The Devil's Contract Lover - Chapter 42

Not giving Yao Yuan a chance to argue, Chu Yan tossed her jacket aside and headed straight for the course.

It wasn’t until she was near the entrance that others realized another challenger was in position. The surrounding contestants, seeing they had almost cut in line, politely stepped back.

Chu Yan was slender, showing no visible signs of training, but her limbs moved with good coordination. It seemed even the host lacked confidence in her. The host usually interjected with a brief introduction, at least announcing the challenger’s name, but this time, there was complete silence.

Yao Yuan waited to watch her performance, her eyes fixed intently on Chu Yan’s ankles and arms.

Chu Yan took a deep breath, and then she moved! Her speed was incredibly fast; the first obstacle, six connected hexagons, posed no hindrance. Like a flash of light, she zipped through the swinging hammers. In the third obstacle, she didn’t even reach for the hanging rings, instead using her feet to grip the floor and leap forward.

“Are you kidding me!” Yao Yuan’s gasp was drowned out by the audience’s excited cheers.

The subsequent performance was even more unbelievable. Whether it was the pillars floating on the water, the wooden planks, or the ropes that required pure arm strength, Chu Yan’s running speed actually increased.

Her spectacular display finally captivated the audience, and many had already started taking photos with their phones.

When Chu Yan leapt over the final hurdle and became the first qualifier, Yao Yuan quietly closed her mouth: Without a doubt, this person used magic. Although she didn’t understand what kind of magic it was, she could feel the surging magical power.

“It’s my turn.” Xiao Yu was the first of the four to sign up. She walked towards the starting point.

“Wait a minute, Xing Kong, could you switch places with Xiao Yu?” Yao Yuan hurriedly requested. “That person might have set up some kind of trap along the way.”

The Demon glanced at her clasped hands. “Xiao Yuan, there’s no need to fall for such a boring provocation.”

“That may be true, but I want to try… to push my own limits.” Yao Yuan let her hands drop. “Anyway, with you, Xing Kong, she can’t do anything.”

In truth, that wasn’t entirely honest… it was more about her resentment, an inexplicable feeling of unwillingness: The conviction of [Absolutely not wanting to lose to Chu Yan, and at least not retreating] surged within her.

Xing Kong didn’t try to dissuade her again and walked directly to the starting line.

Yao Yuan secretly pulled out her phone: The Demon playing on a variety show is still quite amusing. Take that for playing that prank on me last time with the dancing! Hehehe, I’ll add a cheesy background music and use the ‘666’ continuous tap effect…

Huh? Where is he? She suddenly looked up. Xing Kong was already at the finish line, waving at her.

“You… you cheated!” It was only after she blurted out the exclamation that she remembered something: The Demon already had the ability to run through the course, didn’t he? Was he rushing to dismantle any traps Chu Yan might have left…

Three seconds later, her intuition directly gave the answer: Xing Kong simply didn’t want to be photographed and leave evidence. Damn it.

Fortunately, no one raised any objections. Yao Yuan didn’t know what the Demon actually did in their eyes. Anyway, Xiao Yu walked normally towards the finish line, completing the course in an ordinary manner.

Compared to the exaggerated performance of the lean Chu Yan, it was completely normal for her, with her perfect muscle definition, to pass.

Yao Yuan glanced at Da Ju. At least there was someone else to share the embarrassment with, which made her very relieved. “Da Ju, you’ve worked hard too.”

“Worked hard? What worked hard?” Da Ju looked at her strangely and adjusted his wristband.

“To earn money and popularity, of course. You must gain some popularity from being filmed today,” she said, pretending to be knowledgeable. “But aren’t you going to take off your jacket? It’ll be a hassle to wash if it gets wet.”

“It’ll be fine as long as I don’t fall in.”

Before Yao Yuan could react, Da Ju agilely flipped over the starting line, causing a burst of cheers. Neither the highly contrasting Chu Yan nor the simply proficient Xiao Yu was as attention-grabbing as he was.

[Simply passing the preliminary round? My goal is to ride the wave of the live broadcast’s popularity!] Da Ju secretly laughed to himself, propping himself up with his hands and almost hooking the rope upside down with his feet to swing across!

He performed acrobatic moves while running, his limbs coordinating like a four-legged animal. The stunned audience immediately erupted into shouts of excitement.

Good heavens, so everyone else here is a master, and I’m the only real beginner! Yao Yuan stared dumbfounded at the opposite side, then looked behind her, swallowing hard: Behind her, a line of well-proportioned and fit young men and women had formed. Presumably, these professionals were encouraged by the successful participants just now, thinking, ‘If they can do it, I can too.’

What she should probably do now is quickly raise her hand and forfeit so as not to block the people behind her?

“The next contestant is named Yao Yuan, a very cute university student!” The host suddenly came online, his ability seeming to track multiple nearby cameras.

[Why is the focus entirely on me when it’s my turn?!]

She instinctively raised her hands to cover her face. Da Ju, watching the live broadcast on his phone opposite her, couldn’t help but shake his head: The more shy and unreliable she appears, the more the audience will anticipate a contrasting performance.

To raise her hand and forfeit while the cameras were focused on her was beyond her limit, especially with… Chu Yan!

The hands covering her face slowly lowered, and her heartbeat gradually quickened: Even falling into the water is better than actively withdrawing! At worst, at worst, it’ll be uploaded online, and Xing Kong will just laugh at her daily.

She really wanted to be heroic, but standing at the starting point and looking down, she realized just how high it was. Yes, the bottom was all water, and there were lifeguards waiting nearby… but she was still scared!

Her legs started to tremble involuntarily. Help me, balance! She squatted down and jumped onto the first floating plank in a standing long jump posture, splashing a large amount of water.

“She’s stable, she’s stable.” The host still hadn’t looked away and continued to comment enthusiastically.

[So why didn’t you say anything when those cheaters flew by!] Yao Yuan managed to ignore the fleeting fear in her heart, taking a second jump on the wobbly plank, which felt much easier this time.

She had to pause for almost a minute on each of the six connected planks in the first obstacle, but thankfully, there was no time limit to complete the course. Her anxiety instantly subsided by half. Just sticking to this steady approach should be fine for the rest of the course.

Next came the swinging hammers that required her to rush through and dodge. The “salted fish” that she was, she passed easily by adopting a composed approach and waiting for the right moments.

The third obstacle consisted of smaller floating planks, even harder than the first set. Unless one had Chu Yan’s “iron palm skimming the water” skill, they absolutely had to use the rings made of rope hanging above.

There were hanging rings above and floating planks below, making it seem feasible.

Yao Yuan patted her tied-up ponytail, took a deep breath, and jumped! Her fingers gripped the ring tightly, and her wrist was stinging from the weight of her entire body: Oh no, she couldn’t move at all once she was hanging.

When watching on TV, others moved forward easily by grasping the rings. Yet, hanging there herself, she felt like a dead weight. Forget about swinging her entire body to reach the next, not-so-close ring, she couldn’t even manage the motion of lifting her legs to jump onto the plank from a suspended position.

Her grip started to loosen. Falling down would be easier… easier my foot! A raw surge of power erupted from her palm, her heart vigorously pumping blood, and simultaneously, magic surged through the circuit that had been established.

Her fingers instantly felt much lighter. The magic wildly propelled her body forward. Pat-a, Yao Yuan landed lightly on the plank with an unusually small amount of vibration. She didn’t pause for too long, quickly rebounding her feet to jump towards the next target.

After quickly traversing the sequence of ropes, she collapsed exhausted onto a soft mat in the middle section. Her ears were filled with an overwhelming noise… which seemed to be the audience cheering and shouting.

Her eyes were dizzy, and her sweat felt sticky… Yao Yuan struggled to stand up. Even without a time limit, she shouldn’t drag it out for too long. She hesitated at the fork in the middle section.

If she chose the longer path of rock climbing, magic might be able to help a little, but her stamina was completely insufficient, and she would likely fall midway due to exhaustion. If she chose the balance beam, it would naturally be more difficult without relying on magic.

There was no time to hesitate. Half a foot quickly stepped onto the balance beam. She steadied her breathing and shuffled forward little by little.

The surrounding noise grew louder, and her shoe soles felt as if they were wet, giving a sticky and slippery sensation. A little… a little faster? No, any faster and she would definitely fall. So, she could only move forward awkwardly like a crab.

“Oh no, she’s going to fall.” Da Ju put down his phone. This kind of hunched-over movement wasn’t conducive to maintaining balance. An amateur is an amateur, too strained.

No one around responded to his comment. He cocked one eye toward the Demon. “Hey, aren’t you her familiar? Aren’t you going to think of a way to help your master?”

“I am not a familiar.”

When Xing Kong’s eyes shifted towards him, he shivered abruptly. “Yikes, don’t joke around. The only one who isn’t a familiar yet signed a contract is a Demon. Don’t flatter yourself.”

Although that girl just now mentioned ‘Demon’ or something similar, Da Ju still firmly believed that Demons were hideous creatures with huge horns and bat wings. The person in front of him looked like a con artist, a mere monster or spirit trying to cheat people out of food and drink.

“Alright, alright, you’re not one. So, aren’t you planning to help your girlfriend?” He cleared his throat. “Ahem, if you don’t help, she’s going to fall.”

“And what if she falls? It’s just a boring game.” Yet, fire was burning in the Demon’s eyes.

“Then, would you consider changing contractors?” Chu Yan, who had been standing at the very edge, had moved behind them and extended her hand towards Xing Kong. “My previous proposal is still valid.”

She waited for a minute but received no answer. Xing Kong was staring motionless at Yao Yuan, who was about to fall, seemingly having not heard her at all.

“You know, I would be a more perfect vessel. She is merely a fortunate fragment, a defective product, while I have the potential to grow into [Complete].” Chu Yan pressed closer, her right hand tightly pressed against her chest. “My soul is absolutely more valuable than hers. You have no need to be obsessed with inferior—” Her pupils violently constricted. Chu Yan chose to retreat before the shadow could cut through the air, wisely turning and running back to the furthest corner.

[Why wasn’t I killed?]

The question surfaced in her mind: Was it because of the phrase “fortunate one”? Impossible. How could a Demon listen to the dictates of a human?

The feeling of confusion gradually fermented into an even more negative emotion.

[Blind demon, I will definitely make you pay the price for your arrogance.]

Unfortunately, Yao Yuan couldn’t see this “heartwarming” scene. She was desperately struggling on the latter half of the balance beam. Tear, she tilted and was about to smash her head downwards.

This is terrible. If only there was a gust of wind right now—And so, a wind rose.

Her thought seemed like some silent command. The residual magic in her body floated to her feet. A strong gust of wind blew from behind, making her stagger forward.

At that instant, her heart seemed to be replaced by a ball of golden light. Yao Yuan didn’t know why she could see the light inside her body, but there were indeed specks of light surging.

When she regained consciousness, she had already crossed the finish line and stumbled into the Demon’s arms.

[What exactly were those specks of light?] The fragmented thoughts cleared the moment she saw Xing Kong. She simply looked up and smiled, “It wasn’t that hard after all.”