"Your debut is certain," Laohu said, causing Lin Zhi to smirk.
"Did I actually rank 5th last night?" Lin Zhi asked, hope swelling in his heart.
Laohu scoffed as he shook his head. "Of course not. You ranked 12th. I had someone swap your rank with that popular trainee June."
Lin Zhi, despite feeling disappointed that he wasn't remotely close to the debut spot, felt satisfied that it was June he exchanged ranks with.
"That's good," he smiled. "Continue swapping our ranks from now on."
Laohu shook his head. "That can't be. We can't do something like that again. It's too risky. There are already some people questioning why you rose in ranks so much and why June sank down."
"Then, why did you do it in the first place?" Lin Zhi asked.
"You're really not the brightest, aren't you?" Laohu asked through gritted teeth. "This will make people believe that June isn't as popular, while more people will start paying more attention to you. It's a tactic. People like to jump on the bandwagon—people who don't have conviction will more likely jump on the winner's side."
"You're a genius," Lin Zhi complimented. "Then, why can't you do it during the finale too?"
"Don't bite off more than you can chew," he responded. "You're already set to debut at 8th place. Be thankful for that."
"8th," Lin Zhi muttered under his breath. "Then does that mean there's a possibility I'm going to be debuting with June?"
Laohu shrugged. "I don't know. Why? Do you have something with that kid?"
Lin Zhi clicked his tongue. "I don't know. I just don't like him for some reason. He reminds me of someone I know."
"Well, that's not my problem," Laohu snapped. "I don't care who your teammates are. After you debut, we're going to continue with our mission."
"The briefcase?" Lin Zhi asked.
"The briefcase," Laohu confirmed. "I wonder where that bastard had kept it. I can't believe I trusted him for that mission."
"It's strange," Lin Zhi said. "It's not in his home. We can't even find his sister."
"Whatever," Laohu said. "That bastard is dead. We just need to focus on our present objectives."
"You're right," Lin Zhi said. "I'll make sure to prepare my acceptance speech for the finale."
Laohu nodded, glancing at his watch. "I need to go," he urgently said.
Lin Zhi nodded in agreement. Then, Laohu left. However, something pink entered his peripheral vision as he left.
He stopped in his tracks as he felt the impeccable aura from that pink object.
"Weird," he muttered as he walked to his luxury car.
***
June felt like his world stopped right then and there.
He had been so caught up in the competition, actually enjoying the performances, that he almost forgot how he got here in the first place.
Laohu.
That was what their boss was called.
Laohu, meaning Tiger in Chinese, was the most powerful man in their region.
Anything he says goes.
And now, as June looked back on it, maybe he should have predicted his death after he was promoted to become his right-hand man. There were plenty of them, dispatched to every district of the region.
While the others followed Laohu religiously, Jun Hao was the brave soul who wanted to fix the flaws of the White Tiger gang—flaws that Laohu never deemed as flaws.
However, his gang members couldn't hate him because Jun Hao, in that short year that he became the right-hand man, had the most achievements out of every right-hand man in their gang.
And now, June felt like he was back to those times.
That tattoo—he couldn't be mistaken.
That was the tattoo of the man who had ordered to kill him.
Laohu was actually in South Korea, and worse, he was with Lin Zhi.
For June, that only meant one thing.
There was something going on behind the scenes.
"Well, well, what do we have here?"
June's thoughts were snapped back to reality when he heard Lin Zhi's voice not far away from him.
"Shit," he cursed under his breath.
"Woah," Lin Zhi raised his hands, chuckling as he observed June. "I was expecting a greeting; not to be cursed at."
This was the first time they interacted so closely after performing together during the second mission. And while they were civil during their practice and performance back then, there was an undeniable tension between them right now.
Lin Zhi's aura suddenly turned serious as he narrowed his eyes at June.
"How much did you hear?" he asked.
June pursed his lips as he subtly reached for his pocket, where his phone was.
"Nothing much," June said, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "But aren't you ashamed?"
Lin Zhi frowned. "What do you mean?"
"What it's like paying your way to the top?" June cryptically asked, causing Lin Zhi's frown to deepen.
"You've been listening this entire time," Lin Zhi said, a small chuckle escaping his lips.
June merely shrugged, looking as relaxed as ever. In reality, he didn't hear what they talked about.
In fact, he was boiling with rage right now. After seeing Laohu, the man who brutally killed him, he wanted nothing more but to run to where he was and kill him, too.
However, June knew that was a rash decision.
He wasn't Jun Hao anymore.
But, he still had great instincts. And his instincts told him that there was, indeed, some foul play going on.
And based on Lin Zhi's response, June must be right.
June was expecting to see Lin Zhi crumble. The latter always had a weak personality. He was easily swayed by varying situations—that's probably the reason why he killed Jun Hao, too.
However, what was scary about Lin Zhi was that he would do everything to reach his objective.
But then again, June was the same.
So, in this battle of wits, they stood there in silence, gauging each other's minds. They both wondered what the other was thinking about, yet nobody dared to show their weakness.
"What are you going to do about it?" Lin Zhi asked in a deep voice. "Do you have any proof that I've paid my way to the top?"
June smirked since he knew his phone was recording the conversation at the moment.
"I don't," June said. "But you already know…cheaters will never reign."
"Oh, I think we both know you're wrong about that," Lin Zhi smirked. "While I'm here, reigning in victory, you're here thinking whether you're going to be debuting next week."
"That's right," Lin Zhi admitted, walking closer to June, his finger poking his chest. However, June didn't back down, equally matching Lin Zhi's intense eyes. "I'm going to debut, June. That's already certain."
"And you might not…or you might. But one thing's for sure…you'll see a lot more of me in the future."
June clenched his fists in anger, wanting to knock the shit out of Lin Zhi.
June closed his eyes and let out a deep breath. However, that seemed to have been a mistake because Lin Zhi quickly sneaked his hand into his back pocket and reached for his phone.
June's eyes widened as he reached for his phone.
However, it was too late.
Lin Zhi threw his old phone to the ground, the shitty electronics shattering to a thousand pieces. To add fuel to the fire, Lin Zhi stepped on the debris, crushing even the memory card and rendering it useless.
Lin Zhi clicked his tongue and shook his head. "I didn't know you had such petty tricks up your sleeves. I guess I'm not the only cunning person in this competition," he winked.
Then, Lin Zhi walked away, but not before patting June's shoulder.
It was an insulting action, and June felt like he had gone back to the days when Lin Zhi had killed him.
"Behave now, June," Lin Zhi said, his voice low next to June's ears. "You don't want to mess with the next big thing."
