Chapter 43: What a Pity

Chapter 43: What a Pity

After several rounds of drinks, the atmosphere was heating up.

Even Li Siyuan, who had been in a foul mood all afternoon, wore a cheerful smile as he raised his glass to clink it with Zhou Zijian's.

The live chat was filled with warmth and harmony:

"Alcohol, food, a gentle breeze, starry skies, and friends discussing dreams—what more could one ask for in life!"

"I'm strangely touched; I want to join them!"

"+1."

Just as countless viewers expressed their admiration, excitement, and envy, He Yan suddenly uttered these words, catching everyone off guard.

The live chat paused for a second.

At the filming site, silence fell instantly as every guest froze in their movements.

Song Zhehan thought to himself, 'Here it comes.' He lowered his eyes slightly, hiding the amusement in them.

Zhou Zijian and Wen Xiangyue exchanged a slow glance, both seeing surprise in each other's eyes.

What was going on?

Li Siyuan was also perplexed, looking at He Yan in confusion before his gaze shifted to Duan Haoyan. Still not understanding, he turned to Ye Leyao, where he saw her unmasked expression of excitement.

Instantly, Li Siyuan understood, raising his eyebrows slightly as the corners of his mouth curved upward.

The only ones left in the dark were Liu Yan and Lu Bo, full of questions but unable to directly ask. They could only direct their inquisitive gazes toward the protagonist, He Yan.

Ye Leyao, who already knew the truth, looked straight at Duan Haoyan across from her, her excitement evident:

"It's your turn to speak, Duan Haoyan!"

Ye Leyao's excited gaze was too obvious. The online audience immediately grasped the situation:

"Ye Leyao's look—so there's some drama?!"

"Judging by Ye Leyao's eyes, I'm sure of it! Bring on the drama—"

"Ahhhh, so this drama involves He Yan again?"

"I heard the name Su Rui. Didn't he work with Yan Ge before?"

He Yan's fans suddenly felt a chill:

"No way?"

Internet users' instincts were always sharp, and they pressed for answers:

"So, do you fans know something?"

He Yan's fans quickly shook their heads to clarify:

"Is it possible that we only remembered Su Rui after hearing He Yan mention his name?"

Viewers became even more curious:

"So what's really going on?"

"Three people? It can't be the kind of love triangle we're thinking of, right?!"

"Woah—"

The drama-seeking netizens became instantly excited.

At that moment, everyone's attention at the filming site was on the pivotal character, Duan Haoyan, whose expression was indeed intriguing.

Upon hearing "Su Rui's" name, Duan Haoyan's mind went blank for a moment. He stared at He Yan in disbelief, momentarily unable to respond.

Duan Haoyan truly hadn't expected He Yan to initiate this topic, especially in front of the camera and so many guests.

Was He Yan so confident that even if the truth about abandoning Su Rui came out, it wouldn't affect his career?

Was he being overly arrogant?

Duan Haoyan's face darkened, his eyes filled with anger.

Ye Leyao had been observing Duan Haoyan's expressions. Seeing his anger, she couldn't help but say,

"Huh? Just mentioning Su Rui's name made Duan Haoyan angry?"

"It's confirmed. After Su Rui and my Second Brother broke up, he must have gone to Duan Haoyan and probably exaggerated the bad things about my Second Brother, right?"

"But why isn't Duan Haoyan saying anything? Could it be that Su Rui watched the live stream this afternoon, found out my Second Brother was on the show, and warned Duan Haoyan beforehand?"

Qin Yao gave an almost imperceptible nod.

Ye Leyao's speculation was highly plausible.

From the moment Duan Haoyan got into the car and started causing trouble for Ye Leyao in the afternoon, it was clear that he wasn't a calm person; his personality was impulsive.

He Yan's words were like dancing on Duan Haoyan's minefield. Yet, Duan Haoyan managed to hold his tongue for so long, which could only mean Su Rui's warning was taking effect.

Moreover, it was evident that Duan Haoyan was trying hard to suppress his anger, occasionally glancing at the other guests, clearly waiting for someone to step in and defuse the situation.

But, what a pity.

If this were any other variety show with different guests, someone would surely step in to smooth things over and casually brush the matter aside at this point.

But unfortunately for Duan Haoyan, he was dealing with this particular show.

It was no secret that after just one episode, netizens had affectionately renamed their show "Let's Go Eat Some Melon Drama."

Qin Yao looked at Zhou Zijian and Wen Xiangyue.

Last time, it was Zhou Zijian who tried to mediate, only to inadvertently get himself involved. This time, with Wen Xiangyue present, Zhou Zijian would undoubtedly be even more cautious, refusing to speak unless absolutely necessary.

Liu Yan, having learned her lesson from the previous episode, had been lectured by her agent after the recording and had firmly decided not to get involved in such matters anymore.

As for Lu Bo, the new guest, he hadn't even figured out what was going on. After upsetting both Li Siyuan and Song Zhehan during the afternoon, he was even less likely to say anything now.

As for the remaining guests—

They wouldn't fan the flames or pour oil on them if they could help it!

Qin Yao's gaze swept over Song Zhehan and Li Siyuan before finally landing on Ye Leyao.

Unsurprisingly, they all wore expressions of excitement and anticipation to varying degrees.

The only one who was slightly more restrained was Song Zhehan, as he seemed to remember his persona.

As for Ye Leyao and Li Siyuan, they openly displayed their gossipy excitement without any attempt to hide it!

Thus, Duan Haoyan's hope for a guest to step in and defuse the situation was destined to be in vain!

Sure enough, after patiently waiting for a minute, Duan Haoyan's expression cracked, his eyes filled with disbelief—more so than when he heard Huo Yan's earlier statement.

Why had no one spoken up after so long?

It had already been a minute of awkward silence!

Seeing this, Ye Leyao couldn't hold back any longer, covering her face and starting to laugh:

"Seriously, Duan Haoyan is actually still waiting for someone to save him?"

"Who gave him that impression?!"

The netizens watching the live stream were also surprised that Duan Haoyan remained silent for a full minute:

"Hey, why isn't Duan Haoyan saying anything?"

"Could it be that he doesn't want to continue this topic and is waiting for a guest to offer a way out?"

The netizens quickly guessed the reason, and the barrage of comments increased in speed:

"Huh?"

"HAHAHAHAHA."

"Duan Haoyan, didn't you do your research on what kind of show you're participating in before coming on?"

"Look! There's an honest person here!"

Ye Leyao's laughter was rather exaggerated, causing everyone present to glance over frequently.

Huo Yan was speechless; if it were anyone else's drama, Ye Leyao's laughter might have been understandable, but this matter involved her, yet she laughed so carefree.

Unable to resist, Huo Yan reached out and pinched Ye Leyao's shoulder.

Ye Leyao quickly turned her head away.

She saw that Huo Yan wasn't looking at her at all; his gaze remained fixed on Duan Haoyan across from him. He broke the silence, "Duan Haoyan, why aren't you speaking?"

Duan Haoyan glared at Huo Yan irritably.

Didn't Huo Yan see that he didn't want to continue this topic? Why did he have to ask?

However, because of Huo Yan's intervention, any chance of smoothing things over was completely cut off.

So, was Huo Yan really not afraid of this matter being exposed?

Duan Haoyan found it unbelievable, and then he remembered the message Su Rui sent him that afternoon. His anger flared even more.

That scoundrel Huo Yan had clearly abandoned Su Rui, yet Su Rui was still speaking on his behalf! How important was Huo Yan in Su Rui's heart?

Duan Haoyan felt a sour taste in his mouth.

He had merely made Ye Leyao feel uncomfortable that afternoon, and Su Rui had actually sent him a message warning that if he continued to cause trouble for Ye Leyao and Huo Yan in future recordings, she would never talk to him again.

Duan Haoyan listened to Su Rui and refrained from bothering Huo Yan and Ye Leyao, but now trouble had come knocking on his own door!

Duan Haoyan couldn't help but let out a cold laugh, no longer suppressing his anger. He raised his eyes and glared fiercely at Huo Yan. "What do you want me to say? Listen to me tell everyone how you abandoned..."

"How you abandoned a pregnant ex-boyfriend for a new love interest?" Huo Yan interrupted Duan Haoyan, his smile not reaching his eyes. "Is that what Su Rui told you?"

Huo Yan spoke calmly, with a perfect pace.

Everyone present, whether guests or netizens watching the live stream, heard the sentence clearly.

But hearing it was one thing; understanding it was another!

The moment Huo Yan finished speaking, the barrage was filled with question marks. Fans were confused, and netizens were even more perplexed, resulting in a chorus of "ahs."

"Wait! Did I hear that right?"

"What did Huo Yan just say?"

"Did he say he abandoned his pregnant ex-boyfriend?"

"A what?"

"Pregnant?"

"Ex-boyfriend?"

"A what?"

The expressions of the guests present were even more astonished.

What did you just say?

A man? Pregnant?

Who is it?

Could it be Su Rui, whom you just mentioned yourself?

So Su Rui is pregnant and was abandoned by you?

Li Siyuan let out an exaggerated "wow."

Song Zhehan covered his lips in excitement, his expression very satisfied. This piece of gossip was indeed stimulating enough! It didn't disappoint him after waiting for so long!

Zhou Zijian and Wen Xiangyue were even more shocked.

Zhou Zijian couldn't believe that Huo Yan was the kind of person who would do such a thing. He kept shaking his head, looking at Wen Xiangyue, muttering softly, "It can't be possible, right? It's impossible! Huo Yan isn't that kind of person..."

Liu Yan and Lu Bo's brains had directly crashed.

What did they hear?

Was this something they could hear without paying a cent?!

Help me—

Even Qin Yao was somewhat surprised.

Although he had known long ago that Huo Yan had been swindled out of money and feelings by Su Rui, he really didn't know that Su Rui was actually pregnant!

Qin Yao even had a moment of doubt. Could the child really be Huo Yan's?

And the director and producer of the program were even more confused.

Didn't they all seem to be having a great time just now, eating barbecue and drinking together?

How did it turn into this in just two minutes?

Huo Yan!

You're supposed to be our regular guest on the show from now on. Shouldn't we be more careful with what we say?

But the producer couldn't help but glance at the data showing that the number of people online in the live broadcast room was skyrocketing, even surpassing the best data from the first live broadcast!

The producer swallowed hard. "Actually...this...is okay, right?"

The director squeezed over to look at the data and found it hard not to agree.

Fortunately, they had anticipated that the signal on the grassland would be poor and brought satellite equipment; otherwise, today's live broadcast would have had to be temporarily cut off.

But that wasn't the point. The point was what exactly did Huo Yan mean by that statement!

Soon, everyone knew the answer—

Duan Haoyan's face instantly turned cold, his voice even colder. "Isn't that the case?"

Ye Leyao's mouth had already involuntarily curled up.

"Judging by Duan Haoyan's reaction, it seems Su Rui really did say that?"

"Tsk tsk tsk, I didn't expect Duan Haoyan to also be a love-struck fool. Otherwise, even a high school student wouldn't have been played around by Su Rui!"

When Qin Yao heard Ye Leyao's words, he instantly felt relieved, and at the same time, he deeply regretted his brief suspicion of Huo Yan.

As for Huo Yan, he burst out laughing.

Duan Haoyan never expected that Huo Yan would still be laughing at this time. His anger flared up. "What are you laughing at? What's so funny? Don't tell me you want to deny abandoning the pregnant Su Rui?"

Huo Yan interrupted Duan Haoyan with a smile. "When did I say I was going to deny it? I admit it, I did abandon Su Rui."

He laughed because he was laughing at himself for not seeing through people clearly before, and also because Ye Leyao was indeed right. Duan Haoyan was also a love-struck fool.

But the other guests were dumbfounded when they heard Huo Yan's words.

Wait...

Do you know what you just admitted, Huo Yan?

The barrage in the live broadcast room was now a bloodbath:

"??"

"Brother...Huo Yan! No, you..."

"I'm fucking stunned."

"A mouthful of old blood. If I had known that you were coming on the reality show to self-destruct, you might as well not have come!"

"What am I supposed to say... Scum man!"

Many of Su Rui's fans, alerted by the commotion, parachuted directly into the live stream.

Upon entering, they were met with this explosive truth. They didn't want to delve deeply into how men could become pregnant; Su Rui's fans were simply heartbroken for Su Rui:

"I was wondering why we haven't seen any activity from our Su Rui recently..."

"Huo Yan, are you even human? You actually abandoned Su Rui when he was pregnant?"

"Damn it, I can't take it anymore, I'm so angry!"

Duan Haoyan was equally furious, rising abruptly from his seat: "Huo Yan! What's your attitude!"

Zhou Zijian sensed something was amiss and quickly stood up to restrain Duan Haoyan, whispering, "Little Duan, calm down, we're still recording a show..."

Duan Haoyan's eyes were bloodshot with anger, but he at least heard Zhou Zijian's words and didn't charge forward.

Seeing this, the live stream's chat exploded once again, and Su Rui's fans were about to be driven mad.

They hadn't seen any updates from Su Rui for such a long time, speculating on what had happened to him. Fans worried daily, unable to eat or sleep properly.

Now they were being told that Su Rui had been pregnant with Huo Yan's child and had been cruelly abandoned, which was why he hadn't appeared in public. How could the fans accept this outcome?

Some people in the chat even started a trend to demand Huo Yan's exit from the entertainment industry.

Then, a message suddenly popped up:

"Wait! Look at Ye Leyao's expression!"

With these words, the audience snapped back to reality, quickly focusing on Ye Leyao on the screen.

The production team knew exactly what the viewers wanted to see. Ever since Huo Yan began speaking, they had cut to a close-up shot dedicated to him. Ye Leyao sat next to Huo Yan, and the camera captured his facial expressions in detail.

At this moment, Ye Leyao had both hands covering his face, his shoulders shaking rapidly in small arcs.

It looked as if he was—

"Crying?"

"No way?"

"Ye Leyao is crying?"

"Hold on, look more closely. Why do I feel like he's laughing?"

A single stone stirred up thousands of waves.

"I switched to Ye Leyao's shot and took a look, and he really is laughing."

"So what is Ye Leyao laughing about? What's so funny about this?"

"Huo Yan is his second brother, right? His second brother just admitted on camera that he abandoned his pregnant ex-boyfriend. What's there to laugh about? Unless—"

Quickly, an online spectator filled in the rest of the sentence: "Unless Ye Leyao knows the twist!!!"

Before the netizens could ponder this, they saw Huo Yan suddenly stand up as well.

Huo Yan maintained a relaxed smile on his lips. Seeing Duan Haoyan's furious expression did not faze him in the slightest. In fact, Huo Yan slowly walked up to Duan Haoyan.

Zhou Zijian's heart leaped at this moment, subconsciously placing himself between the two: "Huo Yan, you—"

"Duan Haoyan," Huo Yan stared straight into Duan Haoyan's eyes, his tone full of confusion, "I really want to ask you, if the child in Su Rui's belly wasn't yours, would you raise the child for him?"

Duan Haoyan snorted coldly, answering without hesitation: "Of course I would..."

Before Duan Haoyan could finish, Huo Yan continued: "I would too, so when I found out that the child in Su Rui's belly wasn't mine, I also thought about taking good care of him, waiting for him to give birth to the child in peace, because I really liked him. I've had a secret crush on him since college."

Duan Haoyan froze upon hearing this: "Wait, what do you mean it's not your child?"

The other guests' eyes simultaneously lit up.

Indeed, they knew there would be a twist!

Song Zhehan was so excited that he nearly forgot to maintain his persona. He quickly covered his mouth, preventing himself from bursting out laughing like Ye Leyao and Li Siyuan.

Ye Leyao was almost laughing hysterically, unable to resist speaking up: "So Su Rui really told you that the child in his belly was my second brother's?"

Duan Haoyan's expression stiffened momentarily, staring straight at Ye Leyao: "Isn't it?"

"He's really... persistent," Ye Leyao laughed until tears fell, "looking everywhere for a father for the child!"

"What do you mean?!" Duan Haoyan couldn't hold back any longer.

What did he mean by looking everywhere for a father for the child?

And he hadn't expected Huo Yan to be so cowardly, not daring to admit his actions.

"Huo Yan!" Duan Haoyan remembered Su Rui's instructions and directed his anger towards Huo Yan instead of Ye Leyao, turning to look at Huo Yan, "You're not going to deny it, are you? You already said on camera that you abandoned Su Rui, so why won't you admit that the child in his belly is..."

"Do you have evidence?" Huo Yan interrupted him.

"What evidence?" Duan Haoyan muttered, "Could Su Rui not know whose child it is?"

"That's right," Ye Leyao chimed in, nodding repeatedly with a smile, "could Su Rui not know whose child it is?"

He then looked at Huo Yan with a smile: "Once, I thought that perhaps only my second brother was a hopeless romantic, believing that two people lying on the same bed could result in pregnancy. It seems now I have to add Brother Duan's name to the list."

Duan Haoyan turned to look at Ye Leyao in disbelief.

Bathed in the glow of the barbecue fire, Ye Leyao wore an innocent smile on his face.

"Was there anything wrong with what I said?"

"Not at all!"

Although Huo Yan was still a little unhappy that Ye Leyao had called him a love-struck fool, this wasn't the time to argue with him. He took up the narrative: "In the second month of my relationship with Su Rui, I brought him home, ignoring my parents' objections and insisting on staying with Su Rui. I even considered severing ties with my family because of Su Rui, and registering our marriage."

When he mentioned this, Huo Yan briefly closed his eyes before continuing, "Now, guess why, after being willing to cut ties with my family for Su Rui, and even considering registering our marriage, I ended up breaking up with him?"

The filming site fell into a deathly silence once again.

Duan Haoyan's face was filled with shock.

Huo Yan was willing to sever ties with his family for Su Rui?

Was it true or false?

But what Su Rui told him was...

Ye Leyao saw through Duan Haoyan's thoughts and asked, "Brother Duan, did Su Rui tell you about this?"

Duan Haoyan clenched his jaw, taking a long while before slowly shaking his head. "No... he told me..."

"That our family didn't agree with him being with my Second Brother, so my Second Brother ultimately chose his parents and family, abandoning him?" Ye Leyao could roughly guess what lies Su Rui had spun.

Duan Haoyan was stunned. "How do you know?"

Ye Leyao knew from his expression that he had guessed correctly, and couldn't help laughing again.

"So my Second Brother really is a big victim!"

"When they were together, Su Rui coveted his money, and after the breakup, he slandered him behind his back! Pitiful!"

Qin Yao chuckled.

Who could say otherwise?

"Brother Duan, when Second Brother brought Su Rui home that day, apart from Third Brother who didn't have time to return, our whole family was present. At that time, Second Brother proposed severing ties with our family, and even Big Brother threatened him with the company's breach of contract fee, but he didn't budge. It was Su Rui who persuaded Second Brother not to fall out with the family over him. Do you know why?" Ye Leyao posed a question to Duan Haoyan.

Duan Haoyan's mind was in chaos, and he subconsciously echoed Ye Leyao's question. "Why?"

"Of course, because the breach of contract fee for my Second Brother was very high! All the endorsements added up to eight digits, and after repaying that money, he should have only one million left in his pocket, right?" Ye Leyao turned his head to look at Huo Yan.

Huo Yan: "..."

While the facts weren't far off, didn't he have any dignity?

Huo Yan gritted his teeth. "One and a half million."

This was his last stand.

"Alright then, one and a half million it is; I won't expose Second Brother!"

Ye Leyao smiled again as he looked at Duan Haoyan. "I've explained it so clearly, Brother Duan, you should understand now, right?"

Duan Haoyan felt a buzzing in his head.

What did he understand?

What should he understand?

Duan Haoyan was momentarily lost.

If what Ye Leyao said was true, then everything Su Rui told him was a lie?

"But... I..." Duan Haoyan found his voice hoarse. "But Su Rui told me..."

"Tsk, another stubborn love-struck fool who won't shed a tear until he sees the coffin!"

Ye Leyao simply turned around. "Second Brother! Play the recording!"

Although the restaurant didn't have cameras, Mother Huo had taken precautions and brought a voice recorder when she talked to Su Rui that day.

After breaking up with Su Rui, Mother Huo handed the voice recorder to Huo Yan, just in case Su Rui decided to turn on them one day.

Huo Yan had never thought of making this recording public before, because after all, it was someone he had genuinely loved for several years, and he didn't want to make things so awkward.

But Su Rui shouldn't have targeted Ye Leyao.

Huo Yan took out his phone.

The recording had always been stored on his phone.

The recording wasted no time, starting directly with Su Rui's voice getting straight to the point—

"Five million, give me five million, and I'll leave your son."

As the familiar voice sounded in front of the screen, the bloodshot-eyed Su Rui couldn't hold back his scream anymore. "WHY!!! Why can't I get through to Duan Haoyan's phone!!!!!!"