Chapter 54 The Investor's Fury

Zhang Chen was summoned home in the middle of the night to face a harsh scolding.

“We paid for you to go on that show so you could find a way to get back together with Fang Fei! Are you out of your mind? Flirting with other women on the show?” His mother, Jiang Yuanyuan, was beside herself with anger.

Zhang Chen hung his head and took the reprimand, feeling both guilty and aggrieved. He retorted, “When did I flirt with other women? From beginning to end, I was only ever nice to Ye Fangfei.”

“Only nice to her? Then why did you carry another woman in your arms? Have you ever carried Ye Fangfei like that?” Jiang Yuanyuan’s fury only grew.

“No…” Zhang Chen felt this explanation only made things worse, and hurried to clarify, “But I carried that girl because her heel broke. I was just being polite and helping her out!”

“Polite?! You think Fangfei is going to believe that?” Jiang Yuanyuan pressed a hand to her forehead in exasperation.

Zhang Chen fell silent.

He felt utterly wronged, and couldn’t stand being misunderstood like this.

“Since you watched the show, you must have seen how Ye Fangfei behaved, too. Don’t you think she’s being unreasonable? I sincerely want to reconcile with her, but whenever I try to get close, I can’t get even the slightest positive response. Do you know how angry that makes me?” Zhang Chen’s tone was both indignant and wounded as he defended himself.

“I don’t care how angry you are—swallow it! Until you win Fangfei back, you must keep up the persona of a devoted, infatuated man!” Jiang Yuanyuan was furious at his lack of progress.

“Your two elder brothers have been racking up achievements lately, making your father very happy. If you want to be valued, pull yourself together. Your father personally chose this match for you. And what happened? He introduced you to Ye Fangfei, and after only three days of dating, you turned it into a joke. If you can’t even win over a woman, how do you expect your father to entrust you with anything important?”

“If the Ye family hadn’t also wanted the marriage alliance, you might not have gotten this second chance. And yet, you don’t appreciate it—instead, you go on the show and act half-heartedly…”

At this point, Jiang Yuanyuan’s anger flared up again.

“Do you have any idea how much your status in your father’s eyes would rise if you and Ye Fangfei got together? Can’t you make your mother proud?” She jabbed a finger at his forehead.

Hearing about his brothers’ recent successes only made Zhang Chen feel worse.

He clenched his jaw and ultimately decided to shift the blame to the show and Ye Fangfei. “It’s not that I don’t want to make you proud, but the way they designed the show and the rules—they don’t help me reconcile with Ye Fangfei at all! Every day, I’m supposed to go on dates with other women—what am I supposed to do?”

“I have to be at least a little polite, right? And I can’t just ignore the girls who come up to me just because I want to pursue Fangfei. If the show airs and viewers say I have no manners, Dad will say I’ve disgraced the family again.”

“And besides, there are far too many distractions on that show! I hardly even get a moment alone with Ye Fangfei each day! I don’t know if she’s actually busy with work or just pretending—she’s always out early, comes back late, and barely acknowledges me when she does. One night, she didn’t even come home at all.”

“Seriously…” Zhang Chen couldn’t help but laugh in frustration as he recalled it. “It’s a struggle just to exchange a word with her—how is anyone supposed to court her like this?”

Jiang Yuanyuan finally softened as she listened to her son’s grievances. She sighed and smoothed his hair.

“Yes, that’s a problem I’ve noticed too. We need to think of a way to fix it. If you could be guaranteed enough time together, could you promise me you’d win her over?”

Zhang Chen hesitated, lacking any confidence. He didn’t dare make such a promise lightly. “All I can say is I’ll do my best. If all the conditions are right and I put in the effort, and she still isn’t interested, then maybe this marriage isn’t meant to be. She isn’t the only wealthy heiress out there—why should I have to grovel like this?”

He made his stance clear. No one wants to be a lovesick fool.

“Your father has his sights set on the Ye family. Marrying someone else wouldn’t have the same effect. And besides, her parents want this match, too—it’s just that Ye Fangfei herself is too headstrong and refuses to obey her family,” Jiang Yuanyuan mused.

“She’s probably just young and doesn’t want to be tied down by marriage so soon, but those ideas can be changed. The whole purpose of this show is to give you two a chance to spend time together, and let both families see where the problems lie.”

“All you have to do is work hard to win her over, let her see your strengths, and try not to show any unappealing behavior on the show. If her parents are pleased with you, winning her over is only a matter of time.”

Jiang Yuanyuan analyzed the situation for him.

“I understand,” Zhang Chen replied.

Jiang Yuanyuan said, “Just bear with it, for the sake of both our futures. You don’t want your brothers overshadowing you forever, do you? You can’t let small setbacks get in the way of big ambitions.”

…

That same night, Ye Fangfei was half-asleep when she was abruptly awakened by a video call from her brother, who proceeded to lecture her.

“Strutting around in a swimsuit in front of other men, right in front of Zhang Chen—do you think that’s appropriate? Maybe you don’t have deep feelings, but you dated for three days at least—he’s still your ex. Can’t you show him a little respect?”

“What nonsense… What am I supposed to wear for swimming, a sweater? Stop trying to impose your ridiculous moral standards on me. Are you living in the Qing Dynasty?” Annoyed at being woken up only to be scolded, Ye Fangfei’s temper flared.

The siblings fell silent for a while, until her brother spoke up again.

“You shouldn’t be prejudiced against Zhang Chen. Since you agreed to go on the show, you should treat everyone fairly. Give him a chance to spend time with you. Otherwise, how can you be so sure he isn’t right for you?”

He was earnest in his advice.

“We live under the same roof—I haven’t been avoiding him. I’ve followed the show’s rules, and I interact with everyone the same way. So far, he hasn’t shown me anything I find attractive.”

“You know me—I’m an artist, I go with the flow. I can’t force myself to accept something I don’t like. Right now, I just don’t think he’s right for me.”

Ye Fangfei pushed back.

“Then which guy on the show do you think is right for you?”

“That’s beside the point. I don’t have to pick someone from the show. You’re twisting the argument—that’s not going to convince me.”

…

In the end, neither sibling managed to persuade the other, and the call ended in a stalemate.

…

Meanwhile, dissatisfaction from both major sponsors left the show’s director, Lin Jiale, drowning his sorrows late at night, nearly tearing his hair out from anxiety.

He’d thought that, with such massive investment this season and Ye Fangfei on board, the show was sure to be a huge hit.

But in reality…

This cake that was handed to him on a silver platter turned out to be impossible to swallow.