Chapter 18: Listen to How Your Ex Describes You (Part 1)

Lu Zhou read the words on the tablet aloud and turned the screen around for everyone to see.

A chorus of sharp inhales echoed around the dining table.

Wen Yiming murmured, “Here comes the real excitement…”

Li Jiayan cupped her cheeks in her hands, muttering, “I wish I could just escape.”

Qi Jiajia puffed out her cheeks, talking to herself, “Hopefully it won’t be too awkward.”

Sitting directly opposite her, Xu Junze glanced up and smiled, “If you’re hoping for no awkwardness, I’m afraid that’s a bit unrealistic.”

Ye Fangfei, on the other hand, seemed unbothered by this segment, leisurely picking at her food. Observing the varied moods around her, she couldn’t resist adding, “Are you all worried your exes will badmouth you?”

Lu Zhou placed the tablet upright in the center of the table and, hearing this, smiled and replied, “I don’t think any of our exes are that malicious, right?”

Zhang Chen idly stirred the sauce before him with his chopsticks, saying, “It’s not impossible, though.”

Chu Yao looked up at Zhang Chen and teased, “So, did you say anything less than flattering about your ex?”

Zhang Chen paused, raised an eyebrow, and replied, “Take a guess.”

Everyone chuckled, the little diversion buying them some time. But what was coming could not be avoided.

“Ready, comrades? Shall we start playing it?” Lu Zhou asked.

“Wait, is there a video?” Qi Jiajia suddenly interrupted, just as Lu Zhou was about to press play.

“It’s not a video, it’s an audio recording.”

“Won’t the voice give away who’s speaking?” Li Jiayan voiced her concern.

“The production team must have processed the voices. If we can think of that loophole, so can they—no need to worry,” Xu Junze assured her.

Li Jiayan nodded in understanding.

“If everyone’s alright, I’ll press play,” Lu Zhou said.

With everyone’s agreement, he tapped the audio file and turned the volume to its maximum.

The dining room fell into an uncanny silence.

Who would be the first?

Everyone held their breath, awaiting the first sound from the tablet.

After about a minute, a voice finally emerged—a drawn-out “uh” sound.

“Uh… I am… Lu Zhou’s ex.”

Just as Xu Junze had predicted, the recording was altered, the voice distorted into a strange mechanical tone, making it impossible to identify who was speaking.

The sound was oddly comical; at its first utterance, everyone burst out laughing.

To his embarrassment, Lu Zhou was the first to be introduced. He rubbed the back of his neck, smiling wordlessly.

Everyone stifled their laughter, focusing intently on the recording.

“When I was dating Lu Zhou, there was something about him that I really appreciated.

He… well, he’s very handsome, and has a great figure—the kind of guy who turns heads wherever he goes. Usually, men like that are pretty flirtatious, right? But Lu Zhou wasn’t; he was very devoted in his relationships.

He’s also quite ambitious.

I think the type of girl he likes would be someone pretty, someone who shares common interests with him, and who can appreciate him.”

The introduction wasn’t lengthy, and not a single negative remark was uttered.

Lu Zhou listened quietly, nodded, and said with a smile, “Wow, this is a very high compliment for me. Thank you, I’m honestly moved!”

As he spoke, he almost instinctively glanced at Li Jiayan, but managed to restrain himself.

Li Jiayan, eager to hide the fact that she wasn’t the one who recorded the audio, deliberately remarked beside him, “It must be because Lu Zhou is genuinely great, that’s why his ex-girlfriend had such good things to say.”

Lu Zhou found her unexpectedly adorable, thinking: Ah, sister, you’ve made it rather obvious.

“Handsome, faithful, ambitious—why break up with such a good guy?” Zhang Chen added in a faintly wistful tone.

Lu Zhou: “…”

At first, it sounded like Zhang Chen was defending him, but on closer inspection, it felt like a backhanded jab, implying Lu Zhou couldn’t possibly be as wonderful as described.

Everyone kept their expressions neutral, uncertain why Zhang Chen had asked such a question at this moment.

Ye Fangfei set her chopsticks down, breaking the awkward silence:

“Relationships aren’t like handing out ‘good person’ cards. Who says good men can’t have breakups? Personality, interests, hobbies—any of those can lead to a split.”

“Yes, there are always many reasons behind a breakup,” Wen Yiming chimed in.

“…” Zhang Chen felt a bit embarrassed, shrugged, and tried to play it off, “Alright, I was just curious, that’s all.”

Lu Zhou patted Zhang Chen’s shoulder in jest, “Don’t worry, wait till we get to your part.”

Zhang Chen: “…”

The next recording began to play.

“I am Qi Jiajia’s ex.”

Again, the distorted, strange voice echoed through the dining room.

Everyone had grown accustomed to it, so no one laughed this time.

Qi Jiajia, now the subject, blushed furiously, her hands covering her cheeks as she listened quietly.

“Don’t be fooled by Jiajia’s capable exterior; she’s only like that at work. In private, she’s actually quite soft, with lots of girlish traits.

She… likes adding a sense of ceremony to daily life. For example, if she sees nice flowers on her way home, she’ll buy a bouquet to decorate her place; wherever she goes, she always records videos, and spends a lot of time editing vlogs to share later.

Jiajia is also someone who really values holidays—never forget important dates, and always prepare gifts in advance, otherwise she might get upset and say you don’t love her enough.”

Qi Jiajia frowned as she listened.

What is all this? How annoying.

“Oh, and she’s a fan of celebrities… I won’t go into details.

I think she’s a girl who lacks a bit of security. If she meets someone new here, I hope that person can give her enough reassurance.”

The recording ended on that note.

Once the playback stopped, the dining room fell into a peculiar silence once again.

Well now, the previous ex had only spoken kind words, but this one…

“Girlish,” “ceremony-loving,” “lacks security”—all these labels were laid out.

Listening to the whole statement, it wasn’t exactly criticism, but certainly not glowing praise either.

Qi Jiajia’s face was as red as an egg after hearing her ex’s assessment. She tucked her short hair behind her ear, her expression betraying a barely-contained anger.

Chu Yao noticed and quickly cleared her throat, trying to ease the atmosphere, “It sounds a lot like me, actually… I love ceremony too, and I like to make holidays special. Otherwise, it just feels like any other day. Jiajia, we’re pretty similar in that regard.”

Qi Jiajia knew Chu Yao was trying to save the situation. She forced a smile and joked, “Maybe we should just celebrate together.”

The tension finally dissipated a bit.

Lu Zhou glanced around at the men seated, thinking: Whoever recorded this must have wanted to stir things up.

Why introduce his ex in this way? Was he deliberately pointing out her shortcomings, hoping to keep other men away? Is he aiming for reconciliation?

Or perhaps their breakup had been so unpleasant that he couldn’t help but speak his true feelings in the recording?

Hard to tell what’s real and what’s not.