Chapter 456 Whatever, Just Relax and Enjoy The Game

"Oh, where is my cousin? I'm going to look for him!" Carl said, as he dove into the crowd to look for Hiram.

Hiram was not usually a fan of these kinds of games, but since Rachel had wanted to participate, he reckoned that Hiram would pay attention.

When Carl found Hiram on the second floor, he was talking on the phone, apparently dealing with an important matter regarding subsidiaries in New York. Carl knocked on the door gently,"Hiram, Rachel is asking for you."

Having heard Carl's words, Hiram hastily finished his call and hung up. He followed Carl upstairs to the third floor.

As it turned out, Rachel was planning to preside over the game, rather than participate. But when she saw Carl and Hiram enter the room, she was disappointed by the realization that she would now have to take part.

Celine came near her and grabbed her arms before saying,"It's okay, Rachel. Just pretend this is one of those games that we used to play together."

Rachel took a glance, and sighed at having to compromise. She followed Celine into the dressing room.

Not having seen Rachel, Hiram stared at Carl in confusion.

Carl scratched his head and said with his head down, not daring to look at him,"Hiram, Rachel told me the rules before. Everyone has to fetch a balloon, the men from one side of the hall, and the women from the other. In the next round, they would have to form pairs based on balloon color."

After finishing his words, Carl thought to himself, 'Dear God I hope that Rachel and Hiram choose balloons of the same color. Otherwise, the next round of the game might be awkward for them.'

About 10 minutes later, a group of ladies in matching white low-cut dresses came out of the dressing room -- the band had prepared for the game as well.

Chason had replaced Rachel as the compere, and looked around the roof before announcing,"Turn off the light!"

As the darkness hit, a deep, rhythmic music started to fill the air.

Rachel, wearing a mask, was the only one who didn't hurry to take a balloon. Instead, she gestured to Chason.

Chason was scanning the crowd for her, and when he saw a masked woman making their agreed-upon signal, he knew it must be Rachel. He returned the gesture, to assure her he had understood. Then, he searched for Hardy in the crowd, noticed the color of his balloon, and asked a servant to bring Celine a balloon of the same color.

The servant found such a balloon, and showed

Drugged one night by her ex-boyfriend, a mysterious man took advantage of her in an ecstatic night filled with sex. To take her revenge, she married the man, and used him. "As long as I'm alive, I'm still his legal wife, while all of you are just his mistresses.”She remained adamant even when he was involved in scandals with other women...

and stalked towards the bamboo grove.

He stopped after a moment, realizing that Celine was no longer behind him. He turned to look and spotted her a while behind him.

Under the light of the street lamps, Celine stood, looking forlorn. Hardy pushed his glasses up his nose and walked towards her, asking,"What is it? Is something wrong?"

Celine pointed to her ankles and said,"I was running to catch up with you, when I tripped. I think I may have sprained my ankle."

The street was currently under construction, and debris lay all around them.

Alarmed, Hardy placed her arm around his shoulders and tried to help her back toward the house. "Maybe we should quit the game. Let's go back, there must be a first aid kit at the house."

Celine shook head,"No, Rachel told me that the golden apples were brought by Hiram from one of his trips abroad. They're pure gold and must be beautiful! I want to keep trying."

Hardy heaved a sigh of resignation,"Fine, just find some place to wait for me. I will find the apples."

Celine was reluctant, she was finally so close to Hardy, and his embrace was keeping her warm against the cold. "No way, I'm coming with you!"

Hardy lowered her to the ground and bent to check her ankle. Finally satisfied, he declared "It is a sprain. With some ointment, you'll be fine in two days."

"See? No big deal," Celine smiled, reaching for Hardy's hand.

Suddenly, she caught a glimpse of something glittering under the light of the street lamps. She motioned for Hardy to look, and whispered hurriedly,"Hardy, I see something glittering over there. Let's go and check it out."