Became a National Couple with My Ex Chapter 17: The Furthest Distance in the World

At 8:30 p.m. the next evening, Liang Yixuan opened the third episode of the reality show on her tablet at Xiao Jie’s café.

Partly to avoid spending more time under the same roof as Bian Xu, and partly to get back into performance shape, she had stayed late at the dance center for an extra training session. After that, she stopped by Xiao Jie’s café for a light meal.

In the past, Xiao Jie would’ve kicked her out, telling her to go back to that “man cave” in the northern suburbs. But now, she was more than happy to see Liang Yixuan giving Bian Xu the cold shoulder. Plus, she’d been looking forward to chatting and catching up on all the drama from the last couple of days.

It was a quiet Monday night at the café. By this hour, only a few takeout orders were left. Xiao Jie and Liang Yixuan sat side-by-side in a cozy corner booth, chatting while watching the episode.

The episode started with the segment from last Friday where the female guests picked their date locations. Xiao Jie waved it off with a “boring!” and skipped ahead.

With one fast-forward, they jumped straight to Bian Xu’s appearance at the French restaurant.

Because of the incident a few days earlier—when Bian Xu publicly put Bei Ying in her place—the dating show had gone viral. Even gossip-loving netizens who usually avoided reality dating shows had started tuning in. The episode had only been airing for a little over thirty minutes, but the screen was already flooded with comments.

The endless wave of people typing “Ahhhhhh” nearly gave Liang Yixuan a headache. She was starting to forget what the word “handsome” even looked like.

Xiao Jie sighed beside her, “Okay, but seriously—this man is unreal good-looking. The way he hit his entrance marks on all eight cameras was like someone yelled ‘Action!’ No wonder even the goddess of South Ballet fell for him. Honestly, Liang Yixuan, you didn’t stand a chance.”

“…"

Liang Yixuan gave her a helpless look, then went back to watching the screen. She noticed that the show had completely edited out her initial interaction with Bian Xu—cleanly and thoroughly. The final cut made it look like this:

She saw Bian Xu walk in, froze in surprise, and then stood up to shake his hand when he approached.

“This editing is insane,” Xiao Jie shook her head, clicking her tongue. “Apart from a few choppy cuts, there’s zero sign anything’s been altered. I’m never trusting reality shows again.”

The reason Liang Yixuan had rushed to watch the full episode tonight was to check the edits. Seeing that even Xiao Jie—who knew the truth—couldn’t spot any flaws, she felt a little more at ease and started skipping ahead.

“Hey, what are you fast-forwarding for? I want to see the drama!” Xiao Jie protested.

“You can watch it later. I just need to check a few parts before heading back.”

Liang Yixuan scrubbed through the video, pausing at scenes where she and Bian Xu appeared together. She noticed that the editors had kept every single one of Bian Xu’s sarcastic, passive-aggressive jabs intact. They even zoomed in for dramatic close-ups of his arrogant and smug little expressions.

Soon after Bian Xu appeared, the comment section started blowing up with suspicions that the production team was deliberately stirring up drama by turning guests into villains. But the more Bian Xu opened that refined, high-class mouth of his, the harder it became for even his fans to keep defending him in the comments——

「My mouth wants to say that Teacher Bian is both virtuous and talented, but my conscience won’t allow it.」

「I really want to blame the production team for stirring things up, but let’s be real—no show would dare use Bian Xu as a prop for drama. Ladies, let’s get #SoThisIsTheRealBianXu trending!」

「…I’ve finally figured out why my idol never debuted. It’s because he was born with that mouth.」

「If only life could freeze at first sight, I’d happily stay at the 5-minute-45-second mark, the moment I first saw him.」

Maybe because Bian Xu’s fans were just scattered individuals and not organized fandoms, they weren’t trying to control the narrative or start attacks. Their self-deprecating jokes about their own idol unexpectedly won over casual viewers, and many people in the comments said it had been a long time since they’d seen such a compelling character. Quite a few even declared they were now fans.

In the middle of all that chaos, Liang Yixuan finally spotted herself on screen. She noticed that while the edits emphasized Bian Xu’s prickly personality, they had softened her hostility toward him—cutting out a few of her harsher lines.

With that contrast in place, even if her coldness toward him came out of nowhere, it now felt somewhat understandable.

The part most likely to stir controversy was the scene where Bian Xu accompanied her and Shen Ji on the piano. But surprisingly, only a few comments expressed discomfort. Most fans were too fixated on the fact that this was Bian Xu’s first public performance in years. 4

No one cared whether he was playing in a supporting role—they were all screaming, “Thank heaven, thank earth, and thank Liang Yixuan and Shen Ji for making Bian Xu perform again!”

And just to be extra safe, the production team had added a strategic insert halfway through: the “private conversation” between Liang Yixuan and Cheng Nuo. That little scene gave the audience some “behind-the-scenes” context for Liang’s coldness toward Bian Xu—

「So Bian Xu and Liang Yixuan actually have a history? This isn’t scripted?」

「5G-speed netizens coming in hot—turns out they did work together four years ago. But back then Liang Yixuan was still in the corps, not even a soloist.」

「So what happened between them? Don’t keep us hanging!」

「No way they’ll air that kind of personal drama. But judging by how Bian Xu acts this episode, it’s totally believable he pissed off a pretty girl. The guy actually told a female guest she looked like a cigarette vendor. He’s probably offended so many people with that mouth, he doesn’t even remember Liang Yixuan.」

「Ms. Liang, we’re sorry. If our dear Bian ever offended you back then, please forgive him—for the sake of his doomed-to-be-lonely personality and lifelong romance with a piano. QAQ」

Though it was clear the fans weren’t truly apologizing in any serious way—it was more of a joke—the overall tone was surprisingly friendly and calm.

Maybe it was clever editing. Maybe the production team planted some influencers to steer the conversation.

Whatever the case, Liang Yixuan had avoided any online backlash.

Xiao Jie couldn’t help giving her a thumbs-up: “Your ex really took all the hits just by opening his mouth.”

After confirming that her own scenes had no issues, Liang Yixuan booked a ride back to the suburbs.

By the time she got to the villa, it was already past 10:30.

She stepped out of the car and walked through the courtyard. From a distance, she saw lights still on downstairs. As she reached the foyer and glanced into the living room, a tall figure happened to enter her line of sight.

Bian Xu—who seemed to have way too much time and energy—was pacing back and forth in the hallway. When he heard the door close, he turned his head abruptly. The moment he saw her, the deep furrow in his brow relaxed—but not even two seconds later, it tightened again.

As if he’d just gone through a whole internal journey in a blink.

Liang Yixuan quietly lowered her head to change into her slippers.

Bian Xu turned away too, scanning the room. He spotted the empty glass on the coffee table and picked it up, heading toward the kettle by the kitchen island.

Liang Yixuan walked behind him, cutting across the living room and heading straight upstairs.

“Liang Yixuan,” Bian Xu suddenly called out mid-pour, turning his head. “You didn’t see me standing here?”

Liang Yixuan paused at the bottom step, looked him in the eye, and replied: “No. I didn’t.”

“……”

Bian Xu turned his head away with a frustrated laugh. He opened his mouth to say something, but his phone started vibrating.

He glanced at the stairs as he answered the call. Only after Liang Yixuan’s figure had completely disappeared upstairs did he exhale and say into the phone, “No need to keep looking—she’s back.”

When Liang Yixuan entered her bedroom, she found Cheng Nuo lying on the bed, laughing uncontrollably while clutching her phone.

As soon as she saw Liang Yixuan, she sat up and called out, “You’re finally back! Did you check the trending topics yet?”

Liang Yixuan shook her head. She had skimmed through the main episode before getting in the car and avoided looking at her phone to keep from getting carsick.

Cheng Nuo waved her phone excitedly. “You have to check—Bian Xu’s fans are hilarious!”

Liang Yixuan opened Weibo and tapped on the trending hashtag Cheng Nuo mentioned: #BianXuPleaseWakeUp#.

The top post was a fan-made video by the user “@DidBianXuDebutToday.” It was a highlight reel of Bian Xu’s moments from the episode, filled with dramatic captions and memes. The title read: “Bian Xu, Please Wake Up—Being This Handsome Still Won’t Get You a Girlfriend!”

The video comments were full of over-the-top jokes yelling at Bian Xu——

「Bian Xu, open your eyes and look at little Lin! If you were even one-tenth as good at playing pitiful as he is, you wouldn’t be so mad you’re stuttering!」

「Bian Xu: I can’t. My hands are too valuable.」

「Bian Xu, open your eyes and look at Brother Shen! If you were even one-tenth as good at prepping vegetables and being helpful, maybe you wouldn’t have to rely on pouring water to get screen time in the kitchen!」

「Bian Xu: I told you, I can’t. My hands are too valuable.」

“……”

And then there were comments aimed at Liang Yixuan too——

「Ms. Liang, if you’re reading this, I just want to say—God is fair. Our Teacher Bian is already a once-in-a-generation genius and drop-dead gorgeous. God wouldn’t let him also have a perfect personality. But he’s only 24, barely been an adult for six years! There’s still hope for improvement! Please be the bigger person and give him a vote!」

“……”

Liang Yixuan had just seen the end of the episode. Bian Xu received a vote from Pan Yu. She herself had voted for Shen Ji.

Still, despite her clearly stated position, there were people trying to pair her with Bian Xu as a CP.

After exiting that topic, she saw another trending hashtag climbing the charts: #RealityShowVersionOfPrideAndPrejudice#.

Compared to the first hashtag, which was fan-made and playful, this one had more of an official promotional tone.

Suddenly, Liang Yixuan realized that all the inner conflict she had felt last night was kind of pointless.

Whether it was Bian Xu or the show’s editors who helped shield her from backlash didn’t really matter. She didn’t need to be moved by it either—because at the end of the day, it was a win-win situation.

As long as she was protected, the show stayed popular. And Bian Xu could benefit from CP support from the public.

She tapped into the new trending tag and saw a video montage of all the times she clapped back at Bian Xu. Thousands of comments had already piled up underneath——

「Is it just the Pride and Prejudice filter, or are they unexpectedly shippable?」

「Who says they’re not? Not only are both ridiculously good-looking, but their dynamic is perfect—‘kind and gentle to everyone except him’ fairy VS ‘picks fights with everyone except her’ prince-type. It’s giving serious Jinjiang novel vibes.」

「Actually, it’s more like ‘picks fights with everyone, but secretly enjoys getting roasted by her’ prince-type. Didn’t Bian Xu text her ‘I admire your sharp wit’? Let’s be real, men are all just masochists deep down.」

Liang Yixuan didn’t quite get what made this appealing. She looked at Cheng Nuo, confused.

“These are real people saying this?”

“Of course,” Cheng Nuo replied. “Sure, the trending tag might’ve been bought at first, but all the top comments now are genuine reactions from real netizens. Honestly, if you don’t like Bian Xu, don’t worry about it. These dating shows are CP free-for-alls anyway. Even Bian Xu and Pan Yu have shippers—and they call their fan group the Cigarette CP. Total chaos.”

Liang Yixuan nodded thoughtfully.

—

In the private suite on the third floor, Bian Xu had just finished showering and was now lying on the bed, watching the episode on a projector.

Like Liang Yixuan, he had no plans to watch the whole thing. He skipped to key moments to check the editing for issues, then scrubbed to the final text message segment.

On-screen, after Liang Yixuan received his message, she also got one from Shen Ji:「Had a great time today. Rest early. Good night.」

At the same time, Shen Ji received a message from her:「Really enjoyed visiting the exhibit with you. Next time, I’ll give you a tour of the dance center.」

Their message exchanges were shown side-by-side on screen, with a pink heart and a bow between the two frames.

Bian Xu’s expression darkened. He was just about to close the video when a line of danmaku floated across:

「To all the sisters shipping Male Lead #4 and Female Lead #2—go check Weibo! Your ship just sank! The main character himself broke up your CP!」

“…?”

As one of the “main characters,” Bian Xu hadn’t done anything. Suspicious, he opened Weibo and checked the trending topic #RealityShowVersionOfPrideAndPrejudice—only to see a new hot post.

It was a screenshot showing that @LiangYixuan had just liked a tweet from a random fan five minutes ago——

「I don’t care! I’m all in on the Cigarette CP! Let’s gooo!」

A netizen, pretending to speak in Bian Xu’s voice, summed up the situation with perfect comedic timing——

「Bian Xu: The furthest distance in the world… isn’t being the third wheel with no name in a date for three. It’s wanting to be a CP with you… only to find out you’re shipping me with another woman.」

Bian Xu: “……”