Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Only when Ye Weian had finished touching did he reluctantly withdraw his hand: "Let's go, time to eat Dongpo Pork Knuckle!"

After feeling up his abs, it was time to enjoy the delicious Dongpo Pork Knuckle.

Zhou Huaichen released him, backing up a little, his voice hoarse as he said, "You go ahead first."

Ye Weian tilted his head.

"What's wrong with A Chen's voice? Why does his grape-flavored voice sound so suggestive?"

Zhou Huaichen: "..."

He reached out and gently patted Ye Weian's head, saying, "I'm going back to my room to change clothes. You go ahead and eat first."

Ye Weian still found him a bit weird.

The system, like a father figure, explained earnestly: "President Zhou is a normal man. Facing the 'cabbage' he wants to have his way with, and with the 'cabbage' touching him like that, it's only natural for him to act a little strange." (Note: 'Cabbage' is a Chinese slang term for someone innocent or easily taken advantage of, often in a romantic context.)

Ye Weian: "?"

Suddenly, he understood.

As a zombie king, he usually wouldn’t feel embarrassed—touching abs meant nothing to him, just like playing with his favorite crystal cores.

But A Chen’s big reaction made him feel kind of awkward for once.

"Then you go ahead," he waved his hand, signaling Zhou Huaichen to go take care of that.

"It wouldn’t be good if he holds it in too long."

Zhou Huaichen gave him a deep look, his voice still hoarse: "You go to the dining room first and tell Uncle Wang to start dinner."

After a pause, he added, "No need to wait for me."

He knew this guy must have been hungry for a while.

Ye Weian nodded, watching him go upstairs, thinking about how those abs felt, feeling quite pleased.

"Next time, it’d be even better if I could lift up his shirt and touch them."

"Maybe I should try again while he’s exercising?"

"I also want to sleep while cuddling with him."

The System: "..."

Host, for President Zhou’s health, please stop messing around!

Zhou Huaichen, hearing his thoughts, smiled bitterly to himself.

A few more times like this, and he wasn’t sure he could endure such sweet torture.

Ye Weian went to the dining room.

Uncle Wang, upon hearing that Zhou Huaichen had asked the kitchen to serve the meal first, immediately served the food.

Ye Weian instantly became twice as happy!

He slowly ate the Dongpo Pork Knuckle while waiting for Zhou Huaichen to come down.

"System, how long do you think A Chen will take?" he asked curiously.

The system refused to answer: "Host, please do not ask this system such weird questions."

Ye Weian: "?"

What’s so strange about that question?

By the time Ye Weian had slowly finished one pork knuckle and was almost half full, Zhou Huaichen finally came downstairs.

Ye Weian stared right at him.

"That took forever!"

Zhou Huaichen: "..."

He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Walking over, he changed the subject gently: "Uncle Wang makes his own sauce for the Dongpo Pork Knuckle. Is it good?"

Mentioning food, Ye Weian’s attention was instantly diverted: "It’s delicious!"

Zhou Huaichen smiled slightly, picked up his chopsticks, and said in a low voice: "Hong Ke and the others usually go to the main house; they don't come here much."

Ye Weian glanced at him.

Zhou Huaichen looked back at him: "I’ve only invited you to eat here. Uncle Wang really likes you too. Will you come over often from now on?"

Ye Weian’s eyes lit up: "Yes!"

The System: "..."

Damn, President Zhou is luring the 'cabbage' again!

After the meal, the Ye family driver came to get Ye Weian.

As he was leaving, Uncle Wang gave him a small bottle of fried chili peppers.

Ye Weian took it happily.

Zhou Huaichen said with a smile, "There’s more when you finish it."

As long as this person liked these things, he would keep them coming.

On the way home, though Ye Weian’s face remained stoic, inwardly he was over the moon.

He had eaten Dongpo Pork Knuckle, touched A Chen’s abs, received snacks from Uncle Wang—he was completely satisfied, somewhat resembling an indulgent, pleasure-loving emperor from ancient times.

The system, however, was thinking hard about where it went wrong.

How could it forget its mission? How could it get so caught up in the romance that it lost its mind?

To prove it was still a rational system, it painfully made itself go quiet for two seconds before speaking up to remind Ye Weian: "Host, don’t forget your mission."

The system said seriously: "As good as President Zhou is, Yan Qing is your actual target to pursue."

Ye Weian, in a good mood, didn’t fight it: "I’ll handle Yan Qing’s matter as I see fit."

The system sighed.

It seems it needs to think of a way to make the host complete the task as soon as possible.

Although resolute, after reminding Ye Weian, the system still secretly crept into the Super Topic of Ye Weian and Zhou Huaichen.

Aww, it could still get its shipping fix.

After Ye Weian and Zhou Huaichen hit the hot search, many people lowkey started stanning them. Their looks were already eye-catching, and their vibe was even more hot and heavy.

"Sisters, we've definitely found the real deal! Big Boss Zhou is so doting on Big Boss Ye!"

"What are you waiting for? Let's start the Super Topic!"

"I remember Yan Qing's fans created a Super Topic for Yan Qing and Big Boss Zhou called 'One Night in Arms.' I think it suits Big Boss Ye and Big Boss Zhou even more!"

"Yan Qing and Big Boss Zhou were never real. Big Boss Zhou clarified overnight, wanting to stay as far away from Yan Qing as possible."

"Let's not follow their example. How about calling it 'One Leaf in Arms'?"

Eventually, this name was accepted by everyone.

The Super Topic was created, and everyone started having fun in it.

The fan artist who single-handedly pushed Ye Weian and Zhou Huaichen into the hot search cranked out two more masterpieces, and some sisters wrote fics—so much fun!

The system was also quite happy.

Reading those fanfics, it felt like it had opened the door to a new world.

But it was also in pain.

Because shipping the couple made it almost forget its duties.

In the end, it blocked the things that brought it joy on its own and went into isolation.

Ye Weian was unaware of the system's internal struggle.

He was still thinking about when he could touch A Chen's abs again or even sleep while hugging A Chen.

Maybe he could ask A Chen out for a meal tomorrow and watch him work out afterward?

...

Unfortunately, the next day, Ye Weian didn’t manage to set up a date with Zhou Huaichen.

Zhou Yongnan rushed back overnight and spent the whole evening comforting Yan Qing. The next day, he brought Yan Qing to the family estate to ask Zhou Huaichen for forgiveness.

Yan Qing looked with a pitiful look at Zhou Yongnan in the car and asked, "Will Big Boss Zhou forgive me?"

He wasn’t a fool. Although Xie Siming took the blame for him, both Zhou Huaichen and Ye Weian knew he was the mastermind.

Zhou Yongnan held his hand and reassured him, "My uncle dotes on me. If I kneel and beg him, he’ll eventually agree."

Yan Qing actually felt that Zhou Yongnan couldn’t really count on him, but aside from seeking his help, he had no other options.

He leaned his head on Zhou Yongnan’s shoulder and murmured, "Thank goodness you’re here."

Thinking of Zhou Huaichen, his resentment was bubbling up.

He couldn’t forget the last glance Zhou Huaichen gave him yesterday, which clearly indicated that he intended to settle the score.

But he had only wanted to target Ye Weian. Why was Zhou Huaichen targeting him?

Was Ye Weian really that good?

The car soon arrived at the family estate. Apart from Zhou Huaichen, Old Master Zhou and Zhou’s parents were also there.

It was their first time meeting Yan Qing, and they appeared relatively polite.

However, they had already heard about Yan Qing framing Ye Weian and making Xie Siming take the blame, so they had some reservations about Yan Qing’s character.

Yan Qing, being shrewd, knew his actions weren't fooling anyone in the Zhou family. As soon as he entered, he burst into tears and confessed his mistake.

He then turned to Zhou Huaichen and sobbed, "Uncle, I promise to live well with Yong Nan. Please forgive me this once, okay?"

Previously, he had addressed him as "Big Boss Zhou," but this time he called him "Uncle," clearly using Zhou Yongnan as a shield.

Zhou Yongnan also pleaded with Zhou Huaichen, "Qing Qing really knows he was wrong. He was just overwhelmed by Big Boss Ye demanding the money back. I promise Qing Qing will never provoke Big Boss Ye again."

Zhou Huaichen looked at him and asked, "What guarantee do you have?"

It was obvious to all that Zhou Yongnan had no say in front of Yan Qing and was always led by the nose by him.

Yan Qing said softly, "Uncle, I’ll listen to Yong Nan from now on."

His tearful, pitiful appearance made him easy to pity.

If others saw Yan Qing like this, they might soften, but Zhou Huaichen was the Big Boss in this ridiculous novel and was unaffected by that act.

He said calmly, "The victim is Big Boss Ye. I have no right to forgive you on his behalf."

Yan Qing secretly pouted.

Ye Weian wouldn’t be angry with him!

During this time, Ye Weian had been pressuring him to repay the money and pushing the CP narrative—wasn’t it because Ye Weian wanted to be with him?

But he didn’t dare show any of this in front of Zhou Huaichen and could only look begging at Zhou Yongnan.

Zhou Yongnan stepped forward, about to kneel before Old Master Zhou, begging him to plead on his behalf with his uncle.

He knew his family doted on him, and he truly loved Yan Qing, unable to bear seeing him upset.

His family would surely relent.

But before he could kneel, Zhou Huaichen gave him a cold look.

Zhou Yongnan: "..."

His uncle’s vibe was too intense; he suddenly didn’t dare move.

Zhou Huaichen swept his gaze over Yan Qing and said, "You can continue your activities in showbiz until you repay the debt to Big Boss Ye."

After repaying the debt, they would settle everything else.

This was the outcome he and Ye Weian had discussed. Ye Weian didn’t mind Yan Qing continuing to act and do endorsements—in fact, he hoped Yan Qing would earn more money.

Yan Qing got the result he wanted, successfully persuading Zhou Huaichen to let him off the hook.

But for some reason, he felt pretty pissed.

Probably because Zhou Huaichen was wholeheartedly protecting Ye Weian, which drove him mad with jealousy.

He soon left.

The Zhou family didn’t try to keep him, politely sent him off, but they made Zhou Yongnan stay behind.

Unfortunately, Zhou Yongnan was unaware of the Zhou family’s attitude. He happily walked Yan Qing to the car, and even whispered to him, "I think Grandpa and the others have already agreed to our relationship."

Yan Qing: "..."

He was genuinely annoyed with Zhou Yongnan.

If it weren’t for Zhou Yongnan’s special status, which could help act as a buffer against Zhou Huaichen, he would already be considering ditching Zhou Yongnan.

But he was truly disappointed in Zhou Yongnan and decided that once he was off the mountain, he would go meet up with his other admirers.

Zhou Yongnan had no idea what Yan Qing was thinking. After seeing Yan Qing off, he was immediately bundled off by Grandpa Zhou to the airport to continue his business trip abroad.

This time, Zhou Yongnan's parents went with him, supposedly to mentor him, but actually to supervise him.

From then on, the Zhou family’s position became clear: while they didn’t force him to break up, they wouldn’t let him see Yan Qing.

...

Over the next few days, Yan Qing completely quieted down and stopped making trouble.

He even actually took on a TV drama role and went to film in a remote mountainous area.

But Ye Weian became busy.

He was occupied with the Ye Group shareholder meeting.

The Ye Group had many business interests and numerous shareholders. When Elder Ye passed away, these people were united, but with Ye Weian as the young new CEO, everyone’s ambitions started getting ideas.

Fortunately, the original host was quite capable, and with Long Jie and Brother Zhang assisting, they managed to keep everyone in line.

Ye Weian sat in the main seat, pretty distracted.

He was a zombie king, after all—he didn’t want to listen to boring financial numbers; he just wanted to lie around and do nothing.

It wasn’t until near the end of the meeting that Manager Fei, from the Ye Group’s medical equipment company, brought up something that caught his interest.

Manager Fei was a middle-aged man in his early fifties who had long been in charge of three large medical equipment companies under the Ye Group, with considerable seniority.

He adjusted his glasses and said, "Boqing has been making some underhanded moves against us. They’ve been selling equipment to several major hospitals we partner with at cost price, and those hospitals have politely suggested that they want to switch suppliers."

Boqing wasn’t just a medical equipment company—they also operated chain private hospitals across the country, with extensive business operations.

Ye Weian asked the system, "If I remember correctly, Boqing’s boss is named Chi Li, and he’s also one of Yan Qing’s admirers, right?"

System: "Yes!"

System: "It seems Yan Qing is scheming again. He must have told Chi Li to go after your family’s company!"

Chi Li was in his early thirties, both the boss of Boqing and a doctor.

Yan Qing had once been injured while filming and was admitted to a hospital owned by Chi Li’s family, where Chi Li happened to see him.

Chi Li fell in love with Yan Qing at first sight and had been quietly watching over him ever since.

Ye Weian sighed, "Yan Qing has so many admirers."

The system sighed along, "The book mentioned that after the original host was framed by Yan Qing, Chi Li also took the opportunity to swallow up the Ye Group’s shares."

Clearly, Chi Li was also helping Yan Qing target the Ye Group.

Ye Weian: "...Do I have to go up against each of Yan Qing’s admirers one by one?"

He felt worn out. Dealing with mutated plants and animals in the apocalypse that wanted to eat his energy core wasn’t even this tiring.

The system also felt sorry for its host.

Ye Weian stroked his chin and said, "Maybe I should make the first move."

If he proactively took out each of Yan Qing’s admirers one by one, then he wouldn’t have to be bothered anymore.

Just like in the apocalypse, whenever a zombie tried to take him out, he’d take them down one by one—it was pretty satisfying.

System: "..."

It had a feeling its host was about to pull another crazy stunt.

But it had its own agenda.

If the host drove away each of Yan Qing’s admirers one by one, maybe it would be easier for him to win over the beauty, and its mission would be completed more smoothly.

So it didn’t try to stop Ye Weian.

...

After the shareholder meeting, Ye Weian was eager to contact Zhou Huaichen and ask him out to dinner.

He had been busy these days, and Zhou Huaichen had been even busier, on a business trip abroad until he returned just yesterday.

He thought happily that not only would he have dinner with A Chen, but he would also try to convince A Chen to work out in front of him.

If he got the chance, he’d even feel his abs.

This time, he absolutely wouldn't have to feel them through pajamas!

But just as he stepped out of the meeting room, Long Jie and Brother Zhang caught up to him.

The two hadn’t been particularly close with the original host, who was gloomy and didn’t interact much with them.

Now, even though Ye Weian had a stoic expression, he communicated with them more, and they felt he had become much more friendly.

Brother Zhang said with a smile, "President Ye, Long Jie and I plan to visit the butler at the family estate later."

In the company, Brother Zhang was known as a smiling tiger—he always spoke to everyone with a grin, friendly and warm, and rarely got angry, but his methods were even stricter than Long Jie’s.

Ye Weian said "Ah."

If Brother Zhang and Long Jie were going to visit the old butler, he, as the master, would have to go back to the estate to entertain them.

That meant he wouldn’t be able to meet Zhou Huaichen for dinner today.

Just then, Zhou Huaichen called to ask when he finished work, and said he'd pick him up.

Ye Weian’s voice sounded disappointed as he explained the situation. "We’ll have to plan for tomorrow instead."

Then he thought of something and said excitedly, "Actually, you could come home with me for dinner!"

Even if he might not get to see the abs, having a dinner companion who smelled like grapes, he'd still come out ahead.

Upon learning that Long Jie and Brother Zhang were going to the Ye family home, Zhou Huaichen hadn't wanted to impose at first.

But after being away on a business trip for several days, he genuinely missed Ye Weian. After a moment's thought, he agreed, saying, "Alright, wait for me half an hour. I'll come pick you up."

Ye Weian hung up the phone and noticed Long Jie and Brother Zhang staring at him.

Ye Weian: "?"

Long Jie tentatively asked, "Was that President Zhou? Did you invite him to join us for dinner at the old house?"

Ye Weian didn’t think much of it and nodded, "Yeah."

Long Jie and Brother Zhang were his close confidants, and Zhou Huaichen was his friend. He thought having a meal together was no big deal.

Little did he know, Long Jie and Brother Zhang exchanged a subtle glance, their eyes filled with undercurrents of concern.

Both were people left behind by Elder Ye, so they naturally had to look out for the Ye Corporation's interests.

Zhou Huaichen was different from Yan Qing.

Yan Qing had no background; even if he were with Ye Weian, it wouldn’t have much impact on the Ye Corporation.

But behind Zhou Huaichen stood the entire Zhou family. If Ye Weian were to get involved with him, the interests of the Zhou and Ye families would inevitably get tangled up.

Brother Zhang said in a low voice, "Let’s ask the old butler’s opinion first."

The Ye family had many members, but Elder Ye’s branch was not very numerous. The old master had only Ye Weian as his grandson, and Ye Weian’s parents had died young. The old butler was like another parental figure to Ye Weian.

Long Jie hummed in agreement, temporarily pushed down the worry in her eyes.

If only Ye Weian could hear their thoughts, he would definitely tell them that Yan Qing was the most dangerous one!

Who said Yan Qing had no impact on the Ye Corporation? With one move, he brought down the Ye Corporation!

On the other hand, Zhou Huaichen had solid character and was a golden opportunity!

While waiting for Zhou Huaichen to arrive, Ye Weian suddenly remembered something and asked the system, "Does the book describe what happened to Long Jie and Brother Zhang after the Ye Corporation went bankrupt?"

System: "No."

No description.

Ye Weian: "Oh."

Actually, he could imagine.

Both were loyal to the Ye Corporation. If the Ye Corporation fell, they would surely suffer as well.

During this time, he had gotten along with Long Jie and Brother Zhang and knew they were both good people. They had been supported by Elder Ye since childhood and were later trained to be the original host’s right-hand men. Even after the old master passed away, they still assisted the original host as promised, without any disloyalty.

Their word was truly their bond.

Now that he was here, he would change the plot. He wouldn’t let the Ye Corporation go bankrupt, nor would he let Long Jie and Brother Zhang suffer.

...

Half an hour later, Zhou Huaichen arrived at the Ye Corporation building as promised.

This time, he was driving himself.

Ye Weian bounded over to him, "You’re here."

He looked him over carefully.

—"The grape-fragranced beauty is still so good-looking."

—"I've missed him so much."

Zhou Huaichen's eyes carried a smile as he exchanged a few words with him, then nodded to Long Jie and Brother Zhang. Afterward, he opened the passenger door for him, "I brought some pastries made by Uncle Wang. They were heated at the company before I left. Try them."

Ye Weian’s eyes sparkled, "Great!"

He eagerly slid into the passenger seat and gestured for Long Jie and Brother Zhang to get in the car.

Long Jie and Brother Zhang took the back seat, surreptitiously watching Zhou Huaichen the whole ride.

Zhou Huaichen was well aware of their gazes but acted completely natural, casually chatting with Ye Weian about what happened on his trip abroad, even mentioning some of the Zhou family’s business matters.

It very much resembled checking in about his schedule to his wife at home.

Long Jie and Brother Zhang exchanged alarmed looks.

The system was also quietly freaking out.

It was getting front-row seats to the romance but couldn’t share it with the buddies (or gals?) in the Super Topic. Too bad.

After hearing Zhou Huaichen’s itinerary, Ye Weian asked, "Will you be going on another business trip soon?"

Zhou Huaichen said gently, "I won’t need to go abroad for the next month."

Ye Weian was delighted.

—"Great, time to schedule those abs!"

—"Later, I'll figure out how to get Zhou Zhou into bed!"

Zhou Huaichen: "..."

He recalled that time when his abs were touched, and his eyes darkened gradually.

Ye Weian suddenly remembered something and said, "By the way, the director sent a message saying that 'Today's EyeOpener' will air on Tomato Video tonight."

Tomato Video had stakes from the Ye Corporation, so it was basically airing on their home platform.

Zhou Huaichen smiled slightly, "Let’s watch it together tonight."

Ye Weian cocked his head at him.

Zhou Huaichen, holding the steering wheel, turned his head to meet his gaze, "Hmm?"

Ye Weian shook his head, "It’s nothing."

—"This is huge!"

—"After dinner, watch the show, it’ll be late, so I'll have him stay the night!"

"Perfect!"

Zhou Huaichen remained silent.

System: "?"

Host, you've got some perfect ideas!

...

After arriving at the Ye residence, the elderly steward happily welcomed everyone inside.

He really liked Long Jie and Brother Zhang, and he also liked Zhou Huaichen. Having several younger guests visit him made him feel much more spry.

Ye Weian had called the butler in advance to let him know about the guests, so the elderly steward had already had a full meal prepared.

It was the first time Long Jie and Brother Zhang had eaten together with Zhou Huaichen.

As the head of the Zhou Corporation, Zhou Huaichen had a strong aura, and the two felt somewhat intimidated.

The atmosphere during the meal was quite awkward.

The elderly steward didn't understand the dynamics between the younger generation and remained unaffected.

Ye Weian was also unaffected, contentedly watching Zhou Huaichen throughout the meal.

Not having seen Zhou Huaichen for a few days had even reduced his appetite.

Zhou Huaichen smiled and put food on his plate, taking care of him as usual.

Brother Zhang and Long Jie, however, were seeing this for the first time and became more and more concerned.

...Had things already progressed to the stage of feeding each other?!

After the meal, the two specifically found an opportunity to pull the elderly steward aside and express their concerns, asking for his opinion: "Do you think this is okay?"

The growing closeness between President Ye and President Zhou—was it really alright?

The elderly steward said cheerfully, "President Zhou is very good."

As long as Ye Weian was happy, he would support it.

Moreover, Zhou Huaichen had good character, and even Elder Ye had praised him highly when he was alive. The elderly steward believed he was someone who could be trusted.

Long Jie and Brother Zhang looked at each other upon hearing this and fell silent.

Although they were worried about potential conflicts of interest between the Ye and Zhou corporations, they also hoped Ye Weian could find happiness.

So the two silently agreed not to reveal any of their concerns in front of Ye Weian, letting him and Zhou Huaichen develop naturally.

If one day Ye Weian and Zhou Huaichen ended up together but encountered conflicts, they would definitely stand behind Ye Weian and support him.

...

Unaware of Long Jie and Brother Zhang's complicated thoughts, Ye Weian eagerly pulled Zhou Huaichen to watch the first episode of "Today's EyeOpener."

The show had already been released at 8 p.m. and was nearly ninety minutes long.

Ye Weian had made sure to prepare lots of snacks, even bringing out the fried chili peppers Uncle Wang had given him earlier.

Seeing the fried chili peppers, Zhou Huaichen smiled and said, "Uncle Wang has been saying you haven't visited for a meal in a long time."

Ye Weian adjusted the TV screen and replied, "I miss his cooking too."

Zhou Huaichen gazed at him tenderly and said softly, "Come to my home tomorrow, okay?"

Without a second thought, Ye Weian agreed, "Okay!"

—"Watch him work out! Watch him show off his abs!"

Zhou Huaichen chuckled softly.

It seemed his physique really was quite attractive to this person.

Nearby, Long Jie and Brother Zhang noticed Zhou Huaichen's meaningful smile and immediately looked away awkwardly, as if pretending not to notice.

The system, however, loudly complained to Ye Weian, "You two are something else! Trying to get each other to come home—what are you two up to?!"

Actually, the system was secretly thrilled.

Brothers (or sisters) in the Super Topic, you're missing all this sweetness!

You probably don't know that tonight the host is planning to get Big Boss Zhou to stay over!

Hehehe, hehehe.

...Hopefully, the host won't block me when the time comes.

Ignoring the system, Ye Weian started playing the show.

He didn't have many scenes, but some parts were quite funny because every time he spoke expressionlessly, the male host would follow up with a playful comment.

Incidentally, the first episode of the show used his appearance as bait to attract viewers.

After all, as the president of the Ye Corporation, his appearance alone attracted viewers, especially since he had a large number of fans online who admired his looks. Additionally, the video of him saving Lin Chang and his embrace with Zhou Huaichen had gone viral.

Sure enough, as soon as the show started, many netizens were spamming the comments—

"Here to see the domineering CEO."

"Here to see the domineering CEO +1"

"Here to see the beautiful President Ye, come here, beautiful."

"Wonder if President Zhou is around..."

Although Ye Weian didn't have many scenes in the show, he definitely drew viewers in.

Although netizens had seen Ye Weian saving someone in videos and had also seen him in Yan Qing's livestream, this was the first time they saw him fully on camera and learned that he had a poker face.

Netizens unanimously agreed that President Ye was so cool!

Fans in the CP Super Topic were also discussing Ye Weian's poker face as they watched.

"Sisters, President Ye actually has a poker face—it's so hot, isn't it?! Imagine him unable to maintain his expression when President Zhou is with him... Ahhh, I'm gone!"

"Previous commenter, if you know how to talk, say more!"

"Ahhh, I've already imagined a 100,000-word story of President Zhou making President Ye cry in bed... What a stunning, aloof beauty! President Zhou is so lucky, slurp."

The System: "..."

Crying in bed?

Weird knowledge just expanded again...

When the episode reached its end, Zhou Huaichen unexpectedly appeared in the frame.

At that moment, Lin Chang was talking to Ye Weian, paused mid-sentence, and suddenly glanced to the side.

The camera followed his gaze and swept over to Zhou Huaichen, who was standing behind the staff.

Though it was only a two-second frame, fans in the Super Topic accurately caught sight of Zhou Huaichen.

The fans went wild!

"Look at President Zhou’s expression—isn’t that a warning to Lin Chang? Right? Right?"

"Absolutely! President Zhou is definitely jealous! Hehehe, Zhou is such a jealous person!"

"Who would’ve thought a two-second frame could give us 'so much sugar'? Hehehe, so sweet! I won’t say who’s overwhelmed by the sweetness."

"President Zhou’s possessiveness is next level. Ye better be ready for Zhou to have a reckoning tonight!"

"What kind of score? I won’t say. Hehehe (?﹃?)"

The System silently watched the fans giggling and secretly thought that maybe the host really could get someone into bed tonight...

But as a System, it had its final stubbornness—it would put a stop to it!

Sorry, folks!

Aside from Ye Weian, the other guests in the program were quite notable.

Lin Chang was the biggest surprise—he had a natural talent for comedy, especially when bantering with the male host. It was like listening to a cross-talk performance, making both the guests and the audience burst into laughter.

People had assumed he relied on scandals and connections to get ahead, but no one expected him to be such a comedian.

Suddenly, netizens' perception of him changed, and he gradually attracted a group of fans who loved comedy (?).

His rapport with Ruan Min was also good. The president of Lemon Entertainment took the opportunity to have the "water army" heavily promote "The Year the Wind Rose," and the results were decent.

During this time, fans of Xie Siming and Yan Qing also tried to stir up trouble, subtly criticizing Lin Chang and Ye Weian. Some even used the bullet comments to 'educate' others about how Lin Chang advanced his career by leeching off Yan Qing, or how Ye Weian had pursued Yan Qing for five years.

But netizens weren’t interested in these old grudges.

Yan Qing’s live stream was already yesterday's news—everyone had moved on to other gossip.

Those comments in the live chat were quickly reported and removed by Lemon Entertainment’s staff.

Meanwhile, the director of "Today’s EyeOpener" seized the moment to announce that two heavyweight guests would join the next episode: an actor of the same caliber as Xie Siming, and a well-regarded young male actor.

As soon as the news broke, fans of these two guests started hyping it up, and netizens happily jumped on the new gossip train. Soon, no one cared about Xie Siming or Yan Qing anymore.

...

After watching the program, Ye Weian said to Zhou Huaichen, "The director said the audience feedback is positive, viewership is high, and we’ve added over a dozen in-stream advertisements."

Zhou Huaichen smiled at him. "All credit goes to you."

Ye Weian was modest. "Not at all."

—("Keep praising me, keep going.")

Zhou Huaichen chuckled softly. "If it weren’t for Wei An bringing in viewers, this episode wouldn’t have been so successful."

Ye Weian’s eyes sparkling, though his expression remained neutral. "Yes, you’re right."

This earned another deep chuckle from Zhou Huaichen.

Seeing how intimate the two were, Sister Long and Brother Zhang tactfully gave them space.

However, since the program performed well and was likely profitable, they praised Ye Weian’s investment instincts.

Then, they got up to leave.

It was already around 10 p.m.

Ye Weian prepared to walk Sister Long and Brother Zhang out but paused, turning back to Zhou Huaichen. "It’s late. It’s not safe for you to go back alone. Why don’t you stay here tonight?"

—("And cuddle!")

Sister Long and Brother Zhang, who were also going home alone: "..."

So, President Ye, you’re not concerned about our safety?

Zhou Huaichen looked quietly at Ye Weian for a few seconds, a slow smile curling across his lips. "Okay."

Ye Weian was immediately pleased.

—("The pig took the bait.")

The System: "..."

Host, you total idiot—you’re the one who took the bait!!

Author's Note: Dear readers, here’s the update—8,000 words. I still owe 2,000 and will make it up gradually. *sobbing*

I’ve been writing all day and I’m exhausted. *sobbing* Thank you, dear readers, for catching typos and for loving this story~~

Red envelopes (monetary gifts) have been distributed~~

Thank you all so much for your support. I’ll keep working hard!