Why Did the Top Alpha Suddenly Stop Acting Out? - Chapter 38

Yi Qian didn’t speak, merely raising an eyebrow. The security guard blocked her path, his expression stern and rigid, his gaze icy, as if he wouldn’t hesitate to throw her out the moment she dared to step inside.

Though Yi Qian was half a head shorter than the guard, presence had nothing to do with height.

She crossed her arms, simply staring at him coolly.

The two engaged in a silent standoff, the very air around them seeming to slow.

Ye Shuyi stood to the side, watching them, wanting to intervene but lacking any justification.

After a moment of locking eyes with Yi Qian, the guard lifted his gaze to the sky, his tone unyielding. “Miss, please show your invitation or ticket.”

“I don’t have either,” Yi Qian replied, glancing at Ye Shuyi waiting for her by the entrance. Just as she was about to continue, the guard cut her off.

Turning to Ye Shuyi, his expression softened slightly, though his tone remained firm. “Racer Ye, I’m sorry, but the boss has given strict orders, no one is allowed to bring in any living creature under any pretext, not even a pet dog.”

Yi Qian, who had just been imitating a dog in the car: “…”

The air grew briefly heavy.

Yi Qian’s eyes narrowed slightly as she fixed her gaze on the guard, speaking slowly. “Did your boss not mention that two special guests would be arriving today?”

The guard glanced at her before looking back up at the sky, his voice resolute. “No.”

“Tsk. Figures. That guy’s as unreliable as ever.”

She pulled out her phone, dialed a number, and put it on speaker.

Ring, ring, ring.!

After five rings, the call finally connected, and a cheerful woman’s voice came through. “What’s up, Miss Yi? Where are you now?”

Yi Qian: “At the entrance of the race venue.”

Her tone was flat.

The person on the other end didn’t pick up on her mood and laughed teasingly. “What? Are you too important to come in unless I personally welcome you?”

“Wouldn’t dream of troubling Your Highness. It’s just that I was foolish enough to believe someone who claimed they wanted me here, only to find out they couldn’t even be bothered to let me through the door.” Yi Qian’s voice dripped with sarcasm.

There was a brief pause before the other woman quickly apologized. “Sorry, sorry, sorry! I’ve been swamped and completely forgot about your arrival. My bad, my bad. Hand the phone to the guard, let me talk to them.”

“It’s on speaker. They’ve been listening the whole time.”

“Who’s on duty at the gate right now? Xiao Li? Is that you?”

“Yes, President Xu!” the guard answered crisply.

“Good work. Let Yi Qian in, she’s a friend of mine.”

“Understood.” The guard immediately stepped aside, gesturing respectfully.

Yi Qian patted his shoulder with a smile. “Keep up the good work.”

As she walked toward the entrance, she spoke into the phone. “Where do I find you, oh busy one?”

“Still giving me attitude?” The woman on the other end chuckled. “Just come to the main stage area. Hurry up.”

After hanging up the phone, Yi Qian stopped in front of Ye Shuyi. Seeing the other person showed no intention of moving, she tilted her head with a beaming smile. “Let’s go, we can head in now.”

Unexpectedly, Ye Shuyi didn’t even glance at her before turning to walk straight inside.

What…? What’s suddenly gotten into her?

Yi Qian quickly caught up, walking side by side with her.

They proceeded in silence. As they neared the competition venue, the cheers from the audience grew increasingly distinct, yet Yi Qian’s frown only deepened.

She attempted conversation: “Confident about taking first place today?”

Ignored…

Undeterred, the persistent puppy pressed on: “How many rounds are you planning to compete in today?”

This time, Ye Shuyi reacted but only with a detached response: “You should ask your friend up on the judges’ platform about that. She arranged everything.”

With that, she quickened her pace as if trying to shake someone off.

Yi Qian chased after her, walking backward ahead of her with a puzzled expression. “Why ask her? Couldn’t you just tell me?”

Silence again.

Frowning, Yi Qian slowed her steps, gradually falling behind Ye Shuyi.

After a moment’s thought, she suddenly looked up at the cold figure ahead and caught up once more, still walking backward while studying Ye Shuyi with an unreadable gaze. “You,  wouldn’t happen to be jealous, would you?”

Ye Shuyi abruptly stopped, lips curling into a cold smirk as she met Yi Qian’s eyes. “Jealous of whom? You?”

“Don’t flatter yourself.”

With that parting remark, she walked off without another word.

Yi Qian stood rooted to the spot, watching the retreating figure that seemed almost like it was fleeing. A grin spread uncontrollably across her face this was the first time she’d seen the other person’s jealousy displayed so blatantly.

Tsk, absolutely adorable!

If they weren’t in such a public setting, she definitely wouldn’t have let her escape so easily.

Yi Qian jogged a couple steps to catch up, leisurely strolling behind her with drawn-out teasing: “Whether I’m flattering myself or not,  someone knows the answer perfectly well.”

As they approached the judges’ platform entrance, the audience’s cheers became crystal clear names being chanted in overlapping waves, with “Song Kechi” dominating most of the roar.

Yi Qian rubbed her ears, already imagining how deafening the noise must be inside.

They continued walking side by side toward the entrance when suddenly Ye Shuyi pivoted, brushing past her. Acting faster than thought, Yi Qian instinctively grabbed her wrist. “Where are you going?”

Ye Shuyi shook off her grip, glancing around. “We’re in public. Behave.”

Yi Qian shrugged nonchalantly, she was already exercising considerable restraint. If she really didn’t care about appearances, they probably wouldn’t even be standing here right now. Our feud’s already trended on hot search, hasn’t it?” she drawled.

Ignoring the teasing, Ye Shuyi answered concisely: “Changing into my racing suit.”

She moved to leave, only to be grabbed again.

Taking a deep breath, Ye Shuyi turned with frosty eyes. “This had better be important.”

“Come up with me I’ll introduce you to my friend,” Yi Qian emphasized the word “friend” with deliberate weight, as if ensuring it wouldn’t be missed.

“I have zero interest in your friends,” Ye Shuyi said, shaking free once more.

“Of course you can’t be interested in her.” After saying this seriously, Yi Qian curled her lips into a smile, her tone relaxed and unhurried. “You only need to be interested in me.”

Ye Shuyi took a silent deep breath, ignored her, and turned to leave.

After being pulled back repeatedly, Yi Qian didn’t say anything more this time. She simply took her hand and walked toward the entrance.

Ye Shuyi tried to break free, but her strength was no match for the other’s. She could only say in a low voice, “Let go. I’ll walk by myself.”

Given Yi Qian’s current attitude, if she didn’t comply now, there was no telling what even more shocking behavior might follow.

Hearing this, Yi Qian stopped in her tracks, turned around, and looked at her with a grin, the picture of someone taking advantage yet acting innocent. “You said it yourself. You’d better keep your word.”

Ye Shuyi didn’t respond and simply walked toward the entrance.

On the podium, aside from a few key staff members, three people stood chatting in the front row.

To be precise, it was two people chatting Fang Xin and Xu Ying were engrossed in conversation, with the former frequently bursting into laughter at the latter’s jokes. The third person, Song Chichi, stood behind Fang Xin in a red-and-black racing suit. Despite wearing the coolest outfit in the venue and having the audience seats chanting her name, she stood there like a living ghost, her expression  utterly blank.

When Ye Shuyi stepped onto the podium, her eyes immediately landed on Song Chichi, standing stiffly with a lonely air.

Yi Qian peeked out from behind her, following her gaze, and raised an eyebrow slightly. “See? Your friend is here too.”

With that, she stepped out from behind Ye Shuyi and walked toward the trio.

Just as Yi Qian was about to greet them from behind, Fang Xin’s sudden burst of laughter interrupted her.

“Hahaha!” Fang Xin threw her head back in laughter, lifting her face from Xu Ying’s phone screen. She grabbed Xu Ying’s arm and shook it excitedly, her voice brimming with enthusiasm. “This is so dramatic! It’s hilarious, hahaha!”

“Actually, it’s even funnier in person. My friends who were there with me almost laughed themselves silly,” Xu Ying explained with a smile.

Suddenly, a voice came from behind them.

“So this is what kept you so busy you couldn’t spare a second?”

Hearing this, the two turned around simultaneously to see Yi Qian standing on the steps behind them, arms crossed, her expression unreadable.

“Yi Qian!” Fang Xin exclaimed in delight, though her expression quickly turned puzzled. “But why are you so late?”

Yi Qian shot Xu Ying a meaningful glance. “Didn’t you hear earlier? Thanks to someone, I had to stand around at the entrance for a while.”

“She said she has decision paralysis and asked me to help pick a racing suit, so I went. I just got here not long ago,” Fang Xin said, pointing at Song Chichi before turning a questioning look toward Xu Ying.

Xu Ying’s expression stiffened for a moment before she quickly explained the whole situation to Fang Xin.

“Yikes, then I must’ve been lucky to run into you when I came in.” Fang Xin paused, then seemed to realize something. She glanced at Yi Qian before leaning in closer to Xu Ying and whispering, “Weren’t you looking right at me earlier? How could you forget about her?”

Xu Ying also lowered her voice. “I thought I’d already explained, What do we do now?”

Fang Xin glanced at Yi Qian, then at Ye Shuyi approaching them, offering advice: “Don’t worry, when she’s in a good mood, she loves to put on an act. Just play along for a while, pretend to coax her a bit more, and remember to be physically affectionate.”

Having said that, as if entrusting her with some important mission, she gave her shoulder a firm pat.

Secretly flashing her an “OK” sign, Xu Ying immediately switched to an “I’m the worst person in history” expression. She stepped up onto the platform beside Yi Qian, wrapping her arms around Yi Qian’s arm and speaking in a sickly sweet voice, “Oh, Sister Yi, I’m so sorry! I forgot to inform the security. Please forgive me this once, won’t you?”

Yi Qian shot her a sidelong glance, her expression utterly indescribable, her voice icy to the core: “Are you trying to make me throw up everything I ate last month?”

Fang Xin watched the two of them, struggling to keep a straight face but ultimately failing, bursting into laughter: “Hahahaha!”

Xu Ying, as if she’d also been holding back for too long, suddenly let out a dramatic “bleh” and wrapped an arm around Yi Qian’s shoulders, complaining, “So stop giving me the cold shoulder already. Isn’t this just torturing both of us? A lose-lose situation.”

Yi Qian looked at Fang Xin, who was laughing the hardest, and said leisurely, “Of course you’d listen to her terrible ideas.”

Hearing this, Fang Xin stopped laughing and gave Yi Qian an inscrutable look, saying mysteriously, “Oh, really?”

Xu Ying’s gaze darted between them, and she decisively tightened her grip around Yi Qian’s neck, threatening, “Is there something fun you’re not telling me? Spill it now, or I can’t guarantee your head will stay on your shoulders for much longer.”

No sooner had she spoken than someone gently tapped her shoulder. At the same time, the audience’s screams suddenly intensified, as if trying to lift the roof off.

It turned out someone in the audience had spotted Ye Shuyi and shouted, “Everyone, look! Goddess Ye is on the stage!!”

“Ye Shuyi!!!”

“Ahhhh! Goddess, look at me!”

“Ahhhhh! Yi and Shuyi together at last! This is perfect!”

Various shouts and exclamations mingled together, creating a lively uproar.

A girl holding a camera quickly snapped several photos, then checked them. Her pupils dilated slightly at what she saw, and she excitedly nudged her bespectacled friend beside her, shoving the camera screen in her face. “Look, look who I got!”

The bespectacled girl let out a shriek, then quickly covered her mouth and glanced around. Seeing everyone else either busy taking photos or screaming, she lowered her hand and said excitedly, “It’s Yi Qian! Why is Yi Qian here?”

“Exactly,” the photographer said, her hands trembling slightly with excitement. “Both of our favorite couples appearing at the same time? This is totally a showdown!”

“A showdown is good, I love watching showdowns, hehe. Too bad we’re too far away to see clearly,” the bespectacled girl lamented.

The photographer handed her phone over. “Open the camera and zoom in all the way. It’ll be crystal clear, I modified the lens myself.”

The bespectacled girl ecstatically kissed her cheek, then immediately raised her phone toward the podium, failing to notice the photographer’s uncontrollably curling lips.

On the podium, Xu Ying glanced at the audience before turning around to see Ye Shuyi looking at her with an indifferent expression.

“What’s up with Racer Ye?” Xu Ying knew of Ye Shuyi after all, she had personally selected all the racers participating in this competition but her knowledge was limited to the woman’s motorcycle racing career.

Ye Shuyi cast a cool glance at the person behind Xu Ying, her tone flat: “Nothing much. Just that someone insisted on dragging me up here to introduce me to you.”

“Someone? Yi Qian?” Xu Ying looked at Yi Qian behind her and suddenly had an epiphany, exclaiming in surprise, “You’re that, that…”

She trailed off, her gaze shifting to Fang Xin for confirmation, who nodded in response.

“That what?” Ye Shuyi slightly curved her lips. “Did President Xu know me before?”

“No,” Xu Ying shook her head, immediately denying it.

She nimbly jumped to the other side of Yi Qian, making space for the two to stand together, casually pushing Yi Qian a bit closer.

But what she didn’t realize was that, to Ye Shuyi, this action seemed more like a display of intimacy with Yi Qian, in simpler terms, a provocation.

“What are you standing there for? Didn’t you want to introduce me?” Xu Ying gave Yi Qian another push, closing the distance between her and Ye Shuyi to barely two fists’ width.

Yi Qian glanced at Ye Shuyi, suppressing the urge to smile, and formally introduced them:

“This is Xu Ying, Fang Xin’s roommate during her time abroad eating and living together.” She deliberately emphasized the words “eating and living together,” casting an intentionally casual glance at Song Chichi nearby before quickly returning her gaze to Ye Shuyi. “She mainly works and lives overseas now, occasionally returning to the country. She’s good at everything, just a bit unreliable as you probably already noticed at the entrance.”

Xu Ying, hearing this, slung an arm over her shoulder, fingers resting on her collarbone pretending to pinch her hard, complaining, “I notice you’re a bit too hyper today, huh? Can’t let it go, can you?”

Ye Shuyi glanced at Xu Ying’s hand, silently averted her eyes, and urged, “Hurry up with the introductions, please. The race is about to start, and I still need to change into my racing suit.”

Song Chichi looked at her friend in surprise, never having imagined that her usually rational friend could be so irrational when jealous. Smirking, she stepped up onto the platform beside Ye Shuyi, placing a hand on her shoulder and leaning her head slightly closer. She raised an eyebrow at Yi Qian, the challenge in her gaze unmistakable, and said leisurely, “Yes, we should head down to prepare soon.”

Yi Qian gritted her teeth, smiling at her before looking away and introducing to Xu Ying: “This is Ye Shuyi,” her gaze shifting back to Song Chichi, “my manager.”

The words “my” were heavily emphasized.

Song Chichi merely gave her a faint nod, then, like a peacock spreading its tail, circled to Ye Shuyi’s other side, keeping her hand on her shoulder.

Fang Xin’s eyes darted between the two of them, pinching her nose as if the tension in the air was too thick to breathe.

Seeing Yi Qian didn’t continue the introduction, Xu Ying gave her an inscrutable look but said nothing. Instead, she extended her hand toward Ye Shuyi with a smile, “What a coincidence, who would’ve thought you’d be Yi Qian’s agent, Ms. Ye?”

Ye Shuyi shook her hand, “Pleasure.”

Xu Ying withdrew her hand and leaned close to Yi Qian’s ear, whispering, “Is your partner always like this? She seems so aloof.”

The corner of Yi Qian’s mouth lifted slightly, but she remained silent.

Ye Shuyi glanced at the two standing close together and said evenly, “Take your time chatting. I’ll head down to prepare first.”

“Let’s go.” Song Kechi wrapped an arm around her as they turned away, deliberately raising her voice as if ensuring someone would hear, “I’ll help you pick out a racing suit.”

Yi Qian watched their retreating figures and instinctively reached out to stop Ye Shuyi. But then she recalled the warning Ye Shuyi had given her earlier: “If you do anything inappropriate up there and cause negative repercussions, I’ll have no choice but to resign.”

Her outstretched hand froze mid-air.

Just as she was about to lower it, another hand reached over and grasped hers.

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