Chapter 80: Love Appraisal

Chapter 80: Love Appraisal

The bus continued its smooth journey, yet the interior was unusually quiet, save for the occasional faint buzz of a phone vibrating.

Ho Yan's phone had been vibrating for an indeterminate amount of time now. The group chat notifications had piled up to 99+, but he had no intention of opening them.

It wasn't until Ho Ze sent him a private message that read, "Second Brother!!! Quick! Help!!! I'm currently under siege by Mom and Dad, please come to my aid!" that Ho Yan reluctantly opened the group chat, originally titled "Ye Le Yao's Heartfelt Melon-Eating Appreciation," now renamed "Ye Le Yao's Love Appreciation."

Upon opening it, he saw Ho Ma's message: "I've always said, Little Yao will come around in due time @Ho Yan, don't you agree?"

Ho Ba followed up: "He's already asked Xiao Qin what it means to like someone. I think it won't be long now."

Ho Jing chimed in: "But I still feel that Little Yao is too young to be dating."

Ho Ze added: "I don't oppose dating, but why does it have to be with Qin Yao?! Isn't he about the same age as Second Brother? He's too old!"

Ho Yan, already feeling frustrated, saw Ho Ze's message and his veins pulsed with anger: "@Ho Ze you'd better keep your eyes open tonight!"

Ho Ze hastily explained: "Second Brother, it's not like that. I'm just making a comparison. I really do think Qin Yao is a bit too old."

Ho Ma responded: "Older men know how to take care of others."

Ho Ba joined in: "@Ho Ze Have you ever dated someone older? How can you say they're too old? Oh wait, all three of you are single dogs hahaha—"

Ho Ma: "Single dogs should mind their own business. Anyway, your father and I are quite satisfied with Xiao Qin."

Ho Ba: "Successful career, never dated before, and treats Little Yao well."

Ho Ma: "And he's handsome!"

Ho Ba: "Right!"

Ho Ma: "Look at yourselves, neither of you has ever dated since childhood, and one of you almost became a father on his first try... tell me, what right do you have to meddle in Little Yao's love life?"

Their back-and-forth was hurtful, disregarding the feelings of the other three members of the group.

Ho Ze couldn't take it anymore: "I'm leaving the group."

Ho Ba replied: "You always threaten us with leaving the group. Fine, go ahead. When the melons are ripe, there won't be any for you."

Ho Ze fell silent, instead furiously tagging Ho Yan in the group, urging him to say something.

Ho Yan wasn't unwilling to say something; he was just so angry that he was nearly speechless.

He had merely come to participate in a travel variety show to enjoy some gossip, but this episode had turned into a romance show. Surrounded by so many couples, Ho Ba and Ho Ma were adding insult to injury!

It was simply too much!

Fueled by anger, Ho Yan prepared to denounce Ho Ba and Ho Ma.

However, before he could compose a lengthy response, Ho Jing sent a message:

"Although I still disagree with Little Yao being with Qin Yao, we aren't Little Yao, and we don't know his thoughts, so I won't say much for now. However, how does Little Yao plan to handle the online public opinion?"

After sending this, Ho Jing immediately tagged Ho Yan.

Ho Yan deleted his lengthy text and simply replied with a question mark.

Ho Jing responded: "Since the live broadcast is still ongoing, I can't have Little Yao's agent contact him directly. Conveniently, Qin Yao is right next to you, so you might as well ask him how he plans to handle it."

Ho Yan was speechless.

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha damn it, they were just messing with him today!

Ho Yan put away his phone, closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and turned around.

After chatting with Qin Yao, Ye Le Yao had put away his phone and was now sleeping against the back of the seat. But who could explain to Ho Yan why he was still holding hands while asleep?

Qin Yao sat beside Ye Le Yao. Sensing that Ye Le Yao had fallen asleep, he gently released the right hand that was tightly clasped with Ye Le Yao's, adjusted Ye Le Yao's head to a more comfortable position, and then firmly held his hand again. His free left hand held the phone, seemingly replying to messages.

Ho Yan grew increasingly angry.

At this moment, Qin Yao noticed Ho Yan's gaze and looked at him questioningly.

Ho Yan didn't hold back; he glared at Qin Yao, slightly calming himself down before nodding and raising his phone.

Qin Yao understood.

Ho Yan opened WeChat and repeated the question Ho Jing had asked, sending it to Qin Yao.

Reading Ho Yan's message, Qin Yao didn't even frown.

In fact, ever since returning home from the resort that day, Qin Yao had been fully prepared.

After confirming his feelings for Ye Le Yao, Qin Yao hadn't planned on hiding them. He intended to make them public after he and Ye Le Yao had reached a mutual understanding.

But what Qin Yao hadn't expected was that days passed, and Ye Le Yao still hadn't grasped his intentions. Instead, he had bluntly asked him about his feelings in front of the numerous fans, viewers, and guests in the live stream.

At that moment, Qin Yao's heart raced, and he felt somewhat helpless.

But upon reflection, it seemed that ever since meeting Ye Le Yao, Qin Yao often experienced this sense of helplessness.

He didn't dislike it; rather, it gave him a sense of being needed.

So after a brief moment of thought, Qin Yao gave Ye Le Yao a clear answer – he liked him.

Qin Yao had also checked the trending topics earlier.

In just a matter of minutes, his and Ye Leyao's names soared to the top of the trending list.

The first Weibo post that popped up was a recording of the live stream:

As Qin Yao confessed his "like," the live stream screen froze for a split second, then became flooded with meaningless exclamations and question marks.

The audience was genuinely stunned.

Wait, weren't they just indulging in the gossip about Liu Yan and Shen Chong?

Just a second ago, there were still Liu Yan's fans breaking down in the comments!

How did it suddenly turn into Qin Yao confessing his "like"?

Qin Yao likes Ye Leyao?!

What?

Is this a confession we can hear in a live stream?

And, Ye Leyao, what's going on with you?

Aren't you the King of Gossip? Isn't your forte devouring gossip?

So why did you ask Qin Yao "what is like" in the first place?

Ye Leyao not only questioned why he liked Qin Yao but also expressed his confusion after reading netizens' comments on Weibo.

The casual observers were dumbfounded; they seemed to have stumbled upon the King of Gossip's own gossip!

Ye Leyao's fans were equally stunned: Indeed, if you indulge in gossip long enough, you become the gossip yourself!

Qin Yao's fans were even more bewildered: When did Qin Yao start liking Ye Leyao? Why didn't they notice?

How did they miss the signs between the two?

It seems...it started from the last mountain climbing episode.

Could it be that holding hands led to love?

While many netizens did exclaim that they felt the chemistry at the time, isn't their relationship developing a bit too quickly?!

And didn't Qin Yao say before that he was just looking after his younger brother?

Did looking after him lead to love?

He Huoyan was right there!

But then again, Qin Yao, when Ye Leyao wasn't even aware of his feelings, firmly confessed his "like" to him.

Two simple words, yet brimming with affection and tenderness.

Who could resist screaming at that!

Upon uploading the video, the comment section was filled with:

"Although I didn't catch the early signs of their relationship, it doesn't stop me from shipping them!"

"Ahhhhhh, don't talk anymore. As a shipper, my heart was pierced by Qin Yao's words. I'm all in for this couple!"

"+1! I'm completely obsessed! Who understands, after Qin Yao said 'like,' Ye Leyao's response about enjoying physical contact with Qin Yao—how is that not a confession?! I don't care, they're clearly meant for each other!"

"Ahhhhhh, yes! Ye Leyao admitted himself that he doesn't usually enjoy physical contact with others, except with Qin Yao! Except with Qin Yao! Doesn't that say something?"

"Qin Yao is one of a kind! He's special!"

"Yes, yes, yes, and during the truth or dare game on the last night of the first episode, Ye Leyao mentioned that among the guests present, only Qin Yao fits his ideal type!"

"Oh my god, go watch the live stream now, they're still holding hands!"

Upon reading this comment, netizens rushed to the live stream.

Thus, the most boring segment of the show—the car ride—saw record-breaking viewership.

The production team knew exactly what the audience wanted and made Ye Leyao and Qin Yao's interface the main live stream.

The camera angle was from above, providing a clear view.

Ye Leyao was already asleep, wearing an anime eye mask, his head slightly tilted, slowly nodding towards Qin Yao as the car moved.

Seeing his head about to drop, Qin Yao, who had been engrossed in his phone, suddenly reached out and gently placed Ye Leyao's head on his shoulder.

After settling Ye Leyao, Qin Yao adjusted his posture to ensure Ye Leyao slept comfortably.

Comments flooded in: "Ahhhhhhhhh—"

"I'm a screeching chicken today!"

"My goodness, my goodness, are you two really not dating? This is too sweet!"

"Honestly, this scene has me completely obsessed!"

"They're still holding hands!"

"Fingers interlocked!"

"Ahhhh, Qin Yao, you're secretly rubbing Ye Leyao's hand with your thumb!"

Netizens watching the live stream exclaimed that they couldn't bear to look away.

How could it be this sweet!

And how had they not noticed the oddity between the two of them before!

At this moment, a comment slowly drifted across: "Don't say it's just us, even Huo Yan probably didn't expect this."

Upon hearing this, the comments section instantly erupted in laughter.

"Yes, when Qin Yao told Ye Leyao he liked him, did you notice? Huo Yan's face turned dark, hahaha."

"Saw it, saw it! And just now too, his gaze was practically shooting icy arrows! You can tell Huo Yan is really angry!"

"Well, but to be fair, there seem to be quite a few guests on our travel show who have significant others, don't there?"

Soon, netizens began counting: Zhou Zijian and Wen Xiangyue, Liu Yan and Shen Chong (though their fans wouldn't admit it), Ye Leyao and Qin Yao, as well as Li Siyuan and Duan Tingyan with their close relationship, and Gou Shi, whose relationship status was still uncertain.

"Hiss, is this program really not a dating show?"

"If you count it up, it's just Huo Yan and Wen Huai... hahahaha—"

The spectators let out an unscrupulous burst of laughter.

As the discussion veered off course, there were still many netizens and fans paying attention to Qin Yao and Ye Leyao.

Qin Yao briefly glanced at the online public opinion, ensuring that there were no harmful words directed at Ye Leyao, before switching back to WeChat to reply to Huo Yan's message: "I've already arranged for someone to monitor public opinion. Before Leyao determines his own feelings, I won't make any statements, but rest assured, I won't let anyone harm him during this period."

After reading this response, Huo Yan's mood improved slightly: "You'd better not, or... you do know that apart from me, Ye Leyao has two older brothers, right?"

Qin Yao chuckled softly and replied: "Yes, I know."

Huo Yan didn't respond further to Qin Yao, instead, he lowered his head and forwarded Qin Yao's previous reply to the group chat.

Their exchange of messages, though silent, drew continuous glances from the back of the bus.

Not until Qin Yao and Huo Yan both put down their phones did the other guests reluctantly avert their gazes.

They hadn't fought, and the atmosphere was somewhat harmonious.

Tsk.

The bus continued on its journey, and Ye Leyao slept soundly, even dreaming about his childhood—a rare occurrence.

It was a day of bright sunshine.

Ye Leyao couldn't remember how old he was then, only that he was about the same height as Aunt Huo's thigh when standing.

Aunt Huo was busy bustling around in the kitchen, doing something unknown, while Ye Leyao followed her like a little shadow. There was also a noisy machine that kept sounding off.

Eventually, after an indeterminate amount of time, the noisy machine finally stopped.

Aunt Huo smiled and said, "Done!"

Ye Leyao hugged Aunt Huo's thigh. "I want to drink it! Give it to me quickly."

Amused, Aunt Huo took a glass, poured a cup of milk, and handed it to him. "It's a bit hot, taste if the flavor is the same."

The freshly made oat milk had an especially fragrant sweetness, filling the entire kitchen with the aroma of oats.

Ye Leyao held the glass and slowly walked into the living room, taking a small sip only then.

The rich milk slid over his taste buds, and Ye Leyao blinked.

Sitting opposite him, Aunt Huo frowned slightly. "Is the taste wrong?"

Ye Leyao nodded slightly.

Confused, Aunt Huo asked, "But I followed the method you gave me exactly?" Pausing, she suddenly sighed, "If Xiao Qin were here..."

She cut off mid-sentence. "Should I make another cup for you?"

Shaking his head, Ye Leyao held onto the glass. "No need."

It was at this moment that Ye Leyao suddenly realized something. Unable to resist, he opened his mouth to ask the gentle woman in front of him, "By the way, may I ask you a question?"

Aunt Huo said, "Ask away."

"I want to know what liking someone means?"

"Yao Yao, we're here."

Ye Leyao suddenly opened his eyes, realizing that he was resting his head on Qin Yao's shoulder, their bodies very close together. If Ye Leyao merely lifted his head slightly, his forehead would touch Qin Yao's lips.

Blinking slowly, Ye Leyao felt that his position, being so close to Qin Yao, was rather intimate.

Yet, for some reason, apart from joy, he couldn't feel anything else at this moment.

In fact, Ye Leyao wanted to maintain this posture for a little longer.

Huo Yan stood up and saw this scene. The anger he had been holding in all along finally erupted at this moment. "Ye Leyao!"

Ye Leyao was startled and sat up straight.

"What is Second Brother doing? You gave me a fright!"

It's better that way!

Huoyan snorted inwardly before smiling and saying, "I saw you didn't seem awake, so I wanted to shout to wake you up."

Ye Leyao looked at Huoyan somewhat speechlessly.

"You're so childish, Second Brother!"

Indeed, he's childish!

Anyway, Huoyan was in a much better mood now and didn't bother with Ye Leyao anymore, getting off the bus with his luggage first.

When most of the guests on the coach had disembarked, Qin Yao finally released Ye Leyao's hand. "Let's go."

Ye Leyao looked down at his own hand and didn't move until Qin Yao had collected his luggage.

Qin Yao frowned slightly. "Liaoliao, what's wrong?"

Ye Leyao came back to his senses and, after some thought, said, "I just had a dream without a beginning or an end. I was pondering," he stood up, smiling, "let's go down."

Qin Yao followed him off the coach and asked, "Did you figure it out?"

Ye Leyao's gaze fell on Qin Yao's hand pushing two suitcases, his lips curving. "What did President Qin ask about?"

Qin Yao raised his eyes, meeting Ye Leyao's smiling eyes.

His heart skipped a beat.

Qin Yao's gaze softened, and then his smile grew even wider. "It seems you've almost figured it out."

Ye Leyao didn't answer, looking away and ahead instead, then exclaimed in surprise, "Are we going to take a boat next?"

Huoyan turned around, seeing that Ye Leyao wasn't holding hands with Qin Yao, feeling great, and explained, "The director said the villa we're staying in this time is in the middle of the lake," he paused, "can you stay there?"

Qin Yao looked at Huoyan in confusion.

Ye Leyao sighed. "I've already said it, I just don't like water, but I'm not afraid of it!"

"What's there to be afraid of staying there?"

Qin Yao withdrew his gaze.

Huoyan didn't ask any more questions.

Once all the guests were present, the production team took their luggage away by large boat first, then left several small boats, with two or three guests per boat, allowing them to form teams freely.

Without hesitation, Qin Yao reached out to Ye Leyao, and the two boarded one of the boats first.

Zhou Zijian subconsciously glanced at Wen Xiangyue, who said nothing and glanced at Wen Huai.

Seeing this, Wen Huai smiled slightly. "What are you waiting for, let's go."

Zhou Zijian's heart sank as he was about to find Song Zhehan to team up when he heard Wen Huai say, "Zhou Zijian, aren't you coming?"

Zhou Zijian was taken aback.

Not only him, but the other guests also looked over.

Wasn't it supposed to be three people on a boat?

With the boatman at the bow, Zhou Zijian and Wen Xiangyue facing each other, and Wen Huai sitting between them?

That's exactly how it turned out.

Only, since the small boat had two rows of seats facing each other, Wen Huai sat next to Wen Xiangyue, leaving Zhou Zijian to sit opposite the two.

Seeing this, Ye Leyao couldn't help but curl his lips again.

"Hahaha, Wen Huai doesn't give Brother Zhou a moment alone, I see now, he agreed to participate in the show purely to cause trouble!"

The other guests were also dividing up the boats on the shore at this point.

Liu Yan and Shen Chong shared a boat, Duan Tingyan and Song Zhehan another, and Li Siyuan and Huoyan shared the last one.

Looking at Li Siyuan across from him, Huoyan raised his eyebrows slightly. "I thought you'd sit with Duan Tingyan."

Li Siyuan's tone was annoyed. "Aren't you sitting apart from Ye Leyao and Qin Yao either?"

Huoyan: "That's because I have tact."

Mainly because he didn't want to go over and eat dog food, it would be distressing! Distressing!

Li Siyuan snorted heavily.

Just then, Duan Tingyan's voice came from the other boat. "Siyuan, if you want to sit with me, I can switch with Teacher Huo right now."

Li Siyuan looked at him coldly, then suddenly waved at Duan Tingyan. "Then come over."

If Duan Tingyan dared to come, Li Siyuan would dare to throw him into the water.

Duan Tingyan felt a chill and instantly turned his head, adjusting his life jacket, and said with a smile, "Forget it, forget it, Siyuan, I believe we will definitely have many opportunities to be in the same boat in the future, let's just skip it today!"

Li Siyuan rolled his eyes. "Coward."

The boatman rowed the small boat, carrying everyone slowly toward the center of the lake.

When they docked, everyone realized that rather than being a lakeside villa, it was more like a small artificial island.

Not only did the island have basic living facilities, but it also had some shops.

The villa where Ye Leyao and the guests stayed was more like an estate, with a large swimming pool outside.

As for the rooms in the villa, they were arranged just as before. Each floor had two suites, and the villa had four floors in total. Except for the first floor, all other floors consisted of suites, making it six suites and twelve rooms in total.

This meant that for this episode, there were enough suites for each guest to have one to themselves.

It wasn't long before they reached the room allocation phase, and this time, no one suggested going on a tour first.

Ye Leyao's gaze fell upon the group with their varied expressions, his lips curling up at the corners.

"It seems everyone has their thoughts!"

Upon hearing this, Huo Yan's eyes immediately lit up as he looked at Ye Leyao. "You're sharing a suite with me."

Ye Leyao was taken aback and subconsciously wanted to refuse, but before he could speak, Huo Yan continued, "What? You don't want to share a room with me?"

Ye Leyao:

"That was my thought."

But then, Ye Leyao reconsidered and realized that staying with Huo Yan wouldn't be a problem.

After all, if he needed to find Qin Yao, he could simply go to Qin Yao's room.

So Ye Leyao nodded. "Alright then."

Qin Yao turned his head to meet Ye Leyao's gaze, not objecting. Instead, he looked at Song Zhehan. "Are you sharing with me?"

Then he turned to Li Siyuan. "Or maybe the two of us?"

Song Zhehan spoke up first. "Let's do it together."

Li Siyuan didn't get a chance to speak before Song Zhehan, his jaw clenching slightly.

Just then, Duan Tingyan said, "Siyuan, how about..."

"I'm with Shen Chong," Li Siyuan shot a glare at Duan Tingyan.

Duan Tingyan cleared his throat and let out a long sigh. "Then who am I with? Brother Zhou? Wen Huai, will either of you share with me?"

Zhou Zijian had chosen rooms with Wen Xiangyue in the previous episodes, but today, Wen Huai was present—

Ye Leyao struggled to suppress a smile as he whispered to Qin Yao, "I think Wen Huai definitely won't let Brother Zhou stay with Sister-in-law."

Sure enough, as soon as Ye Leyao finished speaking, he heard Wen Huai say with a laugh, "I'll share a suite with my mom. Do you have any objections?"

He directed the last sentence at Zhou Zijian.

Zhou Zijian resignedly nodded and smiled. "No, of course not!"

Ye Leyao suddenly laughed even harder.

"Even if he did, Brother Zhou wouldn't dare say anything now!"

Thus, the remaining suite was left for Liu Yan.

After the room allocations, everyone returned to their respective rooms for a brief rest.

Back in his room, Ye Leyao casually placed his suitcase down and took a shower.

When he came out of the shower, he saw Huo Yan playing with his phone on the sofa. "I'm going to take a shower too."

Ye Leyao nodded, grabbed his phone from the room, and went downstairs.

They had arrived relatively early, and it was still afternoon with the sun blazing high.

As soon as Ye Leyao descended the stairs, he spotted a somewhat unfamiliar figure sitting on the sofa in the living room. Upon seeing Ye Leyao, the person greeted him.

Hearing the voice, Ye Leyao dared to confirm, "You're Duan Tingyan?"

Duan Tingyan had already changed out of his dress and removed the exaggerated makeup from his face. Now dressed in casual clothes, he had handsome features.

At Ye Leyao's words, Duan Tingyan smiled directly. "What? Don't I look good in men's clothing?"

Ye Leyao shook his head. "No, actually, you look pretty cool."

"I'm just curious how Li Siyuan managed to fall in love with you online."

Of course, Ye Leyao couldn't ask that question directly.

So Ye Leyao took out his phone, sat down on the adjacent sofa, and prepared to open his notes app.

Just as he settled down, he suddenly heard hurried footsteps.

Both Ye Leyao and Duan Tingyan looked up simultaneously to see Li Siyuan storming out of the villa with a fierce expression.

Confused, Ye Leyao asked, "What's going on?"

Duan Tingyan also straightened his posture slightly.

At that moment, another set of rushed footsteps echoed, accompanied by Shen Chong's panicked voice: "Quick! Stop Li Siyuan..."

Duan Tingyan slowly turned to look at him.

Shen Chong was panting. "He... Li Siyuan, he... He's gone to find his agent."

Duan Tingyan responded, "So he's going to find his agent," then suddenly, his eyelid twitched. "He can't have found out that his agent is friends with me, right?"

Shen Chong nodded repeatedly, his face full of urgency, hastily explaining, "I didn't know that he didn't know about this, so..."

Before the recording with the guest stars, they had a meal together. At the dinner table, Duan Tingyan told Shen Chong and Wen Huai about it, but Shen Chong didn't know that Li Siyuan was unaware of this!

The moment those words were said, Li Siyuan's expression changed instantly, then he clenched his fists and ran downstairs.

Sensing something amiss, Shen Chong hurriedly chased after him.

Duan Tingyan slapped his forehead, "What are you waiting for!"

With that, Duan Tingyan dashed out in a hurry.

Ye Leyao looked at Shen Chong, then at the retreating backs of the two.

"Li Siyuan's agent is a friend of Duan Tingyan, which means Duan Tingyan's appearance on the show also has something to do with Li Siyuan's agent?"

At this thought, Ye Leyao was somewhat shocked:

"So Li Siyuan and his agent got into a fight because of this?!"

"Ahhhh, no, I have to stop him too!"