Chapter 99: The Competition Begins Now

Post Airport.

Lu Zhou and Qi Jiajia arrived at the ticket office, beginning to inquire with the staff about flights to Nanzhou.

“There are no direct flights. You can choose to transfer at Nevernight City, Saint Rangsco, or Angel City,” the airport staff replied politely, offering suggestions for the route to Nanzhou.

Afterward, the decision was left to them.

Lu Zhou and Qi Jiajia stepped away from the window to discuss.

“If we transfer at Saint Rangsco, the journey will be much longer, but the connecting times are reasonable. All together, the schedule will be quite tight, and as long as nothing unexpected happens, we should arrive at Magani Beach right on time.”

“If we transfer at Nevernight City, the flight is the shortest, but... the layover is quite long. Actually, if you calculate it, the total time might be about the same.”

“As for Angel City, the timing seems suitable, but the tickets are expensive, and there are more people. Both deboarding and boarding could take longer. If we take this route, the transport fees from the airport to Magani Beach might be problematic.”

“What do you think?” Qi Jiajia analyzed the time and costs for the three transfer routes provided by the staff, then asked Lu Zhou’s opinion.

Listening to the analysis, Lu Zhou felt his head spinning.

Each route had its pros and cons; clearly, the program team had designed this in advance.

Anyone faced with these three choices would hesitate for a while—someone with indecision might even feel like throwing something.

“I think the show is designed so that each route can get us there on time. Any should be fine. Since Nevernight City is the shortest flight, I personally lean toward transferring there,” said Lu Zhou.

“What about you?” he asked.

“I’ll follow your lead,” Qi Jiajia smiled at him, her cheeks slightly flushed.

“You’ve already analyzed so rationally—maybe you should think it over more carefully? If we choose the wrong route, we risk not arriving on time,” Lu Zhou reminded her.

“There’s risk with any choice, and we can’t predict which route is right or wrong now. Let’s just pick the shortest flight; I agree with you,” Qi Jiajia’s smile curved her brows. She had dressed carefully today: neat short hair, well-fitted warm-toned casual wear, giving her a handsome beauty.

“All right, let’s settle on transferring at Nevernight City,” Lu Zhou said cheerfully, seeing how easygoing she was and how she didn’t seem to care much about the program’s secret harmony prize.

In the livestream chat—

[Looks like them forming a couple wouldn’t be impossible]
[They really work together smoothly! Compare yesterday’s Qi Jiajia and Zhang Chen—haha]
[Not easy—Qi Jiajia finally has a partner who lets her breathe]
[Oh no, Lu Zhou seems to fit with anyone!]
[So easygoing, seems like he never loses his temper—I’ve never seen him put on a face]
[Terrifyingly so]
...

At nearly the same time, Li Jiayan and Wen Yiming arrived at the airport. Faced with the route planning, their indecision kicked in.

“Which one is best?” Li Jiayan asked Wen Yiming with uncertainty.

“I don’t know either—feels like each route has its pitfalls.”

Pen in hand, Wen Yiming had already drawn several lines on the map, his brow furrowed. He felt he needed Qi Jiajia now—she was good at this. Whenever they traveled together, she always handled the planning.

“Why don’t we follow their choice?” Li Jiayan suggested, glancing at Lu Zhou and Qi Jiajia, who had already gone to buy their tickets.

“I’m all for it!” Wen Yiming agreed enthusiastically.

And so, the two hurried over.

“Lu Zhou, how are you guys flying?” Li Jiayan asked with a smile as soon as they finished buying tickets.

Lu Zhou didn’t give it much thought, and when he heard Li Jiayan ask about their route, he instinctively wanted to reply.

But before he could speak, Qi Jiajia gently tugged at his sleeve.

He turned in confusion, and from her gaze, he read the hint not to say anything.

“If we tell you, it won’t be any fun. It’s a secret!” Qi Jiajia interrupted with a smile.

In truth, it didn’t matter if they shared their choice, since after their analysis, all routes seemed similar.

But the moment she saw Li Jiayan, Qi Jiajia changed her mind.

Li Jiayan was Lu Zhou’s ex-girlfriend, and Qi Jiajia selfishly wanted to share this journey with Lu Zhou alone, not letting the ex disrupt their harmony.

So she chose to keep it secret.

The livestream chat—

[Oh, things are getting spicy]
[Fight!]
[Playing smart, huh]
[Is that scheming? Why should she share the results of their hard work?]
[I actually think she’s clever—I wouldn’t tell either]
...

Qi Jiajia’s response left Li Jiayan stunned.

She won’t even say?

A flurry of thoughts rushed through Li Jiayan’s mind.

She suddenly couldn’t tell if Qi Jiajia didn’t want her and Wen Yiming to keep up, or didn’t want her and Lu Zhou on the same flight, or maybe didn’t want to sit with Wen Yiming.

But as her gaze caught Qi Jiajia’s hand still clutching Lu Zhou’s sleeve, everything became clear.

Li Jiayan subtly raised her brows. She understood.

Looking at Qi Jiajia’s smiling face, Li Jiayan felt, for the first time, the real sense of competing with another woman for a man.

Previously, when Lu Zhou was paired with Ye Fangfei, they seemed very harmonious and sometimes ambiguous, but Li Jiayan never sensed a strong desire between them.

Now, things were different.

Li Jiayan could sense Qi Jiajia’s genuine ambition for Lu Zhou.

She pressed her lips together, forcing a smile, and turned her gaze to Lu Zhou.

“All right, if you won’t say, that’s fine. We both have indecision, so we just wanted you to show us the way. Looks like you see us as competitors.”

Her voice was soft, her smile tinged with disappointment.

Lu Zhou looked at her, momentarily unsure what to say.

He thought sharing their route wouldn’t matter, but for some reason Qi Jiajia wanted to keep it secret. Since she was his partner today, he had to respect her choice.

“I personally think each route is about the same. The program team wouldn’t purposely design it so that one group couldn’t arrive on time—otherwise the next stage wouldn’t make sense. So don’t worry too much,” he finally said.

He’d conveyed what he meant.

The livestream audience—

[Program team: Great, here’s a bug]
[Laughing—maybe Lu Zhou stays calm because he’s figured out the show’s tricks?]
...

Lu Zhou’s words put Li Jiayan at ease.

It seemed secrecy wasn’t Lu Zhou’s idea, but Qi Jiajia’s.

With that realization, Li Jiayan felt much better.

“Okay, I understand. Thank you, Lu Zhou,” Li Jiayan said with a smile.

Wen Yiming glanced at Qi Jiajia; he didn’t think their secrecy was inappropriate, since their groups were competitors to some extent.

Who doesn’t want the harmony prize?

Everyone does.

Since there’s competition, keeping ahead of rivals is a strategy.

If it were him, he’d do just as Qi Jiajia did.

He felt no resentment, and he didn’t quite agree with Lu Zhou’s final statement that all routes are the same. If that were true, there’d be no reason for secrecy.

Since they chose to keep it secret, saying “all routes are the same” felt like deliberately confusing the issue.

In the end, Wen Yiming and Li Jiayan didn’t get the answer from Lu Zhou and Qi Jiajia, and found a place to discuss their own choice.

“Since all routes are similar, let’s pick the shortest one?” Li Jiayan suggested.

“Which one?” Wen Yiming asked.

“The one transferring at Nevernight City.”

“But I think that route might be a trap,” Wen Yiming said.

“Then you choose—I don’t know anymore,” Li Jiayan replied, frustrated.

“Let’s transfer at Angel City. I feel the timing is more reasonable,” Wen Yiming said, pointing at the map.

Li Jiayan, not wanting to argue further, nodded in agreement.

Soon after buying their tickets, Chu Yao and Xu Junze arrived.

After consulting with the staff, the two quickly made their decision.

“Nevernight City’s route is short, but the layover is too long. I feel it could cause problems.”

“Angel City’s route is too expensive. I think we need to reserve enough travel funds in case something comes up.”

“So, I think transferring at Saint Rangsco is more reliable,” Xu Junze said clearly.

“Okay! Let’s transfer at Saint Rangsco,” Chu Yao agreed instantly, her thinking matching Xu Junze’s.

Livestream chat—

[So in sync!]
[This group’s choices are so comfortable!]
[Actually, Xu Junze is really reliable—rational and considerate. He worked well with Li Jiayan yesterday. Why didn’t she pick him again?]
[Maybe not handsome enough? She said in the first episode she’s all about looks—don’t forget]
[Betting a million today’s best partners are this group]
...

The last group to arrive was Ye Fangfei and Zhang Chen.

By the time they arrived, the other groups had already chosen their routes and bought tickets, heading to the waiting area—only they moved slowly.

Faced with three transfer options, Zhang Chen and Ye Fangfei both frowned. Why was flying somewhere so complicated?

In the past, assistants always handled ticket bookings; Zhang Chen never had to worry about it.

As for Ye Fangfei, almost all her daily affairs were handled by her team—she just had to show up.

Now, with no one to handle these things, facing these choices, they felt a bit dizzy.

But that confusion made their decision-making more straightforward, without the pain that Li Jiayan and Wen Yiming experienced.

“What’s with all these tricks? Just pick the shortest flight,” Ye Fangfei said, glancing at the three routes.

Zhang Chen had only one principle today: listen to Ye Fangfei!

“Okay! Buy it!”

Thus, Zhang Chen bought tickets for the route transferring at Nevernight City.

With that, all groups had settled their travel plans.

Only when boarding the plane did Zhang Chen and Ye Fangfei realize that Lu Zhou and Qi Jiajia were on the same flight.

Zhang Chen: “...”

Damn, this guy is everywhere.

Thanks to Huayue for tipping 100 Qidian coins.