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Became a National Couple with My Ex Side Story · Ye Cheng CP (Part 1): I Now Have a Very Reasonable Suspicion That You’re Cheating

The story between Cheng Nuo and Duan Ye has to be traced back to the end of the variety show filming.

The final "confession day" was scheduled for Thursday of that week. According to the producers, besides the official couple "Zai Xu Liang Yuan," it would be ideal to have one more pair walk away hand in hand to wrap up the show.

Naturally, Cheng Nuo and Duan Ye became the perfect candidates.

First, Cheng Nuo was a screenwriter working in the entertainment industry, eager to build relationships with the powerful people behind the show. And though Duan Ye came from a wealthy family, unfortunately, his "entrepreneurial journey got cut short when his credit cards were confiscated." Now, for the sake of money, he was willing to do just about anything. So both were highly cooperative with the production team.

Second, the couple Zai Xu Liang Yuan had gone through a rocky stretch- first acting cold and distant, then a dramatic fallout where one of them left home. Later, with Liang Yixuan’s grandmother falling ill, there was an entire week of no interaction between the two. During those uneventful days, the bickering chemistry between Cheng Nuo and Duan Ye became a major highlight of the show, gaining them a lot of attention online.

As the finale approached, the producers discussed with both guests the idea of "seeing it through and making the CP (couple pairing) official," both to fulfill fans’ dreams and to boost the show’s performance.

Cheng Nuo thought, I’ve already played along for more than a month, and it’s just one final scene left. In this era of free love, adding one more boyfriend to the record isn’t a big deal. Once the show ends, we can just ‘break up’ officially. Plus, it’s a great way to earn goodwill from the producers. A win-win- she agreed.

Duan Ye, having secured an "appearance fee," also had no objections.

With all three parties in agreement, the only thing left to plan was the scene for the confession night.

The production team didn’t interfere much, saying, as long as it didn’t come off fake or fall apart, they could do whatever they wanted.

Duan Ye was happy to go with the flow- as long as the money was in hand, he didn’t care.

The only one with standards was Cheng Nuo.

After all, this was supposed to be a public relationship. She didn’t want the confession to feel sloppy or make her lose face in front of the entire nation. So, the night before, she brought out her professional skills as a romance drama screenwriter and crafted a proper script. As soon as she finished writing, she printed a copy and handed it to Duan Ye, asking him to study and memorize it.

Scene: Night- Ye Cheng CP’s First "Date" at the Auto Shop

Characters: Cheng Nuo, Duan Ye

A dim repair shop. An old, blackened lightbulb gives off a faint yellow glow.

Duan Ye: (Brings out the cold hard bench from their first "date," when Cheng Nuo had "admired" him fixing a car while sitting there all day) "This bench- kinda uncomfortable to sit on, isn’t it?"

Cheng Nuo: (With a cold laugh) "What do you think?"

Duan Ye grabs a saw from the corner and tests its weight in his hand.

Cheng Nuo: (Startled, stepping back) "What are you doing…"

Duan Ye: (Sawing the bench in half) "Then let’s not sit on it anymore."

Cheng Nuo: (Slightly moved, blinks) "What does that mean?"

Duan Ye: (Tosses the ruined bench into the corner) "It means- I won’t leave you sitting out in the cold anymore."

Cheng Nuo: (Clears throat, tone indifferent) "Oh? Then what should I sit on?"

Duan Ye: (Walks to the car, knocks on the passenger-side windshield with his knuckle) "The front seat."

Cheng Nuo: (Playfully difficult) "What’s the benefit of sitting in your front seat?"

Duan Ye: "Wherever you point, I’ll go. How’s that?"

Cheng Nuo: (Expressionless for a moment, then reluctantly nods) "Well… I guess that’ll do."

Duan Ye: (Smirks, gives a thumbs up) "Seal the deal."

Cheng Nuo scoffs, unimpressed, but under Duan Ye’s sincere gaze, she shakes her head and walks forward. She raises her thumb and presses it lightly to his.

(The End)

On Thursday night, during the confession segment, everything went according to Cheng Nuo’s script- except for one part: Duan Ye’s attempt to saw the bench didn’t go as smoothly as expected. After struggling to cut through it for a while, he improvised and split it with an axe instead.

The filming crew on-site were so touched, they almost believed it was real.

Cheng Nuo also felt like she was a love genius.

Just look at that script- it tied the whole story together perfectly by bringing the location full circle. She got rid of that stupid bench, finally getting revenge for the three days of tailbone pain she endured after sitting on it during their first "date." She also got a public statement of affection from Duan Ye in front of the whole nation, all while keeping the moment measured enough so his "cool and aloof" persona didn’t fall apart.

Even the final line she used to respond to the confession- "Ye Cheng ba" (which can mean "fine, I’ll accept" and subtly reference their CP name, "Ye Cheng CP")- was layered in meaning. It answered the confession, reinforced the CP identity, and with the thumb-press gesture, highlighted Duan Ye’s signature move in a way that would leave a lasting impression on the audience, giving an otherwise clichéd scene a unique twist.

After more than a month of filming, Cheng Nuo truly felt like her "love IQ" had gone up.

With filming wrapped and everything a perfect success, she could finally take a proper break. That night, Cheng Nuo rode back to her rented apartment in the show’s van, fell into a blissful sleep, and had a lovely dream.

In the dream, the producer was shaking her hand excitedly and saying: "What kind of god-tier script is this?! You are officially the golden screenwriter of idol dramas! Starting today, your script fee is 300,000 yuan per episode!"

The next morning, still giggling in her dream, Cheng Nuo was suddenly jolted awake by the buzz of her phone. She opened her eyes to see the plain white ceiling and the bright sunlight streaming through the window- it was already late morning. Only then did she realize it was all just a beautiful daydream.

Annoyed, she frowned and reached under her pillow for her phone, wanting to see which unlucky soul had dared to interrupt her dream of sudden wealth. She saw it was an MMS message from an unfamiliar number.

The picture showed a well-defined hand holding a single pearl earring.

Attached below was a text message:「Jie, you left something at my auto shop.」

"……"

Cheng Nuo instantly recognized who the sender was- but she didn’t recognize the earring.

And now, because of an earring that didn’t even belong to her, she had been rudely yanked out of a dream she might never get again in her life…

Cheng Nuo took a deep breath and furiously typed back:

「First of all, I’ve told you many times- don’t call me Jie. If you insist on thinking I’m older than you, then call me Grandpa.」

「Second, I don’t own any earrings. Not even one. Because I’ve never had my ears pierced.」

The more she thought about it after sending that second message, the angrier she got.

Did this man have no eyes or no heart? He’d been with her for over a month— and he still didn’t even know if she had pierced ears?

「Third, that earring is clearly a woman’s item. So I now have a very reasonable suspicion that you’re cheating. I hereby officially declare that the relationship between myself, Cheng Nuo, and Mr. Duan Ye- which was formed solely for the purposes of the dating show- is now terminated.」

The phone stayed quiet for a full three minutes before buzzing again with a single text:

「.」

Their relationship had been fake from the beginning, so once the show wrapped up, it was only natural for them to part ways. It’s just that, due to a small incident, the "breakup" came slightly earlier than planned.

Cheng Nuo felt that her breakup notice had been perfectly reasonable. And since Duan Ye had replied with a single "." to signal the end, she felt at peace and happily began her "single vacation." She stayed home, spent the whole day relaxing, and pulled an all-nighter binge-watching the dramas she’d missed while filming the variety show. It was deeply satisfying.

The next morning, Saturday, Cheng Nuo was still fast asleep when a phone call suddenly woke her up.

Half-asleep, she fumbled for her phone while Liu Peng on the other end rambled on and on. Her ears were hearing him, but her brain wasn’t catching up. It took a while for her to fully process his words.

Then she sat bolt upright in bed: "What?! You want me and Duan Ye to go live today?"

"Yes, Ms. Cheng! I’ve been explaining for ages- glad you finally heard me."

"But…" Cheng Nuo ruffled her hair in confusion. "Did I lose my memory or something? Didn’t we already go public with our relationship during the final episode last night? It even trended pretty well— why do we need to do a livestream announcement too?"

"Well, you know how Mr. Bian and Ms. Liang left a kind of ‘to be continued’ ending on the show? They’re planning to announce their relationship live today. So if you and Mr. Duan don’t show up too, won’t it seem… a bit off?"

"...‘Show up’?"

"Just do a short, sweet half-hour love-stream to go with the mood. One last favor for the show. I promise— this will really be the last time, okay?"

Liu Peng, with his unstoppable silver tongue, kept persuading her for ages. His relentless chatter made Cheng Nuo’s head buzz.

Still groggy and half-asleep, she mumbled, "Okay, okay, fine," and hung up the call- only to realize a moment later:

Wait.

Didn’t she already break up with Duan Ye yesterday?

Weren’t they now the very definition of "strangers who used to be close"?

And now they were supposed to do a couple’s livestream together? Wouldn’t that be super awkward?

She opened WeChat and messaged Liu Peng:「Director Liu, what did Duan Ye say about this?」

Liu Peng replied with a screenshot of their chat.

In it, he had explained the livestream idea. Duan Ye replied with a single question:「Is there money involved?」

Cheng Nuo didn’t even need to read the rest.

She knew immediately: Young Master Duan could bend or stretch as needed. As long as there was money involved, not only would he fake a relationship with his ex— he’d probably even perform a folk duet with his ex’s mom and still keep a straight face.

If he wasn’t the one feeling awkward… then wasn’t it going to be her?