Perfect Divorce [Entertainment Circle] - Chapter 3

“Today’s Huai-Zhou CP Kicked Over My Dog Food Bowl”

“Is There Anything More Tear-Jerking Than the Huai-Zhou CP?”

“Risking a Ban to Speak Out: Today I Realized Yuan Xingzhou is a Scheming Btch”*

“So Yuan Xingzhou’s Shameless Stunt Was Just to Steal the Limelight? This Former Teammate Sure is Loyal…”

“Lawyer’s Letter Warning (Dog Head): A Deep Dive into Everything Yuan Xingzhou Did During the ST Era”

At 2:00 PM, Yuan Xingzhou sat in a small meeting room at Huayu Entertainment, browsing various websites in a state of high anxiety with a heart rate of 120, waiting for his manager, Li Yu, to arrive and handle the situation.

Across from him, Ye Huai and his manager, Wen Ting, were also scrolling through their phones with dark expressions.

Two hours ago, after Yuan Xingzhou had lunged at the wrong person, he had immediately fallen into a state of shock—his brain stalled, and his body went stiff. Fortunately, Wen Ting reacted quickly. Seeing that things were going south, he shoved Yuan Xingzhou into the passenger seat without a word. He then calmly bluffed the program crew, claiming that the VIP channel charged by the minute—thousands of dollars at a time—and that they should discuss everything outside.

The cameramen were far too gullible. They never expected that this manager, who looked like a refined professional, was actually a smiling fox.

The two cars exited the airport one after the other. Just as the program crew’s driver was about to follow closely, the car in front suddenly accelerated and vanished from sight.

“I had to lose them first, or things would have spiraled,” Wen Ting had said gently at the time, smiling as he asked Yuan Xingzhou, “What were you two doing?”

By that point, Yuan Xingzhou didn’t dare keep up the act.

“Doing a mission,” Yuan Xingzhou said sheepishly. “The Surprise crew asked me to pick you up to see… see how many seconds it would take for Brother Ye to recognize me.”

A live-streamed mission. No wonder…

Wen Ting nodded in understanding. However, Ye Huai raised his head with a peculiar expression.

“Recognize you?” Ye Huai asked, bewildered. “What do you have to do with me?”

Wen Ting: “…”

Wen Ting looked at Yuan Xingzhou with pity and was about to help him out when Yuan Xingzhou turned his head.

“Nothing. We have nothing to do with each other,” Yuan Xingzhou apologized repeatedly. “I’m so sorry, Brother Ye. It’s like this…”

The situation was too complicated to explain his psychological journey from that night in a few words. Yuan Xingzhou had no choice but to bite the bullet and summarize the core truth: he had faked a CP relationship.

“I just… I thought you weren’t coming back to the country. I figured the hype would die down after a while and everything would be fine.” Yuan Xingzhou’s face burned with shame as he twisted his body, apologizing incessantly.

Ye Huai assumed it was just like any other celebrity scandal—vague, ambiguous reports. He frowned in dissatisfaction, then pulled out his phone to continue his drama.

However, Wen Ting—a manager who was deeply aware of the “Huai-Zhou” CP and had even “stanned” them with genuine emotion—collapsed on the spot.

“A FAKE! CP?!” Wen Ting was stunned. “Everything you said before… it was all fake?!”

The blow was so great that his voice rose two octaves.

Yuan Xingzhou apologized like a chicken pecking at grain: “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I…”

“Are you finished yet?” Ye Huai found the noise annoying. He pulled off his headphones and said to Wen Ting impatiently, “It’s just a scandal, isn’t it? We can just clarify it later…”

Wen Ting: “…”

He looked at Ye Huai, who was clearly still oblivious to the gravity of the situation, and felt like he was about to cough up blood.

“You, you, you! I’m calling your manager!” Wen Ting’s hands shook with rage as he fumbled to dial a number. “Who is your manager again? Li Yu, right… You guys, you people…”

On the verge of a breakdown, Wen Ting went off in a fury to make the call.

Yuan Xingzhou wanted to mention that Li Yu was also in the dark, but seeing Wen Ting’s state, he decided it was better to keep his mouth shut.

Fortunately, they were both under Huayu Entertainment. Wen Ting already had Li Yu’s number; otherwise, Yuan Xingzhou feared he might actually get beaten up.

Li Yu’s phone didn’t connect until half an hour later.

After Wen Ting gave Li Yu a harsh scolding, he brought the group back to the company in silence. They entered the meeting room, opened a computer, and began watching the public opinion fermenting online.

Today’s live mission for Yuan Xingzhou had clearly turned into a live catastrophe.

After all, four million viewers had tuned in for the grand spectacle of the Huai-Zhou CP’s long-awaited reunion.

No one had expected this outcome. When the cameramen were suddenly ditched and the livestream was cut off, the viewers fell into a state of confusion, unable to comprehend this bizarre plot twist.

Analyses of their behavior instantly flooded major forums. The CP fans were the first to explode, and also the first to offer “rational” explanations.

“Am I the only one who finds Zhou-zhou and Brother Huai’s reactions touching? They are so used to avoiding the cameras that they haven’t had time to change their habits over the years.”

“Yes, yes! The two brothers must be used to protecting each other. So after Zhou-zhou lunged forward uncontrollably, he subconsciously changed targets and rushed toward the manager! My Zhou-zhou has it so hard.”

“This kind of mutual protection is truly moving. Their restraint is carved into their very bones…”

“It’s heartbreaking to think about Brother Huai watching his ‘wife’ from such a short distance but not being able to take him into his arms…”

Wen Ting looked at Ye Huai—who, instead of being “heartbroken,” was actually frowning while “studying” the situation—and swallowed another mouthful of blood before continuing to read.

However, comments questioning if Yuan Xingzhou and Ye Huai were a fake CP were few and far between; most people thought that theory was too ridiculous.

The majority of people collectively leaned toward the idea that Yuan Xingzhou was being “scheming” again.

Wen Ting: “…”

—Yuan Xingzhou, that scheming btch! He must have wanted to steal Yuan Cheng’s limelight, which is why he pulled this stunt!* One must know that Yuan Cheng’s livestream had originally hit three million viewers as well, but as soon as something happened on Yuan Xingzhou’s side, everyone ran to watch him instead.

Yuan Cheng was a former teammate of Ye Huai and Yuan Xingzhou. Back when they were in the group ST, Yuan Cheng’s fans (“Cheng-fans”) and Yuan Xingzhou’s fans (“Zhou-fans”) had clashed over a “Y” shaped support light. The Cheng-fans were numerous and short-tempered, and they had ground the Zhou-fans into the dirt. Since then, the two fandoms had held a grudge. Whether something was happening or not, Yuan Xingzhou would be dragged out by Cheng-fans for a scolding.

After the group disbanded, Yuan Cheng had quickly signed with another agency. Yuan Xingzhou had never shared a stage or a frame with him since, so today’s clash could only be called an unfortunate coincidence.

Yuan Xingzhou saw the hate posts drifting up again. He forced himself not to click on them and silently put away his phone.

Li Yu arrived ten minutes later than expected.

Wen Ting had already explained most of it over the phone. Li Yu was actually even more shocked than he was, but Wen Ting believed he was just acting.

“This is a joke!” Wen Ting stood with his hands on his hips and threw an iPad onto the table toward Li Yu, his voice tight. “Yesterday, Ye Huai allegedly said, ‘Xingzhou has a waist injury, don’t overtrain him’… Bah! Who said that? Wasn’t it you who said it?”

Ye Huai: “…”

He was currently watching the “Huai-Zhou” interview cut that his manager had found. He had thought only Yuan Xingzhou was this shameless, but he hadn’t expected the other’s manager to be the same way.

Yuan Xingzhou was deeply ashamed: “I…”

“It doesn’t matter who said it anymore,” Li Yu said. “You didn’t call me here to argue. What do you plan to do? Do you have any ideas?”

Wen Ting sneered. “What do you mean ‘do we have any ideas’? Whoever created this mess should solve it. I only care about the result.”

“What result do you want?” Li Yu placed the iPad on the table. “Make your demands, and I’ll do it.”

Wen Ting narrowed his eyes.

“Clarification,” Ye Huai said, crossing his legs and making his demand bluntly. “Tell everyone clearly: I am not familiar with Yuan Xingzhou, and there is no CP relationship.”

“Your marriage contract is real,” Li Yu asked. “How do you plan to clarify that?”

Ye Huai paused, only just remembering that such a thing existed.

“We’re divorced,” Ye Huai said. “It was originally just a marriage of convenience. What is there to fear?”

Li Yu turned his gaze to Yuan Xingzhou.

Yuan Xingzhou, like a criminal awaiting sentencing, hung his head in silence.

“Fine,” Li Yu agreed readily. “Then we will issue a statement: Ye and Yuan have divorced and will have no further involvement with each other. How does that sound?”

He directed the last question toward Wen Ting. Managers, naturally, preferred dealing with other managers.

Ye Huai felt satisfied and looked at Wen Ting, but the latter laughed out of pure frustration.

“The marriage contract is real, and the ‘material’ Yuan Xingzhou made up is taken as truth by others. Now, the moment Ye Huai returns, they divorce?” Wen Ting sneered. “What, you want to reap the CP benefits and then make us take the fall?”

Given the level of “intoxication” among Huai-Zhou CP fans, the moment this statement was released, everyone would assume Ye Huai had abandoned his lover.

Because Yuan Xingzhou had sold so much “romance,” his career would definitely take a hit. But Ye Huai was innocent and had only just returned to the country. Why should he take the blame the moment he landed?

“Then what do you suggest?” Li Yu said. “Don’t be anxious; we are sincere. Since that option isn’t suitable, why don’t we sit down and discuss?”

“The divorce is definitely happening. But Ye Huai’s reputation must not be damaged.” Wen Ting gave Li Yu a wary look. A doubt rose in his mind, and after thinking for a moment, he said, “I need to take Ye Huai back first. He just got off a flight and needs to rest.”

Seeing this, Yuan Xingzhou quickly stood up, bowing and apologizing all the way as he saw them out of the meeting room.

Li Yu watched them leave and picked up his car keys. “Where are you living? I have things to do, so I’ll drop you off first.”

After Yuan Xingzhou had shot to fame, the company had moved him to a new dormitory—a high-end apartment complex. Li Yu had never picked him up or dropped him off before, so he didn’t even know his address.

Yuan Xingzhou gave the name of the apartment and the building number.

“I’m sorry, Brother Li,” Yuan Xingzhou apologized with a slumped head.

Li Yu remained silent. Only after passing two traffic lights did he suddenly speak: “You two cannot divorce for the time being.”

Yuan Xingzhou: “Huh?”

“Regardless of whether Wen Ting agrees or not,” Li Yu said firmly, “you cannot divorce.”

“We definitely can’t divorce right now,” Wen Ting said earnestly as he parked the car in the underground garage. “If we do, people will think you’ve had a change of heart. Is it appropriate for you to take the blame for no reason?”

Ye Huai had been irritable since getting into the car. Hearing this, he snapped, “What the hell does it have to do with me!”

He slammed the car door and walked angrily toward the elevator. Wen Ting followed, saying helplessly, “Yes, we all know you aren’t familiar with him and that you’re innocent… but the public doesn’t know that.”

Ye Huai frowned. “Can’t we just explain it clearly?”

“How? By having them admit they faked everything?” Wen Ting scoffed. “Let alone Yuan Xingzhou, Li Yu would never agree to that.”

Ye Huai: “…”

Putting aside whether those two would pull any other stunts, simply based on the fact that both parties belonged to the same company, this matter couldn’t be allowed to turn too ugly.

“Besides…” Wen Ting followed him into the apartment.

Ye Huai turned around, signaling with his eyes that he wasn’t allowed inside.

Wen Ting stood at the doorway and continued, “If you insist on announcing the truth…”

Ye Huai: “Then what?”

Wen Ting: “Then Yuan Xingzhou is finished.”

Although Yuan Xingzhou had been popular for these two years, it was limited to his dramas; his fan base wasn’t solid. If this sparked an image crisis, the variety shows and dramas he had already negotiated would likely drop him. Furthermore, commercial endorsements were his weak point. Without commercial resources, he might even struggle to put food on the table.

“Over-hyping scandals always makes people annoyed, not to mention someone like Yuan Xingzhou who deceived fans, exploited his teammate, and directed his own drama like some ‘drama king’…” Wen Ting said. “His persona will definitely collapse, and then he’ll be done for.”

“Oh.” Ye Huai nodded, taking a sparkling water from the fridge. “What does that have to do with me?”

“You two…” Wen Ting hesitated. “…Do you really have no relationship at all?”

Ye Huai gave him a look reserved for the mentally challenged.

“I just have one question.” Wen Ting raised his hands as he saw Ye Huai becoming impatient. “Since you two aren’t familiar with each other, how on earth did you end up getting married back then?”