Chapter 73: Experience of Being Fooled

Chapter 73: Experience of Being Fooled

The next morning, as Ye Le Yao descended the stairs with the birthday gift she had prepared for Chu Cheng, she spotted Mr. and Mrs. Huo, along with Huo Yan, in the living room, dressed and ready to go out, as if they were about to leave the house.

Ye Le Yao couldn't help but be taken aback. "Mr. and Mrs. Huo, where are you planning to go?"

"It doesn't look like you're going to work."

Mr. Huo cleared his throat. "Yes, I'm planning to go fishing at a nearby resort today, and your mother is accompanying me."

Ye Le Yao understood, nodding her head, her gaze then fell on Huo Yan.

"Second Brother, aren't you the one who hates accompanying Mr. Huo when he goes fishing? Why are you also coming along today?"

Huo Yan's face remained calm. "With Mom and Dad not being home, it's no fun being alone. So, I decided to join them for a day of fun."

It wasn't because he wanted to see what was going on!

"I see."

Ye Le Yao dispelled her doubts and said, "Alright, have a great time. I'll be on my way now!"

The driver was already waiting outside, and Ye Le Yao bid farewell to everyone before getting into the car.

As soon as Ye Le Yao's car pulled away, Mr. and Mrs. Huo, along with Huo Yan, hurriedly got into another vehicle.

"Are you sure it's the newly opened resort?" After driving for a while, Mrs. Huo asked Huo Yan again.

Huo Yan replied, "Don't worry. Last night, I confirmed with several people that it's indeed the newly opened resort..." As he spoke, he paused, pointing to the car ahead in the traffic. "Look, isn't that Ye Le Yao's car?"

Seeing the familiar vehicle, Mr. and Mrs. Huo finally felt relieved.

"It seems we're heading in the right direction," Mr. Huo said, then instructed the driver, "Be careful not to let Xiao Yao notice us."

The driver was genuinely puzzled.

Didn't Mr. Huo say they were going to the resort for fishing? Why weren't they going there openly instead of following behind Ye Le Yao's car?

Although curious, the driver didn't ask further, focusing solely on driving.

If Mr. and Mrs. Huo knew about the driver's confusion, they would certainly provide a serious answer: It wasn't that they didn't want to go openly; it was just that Chu Cheng hadn't invited them in the first place.

Ever since Chu Cheng's mother divorced, Chu Cheng moved abroad with her to settle down.

His recent return to the country was due to his grandfather, Old Master Gu's severe illness, who wished to see his eldest grandson one last time before passing away. That's why Chu Cheng returned.

Unexpectedly, after returning, Old Master Gu's condition stabilized. Although the old man was now out of danger, Chu Cheng couldn't just leave, so he planned to stay for a while, considering it as company for the elderly.

However, since Mr. Gu remarried shortly after divorcing Chu Cheng's mother, Chu Cheng's position became somewhat awkward. He definitely couldn't live in the Gu family home, nor did he wish to. Therefore, he had been staying outside during this period.

Even on his birthday, Chu Cheng didn't plan to celebrate at the Gu family home, nor did he invite any members of the Gu family or elders from the prominent families.

Today, those attending Chu Cheng's banquet were all friends who knew him well, all young juniors.

The reason Chu Cheng had bothered Qin Yao to invite Ye Le Yao was because of her close relationship with Ran Jing. He wanted to learn more about Ran Jing's situation through Ye Le Yao.

So even though they knew there would be something interesting to witness at the birthday banquet, Mr. and Mrs. Huo couldn't openly follow Ye Le Yao. Instead, they had Huo Yan scout out the exact location of the banquet beforehand, so they could create a chance encounter later.

Mr. and Mrs. Huo had meticulously planned everything, but what they never expected was that upon arriving at the resort entrance, Ye Le Yao got out of her car and walked straight towards them.

Mrs. Huo felt inexplicably guilty. "Why is Xiao Yao walking over to us? Could it be that we've been discovered? When did she find out?"

Huo Yan shook his head vigorously.

He didn't know. He had fallen asleep shortly after getting into the car.

Moreover, he didn't seem to hear Ye Le Yao's thoughts just now. How could they have been discovered?

At that moment, Ye Le Yao reached out to stop the car.

How could the driver pretend not to see her?

He had no choice but to pull over and stop the car.

Mr. Huo was also nervous. After hesitating for two seconds, he still rolled down the window. Seeing Ye Le Yao, he feigned surprise. "Xiao Yao? What are you doing here?"

Ye Le Yao was truly perplexed.

"Shouldn't I be the one asking that question?"

Before Mr. Huo could continue speaking, Ye Le Yao suddenly exclaimed in realization, "Could it be that Mr. Huo, you're also here to fish at this newly opened resort?"

"It's true that this resort has been quite popular recently. I didn't expect Mr. Huo and the others to be here as well."

Ye Le Yao had handed them the perfect excuse, and Mr. Huo quickly nodded in agreement. "Ah, yes, yes, we came to this resort for fishing. So, Chu Cheng's birthday party is being held here?"

"Le Yao."

At that moment, a familiar voice called out.

Ye Le Yao's eyes lit up, and without bothering to continue talking to Mr. Huo, she turned around and waved. "President Qin!"

Qin Yao had been waiting for Ye Le Yao at the resort entrance for quite some time. Upon seeing her get out of the car, Qin Yao approached her.

However, he didn't expect Ye Le Yao to completely ignore him, instead heading towards the car behind her, carrying a gift bag.

Qin Yao was puzzled and walked over.

Upon closer inspection, he realized that inside the car were Mr. and Mrs. Huo and their entourage.

Qin Yao's heart skipped a beat.

His feelings for Ye Leyao shouldn't have been obvious. Why had Mr. and Mrs. Huo shown up? Could it be that they had noticed something?

Qin Yao felt a bit apprehensive but still approached to politely greet Mr. and Mrs. Huo, asking, "Uncle Huo, you're here with Leyao for the birthday party?"

Mr. Huo hastily explained, "No, no, we just happened to bump into Xiao Yao."

"It's quite coincidental. I heard about a new resort nearby a few days ago and thought of coming over to fish. It just so happened that today was free, so your aunt and I came over."

They really hadn't followed them on purpose!

Huo Yan cleared his throat and chimed in, "We didn't expect such a coincidence. You're also here. If not for Xiao Yao greeting us earlier, we wouldn't have known it was the same place."

Ye Leyao nodded repeatedly. "Yeah, yeah, yeah."

"It's truly too coincidental!"

"I only saw you when I was about to get out of the car. The driver said the car behind looked like ours, so I noticed."

Mr. and Mrs. Huo / Huo Yan: "…"

They had been betrayed by another chauffeur from their household!

Qin Yao's gaze fell on Ye Leyao before quickly shifting to Mr. and Mrs. Huo, his brows furrowing slightly.

Mrs. Huo instantly sensed something amiss.

What?

Could it be that their excuse wasn't convincing enough? Didn't Qin Yao believe them?

Mr. Huo also felt something was off. Qin Yao's expression… why was he still frowning?

Their excuse wasn't that lame.

But before they could ponder further, they saw Qin Yao's furrowed brows relax as he gave them a faint smile. "Then Uncle Huo, you've come to the wrong place."

Mr. and Mrs. Huo exchanged glances.

Mrs. Huo asked, "What do you mean?"

Qin Yao pursed his lips, deciding to be honest. "This newly opened resort doesn't have a fishing facility."

No fishing facility.

No—

Meaning they couldn't fish here.

Wait, they couldn't fish?!

As Qin Yao's words landed, everyone inside and outside the car fell silent.

Mrs. Huo gently touched her forehead.

Mr. Huo clenched his jaw, barely holding back his expression.

Huo Yan's eyes went dark, and his toes started digging into the ground frantically.

Why hadn't Mr. Huo checked before making up a lie?

And why didn't this huge resort have a simple fishing facility!

What were they supposed to do now?!

They couldn't just say they were changing their destination, could they?

If they left, what would happen to the gossip later?

Huo Yan was burning with anxiety.

And Qin Yao, standing outside the car, was even more troubled.

Before Mr. Huo spoke, he had only been guessing. But after hearing Mr. Huo's half-hearted lie, he could almost confirm it—the Huos were uneasy about Ye Leyao interacting with him, so they had made up an excuse to follow.

But when did they discover his ulterior motives towards Ye Leyao?

On the last day of filming?

Qin Yao's lips tightened. After the show's recording ended, he had specifically reviewed the footage. He remembered clearly that neither his expressions nor actions at the time had given anything away.

Even Ye Leyao herself hadn't noticed any subtle change in his attitude towards her.

Apart from the brief moment when she held his hand and ran forward, there had been no other intimate contact between them.

Even Huo Yan, who had been so close to them, hadn't sensed anything unusual.

How had Mr. and Mrs. Huo found out?

And their presence today—could it be that they disapproved of him?

Qin Yao suddenly felt nervous and uneasy.

But he hadn't done anything yet! He hadn't even confessed his feelings to Ye Leyao!

Both parties were now caught in a whirlwind of thoughts.

Ye Leyao was the only one left in the dark, asking in confusion, "Mr. Huo, didn't you check ahead of time if you wanted to come fishing?"

Mr. Huo: "..."

It was because he hadn't intended to come here for fishing at all!

Mr. Huo cleared his throat and feigned composure, "I must have remembered it wrong then."

Ye Leyao:

"It's true, age catches up with us."

Mr. Huo: "..."

He really wanted to put their father-son relationship on hold with Ye Leyao!

Mrs. Huo came back to her senses and asked, "So what do we do now? We've already come all this way, we can't just..."

Leave right away?

She certainly didn't want to go back!

Mr. Huo picked up on Mrs. Huo's signal and felt even more embarrassed.

He had been thinking about it, but couldn't come up with any other excuse in such short notice!

In the end, Qin Yao took the lead and said, "Although this resort doesn't have a fishing activity, the other activities are quite interesting. Uncle Huo, would you like to join us for Chu Cheng's birthday party?"

Mrs. Huo had come along today simply because she wasn't comfortable with Qin Yao and Ye Leyao being alone together.

If Qin Yao really suggested they leave, Mr. and Mrs. Huo would only worry more. It was better to directly invite them to the banquet, being open and aboveboard, so they could feel reassured, and Qin Yao could take the opportunity to further gauge the thoughts of the two elders.

Mr. Huo replied, "That wouldn't be right, would it? After all, it's your younger generation's party, and we elders..."

Huo Yan quickly interjected, "Then I'll go?"

If it was inconvenient for the elders, there was nothing stopping him as a junior!

Mrs. Huo glared at Huo Yan.

You're only thinking of yourself!

Huo Yan shifted his gaze slightly uncomfortably.

When it came to spectating, everyone relied on their own skills!

Qin Yao nodded at Huo Yan, "Alright," then looked at Mr. Huo, "Uncle Huo, if you don't want to attend the banquet, there's a newly built golf course next to the resort. How about playing some golf?"

He then turned to Mrs. Huo, "There's also a spa resort right next to our rented villa, Aunt Lin, you can get a beauty treatment."

Mr. and Mrs. Huo instantly let out a sigh of relief.

It had to be said that Qin Yao was truly adept at handling social situations!

He had arranged everything perfectly for them in an instant!

Mr. and Mrs. Huo's favorability towards Qin Yao skyrocketed.

However, although they were satisfied internally, they still had to maintain appearances.

After all, they had initially come here to "fish."

Thus, Mr. Huo looked at Mrs. Huo, "What do you think?"

Mrs. Huo smiled, "A spa and beauty treatments sound great to me."

Only then did Mr. Huo say, "Alright, I guess we'll have to make do with this. After all, if we were to go fishing elsewhere, it would take us a lot of time on the road."

Qin Yao smiled without saying anything.

He turned to look at Ye Leyao beside him and extended his hand.

Ye Leyao's gaze fell on Qin Yao's palm.

The young man's fingers were long and slender, the joints distinct, the nails rounded and neatly trimmed.

More importantly, Ye Leyao had already held them several times before—President Qin's hands were really comfortable!

Without hesitation, Ye Leyao reached out his right hand and naturally interlocked his fingers with Qin Yao's.

"So why does President Qin want to hold my hand?"

The Huos and Huo Yan, who had just gotten off the car: "???"

Qin Yao: "..."

Don't slander people!

The morning sun had already brought a touch of heat, and a ray of sunlight happened to fall on Qin Yao's ear. That small patch of skin flushed red almost visibly, the tip of his ear scorching hot.

As the Huo family's gazes all turned towards him, Qin Yao covered his slightly reddened face with his other hand and whispered, "I... I was going to ask if your gift bag was heavy, whether I should help you carry it."

Ye Leyao blinked, somewhat disappointed.

"Oh, so you weren't trying to hold my hand!"

Huo Yan felt the veins on his forehead pulsating wildly.

Hold hands?!

You don't consider your relationship with Qin Yao - you have no relationship at all!

How could his reaching out to you possibly be for holding hands?!

Huoyan took a step forward, but Huo Dad and Huo Mom quickly held him back.

"Calm down!" Huo Dad whispered.

"Don't you remember what I said before?!" Huo Mom echoed in a hushed tone.

At the same moment, Qin Yao voluntarily released Ye Leyao's hand, took the gift bag from him, turned around, and said, "Let's go inside, shall we?"

Perhaps due to a slight unease, Qin Yao didn't notice Huo Dad and Huo Mom restraining Huoyan.

Ye Leyao, however, found it odd and asked, "What's going on here?"

Huo Dad and Huo Mom hastily let go of Huoyan, and Huo Mom smiled, saying, "Nothing, let's go."

Huo Mom pulled Ye Leyao by the arm to catch up with Qin Yao.

Huo Dad tugged Huoyan along behind them, earnestly advising, "Liaoyao's love life is his freedom. Even if you're dissatisfied, you should ask for his opinion first, shouldn't you?"

Huoyan scoffed, "Ye Leyao doesn't like Qin Yao at all right now!"

"If he doesn't like him, why would he want to hold hands with Little Qin?" Huo Dad countered sharply.

Huoyan gritted his teeth, "That's because Ye Leyao doesn't understand what liking someone means. He just finds it interesting and fun, which is why I want him to keep his distance from Qin Yao!"

"If he doesn't understand liking, why does he want to hold hands with Little Qin?" Huo Dad posed another soul-searching question.

Huoyan was speechless.

He was defeated by his father!

How was he supposed to know so many whys?!

Huo Dad looked at Huoyan with the eyes of experience: "I won't say more about other things, but when it comes to dating experience, how many times have you, your older brother, and the third one been in relationships?"

Huoyan fell silent.

Huo Dad continued, "They've never been in a relationship, and while you have some experience, I'd say it's more like being deceived than actual dating experience. Do you think you have the qualifications to meddle?"

Huoyan was hit where it hurt, his face darkening, "Dad!"

Wasn't there any way they could have a decent conversation without bringing this up?

Ye Leyao, hearing Huoyan's voice, turned around curiously, "What's Second Brother talking to Huo Dad about? Why is he getting so worked up again?"

Huo Dad and Huoyan exchanged glances.

After a moment, Huoyan conceded.

"Fine, fine. I won't interfere, okay?" Huoyan grumbled, "Anyway, although Qin Yao is a bit older, he's still quite reliable."

Huo Dad smiled, "That's right. Let them take their own course."

Although they were still unsure about the nature of Ye Leyao's feelings for Qin Yao, time would provide an answer, and they would eventually learn the truth.

...

Since Huo Dad and Huo Mom weren't attending the banquet, Qin Yao led them to find staff members who arranged for them to stay in a villa adjacent to the banquet venue. He also helped Huo Mom contact a beauty salon before taking Ye Leyao and Huoyan to the banquet.

The banquet venue was another villa, only five hundred meters away from theirs. Though a bit far, it was still possible to see the general scene.

As soon as Ye Leyao and company left, Huo Dad picked up his phone and called the driver, instructing him to bring two binoculars urgently.

Huo Mom couldn't help laughing, "It's unnecessary. If something seems off later, we can simply go over and watch the commotion directly."

Huo Dad agreed, finding her point valid, and called the driver again to cancel the request.

Meanwhile, Ye Leyao and Huoyan followed Qin Yao to the banquet venue. Before they got close, they heard loud music emanating from the villa.

Ye Leyao slightly furrowed his brows.

"It's so noisy."

Qin Yao suggested, "Why don't you wait in the backyard for a while? I'll call Chu Cheng."

Ye Leyao nodded.

Indeed, he didn't enjoy such a noisy environment.

The backyard of the villa was a small garden. Shortly after Ye Leyao and Huoyan sat down, the music from the villa quieted down, and Chu Cheng approached.

Upon seeing Ye Leyao, Chu Cheng was visibly excited. He hurried over to greet Ye Leyao and Huoyan, then bluntly asked, "By the way, Ye Leyao, would you mind inviting Ran Jing for me?"

Ye Leyao's lips curved upward.

"It's clear that Chu Cheng really likes Ran Jing."

"But today, Meng Yue is preparing to confess to you. If I still invite Ran Jing over—"

Ye Leyao barely managed to suppress his smile.

Qin Yao glanced in surprise toward the backyard.

A confession?

Meng Yue?

Last time at the bar, what state had Meng Yue been reduced to, and yet he still wanted to confess to Chu Cheng?

Qin Yao's feelings were incredibly complicated.

Ye Leyao didn't directly agree to Chu Cheng's request but said, "I can help you invite Ran Jing, but whether he comes or not is up to him."

Chu Cheng was very happy and excited: "It's fine; I'm grateful that you're willing to invite him for me!"

Ye Leyao smiled at him and sent a message to Ran Jing on his phone.

Since their last parting at the bar, Ye Leyao hadn't been in contact with Ran Jing for some time.

According to He Jing's account, Ran Jing hadn't been attending classes at the company recently either.

To be honest, Ye Leyao didn't think Ran Jing would agree to attend Chu Cheng's birthday party, after all, if Ran Jing attended Chu Cheng's birthday party, it also meant that he was likely to meet Meng Yue.

After sending the message, Ran Jing didn't reply quickly, and Ye Leyao wasn't in a hurry.

As the main character of the banquet, Chu Cheng was very busy.

He barely sat down to chat with Ye Leyao and He Yan for a few words before getting up again to greet other friends.

Even He Yan didn't stay seated for too long, after all, his status as a big star was there, and it wasn't long before people started coming over one after another wanting to take photos with He Yan and inviting him to play board games inside the villa.

With so many invitations, He Yan couldn't refuse and had to follow them.

Leaving Ye Leyao alone, comfortably reclining on the sofa chair.

The shading in the villa's backyard was well done, plus the back door was open, allowing cold air to occasionally escape from the house, so Ye Leyao lay very comfortably, even closing his eyes after a while, feeling drowsy.

Just as Ye Leyao was about to fall asleep, he suddenly sensed someone sitting down beside him.

Ye Leyao opened his eyes and met Qin Yao's deep gaze: "President Qin?"

Qin Yao smiled: "Feeling sleepy?"

Ye Leyao nodded, slightly sitting up, then saw the cup in Qin Yao's hand.

Ye Leyao's eyes immediately lit up: "Oat milk?"

"Oat," Qin Yao handed the cup to Ye Leyao, smiling: "It's too hot to drink something warm, I added a few ice cubes, but it won't be too cold."

Ye Leyao took the cup and took a large sip, sighing in comfort: "Delicious!"

The smile in Qin Yao's eyes deepened: "There's more when you finish."

Ye Leyao nodded repeatedly, very satisfied.

Just then, Ye Leyao's phone displayed a new message.

Ye Leyao picked it up and saw that it was from Ran Jing.

Ran Jing: "Where's the address?"

Ye Leyao looked somewhat surprised, sent the address to Ran Jing, and asked: "Are you coming?"

Ran Jing replied: "I'm coming."

Ye Leyao was even more shocked: "Why are you coming?"

"Today, Meng Yue will be here too! Are you crazy, Ran Jing?"

Qin Yao glanced at Ye Leyao, the boy's fair fingers swiftly sliding across the screen, his eyes wide open, his expression lively and somewhat cute.

Ran Jing: "Of course, I'm coming to attend Chu Cheng's birthday party. It's his birthday, and you invited me, I can't pretend I didn't see the message and not come, right?"

Ye Leyao vaguely sensed something amiss, thinking that although Qin Yao was by his side, President Qin wasn't the type to like prying, so it should be okay for him to sneak a peek at his notes, right?

Thinking this way, Ye Leyao's fingers had already tapped into the notes, quickly scrolling to the relevant plot, and he suddenly understood:

"So that's why! So Chu Cheng returned because his grandfather was also sick, I just didn't expect such a coincidence, his grandfather was in the same hospital as Ran Jing's mother, and when Chu Cheng went to the hospital a few days ago, he happened to run into Ran Jing and helped him out a lot."

"No wonder Ran Jing wants to come."

Ye Leyao exited the notes, not forgetting to remind Ran Jing again: "But today, Meng Yue seems to be coming too, are you sure?"

This time, the other side didn't reply quickly, Ye Leyao put down his phone, took another sip of milk, then turned his head to meet Qin Yao's gaze.

Ye Leyao's heart suddenly froze.

"Huh???"

"Why is President Qin looking at me?"

"Wait... we were sitting so close just now, President Qin shouldn't have seen my notes, right?"

Qin Yao withdrew his gaze, the temperature on his face suddenly rising.

He hadn't intended to look at Ye Leyao's phone, and his gaze had remained fixed on Ye Leyao's profile.

But the range of vision was vast, so inevitably, Qin Yao's gaze would fall on Ye Leyao's phone, and since Ye Leyao had opened the notes so quickly, there hadn't been any time for Qin Yao to withdraw his gaze.

But—

Ye Leyao was still screaming in his heart:

"Ahhhhhh, what do I do if he really saw it?"

"Can I say that I made all this up myself?!!!"

The voice in his ear was loud and clearly panicked. Qin Yao had initially planned to feign ignorance, but now he was genuinely perplexed. "Leyao, what were you looking at just now?"

Didn't Ye Leyao open an empty notepad after replying to Ran Jing's message?

Ye Leyao's inner thoughts came to a sudden halt as she responded with confusion, "Huh?"

Qin Yao furrowed his brows slightly. "I saw you scrolling through the blank notepad for a while. Did something you saved get accidentally deleted?"

Ye Leyao's pupils widened slightly.

"Blank... so President Qin didn't see anything?"

"That's good—a relief! You scared me!"

Ye Leyao quickly put on a smile. "It's nothing, I was just browsing."

Qin Yao remained somewhat puzzled but didn't dwell on it.

Another message from Ran Jing arrived, and Ye Leyao lowered her head to read it.

Ran Jing: "Confirmed. Conveniently, President Meng still owes me some money. I'll collect it from him while I'm there!"

Ye Leyao stared at this message for several seconds before she couldn't help but laugh spitefully.

"So, Meng Yue is planning to confess to his first love on her birthday, only to be interrupted by a debt collector. What a cliché plot!"

"I can't take it anymore, Ran Jing, you have to hurry over here!"

Mr. and Mrs. Huo chimed in unison, "Yes! Do come quickly!"

They were certainly in for a spectacle today!