Became a National Couple with My Ex Chapter 1: His Rosabella

At the end of summer, in North Holland, at the Amsterdam City Theater.

The ancient hall, built in the 19th century, had a velvet red carpet spread across it, and the horseshoe-shaped seating was completely full. The delicate arpeggio of a harp blended with the gentle sound of a flute floating through the air, while violins of all sizes and clarinets played under the conductor’s guidance, gradually coming to life.

Tonight, the ballet troupe from Jiangnan, China, was hosting its final European tour performance of the summer.

The golden chandelier above had been turned off, and the luxurious wall paintings were hidden in the dark. Only the stage, brightly lit, shone like a jewel.

The ballerina wore a crown made of emeralds and a green-to-white gradient knee-length tulle skirt. She raised her soft, satin-like arms in a graceful arc, with her toes gently touching the ground and the arches of her feet forming a smooth, beautiful curve.

"Even with her injury, Yixuan still has such control over her legs. No wonder she became the South Ballet's lead soloist at just 21..." A new dancer, waiting backstage, whispered in awe.

"You don’t know?" someone nearby replied. "She was promoted to this position at 19."

The newcomer was stunned and looked at the stage, watching Liang Yixuan as her light, thin skirt fluttered in the air. Her long neck and delicate ankles made her look as though she had no bones, light as a dragonfly skimming the surface of water.

As the light shifted, her pale skin was bathed in a soft, misty glow. She seemed to float away with the Sicilian dance, like a fairy on the wind.

"Wow, that’s quite impressive. But after two years of solo performances, she still hasn’t landed a lead female role? I’ve seen her work so hard. She’s always the first to arrive at practice and the last to leave, always so disciplined. It seems like she has no life outside of dance."

Another voice chimed in, "That’s not necessarily true. Maybe she’s just a bit too perfect in front of people. Have you heard about what happened a few days ago when she secretly stayed out all night?"

The choreographer, who was not far away, turned around and gave them a warning look.

Everyone quickly fell silent.

The music gradually reached its end, and Liang Yixuan stood alone on one foot under the spotlight, her back arching beautifully. With a clean and sharp 90-degree kick, she finished her solo. She pointed her left toe behind her, smiling and bowing to the audience.

The audience in the pit erupted in applause.

Backstage, Qin He let out a sigh of relief and quickly walked toward Liang Yixuan. "How’s your foot?"

The moment Liang Yixuan was behind the scenes, her smile faded. She took a deep breath and nodded, "I took painkillers before going on stage. It doesn’t hurt anymore."

"I saw you were uneasy earlier. I was really worried too, but you never mess up on stage," Qin He said, putting her arm around her shoulder as they walked back. "But Achilles tendonitis isn’t something to take lightly. Painkillers only mask the symptoms. When we go back to China, you need to go to the hospital for a full checkup."

Qin He continued talking, but Liang Yixuan slowed her pace.

"Teacher Qin," Liang Yixuan pressed her lips together, "Can I not return to the team tonight?"

Qin He stopped in her tracks and suddenly remembered the rumors she had heard over the past few days.

It was the second day after the troupe arrived in Amsterdam. A girl who was staying with Liang Yixuan had said that Liang Yixuan left the hotel room in the middle of the night and didn’t return until morning.

Amsterdam, being a bustling city that never sleeps, had some other girls from the troupe who went out for a night on the town. But it was said that Liang Yixuan hadn’t left the hotel at all, she had spent the night in the presidential suite on the top floor, which spanned over 400 square meters.

The implication was obvious.

Qin He initially didn’t believe it at all.

Liang Yixuan had joined the ballet troupe at the age of 17, and Qin He had watched her grow up. She saw the child as disciplined, and she had never heard of a boyfriend, so it was hard to imagine her doing anything out of line.

But now, Qin He wasn’t so sure.

Thinking back, the way Liang Yixuan kept looking at her phone in the makeup room that evening didn’t seem like someone distracted by Achilles tendonitis.

"Xiao Xuan," Qin He looked her over, "Are you seeing someone lately?"

Liang Yixuan opened her mouth but didn’t answer right away.

Qin He smiled and patted her shoulder, "I was just asking casually. The tour went well, and it’s natural to relax after it’s over."

"Thank you, Teacher Qin."

On the cool summer night at the end of August, the streets of Amsterdam’s city center were packed with tourists.

Liang Yixuan had removed her stage makeup and changed into a lotus-colored patterned dress. She stood on a street corner near Leidseplein, waiting for a taxi.

In the distance, the canals stretched out like a spider's web, glittering with light. Tour boats moved back and forth, creating white waves as they passed. But Liang Yixuan didn’t have the mood to watch the spectacle. She kept her head down, staring at her phone.

The screen showed the trending topics on Weibo. The one marked as "trending" was the topic #Bei Ying Bian Xu#.

The names of a woman and a man were placed side by side. Even without clicking on the details, you could sense the drama. And given who these two were——

Bei Ying, the lead dancer of the overseas girl group ROF, had been dominating the local music scene for four years, winning major awards and reaching the top of the charts. In recent years, she had also branched out into solo activities in China, amassing a large fanbase.

Bian Xu, a top-tier Asian music producer and composer, worked across both commercial and classical music.

His commercial albums had sold over ten million copies worldwide, and his film scores had received several international award nominations.

In the serious music world, which sat at the top of the "music hierarchy," his classical achievements had even caused some so-called academic elites to silence their criticisms, now speaking quietly in his presence.

What made it even more intriguing was that this 24-year-old music genius had stayed out of the public eye, rarely appearing in the spotlight.

Two years ago, when footage of Bian Xu at a major award ceremony was leaked, a Weibo user called "Did Bian Xu debut today?" appeared out of nowhere, quickly gaining a massive following.

The reason was simple: When God gave Bian Xu his "musical genius," it seemed like he forgot to close the "good looks" door.

People felt it was a huge loss to the entertainment industry that he had never debuted.

Although Bian Xu had never officially debuted, and even didn’t have a Weibo account, two years later, when another video of him surfaced online, combined with Bei Ying's popularity, it still caused an explosion on Weibo.

This footage was taken on the night of the Qixi Festival (Chinese Valentine's Day), a few days ago, in a luxury hotel in Amsterdam.

Bian Xu had driven his sports car to a stop in front of the hotel, turned off the engine, and casually tossed the car keys to the valet. He and Bei Ying entered the hotel lobby together.

In the footage, Bei Ying was dressed in a nightclub outfit, dazzling and seductive, with high heels that made her walk unevenly.

Bian Xu wore a sharply tailored white shirt, his broad shoulders and narrow waist creating clean lines. His long, straight legs beneath black trousers stood out, making him impossible to mistake in a crowd.

As the two figures disappeared into the revolving door, the footage abruptly cut off.

But the story didn’t end there.

At least, not in the eyes of netizens.

The gossip about the two of them had already reached the top of the trending list by evening, and the topic remained hot.

Yet neither of them had come forward to clarify anything.

On Weibo, people were gossiping, speculating, and arguing. Everything was buzzing.

Liang Yixuan thought that this golden couple indeed deserved such attention. If she were just a bystander, she might also treat this scandal as a topic to chat about over tea.

If Bian Xu weren’t her boyfriend.

If, on the night of Qixi, her boyfriend hadn’t showed up hours late, casually taking her to another hotel and leading her to the presidential suite.

If she hadn’t only found out the reason for his late arrival after seeing the trending topic.

Liang Yixuan stared down at her phone, her gaze settling on the top comment:「I always thought Bian Xu's song《Rosabella》had a real-life inspiration. Mystery solved, the female lead is definitely Bei Ying!」

Just then, a taxi pulled up in front of her. Liang Yixuan locked her phone screen, opened the door, and got in. "To the dock, please. Thank you."

After leaving the dock and cruising on a yacht for the rest of the night, by the time they arrived at the island, Liang Yixuan’s stomach was in knots. The first step she took after getting off the boat felt like stepping on cotton.

In the middle of the night, the man who came to pick her up was also groggy from sleep.

"Miss Liang," he greeted her.

Liang Yixuan apologized with a slight smile, "Sorry, Assistant Lu, for disturbing your rest."

They were on Bian Xu's private island, where all the facilities and staff were dedicated to serving him. If she hadn't been unable to get to the island on her own, Liang Yixuan would have preferred not to bother anyone.

After all, Lu Yuan was Bian Xu's personal assistant, handling all the little details of Bian Xu's daily life. He was already busy enough.

"It’s nothing," Lu Yuan replied as he helped her into the car. "You know how it is working with the boss. My routine is like that of an owl, up all night. When you called, I hadn't even gone to sleep yet."

"He hasn’t slept either?" Liang Yixuan asked, though her tone didn't show much surprise.

"He's busy in the recording studio," Lu Yuan said, starting the car and scratching his head. "By the way, I haven’t told the boss you’re coming… Last time, I knocked on his door and interrupted his creative flow, and I almost got thrown into the sea to feed the sharks…"

"It’s fine, I’ll wait for him in the next room," Liang Yixuan replied after a brief silence, gripping her phone tightly. "What time did he start his session?"

"Yesterday afternoon, around four or five. It’s been about ten hours," Lu Yuan sighed. "You know that saying, 'There’s only a thin line between genius and madness'? I feel like every time the boss works on music, he’s not far from madness. But you coming over should finally give him a bit of peace."

Liang Yixuan shook her head. "I don’t have that power."

Lu Yuan was about to tease her but noticed that there was no smile on her face. She seemed to be serious.

Not sure if he’d said something wrong, Lu Yuan hesitated to respond.

The car smoothly drove along the winding mountain road, climbing higher.

The streetlights cast scattered beams of light, which illuminated the lush, green forest in shadowy shapes.

"Why don’t you listen to some music to relax? I’ll wake you when we arrive," Lu Yuan suggested, sensing the heavy silence. He turned on the car's sound system.

A gothic-sounding intro began to play, and when the lyrics came in, Liang Yixuan instantly recognized the song:

The first gunshot on a snowy night sank the moon,
Revealing the opening of the Adolph Adam waltz.
A girl wearing pure white organza with her long, jet-black hair,
Barefoot, wading through the flawless moonlight.
Soft red lips lacking one kind of sweet talk,
So grant her sweet dreams to wander.
Let the endless shivers wash over her,
Teach her to raise her swan-like neck,
To express herself honestly and passionately.
Let her be called Rosabella,
Lock her in shackles and send her to the Tower of Babel.
If anyone asks where she’s gone,
She is God’s rose flower.

……

This was the top comment on Weibo today, where netizens claimed they found the real-life inspiration for《Rosabella》, a song Bian Xu released three years ago.

The song was given to a second-tier male singer at the time. Due to its niche style, it wasn’t widely popular, but it had a special place among Bian Xu’s works.

Although Bian Xu rarely participated in writing lyrics, this particular song was different. While the lyrics were written by a professional lyricist, she had merely used poetic language to embellish Bian Xu’s vision. The story behind the song, which had a medieval fantasy vibe, was entirely Bian Xu’s idea.

The song’s story was about a girl who danced under the moonlight on a snowy night. A god, seeing her, taught her about love and desire, and ultimately imprisoned her in the Tower of Babel, where she would forever remain his rose.

The song was named after the female protagonist, Rosabella, which means "beautiful rose."

Fans had speculated about the song before, and now, under the top comment on Weibo, the netizens were analyzing the lyrics as if dissecting why Lu Xun wrote the curtains as blue, every detail was under scrutiny.

「Fun fact: Adolphe Adam, a composer from 19th century France, is famous for his ballet《Giselle》 . Based on the lyrics about the girl's tutu, bun, and swan neck, it's clear she’s dancing ballet.」

「I remember Bei Ying said she studied ballet as a child?」

「And some people don’t know that Bei Ying's girl group, ROF, stands for RoseFever?」

「RoseFever, Rosabella, Bei Ying, Rosabella... You see the connection?」

Each comment felt like a sharp needle to Liang Yixuan, digging deeper into her thoughts.

The evidence was undeniable. They were certain that the male protagonist in the song represented Bian Xu himself, and Bei Ying was his Rosabella.

Liang Yixuan didn’t remember when she fell asleep.

Exhausted after the whole day, the calming effects of the seasick pills from the yacht had kicked in late, and she fell into a deep sleep.

When she woke up, she felt a warm, moist breath gently brushing against her ear, followed by a soft touch on her earlobe that sent a tingling sensation through her body.

She was too sleepy to open her eyes and assumed it was the border collie on the island, which Bian Xu kept. Although the dog was supposed to bond with Bian Xu, it was much more affectionate with Liang Yixuan.

She wasn’t about to argue with the dog, so she covered her ears and turned away.

But the next second, she heard the dog speak in a human voice: "You're awake."

Liang Yixuan’s eyes snapped open. She turned her head and saw a familiar face.

High, arched eyebrows, deep-set eyes, a narrow, straight nose, and a sharp bridge. Beneath thick, raven-like lashes, his long, narrow eyes were half-closed, with a hint of pink at the corners.

It was these eyes一eyes that flushed with a crimson tide whenever he felt emotions that often led people to believe he was deeply in love.

Liang Yixuan was still in a daze, but Bian Xu, leaning over her, had already started moving his arm down her side.

Her skirt, which was around her knees, quickly shifted up to her thighs.

Snapping back to reality, Liang Yixuan blocked his hand and flashed a brief look at him. "I'm on my period."

Bian Xu paused, lifting his head to look at her.

He stared at her for a few seconds. With a resigned sigh, he gently smoothed down her skirt before walking over to the sofa by the bed. He loosened a shirt button and raised an eyebrow. "Then what are you doing here?"