It was the liveliest time of the night. People living in the neighborhood were out for a walk after dinner.
The stage in front of the supermarket was surrounded by people very quickly.
“Our supermarket is organizing an event today. The first prize is a Giant bicycle. The second prize is a
box of chocolates. The third prize is a huge teddy bear. There are also all kinds of prizes for the
participants. As long as a male and a female made up a team, the team could participate in the event
no matter if the members are a couple. Welcome to participate in the event.”
The overdressed emcee held up a megaphone and wore a suit with chicken feathers on it. He looked
like he came from a wedding company on short notice to come here to host the event.
“We still need two more couples. Anyone else wants to join?”
“Do you want to go?” Joseph asked while looking down.
Hayden pondered for a moment and shook her head hesitantly, “No, let’s go back home. We need to
go back fast. We can buy the chocolates next time.”
Hayden knew that the supermarkets here had a lot of strange ways for the participants to participate in
the events. She didn’t want to be embarrassed and she felt like it’s better not to go.
After walking a couple of steps away, a soft voice sounded behind them, “Handsome, are you alone? I
am alone too. Can we pair up to join the event? We can share the prize in half then.”
Hayden's heart throbbed for a moment. She turned around to look at the girl who wore her hair in a
bun. She looked like she was in her early twenties. She looked at Joseph with an expectant face.
Hayden felt that she was not there to ask Joseph for help, but it seemed like she admired Joseph
looking at her eyes.
“I…” Joseph frowned. It seemed like he didn’t know how to reject her request.
“Can you help me, handsome? You look like you are very warm-hearted. Please… I want that bicycle
so much as I study in Higher Education Mega Centre near here. If we can get the first prize, I will
transfer half of the money for the bicycle to you using WeChat”
The little girl was a great pamperer. She pursed her lips and twisted her waist, like a living little goblin.
“Sorry, we’re going to participate in the event too. We are just looking for a place to put our things first.”
Hayden interrupted their conversation with a nonchalant voice. She shoved the supermarket shopping
bag she was carrying into Joseph’s hand directly and said deliberately in front of the little girl, “Carry it. I
have no strength to carry it anymore.”
The smile on the little girl’s face suddenly froze. She coughed humourlessly to cover up her
embarrassment, “Ahem, so sorry. I didn’t see you, madam. I’ll go find someone else.”
Did she call Hayden “madam”?
Hayden was very angry.
Did she called Joseph who was a handsome man in his thirties “handsome” but called her “madam”?
What was wrong with your eyes, little girl!
As she was about to say something, the little girl walked into the crowd and left there in a flash.
Then the emcee asked again, “We still need one more pair. Is there anyone else who wants to join?”
“Here!”
Joseph raised his hand. His tall figure stood out in the crowd.
Before Hayden regained her consciousness, she was dragged onto the stage.
As they were waiting for the event to start, she lowered her voice and asked Joseph, “How old do you
think I look?”
Joseph told her, “Twenty-five.”
“I’m not asking you how old am I. I’m asking you how old do I look.”
Hayden was a little annoyed, “Why did that little girl just call you “handsome”, but call me “madam”?
Does she look a lot younger than me?”
“She’s studying in the college nearby. She’s really younger than you.”
“Joseph…you…”
Hayden was furious and she just felt that he couldn’t understand what she meant. She must be blind to
fall in love with him back then.
“The event is going to start.” The emcee’s voice interrupted the conversation between the two of them
when Joseph didn’t understand Hayden’s words. The sound from the speakers on both sides of the
stage was extremely loud and deafening.
“The rules of our game are that men and women stand together and the woman cannot touch the
ground. The five couples started to play the game in turn and every couple must have a different pose.
If the couple can’t think of a pose, the couple will be eliminated first. The couple who persists to the end
will be the winner.”
Hearing the rules of the game, Hayden’s face turned gloomy. She looked at Joseph beside her.
Joseph looked at her calmly, “What’s wrong?”
Hayden coughed and lowered her voice, “Or maybe we can quit the game?”
As she was asking him, the emcee had already walked towards them.
“Okay, now starting with the first group over here. This handsome man and this beautiful woman will
start first.”
Before Hayden could take a single step to leave there, Joseph had hugged her up and her body was in
the mid-air.
The audience under the stage clapped.
Hayden subconsciously struggled for a moment. Then soon she found that Joseph had hugged her up
tightly and she could not escape from his arms. She glared at Joseph angrily.
Joseph lowered his head to look at her as if he was provoking her.
She turned her head away from looking at him and blushed. She seriously doubted whether Joseph
had known the rules of the game for a long time and that was why he was so calm.
The four groups after them made the pose very quickly. One of the men carried his girlfriend on his
back. One of the men hugged his girlfriend in his arms and one of the women who was quite short sat
on the shoulder of her boyfriend. The last pair of the couple was the funniest, probably because they
couldn’t think of a position, so the man directly held his girlfriend’s leg from behind and lifted her up
facing the stage.
The audience burst into laughter, “He looks like he is trying to coax a child to pee…”
The woman was so embarrassed that she struggled to get down. She punched on the man’s chest
hard and ran away, covering her face.
“That’s an automatic forfeit.” The emcee said while laughing.
“Okay, now you all can hold this pose for a minute and then switch to the next set of poses. Still got
forty seconds to go.”
As the emcee counted down on the stage, Hayden tilted her head and looked at Joseph’s chin, “What
about the pose after this? I can’t think of a pose. Why don’t we just forfeit?”
On the other side, the emcee’s countdown had already ended. Hayden was stunned when Joseph had
already put her down. He held her waist before she could react and lifted her up directly.
Hayden subconsciously stretched out her hand to hook around his neck and coiled her legs around his
waist to prevent herself from falling off.
This pose caused the audience to laugh again.
Hayden blushed and she lowered her voice, “Joseph, let go of me.”
“Which prize do you want?”
Joseph, however, didn’t reply to her request properly.
“I don’t want… Let go of me. I don’t want anything. Let’s go now.”
“Then let’s have the first prize.” The audience did not notice as Joseph smiled wantonly.
Hayden was angry and annoyed, but she could not do anything.
Another group was eliminated after that, leaving three groups to compete for the three prizes.
At first, Hayden thought she was going to take the opportunity to change her position, but then the
emcee suddenly said, “Okay, the rules of the game have changed temporarily starting from now. The
following three groups of couples will kiss in the current position and compete to see who can last
longer.”
Under the stage, it was filled with shouts of approval, “Kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss…”
Hayden’s face turned pale.
“Joseph, put me down. I don’t want the prize anymore.”
The emcee’s voice echoed throughout the stage at night, “I’m going to count down now. Then, the
three groups of couples can start.”
“Joseph, let go of me.” Hayden began to struggle.
“Three…”
“I don’t want this prize. If you dare to kiss me, you’ll sleep on the street tonight…”
“Two…”
“One…”
“…”
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