Chapter 87: Questioning the Soul

Unfair???

Ye Fangfei stared at Zhang Chen, who was nearly bristling with rage before her, and a giant question mark popped up in her mind.

A man born with a silver spoon in his mouth, participating in a show that from its very inception had been kneeling to capital and disregarding fairness, now stood before her, adopting a posture of righteous indignation, and uttered the words “unfair”?

Ye Fangfei was dumbfounded.

“You want fairness?” she raised an eyebrow in response.

“Of course I want fairness! Since I joined this show, you’ve never given me a chance, and now you’re openly being so close with him right in front of me! Don’t you think you’re overstepping?” Zhang Chen’s anger had stripped away all traces of his usual gentlemanly demeanor.

Ye Fangfei’s brows knitted together. “I didn’t invite you to watch my performance with my partner. That was your own choice.”

Zhang Chen was instantly at a loss for words.

Ye Fangfei’s calm explanation gradually brought Zhang Chen back to his senses. He began to realize how out of line he’d acted in front of the live cameras and forced himself to regain composure.

“Sorry, I was jealous just now and lost control of my emotions. I didn’t mean to yell at you,” he said, wiping his face roughly and taking a deep breath.

Ye Fangfei looked at him for a while before reminding him, “I’m an artist. If you care so much about my performances on stage, then perhaps our breakup is a relief for you.”

Zhang Chen fell silent.

She was always sharp-tongued; sometimes he realized he was no match for her at all.

But he’d seen her past performances—never anything like what she’d done today. Even if there had been male partners, there was never such physical closeness. Besides, he’d heard she detested being caught up in rumors with male artists, but her behavior today—was she not worried about gossip?

Zhang Chen simply couldn’t find a reasonable explanation for her stage performance today.

He suspected Ye Fangfei was just making excuses to cover up her interest in Lu Zhou, or perhaps she herself didn’t realize what changes were stirring in her heart.

No man likes a gold digger.

Yet when a woman no longer needs to chase after money, that too is frightening.

Once freed from the need to profit, women begin pursuing spiritual resonance, inner impulses, and emotional thrills.

These, Zhang Chen realized, he might never be able to give Ye Fangfei—but perhaps she’d already found some spark in Lu Zhou.

Lu Zhou was poor, from a modest family, but he had musical talent and could connect with Ye Fangfei on a deeper level.

She might not want to marry him, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t want to indulge in a fleeting romance.

In just a brief instant, countless sharp thoughts flashed through Zhang Chen’s mind, and he sensed trouble looming.

He gritted his teeth, determined to expose her while he still had a chance.

He would extinguish the spark in her heart, right here, in front of the live cameras and thousands of viewers.

“Yes, you’re an artist, so are you saying that no matter who your partner was today, you’d have performed the same piece with him?” Zhang Chen launched his soul-searching inquiry.

Ye Fangfei met his gaze, silent for a moment, before answering, “Of course not.”

Her words made Lu Zhou, who’d been negotiating with the street band, freeze in surprise.

Yes, he was discussing how to split the earnings with the band, but he was also paying attention to the conversation between Zhang Chen and Ye Fangfei.

Her answer left him momentarily stunned, his attention unconsciously shifting toward their exchange.

Zhang Chen, upon hearing her reply, let a mocking smile creep onto his lips. “So you’re saying you’d only perform that piece with Lu Zhou?”

“I don’t think any of the other three male guests could have handled that stage as well as Lu Zhou,” Ye Fangfei replied with a smile, realizing Zhang Chen was trying to put her on the spot. “Or do you think you could?”

Zhang Chen bit his lip, stumped again.

He desperately wanted to claim he could, but he knew all too well he couldn’t.

Yet he wasn’t ready to abandon his plan.

“So, by your logic, I can take it that your performance just now was purely professional, and not because you have feelings for Lu Zhou?”

Zhang Chen threw caution to the wind.

Nearby, Lu Zhou tensed at the question.

When one begins to anticipate an answer, even the briefest silence feels excruciatingly long.

Zhang Chen felt it, and so did every viewer watching the live stream.

[On the very first day of the trip and it’s already this intense?]
[So scary, it’s like a battlefield.]
[What if she says she’s interested? Ah, I can’t breathe.]
[I bet she’s into him! They were so sweet today! With such chemistry, what woman wouldn’t fall for him?!]
[CP shippers are holding their breath, please don’t let it be a “No”.]
...

Ye Fangfei was silent, her brows furrowing slightly, as if displeased.

After two seconds or so, she finally replied, “I recall I said before the performance began that everything I did was for the sake of the stage and unrelated to my personal feelings. Please don’t overinterpret.”

The live chat exploded—

[Heartbroken]
[I knew it]
[It’s not that easy to catch feelings]
[Artists just chase perfection on stage]
[It’s fine, there’s plenty of time ahead]
...

Zhang Chen finally let out a breath of relief.

Ye Fangfei never played by the rules; he was genuinely afraid she would blurt out “Yes, I’m interested,” and if that happened, things would get complicated.

As he expected, she didn’t have the courage to admit it on camera.

Or perhaps, she herself didn’t even think she’d caught feelings.

Of course, the latter would be best—if she didn’t realize it herself, then there was still hope.

Still, Zhang Chen hoped Ye Fangfei was truly just being professional, and everything was merely his own overthinking.

No matter what, though, Ye Fangfei had given a negative answer.

That was what he wanted—her denial out loud, and for Lu Zhou to hear it with his own ears.

Zhang Chen glanced at Lu Zhou, his eyes seeming to say: Did you hear? Even with all that chemistry, she’s not interested in you.

At that moment, Lu Zhou’s rigid back finally relaxed. He forced a smile and turned back to the street band, saying, “Let’s split the tips half and half. It was a team effort.”

Ye Fangfei caught Lu Zhou’s figure out of the corner of her eye, then looked away.

“I don’t like how you acted today,” she tossed to Zhang Chen.

Zhang Chen had no response.

With that, Ye Fangfei turned and walked toward Lu Zhou, her smile returning as if nothing had happened.

“Is the money sorted out?” she asked softly.

Lu Zhou glanced at her, lips curving. “Even split. They finally agreed.”

“Good. Shall we go to the museum?”

“Sure, but there’s one thing we need to do first.” Lu Zhou tucked the tips into his backpack and smiled at her.

“What is it?” Ye Fangfei was puzzled.

“We still owe Spider-Man five dollars,” Lu Zhou replied.

Ye Fangfei burst out laughing and agreed.

The two of them picked up their backpacks, waved to Qi Jiajia, Wen Yiming, and Chu Yao in the distance, and headed off in another direction.

Zhang Chen returned to Qi Jiajia’s side, in low spirits.

Wen Yiming patted Zhang Chen’s shoulder, offering silent comfort.

Chu Yao didn’t know what Zhang Chen and Ye Fangfei had discussed, but seeing their faces, she guessed they’d probably quarreled. She thought to offer some words of comfort, but then realized—on this show, comforting anyone seemed out of place, so she let it go.

Zhang Chen and Qi Jiajia continued with their task, heading for the museum, Zhang Chen now more determined than ever to win.

Chu Yao had originally planned to take the stage herself after Lu Zhou and Ye Fangfei’s performance, hoping to showcase her mediocre talents and maybe earn a bit of money.

But their act had set the bar so high that now Chu Yao felt embarrassed to go up, not wanting to make a fool of herself.

So she and Wen Yiming had to think of other solutions.

In the end, a foreign viewer recognized her and generously gave them a fair amount of money, allowing them to finally clear this round.

Having received the next destination, all the guests once again rushed off toward their new adventure.