Became a National Couple with My Ex Chapter 11: Trying to Break Them Up, but It Only Brings Them Closer!

The restaurant music had just come to a close.

The entire hall fell so silent, you could hear a pin drop.

The smile on Bian Xu’s face slowly faded.

Director Liu Peng hesitated, took a step forward, then backed off again—awkwardly doing a few tango steps all by himself.

"The first song the band played today," Liang Yixuan said, eyes locked on Bian Xu, "you know it, don’t you?"

It wasn’t clear whether Bian Xu found the situation amusing or irritating, but he stared at her for a few seconds with a blank face, then gave a slight smile and walked toward the band.

The staff all let out a collective sigh of relief. Liu Peng even patted his chest, relieved he was still alive.

The pianist respectfully gave up his seat.

Shen Ji led Liang Yixuan onto the dance floor, placing his right hand gently on her back and raising his left in invitation.

Liang Yixuan’s eyes glanced past Shen Ji’s shoulder toward Bian Xu at the piano. Then she slipped her right hand into Shen Ji’s palm and rested her left hand lightly on his shoulder.

The violinist drew his bow across the strings. Bian Xu looked directly at the couple in the center of the floor and pressed his fingers onto the keys.

As the music filled the space, the two dancers moved in perfect sync—stepping forward and back, eyes locked, bodies in tune.

The hand resting on the man’s white shirt stood out—pale and striking.

Then, suddenly, a jarring note broke the otherwise harmonious melody.

The violinist and organist both flinched. Before they could even glance at Bian Xu, the piano shifted into a new arrangement, forcing them to scramble and follow his lead.

Of course, no one seriously believed that a musical genius with perfect pitch—who could recall melodies after hearing them once—had simply made a mistake.

And just like that, even this simple pre-lunch segment was full of drama. Once the dance ended, Liu Peng knew better than to push his luck. He quickly smiled and said the footage was great, and they could now relax and enjoy lunch.

Liang Yixuan and Bian Xu had no interest in chatting, so the meal passed in heavy, awkward silence.

Toward the end, before the deadly question of who would pay could come up, the restaurant manager swooped in with an excuse—claiming a waiter had stained Liang Yixuan’s dress—and comped the meal to "make up for the inconvenience."

Shen Ji thanked the manager, then asked Liu Peng, who was standing nearby, "Director Liu, what’s the schedule this afternoon?"

Liu Peng glanced at Bian Xu’s unnervingly calm face, then cleared his throat. "Well, uh, you’re free to plan as you like. The production team won’t interfere…"

Since neither of the other two spoke, Shen Ji thought for a moment, then turned to Liang Yixuan. "There’s a ballet exhibit at the convention center nearby. Want to go check it out?"

Liang Yixuan gave Bian Xu a quick glance, then smiled at Shen Ji. "Sure."

"I’ll go get the car. You can wait here and come down in a bit."

Neither man drank any sparkling wine during the meal—clearly, they planned to drive afterward.

Liang Yixuan nodded. As soon as Shen Ji left, she stood up too. Not wanting to be alone with Bian Xu for even a second longer, she grabbed her purse and walked off to the restroom without giving him so much as a glance.

Just as she entered the women’s room, her phone buzzed.

Xiao Jie: 「Holy crap, I just saw this on Weibo under the local trending page! Is that Bian Xu?? Is he debuting now?!」

Liang Yixuan opened the screenshot and saw a post from about an hour ago:

@NanhuaiLinQingxia: 「[Photo] Snapped outside the Shanglin Mansion! A freakin’ Bugatti Veyron, OMG! And the guy—he’s even hotter than the car! Looks like there’s a camera crew too. Maybe it’s a drama shoot? I don’t recognize him though. Is he a new actor or something?」

"…"

Liang Yixuan pressed her lips together and replied to Xiao Jie: 「It’s not a drama shoot. It’s a reality show.」

Xiao Jie: 「Huh? How do you know?」

Liang Yixuan: 「Because I’m at Shanglin Mansion.」

Xiao Jie:「?」

Xiao Jie: 「…………」

Xiao Jie didn’t reply again for a while—probably still trying to process what she’d just learned.

Liang Yixuan stood at the sink, thinking about her current situation.

There was no way Bian Xu was the originally planned male lead #4. He must’ve been a last-minute replacement.

She had been hoping to provoke him into quitting today so the original cast could return, even if it meant quietly reshooting their date scene.

But if word got out that Bian Xu had joined the show, things could easily spiral out of control—especially given how quickly he trends online.

She frowned and searched for the Weibo post Xiao Jie had sent.

Thankfully, it was just from a lifestyle blogger. Only a dozen or so likes, and a few random comments saying how handsome he looked, encouraging the poster to "go flirt with him."

Liang Yixuan glanced at the time, then headed downstairs while quickly texting Xiao Jie: 「Can you reach out to that blogger and politely ask them to take the post down? Just say it’s for a good reason—I’ll explain everything later, I’m in the middle of something now.」

Xiao Jie must have sensed how chaotic her day had been, because she didn’t ask questions. Just sent back a thumbs-up emoji.

Feeling more at ease, Liang Yixuan continued downstairs.

As soon as she reached the entrance of the estate, a familiar silver-white Bugatti Veyron came speeding toward her and screeched to a stop right in front.

The car window rolled down.

Behind the wheel, Bian Xu turned his head, let out a deep breath, as if finally giving in. "Get in. I’ll tell you what I want."

Liang Yixuan lowered her gaze and noticed a bouquet of white roses on the passenger seat.

The thorns had been trimmed, and the petals were dewy and fresh, as if just misted by the florist.

She had always wondered who the "Rosabella" in his songs was—who would ever be his rose. But he had always given her lilies instead—whether intentionally or not—quietly dismissing her foolish hopes.

Now, this long-overdue bouquet no longer looked like the one she used to dream of.

She stared at the flowers for a long time, trying to suppress the strange, sudden sting behind her nose. Then she turned away.

Not far off, Shen Ji had already opened the passenger door of his black Cayenne, waiting for her.

She swallowed softly and looked back at Bian Xu. "Sorry… I don’t want to hear it anymore."

Without looking back, she walked straight toward Shen Ji.

The Cayenne’s door slammed shut with a thud.

Bian Xu sat frozen for a moment, his face dark with frustration. Then he grabbed the bouquet, shoved it into a trash bin on the curb, stepped on the gas, and sped away.

Liang Yixuan had a peaceful afternoon. Bian Xu didn’t bother her again for the rest of the day.

Given what she knew of her ex-boyfriend, the fact that he’d lowered himself to appear on a reality show was already a miracle. After what she said earlier, and the look on her face, there was no reason for him to keep pushing.

But while Bian Xu could come and go as he pleased, Liang Yixuan didn’t have the luxury of ignoring the mess he left behind.

Several of the male contestants had faced online criticism due to the show's setup—it wasn’t their fault, but the contracts they signed included confidentiality clauses. They couldn’t speak up even if they wanted to.

Liang Yixuan thought long and hard and figured the best she could do was try to make up for it in small ways. Even if it didn’t solve the problem, at least it would show she cared.

After the ballet exhibit—still too early for dinner—she noticed a souvenir shop nearby and suggested checking it out.

Shen Ji went in with her. They picked out a few gifts, then grabbed a simple dinner.

By 9 p.m., they returned to the villa in the northern suburbs.

Out front, the crew had just removed the GoPro cameras from the car and were quickly repositioning to follow Shen Ji as he opened the trunk.

After a whole day surrounded by cameras, Shen Ji hadn’t asked once about what happened between her and Bian Xu—and Liang Yixuan hadn’t found a good moment to bring it up. Honestly, even if she tried, she wouldn’t know where to begin.

Glancing at the cameras nearby, she quietly said, "Thanks for everything today. Sorry for all the trouble."

Shen Ji smiled and shook his head. "I haven’t had a day to wander like this in ages. I should be thanking you."

They carried their shopping bags through the front door—only to find Duan Ye and Lin Xiao Sheng already sitting on the living room couch.

It seemed the other two date groups had returned earlier.

Liang Yixuan hesitated slightly, unsure whether the show had lifted the restriction that kept the male contestants from interacting with her.

Shen Ji stepped in first and greeted the others, "Just you two? Where are the ladies?"

Duan Ye pointed upstairs.

"Cheng Nuo’s taking a shower," Lin Xiao Sheng explained. "Pan-jie had an emergency at work—she’ll be back later."

While he was speaking to Shen Ji, Lin Xiao Sheng kept stealing glances at Liang Yixuan, clearly wanting to say something.

Just as she hesitated with the gift bags, he finally stepped forward, like he’d mustered his courage. "What did you buy? Want me to help carry it?"

Liang Yixuan shyly lifted the bags. "I got everyone a little souvenir."

Lin Xiao Sheng scratched his head. "I actually got you something, too. I asked Cheng Nuo to leave it on your nightstand."

Duan Ye raised a hand. "Same here."

"…"

Liang Yixuan looked over at Shen Ji.

He tilted his head and smiled—seemingly unsurprised.

Looks like Bian Xu had really stormed off for good. The show must’ve notified the contestants this afternoon that the "ban" was lifted, and everything was back on track.

Duan Ye and Lin Xiao Sheng probably had the same thought as her: if they couldn’t explain the situation outright, they could at least use gifts to ease the tension from the last few days.

"Thank you. I’ll check them out later." Liang Yixuan breathed a little easier. She set the gifts for the two girls aside, took two other bags from Shen Ji, and handed them over. "These are for you two."

Then she turned to grab another one for Shen Ji. "And this is yours."

The three men accepted their gifts.

Lin Xiao Sheng quickly unwrapped his. Inside was a digital photo frame embroidered with a ballet-themed design.

"Whoa, this is…"

Liang Yixuan walked over and explained, "It’s a souvenir from the ballet exhibit—an electronic photo frame."

Lin Xiao Sheng, who had mentioned doing freelance photography during the show, was surprised she remembered. He stared at it in quiet delight, then suddenly craned his neck to peek at Duan Ye’s gift.

His was a bronze sculpture of two ballet dancers poised gracefully atop a car roof.

It was the closest thing she could find that matched his career as a car reviewer.

Lin Xiao Sheng made a silent mental comparison, then looked up at Shen Ji. "What about yours, Ji-ge?"

Liang Yixuan and Shen Ji exchanged a glance.

"You two hiding something?" Lin Xiao Sheng looked between them.

"It’s nothing," she started.

"I’ll just show him." Shen Ji smiled and pulled out a freshly printed photo.

It showed Liang Yixuan posing behind a tutu display at the souvenir shop, doing a perfect ballet hand position and smiling with all eight teeth showing.

The shop staff had taken the picture. Shen Ji, while she was picking out gifts, had said, "No need for anything else. Just let me have this photo," and even asked her to sign it.

Lin Xiao Sheng pouted. "Yixuan-jie, you’re playing favorites! How come mine doesn’t have your signature?"

"I’m not some celebrity…"

"Not yet! But you will be. Come on, sign mine. Who knows how much it’ll be worth one day?"

Duan Ye, who hadn’t said much until now, looked up at the sculpture. "In that case, can I get one too?"

Smiling, Shen Ji handed her a marker from the living room.

"Write the date too, Yixuan-jie."

"Sure."

"Oh! Add it to mine too!"

"I want a heart next to your name!"

"…Okay."

"Me too!"

"...Alright."

The four of them gathered around her, laughing and chatting, when the sound of slow, heavy footsteps echoed from the stairs.

It was probably Cheng Nuo coming down.

Liang Yixuan had just finished the last autograph. She turned to say hi—

—and froze mid-smile.

Standing at the top of the stairs in slippers, arms crossed coldly, was Bian Xu. He stared down at her, surrounded by three men, with a thunderous look on his face.

At that moment, his mind flashed back to the "marriage-saving tips" text Lu Yuan had sent him earlier——

《Trying to stop your husband from meeting the mistress? Trying to ruin their date? Foolish! The more you fight it, the more in love they’ll be!》

《How to break up your husband and the mistress? Never be aggressive! Step one: stay calm! Step two: show weakness in front of your husband! Step three: retreat to advance!》

…To hell with those stupid tips.