Help! My Fanservice Partner is Looking at Me Differently Lately - Chapter 1

“Then let’s break up.”

Watching the man sitting across from him who was explaining himself incessantly, Chi Li suddenly blurted out the sentence.

“What do you mean by that?” As if a basin of cold water had been poured over his excitement, Zhou Yang’s face instantly soured. “Chi Li, I have been talking nicely for so long; was it all for nothing? Does it make you that uncomfortable to see me doing well?”

“I cannot accept a boyfriend who sells queerbaiting fanservice. If you were not doing that, then naturally, I would not care.” Under the table, Chi Li gripped his thigh tightly with his right hand. The pain allowed him to maintain his rationality for the time being. “Let us break up. I will not stand in the way of you pursuing a bright future.”

“That is fucking fake, fake!” Zhou Yang rapped his knuckles hard against the tabletop several times. “It is just like actors filming a scene; it is fake! Can you not just try to understand me for once?”

“You were the one who said you despised fanservice the most.”

Chi Li did not understand, and he did not want to. He could accept someone overturning their old beliefs, but he could not accept them doing so in less than three months.

“That was before,” Zhou Yang said as he suddenly felt guilty, reaching up to touch the tip of his nose. “I used to despise it, but who knew that just by filling in a shift at the ‘Nurture House,’ I would gain 100,000 followers?”

Chi Li remained silent.

His eyes were very still, like the surface of a frozen lake. He just watched, devoid of any emotion, yet it was as if everything that needed to be said was already written in his gaze. The more he looked, the more Zhou Yang’s confidence withered.

“Fine, look. Am I not doing this for the good of both of us? Once I make money, I will buy you luxury goods and rent you a big apartment. Moreover, I promise I will not do the fanservice intentionally, okay?”

“Right now, the entire internet is looking forward to you intervening in the ‘Jin Shui CP’ to act out some crowd-pleasing drama. And you are telling me you will not do it intentionally?” Chi Li sneered. “Who would believe that? The show’s production team probably already has the script written for you, right?”

Zhou Yang was puzzled. “As long as you believe me, is that not enough?”

Chi Li was speechless. “Do I look like a fool to you?”

“You are being so unreasonable.”

“Break up.” Chi Li did not want to listen to any more nonsense; it was giving him a headache.

“Damn it, you are taking this so seriously.”

“Break up.”

Zhou Yang took a deep breath, as if making a final decision. “If we break up, there is absolutely no possibility of us getting back together. I do not go back to my exes. Do not regret this.”

Chi Li looked at him steadily. “I will never regret it.”

The word “regret” simply did not exist in his dictionary.

“Fine, but I have one request.”

“Speak.”

If it was not too difficult to achieve, Chi Li was willing to grant it. He considered it a bit of dignity for this undignified breakup.

Zhou Yang said, “Have breakup sex with me.”

After a brief silence, Chi Li picked up the coffee next to him and splashed it squarely onto Zhou Yang’s face.

“Go screw yourself. Get out.”

After leaving the café, Chi Li returned to the company and practiced dancing for nearly an hour before his angry heart finally calmed down. Leaning against the wall and panting, he fished his phone out of his pocket.

Seeing the intimate photo of him and Zhou Yang on the lock screen wallpaper, his newly calmed heart flared with anger again. He had known Zhou Yang for a year and dated him for three months. They had practiced together until late at night, shared buckets of instant noodles, and lay on the grass downstairs at the dormitory looking at the sky to talk about their dreams and imagine a brilliant future.

In Chi Li’s eyes, Zhou Yang was mature, steady, and had a clear plan for the future. He was a person he could rely on. However, he did not expect that this man was just well-disguised; in reality, he was already rotten to the core.

Before that shameless request appeared, Chi Li had only attributed the reason for the breakup to his own emotional perfectionism. He thought Zhou Yang’s attempt to stay together was out of reluctance to let go. He had not realized it was merely because Zhou Yang was unwilling to give up since he had not managed to get Chi Li into bed yet.

With a wooden expression, Chi Li deleted the photos of him and Zhou Yang one by one. A new message notification popped up at the top of the screen. He clicked on it. The message was a video sent by Gu Nan.

“Yang-ge, I watched the video of you at the ‘Nurture House’ again today. The likes are almost at a million! Amazing! Aside from everything else, you and the pillar of the Nurture House really look like a good match. A lot of comments below say you have way more chemistry than his current official partner. I heard you are heading over there in the next couple of days, right? I have a feeling Yang-ge is about to ascend to stardom with this wave. The Nurture House has not had a viral clip with this much traffic in a long time. As long as they have a brain, they will bring our Yang-ge over to save the day. If you cannot replace Fang Jin, you can always join in for a love triangle. Brother, when you get famous, remember to give me a hand. I am counting on you.”

“Everyone, do not say that,” Zhou Yang’s voice finally appeared in the video. “I just got lucky with one viral post. However, Brother Li did tell me there is a high possibility they will arrange for me to enter the Nurture House.”

“A high possibility! Then it is basically a done deal. Just wait for your ascension.”

“Why be humble, Brother? Is tonight not a victory banquet?”

Zhou Yang replied, “Well, it has not officially landed yet, so I would not dare say. Everyone, eat and drink well. It is my treat today.”

“Yang-ge is so generous!”

“Yang-ge, take a photo with me later and give me an autograph. I will be your veteran fan from now on!”

After a few people crowded together and clinked glasses, Gu Nan suddenly spoke up. “Why did Chi Li not come?”

The others followed suit. “Exactly, why did Chi Li not come? Does he not love sticking to you the most?”

After finishing his drink, Zhou Yang smacked his lips. “Chi Li and I have broken off.”

Without waiting for others to ask, he continued with a pained expression. “He does not want me to go to the Nurture House. He is afraid the gap between us will get bigger and bigger. He is very jealous of me. Some people are destined to only share hardships, but not the rewards.”

The video ended there, with Zhou Yang’s hypocritical face frozen on the screen. A sudden, unprovoked surge of nausea arose. Chi Li clutched his chest and retched a few times. He downed two gulps of water and endured the disgust to exit the video player.

Gu Nan: I did not see you when I came in, so I figured you guys might have fought. Gu Nan: I thought he was drowning his sorrows in wine, but I did not expect him to be celebrating his ascension. Gu Nan: And he is even speaking ill of you. Gu Nan: What is the situation with you guys?

Chi Li did not hide it. Chi Li: We broke up.

Gu Nan was Chi Li’s cousin and the only person in the company who knew Zhou Yang was dating him. Of course, their identity as cousins was also kept secret. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for Zhou Yang to invite Gu Nan along.

Gu Nan: I knew he was not any good! Gu Nan: He has started talking trash about you again. Gu Nan: I want to beat him up. Chi Li: There is no need. Chi Li: Do not get your hands dirty. Chi Li: The company has high hopes for him now. If you touch him, you will be punished. Gu Nan: This is so frustrating.

Chi Li chuckled and typed with certainty. Chi Li: Do not worry, his good days will not last long.