Became a National Couple with My Ex Chapter 57: The Moon Is Thinking of You

A rush of blood surged to Liang Qin’s head—her whole body was trembling uncontrollably.

Her first instinct after hearing everything was to dismiss the young man in front of her—who, in her eyes, was really just a boy—as someone full of youthful bravado, throwing out bold words just to act tough.

But after finishing what he had to say, he didn’t turn and leave triumphantly. Instead, he stood there, calm and unwavering, quietly watching her. That steady gaze made her feel unsteady, and the certainty she clung to slowly began to crumble.

Just like when he once said, "No one can stop me from pursuing your daughter," and had actually followed through—his words tonight weren’t just some grandstanding speech. He meant every word.

If, after hearing what Liang Yixuan had said earlier, Liang Qin still believed that the two of them were just naïve and reckless kids, and that time and reality would eventually pull them apart—then now, in this moment, she was starting to doubt that.

A man who has devoted decades of his life to music, and a woman who has given the same to ballet—at their core, they are the same kind of people: stubborn to the bone, and fiercely devoted to what they believe in.

She couldn't tell them apart.

And maybe, time and reality wouldn’t be able to either.

Liang Qin turned her head away and closed her eyes for a moment to calm herself, trying to compose her expression so she wouldn’t look too shaken.

Then she turned back and spoke slowly: "I’m her mother—how could I possibly have… such ugly thoughts?"

She took a deep breath.

"Mr. Bian, if one day you really can live up to everything you’ve said today, of course I’ll be happy for my daughter, and I’ll give you both my blessing. But until then, please don’t speak so rudely about my relationship with her. How long have you even known her? How long have you been a part of her life, that you feel entitled to judge her family?"

Bian Xu lowered his gaze slightly, still smiling.

"Ms. Liang," he said, "there were some things I hadn’t planned to bring up—after all, if she didn’t tell you, she must’ve had her reasons. But if no one says anything, you might never understand the real state of your relationship with your daughter. So this once, I’m going to overstep."

Liang Qin frowned.

"You probably don’t know," he said, "but back in August, while she was on tour in Europe, she developed acute Achilles tendonitis. After returning home, it took nearly three months of physical therapy and rehabilitation for her to recover. That is the real reason she hasn’t performed in so long."

Liang Qin shook her head in disbelief.

"Why… why wouldn’t she tell me?"

Bian Xu gave a faint, restrained smile and looked at her steadily.

"You’re right—I haven’t known her long, and I’m not her family in the official sense. But I know this: she didn’t tell her grandmother because she didn’t want her to worry. And she didn’t tell you... because she was afraid you’d be disappointed. Do you see the difference?"

Liang Qin’s face suddenly went pale.

"I think the one—and maybe only—lucky thing about her being your daughter," Bian Xu said, "was that she fell in love with ballet because of your early influence. Otherwise, if she had been forced to carry out your dream, these 21 years of her life would’ve been nothing short of a complete tragedy."

With that, Bian Xu gave Liang Qin a polite nod, signaling that he had said everything he wanted to, then turned and got into his car.

The car drove off into the night, and Liang Qin stood there motionless in the cold.

After Liang Qin left, Liang Yixuan had a simple dinner with her grandmother. After they finished cleaning up, she had some free time and sent a message to Bian Xu asking what he was up to—but a while passed, and there was no reply.

Earlier that afternoon, while her mom and grandma were in the kitchen cooking, she had texted Bian Xu to say she was staying over at her grandmother’s place that night, so he didn’t need to come pick her up.

Bian Xu had replied almost instantly with a simple "Okay," and said he’d come get her in the morning for work.

It was the first time Liang Yixuan had gotten such a quick reply from him. She thought maybe he was keeping his phone close for once.

But since it wasn’t anything urgent, and she hadn’t heard back from him, she went with her grandmother to visit an elderly neighbor next door—just to pass the time and digest dinner.

Once a few grandmas get together, they talk about everything—complaining about their husbands, joking about their dancing buddies at the public square—it basically turned into a full-on roast session.

Liang Yixuan sat on a small stool to the side, listening to them chat in the local dialect and laughing along. She chimed in here and there, and time passed quickly.

Just as the conversation was getting lively, her phone suddenly buzzed in her palm.

She glanced down and saw it was Bian Xu calling. Quietly slipping out through the side door, she picked up the call.

"Just saw your message. What’s up—did you need something?"

On the other end, Bian Xu had just gotten back to Lanchentianfu from the southern suburbs. He’d seen the message as he got out of his car in the garage and had immediately called her back.

"What, I can’t call you just to talk?" Liang Yixuan mumbled.

"Of course you can. I just thought maybe you needed something."

"Like what?"

"Like asking me to come pick you up."

"No way. I told you I was staying here tonight. What, you wanted to come pick me up?"

Bian Xu gave a low chuckle.

"We’re halfway through ‘three autumns’ already—what do you think?"

It took a second for Liang Yixuan to realize he was joking about the phrase "One day apart feels like three autumns."

"So what did you do during those ‘three autumns’?" she asked with a soft laugh.

As he stepped into the elevator from the garage, Bian Xu casually answered, "Nothing. I was bored."

"And they say freelancers don’t get bored."

"Exactly—whoever said that clearly lied." He clicked his tongue.

Liang Yixuan laughed again, thoroughly amused.

"What about you? Did you cry today?" Bian Xu suddenly asked.

"Cry? About what?"

As soon as Liang Yixuan asked, she realized what he meant and answered, "No, I didn’t. My mom agreed to let me date you."

She didn’t mention her mom’s "but". Not because she was trying to only share the good news and leave out the bad, but because she tried thinking like Bian Xu—firm and confident. And technically, her mom did say, "I’m willing to take a step back and allow you to date that boy."

Bian Xu dragged out his reply playfully, "So now you’re officially allowed to date me? Congrats to you then."

"…"

Right. She should be so honored. What a thing to be congratulated for.

Liang Yixuan shook her head to herself and changed the subject: "Did you eat properly at home today?"

The elevator reached the top floor with a "ding" as the doors opened. Bian Xu cupped a hand over the mic and stepped out quietly.

"I did."

"You didn’t ask if I ate."

"If you hadn’t made sure your grandma had dinner first, would you really be chatting with me so casually right now?"

"You make it sound like you’re some poor thing I’ve been neglecting."

Holding the phone in one hand, Bian Xu lifted the other to press the fingerprint lock. Then he remembered it would make a sound, so he lowered his hand again and leaned his back against the door.

"Let me guess, you texted me after you finished doing the dishes."

"Fine, yeah," Liang Yixuan admitted, touching her nose.

"So, what are you doing now?"

Standing under the eaves of her grandmother’s old house, Liang Yixuan looked up at the big yellow moon in the sky.

"Looking at the moon. It’s not even a full moon tonight, but it’s so bright."

Bian Xu turned his head and looked out the window at the end of the hallway. After a moment, he said, "That’s because the moon misses you."

Liang Yixuan laughed again.

"That’s the kind of silly metaphor I made up when I was younger and clueless. You actually believe you’re the moon now?"

"Liang Yixuan," Bian Xu said seriously, "is it me being overly sentimental, or is it you? Did I say I missed you?"

Liang Yixuan was stumped.

"…Fine. I’m hanging up."

"People who really want to hang up usually just do it. The ones who say it first are usually waiting for someone to say something nice to make them stay."

"…"

She really wanted to sew his mouth shut. Just then, she heard her grandma calling her from inside the house.

"Well, tonight I’ll show you what a person who actually does hang up is like," she muttered—and with determination, ended the call.

On the other end, standing in the bright hallway, Bian Xu looked at the disconnected screen, let out a small laugh, then frowned slightly and pressed a hand against his stomach.

He unlocked the door with one hand and sent a text to Lu Yuan with the other:「Order some food and have it delivered to Lancheng Tianfu.」

Lu Yuan replied instantly:「Got it, boss. For two people, right?」

Bian Xu:「One.」

Lu Yuan:「Huh? Weren’t you out with Miss Liang today? Don’t tell me you two made up and already had another fight?」

Bian Xu:「You work for the neighborhood committee or something? If you want more pay, say less crap.」

Lu Yuan:「Lu Yuan’s Express—your food, our mission.」

After walking her grandma home, Liang Yixuan went upstairs, took a hot shower, and returned to her small bedroom. Lying in bed, she pulled out her phone to check for missed calls or messages.

To her surprise, Bian Xu had actually called while she was in the shower.

Seeing she didn’t answer, he even sent two texts in a row—

「Still mad, Doudou?」

「You’re not answering, so I’m driving over.」

Liang Yixuan quickly replied:「I’m not that easy to upset. I was just in the shower. Don’t come over—I’ll see you tomorrow anyway, won’t I?」

Bian Xu responded instantly:「But I want to see you now.」

Liang Yixuan:「Then how about this...」

Bian Xu:「Hm?」

Liang Yixuan:「Open WeChat.」

Bian Xu didn’t reply—he had probably already switched to the WeChat interface.

Liang Yixuan opened WeChat too, tapped on Bian Xu’s chat, and started a video call.

The call was answered instantly, right after the first ring.

She hadn’t expected him to pick up so fast. She hadn’t even adjusted her angle yet and was just about to raise her phone to align the front camera when she caught a glimpse of the screen—and her hand jerked, causing the phone to slip off the bed with a "thud."

From the speaker came Bian Xu’s confused voice: 「What was that?」

Liang Yixuan’s heart nearly jumped out of her chest. She froze for a second before leaning down to pick up her phone. This time, she didn’t dare look at the screen and turned her head to the side as she held the phone.

"Why are you in the bathtub...?"

"I was replying to your message while taking a bath. Shouldn’t you be touched?"

Bian Xu wasn’t very familiar with WeChat’s features and hadn’t looked closely at the notification. He had just tapped the green button like it was a regular call. Now, seeing her face appear on the screen, he finally realized it was a video call.

Leaning back in the tub, he raised his phone and grinned.

"What? What did you see just now?"

"Nothing," Liang Yixuan replied, still not facing the screen. "I’ll call you back after you finish your bath."

"Don’t hang up. Turn your head."

"No."

Bian Xu sighed: "I already moved the camera away."

Liang Yixuan slowly turned her head. Sneaking a glance, she saw that only Bian Xu’s face was visible on screen, so she finally turned fully toward the phone.

He raised his eyebrows with a smirk.

"You act like you just saw something scandalous. Haven’t you seen me before?"

Sure, she had—but not like this. A surprise close-up over video was way too much to handle.

Just the memory of it made her feel a little dizzy.

She frowned slightly. "This isn’t the same as before..."

What she meant was, "Video is different from seeing someone face-to-face."

But with her frowning and that vague line, the message seemed to land differently on Bian Xu’s end.

On screen, Bian Xu looked down with a puzzled expression and asked seriously: "What’s different?"

"……"