Chapter 31: A Grave Misunderstanding

Lu Zhou and Ye Fangfei turned their heads at the same time.

There stood Zhang Chen, holding a shopping bag in his right hand at the entrance to the pool, watching them with a predatory gaze.

Lu Zhou: "..."

This was a big misunderstanding.

Better to avoid trouble than invite it; he had no desire for his roommate to suspect him of secretly flirting with his ex-girlfriend. He just wanted a peaceful night’s sleep.

Instinctively, Lu Zhou shifted his body to the side, subtly widening the social distance between himself and Ye Fangfei.

Ye Fangfei, however, remained composed. She wrapped her shawl tighter around herself and looked calmly at Zhang Chen, who strode toward them with purpose.

“Fangfei, so here you are. I’ve been looking everywhere for you,” Zhang Chen said, holding the shopping bag out in front of her, his eyes unabashedly scanning her from head to toe.

Lu Zhou noticed that Ye Fangfei’s expression visibly chilled.

“What do you want?” she asked with an indifferent tone.

“I brought you new clothes,” Zhang Chen replied, his gaze shifting to Lu Zhou. The look in his eyes could cut like a knife.

“What’s this?” Ye Fangfei frowned, puzzled.

“You got your clothes dirty while washing dishes, didn’t you? I had the brand send a new one over as compensation. If you’re too lazy to wash the soiled one, just throw it away,” Zhang Chen said, holding out the bag to her, his face plastered with a smile, as if waiting for her to beam at his attentiveness.

Throw it away... Lu Zhou, observing the scene, couldn’t help but twitch at the corner of his mouth.

He glanced at the bag; the brand logo was conspicuous—high-end stuff.

Is this how rich people date nowadays?

Ye Fangfei cast a cool glance at the shopping bag, the lines between her brows still tightly drawn.

“Throw it away?”

Perhaps finding it too ironic, a faint smile crept onto her lips.

“Zhang Chen, when will you finally step down from your ivory tower?”

Without even taking the bag, she walked directly past him into the house.

Zhang Chen stood frozen, his hand still extended, evidently pondering the meaning behind her words.

What could be more awkward than this scene?

Lu Zhou felt he shouldn’t be here... He should be under the table.

He screamed inwardly: Have you two forgotten the show’s rules? Don’t you know you’re supposed to pretend you’re not exes in front of others? You’re really treating me like I’m invisible, huh?

Zhang Chen, apparently irritated by Ye Fangfei’s attitude, clenched the bag tightly, then relaxed his grip.

He pulled at the corner of his mouth in a silent laugh.

Seeing this, Lu Zhou decided it was best not to linger. He closed his laptop, preparing to greet Zhang Chen and make his exit.

But Zhang Chen turned to him, still wearing a smile.

“She’s got quite the fiery personality, doesn’t she?”

Lu Zhou chuckled, “…Seems like it.”

“That’s exactly my type.”

Zhang Chen’s smile cooled as he pulled over a wooden chair, slumped into it, stretched out his long legs, and lounged lazily against the backrest, his gaze fixed intently on Lu Zhou.

“Is that your type too?”

That oppressive aura from their first meeting returned, as if he was silently warning Lu Zhou: Stay away from my woman.

Lu Zhou suddenly found Zhang Chen’s behavior rather childish.

He could more or less guess the reasons behind Zhang Chen and Ye Fangfei’s breakup.

“I prefer gentle ones,” Lu Zhou replied with a subtle smile, intentionally sidestepping the question to defuse the situation.

As expected, Zhang Chen’s hostility gradually faded at his answer.

Apparently, in Zhang Chen’s mind, Ye Fangfei was not a gentle girl.

“Gentle…?” Zhang Chen drawled, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “Jia Yan? Jia Jia? Yao Yao? They all seem pretty gentle, don’t they?”

Lu Zhou merely smiled, saying nothing.

“What were you and Fangfei talking about?” Zhang Chen glanced at Lu Zhou’s closed laptop, steering the conversation back to Ye Fangfei.

“We just bumped into each other. Had a brief chat about music with Senior Fangfei,” Lu Zhou emphasized ‘senior,’ hoping this jealous king would take the hint.

Zhang Chen raised his brows, uttering a noncommittal “Oh.”

Lu Zhou stood with his laptop in hand. Before leaving, he patted Zhang Chen’s shoulder heavily and joked, “Bro, try to rein in your emotions—you’re being way too obvious.”

With that, Lu Zhou headed back to his room.

Having witnessed such a dramatic scene tonight, Lu Zhou suddenly felt inspired to write a song for Zhang Chen, perhaps titled “How Can You Not Love Me?”

After Lu Zhou left, Zhang Chen threw the shopping bag onto the round wooden table and wiped his face harshly.

A hidden camera nearby shifted its angle, focusing directly on Zhang Chen’s face.

Noticing it, Zhang Chen licked his teeth and glared at the lens. “Am I that handsome? Why do you keep filming me?”

The cameraman behind the scenes: “…”

Just then, Zhang Chen’s phone rang.

He checked it; the producer had messaged, asking him to do a post-interview if he had time.

Zhang Chen initially wanted to refuse, but reconsidered—he needed to vent—so he went.

Staff: “Tonight you gave Fangfei a gift and got rejected. Even though she treated you so coldly, do you still want to get back together with her?”

Zhang Chen raised his brows and countered, “Was she really that cold?”

“Pretty… cold…”

“Oh, she’s always had that ice-queen vibe. It’s not that she’s cold to me—she’s always like that. Have you ever seen her warm up to anyone else?”

“Uh… not really.”

“Exactly, that’s her true self. She isn’t just cold to me. Besides, I probably said something in anger today that made her unhappy, so she acted like that.”

The staff member’s mouth twitched imperceptibly.

“Oh… so you got angry because… were you jealous?”

“If the woman you like is dressed like that, laughing and chatting with another man, wouldn’t you get jealous? Isn’t that a stupid question?”

Talking about it made Zhang Chen angry.

He’d dated Ye Fangfei for three days and never got to see her dressed so scantily in front of him, yet now, on the show, that brat Lu Zhou got an eyeful?

What kind of nonsense is this?!

The staff inwardly broke into a cold sweat, quickly regaining composure and asking, “So… when you told Fangfei to throw away her clothes, was that just angry talk?”

“Of course!”

“So tonight, seeing Lu Zhou and Ye Fangfei close together made you feel threatened?”

The words “feel threatened” made Zhang Chen frown.

“Hah… as if.”

“Are you kidding? I’d feel threatened by that kid?”

Zhang Chen answered with a question, inwardly scoffing: Him? Seriously?

The staff faltered, the interview pausing for a moment before continuing, “So you still want to reconcile with Ye Fangfei tonight?”

“Obviously, do you even need to ask? Isn’t my behavior proof enough?”

Staff: “…”

This job is becoming impossible.

This troublemaker is even harder to handle than Ye Fangfei!

“After two days interacting with everyone, have you guessed who used to be exes?”

“I have,” Zhang Chen replied, his temper finally cooling a bit. He thought for a moment and said, “Xu Junze and Chu Yao are definitely a pair, Li Jiayan and Wen Yiming, and Lu Zhou with Qi Jiajia.”

“Do you think you guessed right?” the staff smiled.

“I’m sure I did. Why wouldn’t I?”

“We can’t reveal the answer to you yet.”

“If you can’t tell me, why ask so much…”

“…”

After the interview, Zhang Chen went to find Director Lin Jiale.

“Fangfei’s swimming footage from tonight—cut it from the final edit, don’t air it,” Zhang Chen instructed seriously.

“I’ll need to check with her before making a decision,” Lin Jiale replied, clearly troubled.

“If it must air, at least blur it!” Zhang Chen insisted.

“It’s still best to ask Fangfei… Maybe she prefers it unblurred? It’s just a swimsuit shot—nothing unusual for a celebrity… Don’t worry too much,” Lin Jiale reassured with a smile.

But inwardly, he was bitter. Young Master Zhang, your relationship isn’t even official yet, and you’re already so controlling. No wonder Ye Fangfei might run away!

“Whose orders do you follow?” Zhang Chen pressed.

“I follow… everyone’s…” Lin Jiale dodged.

Only then did Zhang Chen remember the Ye family was a co-investor in the show… meaning he alone couldn’t dictate terms!

In the end, he could only leave, fuming.