[ABO] The Despised One Becomes an Internet Sensation After Marriage - Chapter 54

Chapter 54

[Netizen A]: Finally, I don’t have to see that eyesore anymore! I heard he’s tied up in copyright issues now. Will the last episode be taken down? [Netizen B]: What!! If it gets taken down because of him, I’m joining the cyber-protest army. I won’t let him off! [Netizen C]: Ahhh! Can the show stop taking a week off? Even a donkey in a production team wouldn’t dare rest this much. Can’t you just film it all and edit it at once? I really want to see the full livestream! [Netizen D]: The last episode really frustrated me. I didn’t like him from the start, but I never expected such disgusting tactics. I’m here for a couple’s variety show, not palace intrigue. I just want to see a sweet married life!

Since it was a 24/7 livestream, the group sat together chatting. Somehow, the topic drifted toward the subject of having children.

Ji Yan hissed, “Now that you mention it, I hadn’t noticed—none of us have kids yet.”

Ye Ming, soaking in the sea breeze, joked: “That’s because you can’t give birth, Dr. Ji. Otherwise, with how charming Zhou Yan is, you’d need to have eight or ten kids just to keep him locked down!”

Zhou Yan let out a “Pffft!” Spraying out the water he had just sipped, he clutched his chest and fell into a coughing fit.

“Why such a big reaction?” Lu Ze looked at him strangely and handed him a few tissues.

“What do you mean ‘keep me locked down’? Cough, cough… My heart is entirely focused on Dr. Ji right now!”

Seeing Ji Yan arching an eyebrow teasingly as if to say something, Zhou Yan threw an arm around his shoulder, coughed twice, and smirked: “Besides, who am I?! Eight or ten isn’t enough—I want a whole litter!”

This statement somehow tickled Xu Zhimian’s funny bone. He collapsed into Fu Shiyan’s arms, clutching his stomach and laughing hysterically.

“Hahahaha! I mean, do you think your Dr. Ji is a sow? ‘A whole litter,’ hahahahaha!” He laughed until his stomach hurt.

Zhou Yan turned a gloomy gaze toward him. “Are you doubting me?”

“No, no, no, hahaha! Brother Yan, that’s not what I meant, hahaha.” Tears were pricking the corners of his eyes from laughing so hard.

Zhou Yan: “…” Zero credibility.

The others were in high spirits. Lu Ze laughed, “Would the viewers please type ‘Zhou Yan is very capable’ in the public chat!”

[Chat]: Hahahaha, everyone type ‘Zhou Yan is very capable’ in the chat! [Chat]: Zhou Yan is very capable! [Chat]: Zhou Yan is VERY capable! [Chat]: Wait, what? Did I ship the wrong roles?! Ji Yan isn’t the Top (Gong)??

Amidst the laughter, Zhou Yan changed the subject: “Brother Ze, when are you two planning to have kids?”

Lu Ze: “Don’t ask me. I don’t get to call the shots on that one.”

They had been married the longest among the group. People say men are in their prime at forty, but Ye Ming was still young, and Lu Ze never pressured him.

Ye Ming said without hesitation, “I have no plans for that at all.”

This caused Fu Shiyan and Zhou Yan to instinctively look at Lu Ze. Lu Ze paused almost imperceptibly, then ruffled Ye Ming’s hair and said nonchalantly, “Raising one kid is already exhausting enough; I don’t have the energy to raise two.”

Ye Ming spoke indignantly: “You keep calling me a kid, but I’m not that much younger than you!” He hated it when Lu Ze called him a kid.

Lu Ze tutted. “And you say you’re not a kid? What adult likes to sleep cuddling a teddy bear?”

[Chat]: Holy crap! Ming-bao, who has such a cool music style, actually sleeps with a teddy bear?! [Chat]: Watching them expose each other is so funny, haha. [Chat]: Hahaha, Lu Ze is exposing him in public. He’s going to be kneeling on a washboard tonight.

“…” Ye Ming kicked him. “Are you trying to break up with me?!”

“Ooh, look at him, can’t even take a joke. I’ve really spoiled you.” Lu Ze pulled his leg back. Though he sounded teasing, his voice was full of doting affection.

Once those two started bickering, no one else could get a word in. After a few “tsk-tsks,” Zhou Yan turned to Xu Zhimian, who was quietly sipping tea: “Mianmian, when do you plan on having kids?”

“Huh?”

Xu Zhimian had never really thought about it. He instinctively looked at Fu Shiyan beside him.

Zhou Yan teased, “Don’t look at your President Fu for anything. Whether you give birth or not is up to you.”

That wasn’t necessarily true. Fu Shiyan’s family situation was complex, and his career was at its peak. He probably wasn’t in a hurry for children. But in truth, Xu Zhimian actually quite liked kids.

Fu Shiyan looked back at him silently. After a moment, Xu Zhimian spoke: “We don’t have plans for that right now.”

He set down his teacup and heard Zhou Yan say lazily, “I figured. I heard your President Fu say before that he doesn’t like kids. I thought to myself—kids are so cute, how can someone not like them?”

“…” Xu Zhimian’s fingers froze instantly.

“You… don’t like kids?”

Fu Shiyan was refilling his tea. He thought for a moment and said calmly, “It depends on the situation.”

Ye Ming nodded in agreement: “Me too. I only like the cute, well-behaved ones. I can’t stand babies that cry and fuss and drool everywhere.”

Seeing that Fu Shiyan didn’t voice any disagreement, Xu Zhimian’s expression involuntarily dimmed. What baby doesn’t cry or fuss when they’re little?

The topic was eventually dropped.

…

The final stop turned out to be the most relaxing. The main tasks involved “couple check-ins”—giving flowers, going on dates, and getting the other person to say the keyword “I love you.”

Before heading onto the island, the program crew conducted a “couple chemistry” Q&A in public.

Crew: “Please state the words you used to describe your first impression of each other at the start of the show!” Fu Shiyan: “He said I was like light.”

[Chat]: Help, hahahaha, why did I think of Ultraman? Hahaha. [Chat]: Person above, are you allergic to romance…? [Chat]: Damn it! I thought of Ultraman too (crying).

When it was Xu Zhimian’s turn, he faced the camera with an unmistakable sparkle in his eyes: “He said that to him, I am like ‘rain after a long drought’.”

[Chat]: The atmosphere is so right, shouldn’t someone start singing a love song! [Chat]: Exactly, give us a line!

The crew checked a box. “Please state what you consider your breakup date and why!”

Xu Zhimian answered the fastest this time. “April 13th. We separated because of some misunderstandings, and on that day, I believed I had completely cut ties with him.”

“October 15th,” Fu Shiyan answered. “Six months later, I came back to find him, thinking he had started a new life.”

[Chat]: Oh~ So that’s it. Mianmian considers the day they split the date, while President Fu considers the day he truly tried to move on as the date. [Chat]: Six months later? It took that long to realize? Tsk tsk tsk, not good enough.

With the dates correct, the crew checked another box. “Please state the location where your partner first met you!”

Xu Zhimian answered quickly: “In the Jiangnan Night Scene.” Fu Shiyan answered unhurriedly: “Victoria.”

The two were crowned the couple with the highest chemistry.

“Congratulations to Mianmian and President Fu! You will stay in the Best View Suite for the next seven days!”

“Wow~” The remaining four looked on with envious blessings.

The couple with the lowest chemistry, Ye Ming and Lu Ze, were still bickering. Before going upstairs, Ye Ming aggressively confronted Lu Ze: “Whose birthday is September 18th?! If you don’t tell me, we’re through!!”

[Chat]: Hahahaha, Lu Ze must be panicking inside. [Chat]: So, whose birthday IS September 18th?

…

Xu Zhimian’s eyes lit up the moment he opened the door. The room was decorated in shades of white and pale yellow with excellent lighting, and the balcony overlooked the nearby sea. Whether it was the oil paintings on the living room walls or the bouquets on the fabric dining table, the style was perfectly French vintage—highly artistic.

He practically ran inside and jumped into the soft bed, rolling around.

Fu Shiyan leaned lazily against the wall, lifting his chin. “How is it? Do you like it?”

Xu Zhimian jumped from the bed straight into his arms, his joy impossible to hide. “I love it! I really, really love it! Fu Shiyan, this place fulfilled two of my wishes at once!”

He loved romantic rooms and the vast, boundless sea that he could see just by looking up.

Influenced by his excitement, Fu Shiyan’s brows arched. He patted Xu Zhimian’s backside and said, “If you like it, look a little longer.”

“Okay.” He looked up and blinked. “Will you stay with me?”

“Okay.”

The salty sea breeze ruffled their clothes on the balcony as the sun began to sink. Xu Zhimian mischievously tickled Fu Shiyan, only for his hands to be silently captured as Fu Shiyan pulled him into his embrace.

“Don’t play around.”

He bit down on Fu Shiyan’s moving lips, teasingly grinding his teeth against them before quickly backing away. He arched a brow defiantly: “I want to!”

“…” Fu Shiyan kissed him back heavily.

…

Ji Yan and Zhou Yan hadn’t turned off their livestream. Ji Yan was carrying the suitcases while Zhou Yan looked at the chat, occasionally responding.

[Chat]: Brother Yan, please tell me you guys aren’t divorced, right? [Chat]: Brother Yan, help! Did you really get divorced?! [Chat]: Oh no, go look at the hot searches! Is it true you’re divorced?! [Chat]: Ahhh, no! You two are my favorites, please don’t divorce, waaaa!

The comment section was quickly taken over by the word “divorce.” Zhou Yan’s casual pace came to an immediate halt.

…

“Something’s happened,” Ye Ming said, knocking on Xu Zhimian’s door and getting straight to the point.

Xu Zhimian, who had just changed into pajamas and was preparing for bed, snapped awake. “What happened?”

Ye Ming’s expression was grave. He handed his phone to Xu Zhimian. The screen showed the Weibo hot search list, with one headline at the very top:

#Zhou Yan Divorced Before Joining Couple Variety Show#

Below it were paparazzi photos showing Zhou Yan and Ji Yan entering and leaving the Civil Affairs Bureau together. There was also a video where, after walking out of the bureau, the two said something to each other and went their separate ways.

Xu Zhimian swallowed the word “rumor” that was about to escape his lips. Seeing that the likes had reached 2 million in just two hours, he was stunned. “What did Brother Yan say?”

“Zhou Yan’s manager rushed over overnight. The entire production crew is gathered in the first-floor lobby… Judging by Zhou Yan’s reaction, this is almost certainly true.”

If this blew up, the show might be taken down. Xu Zhimian’s expression turned serious. He patted Ye Ming’s shoulder. “Go down to the first floor first. I’ll come down with my President Fu in a bit.”