Can You Believe It? I Ran into My Ex on a Dating Variety Show - Chapter 23

Shi Yu left behind a word of apology and turned to leave.

He Xingzhi stood up abruptly; his movement was so swift that he knocked over the chair behind him. A loud clatter echoed, striking the hearts of everyone present. He ran around the table, catching up to Shi Yu just as he was about to exit. He wrapped his arms tightly around Shi Yu from behind and said in a hoarse voice, “Shi Yu, can you please not leave?”

Shi Yu pulled away the hands clasped at his chest and said, “He Xingzhi, you are drunk. Go back early.”

Shi Yu tried to depart.

He Xingzhi held him back, refusing to let him go. During the struggle, He Xingzhi grabbed Shi Yu’s hand and pressed it firmly against his own heart.

“Do you still remember?”

Shi Yu looked up sharply. He wanted to cover He Xingzhi’s mouth, but it was too late. He Xingzhi looked at him with bloodshot eyes and whispered, “This is the frequency of my love for you.”

Shi Yu almost lost his composure. He clenched his fists so tightly that his nails nearly dug into his palms. These were words He Xingzhi had said to him before, more than once.

He Xingzhi used to love holding him afterward, letting him lean against his chest to listen to the drum-like thumping of his heartbeat. Then, he would ask, “Do you hear it?”

Shi Yu would ask, “What?”

“This is the frequency of my love for you.”

The rhythm beneath his palm matched the thumping sound from his memory perfectly. A flash of agony crossed Shi Yu’s eyes, but after taking a deep breath, he spoke even colder words.

“He Xingzhi, you have simply had too much to drink. Go back early.”

He wrenched his hand from He Xingzhi’s grasp and walked away without looking back. Only when his back was turned did tears begin to roll in his reddened eyes.

The skit ended, and the livestream comments went wild.

Livestream Comments:

• • “I am crying so hard!”

• • “Who understands this? The sense of brokenness in their eyes just now was so powerful.”

• • “How can two people who match so well not be together? Can the production team let them finish this script?”

• • “Who said watching variety shows was funny? I am crying like a two hundred pound dog right now.”

• • “Even though He Xingzhi’s line was a bit cheesy, it really made me burst into tears in that context. ‘This is the frequency of my love for you.’ This must be a secret code between them. It had such a strong impact on the plot. You can go back and watch Shi Yu’s reaction when he heard that line; it was incredible. There must be a story, a secret. Why on earth did they break up? Why can they not be together when they clearly still love each other? Production team, I want to see the sequel!”

• • “That single tear from He Xingzhi almost killed me. The acting was too good.”

• • “It did not look like acting at all. This is too much.”

• • “You have to admit the conviction of these actors is strong. Do these two not get along outside of the show? Yet when playing lovers, they acted with such unforgettable emotion.”

• • “I declare this the best short skit of the year.”

• • “So heartbreaking.”

• • “He Xingzhi and Shi Yu are the best match.”

• • “Could they have actually been together before? As far as I know, He Xingzhi did break up with a lover three years ago.”

• • “You can tell they were just purely showing off their acting skills by how fast they snapped out of character. One second ago, everyone was moved to death; the next second, these two did not even look at each other. They took their breakfast cards and went back to the sofa. Their expressions were far too calm.”

• • “He Xingzhi is such a straight guy. Even if he dated before, it would have been with a woman, right?”

• • “Please, He Xingzhi is currently filming a BL dating show.”

• • “So what? It is possible his company just signed him up for it. After all, the popularity of BL is very high, and this show has so many big stars. Even if the company did not sign him up and he wanted to join himself, he could be bisexual. He Xingzhi does not look like a pure gay man at all.”

• • “Stop arguing. Every time, you guys argue for ages about whether He Xingzhi is straight. His behavior is ‘straight,’ but that does not mean his orientation is. Even if a person is straight, they might fall for someone of the same sex because of a specific person, right? You do not love a gender; you love a person.”

As the arguments reached a peak, the broadcast time ended, and the screen instantly went black.

The production team gradually brought out the warm breakfast according to the items the guests had chosen earlier. Su Jingxi was still talking to Shi Yu about the skit.

“Brother Shi, you are truly amazing. I cried just watching you. You and He Xingzhi do not seem familiar with each other at all, yet you could portray such deep love. No wonder you are a Movie King.”

Shi Yu replied, “I am not a Movie King.”

“I joined your fan group yesterday,” Su Jingxi said. “Some veteran fans explained it to me. They said you could have won the Movie King title back then, but you did not want to go and refused the award, so you were never officially crowned. But in the eyes of us fans, you are the most incredible Movie King!”

Su Jingxi had visited Shi Yu’s Weibo out of boredom yesterday. Somehow, he ended up being pulled into a group chat by Shi Yu’s fans and even followed everyone in buying a bunch of merchandise. Because he had distributed several thousand yuan in red envelopes within the group, he had already become one of the administrators. His name in the group was Su Jingxi, but no one believed he was the real Su Jingxi.

Sitting next to Shi Yu, Su Jingxi was as talkative as a noisy starling, chattering non-stop. Shi Yu felt a slight headache coming on. His heart had been heavy, but because Su Jingxi talked the whole way, he gradually calmed down.

He Xingzhi had left immediately after the performance. He did not show up even during breakfast.

Liu Xiuxiu noticed he had not come out to eat. After waiting for a while, he said, “How about I pack a bit of everything and bring it to Brother He’s room?” Even as he spoke, he had already started moving.

Zhang Bin advised him, “He looked to be in a bad mood. If you go to him now, he might not appreciate it.”

Liu Xiuxiu became conflicted. Yan Jin smoothly pushed a cup of warm milk in front of Su Jingxi.

Su Jingxi was busy looking at his phone. He was checking the group messages. Because of the skit during the livestream, the small group had exploded with activity. There were so many messages that he had not finished reading them even after scrolling for ten minutes. Su Jingxi was so focused on the messages that he did not notice who had given him the milk; he just picked it up and drank it.

Xie Yuanzhou noticed the interaction between Yan Jin and Su Jingxi and tapped his fingers on the table.

Zhao Yiliang ate with refined manners. He took a bite of a bun, swallowed it, and then said, “Perhaps we can let Shi Yu deliver it.”

Su Jingxi stood up immediately. “I will go.”

The people in the fan group had said that He Xingzhi was not a good person and hoped Shi Yu would not get too close to him. As one of the group administrators, he felt the need to protect Brother Shi.

The crystal bun in Yan Jin’s mouth suddenly lost its flavor. He stood up, reached out toward Liu Xiuxiu, and said, “I will deliver it. I have some personal history with He Xingzhi.”

A personal history involving a past physical fight, that is. But he would restrain himself from getting into a fight on the show.