Chapter 93: Trending Once Again

The domestic media’s trending searches exploded twice in a single day because of topics surrounding Lu Zhou and Ye Fangfei. The hashtag for the “Fei-Zhou Duo” soared to astonishing popularity. Videos of Lu Zhou and Ye Fangfei’s impromptu duet at the commercial plaza in Post City, Oregon, USA, spread widely on Weibo back home. Even more, images from the suspension bridge sent the trending searches to new heights.

The “Fei-Zhou Couple” tag was on fire.

“Their first stage together and they’re this in sync without rehearsal? What a divine pairing!”
“Please debut as a group right here! I’m your die-hard fan!”
“How can their chemistry be this strong?”
“Just their looks together are a perfect match.”
“The head-pat on the suspension bridge is killing me!”
“This man is way too smooth—I’d fall for him too!”
…

Within a day, Lu Zhou’s Weibo followers skyrocketed, making him the artist with the greatest increase in fans that day. Agents across the industry were left dumbfounded. Riding on couple ship hype for popularity isn’t new in the entertainment circle, but gaining traffic by shipping with Ye Fangfei? That was truly rare.

Lu Zhou became the first male artist to ride Ye Fangfei’s emotional popularity to explosive fame. What was even more outrageous was that their interaction showed none of the usual contrived sweetness—their chemistry was just right, almost real.

Seeing this trending topic, Liu Yali, Director of Artists at Jinhua Entertainment, felt uneasy. She was already troubled by the performance targets set by her superiors and had no idea how to achieve them. How to sign Lu Zhou back? Since his last minor hit, instead of being overwhelmed by the sudden attention, Lu Zhou, who had no team, seemed to be doing better and better.

Despite his unassuming manner on the show, Liu Yali believed Lu Zhou was far from as laid-back and ambitionless as he appeared. He seized the opportunity, even at the risk of offending Zhang Chen, and deliberately chose Ye Fangfei as his travel companion—a masterstroke from the start. She was sure he had a plan.

He was ruthless, milking Ye Fangfei’s trending topics for all they were worth. On the journey, he performed as the “perfect partner,” hitting all the right notes for couple fans and feeding the hype, making it snowball even further.

Analyzed this way, Lu Zhou seemed to have thoroughly grasped the art of entertainment industry traffic and was adept at building his own image. Did he really not have a team behind him? Liu Yali began to doubt it. His ease in navigating the trends didn’t fit the profile of someone who’d languished in obscurity for years.

Liu Yali agonized over how to break through to Lu Zhou until her assistant shared a key piece of information: Lu Zhou’s entry onto “Exchange, Ex?” was thanks to Nan Qiao’s help.

That revelation snapped everything into focus for Liu Yali. She dialed Nan Qiao’s number.

…

Another person troubled by Lu Zhou’s meteoric rise in popularity was Ling Jie of the Chasing Light Boy Group. It seemed Lu Zhou was about to catch up with him again. During their trainee days, Ling Jie was often overshadowed by Lu Zhou—a fact he’d never accepted. If he hadn’t resorted to some underhanded tactics back then, Lu Zhou would have his current spot in the group.

After years of polishing his skills in the group, Ling Jie believed he was finally superior. But somehow, Lu Zhou got a stroke of luck, landed on this relationship reality show, and was propelled by Ye Fangfei’s popularity.

Watching Lu Zhou’s heat climb by the day, Ling Jie grew restless. He couldn’t—wouldn’t—let Lu Zhou overtake him.

No one else knew what happened back then, but Ling Jie was sure Lu Zhou had long since figured out who sabotaged him. Otherwise, Lu Zhou wouldn’t be so cold to him now. If Lu Zhou ever managed to surpass him, he’d probably find a way to settle the old score.

Ling Jie lay restlessly in the van on the way to the performance venue, shifting his posture repeatedly. Fang Yanbin, beside him, frowned, “What’s wrong with you?”

“Nothing,” Ling Jie replied.

…

Since switching to live-streaming, “Exchange, Ex?” had dominated the variety show ratings. Of the top ten trending searches, half were about the show. Not only Lu Zhou and Ye Fangfei, but the other guests also made it to the trending list—some due to couple shipping by fans, others due to controversial personal behavior, such as Li Jiayan and Chu Yao.

Li Jiayan’s open flirtation—blowing on Lu Zhou’s wound—and Chu Yao’s anger at Li Jiayan for neglecting Xu Junze both sparked heated online debates. Netizens confessed they were at a loss.

The second hottest topic belonged to Zhang Chen.

“The first rich kid to make me feel sorry for him.”

Under that hashtag, netizens posted all sorts of meme faces of Zhang Chen—jealous, sulking, angry, scared, screaming, and more. Jokes about him abounded, and for a while, Zhang Chen became the nation’s top meme, the day’s viral “internet celeb.”

…

In the United States.

All the guests had returned to KamaHotel before eight in the evening. After a hurried dinner in the presidential suite, the production team told them to regroup at nine, so everyone went back to their rooms to freshen up and rest.

Lu Zhou and Zhang Chen were sharing a room. The atmosphere between them was inexplicably tense, and at first, neither spoke—a heavy silence.

After a hot shower, Lu Zhou lay on his bed, eyes closed, ready to nap for an hour, when Zhang Chen’s voice suddenly cut through from the next bed.

“Have you fallen for Ye Fangfei?”

Lu Zhou slowly opened his eyes and turned his head to find Zhang Chen glaring at him, hawk-eyed.

…Wasn’t he tired? Why so energetic at this hour?

Lu Zhou took a deep breath and replied softly, “I can’t answer that right now.”

“Oh, come on! There are no cameras here. If you’re a man, admit what you feel! Too scared to say you like her? Coward!” Zhang Chen, fired up by his answer, shot upright in bed.

Lu Zhou blinked, face impassive. “If I’m not a hundred percent sure of my feelings, I won’t lightly use the word ‘like.’”

Zhang Chen gritted his teeth, pondering Lu Zhou’s words, then gradually calmed down.

“In that case, I advise you to nip those restless thoughts in the bud,” he warned.

Lu Zhou smiled faintly and said nothing.

Zhang Chen grew annoyed at his demeanor. “You should know your place. You and she are worlds apart. There’s no future. If you don’t want unnecessary pain, end it now.”

Lu Zhou listened in silence.

Zhang Chen lay back down, genuinely exhausted. “I’m not trying to put you down—it’s just reality. Life is cruel. Since we’re roommates, take this as friendly advice.”

Lu Zhou smiled. “Thank you.”

He closed his eyes again, unwilling to continue the conversation, intending to sleep.

“I remember you once said you liked gentle women,” Zhang Chen added.

“Yeah,” Lu Zhou replied without opening his eyes.

“Good, then. She’s so headstrong, not your type. Don’t let the suspension bridge effect cloud your judgment.” Zhang Chen sounded relieved.

Lu Zhou turned over, pulling the covers over his head, and replied softly, “She’s not headstrong in front of me.”

Zhang Chen: “?!”

Sleep overcame Lu Zhou, and whatever else Zhang Chen said drifted past him unheard.

While everyone slept in their rooms, the “Exchange, Ex?” production team launched an official poll on the live-streaming platform.

Thanks to Hao Xi for the reward of 100 Qidian coins;
Thanks to Axi Guli for the reward of 100 Qidian coins.