Chapter 29 29"The Game"
When it came to eating and playing, no one excelled like Noah, who threw his hands up in favor of the game when he heard the proposal.
"Let me dig into Quentin's secrets tonight," Noah declared with a mischievous grin.
The group cheered in agreement, but Quentin, ever the realist, flatly refused at that very moment.but Quentin was an unromantic. He flatly refused at that moment.
"Childish! I'm not participating!"
Noah refused to let it go, "Not joining? Quentin, don't be such a killjoy. Look how much everyone's looking forward to it. Sacrificing one for the joy of many—it's a no-brainer, man!"
Quentin wasn't buying Noah's pitch. How could he possibly agree to play some silly game with a bunch of bores?
The table of other colleagues watched Quentin with hopeful eyes; they really wanted him to join the game.
"Come on, Quentin, just play along. It's a chance to unwind and have a little fun."
"Yeah, Quentin, just break the routine for once, indulge our curiosity!" They all tried to convince him.
Quentin relaxed a bit, but his pride wouldn't let him give in.
"Hey, look at this, even Quentin isn't fearless," Noah chattered. "It's just a game, and he's too scared to join us. Turns out our Quentin is just an ordinary guy after all."
Noah's remark set off laughter among the women present, including Lauren.
Lauren snorted a laugh but then immediately regretted it, worried that Quentin might think she was mocking him.
She quickly covered her mouth, but Quentin saw her every move.
Being married for two years, this was the first time Quentin had seen Lauren laugh so freely and genuinely. No wonder the Dowager was so fond of her—her laughter was indeed contagious, Quentin thought to himself.
"If Quentin doesn't speak up, we'll take it as a yes, right?" Linda quickly seized the moment.
The crowd erupted, and just like that, Quentin was roped into the game.
"Alright, this wine bottle will be our judge to pick the loser."
Everyone cleared the table, placed the bottle in the center, and gave it a hard spin. They all held their breath, waiting for the bottle to slow down and point to someone.
"Haha, Mr. Martin!" Everyone followed the direction of the bottle mouth and called out, surprised and excited.
Noah, resigned, and thought, could it be more spot on? He was the first one to be caught!
"Alright, Mr. Martin, truth or dare?"
Noah glanced at the few people smiling maliciously at him and said without hesitation, "Truth."
His choice left them a bit disappointed—they had wanted to tease him.
"Fine, then here's my question. Mr. Martin, are you currently in a steady relationship?" Linda, playing the victor, began her interrogation.
Noah gave a mischievous grin, then turned serious. "No," he said.
The crowd met Noah's response with skepticism. Noah was well-known for his charm with women; the idea of him being unattached wasn't something anyone would readily accept. But doubt did little to halt the game from proceeding.
Several rounds passed, and Lauren had been lucky enough not to get picked. As a new round kicked off, she watched the spinning bottle, silently praying it wouldn't land on her. But as irony would have it, the more she hoped, the crueler reality seemed.
The bottle slowed and, to her dismay, pointed directly at Lauren. With a resigned smile, she braced herself for the question from the winner of this round.
This round's victor was a male colleague who seemed captivated by Lauren, his shyness and nervousness apparent.
Linda teased, “Go ahead and ask her—what?, Tgot tongue-tied around a pretty lady?”
Blushing even more, he feigned composure, cleared his throat, and finally asked Lauren, “Amelia, truth or dare?”
Lauren had already made up her mind; she preferred the certainty of truth over the unpredictable dare.
“Truth,” she uttered softly, her lips parting gently to deliver the words.
The colleague hesitated before finally asking, “Amelia, are you single?”
His question lit up the room, the suggestive undertones obvious to all.
Lauren hadn’t’t expected such a personal inquiry but knew she had to adhere to the game’s rules. Her dilemma now was whether or not, to be honest.
Should she openly admit she was married? What would Quentin think? Would he interpret it as deliberate disclosure that she was his significant other?
Or should she say... single? Wouldn't that be a lie?
The attention once again shifted to Lauren. She scratched her head, feigning deep thought.
“Amelia, is the question that hard to answer? Regardless, you need to give a clear response,” Noah chimed in ‘"helpfully,’" seeing it as a chance for a fellow Sales Department guy to make a move.
“Uh... sort of...” Lauren managed a sheepish grin, offering an ambiguous reply.
Linda couldn't sit still, “Amelia, be serious. What kind of answer is ‘sort of’?”
Then, a cool male voice interrupted, moving the game to the next round, and sparing Lauren any further questioning.
Grateful, Lauren glanced at Quentin, the source of the voice, but he didn’t’t so much as offer her a direct look. Sigh, she thought, chiding herself for her fanciful thoughts, mistakenly assuming he had tried to come to her aid...
Once Quentin had spoken, the group let go of their fixation on Lauren's issue. The new round of the game began, and the bottle spun and spun until it gradually came to a halt, pointing directly at Quentin.
Quentin frowned, cursing under his breath. He had said he didn't want to play this game.
As the previous round's victor, Lauren was at a loss for words at the scenario unfolding before her.
"So, Quentin, truth or dare, which one will it be?" Lauren asked, adhering to the rules.
The crowd became restless seeing Quentin, the loser, getting caught.
"Quentin, pick truth!" someone whispered a suggestion from the side.
Everyone was eager to hear Quentin's choice because he was an enigma to them. Aside from knowing he was married, none of his personal life was known to the group.
Quentin glanced at the person who had advised him and surprisingly opted for truth.
The game they were playing, a game Lauren was all too familiar with, suddenly became challenging when her subject was the stoic Quentin.
Lauren hesitated to speak, which only agitated everyone further.
"Lauren, come on, ask already! Ask Quentin what kind of girl he likes," someone pitched in with an idea.
Such a personal question was out of the question for Lauren, even if she had the guts. Besides, she thought, even if she didn't ask, she already knew that the type of girl Quentin liked would never be someone like her.
"Quentin, do you ever regret the decisions you make?" Lauren finally asked.
