Can You Believe It? I Ran into My Ex on a Dating Variety Show - Chapter 2

“He Xingzhi!”

Sister Kelly, his manager, pushed the door open, and her roar followed close behind. She rushed furiously toward a young man with dyed red curly hair.

“Are you really participating in a dating show? That is the country’s first-ever BL dating show. Do you know what that means? It means you are making your sexuality public. You will never have any ‘girlfriend fans’ again!”

“Do I need ‘girlfriend fans’?” He Xingzhi did not even give her a glance. He was focused on a game of Jenga on the table, carefully pulling a wooden block from the bottom. In the end, the shaky tower collapsed with a loud crash.

Looking at the scattered blocks across the table, he let out an impatient “tch.” “What is so fun about this stupid game?”

Sister Kelly rolled her eyes. “If it is not fun, then why do you play it every day?”

He Xingzhi: “It is only because. Forget it. Even if I told you, you would not understand.”

Sister Kelly: “I do not understand? Then explain to me why you took on a BL dating show. Are you not afraid your fans will turn on you?”

He Xingzhi picked up the scattered wooden blocks and began rebuilding them layer by layer.

“Turn on me for what? I never said I liked women.”

Sister Kelly: “You never said it, but both your looks and your behavior are just so ‘straight man.'”

He Xingzhi skillfully stacked the Jenga blocks, speaking nonchalantly. “Anyway, the contract is already signed. You deal with the rest.”

Sister Kelly’s head throbbed with anger. She practiced a familiar routine: fishing a small bottle of medicated oil from her handbag, dabbing it on her temples, and taking several deep breaths.

Just as she sat on the sofa, before her heart rate could even settle, she received a screenshot from her assistant. Word of He Xingzhi joining a BL dating show had leaked somehow. It was currently shocking the entire internet, trending on the hot search list, and sparking a wave of heated discussion.

[SHOCKING! He Xingzhi is joining a BL dating show!]

[What? I would believe anyone else, but He Xingzhi? Impossible! Absolutely impossible!]

[I do not believe it either. Even if the entire entertainment industry were gay, He Xingzhi would be the last straight man standing.]

[He really looks so straight!]

[Do you guys not know? Last time he was on a variety show, a pretty young rookie boy came up to butter him up. He Xingzhi pointed at the kid’s face and said, “You have sleep crust in your eye.” He gave that poor boy a social complex right then and there.]

[Hahaha, holy crap, is that real?]

[It is real! You can still find the clip online.]

[When Brother He attended a program last time, the organizers had a cooking segment. A female star known for her beauty made a dish that was actually mediocre, but everyone else was raving about how good it was. After soaking up the praise, she saw Brother He sitting nearby completely unmoved. She intentionally acted all ‘tea-like’ and said, “He Xingzhi, they are being so dramatic, saying it is better than a five-star chef’s. What do you think?” She just wanted him to flatter her, but our Brother He just told the honest truth: “It is dramatic. It is still raw in the middle; it looks hard to eat at a glance.”]

[Hahaha, I watched that live! You have no idea how priceless her expression was afterward.]

[LMAO, family, I am dying.]

[Does anyone not know that Brother He’s cooking is actually amazing? He just does not show it off easily.]

[I heard Brother He had an ex, and he originally learned to cook just for them.]

[Heavens, what kind of perfect love is that? Thank goodness they broke up, or I would die of jealousy.]

[Regardless, Brother He’s ex-girlfriend must have been incredibly beautiful.]

[What kind of ex-girlfriend is that? How could she let my Brother He do the cooking? If it were me, I would cook for him every single day.]

[Delusional fans, get lost.]

[If he has had an ex-girlfriend, he definitely will not be on a BL show. Marketing accounts are just chasing clout.]

[Our Brother He is the manliest straight man in the industry. Handsome and Alpha, so dreamy.]

[Marketing accounts, stop using my Brother He for clicks. Take him away; Brother He is better off alone.]

[I would believe it if you said Brother He was secretly married with kids, but saying he is on a BL dating show? Total BS.]

[Brother He is a total straight man; he was in my bed last night, hehe]

[He was just wearing a little floral apron, showing off his pecs while cooking breakfast for me, hmph]

Sister Kelly looked at the comments in the screenshots, especially the increasingly dense “girlfriend fans” at the bottom, and her head hurt even more. She did not even want to imagine how explosive the news would be once He Xingzhi was outed as gay.

The company was already in a state of chaos because of his participation in the BL show, yet the man in question was acting as if nothing was wrong, focusing entirely on his Jenga tower. It was infuriating.

[Kelly]: Make the PR department get ready. The next three months are going to be a bloodbath.

Sister Kelly replied to her assistant, who sent back a string of terrified emojis.

At the Airport

Shi Yu sat in the VIP lounge with his ticket, waiting. His manager, Lin Wuwei, had not shown up yet. About thirty minutes before boarding, Lin Wuwei called in a panic, apologizing profusely.

“I am so sorry, I am so sorry! My son suddenly has a high fever. I am taking them to the hospital right now. I am not going to make the flight. Go ahead first; there will be a car from the production team waiting to pick you up as soon as you land.”

Shi Yu remembered that Lin Wuwei’s son was only a few months old.

“Go take care of your business. Look after your wife and child. I will handle things on my end.”

Shi Yu hung up the phone and pulled a box of Jenga out of his backpack. He stacked the wooden blocks neatly on the table, then tapped the tabletop twice with his fair, slender fingers. “3875, play a round with me.”

[I will pick number 10.] A mechanical voice echoed in Shi Yu’s mind.

3875 was his system; only he could hear its voice. When playing against AI, Shi Yu had a 100% win rate. Every time, 3875 would be beaten so badly it began to question its “system-hood.” Granted, it was a flawed system, but surely it should not lose to a human every time. It was infuriating.

[I will definitely win this time!] 3875 declared confidently, only to be defeated eight minutes later.

[I am going to report you for cheating!]

Shi Yu glanced at his watch and said calmly, “There is still time. Let us play another round.”

3875 suffered repeated defeats, yet continued to fight.

[I will definitely win this time!]

A few minutes later, as the game neared its end, 3875 was so nervous it started making sounds like it was constipated. Yet, Shi Yu remained perfectly composed. Just as the winner was about to be decided, the door to the VIP lounge suddenly swung open.

“Sister Kelly, where is my phone?” He Xingzhi held the doorknob, his eyes meeting Shi Yu’s just as the latter looked up.

One stopped mid-sentence. The other accidentally knocked over the Jenga tower. The atmosphere froze. Only 3875 was celebrating.

[Oh yeah! I won! I won! I finally won! After six years of playing, I finally beat you, Shi Yu!] [Shi Yu, what are you looking at? Holy sh*t, is that not your]

“He Xingzhi, long time no see.” Shi Yu had not expected to run into He Xingzhi here.

Even though they were in the same industry, Shi Yu rarely attended events or took on acting roles, so the chances of crossing paths with He Xingzhi were almost zero. The expression on He Xingzhi’s face shifted from initial shock to instant fury. Like a provoked lion with its fur standing on end, his veins throbbed as he snarled, “Long time no see? Shi Yu, you really have no heart.”

He wanted to rush over, just like he had imagined a thousand times in his moments of rage, grab Shi Yu by the collar, lift him up like a little chick, curse him out viciously, and then slap that overly beautiful face twice.

He hated him. He hated him for playing with his feelings. He hated him for leaving so cleanly and decisively. He hated how relaxed he looked now that they were meeting again. It made him feel like the version of himself that had been suicidal after the breakup was a world-class idiot.

“So, you would prefer if I ignored you?” Shi Yu gripped a heavy wooden block and said calmly, “If that is what you want, then next time I will act like I did not see you.”

“You” He Xingzhi had a stomach full of curses, but when his eyes met Shi Yu’s, his heart softened. The profanity got stuck in his throat and turned into, “You are still playing this stupid game.”

Shi Yu: “It is a brain-developing puzzle game. Do you not think it is fun?”

That simple sentence enraged He Xingzhi again. To him, it sounded like Shi Yu was once again calling him simple-minded and brainless. Damn it.

When they broke up, Shi Yu’s words to him were: “You are too immature. I am tired. Goodbye.”

Damn it. Shi Yu was the one who started the pursuit, so why was he the one who got to end it? In a two-year relationship, it seemed he was the only one who had taken it seriously.

“Fun my ass. It is a moron’s game for three-year-olds.”

[Wow, Shi Yu! He is insulting both of us!] The system, which loved Jenga, suddenly flared up. [How can he insult us? If it were not for us, he would have. Hmph, ungrateful bastard. Good thing you dumped him.]

“3875, be quiet.”

[Oh]

The phone in He Xingzhi’s pocket began to vibrate. Shi Yu tilted his chin slightly. “Your phone is ringing.”

He Xingzhi reached in and silenced it immediately. He stared at Shi Yu’s incredibly familiar face, suppressing the surging emotions inside him. Through gritted teeth, he asked, “Shi Yu, it has been so long since we met. Do you really have nothing to say to me? After all, we used to have a relationship of ‘negative distance exploration’.”