Chapter 82: You Want Him to Be Your Son-in-law?

Dawn broke, and people awoke from their slumber. The hashtag that had started dominating the trending charts as early as three or four in the morning exploded completely by six or seven.

#FeizhouCouple# · Trending

Within the topic, the feed was flooded with real-time screenshots from the live broadcast of the romance show "Shall We Swap? Exes," capturing Lu Zhou and Ye Fangfei together. There were intimate moments in the car, couple photo recreations... Both were exceptionally photogenic, the photos pleasing to the eye, igniting a heated discussion among CP fans, with the topic snowballing in popularity.

Suddenly, even netizens who usually had no interest in romance shows joined in. There was gossip to feast on early in the morning, making for a lively scene, and the comment section split into factions.

[Looking at them like this, they really are a perfect match!]

[Go watch the live stream! The live version is even sweeter!]

[Oh my God, so sweet, so sweet, I'm absolutely sold on this couple.]

[What's sweet about it? It's all scripted, you idiots.]

[It's live, thank you! You're the idiot!]

[This Lu Zhou must be desperate for fame, constantly leeching off Ye Fangfei's popularity.]

[Fei-fans are hilarious, making things up as they go? It's just how the show works—they're collaborating as partners, how is this clout-chasing?]

[How is it not clout-chasing? Why did he insist on choosing Ye Fangfei as his partner?]

[Laughable—it's a show, okay? So anyone who picks Ye Fangfei is chasing clout? Is it because none of your faves got to choose her? Or do you wish Zhang Chen had picked her?]

[Everyone, stay sharp. The haters above are just pretending to be Fei-fans, they don't represent the real fanbase.]

[They look sweet enough on screen, but does anyone actually think they're a real match? Their status is worlds apart—even if sparks fly, it's doomed in the end.]

[Well, as long as they're still on the show, I'll keep enjoying the sugar.]

…

The heated arguments in the comments kept pouring traffic into the #FeizhouCouple# topic, instantly catapulting it to the top of the super-topic charts.

And it wasn't just gossip-hungry netizens paying attention; artists in the entertainment industry, management agencies, even investors were watching closely...

Nan Qiao was on a business trip in Country M. During a break, she browsed the domestic media buzz, only to see this trending topic blazing hot. Out of curiosity about what new group "Feizhou Couple" could be, she clicked in.

Once inside, she realized it was Ye Fangfei and Lu Zhou—so the CP fans had coined the name for them. Apparently, this season of the show was far more popular than the first, thanks largely to Ye Fangfei's participation. The drama of her joining was still a favorite topic in the industry.

But she hadn't expected Lu Zhou to be paired with Ye Fangfei for a CP hype. When she helped him get on the show, she hadn’t foreseen him becoming so successful, and now his surging popularity was impressive.

It was fortunate he hadn’t left showbiz—look, wasn’t he finally about to turn things around?

Seeing that the show’s travel location was right in Country M, Nan Qiao called Lu Zhou. But all she got was an automated message:

"Hello, I’m currently in seclusion working and not using my phone. Please leave a message; I'll listen to it once I'm out."

Hearing his familiar, slightly goofy voice, Nan Qiao chuckled and hung up.

…

Back in China, at Ye Fangfei’s studio, the team members who had worked through the night were in a frenzy.

"Fangfei has always said she hates it when people hype CPs with her for attention. This is her zero-tolerance zone. What do we do about this trending topic now?"

"The issue is, it doesn’t seem like it was hyped deliberately… It formed on its own… Who do we even take this up with? The production team?"

"She’s on a romance show right now… It’s hard to avoid CP talk in this context."

"Does anyone have Lu Zhou’s team’s contact info? Maybe we can talk with them."

"No idea. Does he even have a team?"

"…"

"Why don’t we just sign him to our company? That would make things easier."

"Don’t you know? The company really does want to sign him, but he’s not interested."

"He really is an oddball in this industry…"

…

At the same time, both the Ye and Zhang families were paying attention to the situation.

At the Zhang family residence, in the dining room.

"Isn't this program supposed to create opportunities for Achen and Ye Fangfei? Did they get it backwards? Why are all the trending images of Ye Fangfei being intimate with another man?"

During breakfast, Zhang Chen’s eldest brother, Zhang Zhixuan, frowned at the photos from the show’s livestream circulating online and raised a question.

"He messed up in the game segment last night—didn't pair up with Ye Fangfei, lost, and couldn't pick her as a partner."

Second brother Zhang Yunkai, who had happened to catch the livestream yesterday, replied between bites.

"What kind of game?" Zhang Zhixuan asked curiously, having not watched the show himself.

"That thing, guess-the-ancient-poem…"

"A show we invested in, and he still lost?" Zhang Zhixuan looked up in disbelief.

"Maybe Achen didn’t get the answers in advance? Right, Auntie?" Zhang Yunkai glanced at Jiang Yuanyuan at the table.

Jiang Yuanyuan’s face darkened slightly. She glanced at her husband, Zhang Deyuan, then smiled and replied,

"They didn’t get the answers beforehand. Everything was fair."

"We’re not the only investors; the Ye family holds a big share as well. They don’t want the show rigged to force those two together. They said they want to see how they interact authentically when faced with challenges, without too much interference. Whether they get back together or not, that’s up to the kids in the end."

"But it’s only the first day. Those photos online are just from the journey tasks set by the show. Netizens love to overanalyze—there’s nothing to it. The other male-female partners are doing more or less the same things."

Jiang Yuanyuan still had high hopes for her son.

"Whether it works out depends on him," Zhang Deyuan said gruffly.

Jiang Yuanyuan took a spoonful of porridge, considering the worst-case scenario, and said with a smile,

"That’s right. If their personalities really don’t mesh, there’s no need to force it—otherwise, there’d just be conflict in the future."

Zhang Zhixuan and Zhang Yunkai exchanged a glance.

…

At the Ye family home.

"Hey, dear," Fang Xinlei walked into her husband Ye Genghua’s study, phone in hand.

"Feifei’s trending. Look at this."

She approached with a smile and tried to hand him the phone.

Ye Genghua, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, was reading. Without looking up, he said indifferently, "So she’s trending—she’s in the entertainment industry all day, isn’t trending just routine for her?"

"This time it’s different. Just look." Fang Xinlei pushed the phone right in front of him.

Ye Genghua adjusted his glasses, glanced down, and his brows knitted.

He took the phone and scrolled through, then asked, "Who’s this man?"

"One of the male guests on the romance show," Fang Xinlei replied with a smile. "Honestly, the two of them do look good together."

Ye Genghua’s frown deepened, "What’s this young man’s background?"

"Just a minor celebrity, nothing special," Fang Xinlei answered.

With that, Ye Genghua handed the phone back.

"She’s just willful, spoiled by you. I hope she doesn’t end up like you, head over heels in love. If she really marries a man like that, will you still think they look good together?"

He turned his attention back to his book.

Fang Xinlei pouted, "You’re the one who’s hopelessly romantic. If I were, would I have married you?"

"Oh?" Ye Genghua looked at his wife. "So you didn’t marry me for love?"

"It was for love, but not just for love," she retorted with a huff.

"Well, we’re old now—however you want to rewrite history, be my guest," Ye Genghua said with a laugh.

"You’re the old one here!" Fang Xinlei picked up a book and swatted him.

After their little banter, they returned to the topic of their daughter.

"How’s Zhang Chen behaving? Any progress with Feifei?" Ye Genghua asked.

"None," Fang Xinlei shook her head. "I watched some of the livestream. If you didn’t see it yourself, you wouldn’t know—Zhang Chen’s personality is sometimes just too much of a straight man."

"What do you mean, straight man?" Ye Genghua inquired.

Fang Xinlei sighed, "You really are old if you don’t know that. It means he's not very emotionally intelligent. In the livestream, he wasn’t considerate at all toward his female partner. I’m worried—if we really push him and Feifei together, is he going to treat her like that too? I’d feel bad for her."

Ye Genghua chuckled, "Isn’t it a good thing that he’s not considerate to other girls? Would you rather he treated all women equally well? As long as he’s good to Feifei, that’s what matters."

"That’s true, but the little things really do reveal a person’s character."

"It’s only the first day—don’t rush to judge. What, are you starting to favor that young celebrity now? Want him for a son-in-law?"

"Of course not! I still have my wits about me, thank you."

…

Meanwhile, early that morning at Lu Zhou’s parents’ house, his parents were grinning ear to ear as they checked the trending topics on their phones.

Qin Fang excitedly smacked Lu Zhenkun’s arm, saying, "Oh, I really think this girl is perfect for our son, don’t you, Lao Lu?"

Lu Zhenkun nodded repeatedly, "They do look good together, but she’s a big star. I wonder if our son is good enough for her."

Qin Fang nudged him protectively. "Why wouldn’t he be? Our son’s popularity is soaring—he’ll be a big star too, won’t that be a great match? They’re in the same industry, after all. They can take their time, no need to rush marriage, right?"

Lu Zhenkun agreed, "You’re right. Let’s go vote for them in their super-topic!"

At that moment, Lu Zhou and Ye Fangfei, at the center of all this attention, were in a foreign land, preoccupied with the next task on their itinerary.