Chapter 100 Retiring from the Spotlight
When Kim heard Lauren’s words, his gloomy expression vanished, replaced by excitement and pride. “He’s just bluffing. He can't beat me. I'm the real game genius.”
Seeing Kim cheer up so quickly made Lauren happy too. Children are wonderful like that; even when faced with something upsetting, they can easily bounce back to their innocent selves, unlike the complex world of adults.
Lauren smiled warmly but remained silent. Kim, without missing a beat, said, “Since that guy isn’t here today, how about you play a game with me instead?”
Lauren was puzzled. “Kim, you see, I’m not in the best shape. Give me a break. Why don’t you go play with Mr. White?”
Kim shook his head, eyes bright with excitement. “The game we play is a high-IQ game. Didn’t he tell you? We play Sudoku, competing to see who can finish first. Unfortunately, last time you came, it was too rushed, and we didn’t even finish one game.” As he spoke, his head drooped, looking very disappointed.
Lauren suddenly realized the “duel” they were talking about was actually playing Sudoku, which was unexpected. “Alright, Kim, I’ll play with you. But you have to go easy on me. I haven’t played much!” She couldn’t bear to see him disappointed, so she agreed.
Kim immediately perked up. “Okay, wait for me. I’ll go get the Sudoku puzzles.” With that, he dashed off, leaving Lauren smiling helplessly. Sudoku? That does seem like something Quentin would enjoy.
Lauren felt she knew everything about Quentin—his favorite foods, drinks, and colors. But his hobbies were something she had never seriously inquired about or had the chance to discover.
Just then, Kim came running back cheerfully. “You pick one, and then we’ll study it for three minutes before starting the competition.”
Lauren was puzzled. “Shouldn’t we each fill out our own?”
Kim shook his head. “Didn’t he tell you? Our Sudoku competition doesn’t use paper and pen. We have to remember the positions of the numbers in our heads and then fill in the answers in our minds.”
Upon hearing this, Lauren decisively gave up. Such a brain-intensive task was indeed beyond her. “You said you’d play with me,” Kim insisted, refusing to let her off the hook.
Lauren felt a bit helpless. “Kim, it’s not that I don’t want to play with you. It’s just that your game is too difficult for me. I really can’t do it.” She smiled awkwardly. Kim’s hobby was indeed unique. It seemed only someone with Quentin’s intelligence could satisfy him.
Sure enough, Kim was very disappointed. “When will he come to see me?”
Ethan, seeing Kim pestering Lauren, called out, “Kim, don’t bother Lauren while she’s resting. Come here, and I’ll play with you.”
Kim bounced over to Ethan while Lauren fell into deep thought. Would Quentin remember his promise to Kim? Would he show up here again? She smiled bitterly. She and Quentin had nothing to do with each other anymore. Whether he came or not was none of her concern.
In the afternoon, Lauren and Ethan accompanied the children inside to watch TV. Coincidentally, the channel switched to an entertainment program.
“According to reliable sources, the ‘pure goddess’ Wendy has decided to retire from the screen. She has terminated her contract with her agency and has not signed any new projects so far. The reason for Wendy’s retirement is still unclear. Some speculate that she is marrying into a wealthy family, but Quentin, the president of Robinson Conglomerate, who has always been close to her, is already married. Others guess that she offended powerful people in City A and was thus blacklisted. What is the truth? We will continue to follow up and report.”
Ethan took the remote from Kim and changed the channel. He turned to look at Lauren and found her expression unchanged.
Ethan walked over to her. “Are you okay?”
Lauren smiled and shook her head. “I’m fine. Ethan, you don’t have to be so cautious. Even if it’s something related to Quentin, I won’t be affected. What’s past is past. I’ll learn to look at everything related to him lightly.”
“Is that so? To me, it seems like you’re just pretending to be relaxed. I think Wendy’s retirement has something to do with Quentin. He probably did it for you,” Ethan said honestly, starting to admire Quentin a bit.
Protecting the one you love is something he also wanted to do. Quentin just did it differently.
“For me? I don’t think it’s necessary. Wendy is despicable, but I don’t want anyone to hurt others because of me. Besides, what happened to Wendy has nothing to do with me,” Lauren said coldly.
But did Quentin really orchestrate Wendy’s retirement from filming? Could he really destroy what he had built himself? Lauren wondered.
She shook her head. It was none of her business. Wendy had deceived her, but she didn’t want to retaliate. However, since Quentin did this, did it mean he had no intimate relationship with Wendy? Were the rumors about them all false?
Ethan looked at Lauren seriously, thinking she was still as kind as ever. Even though Wendy had ruined her marriage, she didn’t choose to retaliate. Lauren was indeed worth loving wholeheartedly.
“Alright, I’m relieved that you think this way. It’s my fault for bringing it up. I’ll be more careful in the future,” Ethan said with a smile, taking her hand.
But Lauren quickly pulled her hand back as if shocked. Realizing his impulsiveness, Ethan chuckled awkwardly and didn’t say anything more.
Quentin indeed orchestrated Wendy’s retirement. Over the past few days, he had adjusted his approach and began dealing with Wendy slowly.
He decided to completely block Wendy, regardless of whether she had other forces backing her. This time, he was determined to eliminate her without leaving any room for retreat.
Quentin first contacted Wendy’s agency, using the Robinson Conglomerate to pressure them into ending their cooperation with her. Naturally, the agency didn’t dare to offend Quentin, so Wendy was terminated without her knowledge.
Then, Quentin contacted everyone currently collaborating with Wendy, instructing them to end all future cooperation with her. Since it was Quentin’s order, no one dared to risk offending him by continuing to work with her.
However, a few people with ulterior motives sided with Wendy. This time, Quentin was truly angry. He directly acquired the companies that supported her. All of this was done quietly. No one knew the inside story, and no one dared spread any news about it.
