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Became a National Couple with My Ex Side Story · Ye Cheng CP (Part 11): I’m the One Chasing You

Seeing how he looked genuinely pained, was he really empathizing and taking this to heart?

Cheng Nuo let out an exasperated laugh.

"Whether or not my future boyfriend can handle me, what does that have to do with you? Why do you care? Get it straight, the only thing you and my future boyfriend have in common is the word ‘man’."

Duan Ye thought for a moment.

"Didn’t you say last night I count as a friend? Then that should add the word ‘friend’ too."

Cheng Nuo, in a rush to get to the bathroom, lifted the blanket and got out of bed. She waved him off casually.

"Fine, fine, I’ll throw in two more words for you."

Duan Ye looked at her back as she walked away.

"Put those three words together and you get ‘boyfriend’."

"…"

Cheng Nuo stumbled at the bathroom door, turned back with a glare, and saw Duan Ye looking all innocent and serious. She raised her index finger at him.

"Don’t play word games with me. We agreed last night, you’re packing up and leaving by the end of today."

Duan Ye rubbed his stiff, aching neck. There was a crack as a joint popped, and he winced.

"Oh."

Cheng Nuo’s eyelids twitched. She looked away.

"Acting pitiful won’t... work either!"

Cheng Nuo’s fever had broken and her energy returned, but the soreness in her throat still lingered. She also still felt a bit dizzy and heavy-headed. It looked like she wouldn’t be able to go out to celebrate Christmas today, so she had no choice but to stay home and rest.

After brushing her teeth and washing her face in the bathroom, she took a hot shower, rinsing off the sweat from her fever last night. Around ten, she opened her bedroom door and stepped out, only to be greeted by the smell of fresh porridge.

While she was busy inside, Duan Ye had apparently gone out and brought back brunch for her.

He was now sitting at the dining table, eating last night’s untouched Christmas Eve dinner, which looked like it had been roughly reheated in the microwave.

Cheng Nuo sat down at the table, glanced at the steaming bowl of millet porridge in front of her, then glanced over at Duan Ye.

"Trying to butter me up now is a little too late."

Duan Ye gave a lazy "oh" while picking at the leftover turkey.

Watching him gnaw at the turkey leg, Cheng Nuo couldn’t help but think he looked like a pitiful stray puppy, one that had been bullied but didn’t dare to complain. It almost made her | Read more at: https://sugookie.blogspot.com/2025/05/extra-18-im-one-chasing-you.html look like the heartless one.

"It’s not like I’m kicking you out for no reason," Cheng Nuo muttered as she drank her porridge. "You were the one talking nonsense last night. You should’ve learned from Mr. Bian’s example. Why do you think it took him a whole season of that reality show to win Yi Xuan back? It was all because of that mouth of his, always upsetting girls."

"Alright, whatever you say is right."

Cheng Nuo looked up at him.

"What kind of sc--bag quote is that? ‘Whatever you say is right’? That clearly means you think I’m wrong."

"I didn’t mean that." Duan Ye lowered his head and kept chewing on the turkey leg.

"You totally did. Explain it properly," Cheng Nuo snatched the turkey leg from his hand and put down her spoon too. "No one’s eating until you make it clear."

Duan Ye sighed.

"You really | Read more at: https://sugookie.blogspot.com/2025/05/extra-18-im-one-chasing-you.html want me to explain it now? What if you get even more upset once I do?"

"Do I look unreasonable to you?" Cheng Nuo lifted her chin.

"Since I’m the one asking you to explain, then whatever I feel afterward is on me."

"Okay, then I’ll say it." Duan Ye gave her one last look to confirm.

"Say it."

"Jiejie," Duan Ye said, "you said you got mad because I was talking nonsense. But what if I said you liked Lin Xiao Sheng—would you get mad?"

Cheng Nuo looked at him, amused.

"Are you the one with the problem, or am I?"

"There, see?" Duan Ye spread his hands. "You’re not mad. You just think it’s funny."

"Because that example is | Read more at: https://sugookie.blogspot.com/2025/05/extra-18-im-one-chasing-you.html funny."

"Right. I say you like Lin Xiao Sheng, and you laugh. But when I say you caught real feelings for me during the show, why do you get mad?"

"…"

"You didn’t get mad because I said something stupid. You got mad because I said something true."

"…"

"Jiejie, is it really that hard to admit you like me?"

Before Cheng Nuo’s expression could completely fall apart, Duan Ye picked up his little turkey and stood up from the table.

"Okay, okay, you’re mad again. I’ll get out of your sight—I’ll go eat in the kitchen."

"…"

Cheng Nuo felt like she had collapsed.

She finished the porridge quickly, then acted like she was still sick and needed more rest. She went back to her bedroom and sat in bed, zoning out.

He had practically hit her with a direct confession right at her doorstep. She had only two choices now: stay inside forever, or catch the ball either accept it or toss it away.

She wasn’t made of stone. In fact, she was a romance drama screenwriter. Even if she’d been a bit clueless at first, too caught up in the moment to see clearly, she knew now. Ever since Duan Ye moved in temporarily, when he called her jiejie | Read more at: https://sugookie.blogspot.com/2025/05/extra-18-im-one-chasing-you.html, when they had physical contact, when he said those straightforward things, her quickened heartbeat, her flustered anger, her lack of resistance… it all made her realize she felt differently about him.

But just like Duan Ye said, she just didn’t want to admit it.

Cheng Nuo glanced at her phone on the nightstand, its screen still dark, and remembered the so-called "evidence" she had searched up before bed last night to try and "win" back the upper hand, basically just clips of her and Duan Ye appearing together on the show. CP fans had edited together all kinds of signs that he had feelings for her.

He said she liked him, and she got angry but instead of searching for proof she didn’t | Read more at: https://sugookie.blogspot.com/2025/05/extra-18-im-one-chasing-you.html like him, she had gone looking for proof he | Read more at: https://sugookie.blogspot.com/2025/05/extra-18-im-one-chasing-you.html liked her | Read more at: https://sugookie.blogspot.com/2025/05/extra-18-im-one-chasing-you.html.

So wasn’t this whole "winning the argument" thing just her competitive side acting up after falling for someone?

*

Realizing all this left Cheng Nuo feeling a bit down.

Last night, after watching a bunch of edited clips and fan-made compilations, she really had | Read more at: https://sugookie.blogspot.com/2025/05/extra-18-im-one-chasing-you.html started to think maybe Duan Ye liked her. But when she thought about it more carefully, she realized he wasn’t as simple as he seemed on the surface.

He might act like someone who didn’t care about much as long as he had food to eat and a bed to sleep in, but everything he wanted to achieve—he was | Read more at: https://sugookie.blogspot.com/2025/05/extra-18-im-one-chasing-you.html achieving.

When he had nothing, he got on a reality show. After the show ended, he continued to milk the spotlight for more opportunities. At the same time, he used his connection with a female castmate to move into her place—her place!—and live off her food, her space, her everything.

Anyone who can bend and adapt like that is bound to go far.

But looking at how calculated each step was, how could she be sure that what he wanted was her | Read more at: https://sugookie.blogspot.com/2025/05/extra-18-im-one-chasing-you.html, and not her money? Maybe he just planned to stick around and live off her for free.

That thought made Cheng Nuo feel incredibly pitiful.

Was this really going to turn into one of those stories where the wealthy woman falls for her kept lover, only to find out he never loved her, just her money? In the end, she’d lose both her heart and her wallet.

Spinning through all these wild assumptions, Cheng Nuo spent the whole day suspiciously watching Duan Ye through a filter of doubt.

He made food that was good for someone recovering from illness—must be a scheme | Read more at: https://sugookie.blogspot.com/2025/05/extra-18-im-one-chasing-you.html.

He said since he was leaving, he’d do one last big cleaning for her—must be a scheme | Read more at: https://sugookie.blogspot.com/2025/05/extra-18-im-one-chasing-you.html.

He told her the weather would turn cold tomorrow and suggested she add another blanket tonight—definitely a scheme | Read more at: https://sugookie.blogspot.com/2025/05/extra-18-im-one-chasing-you.html.

And just like that, night came. After dinner, Duan Ye took out his empty suitcase and started packing up his bedding from the sofa, along with his clothes and other belongings. Cheng Nuo stood with her arms crossed, leaning against the wall, watching him from a distance, waiting for his "last-minute trick" to avoid leaving.

But even as he rolled his suitcase to the front door, opened it, and stood at the threshold of the apartment, he did nothing.

Maybe this was his strategy: "If the enemy doesn’t move, I won’t move either. Stay still and wait for her to break." | Read more at: https://sugookie.blogspot.com/2025/05/extra-18-im-one-chasing-you.html

Was he waiting for her | Read more at: https://sugookie.blogspot.com/2025/05/extra-18-im-one-chasing-you.html to ask him to stay?

Cheng Nuo shook her head.

No way was she going to fall for that.

Duan Ye changed his shoes, lifted his suitcase, and turned back to say, "I’m leaving."

Cheng Nuo looked away, refusing to meet his eyes. "Go, then."

Click | Read more at: https://sugookie.blogspot.com/2025/05/extra-18-im-one-chasing-you.html—the door closed behind him.

The apartment instantly fell silent. Cheng Nuo slowly stood up straight from her lazy lean against the wall. After a moment, she walked to the door and looked through the peephole.

Duan Ye was no longer outside.

She went to the kitchen and looked out through the north-facing window. Down below, she saw him just as he walked out of the apartment building. He loaded his suitcase smoothly into the trunk of a taxi, then walked around and got into the back seat.

The taxi turned around and slowly drove away, disappearing into the night.

Cheng Nuo stared at the now-empty space outside the building. Then she turned back, looking around her empty living room and only now did it really hit her.

Duan Ye was gone | Read more at: https://sugookie.blogspot.com/2025/05/extra-18-im-one-chasing-you.html.

She hadn’t stopped him.

And he’d actually left.

He didn’t even bother to try and scam her for money.

*

Cheng Nuo didn’t know if it was because being sick made people more emotional, but her tears came suddenly and fiercely, for no clear reason.

When she realized she was crying, she was both shocked and felt like a total idiot.

And the person who made her feel like that had just taken the money he’d saved from freeloading off her—food, lodging, everything—and used it to pay for an expensive taxi ride, leaving her behind without even looking back.

Thinking of that, Cheng Nuo suddenly didn’t feel like crying anymore. She grabbed two tissues and roughly wiped the corners of her eyes, then picked up her phone, expression cold, and blocked Duan Ye on both WeChat and his phone number. After that, she crawled back under the covers.

Not long after lying down, her phone buzzed on the nightstand.

The first thought that popped into her head was. Now he wants to pull something? Too late, too late, WAY too late! | Read more at: https://sugookie.blogspot.com/2025/05/extra-18-im-one-chasing-you.html

Then she remembered, Wait, didn’t I already block him? | Read more at: https://sugookie.blogspot.com/2025/05/extra-18-im-one-chasing-you.html

Cheng Nuo sighed at her own jumpiness and picked up her phone to check the message, which obviously couldn’t have come from Duan Ye.

Turned out it was a WeChat message from Zhao Meng’en:「Wow, what’s with the sudden flood of likes on all the sweet posts about you and Duan Ye? Are you okay?」

Cheng Nuo blinked, then tapped open the screenshot Zhao had sent and nearly passed out on the spot.

Last night, she’d gone to their CP (couple pairing) tag forum to look for "proof" that Duan Ye had real feelings for her. She had liked every post, video, and picture that looked remotely convincing, hoping to use them later as ammunition if she ever needed to "regain ground" in front of him.

But then this morning, Duan Ye had hit her with a flurry of emotional punches, completely "KO’d" her, and later she’d been busy trying to push him out of the apartment. She never found the right time to bring up any of it.

So she hadn’t realized, what she thought | Read more at: https://sugookie.blogspot.com/2025/05/extra-18-im-one-chasing-you.html she had liked using a side account had actually all been done with her main account | Read more at: https://sugookie.blogspot.com/2025/05/extra-18-im-one-chasing-you.html.

Cheng Nuo stayed in a daze for a full minute before snapping out of it. She pinched the bridge of her nose and logged into Weibo, checking the "YeChengCP" super-topic.

Sure enough, it had been exploding with excitement all day. CP fans who hadn’t heard any updates in a while were tearing up with joy, saying now that they knew she and Duan Ye were still going strong, they could finally relax.

Some were even thanking her for "feeding them fresh sugar."

"……"

The pairing of her and Duan Ye wasn’t that | Read more at: https://sugookie.blogspot.com/2025/05/extra-18-im-one-chasing-you.html popular, definitely not trending-level but if Zhao Meng’en hadn’t randomly clicked into her profile, Cheng Nuo probably wouldn’t have realized what had happened until way later.

But now that she had | Read more at: https://sugookie.blogspot.com/2025/05/extra-18-im-one-chasing-you.html realized… it was too late to undo it.

If she unliked everything now, it would just make the CP fans freak out even more.

Cheng Nuo felt like she had reached the peak of cosmic-level bad luck. On what basically amounted to a "heartbreak" kind of night, she found out she had unknowingly liked a whole bunch of "lovey-dovey moments" with her "ex-boyfriend."

Meanwhile, Zhao Meng’en was still asking:「Wait... don’t tell me you and Duan Ye actually caught feelings while pretending to be a couple?」

That last phrase made Cheng Nuo mad. It wasn’t something she could explain in just a few sentences. So she replied:「Just keeping the engagement up with a few likes. Still fake. Just here to make some money, please don’t bother me.」

*

That night, Cheng Nuo had a bunch of random dreams. The scenes were different each time, but the characters were always her and Duan Ye. Whether they were in the villa from the variety show, her apartment, or his repair shop, the ending was always the same: she would grab a big iron hammer and start chasing him, while Duan Ye ran for his life and she chased after him with all her might.

After chasing him all night, Cheng Nuo was exhausted. The next morning, she woke up groggily to the sound of the doorbell ringing.

At first, she thought she was just hearing things because she was still half-asleep. She stared blankly at the ceiling, trying to clear her head, and stayed still for a while.

Only when the doorbell rang again and again did she realize it wasn’t her imagination. She got out of bed and walked toward the door, habitually checking through the peephole.

What she saw outside made her freeze — Duan Ye was standing there, standing straight and waiting.

Cheng Nuo was stunned. She looked away, blinked hard, then looked again.

It was still Duan Ye.

Where did he get the nerve to come back like this? | Read more at: https://sugookie.blogspot.com/2025/05/extra-18-im-one-chasing-you.html

She threw the door open and was about to start yelling, but Duan Ye beat her to it: "Jiejie, you really have no patience. You couldn’t even wait a whole night before blocking me."

He was going on the offensive first.

Cheng Nuo sneered, "If I didn’t block you when I was mad, when else would I?"

Duan Ye raised the bag of food in his hand and said, "I came to chase you."