Chapter 42: Qin. Yan.

Chapter 42: Qin, Yan.

"Sorry, I've already chosen my captain."

With that, Qin Yan moved to hand the card back to Jiang Yizhou, but Jiang Yizhou refused to take it, speaking in a rush, trying to convince him:

"Brother Qin, I came to you the second we were allowed to pick. The captain you chose might not choose you back, but I'm different—my first choice is you. You could still—"

"He already has a captain."

A cold, flat voice cut in from behind him. Jiang Yizhou startled and turned to look.

Su Zhiyu walked over to Qin Yan with a cold, serious expression, without so much as a glance at Jiang Yizhou. Instead, his eyes settled on the card and pen in Qin Yan's hand, his gaze flat and unreadable.

He extended his own card and pen toward him.

Qin Yan, feeling slightly guilty, pushed the card in his hand back to Jiang Yizhou, then took Su Zhiyu's card and, under Jiang Yizhou's stunned gaze, scribbled his name on it with a dramatic flourish.

Qin Yan.

Flamboyant and free-flowing, elegant and effortless.

Su Zhiyu took the card back, staring at the two written characters with a flicker of surprise. He shot Qin Yan a glance but said nothing in the end.

Then, as if it were nothing, he sat down next to Qin Yan.

Qin.

Yan.

Qin Yan.

Su Zhiyu silently repeated the name in his mind as he stared at the characters. He used to hate that name more than anything, but now... it actually sounded nice.

His card only had Qin Yan's name on it—with one slot still empty—but he hadn't gone looking for anyone else. So that meant... when he got up earlier, he was actually coming to find him?

Realizing this, Qin Yan couldn't help but quirk his lips, fighting back a smile.

Jiang Yizhou, who had been standing there, completely ignored, clenched his fingers and forced out a stiff smile. "Since Brother Qin's already picked, I'll go find someone else to pair with."

Qin Yan didn't dare let his smile get too smug, keeping up a polite front. "Alright."

Jiang Yizhou walked off, but Su Zhiyu stayed put.

Qin Yan leaned over to peek at his card—still only his own name on it. He couldn't help feeling smug and asked quietly, "Captain Su, aren't you gonna go round up your teammates?"

Su Zhiyu's face stayed neutral, not even bothering to turn. "No rush."

A few people had come up to him earlier, but everyone was still deciding—and of course, everyone wanted the best.

The best.

Su Zhiyu stared at the name on the card, his expression complicated, only now realizing what he'd just done.

Since when was Qin Yan the best?

What was wrong with him? He was supposed to go find someone else, so why—when he saw Qin Yan getting pestered—couldn't he stop himself from walking over? Just now... had he been too obvious?

Su Zhiyu's face went a little pale.

Since when did he stop wanting to run from Qin Yan the second he saw him?

"Captain Su." A voice cut through his thoughts. Liu Mian was standing in front of him. "I've decided. I was wondering if we could get a second chance to work together."

His tone was soft and polite, like he wouldn't mind being turned down.

Su Zhiyu let out a quiet breath of relief, a rare smile tugging at his lips. "Of course. Welcome to the team."

Liu Mian froze. They'd been on the same team last round, but he'd almost never seen Su Zhiyu smile—not even a little. He hadn't expected the captain's smile to be this pretty.

"Cough, cough!"

Qin Yan coughed loudly at the worst possible moment. Liu Mian snapped out of it and smiled sheepishly. "Thank you, Captain."

Su Zhiyu passed over the card, and Liu Mian spotted Qin Yan's name already on it. A knowing smile flashed in his eyes. He hoped joining them wouldn't get in the way of those two.

Su Zhiyu's team was set, and the three of them sat down together.

—"Damn, this is the only team where the members didn't change at all, right? Only Jiang Yizhou came out of this hurt."

—"Poor Jiang Jiang, such a pitiful Omega. Everyone was on the same team, but they all followed Su Zhiyu instead. And he invited Qin Yan so humbly and enthusiastically, yet Qin Yan didn't even give him the time of day. What makes a nobody like him so high and mighty?"

—"I don't get it. What the hell are some people spewing? If I invited you to eat shit, would you eat it?"

—"I'd pick Captain Su too. A cool, quiet, untouchable Omega, capable and organized, and he was the captain of the last team too. That Jiang Yizhou is such a clingy chatterbox—no wonder nobody trusts him to be captain."

—"Am I the only one shipping Yan Yan and Yu Yu? Our 'Chance Encounter' couple is so freaking sweet. Yu Bao was totally jealous just now, right? Haha, the second he saw Yan Bao about to get snatched up, he zoomed over."

—"Definitely. I was watching the camera the whole time. After the rules were announced, those two never even exchanged a word, so it was all a bluff to fool Jiang Yizhou. Poor kid."

—"Those two... I'm dying laughing. Su Zhiyu, a soft and delicate Omega, just silently handed over his card without a word. So freaking cool, I'm crying."

—"Is there any sister who gets me? I'm obsessed with Yu Bao Bao. A sweet yet fierce Omega—who wouldn't love that?"

—"I love him! I'd bet anything that Yu Bao could seduce his Brother Yan to death in bed."

The noisy scene gradually settled down, and those who hadn't been chosen were forced into random pairings to complete their teams.

"Alright, time's up." The host returned to the stage. "The team rosters are now in my hands. Let me announce the team compositions for each group."

It was obvious without an announcement—everyone was already seated by group. Qin Yan noticed that Yang Yichen had chosen to join Jiang Yizhou's team.

Next came the selection of performance scenes. To avoid the influence of original works, the show provided entirely original scripts of equal quality.

The difference might just be in the genre.

The selection rule was simple: roll dice.

All five captains rolled together. Those without duplicate numbers got priority to claim the script corresponding to their roll, while those with duplicates rolled again.

This continued until all five teams had chosen, with the remaining script discarded.

After selection, teams could freely swap scripts if both parties agreed.

In the end, Su Zhiyu's team got an ancient costume script, while Jiang Yizhou's team got a modern romantic idol drama.

Jiang Yizhou was quite satisfied, but Yang Yichen's face went pale. He took the script and went looking for a swap, ending up at Su Zhiyu's side.

When Su Zhiyu heard the genre was an idol drama, he furrowed his brows slightly but still politely asked Qin Yan and Liu Mian, "Which one do you two want to perform?"

Qin Yan didn't mind either way, but he just had a feeling Su Zhiyu wouldn't enjoy acting in another idol drama.

"I'll pick the costume drama. Liu Mian, what about you?"

Liu Mian followed suit: "I'll do the same as you. Costume dramas are more challenging—I've only ever done modern roles, never tried ancient ones."

Su Zhiyu looked at Yang Yichen apologetically: "Sorry, I'd like to try the costume drama too. You should find someone else."

Yang Yichen hadn't expected all three of them—who seemed perfect for an idol drama—to turn it down. He struck out and was stuck doing the idol drama himself.

Each group picked up their scripts and character bios, then headed into their respective rehearsal rooms.

Su Zhiyu opened the script: "Come over and take a look."

Qin Yan darted over, and the three of them leaned in together, focusing intently on the script. Suddenly, Su Zhiyu felt a ticklish sensation at his waist. He glanced down and nearly dropped the script.

Qin Yan was leaning beside him, his index finger unconsciously rubbing the fabric at Su Zhiyu's waist. The warmth made Su Zhiyu shiver.