Justin immediately met Quinton to make that happen, and the two soon became close friends. Eventually, Quinton hoped to see Justin become his brother-in-law. "I don't think so!" Margaret frowned solemnly. "Yes, Mr. Baldwin is a good guy, but his family isn't, especially Old Master Baldwin. He's very autocratic and eccentric. If Ms. Ren gets with Mr. Baldiwn, she'll have to live with Old Master Baldwin, which is very dangerous. Ms. Ren wouldn't know when he'll lose his temper." "You're overthinking." Quinton admired Austin, and protested, "Old Master Baldwin was a soldier who killed many enemies. He's a righteous and brave man. Why would he mess with his daughter-in-law? If my sister marries Justin, I'm sure Old Master Baldwin will dote on her. He'll cherish her and adore her." "If you think that, you don't know their generation well!" After all, Margaret was older, and she knew the grudges and history of the three families well. "When it comes to that, it's Old Mr. Hunt who is th
Meanwhile, Renee and Justin had reached the back garden."I like your house's back garden. It's spacious, bright, and quiet. I can lay on the flowerbed and look at the stars. It's wonderful!" Justin held the wine bottle and got into the flowerbed, sitting on the ground cross-legged."The garden at your house isn't small either. I remember I nearly got lost there once." Renee sat beside Justin, feeling surprisingly relaxed as she enjoyed the night breeze. "The garden at my house is too orderly. It's boring; I hate going there." Justin shifted awkwardly, scanning his surroundings. He was surprised at the blue forget-me-nots all over the ground. "This place used to be full of sunflowers. Why did you start planting these small flowers instead?" He picked one and sniffed it, then shook his head. "Sunflowers look better. They're golden and large, and look enthusiastic and generous. This small flower does look elegant, but it doesn't match your style!" Renee caressed the forget-me-nots
"Don't hesitate—just go for it. Hurry up and buy me. The sale is only for today—you might lose this chance if you're not fast enough!" Justin urged eagerly. Renee thought for a while, then looked up at the stars. "Look at the stars—each one is beautiful and unique."Disappointed, Justin pouted and complained, "Why are you talking about the stars now? You can refuse me, you know." He knew Renee—although she was talking about cost-effectiveness, she still wanted perfection. Justin might not even have the option to be her Plan B. He knew his position well, so he always stayed with her as a best friend who shared her interests. He rarely tried to win her favor and pursue her romantically, because he knew he would fail."No, I'm not trying to change the subject." Renee glared at him. "Didn't I just say that each star is unique? I don't have to keep looking at just one." "What do you mean?" Justin's breath caught, and he didn't dare move. He was afraid that even the slightest noise wou
For the next few days, Renee tried dating Justin. They kept things casual, but both of them intended to develop their relationship as lovers.Renee received a text from Justin the moment she woke up: [How would you like to enjoy yourself today?] She rubbed her eyes, a sense of warmth and peace blooming in her heart. After a brief thought, she texted him back. [We've watched movies and operas, and even tried a candlelight dinner… but they all seem kind of boring!][What do you mean?] Justin read Renee's reply, feeling alarmed. [Are you trying to ask for a refund before the probation is over?][Haha! No, I just think we should try something special today.][Like what?][Like an... escape room?][Sounds interesting. Let's go!] Excited, Justin immediately changed into casual clothes and styled his hair with gel. He looked like a handsome college student. [Wait for me. I'll pick you up.][Okay!] After texting him, Renee went to wash up and get ready."Ren, let's go shopping later!"
"I used to think the same way. I wanted a pure and passionate love… but my thoughts have changed now. I think the most important thing in love isn't the so-called sparks or the butterflies in our stomach but...""But what?" Leia asked eagerly."Comfort!" Renee smiled. "A couple needs to spend the rest of their lives together, which is a long time. It isn't enough just being attracted to each other—being comfortable is the most important thing. If it's a very intense and passionate love, it'll end up hurting them both. It'll only bloom for a while and won't last long. In the end, the two people holding hands as they watch the sunset will keep each other company, take care of each other, and listen to each other's woes."Leia listened to Renee's explanation and nodded thoughtfully. "You sound so logical. Attraction won't last forever, so the most important thing is compatibility!""Yeah, I think you and Xavier are pretty compatible. You're very relaxed when you're with him, so you b
They chatted and laughed before eventually reaching the most popular escape room center in Beach City Screaming Night. Screaming Night stood out and remained on the top of the review list because of its realistic scenes, thrilling levels, and scary atmosphere.After getting out of the car, Justin paid for the game while Renee and Leia waited in the lobby.An attendant holding a tablet explained the themes to them. "Hey, beauties! There's a total of four themes in Screaming Night. Each theme is focused on horror with four, six, eight, or ten members in a group. I recommend you take the package with six people in a group. It's suitable for the theme 'Hospital Horror'. Its storyline and gameplay are the most interesting.""Let me check it out." Renee held the tablet and read the summary for Hospital Horror. She smiled and said brightly, "Alright, we'll pick this!""Okay." The attendant put in the order and looked at the three of them. "You need six people to play this game, but there
"It's my honor, Ms. Everheart." Stefan was expressionless as he shook Renee's hand, equally formal.Everyone was speechless. It was so obvious they were pretending to be unaffected. Justin's heart clenched when he saw them holding hands, but he forced a wide smile onto his face. He walked over and held Renee's shoulders as he said to her soothingly, "Relax, it's just a game. I'll protect you later."Renee seemed to realize something and immediately let go of Stefan's hand. She looked up at Justin and smiled sweetly, saying in an unusually coy voice. "You promise? I'll hide behind you later, okay?"Justin patted his chest. "Of course!""Hmph!" Stefan snorted in disdain, making the atmosphere even more awkward. Leia and Xavier looked at each other and subconsciously took a step back. It really was a battlefield!Jeffrey was the only one who didn't understand what was going on. He stood in the middle of the three of them eagerly and said, "Renee, it's my first time doing an escape
The attendant brought them to an abandoned building. It looked like a hospital with six floors."Players, you'll start your adventure here. I'll give each of you a walkie-talkie and handbook, and you can clear the levels based on the clues you find." The attendant passed them the items, then continued, "The handbooks include the background of the story and the things you need to pay attention to. Enjoy yourselves!" The attendant waved and left. "It's living up to its name as the top escape room in Beach City. This building seems so real and gloomy. I feel like someone must have died here!" Leia looked up at the tall and decaying hospital as she swallowed nervously, goosebumps prickling her skin. "It's said that the shop owner purposely bought an abandoned hospital to create this theme. This hospital was built one thousand years ago. In the past, many people came here for treatment, but all of them would die a mysterious death. This place is said to be haunted!" Justin flipped thro
"Hurry up and explain to her, then!" Amber said hurriedly. "Matt, you're close to her. You know Ms. Everheart and Ms. Osborne would never do that on purpose. Try to persuade her to let this go, and then you can immediately set them free.""I don't have a say in this." Mateo shook his head, pretending to be helpless. "You know how much Luneth dotes on her son. Ms. Everheart pinned him to the ground and beat him up. His head got injured and started bleeding. I heard it's a large cut with a lot of stitches. We can't let it go just like that.""But you can't—" Amber wanted to say more, but Liam interrupted her. He looked at Mateo, his eyes cold and fierce. "I know you set them up. Just be frank. Why did you do that?" "See?" Mateo sighed. He pretended to be aggrieved as he looked at Amber. "The guy you like is sinister. I kindly helped him, but he didn't thank me. He even accused me of setting this up… He always sees the worst in people. He criticized me in front of you and sowed di
Liam immediately noticed something wrong. He asked Mateo fiercely, "What do you mean?""Calm down." Mateo put away his gun and placed it back around his waist. "They broke the rules and barged into the orchard. Plus, they hurt Luneth's child. So, I locked them up for the time being."He appeared calm, as if he was discussing what he had eaten for dinner. He didn't feel that he had been over the line. "Go to hell!" Liam finally failed to hold himself back. He rushed over and grabbed Mateo's neck fiercely. "You can harm me, but how dare you harm them!"At the same time, Mateo's subordinates raised their guns and aimed them at Liam. The recently eased atmosphere immediately became tense again."Hey, don't!" Amber, all tensed up, braced herself to try and stop them. Even so, she was mentally exhausted."What? You want to strangle me?" Mateo was fearless. He grinned deviously and teased, "Cool it. I just locked them up, but they didn't suffer. They're fine. If you harm me, though, I
Livid, Mateo pulled the trigger without hesitation. However, he moved the gun less than an inch. The bullet passed by Liam's ear and hit an orange behind him.The fruit immediately blew up, its juices splashing on Liam's face."Aaaah!" Amber, terrified, trembled. Her eyes turned red, and she hurriedly tried to plead with Mateo. "Matt, cool it! Aren't you and Liam friends? You guys drank and chatted together in the past. You were so close to each other. How could you do this to him? Hurry up and put the gun away! If it goes off accidentally, it'll be over!"However, Mateo ignored her. His eyes were red as he glared at Liam. "Did you see the orange behind you? Let go of her now! If not, I'll blow up your head just like I did to that orange!""Is that all you got?" Liam taunted. He refused to let Amber go. He whispered to Amber, "Watch well. If he shoots me today, promise me not to marry such a man. I can use my life to knock some sense into you.""No!" Amber shook her head. Liam
"What bad timing!" Mateo's indifferent voice came from behind Amber.Amber turned around and saw Mateo with a team of armed soldiers. Terrified, she quickly put some distance between her and Liam. She stammered an explanation. "Matt… It's not what you think. Liam and I came here to look for people. Ms. Everheart and Ms. Osborne are gone. Liam couldn't find them and guessed they might be in the orchard. He wasn't familiar with the orchard and asked me to guide him."Mateo looked livid, but still cracked a gentle smile. "Silly, you don't have to be scared. I know you're prudent. He must have forced you to come here. I don't blame you."He extended his hand and beckoned Amber toward him. "Come here. You're my fiancee. You should stand with me.""I…" Amber bit her lip—Mateo was right. She kept her head low, about to walk to him.But in the next second, Liam firmly grabbed her wrist. "You can't go!" Liam held Amber's wrist tightly and shot Mateo a challenging look."When did Amb
Liam could only see through Amber's true thoughts if she showed her true self to him. "No, I do like you. I love you the most, and I want to marry you. But you neither like me nor want to marry me. You love freedom and Ms. Everheart. You love and yearn for the kind of life ordinary people like. So, I could only choose to give you up and let you get what you want. What else do you want me to do?" Amber was generally shy and reserved, but when Liam drove her anxious, she rambled a lot."Whatever I want is my business. You don't need to sacrifice yourself to grant my wish!" Liam held Amber's shoulders, acting like a kind senior. He tried to persuade her in earnest. "Marriage isn't a joke. Think it through. Do you like and know Mateo well? You won't be happy after marrying him, given the savage culture around here. And can you divorce him easily?""Matt will be nice to me. Even if he changes his mind, he'll still be nice to me because…my father is Benjamin," Amber replied.She chose
Being a sensitive woman, Amber immediately noticed Liam's displeasure. She kept her head lower and explained carefully, "I want a chance to choose again… I want to choose another person to fall in love with. You know that Matt and I grew up together. We're childhood friends. He likes me and always protects me without asking for anything back. I feel that it's happier to marry a person who loves me instead of marrying someone far beyond my reach."For the first time, she expressed the exhaustion she felt from her relationship with Liam. She no longer wanted to be the one who kept fawning over him. She wanted to give up and relax by being the one who was loved and adored in a relationship."Tsk!" Liam snorted arrogantly. "You don't know Mateo. He's not a nice guy. He's just good at pretending. Maybe it's just his means to get what he wants, but you assume that he loves and wants to protect you."Liam hadn't made that statement to purposely put Mateo down. After standing against Mate
Liam focused on holding Amber's hand and leading her through the orange grove. At the same time, he carefully scanned the ground and trees to find any related clues left by Renee and Leia."I don't care what others say, because I didn't do anything wrong," he said indifferently. "I hope you'll feel the same. I don't think you need to stop being my friend after choosing to marry Mateo. Am I not the friend you like the most?""That's different," Amber said.She followed Liam passively. At first, she couldn't adapt to it. After walking briefly, she felt better and found it easier to do. "Although I'm not good at my studies, I know men and women should keep a polite distance. You can't take my hand and sound righteous at the same time," she mumbled."Why not?" Liam retorted firmly. "When I was young, I always held my sister's hand wherever we went. I'm holding your hand because this fog is thick and the ground is slippery. I'm afraid of being separated from you. Just walk with me. St
Liam walked ahead of Amber, then turned to glance at her. He faked a smile and asked, "What's the matter? Are you worried that I might take advantage of you?" "No, of course not!" Amber quickly shook her head and pushed her scarf up. It had fallen a little. "I just find it improper," she answered softly.She looked like a typical woman from Southeast Aeos, petite and with a small face. Her skin was tanned, and her facial features weren't very distinct. She was charming and reserved, exuding a girlish pureness. She had put on her country's special traditional clothes. The thick clothes, embroidered with various patterns, wrapped around her petite body and gave her an exotic impression. From afar, she appeared like a colorful oil painting. "Hey, it's not improper. If I wanted to do anything to you, I would've done that long ago. I don't have to wait until now." Liam sounded relaxed and prudent to ease Amber's anxiety."Don't worry. I've always regarded you as my younger siste
Amber hurriedly turned Liam down. "You can't help with my affairs. I can handle it.""Well, tell me why I can't help you," Liam pressed. "I… I want to sew a wedding gown. And there are a lot of details that I need to add." Amber became competitive for no reason, and added stubbornly, "Your words aren't absolute. Yes, your business is important, but so is mine!""Oh, you want to sew a wedding gown. I can help you with that…" Liam said, relaxed. "Maybe I didn't get to tell you that I went to a small country in Southeast Aeos when I traveled around the world. I got to know a great sewing master. The pictures he sewed looked real like paintings! I found them interesting, so I learned from him. My sewing skills are probably better than yours. I can help you with that.""Really? You can sew?" Amber was full of surprise and admiration. Her eyes lit up. "I can't sew well. I want to learn from a great master too! If you can do it, can you teach me?""Of course!" Liam promised. "Can you he