"......"
Qiao Li was sitting right opposite him, hearing his words crystal clear, and she almost couldn't keep a straight face.
It wasn't exactly frustration; she was just shocked.
Although she had been floating in the swimming pool just now, her eyes had never left this side the entire time. Of course, she knew that these two people had been focused on being judges the whole time, without a single interaction that crossed the line.
Ling Ye's voice was naturally cold and low, and this "keep me company" almost brushed against people's eardrums, sounding exceptionally ambiguous.
......What kind of cold and cool guy is this, to be so good at the tricks of CP farming?
In her impression, Ling Ye had always been focused on racing, keeping his private life tightly under wraps. Whenever fans occasionally shared an accidental encounter, it was always so clean that people wondered if it was staged—
Either he was jogging in the park in the morning, or he was picking out discounted tomatoes at a supermarket near the racing team base. Everything posted on social media was official business, and his online time was far less than that on the F1 simulator.
Even the car he drove in the game was that black and cyan 77 from Mercedes-Benz, living like a programmed robot.
The biggest scandal in years was when he was photographed by fans of an opponent racing team having a late-night tryst with a blonde beauty after a race in London one year. The sensational romance rumors spread like wildfire, but not long after, Ling Ye personally stepped in and reposted:
【She is my track engineer for the second half of the season. Her professional ability is excellent. Please respect the female staff in the paddock.】
I don't know if he had some expert guidance.
Everyone is used to sports stars having chaotic private lives, and male artists jumping out to distance themselves when a scandal breaks out. Yet, with just a few words, Ling Ye put the other person's reputation before his own, which truly gained him a wave of fans.
But the more gentlemanly the entry point, the less human he seemed.
Qiao Li had also followed the gossip back then and felt that it was unimaginable for such a person to be in a romance. She even used a burner account to like a comment from a long-time old fan of Ling Ye:
【I really get it now. If you want to attract 77's attention, instead of living next to the base and showing your face every day, you might as well practice hard on the simulator and use his car to reach the world ranking of second place. That way, 77 might take one more look at you every time he logs into the game.】
So, intentionally being ambiguous with a female celebrity in front of the camera lens... it just doesn't seem like something Ling Ye would do.
"Well, being afraid of water is only human nature."
Wei Yinghuai swayed in his chair, his eyes full of envy, "Every time I get into the water, I look for where Teacher Wen is, but she was borrowed by Brother Ling Ye. It's so good to have an older sister."
Ling Ye sat in a relaxed posture, his eyelashes drooping, "Yeah, sometimes I don't like being by myself."
"If it were anyone else, they would complain that I talk too much. Only Teacher Wen can tolerate me."
Wen Wanning: "......"
......He doesn't like being by himself, and others complain about him? He talks too much?
Only she can tolerate him?
Ling Ye did help her take the blame for not going into the water, but the series of lines that followed were simply unbelievable, each one worse than the last.
The editing style of Spontaneous Travel in the later stages has always been devilish, completely fearing no chaos in the world. Not to mention anything else, her previous remark about the "neighbor's younger brother" would definitely be singled out and used as a flag.
She felt like breaking down just thinking about it. Under Qiao Li's complex gaze, she gave an awkward smile and tried hard to pull the conversation back to sibling affection, "......He has been like this since he was a child; he tends to exaggerate when he speaks. Don't take it seriously."
Approaching one o'clock, the party ended.
The director team mysteriously leaked the message that there would be a surprise tomorrow. Everyone guessed for a long time without hitting the mark, so they had to return to their rooms to rest with a bad premonition of being set up again.
Wen Wanning finished removing her makeup and taking a shower. Just as she set her alarm, her phone vibrated.
She clicked on it and saw that it was actually sent by Ling Ye.
【What I said tonight might not have been appropriate. If it offended you, older sister, I am sorry.】
【It was my lack of consideration.】
Wen Wanning's hand, which was drying her hair, paused.
She was the type of person who yielded to soft persuasion but not to force. She was originally struggling with how to explain today's events to Zhou Fu, and she was somewhat venting her anger.
But now that Ling Ye had taken all the blame upon himself and his attitude was sincere, it made it impossible for Wen Wanning to scold him.
After all, he did it out of good intentions. What kind of natural acting skills could she expect from a race car driver?
Wen Wanning pursed her lips and lowered her head to type: 【It's okay, you didn't do it on purpose.】
【Thank you for specially going to tell the director today. When you have time, I will treat you to a meal.】
Before New Year's Day, the recording on the island would end.
She didn't have many items on her itinerary, just a few red carpet events at the end of the year to attend. She estimated she could stay in Shen Cheng to spend New Year's Eve with her family. However, Ling Ye's schedule was definitely packed; it was unlikely he would be able to spare time just for her.
Wen Wanning knew what the other side would reply just by guessing a little. After sending the message, she threw her phone aside and blew dry the hair she had only half-dried.
When she came back, she saw that Ling Ye had actually replied with two voice messages.
She clicked on them, quite surprised.
The first one: "I have time right now."
The second one: "Are you asleep?"
Mixed with the faint sound of clothing rubbing, the boy's voice was clear and low, in a very serious tone.
But it was precisely this seriousness that made this casual joke sound inappropriately earnest, and the atmosphere inexplicably made one's face heat up.
Wen Wanning couldn't figure out his intentions for a moment. Seeing that Ling Ye had sent the voice messages ten minutes ago, she hurriedly replied: 【I'm not yet.】
Before she could finish typing the second sentence, "But it's too late today," a message from the other side popped up.
Ling Ye: 【Okay.】
【I am at your door.】
Wen Wanning: ......
She was going crazy, scared by Ling Ye.
Using the most indifferent tone to say the most abnormal things, this kid was getting bolder with each time. He was truly afraid she would live too long.
Yesterday, the program group might have still had some mercy on them, but when they held the party today, she had seen with her own eyes the production crew installing cameras in every corner of the villa.
Regardless of whether the lights were on in the hallway.
As long as the infrared camera was turned on, with Ling Ye's eye-catching physique standing there, she didn't even dare to imagine how conspicuous he would be.
Her heartbeat suddenly accelerated, vibrating her chest until it felt a bit numb. Wen Wanning sat up and typed against time: 【Go downstairs quickly, go downstairs quickly!】
【Pretend you're sleepwalking, go back to your room right now!】
Ling Ye: 【?】
Wen Wanning: 【Cameras! They are all filming!】
【Think about how you have been alone for so many years, away from home, racing seriously, and winning glory for the country in a dignified way. You finally accumulated your national popularity. If you accidentally have something going on with me, you will be uncomfortable, and your racing team will be even more uncomfortable!】
【The car from my sister's studio has had a lot of scratches recently, and the insurance company can only pay for maintenance and repairs at the original 4S shop, so we absolutely cannot be on Mercedes-Benz's blacklist! Let's just help each other out!】
To emphasize the extreme urgency, all her exclamation points for the year were used up here.
Wen Wanning's fingertips were numb from tapping, and she clutched her phone in a panic, praying for the person at the door to leave quickly.
After waiting for a full three seconds, she heard very light footsteps moving away from the stairs.
She breathed a sigh of relief and saw that a message had come back.
Ling Ye: 【Have something going on with you?】
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