Became a National Couple with My Ex Chapter 18: Falling for Someone Who Won’t Come Home

In the second-floor double room, Cheng Nuo was lying on the bed scrolling through her phone when she suddenly came across a repost showing that Liang Yixuan had liked a certain post. She shot up from the bed like a spring: "Oh my god, Yixuan, did you just accidentally like something?!"

Liang Yixuan was in front of the vanity, applying toner and lotion. She turned her head at the sound of Cheng Nuo’s voice.

"Someone’s already noticed?"

"Not just someone—it’s already on the trending list!" Cheng Nuo answered, then paused and added, "Wait… did you like it on purpose?"

Liang Yixuan nodded calmly as she squeezed some serum into her palm.

She looked totally composed, like it was no big deal.

Cheng Nuo couldn’t believe it. This woman had been quietly going through her entire skincare routine without a hint of chaos, and meanwhile, she’d casually dropped a social media bomb.

Suddenly, Cheng Nuo remembered dinner from the night before.

Because there had been so much "unexpected drama" over the weekend, the editors were overwhelmed. The production team, clearly exhausted by the constant tension, didn’t want to risk putting all seven cast members in the same shot again. So, they let everyone relax and enjoy dinner—they just needed a toast on camera, and that was it.

Liang Yixuan usually didn’t eat much at night. Out of politeness, she’d often just sit at the table to accompany others. But after cooking Western food for two hours, she was worn out. Once the toast was filmed, she didn’t stay at the table any longer.

Duanye, the night owl, clearly hadn’t had much sleep. Once he heard that filming was done, he quickly finished eating, gave Liang Yixuan a thumbs-up, yawned, and went upstairs.

Everyone treated it casually. Cheng Nuo had assumed that once the cameras were off, Bian Xu would start making snide remarks—at the very least, criticize something. But instead, he just quietly stayed at the table and finished every bit of food on his plate.

Then tonight, when Liang Yixuan wasn’t around and Pan Yu cooked dinner, Bian Xu came downstairs, didn’t even glance at the food, and went straight out—probably grabbed dinner somewhere else.

If you asked Cheng Nuo what that meant?

Double standards.

And what’s behind double standards?

Love.

Cheng Nuo had been thinking that if Bian Xu and Liang Yixuan could just talk things out and settle their past grudges, there might still be hope for them.

But who could’ve guessed—Liang Yixuan turned around and liked that post, basically slapping Bian Xu in front of the whole internet.

Cheng Nuo couldn’t help asking, "…What exactly happened between you two in the past?"

Liang Yixuan glanced toward the door.

With great tact, Cheng Nuo got up and locked it. "I swear, I won’t tell a soul!"

Liang Yixuan took off her hairband and walked over.

Even though she’d been mentally preparing herself for two days, saying it out loud still felt difficult.

She sat down on the edge of the bed, frowned slightly, and took a deep breath: "...He’s my ex."

"…………"

Cheng Nuo nearly lost her balance and had to grab the edge of the bed.

In that moment, several scenes of Bian Xu and Liang Yixuan clashing head-on flashed through her mind.

It was unexpected, but now that she knew their history, their interactions suddenly made a lot more sense.

"So... when did you two break up?"

"When the rumors about him and Bei Ying started."

"But he clarified those just a few days ago…"

"That rumor was just the trigger. It wasn’t the real reason."

Liang Yixuan didn’t explain further, but even just a few words were enough for Cheng Nuo—as a fellow woman—to get it.

The scandal happened in August. He waited until October, when his ex appeared on a reality show, to make a public statement? That timing alone screamed red flag.

After taking it in, Cheng Nuo patted Liang Yixuan’s shoulder reassuringly.

"Don’t worry—I’m 100% on your side."

Even though Cheng Nuo said that, Liang Yixuan had no intention of continuing her war of words with Bian Xu.

Acting cold and snarky toward him had only led netizens to joke that they were a classic "love-hate CP." At this point, it was less exhausting to just ignore him entirely.

Over the next few days, Liang Yixuan kept a low profile, leaving early and coming back late, spending all her time at the dance center. Within the show, she gradually became a background figure.

Since Cheng Nuo knew the truth, one night when someone brought up Liang Yixuan during dinner, she stepped in and offered a reasonable excuse—that Liang Yixuan had been doing extra dance training every night and just couldn’t make it back early.

Just like that, things stayed quiet until Thursday evening.

Liang Yixuan was at the rehearsal studio when she got a call from Director Liu, asking if she’d be coming back for dinner that night.

She made an excuse, saying rehearsals were running late and she wouldn’t make it.

On the other end, Liu Peng sounded like he was on the verge of tears: "Miss Liang, without you, there’s no chemistry! It’s been three or four days and we barely have any usable footage. You said you were busy earlier, so we didn’t want to bother you. We tried getting content from the other cast members, but Episode 4 is about to air and we’re desperate. Please, just give us one night’s worth of footage—think of it as a favor. Help us feed the production team, okay?"

He’d already pleaded that much—Liang Yixuan couldn’t really bring herself to turn him down.

So she agreed, took a quick shower, and officially clocked out for the day.

It was late October, and the night air already carried the chill of deep autumn. As soon as the sky darkened, the wind picked up, rustling the trees lining the street.

The moment Liang Yixuan stepped out of the dance center, a shiver ran through her. She pulled her coat tighter around herself and walked toward the curb, about to call a ride when a black car slowly pulled up in front of her.

Before she could step around it, the rear window rolled down, and a fluffy black-and-white bundle suddenly leapt out from the back seat.

Caught off guard, Liang Yixuan gasped softly and barely managed to catch it in time.

Her arms sagged slightly from the weight, and when she looked down, she saw a familiar dog sticking its tongue out at her.

It was "Peach," the little border collie Bian Xu owned.

It had grown a bit since she last saw it.

At the same time, she noticed the man in the back seat—white shirt, black dress pants—none other than Bian Xu himself.

Only then did she remember: whenever Bian Xu wasn’t driving himself, he usually rode in a Bentley… probably the very one in front of her now.

"What are you doing?" Liang Yixuan asked, frowning slightly.

"No one on the island’s really looking after it. Isn’t that kind of pitiful?" Bian Xu raised a brow. "It finished quarantine a couple of days ago, so I brought it over."

Who knew who he’d been offloading the dog onto—probably the assistant, like always.

No way the staff on the island were giving it the same kind of care.

Typical. Taking advantage of the fact the dog couldn’t talk.

"I asked why you brought it to me."

Bian Xu looked straight ahead. "It was whining to see you. What was I supposed to do?"

"Oh yeah?" Liang Yixuan let out a laugh. "How exactly was it whining? I’d love to hear this."

"Try putting it back in the car and see."

She turned and placed Peach back through the rear window. The moment she stepped away, there was a flurry of motion behind her—Peach jumped right back out with a dramatic whimper: "Woof-wuuh—"

"That’s how," Bian Xu said, spreading his hands.

"…"

"There’s no camera in the car," Bian Xu added, covering his mouth to cough lightly. "Wanna come up and keep it company for a bit?"

"No, thanks." Liang Yixuan turned to leave, but Peach suddenly grabbed onto her pants leg, wagging its tail with pitiful eyes.

She looked down, frowning.

A car pulled up nearby and honked twice, the driver shouting out the window: "You moving or not? If you wanna fight, go home and fight! You’re blocking the road! Got money for a Bentley—why don’t you buy the whole street while you’re at it?"

"…"

Bian Xu sighed and rubbed his brow.

"Boss?" the driver asked cautiously, checking the rearview mirror.

Liang Yixuan glanced behind her and saw three or four more cars lining up. Exhaling sharply, she scooped up Peach and got into the car.

Bian Xu’s lips curved slightly as he clicked off his phone screen and flipped it face down on his knee.

A message notification quietly disappeared from the display——

Lu Yuan:「[Sharing] What to do when you're in love with someone who never comes home? If your charm isn't enough to keep them around, try leaving something even more charming waiting for them at home!」

The driver pulled the car onto the main road.

Only after settling into the backseat did Liang Yixuan realize what just happened. She had gotten flustered from being yelled at by a stranger and ended up so embarrassed she couldn’t think straight. She should have just walked away with Peach—but instead, she climbed into Bian Xu’s car with the dog.

"Seatbelt," Bian Xu said, glancing sideways at her.

Liang Yixuan didn’t move. She kept staring out the window at the trees speeding by.

Bian Xu chuckled. "Liang Yixuan, it’s only an hour drive. You’re not seriously thinking of jumping out, are you?"

She gave him a side glance and reached for her seatbelt—only to find her hand pinned under the dog.

Bian Xu made a hand signal.

Peach reluctantly moved, sitting down between the two of them.

Liang Yixuan buckled her seatbelt, then turned to fasten one around Peach too. Halfway through, she froze.

Bian Xu’s eyelashes flickered.

Because this moment felt exactly like the past—like it had happened just yesterday.

Even the scent of the car’s air freshener was the same.

Neither of them spoke. Neither made another move. But the air between them turned cold and tense, frozen at an unspoken distance.

Liang Yixuan finished securing Peach, then turned away, deliberately ignoring the man and dog beside her. She leaned her head against the window and closed her eyes.

When the car finally pulled up outside the villa, she opened her eyes right away and undid her seatbelt. The second it stopped, she stepped out.

Just as the car door shut behind her, Bian Xu seemed to let out a sigh. She didn’t quite catch it, already walking into the courtyard.

At the entrance, a warm smell of food greeted her. Peeking inside, she saw Lin Xiao Sheng cooking in the kitchen.

"Sister Yixuan!" Lin Xiao Sheng waved one hand while holding a spatula in the other.

She stepped inside, switching into house slippers, and looked at the hand holding the spatula. "Your hand’s better now?"

"Pretty much. I even took the bandage off. Look—"

He was just about to show her his finger when a low voice called out from behind: "Peach."

Liang Yixuan turned around and saw Peach had followed her in, trotting toward her eagerly.

She bent down and caught its front paws.

"Huh? Where’d this little border collie come from?" Lin Xiao Sheng asked.

She was about to answer when Peach barked again, pulling her attention back.

Bian Xu entered after changing shoes. "Mine," he replied.

"Oh, so the production crew asking if anyone was scared of dogs the other day—that’s what it was for…" Lin Xiao Sheng craned his neck to look down. "But how come your dog’s so attached to Sister Yixuan?"

Liang Yixuan’s hand paused mid-pet. She looked up at Bian Xu.

Their eyes met—then——

"She just likes playing with girls," Bian Xu said.

"We ran into each other outside and played for a bit," Liang Yixuan said at the same time.

Lin Xiao Sheng went, "Ohhh," then smirked. "Sister Yixuan, do you really like dogs?"

Just as she opened her mouth to answer, Bian Xu’s voice came again, low and sharp: "Peach."

She looked down. Peach was quietly enjoying her pets—hadn’t done anything wrong—but was now trembling at Bian Xu’s tone.

She frowned. "Why are you scolding her?"

"She just nipped your sleeve. Didn’t you see?"

Liang Yixuan checked her sleeve. No teeth marks, no drool. She shot him a confused look and picked Peach up, heading for the couch.

In the kitchen, Lin Xiao Sheng turned on the tap and started rinsing the wok. As the water hit his still-healing wound, he winced loudly: "Tss…"

Liang Yixuan glanced over, about to remind him to keep his hand out of the water, when—

"Peach," came a third call.

Peach sat bolt upright, ears perked, completely alert.

"Are you hungry?" Bian Xu crouched and scratched Peach under the chin.

"……" Liang Yixuan narrowed her eyes. She could see it clearly now—he was doing this on purpose.

Propping up her elbow, she muttered, "Can you not keep scaring her like that?"

Bian Xu raised an eyebrow. "She hasn’t eaten since clearing customs."

"Then why aren’t you feeding her?"

He pointed upstairs. "Food’s up there. Want to come with me?"

"You don’t even know how to feed a dog—?"

"Nope."

"……" If she hadn’t clearly heard the word no, his confident tone might’ve made her think he was bragging about being fluent in eight languages or playing a hundred instruments.

Liang Yixuan turned her head away in cold silence.

"Miss Liang," Bian Xu said, frowning slightly. "Help me out?"