Became a National Couple with My Ex Chapter 9: I’ll Go Myself.

Three days later, Friday evening at 7 p.m.

After clocking out from the dance center, Liang Yixuan went to Xiao Jie’s café for a light dinner.

"I’ve been staking out the place two nights in a row—not even a whiff of exhaust fumes, let alone a car!" Xiao Jie said as she sat by the window with Liang Yixuan. "Did I really imagine the whole thing that night?"

"Mm-hmm."

"I’ve been rambling on for ages and all I get is a ‘mm-hmm’?"

Liang Yixuan frowned slightly. "I don’t want to talk about him…"

Xiao Jie used to think that with Yixuan’s easygoing personality, even a breakup would’ve been handled peacefully, with mutual understanding.

"You’re still upset?" Xiao Jie rested her chin in her palm, studying her. "It’s been over a month."

The spoon paused in Liang Yixuan’s hand as she scooped some potatoes. It was as if she had finally found the right word to describe how she felt every time she heard Bian Xu’s name.

Yes—frustrated.

She had left behind carefully placed reminders in his apartment, sent that final breakup message... yet after all that effort over a month ago, she never heard a single word back. It was like talking to a brick wall.

Even though she knew that kind of response was typical of Bian Xu.

But when Xiao Jie falsely reported seeing him the other day, and she started imagining reasons why he might’ve gone to Xijiang Huacheng… only to realize it was all a misunderstanding—it hit her.

Some emotions don’t just fade with time. They stay buried deep inside. They behave themselves when left alone—but the moment you poke them, they bare their claws.

Watching Liang Yixuan stab at her potatoes repeatedly, almost mashing them to pieces, Xiao Jie quickly changed the subject. "Okay, okay, no more talk about that jerk. Just eat! Don’t you still have to head back to the villa in the northern suburbs after this?"

Liang Yixuan set her spoon down and let out a long, quiet breath.

Ever since three days ago, she’d felt like she’d fallen into an ice hole created by the production team.

Lin Xiao Sheng and Duan Ye were avoiding her completely—even with their peripheral vision.

Shen Ji still greeted everyone like usual, polite and even-toned, but he’d been leaving early and coming back late, saying he was busy with a project at work. She had barely seen him.

Only Cheng Nuo still talked to her like nothing had changed.

But she didn’t want to burden Cheng Nuo with always trying to smooth things over, so she used rehearsal as an excuse to skip dinner at the villa and came here instead.

"You’ve already signed a contract—black and white, clear as day—so you can’t just quit the show," Xiao Jie reminded her. "Let me tell you, men don’t give up an entire forest for one tree. They never put all their eggs in one basket. The show’s only recorded two episodes. There’s no way those guys would suddenly treat you like the plague just because they like that Pan-someone. That kind of cold shoulder? Totally scripted!"

"But if it is scripted, shouldn’t I get a copy of the script too?" Liang Yixuan raised her empty hands.

Cheng Nuo had a similar theory—that the production team must’ve made some last-minute "arrangements." After all, the contract everyone signed said the cast was obligated to cooperate with content adjustments. Refusing would be considered a breach of contract.

So even though the show claimed to be unscripted, if the content wasn’t compelling enough, the producers had the right to step in.

But the part that didn’t make sense? Neither Liang Yixuan nor Cheng Nuo had gotten any kind of heads-up.

Xiao Jie clicked her tongue. That kind of sneaky manipulation, and they didn’t even give the female lead a script? No wonder she was on edge.

"Maybe they want your reactions to be super real," Xiao Jie tried to console her. "Maybe they think you can’t act well enough to fake it?"

"...I’m a dancer."

"…Okay, pretend I didn’t say that."

The show required all cast members to spend the night at the villa. So after dinner, Liang Yixuan got in the car to head back to the northern suburbs.

As the vehicle drove deeper into the forest area, a familiar, suffocating pressure crept up on her.

Just like back when she was at the Nanhuai Dance School.

Every time she approached the campus gates, it felt like a huge stone was weighing down on her chest—like even breathing took extra effort.

The scent of osmanthus flowers from the trees grew stronger, and the cool air was a welcome relief. She asked to get off the car a little early and decided to walk the rest of the way.

She hadn’t gone far when a pair of high beams lit up behind her.

She turned to see Shen Ji’s black Cayenne slowly pulling up beside the road.

The window rolled down, and Shen Ji glanced at her, arms folded: "You didn’t take the car?"

"I just got out," she said, lowering her arms. "Thought I’d take a walk."

Shen Ji reached over to the passenger seat, picked up a blazer, and handed it to her. "It’s chilly tonight—here, wear this."

"No, thank you," Liang Yixuan waved her hand and took a small step back. "I’m not cold."

This was a purely unplanned encounter. No cameras, no stage—just real, honest reactions.

It had taken three and a half days to break the ice and warm up to everyone. And now, after just three and a half days of silence, everything between them had frozen back over again.

Shen Ji glanced at the villa lights in the distance and let out a sigh. "Do you want to sit in the car and talk for a bit?"

"It’s late. You should go rest," she said softly.

Shen Ji paused for a second, then pulled back the jacket.

"Alright. Just don’t stay out in the cold too long."

Liang Yixuan nodded and watched as his car drove away. She hugged her arms again.

Inside the villa, Pan Yu was in the kitchen making a late-night snack while chatting with the two male guests gaming in the living room.

Cheng Nuo sat cross-legged on the edge of the couch, cracking sunflower seeds, glancing left at Pan Yu holding a ladle, then right at Lin Xiao Sheng and Duan Ye with game controllers.

She thought, You’re all so busy but still can’t stop talking to each other?

Just then, Shen Ji came in.

"You’re back," Pan Yu quickly walked over, reaching to take his jacket from his arm.

Shen Ji smiled and pulled his arm back a little. "It’s fine, you’re busy—I’ve got it."

"Why are you being polite with me?" Pan Yu took the jacket anyway, hung it on the rack, and tilted her head to check his expression. "Rough day at work? I made some bird’s nest soup with white fungus—want some?"

"Let everyone have it. I already ate at the office. I’m going upstairs to freshen up."

"Soup isn’t exactly filling," Pan Yu gave him a playful glance. "Alright, go ahead. I’ll bring some up to your room later."

Shen Ji headed for the stairs. As he passed by Cheng Nuo, he slowed down and leaned closer.

"Do you have a minute to check on Liang Yixuan? She’s walking alone on the path… I’m just—" His voice dropped, and he didn’t finish the sentence, but Cheng Nuo figured he meant: I’m just worried.

It kind of looked like a guy being sweet with his current girlfriend, then turning around to check on his ex.

Cheng Nuo gave him a sideways glance.

She was planning to sneak out anyway to watch the full second episode that had aired tonight. So she grabbed a shawl, stuffed her phone in her pocket, and quietly slipped out of the villa.

About 300 meters from the villa, Liang Yixuan saw Cheng Nuo jogging toward her.

"Shen Ji asked me to check on you," Cheng Nuo said as she draped the cashmere shawl over her shoulders. "You okay?"

Liang Yixuan hadn’t meant to make a big deal out of it. She shook her head awkwardly. "I’m fine. I was just about to head back."

"You didn’t look like you wanted to go back," Cheng Nuo said, walking slowly beside her. Then, glancing around to make sure no one was nearby, she asked, "Have you still been texting Shen Ji these past two days?"

Liang Yixuan nodded.

Cheng Nuo sighed.

"I haven’t gotten any texts either. That means Shen Ji voted for Pan Yu—so now it’s mutual between them. You didn’t see the way they were acting earlier—Pan Yu was practically playing the role of the ‘wife waiting for her husband to come home.’ She already sees herself as the official girlfriend. Why keep texting him and putting yourself in that position?"

"But…"

But Liang Yixuan didn’t have much choice. Shen Ji was the only one still speaking to her.

And it wasn’t like she was trying to get close to anyone. Her messages were nothing more than polite phrases like "Work hard, don’t stay up too late."

"Honestly, Shen Ji gives off major ‘central heating’ vibes," Cheng Nuo muttered, unlocking her phone to stream the latest episode. "Let’s see what he texted Pan Yu before we say anything else."

Liang Yixuan wrapped the shawl tighter around her and stared blankly at the cobblestone path beneath her feet. As they walked, she noticed Cheng Nuo’s pace slowing more and more.

By the time they reached the villa gate, Cheng Nuo had come to a full stop on the wooden bridge.

"Hold on," she said, dragging the playback bar back and forth. "Why are there only two texts?"

"What?"

"Neither of us got a message, and Pan Yu only got two. That means—someone didn’t vote?"

Liang Yixuan leaned in to look.

The screen was showing Tuesday night—the night Shen Ji had skipped their dinner and Lin Xiao Sheng and Duan Ye suddenly started acting cold toward her.

During the message reveal segment, Liang Yixuan had just learned Bian Xu went to Xijiang Huacheng and was completely out of it… Meanwhile, Pan Yu was beaming as she received two texts——

「Your floral dress looks really pretty today.」

「A beauty from the north, peerless and proud.」

"Duan Ye was the one who didn’t vote?" Cheng Nuo frowned, thinking back to last week’s episode. Based on the guys’ personalities—Lin Xiao Sheng would call people "sis," Shen Ji had a thing for quoting poetry, and Duan Ye… well, he never said anything and just gave a thumbs-up.

"Probably…"

Liang Yixuan didn’t get to finish her sentence. After a dramatic pause in the episode, the senders’ names popped up on screen——

Lin Xiao Sheng.

Duan Ye.

"What?" Cheng Nuo and Liang Yixuan looked at each other, stunned.

On the screen, the comments section exploded——

「Why is my chaotic sunshine boy suddenly quoting poetry? Blink twice if you’ve been kidnapped, Duan Ye??」

「Why would my gentle CEO type suddenly drop out of voting? Blink twice if you’re in danger, Shen Ji???」

「She got full votes last episode and zero votes for three days in a row this time? What did she do, commit a crime??」

「I think all the male guests went blind :)」

「No, I’M the blind one—what was Liang Yixuan’s message even about? And when did Shen Ji ever drive her to work?」

「Just delete this already. The editing is a mess. Did Liang Yixuan even get five minutes of screentime this episode? Is the editor going through a rebellious phase or what—deliberately cutting out whoever the audience wants to see.」

「I came here after someone hyped this up, just started to ship the second leads and they hit me with a breakup? I’m out.」

「This storyline is wild. The sudden love lines between Duan/Lin and Pan feel like they came out of nowhere. It’s all so scripted… if I wanted acting, I’d watch a drama, not a reality show.」

Just last week, viewers were fighting over which couples to ship. Now? Unanimous complaints.

As the flood of sarcastic and confused comments rolled in, Liang Yixuan and Cheng Nuo exchanged helpless glances.

Then suddenly, the quiet courtyard echoed with the sound of a door opening.

Duan Ye stepped out carrying a bag of trash.

Cheng Nuo quickly dragged him to the side, flipping her phone screen toward him.

"Did you really quote that line of poetry?"

"What?" Duan Ye scratched his head. "I Googled it. Isn’t that a compliment?"

"It is, but… why are you copying Shen Ji’s style? Won’t Pan Yu think it was him who sent it?"

"Oh," Duan Ye blinked, totally unconcerned. "Would that be a problem?"

"…" This guy is absolutely doing it on purpose.

Suddenly, the front door creaked open again.

"Isn’t it cold standing out here?" Shen Ji stood in the doorway, hand still on the knob.

Liang Yixuan turned toward him. Then glanced back down at Cheng Nuo’s phone screen—still frozen on the part showing Shen Ji didn’t vote. She opened her mouth like she wanted to say something, but nothing came out. Her brows furrowed slightly.

Shen Ji gave her a resigned smile. "Come on, let’s all go inside."

Liang Yixuan stared at him for a long moment, then finally walked back through the door.

Presidential suite, Xiangting Hotel.

By the floor-to-ceiling window, Lu Yuan was on the phone, his hand on his forehead.

"How you deal with public backlash is your problem. I want to hear Director Liu explain—what’s the deal with this vote skipping?"

On the other end, the man’s voice was trembling: "Assistant Lu, sir… the production team followed Mr. Bian’s orders and made sure none of the male guests voted for Miss Liang. But we really couldn’t force them to vote for the other girls either… it’s a reality show, after all. We have to keep things feeling natural…"

"Oh, so Director Liu does understand the idea of human decency?" Lu Yuan sneered. "Then explain this to me—when did I ever say they should give Liang the cold shoulder? I said no flirting. Which of you had the guts to twist that into full-blown rejection? And who gave that third female guest the nerve to bully Liang like that with her backhanded attitude? Where’s the ‘human decency’ for her?"

"Ah… so you do want Liang to be treated nicely?" the man on the phone said nervously. "Assistant Lu, this whole ‘no flirting’ rule really put the team in a tough spot. We thought Mr. Bian must’ve had some deep grudge against her from the way you talked earlier…"

"Grudge? What kind of nonsense—"

Lu Yuan shot a panicked glance at the sofa, where Bian Xu had just taken off his glasses and flung them onto the glass coffee table with a sharp clack.

Lu Yuan froze, realizing he’d said too much. He quickly hung up, feeling a cold sweat break across his scalp.

In his mind, this Friday was supposed to go perfectly—

The male guests, pressured by production, would keep their distance from Liang Yixuan.

With her quiet, non-confrontational personality, she’d naturally fade into the background.

And once Episode 2 aired and the backlash started, Bian Xu wouldn’t even have to lift a finger—his rivals would all eliminate themselves.

But in reality.

Lu Yuan glanced at his phone. The online backlash had come, sure—but after venting in the comment section, the netizens on Weibo suddenly got calm, rational… and started piecing the truth together.

「What’s going on—Shen Ji would rather not vote than give his vote to Liang Yixuan?"

「Think about it another way: what if the show made the male guests vote for Girl #3, and the other two went along, but Shen Ji would rather skip voting than go against his heart?"

「Damn, I didn’t expect to start shipping this.」

「[good]Even Duan Ye would give a thumbs-up for this unexpected sugar drop.」

「Wuwuwu the Memory CP is too powerful!」

Apparently, "Memory CP" came from combining the characters in Shen Ji’s name ("Ji") and Liang Yixuan’s ("Yi")—a clever little pun.

Lu Yuan couldn’t believe it. What was it with these people and shipping? No matter how messy the plot got, they’d dig for sweet moments like they hadn’t eaten in three days—and they’d even come up with a couple name?

But the more he thought about it, maybe that’s where the whole mess went wrong: trying to force a breakup storyline.

The show had just started, and viewers hadn’t even gotten that emotionally invested yet. But the production team pushed things so obviously that the audience rebelled.

Back when Bian Xu and Bei Ying were photographed together by paparazzi and the studio tried to kill the rumors with a "just friends" statement, didn’t the CP shippers still rise up in full force?

Even worse, Lu Yuan suddenly realized: if the viewers could figure it out, how could Liang Yixuan not?

From his pragmatic point of view, Shen Ji was just being diplomatic—reaching a compromise with the production team, avoiding conflict while keeping his relationship with Liang Yixuan intact.

But through Liang Yixuan’s kind and straightforward eyes, wouldn’t Shen Ji’s refusal to vote look like… an act of defiance on her behalf?

If she didn’t have feelings for him before, she might now.

Lu Yuan felt like the floor beneath his feet was getting too hot to stand still. He tiptoed forward and peeked at the tablet in Bian Xu’s hands.

The screen showed a close-up of Liang Yixuan during the message reveal. The camera zoomed in on her expression when she didn’t receive a single text—stunned and lost.

Liang Yixuan wasn’t someone who wore her emotions on her sleeve. Even when she was mad, she didn’t throw tantrums. When she was happy, she rarely jumped for joy. But now, for a guy she’d known for less than a week, she looked completely wrecked.

Lu Yuan saw that Bian Xu had already replayed that scene three times.

"Boss," he offered carefully, "how about I go to the filming site for you tomorrow…"

"No need."

Bian Xu tapped the screen, locking the tablet. Liang Yixuan’s face disappeared instantly.

And in that split second, something clicked for Lu Yuan.

How could a dating show director not understand love?

Maybe the production team had deliberately misinterpreted Bian Xu’s instructions—pretending not to understand, exaggerating his intent. Maybe they let Shen Ji bend the rules on purpose…

There was a beat of silence.

Then Bian Xu straightened his tie, pushed himself up from the couch, and finally said: "I’ll go myself."