Chapter 59: This Is Mine

Chapter 59: This Is Mine

Qin Yan's heart clenched, but Ji Yucheng only paused briefly before walking away to take a seat in the audience.

This time, all the groups were shuffled and reorganized. Of the remaining 12 contestants, there were exactly 4 Alphas and 8 Omegas. To keep things fair in terms of physical strength, each group consisted of one Alpha and two Omegas.

They drew lots to form teams.

This time, Qin Yan couldn't choose for himself, and he was placed in a different team from Su Zhiyu.

Jiang Yizhou, though, got paired with Su Zhiyu again.

The four events were: a three-legged race for teamwork, a 100-meter swim for technique, a chase-elimination game for stamina, and an escape-the-trap challenge for agility.

Since this was a sports-themed episode, just like the first one, the crew didn't put too many time limits on things. They only filmed each group's practice and daily life for one day, and the actual competition was broadcast live.

Qin Yan wasn't too worried about it.

As an Alpha, he naturally had great stamina. Swimming and running were basic skills he already had—nothing hard about it.

However...

Out of the corner of his eye, Qin Yan caught sight of Su Zhiyu in the opposing group. His expression looked perfectly composed, but Qin Yan could still see a flicker of panic in his eyes.

He wondered if the bruises on his body had healed.

Qin Yan zoned out for a moment.

...

Qin Yan practiced the three-legged race with his teammates in the practice room. It was all pretty boring, and once he figured enough time had passed, he decided to step out for some air.

Then, unexpectedly, he happened to see Ji Yucheng walking his way, and judging by the direction, he was headed toward Su Zhiyu's practice room.

"Ji Yucheng."

"?" Ji Yucheng stopped and looked around before he spotted Qin Yan standing by the door. He nodded politely. "You called me?"

Qin Yan walked out with his arms crossed, leaning against the wall. "Yeah, what a coincidence. Seeing you feels nice."

Ji Yucheng smiled. "Are you flirting with me?"

Qin Yan shook his head. "No. Where are you headed?"

"Oh, just bringing something back." Ji Yucheng held up a ring. "I found this out in the lobby. I just asked the director, and he said it looked like it belonged to Su Zhiyu—he saw him wearing it last time. So I came to give it back."

Qin Yan's smile froze for a second.

He quickly looked down, hiding the hostility and irritation in his eyes. His gaze swept over the ring in Ji Yucheng's hand, and he smirked. "Oh, that's actually mine."

Ji Yucheng was caught off guard. "But the director said..."

"I lent it to him. Su Zhiyu and I were on the same team before—he was my team captain. He said he really liked the ring, so I let him wear it for a few days. You can just hand it to me."

Qin Yan held out his hand.

Ji Yucheng hesitated for a second but didn't hand the ring over. Instead, he smiled and countered, "Since he borrowed it from you, wouldn't it be better if I gave it back to him first, and then he returns it to you? That way, there won't be any confusion."

"It's no big deal. What misunderstanding could there be?"

"But..."

"Give it to me." Qin Yan's fake smile was already starting to crack. His expression slowly turned cold as he stared straight into Ji Yucheng's eyes. "This is mine."

Ji Yucheng was at a loss for words. It was just a silver ring.

He handed it over. "Fine, I'll give it back to you then. Say hi to Su Zhiyu for me—he's a really talented actor."

"!"

Qin Yan clenched the ring, then opened his fingers and slowly slipped it onto his pinky.

He chuckled softly. "We're all in practice, so he's probably pretty busy."

Ji Yucheng caught the hint in his words and didn't stick around. "Alright. Maybe we can work together sometime. I think you're going to blow up."

"Thanks for saying that."

Whether he'd even stay in the entertainment industry was up in the air. A person only had so much energy—he couldn't have it all.

Seeing that Qin Yan had no interest in keeping the conversation going, Ji Yucheng made small talk for a bit before leaving, and didn't go find Su Zhiyu after all.

Just as he turned to leave, Su Zhiyu's practice room door opened. Before Qin Yan could get away, Su Zhiyu spotted him.

"Qin Yan?" Su Zhiyu looked surprised. "What are you doing here? You looking for someone?"

Their practice rooms weren't across from each other, yet Qin Yan was standing near the door of their practice room.

Su Zhiyu instinctively glanced around and saw a figure walking off in the distance. The distinctive jacket and hair made him recognize the person almost immediately—Ji Yucheng.

The person everyone had been talking about all day.

Qin Yan noticed Su Zhiyu's gaze locked on the direction Ji Yucheng had gone, and a sour feeling stirred in his chest. He said, "No, I just saw someone walk by and chatted for a bit."

Just a chat...

Su Zhiyu wanted to ask if they knew each other, but the words died in his throat. What did it matter if they knew each other or not? It was Qin Yan's personal business. As an outsider, he had no right to ask.

"Yeah."

"You..."

They both started talking at the same time, then both stopped. Just then, Jiang Yizhou's voice came from inside. "Zhi Yu, who are you talking to out there?"

Before Su Zhiyu could answer, Jiang Yizhou walked out too. Seeing Qin Yan, he was briefly startled, then quickly recovered and waved. "Brother Qin, why don't you come in?"

Ever since the two of them had cleared things up last time, even though their interactions seemed the same, Jiang Yizhou's attitude had shifted a bit.

The clingy enthusiasm was gone, but the intensity in his eyes was still there.

Qin Yan shook his head. "No, I was on my way to the restroom and just stopped to chat on the way."

"Oh." Jiang Yizhou's eyes drooped a little in disappointment, but he still asked, "We're just about done practicing. How about we come find you later to hang out?"

Qin Yan smirked. "Sure, we're just about done too."

"Sounds good."

Qin Yan and Su Zhiyu had barely spoken a few words to each other, and the name Ji Yucheng hung between them like an unspoken tension.

That night.

Qin Yan and Su Zhiyu were getting ready to head home, walking together to the parking lot. Su Zhiyu had just gotten into the car when he heard a familiar voice: "Qin Yan?"

Qin Yan turned around and saw Ji Yucheng's face. He immediately slammed shut the door on Su Zhiyu's side and walked over: "What a coincidence, why are you just getting back now?"

Ji Yucheng glanced over his shoulder toward the car, saying, "I was discussing something with the director. I thought I just saw Su Zhiyu—was that him or not?"

"No."

Qin Yan replied without missing a beat.

Ji Yucheng looked at the sealed car window with a faint, knowing smile, then shifted his gaze to Qin Yan's hand, where he still wore the ring.

"That's a beautiful ring."

Qin Yan held up his hand, his tone casual: "Thanks to you for finding it—otherwise, I would have lost such a beautiful ring."

Ji Yucheng smiled back: "No need to thank me. It's only right to return lost things to their owner. By the way, I might join the show later on. I didn't think we'd be working together this soon—looking forward to it."

Damn.

Qin Yan kept his smile: "I'm looking forward to it too."

"Well then—"

"I still have things to do, so I'll head off. Let's catch up another time."

"Sure, suit yourself."

Qin Yan didn't stand on ceremony, turning to walk around to the other side of the car, opening the door, and getting in.

Until the car passed by in front of Ji Yucheng, he remained standing there.

Interesting.

His assistant also followed his gaze toward Qin Yan's car, puzzled, and asked, "Brother Cheng, the person who got into the car just now was clearly Su Zhiyu. Weren't you going to ask him whether that ring really belonged to Qin Yan? Why didn't you call Qin Yan out just now?"