Chapter 24 The Third Guest

Li Wanbai was utterly baffled. Who was this man? Did she even know him? He had barely arrived before launching into a tirade.

If this were a private setting, she would have retorted without hesitation.

But… Li Wanbai glanced up, her expression controlled as she swept her gaze over the surrounding cameras, silently swallowing the torrent of questions that had been on the tip of her tongue.

In front of the audience, she still needed to play her part.

She understood—actors, after all, must remain professional.

She fell silent, but Quan Hao seemed far from satisfied. He opened his mouth, then broke into a derisive laugh. “What’s with that look on your face? Pretending you don’t know me, is that it?”

It’s not pretending, my friend. I truly don’t know you.

Li Wanbai pressed her lips together, giving him a discreet glance as she frantically searched her memory for any information about him.

The more she searched, the more alarmed she became—she genuinely didn’t recognize this handsome stranger before her.

After much deliberation, she chose to remain silent, sensing that any blunt confession would set him off completely.

Quan Hao waited a long time for her response, but when none came, he rolled his eyes in exasperation and chose the seat furthest from her.

Yu Baichuan frowned, casting Li Wanbai a thoughtful look, but said nothing.

The small villa gradually filled with people, but an uneasy quiet lingered.

Li Wanbai was normally a chatterbox, striking up conversations with Sweetie in the car and even attempting to chat with the cameramen upon arrival. But now, she had no intention of speaking first; her eyes were filled with confusion.

[Will someone please rescue Li Wanbai? Why does she suddenly look like a little kitten, just sitting there?]

[When gods clash, mortals suffer. Really, what does their conflict have to do with Li Wanbai? This is hilarious.]

[I just find it odd. With both Quan Hao and Yu Baichuan here, why did the production team have to invite Li Wanbai? What qualifies her to join these two heavyweights?]

[Qualifies? Yu Baichuan is her husband, and Quan Hao must know her too. The three of them are obviously acquainted, maybe even close. Yet the fans are scrambling to defend their idols.]

[I just don’t get it—how does anyone see a good relationship among the three? Didn’t you see Quan Hao’s glare, as if he wanted to devour the other two? What a pair of shameless people!]

[Hey, insult Li Wanbai if you must—she’s no saint—but what does this have to do with Yu Baichuan?]

[Does it matter? Quan Hao despises Yu Baichuan most of all. Li Wanbai is nothing—how could she possibly be close to Quan Hao? Their poor relationship must be Yu Baichuan’s fault!]

[Argue all you want, I just want to see how the show will proceed. Right now the atmosphere is ice-cold.]

[Don’t worry, everyone! The real little angel who can break the deadlock is about to appear!]

Shortly after that comment, the door to the villa opened once more.

Ye Xiruo entered, her face expressionless, but upon meeting the gaze of three people inside, she froze. Her stiff expression instantly melted into a bright smile. “Mr. Yu!”

She took a couple of steps forward before noticing Quan Hao’s back and quickly greeted him as well. “Mr. Quan, you’re here too.”

“From your tone, it sounds like my presence surprises you. Why? If Yu Baichuan can participate, why can’t I?” Quan Hao sneered.

Li Wanbai shrank back, immensely grateful that she hadn’t provoked him earlier. He really was a firecracker—light the fuse and he’d explode.

Ye Xiruo was taken aback by his overwhelming response but quickly waved her hands. “That’s not it, Mr. Quan, you’re mistaken! How could I say something like that?”

Quan Hao just kept sneering, ignoring her.

The bullet screen comments were chaotic.

[Is this the little angel you all mentioned? She’s making the awkward atmosphere even worse! Please, keep such angels away from Quan Hao and Yu Baichuan!]

[Don’t you think it’s odd? QH is flamboyant and arrogant, but he’s not unreasonable. If he really had character issues, he wouldn’t do charity every year. Why is he so hostile to YXR? Did YXR offend him somehow?]

Ye Xiruo, clearly uncomfortable, finally directed her gaze toward the last person present, nodding with a smile. “Xiaobai.”

“Hello,” Li Wanbai replied with a smile.

Su Chengzi didn’t think much of Ye Xiruo, believing she had stolen opportunities from Li Wanbai and that a showdown between them was inevitable.

But Li Wanbai was never interested in industry squabbles, much less the matter of stealing opportunities. Ye Xiruo was the first peer she met after crossing into this era ten years later. Sometimes her words were harsh, but no matter what, she was a friend Li Wanbai had personally chosen. More importantly, Ye Xiruo seemed to know Mu Sang and was aware of what had happened between them.

Even Su Chengzi couldn’t tell her about that. Since the other party hadn’t dropped her mask, Li Wanbai didn’t mind maintaining a polite relationship.

Li Wanbai was the only one to respond to Ye Xiruo’s greeting, and as her senior at the same company, outsiders assumed their relationship was warm.

More importantly, before joining the show, company executives had spoken to Ye Xiruo and given her clear instructions to seize any opportunity for publicity.

After weighing everything, Ye Xiruo flashed a dazzling smile, walked over to Li Wanbai, and took a seat on the long sofa not far from her. “Xiaobai, when did you arrive?”

She didn’t wait for an answer before turning to the camera. “You may not know this, but Xiaobai and I are great friends! We were supposed to debut together, but I wasn’t feeling well then, so she paved the way for me~”

She even made a playful face at the end.

She was perhaps the only one treating the camera as a camera, and the first guest to actively engage with the audience.

The bullet screen was delighted, and the comments flowed faster.

Ye Xiruo’s fans flooded in, quickly dominating the feed.

[Darling, but why are you associating with Li Wanbai?]

[The only decent thing LWB ever did was serve as a stepping stone for our Yezi!]

Ye Xiruo’s public image was generally positive—as long as her fans didn’t get too wild, few would bother to contradict them.

But this time, the fans had clearly gone too far.

[Ye Xiruo’s fans, don’t push it! Listen to yourselves—how disgusting! Li Wanbai may not be perfect, but does that make your idol a saint? Why should she be a stepping stone?]

Ye Xiruo glanced at the screen, her face momentarily stiffening, but she quickly regained composure and pretended not to notice. Fan squabbles were best left to the fans themselves; the fiercer the fight, the more attention she received.

As for any harm it might cause to those who liked her—what did that matter to her?

But what she didn’t expect was for Quan Hao to suddenly speak.