Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Yan Qing’s fans were completely floored when they saw Ye Weian’s Weibo post.

The spectators who had been quietly waiting for Ye Weian’s response over the past two days were also dumbfounded.

“No way, I can’t help but exclaim—so this is what a domineering CEO acts like?”

“What a refreshingly unpretentious CEO! You should debut—we’d totally stan you.”

“I’m dying of laughter. The CEO is totally going off-script. Yan Qing’s fans must be pissed right now.”

“But I’m actually quite curious—does the CEO like Yan Qing or Lin Chang? And what’s the story with the rumors about Yan Qing and Lin Chang? Could it be a love triangle?”

Unfortunately, Ye Weian didn’t respond. Instead, he immediately told Long Jie to help him delete his account.

It usually takes time to delete a Weibo account, but Ye Weian is the Ye family head, so he always finds a way to get things done.

In less than half a day, Ye Weian’s account was gone.

The system watched Ye Weian’s ballsy move, unable to snap out of its shock for a long time.

This host is really something else.

It stuttered, saying, “Host, I suspect Yan Qing will be furious with you. You’ll never win him over now.”

Ye Weian brushed it off. “Don’t worry, he’ll come to me.”

The system fell silent.

The host is stubbornly clinging to his delusions.

The system: Despair.

Ye Weian toyed with the gem in his hand, pondering another question: “A’Chen’s daily voice note only has two words: ‘Good night.’ Is he really that busy?”

Earlier, Zhou Huaichen had promised to send him a voice message every day, and he had kept his word.

But a two-word voice message was hardly worth sending at all.

The system had a nagging feeling. “Host, why are you always so focused on Zhou Huaichen?”

Ye Weian replied simply, “He’s worth paying attention to.”

The system sighed. “If the host had shown this much dedication to Yan Qing, you probably would’ve won him over by now.”

Ye Weian remained expressionless. “Impossible. Didn’t the original host treat Yan Qing well enough? Did he manage to win Yan Qing over?”

The system was struck by this point-blank question and immediately went quiet.

True, the original host treated Yan Qing exceptionally well, yet Yan Qing still didn’t end up with him.

Suddenly, the system wondered if the host’s strategy of freezing Yan Qing out might actually… work?

When Yan Qing saw that Ye Weian had deleted his account, he was shaking with anger.

His agent, Ming, said with a grim expression, “Ye’s power move has thrown the rumors about you and Lin Chang into the spotlight. Now, people online are discussing your love triangle.”

“Your fans are reacting strongly too. They’re all thinking you’ve been dropped.”

“I advise you to go patch things up with CEO Ye as soon as possible and ask him to set the record straight.”

Initially, people online were just casually following the relationship gossip, but Ye Weian’s account deletion made the dynamics between the three even more murky.

Spectators had already imagined a full-blown love triangle, complete with all sorts of over-the-top drama.

This undoubtedly boosted Lin Chang’s exposure.

Yan Qing clenched his fists tightly. “No, I won’t back down.”

Ming pleaded earnestly, “What’s the harm in just apologizing?”

“In just a few days, Lin Chang’s popularity has already risen. Lemon Entertainment squashed the rumors about him being difficult and having a chaotic personal life, even taking legal action against a few trolls. In the eyes of people online, he’s already cleared his name. Only your fans are still attacking him, and the ones who were sued were your fans.”

“Do you think we can compete with Lin Chang when he has CEO Ye backing him? If this continues, Lin Chang’s popularity will surpass yours sooner or later. Are you really okay with that?”

Of course, Yan Qing wasn’t okay with it.

He suddenly thought of Zhou Yongnan and Zhou Yongnan’s uncle—that man who was even more formidable than Ye Weian.

It seemed he needed to take action quickly.

That same day, Yan Qing went to see Zhou Yongnan and subtly inquired about Zhou Huaichen’s whereabouts.

When he learned that Zhou Huaichen was abroad on a business trip, he was deeply disappointed. He could only vent to Zhou Yongnan about how unreasonable Ye Weian had been.

Zhou Yongnan put an arm around his shoulder and said, “Don’t worry. When my uncle returns, I’ll definitely ask him to get involved!”

In the original storyline, Zhou Huaichen did indeed get involved to help Yan Qing deal with Ye Weian.

Yan Qing smirked.

***

Far away abroad, Zhou Huaichen finally found some free time after days of busy work wrapping up a merger.

It was 10 p.m. local time. Zhou Huaichen gave the team time off, allowing them to relax and enjoy a few days of exploring, with all expenses covered by the company.

He returned to his hotel to rest.

On the way back, his executive assistant, sitting in the passenger seat, reported, “It seems CEO Ye has gotten into some drama.”

Earlier, Zhou Huaichen had asked the executive assistant to stay updated on Ye Weian’s situation. The assistant, rarely seeing the boss take such an interest in anyone, made sure to remember the request.

So, as soon as Zhou Huaichen finished his work, the assistant reported that Ye Weian had been attacked by Yan Qing’s fans.

Zhou Huaichen frowned slightly. After a moment’s thought, he dialed Ye Weian’s number.

It was afternoon back home. Ye Weian’s voice sounded as calm as ever. “Are you done with your work?”

Zhou Huaichen gave a quiet 'mm'.

He couldn’t tell from Ye Weian’s tone whether he was upset or angry. After a pause, he asked directly, “You doing okay?”

Ye Weian was at the company, going through paperwork. He replied, “Not great.”

After spending ten years in the apocalypse, where he didn’t have to lift a finger and could just veg out, now he actually had to work after crossing over!

...He wants to quit!

Zhou Huaichen, however, thought he was upset by Yan Qing's fans. His eyes sharpened slightly, but his tone remained gentle as he said, “Don't be angry. If it's inconvenient for you to step in, I'll have Zhou Corporation’s legal team handle it for you.”

Ye Weian was puzzled: “Zhou Corporation’s legal team? I think your personal aide team could help me even more!”

Zhou Huaichen’s close aides were renowned for their competence. If he could lure them away to work at Ye Corporation, he might finally free himself.

The system helpfully pointed out: “President Zhou is definitely talking about the situation with Yan Qing’s fans harassing you.”

Ye Weian: “Really?”

The system: “Definitely.”

The system: “See? I told you President Zhou would feel sorry for you.”

...Wait, why did it say President Zhou felt sorry for the host again?

Convinced by the system, Ye Weian asked Zhou Huaichen: “Are you talking about what happened online? I'm not angry. I’ve already closed my account—they have nowhere to vent. I think they’re the ones who should be angry.”

Somehow, Zhou Huaichen detected a hint of schadenfreude in his calm, even tone and couldn’t help but chuckle softly: “That’s good to hear.”

Ye Weian asked: “Were you concerned about me?”

Zhou Huaichen’s breath hitched. He tightened his grip on the phone and, after a few seconds, replied: “Mmm.”

Ye Weian was delighted: “When are you coming back? I'll treat you to a meal.”

Zhou Huaichen, who tasted like grapes, was seriously appetizing—he could easily eat two extra bowls of rice!

Zhou Huaichen’s voice was unusually soft: “I'll be back tomorrow. How about meeting in the evening?”

Ye Weian naturally had no objections.

After hanging up, Zhou Huaichen’s expression softened like never before.

He had originally planned to return with his team, but now he just wanted to get back as soon as possible, so he instructed his Special Assistant to change his flight.

The Special Assistant, glancing at Zhou Huaichen’s expression in the rearview mirror, was wondering.

The relationship between the boss and President Ye seemed to exceed his expectations...

...

After receiving Zhou Huaichen’s call, Ye Weian was in a great mood.

But as he was leaving work, Bai Yuan showed up and instantly ruined his good spirits.

Bai Yuan was the director of *The Year the Wind Rose* and one of Yan Qing’s admirers.

Previously, when Ye Weian decided to pull funding from the production, Bai Yuan, as the director, couldn’t do anything to stop it and had to accept it.

But now that Ye Weian wanted the film to continue with Lin Chang replacing Yan Qing as the lead, Bai Yuan found it completely unacceptable.

He confronted Ye Weian in the underground parking garage, his face stormy, and demanded: “President Ye, I heard you’re replacing Yan Qing?”

“How could you transfer your affections?” He stared intently at Ye Weian as if looking at a heartless scoundrel. “Without you, how will Qingqing make his mark in the entertainment industry? You’re letting Qingqing down!”

After seeing gossip online about Ye Weian showing interest in Lin Chang, he felt outraged on Yan Qing’s behalf.

Ye Weian replied expressionlessly: “Not only am I replacing him, I’m replacing you too.”

Without even glancing at Bai Yuan, he called his bodyguards to restrain him and left in his car.

Bai Yuan: "..."

He stared furiously at the retreating stretch Bentley, stomping mad.

The system didn’t miss the hatred in Bai Yuan’s eyes and worriedly said: “You shouldn’t have provoked him like that. He’s one of Yan Qing’s admirers and is very close to him. He’ll definitely badmouth you to Yan Qing.”

Ye Weian remained unruffled: “He never liked me anyway.”

In the original story, when Zhou Yongnan and Yan Qing joined forces to slander the original host, Bai Yuan also added insult to injury. He came forward to testify for Yan Qing, solidifying the false accusation that the original host had committed sexual assault.

The system thought about it and agreed, praising: “Host, you did well! Showing him your taillights was the right move!”

Ye Weian: "..."

He said calmly: “Just wait, this isn’t over yet.”

Bai Yuan would definitely stand up for Yan Qing.

Sure enough, that evening, Bai Yuan leaked the recasting news online, insinuating that Lin Chang had benefited from underhanded deals, and further hinted that Yan Qing had offended Ye Weian and was being shelved by Lemon Entertainment.

Yan Qing’s fans were even more enraged.

At this point, Brother Ming had key fans spread a message in group chats, claiming that Yan Qing had been pursued by the company’s boss for five years. Yan Qing, being of noble character, had consistently refused any inappropriate advances. The boss, finally losing patience, found a new favorite and was now trying to crush Yan Qing.

The blame was directed squarely at Ye Weian.

Previously, Ye Weian hadn’t responded to the fans’ questions and had even closed his account on purpose, which had already infuriated them.

Now, learning that Ye Weian wanted to shelve Yan Qing, the fans couldn’t stay silent.

Guided by key fans, Yan Qing’s supporters flooded Lemon Entertainment’s official Weibo account, demanding:

“Ye Weian, get out here! How dare you bully our Qingqing!”

“Moving on to someone new and still tormenting your ex—what kind of man are you?”

“This so-called domineering boss must be a eunuch. Only a eunuch would be so twisted.”

The system buzzed angrily reading the comments: “Host, should I delete all these?”

As a high-tech product, it certainly had the ability to remove comments.

Ye Weian was just bringing his favorite ruby into the bedroom, completely unbothered: “No need.”

Let them curse—it didn’t affect him anyway.

The system: "..."

The host’s attitude was truly remarkable.

Ye Weian placed the ruby beside his pillow and prepared to turn off the lights and sleep.

The system couldn’t resist teasing: “Host, you really are like a child sleeping with your favorite toy.”

The system: “Did you used to keep grape seeds by your pillow too?”

Ye Weian said with full confidence: “Of course.”

System: "..."

System: “You said Zhou Huaichen is like a grape seed. If you had the chance, would you want to cuddle with Zhou Huaichen while sleeping too?”

Ye Weian closed his eyes and said, “Sure, why not?”

Thinking it over carefully, he was actually a little pleased by the idea.

System: "..."

After a long while, the system spoke up gloomily: “Host, you can only sleep holding Yan Qing.”

Unfortunately, Ye Weian had already fallen asleep.

The next day, Zhou Huaichen came out of the airport and learned from his Special Assistant that Ye Weian was getting flamed by Yan Qing's fans again.

He had originally arranged to meet Ye Weian that evening but changed his mind and decided to go see him at Ye Corporation.

On the way, he called Ye Weian, but Ye Weian said he was at home and asked Zhou Huaichen to come directly there.

Zhou Huaichen then told the driver to reroute to the Ye family home.

An hour later, the car arrived at Ye Weian's villa.

Ye Weian was already waiting at the door and immediately hurried over to meet him as he got out of the car.

Zhou Huaichen carefully observed his face, worried that he might be upset about the online incident.

But Ye Weian took him by the arm and said, “Come on, let's go inside. Dinner's all ready.”

Before Zhou Huaichen could react, he was pulled into the dining room.

The table was filled with all kinds of delicacies.

Ye Weian looked at him with shining eyes: “Let's eat together.”

His eyes were practically screaming that the ultimate appetizer had arrived—it was time to dig in.

Not a hint of unhappiness.

Zhou Huaichen: "..."

Author's Note: Zhou Huaichen: That's right, I'm the ultimate appetizer.

Red envelopes from the previous chapter have been sent out, and this chapter will continue with more~

Sorry, my dears, the writing's been slow going~~

Thank you all so much for your support, I will keep working hard!