Yoel maintained his silence. As long as he acted well, Joshua would assume that his signal was terrible. When Joshua did not hear any response, he glanced at his phone, confirmed that he had a full signal, and called out, "Yoel."As there was no reply, Joshua decided to send a message instead. Yoel promptly turned off his phone. After all, he was still on vacation, and turning it off would not be much trouble for a day or two. He felt fortunate to be single; otherwise, he would not go without contacting his girlfriend for twenty-four hours.Joshua had not expected Yoel to be so daring. After sending the message, he did not bother with it and slept.However, Yoel could not just let this highly abnormal behavior of Joshua go unnoticed. Hence, he borrowed his father's phone and called Cynthia.Cynthia was still busy, but when she saw an unfamiliar number calling, she casually answered, "Hello, who is this?"Yoel could not directly expose Joshua, but he had to remind Cynthia."Ms
Jimmy asked, "Joshua? What's he got to do with this?"Cynthia briefly explained the situation. Jimmy was quite nosy among their small group, but he was tight-lipped about things outside their circle and would not spill the beans."He's not faking it, is he? The last video he posted seemed pretty normal." Jimmy guessed after hearing her explanation. "I asked him to act according to his previous personality. Go ahead and have fun. Once I'm settled with Joshua's matter, I'll treat you all to a nice meal," Cynthia clarified.To gather material, she reviewed a lot of surveillance footage. It was precisely because of that footage that Joshua did not blow his cover after returning.Riley took Jimmy's phone and chatted with Cynthia, "No problem. Just bring him along."Cynthia and Jimmy were surprised by Riley's suggestion.What the hell was she thinking? Was she trying to put Joshua, the ex-husband, and Matthew, the current pursuer, in a ring and fight it out?Riley continued, "Ask hi
Joshua waved his hand in front of her, his tone resembling a seventeen-year-old as he called out, "Cynthia."Cynthia snapped back to reality and did not say much. "You can do your own thing for now, and I'll take you there in the afternoon.""Okay."Once Cynthia returned to her room, Joshua called Yoel to arrange things for the evening. Since he would meet Cynthia's friends, he had to clarify his status in Cynthia's life.Joshua tried calling once, then twice, but Yoel's phone was still off. Then, he decided to look up Yoel's information. Once he found Yoel's family's phone numbers, he dialed one of them.Yoel's father answered the call, and upon hearing it was Joshua looking for Yoel, he immediately became very polite and went to find Yoel while scolding him, "You brat, why did you turn off your phone? Mr. Neal is looking for you."Yoel, who was watching a documentary, was taken aback. "Mr. Neal?"Yoel's father handed the phone over to him with a stern expression. "He's on the
Though Jimmy was intimidated by Matthew, he still asked, "Captain, how's your relationship with Cynthia progressing? How was the meeting with your parents during the New Year?"Matthew played with his wine glass and replied, "It went smoothly," "What about your relationship?""Stagnant."Jimmy, Mitchell, and Riley were puzzled.Riley exclaimed, "You're joking, right?""She's currently not interested in romantic relationships. So, there hasn't been any progress," Matthew explained earnestly."Make sure Joshua doesn't steal her away," Riley remarked, sounding serious.Matthew remained silent, deep in thought. Cynthia had told him about Joshua's mental state reverting to that of a seventeen-year-old, and he had thought Joshua would keep acting like a five-year-old forever."Captain.""Hmm?""You should confess your feelings to Cyn," Mitchell suddenly said.Riley and Jimmy both looked at him.Matthew was caught off guard, but he still replied casually, "Until I'm certain th
"Should we decorate this place a bit? Isn't a confession supposed to be romantic?" Jimmy asked.Matthew still prioritized Cynthia's preference and replied, "No need. She likes simplicity. I'll find a moment to talk to her later.""Alright."They did not offer any more suggestions. After chatting briefly, Jimmy suddenly thought of a crucial issue and asked, "Joshua is coming with Cynthia. What if he sticks to her all the time, and you don't get a chance to confess?""Mitchell, please handle that." Matthew thought of this too.Mitchell agreed, "No problem."A little past seven o'clock, Cynthia and Joshua arrived. Seeing them, Matthew stood up and offered his seat to Cynthia. She walked over, paying little attention to seating arrangements, and sat down without hesitation. Observing this, Jimmy and the others breathed a sigh of relief as the first step was successful.Later, they ate some quick bites before playing games. They often played mystery games in the past, but today'
In this round, only Cynthia and Joshua did not bend their fingers. Joshua looked at Cynthia, wondering if she had not learned to hack."It's my turn. My hair length is below my shoulders." Riley surveyed the group and came to Cynthia's rescue.Only Cynthia bent her finger.Mitchell played it safe in the first round and said, "I have a 100% win rate in the lawsuits I've handled.""I'm not afraid of ghosts." Joshua bent a finger, glancing at Cynthia.Apart from Jimmy, Mitchell, Riley, and Matthew all bent a finger.In an instant, all eyes were on Cynthia, who seemed deep in thought.Should she bend her finger? Joshua had already suspected her last night, and not bending her finger would mean she was not scared of ghosts. More importantly, not bending it would undermine the sincerity of the game."Cynthia, you're not afraid either, so why didn't you bend your finger?" Jimmy was the first to speak.Riley chimed in, "That's right."No one present noticed anything amiss, assumi
Jimmy was utterly shocked.Riley drank to hide her emotions too.What on earth was happening?"Do you like Cyn?" Mitchell decided to address the matter directly."I do," Joshua admitted, "Even though she rejected me before, I'll keep liking her. She's the person I want to protect for the rest of my life."Cynthia knew Joshua was doing this intentionally, but she could not say anything about it."Well, it's obviously too late for you!" Riley casually retorted.Joshua looked at her.The stunningly beautiful Riley wanted to help Matthew confess, so she suggested, "Let's continue the game. This time, we'll be playing Truth or Dare. Those who can't fulfill the challenge have to drink three glasses.""Let's go!" Jimmy had been waiting for this. Fortunately, he had practiced a few tricks to avoid getting into trouble."Let's use poker cards," Jimmy said, as it was the only type he had practiced, "Hearts, diamonds, clubs, spades, with the king being the highest and the ace of spades
Jimmy was puzzled.Why was Cynthia looking at him like that?Cynthia cleared her throat and hinted at Jimmy to give her the biggest card.Jimmy looked back at her as if asking, "You want me to cheat?"Cynthia nodded.She did not like cheating, but she really wanted to know who Matthew liked and why he had not confessed seriously. After all, he had everything—looks, physique, family background, and qualities. His success rate in confessing should be a hundred percent, right?Jimmy awkwardly cleared his throat and started dealing the cards. Whether intentionally or accidentally, Cynthia ended up with the smallest card, and Matthew got the largest.Cynthia fell silent.Riley was also surprised by Jimmy's dealing this time and asked, "Truth or Dare, Cyn?""Truth." Cynthia would not easily choose Dare."What would be your reaction if a friend confessed to you?" Matthew's tone was calm, as if asking an ordinary question. Cynthia hesitated. "A friend?""Like Mitchell, Jimmy,