Why Did the Top Alpha Suddenly Stop Acting Out? - Chapter 21

“Ye Shuyi.”

Though she had used many uncertain terms earlier, when she actually uttered that name, there wasn’t the slightest hesitation in her voice—instead, it was filled with absolute certainty.

Ye Shuyi glanced at her, her gaze indifferent.

Director Lu exchanged a look with the staff beside him, his expression tinged with disappointment. He had thought Yi Qian wouldn’t be able to guess correctly, which would have made her prolonged touching of the others a perfect gimmick. But clearly, she had outplayed him.

“The third guesser, Huang Xin.”

Huang Xin’s voice was devoid of enthusiasm as she said flatly, “The third person is Cai Yunyoo.”

The moment the words fell, the atmosphere on set turned eerily silent, as if a few crows had flown overhead.

Yi Qian remarked idly, “How amusing.”

Director Lu snapped back to reality and picked up his megaphone. “In that case, let’s reveal the answers.”

Three staff members stood behind the three guessers. At the director’s signal, they simultaneously removed the black silk ribbons from their eyes. As the ribbons slipped away, Long Xiaoqin immediately turned to confirm the identities of the three seated beside her, locking eyes with Cai Yunyoo. The latter walked over without hesitation, intimately looping her arm through Long Xiaoqin’s and chirping playfully, “Let’s get along well from now on, Sister Qin~”

Long Xiaoqin smiled gently at her. “Alright.”

Yi Qian pulled off her ribbon without even glancing at the person beside her. Instead, with the confidence of someone who had already won, she toyed with the ribbon in her hands before tying it around her wrist.

Director Lu announced, “Well, the roommate pairings are clear now. Let’s proceed to room selection. The first pair, Long Xiaoqin and Cai Yunyoo, will choose first.”

“Hah.” He Tong, who had remained silent until now, curled her lips into a faint smile as she looked at Long Xiaoqin’s delighted expression. Her words carried a hidden edge. “Winning from the start sure comes with plenty of privileges. Too bad this is just a short-lived variety show. But I’m happy for you, Qin Qin.”

Cai Yunyoo lazily flicked a glance at her, twirling a strand of Long Xiaoqin’s hair that draped over her chest. Without sparing He Tong another look, she said to Long Xiaoqin, “Sister Qin, some people here ranked dead last in a simple game, yet they still have the nerve to lecture the winner? Tsk tsk, truly baffling.”

The barb struck both Huang Xin and He Tong at once. Their eyes snapped toward Cai Yunyoo, while the others present watched the exchange with shifting gazes, the atmosphere growing strangely tense.

Long Xiaoqin patted Cai Yunyoo’s arm lightly, steering the conversation away. “Which room would you like, Yunyoo?”

“I’m too lazy to climb. Let’s pick one on the second floor,” Cai Yunyoo answered without hesitation.

A staff member approached with a tablet, displaying images and layouts of the two rooms on the second floor. As the director had mentioned, the layouts were nearly identical, except the room on the right had a balcony overlooking the lake.

Cai Yunyoo immediately chose the one with the balcony.

Director Lu turned to the next pair. “Yi Qian and Ye Shuyi, would you like the second or third floor? Do you two want to discuss it?”

“The third floor,” Yi Qian declared bluntly, showing no intention of consulting her partner. The abruptness made Ye Shuyi, who had been about to stand and walk over, sink back into her seat. Oblivious, Yi Qian continued winding the ribbon around her fingers like a child fascinated by a new toy.

Huang Xin seemed unwilling to stay another second. Adjusting her glasses, she said, “In that case, shall we go pack our luggage?”

Director Lu’s expression faltered slightly, inwardly lamenting that this season’s guests might be harder to handle than expected.

Everyone went upstairs with their luggage. Yi Qian carried hers straight up without hesitation. Ye Shuyi glanced at her retreating figure, then looked at her own two suitcases. While she could manage the smaller one, the larger one was impossible to lift even if she made two trips.

She approached Director Lu to explain the situation, and he promptly assigned a staff member to assist her.

Unexpectedly, when she returned, Yi Qian came downstairs and gave them a brief glance before effortlessly lifting the heavy suitcase and carrying it upstairs.

The staff member was taken aback since when was Yi Qian so kind? Going out of her way to help her estranged manager with luggage?

Ye Shuyi turned to the staff with a smile. “Thank you, but your help won’t be necessary anymore.”

The staff member waved it off and returned to their duties.

When Ye Shuyi arrived upstairs with her luggage, Yi Qian was sitting by the bed, leaning against her own suitcase while catching her breath. Hearing the door open, she tilted her head slightly, her expression tinged with annoyance. “I was just about to ask, did you pack a suitcase full of gold?”

Ye Shuyi paused for a moment before replying, “No.”

“Then what? This thing weighs a ton,” Yi Qian said, sitting up straight to scrutinize the suitcase.

Ye Shuyi pulled her luggage to the bed by the wall, glancing at her. “You can open it and see for yourself.”

Yi Qian’s hand stilled as she looked up at Ye Shuyi, disbelief in her eyes. “Really?”

Ye Shuyi nodded.

“Even if you say so, isn’t it a bit rude to rummage through someone else’s luggage?” Despite her words, she had already laid the suitcase flat. With two clicks, it popped open.

Inside, Yi Qian’s eyes widened slightly pots, pans, bowls, plates, rice, a first-aid kit, everything imaginable, necessary or not.

She turned to Ye Shuyi, who was calmly organizing her belongings, and slowly said, “Did you,  think you were joining a survival show?”

Ye Shuyi placed a folded shirt into the wardrobe, unfazed. “No. That suitcase was prepared for me by Kechi.”

“Oh, a care package from another woman.” Yi Qian tossed a pan back into the suitcase, letting it clatter loudly. Not satisfied, she stood up and disdainfully kicked the suitcase toward Ye Shuyi with her foot, as if saying, “Disgusting. Keep it away from me.”

Ye Shuyi crossed her arms, watching her with an arched brow. She stepped closer, leaning in slightly to tease, “Weren’t you just eager to help me carry it up? Why the sudden disgust?”

“I wondered why my hands nearly slipped on the way up,” Yi Qian muttered, deliberately avoiding her gaze as she moved to the foot of the bed to unpack her own luggage.

The sliding glass door to the balcony was half-open. A gust of wind blew in, lifting a corner of the curtain. Ye Shuyi had her back to the door as she packed her things, and the cold air hit her directly, making her shiver. She was about to close the glass door when she saw Yi Qian already getting up to do so.

Yi Qian shut the glass door and glanced outside. There was a gazebo with a sofa and coffee table, positioned to face the balcony, offering a perfect view of the wooden swing and the withered wisteria trellis.

She remembered how much Ye Shuyi loved such cozy yet open spaces, which was why she had chosen the third floor without consulting her earlier. Countless times, she had stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows at home, gazing at the garden swing, imagining Ye Shuyi on a warm spring day sunlight streaming down, a gentle breeze, a lazy cat curled on her lap as she swayed lightly with a book in hand, idling away the hours.

But that spring, they had broken up.

And now it was winter.

She looked at the dark, heavy sky outside, guessing it would snow soon.

Back inside, a chill seemed to seep into the room. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Ye Shuyi draping a blanket over herself. Yi Qian searched the room for the heater remote but couldn’t find it.

Perhaps the crew would bring it over later, she thought, dismissing it for now.

Soon, there was a knock at the door.

Yi Qian opened it to find a staff member holding a burlap sack, who immediately smiled upon seeing her. “Hello, Teacher Yi, we’re here to collect any prohibited items.”

Yi Qian raised an eyebrow at the sack. “What is this, a high school dorm inspection?”

The staff member hesitated. “We’re just following orders. Please cooperate.”

Yi Qian nodded thoughtfully, stepping aside to let them in, her tone lightly mocking. “Good idea. No idea why someone packed a bunch of useless, heavy stuff. Honestly, you’d think they were trying to exhaust someone to death.”

The two staff members exchanged glances before cautiously entering the room. “Excuse us,” they murmured, then began rummaging through the luggage.

Arms crossed, Yi Qian leaned against the wall, watching with satisfaction as the staff pulled pots, pans, and other kitchenware from Ye Shuyi’s large suitcase, stuffing them into the sack. She couldn’t resist commenting.

As a basin was dropped into the sack: “What, planning to drink from that? Treating people like water barrels?”

When a bag of rice was confiscated: “And this much rice? Expecting someone to eat like a horse?”

Meanwhile, in her own villa, Song Kechi suddenly sneezed. She pulled her coat tighter, muttering, “Why do I feel so cold?” She then turned up the heater.

Back in the room, Ye Shuyi, standing across from Yi Qian, slowly crossed her arms and fixed her with a lazy stare. The words died on Yi Qian’s lips.

The two staff members, silently packing, exchanged another glance and worked faster.

After a while, the staff finished packing the burlap sack and were about to leave the room when Yi Qian suddenly kicked the large suitcase beside her and said nonchalantly, “You’ve emptied everything inside this. Take the suitcase too, it’s just taking up space here anyway.”

The two staff members exchanged a knowing glance before looking at Ye Shuyi, who was smiling faintly at Yi Qian as she remarked in an even tone, “That suitcase is mine.”

Yi Qian paused briefly, then turned back to the staff with unruffled composure. “Though it’s in the way, it’s quite aesthetically pleasing, don’t you think? Let’s leave it here, it’s nice to look at. You can go now if there’s nothing else.”

The staff practically fled with the burlap sack as if granted amnesty. Just as they opened the door, one suddenly remembered something and skidded to a halt. “Do either of you have any cash on you? That’s also prohibited.”

Yi Qian shook her head. When the staff looked at Ye Shuyi, she did the same. Nodding, the staff began backing away. “Sorry to disturb!”

Before they could finish, Ye Shuyi called out, “Wait a moment.”

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