinking this, he couldn't resist cautiously turning around to sneak a glance in their direction.

Ye Leyao thought his movement was subtle, but little did he know that the audience had caught him red-handed.

"Report—Ye Leyao has that expression again!"

"What do you mean 'that expression'?"

"You must be new! Observe Ye Leyao carefully; usually, his expression is one of apathy, but whenever there's gossip, his eyes become incredibly bright!"

"The direction Ye Leyao is looking at—Lu Bo and Li Siyuan?"

"Could it be that either Lu Bo or Li Siyuan has some gossip?"

"Lu Bo hasn't been popular for long, is he the fastest artist to fall from grace in history?"

"I don't think Lu Bo will fall from grace. It's possible that Ye Leyao is simply worried because Li Siyuan has a bad temper and might not give Lu Bo a good reception?"

It had to be said that this fan's concern was necessary.

And indeed, that's exactly what Ye Leyao was thinking.

"When Li Siyuan got on the car, he didn't seem to be in a good mood. He even deliberately chose a corner to sit in. Even if you're interested in Li Siyuan, Lu Bo, you should see if he's willing to talk to you, right?"

Clearly, Li Siyuan wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone at that moment.

After Lu Bo sat down, he reintroduced himself to Li Siyuan and then began to express his admiration for Li Siyuan's work, stating how delighted he was to be recording the show with him.

Li Siyuan, wearing a hat with a large brim that obscured his eyes, making it impossible to read his expression, undoubtedly heard Lu Bo's words.

Yet, no matter what Lu Bo said, Li Siyuan remained unresponsive, as if he hadn't heard a word.

Given Li Siyuan's cold demeanor, anyone else would have likely given up on initiating conversation.

But Lu Bo was different; seemingly devoid of social tact, he bluntly asked, "Why aren't you talking, Li Siyuan? Don't you want to chat with me?"

"Knowing I don't want to talk to you, and you still ask?" Li Siyuan couldn't hold back any longer, removing his hat with an especially irritable tone.

The atmosphere in the car instantly froze.

Ye Leyao's lips involuntarily curled upward.

Lu Bo seemed taken aback by Li Siyuan's attitude. After a momentary pause, he attempted to explain, "I just wanted to get to know you. I have no ill intentions..."

Li Siyuan responded as if he found something amusing, his lips curling into a smirk. "Want to get to know me? Am I a female guest or are you gay? To be so interested in me at our first meeting?"

Lu Bo was stunned.

The other guests were filled with surprise.

"Although Lu Bo is indeed quite interested in you, Li Siyuan, it's not nice to expose someone's feelings like that!"

Ye Leyao was on the verge of laughter.

"Hahahaha! After a week, Li Siyuan is still as good at putting people in their place!"

Qin Yao and He Yan both had their lips curved slightly, then turned to look back.

They saw Lu Bo's face alternating between red and white, as if his secret had been exposed. He hastily tried to defend himself, "No, I just..."

"Is that so?" Li Siyuan replied coldly. "Then here's your chance to prove you're not gay. Get away from me."

With Li Siyuan's words reaching such a point,

if Lu Bo didn't leave now, wouldn't it imply that he was gay?

Lu Bo stood up with a flushed face and moved forward.

The other guests retracted their prying gazes.

However, Ye Leyao secretly took out her phone and opened the live stream.

"The comments must be quite lively right now!"

Indeed, the live stream was buzzing with activity.

Lu Bo's fans were unhappy with Li Siyuan's attitude:

"What's Li Siyuan's problem?"

"I mean, Lu Bao just went over to greet him. Did he need to get so angry?"

Li Siyuan's fans countered:

"Could it be that Li Siyuan treats everyone equally, even if it's his agent standing in front of him nagging, he'd still snap?"

"+1. Li Siyuan has this bad temper, but he just equally annoys everyone. What's wrong with that?"

Lu Bo's fans retorted:

"It's all because of you fans spoiling him. If he doesn't want to mix in the entertainment industry, he should just leave!"

Li Siyuan's fans responded:

"Well, sorry about that. Our Li Siyuan isn't nice to anyone, but he's surprisingly gentle to his fans!"

"Hahahaha, seriously? Do you really think we fans enjoy being mistreated? If Li Siyuan treated me like that, I'd have left long ago. Want to guess why I'm still here?"

Ye Leyao found herself in agreement.

"Li Siyuan is like that. His bad temper is equally directed at everyone around him, but he's incredibly kind to his fans."

"I remember last year during one of Li Siyuan's concerts, there was a huge downpour. He arranged for a hundred buses to come ahead of time, just to ensure the safety of his fans getting home."

"If it weren't for his kindness to his fans, how could Li Siyuan possibly have so many fans!"

Qin Yao nodded slightly.

Through the interactions during the filming, he had gained some understanding of Li Siyuan.

While Li Siyuan did have a bad temper, he didn't throw it around casually.

When he was angry, as long as no one provoked him, he would eventually calm down on his own.

But if he was already upset and someone still sought to aggravate him—

Well, one could refer to the previous episode when he argued with Du Yueqin.

Silence spread within the vehicle, but it didn't last long before the last new guest boarded the bus.

This guest moved even faster than Lu Bo, immediately removing his hat and mask upon entering, revealing his face. His gaze swept across everyone in the car, briefly landing on He Yan.

A hint of surprise flashed through He Yan's eyes.

Ye Leyao was even more shocked, turning her head to Qin Yao with a look of disbelief.

"President Qin, oh President Qin! I never would have thought that you'd invite my second brother's rival to record a show with him?"

"What were you thinking, President Qin?"

Despite having long given up hope on the guests he had invited, Qin Yao was still somewhat taken aback upon hearing these words.

A rival of Huo Yan?

Was this for real?

Could it be such a coincidence?

If their relationship was truly that bad, why didn't either of their profiles mention it!

Huo Yan wanted to correct Ye Leyao's statement.

It was his former rival!

He no longer had any ties with Su Rui!

But Duan Hao-yan, the brainless one, seemed to still be deceived by Su Rui.

Ye Leyao read novels, which had no visuals, so he couldn't match every character in the novel to people in reality.

But the reason Ye Leyao could recognize the person before him at first glance was because this man was the third male character in the novel about Huo Yan! After regaining his memories, Ye Leyao immediately searched for pictures of Duan Hao-yan.

After all, besides the second male lead Huo Yan, Duan Hao-yan was another rival of the protagonist, He Shi!

In the novel, Duan Hao-yan often targeted Huo Yan. How could Ye Leyao not know this clearly?

Who would have thought that Qin Yao would actually invite Huo Yan's rival to participate in the show with him.

Ye Leyao closed his eyes.

"Well, then I can only wish my second brother good luck!"

Huo Yan: "…"

Actually, he felt that Ye Leyao should also be cautious.

Duan Hao-yan's gaze briefly landed on him before quickly moving away, making a simple introduction to everyone.

Then Duan Hao-yan walked over to shake hands with each of the guests.

Huo Yan really didn't have a good relationship with Duan Hao-yan and hadn't even considered shaking hands with him.

Of course, Duan Hao-yan thought the same way, shaking Song Zhehan's hand and then directly skipping over him.

Huo Yan was quite pleased with this.

Everyone wasn't pretending, being straightforward was very good.

Beside him, Song Zhehan raised his eyebrows slightly upon seeing this.

He really hadn't expected the second episode to start off so excitingly.

Here came the second round of the battle royale, didn't it?

Duan Hao-yan soon arrived at the row where Qin Yao and Ye Leyao were seated.

Qin Yao simply shook hands with him, then saw Duan Hao-yan extending his hand toward Ye Leyao.

Now it was Ye Leyao's turn to be surprised.

"Duan Hao-yan is actually going to shake hands with me? The live broadcast has been going on for so long, he must know about my relationship with my second brother, right?"

"Is Duan Hao-yan so magnanimous?"

Ye Leyao had read the novel, and he didn't think Duan Hao-yan was a magnanimous person.

Sure enough, in the next moment, he saw Duan Hao-yan suddenly retract his hand. Standing in the aisle between Huo Yan and Qin Yao's seats, he was smiling, but the smile didn't reach his eyes.

Duan Hao-yan said indifferently, "Sorry, but I hate nepotism and resource magnets the most. I won't be shaking your hand."

Ye Leyao: "?"

The atmosphere in the car dropped to freezing point once again.

Ye Leyao was incredulous. "Are you talking about me?"

Duan Hao-yan feigned surprise, looking strangely at Ye Leyao. "Did I say something wrong? You're a newcomer who can appear on an S+ variety show, could it be that it's not because of your brother?"

Ye Leyao looked at Huo Yan in the front seat, then at Qin Yao beside him.

"It's really not."

Before Ye Leyao could refute, he heard Huo Yan in the front seat suddenly chuckle.

The audience in the live stream were dumbfounded:

"Not? Your 'Let's Travel Together' show is really interesting!"

"The fans of Lu Bo and Li Siyuan haven't finished fighting yet, and now there's another troublemaker?"

"But Duan Hao-yan doesn't seem to be wrong, is Ye Leyao not a resource magnet?"

Then they saw Huo Yan slowly stand up, saying with a half-smile, "Then you're really mistaken. You can say that I got the spot by pulling strings and directly approaching President Qin, but you can't say that Leyao got here through connections. What do you say, President Qin?"

Huo Yan was exuding a menacing aura, his expression extremely sour.

Qin Yao's expression darkened even further.

Without Ye Leyao, he wasn't sure if this variety show could have made it past the second episode.

And Qin Yao had gone through great lengths to get Ye Leyao to agree to participate in their program, finally securing the whole Huo family's approval after much effort. He had even assured Huo Jing that he would not let Ye Leyao suffer the slightest injustice.

Yet here was Duan Haoyan's agent, contacting the production team on his own initiative. The agent had even treated the entire crew to dinner to secure Duan Haoyan's spot as a guest star, only to spread malicious rumors and slander Ye Leyao without any regard.

Qin Yao's gaze fell heavily on Duan Haoyan. "Professor Duan, when your agent handed me your dossier, it clearly stated that you prefer to be kind to others. It seems now that your profile was fabricated."

Duan Haoyan hadn't expected Qin Yao to come to Huo Yan's defense; his expression shifted slightly. "I apologize, I'm a straightforward person, so my words..."

"Being straightforward is no excuse for distorting the truth," Qin Yao said coldly. "During the preparation phase of our variety show, I invited Leyao three times in total. He rejected me twice before finally agreeing to join as a regular cast member for the recording."

"As for you, your agent repeatedly contacted the production team, going so far as to pull strings and use backdoor connections to reach out to the director and producer. You even treated the entire crew to dinner, all just to secure your spot as a guest star in our second episode. Do you really think you're acting with integrity?"

Duan Haoyan's face turned ashen in an instant.

Ye Leyao blinked, offering a quiet explanation in his mind:

"Well, it's not like I kept rejecting President Qin."

"It's just that at the time, all the guests President Qin invited were involved in legal troubles. When the show aired, they were all pixelated, which was truly terrifying!"

Hearing Qin Yao's words, Huo Yan felt much better. "Duan Haoyan, I thought you were above such things? Turns out you're the one who relies on connections, resources, and backdoor deals!"

"Huh—" Huo Yan's tone of disdain lingered unusually long.

Duan Haoyan's face darkened instantly.

Ye Leyao couldn't hold back any longer, bursting into laughter and giving Huo Yan a thumbs up.

"Second Brother, nice!"

"It's just a close-range ultimate move, who can't do that?"

Ye Leyao raised his chin proudly.