Became a National Couple with My Ex Chapter 33: Liang Yixuan, You’re Not Being Honest

The video reached the end, and Weibo automatically jumped to the next related clip.

Loud background music began playing through the speaker, but Liang Yixuan didn’t move. She kept holding her phone, not pressing pause.

The image from the previous video was still lingering in her mind, along with the caption and topic: #BianXuMyDogAndIMissYou#

It wasn’t until the second video was nearly over that Liang Yixuan finally snapped out of it. She quickly pressed the lock button on the side of her phone.

The screen went dark instantly.

In the quiet room, Liang Yixuan sat on her bed, dazed. After a while, she closed her eyes and gave her head a firm shake.

Following the doctor’s advice, she took her grandma to get her stitches removed on the seventh day. When the doctor said her grandma was healing well, she finally relaxed and messaged the show’s production team that she’d be returning to Beijiao the next day.

Liu Peng replied with an overly dramatic stream of exclamation marks, expressing the entire crew’s tearful joy and warm welcome.

Liang Yixuan felt a little guilty for having left for a whole week and missing two episodes. So on Thursday, she didn’t stay late at the dance center for extra practice and clocked out on time.

That evening, just as she stepped down from the dance center’s front stairs, a flashy silver Bugatti Veyron pulled into her line of sight.

She paused mid-step. The close-up shot from three days ago—the one that had been haunting her—suddenly popped into her mind again.

She shifted awkwardly from one foot to the other, then instinctively turned and walked in the opposite direction.

But after only a few steps, someone gently grabbed her wrist and tugged her back.

"Liang Yixuan, your ‘I didn’t see you’ act is a little weak," a familiar voice said.

Frowning, she turned around and pulled her hand back.

"Don’t go grabbing people like that. What if someone takes a picture again?"

Bian Xu raised his hands like he was surrendering.

"Okay, I won’t touch you. Just come get in the car."

"I can get a cab myself."

"What, are you rolling in cash? Or is the production team? Think about them—running a show isn’t easy. Help them save a little budget."

Liang Yixuan was momentarily speechless.

Then Bian Xu suddenly pointed off into the distance.

"Hey, look—see who that is?"

She followed his finger. It was already getting dark, and the two figures were far away, but she could just make out that they were tall, skinny men in light blue shirts and dark slacks.

"Who?"

"Traffic cops writing a ticket. Liang Yixuan, I broke the law for you."

"……"

Liang Yixuan squinted to get a better look, but couldn’t see clearly. The two figures were walking briskly and confidently in their direction, and their shirts really did look like traffic police uniforms. She bit her lip lightly, then quickly walked toward Bian Xu’s suspiciously parked car.

Bian Xu followed her, got into the driver’s seat, buckled up, and started the engine.

Liang Yixuan hurried into the passenger seat. As soon as she clicked her seatbelt into place, she heard a whistling catcall from outside.

"Told you I was right! It's a Bugatti Veyron! Send me that ten yuan on WeChat!"

She turned her head and saw two tall, skinny high school boys in uniforms walking by—apparently the "traffic cops" from earlier.

"…"

Liang Yixuan slowly blinked at Bian Xu.

From what she knew, a guy like him—wild and reckless—would probably look down on lying more than anything else. For him, lying meant admitting defeat, like he had to rely on tricks and deception to get what he wanted.

So she really wanted to believe Bian Xu had just made an honest mistake.

But just as she opened her mouth to ask, a sudden surge of acceleration slammed her back into the seat.

Whatever question she was about to ask was completely cut off by Bian Xu stepping on the gas.

The car shot forward like lightning.

…It seemed this man had just broken another one of his own principles.

Furious at how shameless he’d become, Liang Yixuan stayed silent the entire ride. When they finally reached the villa in Beijiao, she got out of the car without saying a word.

But the moment she turned around, she froze.

The large courtyard was filled with trees wrapped in glowing lights. Overhead, a golden canopy of string lights made the entire space as bright as day.

On the lawn, a long dining table was set with fresh, full white roses and elegant silver candlesticks. Beside it stood a vintage record player and four brand-new barbecue grills.

Liang Yixuan slowly looked away from the scene and turned to Bian Xu.

"This is…"

"A welcome party. For you." Bian Xu spread his hands. "Didn’t I tell you the show spent a lot of money on this? Be kind—help them save some."

"Oh…" Liang Yixuan rubbed her nose awkwardly.

Bian Xu jerked his chin toward the house.

"Go on in."

She opened the door and stepped inside.

From the entrance hallway, Cheng Nuo peeked out at the sound of the door and shouted back into the house:

"Yixuan’s back! We can finally bring everything out! Hurry up, I’m starving!"

"Coming," Shen Ji replied, carrying out several trays of neatly skewered meat and vegetables.

He spotted Liang Yixuan from a distance and gave her a warm smile.

"Welcome home."

Liang Yixuan was just about to say thank you when a voice from behind her beat her to it:

"Thanks. Appreciate the effort."

"…."

She turned to glance at Bian Xu, then looked back again—but Shen Ji was already walking the skewers over to the prep station, still smiling.

She swallowed her own "thank you" and, seeing that the amount of food wasn’t enough for eight people, said:

"I’ll help carry the rest."

"You don’t need to. Just go sit down," Bian Xu said, pointing toward the table.

"Can’t I just want to help?" Liang Yixuan muttered, slipping past him and heading inside.

As soon as she entered the open kitchen, she saw two professional chefs in full uniform and tall white hats, already busy prepping food.

There was nothing left for her to carry from the island counter.

Liang Yixuan walked over to the wine cabinet and asked Cheng Nuo, who was selecting a bottle:

"Are those skewers outside all the food we’re having?"

"Yeah. Wait, didn’t you say you’re not supposed to eat barbecue?"

Liang Yixuan had studied ballet since childhood, and foods like barbecue and anything deep-fried had always been off-limits in her diet.

Cheng Nuo smiled as she explained the backstory to Liang Yixuan.

"It was hilarious at the time. Director Liu said he wanted to throw you a welcome-back party—outdoor BBQ and all. Then Mr. Bian goes—" she cleared her throat and mimicked Bian Xu’s tone and expression: "‘What a way to welcome someone—preparing food she can’t even eat. Director Liu, you’ve really outdone yourself.’"

"The director got all flustered. He said he just thought everyone doing DIY barbecue would create a fun atmosphere. So in the end, they compromised: used the barbecue for the show’s footage and hired chefs to make a low-fat Western meal just for you."

"That must’ve cost them a lot, just for me," Liang Yixuan said, feeling a little guilty.

"Please, Mr. Bian is loaded. To him, this is nothing."

"He said it was from the show’s budget…"

"Tch, that tsundere," Cheng Nuo clicked her tongue and shook her head. "Come on, the show’s so stingy—no way. All the food tonight, the courtyard lights, the record player… Bian Xu arranged everything and paid for it himself."

Liang Yixuan turned her head and gazed out the floor-to-ceiling window, dazed, watching Bian Xu lighting candles on the long dinner table.

Soon, Duan Ye, Lin Xiao Sheng, Pan Yu, and Zhao Meng’en came downstairs, and the eight guests gathered in the courtyard.

According to the production team, before the main dinner, everyone had to do a little "interactive BBQ segment."

The guests split into four groups—one man and one woman per team—to handle four grills.

Cheng Nuo wasn’t into the whole "choose your partner" thing. She directly grabbed Duan Ye, the guy the show had been trying to pair her with, and headed to the prep table to choose ingredients.

The six remaining people lingered awkwardly around the grills, each lost in thought.

Pan Yu and Zhao Meng’en glanced at Bian Xu.

Bian Xu and Lin Xiao Sheng looked at Liang Yixuan.

Liang Yixuan stared down at the grill in front of her like she was trying to make a big decision.

Just as Shen Ji was about to step in and break the tension, the least likely person to speak did exactly that—

"What do you want to grill?" Liang Yixuan asked Bian Xu in a low voice.

Bian Xu paused for a second, surprised.

"You’re asking me?"

"Never mind," Liang Yixuan huffed and turned toward the prep table.

Watching her walk away, Bian Xu suddenly smiled and nodded to Shen Ji and Lin Xiao Sheng.

"Sorry, guys. Looks like I’ve been chosen. Catch you later."

And with that one line, Liang Yixuan completely defused the awkward standoff.

Lin Xiao Sheng then invited Pan Yu to pick ingredients with him, and Shen Ji naturally teamed up with Zhao Meng’en.

Zhao Meng’en had secretly hoped to end up with Shen Ji—since everyone had always teased him and Liang Yixuan for being a "mutual crush." If Liang didn’t pick Bian Xu, maybe she’d have a chance. But now that the wind had shifted, she had to settle. She grabbed Shen Ji and moved to the grill next to Bian Xu and Liang Yixuan.

When Liang Yixuan and Bian Xu returned with skewers, Zhao Meng’en struck up a conversation: "Ms. Liang, what are you and Mr. Bian grilling?"

"Lamb skewers," Liang Yixuan replied. "But I’m not very experienced with BBQ. What seasoning do people usually use with lamb?"

"For me, I like cumin," Zhao Meng’en said, then looked at Bian Xu. "What about you, Mr. Bian?"

"Honey—" Liang Yixuan answered instinctively, then suddenly stopped mid-sentence.

Bian Xu glanced at her and gave a rare, gentle smile as he turned to Zhao Meng’en.

"Honey."

Zhao Meng’en made an "OK" gesture and said she’d remember that. Since the coals weren’t hot enough yet, she kept chatting: "Mr. Bian, I saw some vinyl records near the record player. Are any of them your live recordings?"

"I don’t really enjoy listening to my own performances," he replied coolly.

"Oh," Zhao Meng’en looked disappointed. "I’ve tried to collect your albums before but couldn’t find any. That limited edition vinyl from October 2015 was impossible to get."

"October 2015?"

"Did I even release a vinyl in October 2015?"

Liang Yixuan and Bian Xu spoke at the same time.

Right after saying it, Liang Yixuan seemed to realize something and quickly lowered her head.

"The coals are ready. Let’s start grilling."

Zhao Meng’en, still puzzled, continued: "Wasn’t your last vinyl released in October 2015?"

Bian Xu glanced at Liang Yixuan, who was now quietly focused on skewering lamb, and slowly replied: "It was August 2015."

"Oh, I must’ve remembered wrong. Sorry, I’m such a fake fan…"

Zhao Meng’en laughed awkwardly, but Bian Xu was no longer paying attention to her.

He looked down at Liang Yixuan and asked:

"What were you so surprised about just now?"

"I wasn’t surprised," she said without looking up.

"You knew it wasn’t October," Bian Xu pressed.

"I didn’t."

"You did," he said, remembering her panicked reaction. "Were you secretly following me back then?"

"No," Liang Yixuan frowned.

"Yes, you were," Bian Xu leaned in slightly, a confident smirk tugging at his lips.

"Liang Yixuan, you’re not being honest."