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Became a National Couple with My Ex Side Story · Ye Cheng CP (Part 9): Full View

Cheng Nuo froze for a second.

Wasn’t she just trying to explain what she said earlier? Why did he suddenly bring that up?

How much was this guy hung up on whether she "meant something" or not, to jump at the chance and pick a fight just because she said, "It’s not like that"…?

Following Duan Ye’s gaze, Cheng Nuo looked down at the hand she had tugged his sleeve with. Like touching something hot, she let go instantly, took a step back, and raised both hands to show her innocence.

Duan Ye gave her a casual glance, then sat down on the sofa, lowering his head as he continued drying his hair.

Cheng Nuo, still in that awkward "surrender" pose, stood there like a statue. She couldn’t help but think for the hundredth time how ridiculously calm Duan Ye always was, he had no mental blocks at all, just casually broke through the unspoken tension between them, and even acted like it was no big deal afterward.

But why was she the one frozen in awkwardness?

Had those nine months of raising him all been for nothing?

Cheng Nuo stared at him for a long while, and when she saw that he had no intention of easing the situation, she sulkily lowered her arms and walked stiffly back to her bedroom.

Clack. The door closed behind her.

Only then did Duan Ye lift his head and glance at her now-closed bedroom door, frowning with displeasure.

After a day full of hotpot and barbecue, Cheng Nuo reeked of grease and smoke. Wanting to cool off and gather her thoughts before explaining that "flirting" misunderstanding to Duan Ye, she headed into the en suite bathroom.

Hot water rained down from the showerhead as Cheng Nuo thought about how to explain things in a way that would make Duan Ye believe her actions earlier were truly, absolutely, 100% unintentional. As she pondered, she absentmindedly pumped body wash onto the loofah and scrubbed. By the time she realized what she was doing, her whole body was covered in way too much foam.

She looked down at herself and decided to rinse off the excess foam, but when she turned on the faucet no water came out.

Startled, she looked up at the silent showerhead and twisted the faucet the other way.

Still no water, only a high-pitched whining noise came from the pipes, getting louder and sharper by the second.

Cheng Nuo jumped in fright and quickly turned the faucet off.

The noise stopped. But when she tried turning it on again, the shrieking sound returned.

She tiptoed over to the sink and turned on the other tap.

Same result.

Frozen in place, Cheng Nuo spent half a minute processing the fact that the water had cut off halfway through her shower. Then she spent another half a minute wondering what to do next. Finally, she wiped her hands with tissue, grabbed her phone, and searched in the app: "What to do when the water stops mid-shower?"

Sure enough, others had asked the same thing. She quickly clicked on one of the top Q&A posts.

Two top-voted replies popped up—

「If I knew the answer, I wouldn’t still be squatting here waiting for the foam to air-dry.」

「Why do you think I’m here reading your post?」

"……"

Cheng Nuo choked on air and looked up at the pitiful, sudsy figure in the mirror. Just as she was sinking into despair, there was a knock at the door.

Not the bathroom door but the bedroom door outside.

"Jiejie, do you still have water in there?" Duan Ye’s voice came through both doors.

This… this must be redemption.

Cheng Nuo sniffled and shouted back, "No more… Can you get me some water?"

"Water’s out everywhere. I’ll go downstairs to buy bottled water and boil it. Turn the bathroom heater on."

"Okay…"

It was freezing, of course she had the heater on, but now with all this foam and standing around, she was starting to get cold again.

Shivering, she shuffled back into the shower and, just like that fellow sufferer online, squatted down and hugged herself tightly.

*

Time seemed to pass unbearably slowly.

Cheng Nuo didn’t know how long she had been waiting—she only realized her whole body had gone stiff by the time the knocking on the door came again.

When Duan Ye asked if he could come in, she slowly stood up from the floor, braced herself on the shower door, and stretched out her sore, numb legs while replying, "Just leave it by the bathroom door."

「Jiejie, it’s a full bucket. You won’t be able to lift it from outside, I’ll carry it into the shower for you.」

"Then wait a second." Cheng Nuo cautiously made her way to the bathroom door, turned off the ceiling light with the switch on the wall, opened the door just a crack, and said, "Okay."

Duan Ye, possibly baffled by how cautious she was being, stood silent outside for a second before stepping in.

Cheng Nuo stayed hidden in the dark corner behind the door, about to warn him, "Be careful," but before she could say anything, Duan Ye stepped right onto a patch of foam that had dripped onto the tile floor.

"Ah—" Cheng Nuo heard the slipping sound and rushed forward to catch him, just as Duan Ye instinctively reached out his free hand to steady himself on the wall.

Cheng Nuo reached out in the dark and grabbed air.

Duan Ye, on the other hand, touched the light switch.

The ceiling light snapped on.

Cheng Nuo was instantly bathed in blinding light.

Duan Ye barely managed to regain his balance. The moment he looked up, his eyes were hit with a stark white scene. His pupils shrank.

Two seconds later—

"Ahh!"

"Sh*t."

Cheng Nuo hopped back behind the door.

Duan Ye quickly slapped the light switch off.

Two different rhythms of heavy breathing echoed through the small bathroom.

Three minutes later, Cheng Nuo stared blankly as she used a ladle to scoop water and rinse off the foam from her body, wondering if she’d been kicked in the head by a donkey to pull such a stupid move.

Hiding behind the door was already a form of insurance, why did she feel the need to double down by turning off the light too? She basically created a "double negative."

After finishing her shower and changing into home clothes, Cheng Nuo stepped out of the room, still feeling light-headed, unable to wrap her head around it, how could something so cliché, something even idol dramas don’t bother showing anymore, actually happen in real life?

Worse yet, she hadn’t even gotten the chance to explain what happened earlier. And now this? As if things weren’t already bad enough. Duan Ye might even think she had deliberately left that puddle of foam there as some kind of weapon, all part of a brilliant, seductive trap.

Cheng Nuo struggled for a full five minutes between two choices: hide in her room and play dead or go out and clear things up.

Finally, she took a deep breath, mustered her courage, and opened the door.

In the living room, Duan Ye was sitting on the sofa with his legs apart, staring blankly at an empty glass in front of him. When he heard the sound of the door, he looked up.

Their eyes met and both of them immediately turned their heads, one to the left, one to the right.

Three seconds of silence————

"I…"

"I…"

The two of them spoke at the same time.

"I’ll go first!" Cheng Nuo didn’t dare step forward and instead leaned back against the door behind her as she said, "I swear, I absolutely didn’t do it on purpose… I wasn’t trying to seduce you. That moment on the show was a total coincidence, and what just happened was even more of an accident!"

Duan Ye looked at her with a flat expression, as if he wasn’t buying it.

"Think about it. If I had that kind of skill, would I be writing scripts that make the producers’ heads hurt? Would I need to go on a variety show to ‘experience life’ for inspiration?"

Duan Ye kept staring at her, neither confirming nor denying whether he believed her.

Cheng Nuo felt her scalp tingle under his gaze. She was fully clothed from head to toe, but still felt like she was standing there completely exposed, just like back in the bathroom. She really wanted to dig a hole and crawl into it.

She took a deep breath and pressed on, trying to convince him. "And besides, the whole world knows you like money. If I really wanted to seduce you, would I use myself? I’d use my money!"

Duan Ye finally spoke: 「Aren’t you using your money to take me in right now?」

"…"

Cheng Nuo almost got brainwashed by that logic, it made so much sense she couldn’t even argue. After a moment’s delay, she snapped out of it. "No! You asked me to take you in, remember? Don’t twist the story!"

"So if a random guy off the street asked you the same thing, would you take him in too?"

"How is that the same? Don’t sell yourself short. We’ve been filming a show together for over a month, we’re friends, at least. I did it out of kindness and friendship."

"Then Lin Xiao Sheng is your friend too. If he asked, would you take him in?"

"That’s different… You and I have been pretending to be a couple for so long. We’re kind of… you know…"

Cheng Nuo hadn’t found the right word yet when Duan Ye echoed her phrase with a nod: "Pretending to be a couple."

"What? Is there a problem?" Cheng Nuo raised her chin, trying to look confident as she stared him down.

Duan Ye didn’t reply. He pulled out his phone, swiped around a bit, and walked toward her.

Cheng Nuo instinctively put her hand behind her back and gripped the doorknob, ready to run if things got weird.

Duan Ye stopped in front of her and held up the phone.

Cheng Nuo looked up and saw a script she had written. Specifically, the final part of the fake confession scene.

Cheng Nuo: (Acting cool) "What’s so great about sitting in your passenger seat?"

Duan Ye: "You’ll go wherever I go. Sound good?"

Cheng Nuo: (Expressionless for a moment, then reluctantly nods) "Fine… I guess that works."

Duan Ye: (Chuckles, gives her a thumbs-up) "Signed and sealed."

Duan Ye pointed at the third line. "Read this line."

"‘Cheng Nuo expressionless for a moment, then reluctantly nods…’" Cheng Nuo read it out loud. "What’s wrong with it?"

"What’s wrong with it?" Duan Ye raised an eyebrow and echoed her words. Then he exited the script and flipped the screen again to show her something else. "Now watch this video."

The video started playing footage from the night of the final confession, the scene at the repair shop. After Duan Ye said the line "You’ll go wherever I go. Sound good?"—instead of staying expressionless like the script said, Cheng Nuo clearly lifted the corners of her mouth, turned her head away, and tried to hold back a smile.

"…"

Cheng Nuo’s lashes trembled.

Duan Ye tilted his head and looked her over. "Jiejie, you tell me—what’s wrong with that picture?"