Smiling, Billy explained to everyone, "Relax—it is what it is. When we're on the island, the eight guests will be divided into four teams by drawing lots. It's time to see who you're destined to be with... People who get balls of the same colour will be on the same team… That's what 'In The Same Boat' is."The atmosphere became silent. After a while, Skylar complained, "That's so dumb! What if two men or two women get paired up?"Scratching his head, Billy grinned eagerly. "There's nothing wrong with that. After all, our show is called The Choice of Love, so it doesn't always have to be a same-sex couple. People could even become great friends here! The possibilities are endless.""It's obvious that they're trying their best to get viewers, but I'm looking forward to it. We should just try to have a good time while we're here." Leia was quite eager."Yeah, that's right! I don't care who I get paired with, but I'll surely fall for Miss Osborne if I get a cute partner like her." Me
"Damn, enemies really are destined to meet!" Leia groaned when she realized Xavier and her had both picked red balls. Just when she wanted to get away from Xavier, destiny decided to mess with her. If this had been one of his schemes, she would have refused, but it genuinely was a random result. She would only look pretentious and spoiled if she made a fuss, so she resigned herself to silent fuming. "Well, fate has spoken! You can't say no." Smiling victoriously, Xavier tapped Leia's ball with his. "Hello, my boat partner." "Watch it, or I might just kick you off the boat when we're in the middle of the sea," Leia growled under her breath."It's okay, I can catch up to you even if you do. You may not know it but I was once the champion of freestyle swimming," Xavier boasted, completely unbothered by Leia's aloofness. He firmly believed that the law of the jungle was the truth, and would do everything in his power to win. To him, his love for Leia was more important than his dignit
"Mmph!" Leia was caught off guard by Xavier's sudden kiss. She tried to push him away, but he just held her and kissed her more passionately. Since it was a live show, everyone tuned in to it was now watching them kiss. The netizens went wild, pushing the show's popularity to the max.[Ah! What am I watching? Is everyone seeing this too?][Yeah, they're actually kissing! It's a real-life example of an overbearing president falling in love with a woman. It's so dreamy...][No wonder I heard that Universal Entertainment is going to promote someone else—their boss has had a change of heart!][Does that mean that Leia is a homewrecker? How could they cast a homewrecker in a dating show? It's outrageous!][No, she's not. Obviously, Mr. Stuart has given up on trying to please that pretentious woman...][Hey, who are you referring to? Did Miss White offend you? Please don't slander her!]Endless comments popped up, and the netizens took different sides. Some of them supported Xavier
At that moment, Shirley was staring at the screen fiercely, full of hatred and envy. "How dare you steal my Xavier from me, Leia? Just wait and see... I'll make you realize just how harsh the entertainment industry can be!" Taking a deep breath, Shirley called Henry Zimmerman, the boss of an online marketing company. Henry had hundreds of social media outlets and was good at controlling the public opinion."It's been a while, Miss White. Why are you calling today?" The man answered the call, sounding surprised."Mr. Zimmerman, I've found a way to make money, and I thought you might want to know about it...""What? Tell me now, I need that cash!" His voice was filled with urgency."Do you know Leia Osborne? I'll ensure you lead a worry-free life as long as you ruin her reputation." There was a low chuckle on the other end of the line. "Sure, I'll get to it now. My company is great at ruining reputations and creating social death, so just wait for my good news!" After ending the
Leia ran faster than everyone else, and managed to pick the best house there.Xavier, on the other hand, was left with the last house because he was slow. It was a very small cottage without a roof, and his jaw dropped when he saw it. Being used to a life of luxury, he immediately turned to the crew and protested, "How can I stay here? I want a different house!""I'm sorry, Mr. Stuart, it's the rules. The guests have to compete for the houses, and the person with the most points wins the right to change their house," Billy explained to Xavier patiently. Although Xavier was the president of Universal Entertainment, he still had to obey the rules of the show. If not, the audience would make a fuss."I can change my house…" Xavier rubbed his chin thoughtfully, then asked, "How do I get more points?" "It's very simple—you just need to do more farm work. We have farmers on the island, so you can earn points by feeding the farm animals, helping them give birth, or even by cleaning up th
If Megan knew that she had to compete with the others for their houses, she wouldn't have taken her time speaking to Skylar as they got off the boat earlier."It's what Mr. Jiminez usually does. I've been watching his reality shows, and I know that he loves to torture the guests with these tricks. I can't believe I'm seeing it in person now!" "Ah, you're so lucky. You kissed Mr. Stuart on the boat, and now you have a beautiful house. You're practically the winner, aren't you?" Megan was full of jealousy."How... How did you know? Xavier and I..." Leia's cheeks turned red and she immediately looked away."Do you forget that it's a live show? Plus, news spread fast. Some netizens have already cut and edited the video of your kiss, and now it's the most trending topic on the Internet," Megan said with a cheeky grin."Ah! I'm doomed," Leia wailed miserably, wondering if Santiago had seen the video too. Xavier must have done it on purpose, the wicked man!At that moment, Leia saw San
"Dream on!" Leia scoffed as she pushed Xavier away, "You're shamelessness is just getting worse! You can't stay in my house, so get out!" She knew how reckless and impulsive Xavier could be, so she wanted to keep her distance from him. If he kissed her again, she wouldn't be able to handle it. She wasn't going to let him get away with his cunning schemes. Grinning, Xavier said, "Remember what you said, okay? Don't come crying and begging me later." The other guests watched Leia and Xavier excitedly and teased them."Wow, this is totally a 'dominant president falls in love' romance. Miss Osborne, stop running away and just accept him!" "I think we should rename our show to something like 'She Can't Escape'...""Mr. Stuart, you'd better stay here. After all, you guys are partners, so it doesn't matter where you stay!"Leia sighed exasperatedly and massaged her aching temples. "Stop encouraging him. This guy is a ticking time bomb, and he just might come after you all too. Anyw
Xavier had been targeting the farrowing task because he would earn 1000 points if he completed it. Once he got those points, he would be able to pick any house he wanted from the six houses tomorrow. He would then exchange his cottage with Leia's villa, and she wouldn't be so smug then.Xavier soon arrived at Jayden's house at the edge of the village. Jayden was quite poor, so the village had given him that place to stay. He was relying mostly on the country's financial support to keep him going, and he had also been given five pigs to earn his living. He worked hard and took great care of his pigs, and now it was finally the time to deliver their babies. Unfortunately, because of his lack of education, he had no idea how to help with the farrowing. Coincidentally, the crew of The Choice of Love happened to come to the island for the show, and when Adam saw those heavily pregnant pigs, he smacked his thigh happily. "Well, isn't this swell! I'll make the guests help with the farrowin
Liam was impressed while looking at Justin's calm expression. He had always thought that Justin was cunning and full of schemes. He was even worried that Justin might plot against Renee in the future.However, Justin was quite open and generous. He was considering things from Renee's angle. He could be Renee's haven, but if he stepped down, he could willingly grant Renee's wish to be with the one she loved. It seemed that Justin was selfless, and Liam felt that he was worse than Justin. No wonder Renee would choose to spend the rest of her life with Justin. It seemed like he was a reliable man.Justin pocketed his hands and asked casually, "Is there any other problem now?""Not at the moment." Liam frowned in defeat. Since Justin had made such a big compromise, he would seem like a fool if he was too arrogant and refused to give up. A long sigh escaped him as he let go of Renee's hand, but he was still hopeful. He boasted to Justin, "Wait and see! I'll make Stefan appear.""Go
"Let go of her!" Justin turned cold and grabbed Renee's other hand. He said darkly to Liam, "You don't have the right to take her with you!""Hmph! I don't have the right to take her with me? Well, you don't have the right to marry her. I must take her with me today. Worst comes to worst, I'll fight your family!"Though he was too weak to fight the powerful Baldwin family, Liam was never a coward. He would fight the whole world alone for the sake of Renee's happy and stable life."Calm down…"In comparison, Justin was calmer. He was probably more confident since it was his territory and he could affirm Renee would not leave with Liam. He started mocking Liam. "I'm not the kind of person who will force others to do things they refuse to do. If Ren wants to leave, I'll let her go even if my family disowns me. But I know that she won't leave. At the very least, she won't leave with you.""What do you mean?" Liam could tell that Justin was mocking him, and it annoyed him. "Why are
Liam felt that his situation at the fort was almost the same as Renee's current situation. He had thought that the marriage was just for show. If he was unhappy, he could get a divorce. Even then, things were not that easy when he wanted to get out of that mess. If Amber had not protected him, Benjamin would have long gotten him killed. He knew better than anyone else how unfair it was for the other party when one tolerated and went through with the marriage.Amber was naive and was willing to be treated unfairly, but Justin was no fool. He would not be able to take it if it lasted for a long time. It was easy to imagine what Renee would face when Justin stopped taking her side."Let's go! I'm not afraid. You don't have to be afraid, either." Liam made up his mind to support Renee, who was standing behind him.Renee bit her lips and started to waver; not because she did not want to be with Justin, but simply because she was not confident in herself. She was afraid she would neve
"Liam, what are you doing?" Leia looked at Liam, unable to understand his sudden excitement."I'm going to meet Austin or Justin. I want them to cancel this engagement ceremony." Liam held Renee's wrist and tried to drag her out of the suite.He was certain Renee didn't want to marry Justin, so it was very likely that she would regret it in the future. It would be hard to settle if she regretted it after the engagement party. Liam felt that he had to try his best to put everything under control while he still could. Feeling helpless, Leia complained, "Stop making a scene… This is Ren's marriage. You can't make all this fuss!""You don't know. I'm doing this for her. I want the best for her." Liam knew the consequences of resisting Austin, given the man's position. He was also ready to be punished by them. Even though he would be beaten up vigorously, he would not hesitate as long as he could stop the ceremony and help Renee avoid such risks. "If you want the best for her, just
Leia felt so awkward that she wanted to run away. "Hey, can you stop flattering yourself? You haven't settled your messy romance, so please don't get Ren involved. You shouldn't joke like that!"Similarly, Liam found his joke impudent and admitted to his mistake. "Yeah, I was wrong. Don't take my joke seriously."Both Renee and Leia were amused. It helped relieve their tension. "But have you thought it through? After this ceremony, you'll be a part of the Baldwin family. You can't regret it by then," Liam said; he was worried about Renee. Everyone knew the Baldwin family's style. They had such a grand ceremony today. If anything went wrong, the Everheart family might be ruined for the second time. Although nobody knew who would win the battle, the trouble could be avoided. Liam was clueless as to why Renee wanted to take such a risk."Yes, I have." Renee nodded and added firmly, "I'd thought it through the moment I boarded the plane with Justin to fly here."It was the last c
Renee was done getting ready. As her closest friend, Leia came to North City with Liam immediately.The engagement ceremony was held in a magnificent hall of a top hotel. The guests arrived one by one and chatted among themselves. It was a luxurious and grand scene. "Ren, I'm sorry I'm late!" Leia arrived at the hotel suite where Renee was waiting. She put her hands together to express her apology. "It's Liam's fault! He was out of his mind and insisted on not coming here, but I forced him to and took some time. Please don't be mad at me!""Silly, I won't be mad at you. Plus, this ceremony doesn't carry much meaning. The Baldwin family just needs this as an assurance. It doesn't matter even if you're absent."Renee looked indifferent and was not at all happy and eager like a bride-to-be. The engagement ceremony was held to announce to the world about the relationship between her and Renee. In all honesty, Renee was resistant to it. She did not want her family or friends to at
Margaret decided to be frank since Renee had said so. "I can tell that you don't sincerely love Mr. Baldwin. Your marriage is just a way to avoid reality. Why are you so harsh on yourself if that's the case? Now, you're making such a big fuss about moving here. If you fail to get along with him and have to return to Beach City in the future, many people will gossip about you. They'll say nasty things about you. Why do you have to put yourself in such a condition?""Margaret, you don't understand…" Renee looked at herself in the mirror. She looked very charming, like a bride in ancient paintings. Everyone would be charmed by her—including herself. She knew very well that she was the one taking the lead in her romance with Justin. They could go on forever as long as she didn't end it. She was just afraid she could not hold on and wanted to stop, and the only reason that she wanted to stop was probably because of Stefan. "If I stay in Beach City, I'll come across Stefan. I know t
Time passed by. It was soon the day for the engagement ceremony between Justin and Renee.The Baldwin family held a grand ceremony while adhering to tradition. It was both traditional and romantic.Renee put on a red slim-fit silk gown with intricate black and gold embroidery. Her long hair was delicately pinned up, showing off her fair and slender neck. She looked elegant."How pretty!" Margaret stood in front of the vanity table and looked at Renee, whose face was dolled with exquisite makeup. She looked gratified, as though she were looking at her daughter."If your parents saw how pretty and elegant you were, they would be very happy." Margaret gently placed her hands on Renee's shoulders and commented, "You married Mr. Hunt when I wasn't around. You must have suffered a lot. But things will get better now… I'll stay with you and protect you forever. I'll be your strongest support."Back then, Renee was left alone when her family was ruined. She married Stefan without anyo
Alexander and Francine were already old. It was fine even if others criticized them or took violent revenge on them. But they were worried that the younger generation, especially Adie and Abby, would have a hard time handling it."You're right. I wasn't thinking straight…" Francine became teary and sobbed. "I just wanted to relieve my guilt and failed to consider the kids. We brought this upon ourselves. I'll probably have to suffer this pain for the rest of my life.""Stop thinking about that. It's all over. It's useless to regret or dwell on it." Alexander walked over and hugged her shoulders. He whispered some consoling words, "No one can tell who was right or wrong about that affair. We're already punished. Just act like everything is gone…"Is it? You're just trying to make yourself feel better." Francine leaned against Alexander's shoulders, full of melancholy. "Don't you think the kids are suffering the consequences of our actions? They love and understand each other bu