Chapter 18: , Air Force Couple

Getting really into character, huh!

Zhang Xian silently roasted her in his heart, then happily tucked the red envelope into his trouser pocket.

Actually, having a celebrity girlfriend like Chu Yourong was still a pretty face-giving thing. Not to mention far-off examples, but Brother Dong Xu and Old Pang had been drooling with envy.

This sneaky, low-key showing-off feeling was still pretty satisfying.

But the problem was the two of them were fake after all—Chu Yourong was only a girlfriend in name.

And Zhang Xian was a pragmatist—if he could look but not sleep, then he'd just go by the contract!

"You, stop right there."

Zhang Xian was just about to head back to grab his fishing rod and continue battling it out by the river, but Chu Yourong, who had walked off some distance, had actually turned back.

"Something else?"

"Are you going fishing later?"

"Mm, what about it?"

"I'm coming with you!"

"Can you fish?"

"No!"

"Then what's the point of you fishing!"

"Can you?"

"Of course!"

Zhang Xian smugly shrugged: "I used to go fishing with my roommates all the time back in college."

"So what? Isn't it still skunking every day!"

Chu Yourong disdainfully curled her lip: "Even if I can't fish, the worst I can do is end up the same as you!"

Zhang Xian:......

Milk-fig, that hits right in the heart!

How could such cold words come out of a 37-degree mouth!

"I'm planning to post a dating vlog with my boyfriend today, so how about you just go shopping with me instead."

Chu Yourong spoke up again.

"Fine, let's go fishing!"

For Zhang Xian, shopping and fishing simply weren't a multiple-choice question.

So Zhang Xian first rode his little e-moped, taking Chu Yourong to the fishing tackle market to snag the fishing rod he'd had his eye on for ages, spending over sixteen thousand.

The red envelope Zhang Dongshan had given Chu Yourong had twenty thousand in it, so that left only four thousand.

Still, right now Zhang Xian really wasn't short on cash. Apart from the system's rewards over the past few days, Chu Yourong had also transferred him 500,000!

"A crappy fishing rod actually costs sixteen thousand? You're really something of a spendthrift!"

Coming out of the fishing tackle market, Chu Yourong started roasting him.

"Have you heard of Gamakatsu?"

Zhang Xian hugged his new fishing rod, a smile all over his face, not bothering to argue with Chu Yourong at all.

"Whatever-zatsu, isn't it still just a fishing rod!"

"I don't see any difference from those hundred-or-two-hundred-yuan rods!"

Chu Yourong kept roasting.

This time Zhang Xian wasn't happy. He pointed at the LV crossbody bag slung over Chu Yourong's shoulder: "How much was your bag?"

"Twenty-three thousand."

Chu Yourong replied offhandedly. The bag she was carrying was this season's new style—she'd just bought it a few days ago for 23,800.

"Your one bag costs twenty-three thousand, and you've got the nerve to call me a spendthrift??"

Zhang Xian launched a counterattack.

"But this is LV!"

"Whatever-V, isn't it still just a bag?"

"I don't see any difference from those twenty-or-thirty-yuan bags at street stalls!"

Zhang Xian lightly shrugged his shoulders, turning her own logic right back on her.

"You......"

Chu Yourong was rendered utterly speechless. But on second thought, Zhang Xian's words really did hold water—luxury goods like LV were all selling brand premium.

If you only looked at it from a practical standpoint, there really wasn't any difference from those twenty-or-thirty-yuan bags—in fact, they might even be worse.

"So are we going fishing or not?"

"If you're not going, I'm leaving!"

Seeing Chu Yourong standing rooted to the spot, Zhang Xian swung a leg right onto his little e-moped.

"Your girlfriend's mad, and you don't even know how to coax her a little?"

Chu Yourong said huffily.

"You're a fake, don't you have any... idea in your head?"

The words on the tip of his tongue, Zhang Xian gentlemanly swallowed back the letter between A and C.

"Then what if I were real!"

"If your girlfriend got mad, would you coax her or not?"

Chu Yourong asked, glaring with her almond-shaped eyes.

"What are you, a grown-up still needing someone to coax you!"

'Hah~!'

'With an attitude like yours, your girlfriend will definitely break up with you!'

'Let her break up, the next one will be more obedient!'

Zhang Xian shrugged: 'Are you coming or not? If you don't hurry, the fish will be off work!'

'I really am blind!'

'Why did I see you in that coffee shop!'

'Someone like you deserves to be single forever!'

Although she wasn't Zhang Xian's real girlfriend, Chu Yourong was still furious at his 'heaven-defying remarks.'

Still, Chu Yourong had no intention of canceling her vlog plan; she hopped onto her electric scooter, leaned her body sharply backward, assuming a posture of complete separation from Zhang Xian — oddly cute.

But when Zhang Xian braked suddenly, Chu Yourong's body lurched forward due to inertia, yet stubborn as ever, she readjusted her posture back to its original position.

Thus, a 'striking scene' unfolded along the street; some passersby found it amusing and filmed it, posting it to Douyin.

【Jingxi Electronics Factory】 live stream room.

'It's 3:30! What the hell is the fisherman doing?'

'Looks like he won't show up today!'

'Probably on a date with his girlfriend!'

'Didn't you see yesterday how his girlfriend dragged him away? She's probably mad!'

'Top comment — he's probably facing the century dilemma: girlfriend or fishing?'

'Sigh, women really do slow down your casting speed...'

Netizens had waited in the 【Jingxi Electronics Factory】 live stream room for half the day; peak viewership reached twenty thousand, but since the 'fisherman' never appeared, the room now held barely over three thousand.

Most of them were fishers themselves — some streamed while fishing, others couldn't fish for various reasons and only watched to satisfy their cravings — yet today, Zhang Xian had stood them up.

Just as everyone chatted idly, that familiar figure finally appeared.

'Here he is! Here he is!'

'Thought he was going to flake today!'

'He brought his girlfriend?'

'No way — his girlfriend came to fish with him??'

'This guy may be Air Force every day, but he's literally our role model!'

'Where do you find a goddess girlfriend like that? Can you introduce me?'

'Damn it, just watching fishing gets me forcibly fed dog food — no mercy for single dogs!'

After Zhang Xian and Chu Yourong appeared, the live stream room exploded — especially when viewers saw that the 'fisherman's' beautiful girlfriend had actually come to fish with him; all the fishers who had argued with their girlfriends (or wives) over fishing collectively broke down.

By the river.

With his new gear, Zhang Xian was full of confidence and silently vowed today he would break the Air Force Curse.

Otherwise, he'd be disrespecting this sixteen-thousand-yuan fishing rod.

Chu Yourong had zero interest in fishing; she came only to film a vlog, so after setting up the rod, she began recording.

But since it was a boyfriend-fishing vlog, there had to be a catch — otherwise it'd look too pathetic.

So she started paying attention to the float on the water's surface.

Yet after waiting a long time, the float remained still; she turned to look at Zhang Xian nearby — he was the same.

Tsk!

'So-called experienced? What's the difference between him and me, a beginner?'

Chu Yourong silently scoffed, but since Zhang Xian kept failing to catch anything, a competitive urge slowly rose in her.

If he couldn't catch a fish, but she did — then she'd beat him!

And Zhang Xian, having just switched to new gear, couldn't accept another Air Force day — especially with Chu Yourong here; if he failed again, she'd surely mock him.

So Zhang Xian was unusually serious today.

Unfortunately, fishing has nothing to do with seriousness — beyond skill, it depends on luck.

But Zhang Xian's luck must've all been spent activating his system; by nightfall, he still hadn't caught a single fish!

This river hates me!

Air Force every single day!

It's just ridiculous!

Zhang Xian cursed under his breath, stealing a glance at Chu Yourong out of the corner of his eye — she was frantically swatting away mosquitoes.

Clearly, she was suffering from the bites, yet still hadn't suggested leaving.

Huh, she's got quite the competitive spirit!

Zhang Xian could see right through Chu Yourong's little scheme — she just wanted to prove that even a beginner like her was better than him.

Fine, let's play 'meditation contest,' then!

I'll match you step for step!

Zhang Xian stretched his shoulders, then turned his gaze back to the river.

Neither of them knew.

The live stream room was buzzing.

Online viewers had surged to 25,000 — more than many big influencers got.

'Hahaha, no wonder they're a couple — both Air Force together.'

'I can't breathe, laughing so hard — a married couple both Air Force?'

'I dub them the 【Air Force Couple】!'

"Hah! 'Air Force Couple' is such a perfect name!"

"Betting time! Who do you think will be the first to catch a fish?"

"I bet one million Happy Beans—they won't catch anything!"

"If nothing goes wrong, this river has no bite at all—no one's around here!"

Before anyone noticed, it was already eight p. m.

Chu Yourong finally couldn't take it anymore—the mosquitoes by the river were too numerous; even after spraying herself with heavy perfume, she hoped the scent would drive them away.

But those mosquitoes acted as if they'd starved for centuries, swarming wildly onto Chu Yourong's body—she had several large bites on her legs.

"Zhang Xian, I'm hungry!"

Chu Yourong made an excuse.

"Uh, I'm a little hungry too!"

Zhang Xian had already wanted to go home—he, a man with a Lie-Flat System, had turned fishing into a job. Why bother!

But since Chu Yourong hadn't moved, he didn't dare bring it up first.

Now Chu Yourong had given him an opening—they instantly agreed and quickly reeled in!

There was a seafood barbecue stall nearby that Zhang Xian often visited; today he brought Chu Yourong there.

After sitting down, the two of them tacitly avoided talking about fishing.

Because for both of them, it was a topic that harmed a thousand while injuring themselves eight hundred.

Like a duo-ranked gaming pair who lost a match—one ranked last, the other second-to-last.

Just start the next match immediately!

While waiting for the food, Chu Yourong posted her edited vlog to her Douyin account.

Over the past two days, Chu Yourong's Douyin account had nearly become a romance account, updating one or two posts daily about herself and her boyfriend.

At noon today, she'd just posted a video of meeting her boyfriend's parents; now, in the evening, another vlog of a date with him.

"Sis is now a full-time romantic now, huh!"

"Rong Bao actually went fishing with her boyfriend—I'm shattered!"

"I just want to kill that guy right now!"

"Love-brain is terrifying! Two romance vlogs in one day!"

"She's openly dating, not cheating, not stealing anyone's boyfriend—wishing her happiness!"

Over the past two days, Chu Yourong had been diligently cultivating her "love-brain" persona, a strategy suggested by her agent, Huan Jie.

Logically, an agent should side with the company—but Chu Yourong and Han Ziwei and others were personally trained by the top agent Chen Huan; their bond went beyond business, rooted in deep affection, so Chen Huan was willing to sacrifice some of her own interests to help Chu Yourong break free.

After these two days of effort, Chu Yourong's "love-brain" persona had taken deep root—unless something unexpected happened, the upcoming contract termination negotiations with the company should go more smoothly.

Chu Yourong was happily scrolling through her fans' comments when her best friend Han Ziwei suddenly forwarded her a video.

"Yourong, is this you?"

Chu Yourong opened the video—it was her sitting on the back of an electric scooter, but the angle was from behind and to the side, capturing only her back and profile, so only those very familiar with her could recognize her.

The video had already gone viral—over 500,000 likes and 80,000+ comments.

"This girl is so adorable!"

"So cute, I'm melted!"

"Apologize! Apologize to her right now!!"

"Even though she was angry, she still rode on her boyfriend's scooter—what a hidden gem!"

"I feel like this beauty looks a lot like Chu Yourong?"

"What nonsense—Chu Yourong would ride on an electric scooter??"

Though her face wasn't shown, her name still appeared in the comments—and while netizens praised the girl on the scooter as adorable, the rest were all condemning the man riding it.

With such a lovely girlfriend, how could he make her angry? He was "unforgivably wicked"!

"Zhang Xian, what's your Douyin ID?"

Chu Yourong thought Zhang Xian should see the netizens' comments.

The eyes of the masses are sharp.

Look—everyone is condemning you!

Zhang Xian didn't know what Chu Yourong was up to, so he directly sent her his Douyin ID.

Then, he received the video she forwarded.

"Damn, who filmed us?"

"Who's so bored?!"

Zhang Xian just wanted to lie low and lie flat—he never wanted to be in the spotlight; even in Chu Yourong's videos, he'd never shown his face, yet now some stranger had filmed him and posted it on Douyin.

And this video had gone viral—based on likes and comments, the views must be in the tens of millions!

Luckily, he was wearing a helmet and the video was shot from behind, so his face wasn't visible—but the "toxic comments" in the comment section still made him feel depressed.

No wonder Chu Yourong wanted him to watch this video—the netizens were overwhelmingly on her side!

The internet's justice principle had been proven again.

Beauty is justice! Body is justice! Beauty is justice!

As long as you're good-looking and have a great body, everything you say and do is right!

Even high-profile fugitives with good looks can go viral online.

Sigh—if only I hadn't worn the helmet.

Let them see the dashing, handsome, peach-throwing beauty I am!