HPDBC Chapter 67
Chapter 67
What exactly is going on?
I’m really curious!
Qin Yao and Huo Yan both looked at Ye Leyao at the same time.
There wasn’t much description in the original text of this part of the story. It simply explained Zhang Qiran’s reason for entering the circle, and then nothing more.
Ye Leyao regretfully put away his phone, unable to snap out of his shock for a long time. He couldn’t resist glancing at Song Zhehan.
Song Zhehan handed the peeled egg to Zhou Zijian, and just as he raised his head, he happened to glance in this direction. When his gaze met Ye Leyao’s, Song Zhehan slightly furrowed his brow, then smiled: “What kind of expression is that?”
Ye Leyao quickly averted his gaze: “It’s nothing.”
[I’m just really shocked. Zhang Qiran actually dared to have a crush on Techer Gou Shi... He’s really got guts!]
[And... since Zhang Qiran already had a crush on Song Zhehan, why did he enter the circle and not pursue him? Instead, he seems to be constantly going against Song Zhehan.]
[Could it be that after getting close to Song Zhehan, he realized that he’s manipulative and sharp-tongued and so turned from a fan to a hater?]
The more Ye Leyao thought about it, the more he felt this wasn’t entirely impossible.
Huo Yan also felt that Ye Leyao’s guess made a lot of sense.
After all... liking Song Zhehan really requires a very strong heart.
The more Huo Yan thought about it, the more curious he became. So what exactly is the story between Zhang Qiran and Song Zhehan?
Ye Leyao was just as curious, and his brain began working rapidly.
[No, I can’t just let Zhang Qiran quit the recording like this.]
[If he leaves, how am I supposed to get to the bottom of this drama?]
[I really want to know about the love-hate relationship between him and Song Zhehan!]
Suddenly, Ye Leyao’s eyes lit up, and he said in a slightly regretful tone: “I just think it’s a pity. Zhang Qiran has only been filming for half a day, and now he’s quitting. With him leaving, the guest slot you invited this time will be wasted.”
Song Zhehan thought for a second, then nodded: “Now that you mention it, it does feel like a bit of a waste, and—”
Ye Leyao looked at him expectantly.
Then he saw the corners of Song Zhehan’s mouth lift into a regretful smile: “We haven’t even seen him mess up yet. What a shame!”
Ye Leyao: “...”
[I’ve really lost my mind. Why did I expect Teacher Gou Shi to suddenly grow a conscience and try to keep Zhang Qiran?]
[Song Zhehan is probably eager for Zhang Qiran to leave as soon as possible!]
At this point, Qin Yao slowly stood up. He looked at Song Zhehan and said, “I’m going to talk to Zhang Qiran. Want to join me?”
Song Zhehan shook his head without hesitation: “We’re not friends. Why would I go? Besides, aren’t you afraid I’ll scare him away if I try to talk him into staying?”
[You’re surprisingly self-aware!]
Ye Leyao chuckled, then turned to Qin Yao and said, “President Qin, I’ll go with you!”
[No matter what, I have to figure out the details of this drama today!]
Huo Yan hesitated for a moment but ultimately decided not to join them. After all, he wasn’t familiar with Zhang Qiran, and having too many people go might have the opposite effect.
More importantly, though, even though he couldn’t see what was happening from here, he could still hear Ye Leyao’s inner thoughts.
As long as he could hear, he could still get the scoop.
Ye Leyao followed Qin Yao out of the villa, and once the two had walked a good distance away, Song Zhehan finally glanced in their direction.
Huo Yan, thinking of what Ye Leyao had just said, couldn’t help but ask, “What is it? Worried that Zhang Qiran won’t come back?”
Song Zhehan had just finished in the kitchen. Hearing this, he smiled and slowly walked over to sit across from Huo Yan, asking with a grin, “I’ve always been curious about something.”
Huo Yan was puzzled: “What?”
Song Zhehan rested his chin in his hand, looking at Huo Yan with a smile still on his lips: “Of course, I’m curious about how much money you got swindled out of by Su Rui. Last episode, we only found out how much Brother Duan lost, but you never mentioned it. How about telling me now?”
Huo Yan: “...”
Why did he have to provoke Song Zhehan just now?!
The comment section was also in stitches at this point.
—”You brought this on yourself. Why provoke him for no reason?!”
—”As expected, when Teacher Gou Shi makes a move, it’s a killer blow!”
—”Huo Yan, you should’ve just gone with Ye Leyao and the others!”
—“By the way, it’s been a while. What’s happening over there?”
When Ye Leyao went out for a walk in the morning, there weren’t many people in the livestream room.
After all, it was early in the day, and with Yu Bai’s scandal blowing up last night, most netizens had stayed up late and weren’t awake yet.
Who would’ve thought that during his walk, Ye Leyao would have such luck, overhearing Zhang Qiran talking on the phone with his manager?
That wasn’t even the highlight. The highlight was that Zhang Qiran, who had always been gentle and refined, had been choking up as he spoke!
He even called Song Zhehan a mad dog, saying that Song bit him whenever he got the chance...
Although Zhang Qiran looked a bit pitiful crying, the netizens really couldn’t hold back their laughter.
How scary must Song Zhehan be to have frightened someone to the point of tears?
At the same time, the netizens had the same question as Ye Leyao: Zhang Qiran wants to quit the show—could there be more drama?
The drama-hungry netizens observed Ye Leyao’s expression intently, and for once, they actually saw a hint of confusion on his face.
—“Could it be that even Ye Leyao doesn’t know this time?”
—“Wow, this is rare! There’s gossip even our melon king doesn’t know about!”
But the netizens hadn’t been happy for long before they noticed that when Ye Leyao was in the villa’s living room, his expression seemed rather intriguing.
At first, he had been confused, but after looking at his phone for a while, his expression suddenly changed.
—“Darn it! What did Ye Leyao see just now?!”
—”Why can’t I possess Ye Leyao’s phone?”
—”But did you guys notice that right after Ye Leyao was shocked, he glanced at Song Zhehan?”
—”Could it be that Zhang Qiran’s drama is also related to Song Zhehan?”
Seeing this, many netizens’ inner gossipers were stirred.
And you know what? There really might be something there!
After all, anyone familiar with both of them knows that Song Zhehan and Zhang Qiran debuted almost one after the other.
When Song Zhehan first debuted, his persona was set as the gentle white moonlight. Relying on the marketing of this persona, he attracted a large number of fans.
But within just two months, Zhang Qiran debuted shortly after.
When Zhang Qiran first debuted, he didn’t really set any persona. However, netizens and marketing accounts still analyzed his overall image and speculated that his persona should be quite similar to Song Zhehan’s.
After all, Zhang Qiran had a very good appearance, and in his early days, he was rather shy in front of the camera and fans, always wearing a gentle smile. So, there was hardly any need for his team to market him; just one look at him could remind people of this label.
As Zhang Qiran and Song Zhehan both rose to fame, they were often compared by marketing accounts.
As the comparisons increased, negative articles targeting each other naturally multiplied.
Gradually, the two teams became increasingly competitive with one another.
After learning about their backgrounds, a netizen couldn’t help but say:
—”So, did Zhang Qiran debut by imitating Song Zhehan’s persona?”
—”No, did you even look closely? When Zhang Qiran first debuted, he didn’t even market any persona. If you must say so, he probably started marketing a persona only six months ago.”@@@@
—”Yes, you can look it up. When Zhang Qiran first debuted, there were no articles about him being like the ‘white moonlight,’ but such articles only started to appear more frequently about six months ago.”
—”But this whole persona thing isn’t really much of a scoop, is it? There are plenty of artists in the entertainment industry who market their personas.”
—”Yeah, so what exactly is the scoop about Zhang Qiran?”
After passionately analyzing for a while, the netizens still couldn’t come to a conclusion, so they could only pin their hopes on Ye Leyao.
Oh, Melon King above, please lead us to some juicy news!
At this moment, Ye Leyao and Qin Yao also arrived at the resting area where the director and his team were.
The director and the producer were sitting opposite Zhang Qiran, earnestly persuading him.
Director: “Look, Xiao Zhang, we’ve already been recording for half a day, and there are only two days left. It’ll be over soon. Besides, our show’s recording isn’t even that tiring. Where else can you find a reality show easier than ours?”
Producer: “Yeah, exactly.”
Director: “Moreover, our show’s ratings are high. The live stream numbers break records every day.”
Producer: “Yes, yes, indeed.”
Director: “And more importantly, the penalty fee for breaching the contract with our show is high! You wouldn’t want to lose such a big sum of money for no reason, would you?”
Producer: “Yeah, yeah, it’s a lot of money.”
Director: “...If you don’t know how to speak, maybe just don’t.”
His head was throbbing from trying to make sense of things!
The producer cleared his throat and stopped talking.
Ye Leyao almost couldn’t hold back his laughter but tried hard to suppress it.
After all, Zhang Qiran really seemed to be in a bad state.
Away from the cameras, Zhang Qiran wasn’t pretending anymore. He half-reclined in the director’s chair, staring blankly at the sky.
Looking closely, one could even see the tear stains that hadn’t dried at the corners of his eyes, and his eyes were swollen.
Ye Leyao was slightly stunned to see this.
[Did he cry again after I left earlier?]
Qian Yue and Xia Yang also smiled with a bit of ease.
Even though being cheated on was indeed a bit sad and heavy, with the jokes being made, they felt a lot better.
After everyone finished breakfast, Zhang Qiran still hadn’t come downstairs. It wasn’t until it was almost time to leave that he finally dragged himself down.
Ye Leyao glanced at him and noticed he was wearing an exaggerated sun hat on his head.
Seeing this, Song Zhehan immediately laughed, “What, have you finally realized that your face is a bit offensive to the audience, so you decided to cover it up?”
The large brim of the sun hat covered most of Zhang Qiran’s face tightly, leaving only his lips and chin exposed below his nose.
Hearing Song Zhehan’s comment, Zhang Qiran’s lips tightened slightly. For once, he didn’t say anything and just turned around and went out.
Song Zhehan was a bit surprised and looked at Li Siyuan, “Is he planning to act like he doesn’t know me now?”
Li Siyuan glanced at him, “How would I know? If you’re so concerned about him, why don’t you go over and say something sweet?”
[Li Siyuan knows how to be snarky!]
Ye Leyao quickly covered his mouth.
In response to Li Siyuan, Song Zhehan gave him a glare.
Zhou Zijian came out with a food box. “Where’s Xiao Zhang?”
“He got in the car,” Ye Leyao replied.
Zhou Zijian thought for a moment and handed the food box to Song Zhehan, “How about you take it to him, Xiao Song?”
Song Zhehan refused without hesitation, “No, I refuse.”
Zhou Zijian sighed, “Alright, then I’ll give it to him.”
He had initially wanted to try and ease the tension between Song Zhehan and Zhang Qiran, but it was clearly not going to happen now.
Better to let things run their course.
The other guests felt the same as Zhou Zijian.
After all, it wasn’t the first time they were bystanders; they’d just gotten used to it!
The next day, the guests went to visit a newly built amusement park.
Since the park wasn’t open to visitors that day, they played there for the entire day.
After a whole day of fun, everyone was exhausted.
When they returned to the villa, the production team had thoughtfully prepared ingredients for hotpot and barbecue, so everyone gathered to eat hotpot and barbecue together.
Halfway through the meal, Zhou Zijian suddenly put his water cup aside, “I think, since we’re all adults, shouldn’t we have something different?”
Xia Yang stood up immediately, “Beer or red wine?”
Li Siyuan laughed, “What, are you planning to drink away your heartbreak?”
Qian Yue corrected him, “It’s not called drinking away your sorrows; it’s called having a drink and sharing your true feelings!”
Within just half an hour, several bottles of alcohol on the table were empty.
Xia Yang tilted his head back and downed a glass of beer, slamming the glass heavily on the table. His eyes were red, and he cursed angrily, “Yu Bai is such a jerk! When he was pursuing me, you guys don’t know how dedicated he was. He even waited for me on set until 4 AM... Tell me, he put in so much effort for me; how could I doubt his sincerity?”
Qian Yue clinked glasses with Ye Leyao, tears streaming down her face, “Not to mention waiting for you until 4 AM. Once I just mentioned I had menstrual cramps, and he flew back from Haicheng overnight and showed up downstairs at my house in the middle of the night just to bring me a cup of brown sugar ginger tea... I—I didn’t want to like him either, but you know, for us girls, it’s all about the details...”
“But damn it, who would’ve thought he’d be a jerk who’s attentive to everyone!”
The other guests saw how the two of them were crying and quickly comforted them.
Wen Xiangyue said, “Out with the old, in with the new!”
Liu Yan added, “It’s better to see his true colors sooner; cut your losses in time.”
Huo Yan chimed in, “Just find someone else; not every guy in the world is a jerk. Even I have met people who scammed me out of money... Sigh.”
Zhou Zijian also said, “Take it easy. Relationships can’t be forced... Hey, Xiao Zhang, can you still drink?”
Hearing this, everyone turned to look at Zhang Qiran, who was sitting in the corner.
Unbeknownst to them, there were already seven or eight bottles of alcohol messily laid out in front of him, and one of them was even a bottle of red wine.
Ye Leyao’s eyes widened, “Zhang Qiran can drink this much?”
Song Zhehan glanced over and frowned slightly, “Is he already drunk?”
Zhou Zijian patted Zhang Qiran on the shoulder, “Xiao Zhang? Xiao Zhang, are you okay?”
Zhang Qiran was holding his wine glass with both hands, his eyes blinking slowly.
This did not look like he was okay at all!
“We can’t let him drink anymore,” Zhou Zijian said to Huo Yan beside him, “Quick, quick, help me take his glass away!”
Huo Yan quickly reached over to help.
But somehow, Zhang Qiran summoned some strange strength and clung to the glass, refusing to let go.
Zhou Zijian tried reasoning with him, but he stayed silent.
Zhou Zijian tried to take the glass away, but Zhang Qiran hugged it to his chest.
After wrestling with him for a while, Zhang Qiran just wouldn’t let go.
Li Siyuan watched with a headache, “When did he drink so much?”
Everyone around the table looked at each other.
They had all been engrossed in listening to Xia Yang and Qian Yue recount their relationship stories; who had noticed any of this?
“What do we do?” Zhou Zijian was rarely at a loss, “How is his behavior when he’s drunk?”
Ye Leyao immediately turned to look at Song Zhehan.
Noticing his gaze, Song Zhehan raised an amused eyebrow. “Ye Leyao, this is the third time. If you keep looking at me like that, I might start to suspect you have a crush on me.”
The ever-silent Zhang Qiran, who had been holding onto his wine glass without letting go, and Qin Yao, who had been quiet all this time, suddenly turned to look at Ye Leyao.
Ye Leyao was too focused on hiding his own abnormal reaction from Song Zhehan to notice these two gazes. He frowned and said, “Song Zhehan, are you a bit too narcissistic?! Who has a crush on you?”
[If you said Zhang Qiran had a crush on you, that would be more believable, but how could I possibly have a crush on you?! I’m not a masochist!]
Unexpectedly, at this moment, Zhang Qiran suddenly pushed his chair back and stood up. He was so drunk that he had no idea how strong he was, and the chair behind him fell to the ground with a loud crash.
All eyes at the table immediately turned to him.
The alcohol had dyed Zhang Qiran’s pale face and neck deep red. He couldn’t even stand steadily, and after getting up, he could only lean on the table for support. The wine glass filled to the brim in his hand was placed heavily on the table, spilling half of its contents.
“Are you okay?” Zhou Zijian quickly got up to steady him, worried that Zhang Qiran might fall.
However, Zhang Qiran waved his hand, not allowing Zhou Zijian to support him. “I’m fine...”
Zhou Zijian hesitated a bit.
Although his voice wasn’t trembling, he definitely didn’t look fine.
Zhang Qiran insisted on not being helped, so Zhou Zijian had no choice but to let go.
Zhang Qiran gradually steadied himself, then reached out to grab his wine glass again.
Zhou Zijian hurried to stop him, but he was a step too late.
They watched as Zhang Qiran picked up his wine glass and raised it toward Song Zhehan.
Ye Leyao suddenly felt uneasy.
[Zhang Qiran... Is he about to spill the truth under the influence of alcohol?]
Huo Yan and Qin Yao’s expressions changed at the same time.
The two of them turned to look at Song Zhehan.
They saw Song Zhehan frown slightly, glance at Zhang Qiran, and quickly look away. “What? You want to drink with me? Sorry, but I don’t like drinking with drunk people...”
“If you don’t like it, then why did you eat the cake I gave you?!!” Zhang Qiran suddenly shouted.
As soon as he said this, the entire dining room fell silent for a moment.
Ye Leyao’s eyes widened with excitement.
[Holy crap, holy crap!]
[Wait, Zhang Qiran gave Song Zhehan a cake?]
[When did that happen?]
Ye Leyao quickly turned to look at Song Zhehan.
At this moment, Song Zhehan’s eyes were filled with confusion, but more than that, there was impatience. He really didn’t like reasoning with drunk people, so he said in exasperation, “When did I ever eat any cake you gave me...”
“You did! You definitely did! Not only did you eat it, but you also said it was the best cake you’d ever had, and you even said you wanted to eat it for the rest of your life...” Zhang Qiran spoke very quickly, and his voice even choked a little as he said this. “You liar, Song Zhehan, you’re a big liar!”
The other guests’ eyes widened upon hearing this, their breaths quieted, and their gazes shifted back and forth between the two.
Wait a minute, weren’t these two supposed to be arch-enemies?
Could it be... there was some story here they didn’t know about?!
Song Zhehan was even more confused. “Zhang Qiran, I don’t want to reason with a drunk. I—”
“Fine!” Zhang Qiran interrupted Song Zhehan loudly, his voice full of grievance that he couldn’t hide, and the crying tone in his voice became more evident. “Don’t say anything if you don’t want to. I know you don’t like me. If you don’t like me, you don’t like me. I’m not expecting you to like me! Who cares if you like me or not?! Anyway, I’ll stop liking you soon! You’re a liar; what’s there to like about you?! Song Zhehan, you’re a big liar! I’ll never forgive you!”
After his tirade, the room fell into complete silence.
Apart from Ye Leyao, Huo Yan, and Qin Yao, who knew the inside story in advance, the faces of the other guests were filled with undisguised shock.
Wait a minute...
What did they just hear?
Zhang Qiran would soon stop liking Song Zhehan?
Huh?
Zhang Qiran likes Song Zhehan?
Is this really something they can talk about on the show?!