Thank You for the Invitation, I Successfully Held Hands with the Best Actress - Chapter 21

“Breaking up over something like this seems excessive,” Li Yifan remarked. “Though I’d also feel jealous if my partner was chatting too intimately with someone else, throwing baseless accusations and threatening to break up would only pressure them.”

Ning Yu picked at his ear and glanced at Li Yifan. “With two eyes behind those glasses, you still can’t see clearly? Maybe get checked—is it your vision or your brain that’s the problem?”

“I wrote about breaking up, not ‘making a scene.’ Do you automatically assume every breakup request from your partner is just them being unreasonable? No wonder she couldn’t wait to leave you.” Ning Yu smiled, revealing neat white teeth.

Li Yifan’s ex-wife had repeatedly asked for a divorce, but he refused to sign, dismissing it as her “making a fuss.” He never took it seriously—until she finally snapped. When evidence of his domestic abuse was exposed in court, his reputation crumbled instantly. The case he thought he’d win ended in crushing defeat, costing him his job, career, and even the couple’s shared assets, which the judge awarded entirely to his wife as compensation for “physical harm to an omega.” Had it not been for his lawyer’s fierce defense, he might still be in jail until next year.

Li Yifan’s face darkened. “I was just hypothesizing—I don’t even have a partner now,” he muttered stiffly before falling silent.

Gao Mi chimed in with workplace platitudes about maintaining collegial harmony.

Ning Yu scoffed. “If Xiao Yu saw her boyfriend’s chat messages, it clearly wasn’t during work hours. What ‘work discussions’ need to be so cozy? Flirting on the clock, then intruding on personal time? Is this blurred boundaries or misusing company resources?”

Gao Mi countered, “Some jobs require 24/7 availability. They might’ve been discussing work. Shouldn’t you at least ask before sentencing him?”

LOL Mimi, I thought you chose ‘stay silent’—why the sudden answer change?

Ning Yu’s clapback is lethal. Her stance on silence makes zero sense now.

Is this relationship advice or a debate tournament?

Ning Yu fired back: “Even more telling—chatting so happily about ‘work’ off-hours? Does the job excite him more than you, or is it someone else?”

Gao Mi froze, scrambling for a rebuttal but finding Ning Yu’s logic airtight.

Ming Jue frowned. “Still, breaking up seems extreme. Warn the colleague and discipline your partner.”

“Cheating has two modes: never or endlessly. You can leash their body, but not their wandering eyes. Wake up—faded love stays faded. Forcing it is just wasted time.”

Ming Jue remained unconvinced. To her, holding onto someone you loved was paramount; such ruthless pragmatism felt alien.

HA! Preach! If it’s over, it’s OVER.

Every attempt to salvage dead love just tortures yourself.

Uh-oh…I think I’m falling for Ning Yu.

“Keep talking if you have more to say.”

Ling Fei cleared her throat and quickly moved on to the next question.

“As you grow older, do you find it increasingly difficult to fall in love? Please state the last time you felt your heart flutter.”

“A. Within the past week.”

“B. Within the past three months.”

“C. Within the past six months.”

Staring at the question on the screen, Ning Yu paused, her marker unconsciously dragging a long line across the whiteboard. She swallowed hard and instinctively glanced at Mu Qiu Yan before quickly lowering her gaze, as if avoiding something.

So she didn’t see the way Mu Qiu Yan’s eyes involuntarily flickered toward her the moment she looked down.

Their gazes missed each other, and though some observant viewers noticed the subtle tension, they dismissed it as nothing significant.

However, Gao Mi caught the entire exchange. Watching Ning Yu’s silent, lowered head, she tightened her grip on her own whiteboard and shot a glance at Mu Qiu Yan’s indifferent expression.

The questions that followed grew increasingly pointed, with many participants sharing their personal romantic experiences.

For instance, Xu Yi’s humble-brag declaration: “I’ve always been the one pursued—I’ve never actually liked anyone myself.” Then there was Zhu Wen, who endured a seven-year relationship only to face a humiliating breakup.

Zhu Wen’s tone was eerily calm, as if recounting someone else’s story. “His attitude was always hot and cold, impossible to read. When we talked, he’d often ignore me, yet he never missed a birthday gift. It dragged on like that for years, and whenever I brought up future plans, he’d dodge the topic.”

“He said he needed money for his startup, so he took our joint savings and invested it in the stock market—claimed he lost everything. I didn’t blame him. Later… I found out he’d actually used that money to buy a house. He’d wanted to break up with me for a long time and came up with this ‘brilliant’ scheme.”

Wen Mian Mian, fresh out of college and still naive to the deceptive, greed-driven realities of adulthood, listened with a heavy heart.

She couldn’t fathom how a partner of seven years could become a betrayer driven by self-interest.

Seated to her left, Li Yi Fan’s eyes lit up. Eager to console her, he handed her a few tissues and even reached out to pat her shoulder.

But before his hand could land, another abruptly intercepted it, forcefully slapping his away. Li Yi Fan winced at the sting in his palm, scowling at Ning Yu, who had rudely inserted herself.

Ning Yu withdrew her hand after the “pervert slap,” acting as if nothing had happened.

Li Yi Fan was annoyed. Had he somehow offended her? Did she dislike him so much… because she had feelings for Wen Mian Mian?

But wasn’t she into Mu Qiu Yan? Had she given up and moved on to a new target?!

Wen Mian Mian pressed, “What happened after that? You can’t just let him off so easily!”

Zhu Wen’s lips curled into a faint smile. “I reported him for fraud. I sold the house, got my money back—though the process was messy. Luckily, he had good taste. Property prices in that area have skyrocketed over the years, so it turned out to be a windfall. Call it even.”

It wasn’t that she wasn’t angry—it was just that the payout was too good.

Ning Yu listened, her heart racing as imaginary cash-register chimes rang in her ears.

“The adult world doesn’t need love. Why don’t we talk about wealth management instead?” Thinking of her bank balance that had dwindled to double digits, she couldn’t help but shed tears of envy from the corners of her mouth.

“All the guests here are top professionals in their industries with considerable incomes… So, you must have some insights on how to get rich.” Not to mention there was a domineering CEO worth billions sitting right there.

Perhaps her words were too sincere, as everyone found it hard to suppress their laughter.

Ming Jue frowned and asked bluntly, “Are you poor?”

Ning Yu held up two fingers. “The kind of poor where your bank account only has double digits.”

Ming Jue, who had probably never experienced having just two digits in his bank account, looked shocked. “Aren’t you a celebrity?”

Ning Yu facepalmed. “Celebrities can be divided into those who earn big money, those who earn small money, and… those in debt. Unfortunately, I happen to be in the last category.”

The other guests: “…”

Ning Yu dramatically gazed skyward at a 45-degree angle while lamenting her poverty. “I know—poor people don’t deserve love. To be honest, the reason I joined this dating show is because I calculated that I’d meet the benefactor of my life here. Someone who will rescue me from the abyss of poverty and guide me into the ocean of wealth.”

Mu Qiuwan: “How ‘valuable’ is this benefactor?”

Ning Yu: “The kind that radiates golden light, has ‘Fortune and Prosperity’ engraved on their forehead, and stands atop a treasure basin.”

Mu Qiuwan: “…”

You’re talking about the God of Wealth, aren’t you?