“Listen to me, Sophia—Kayla just came back from Africa. I hope you can come to our engagement banquet this time; there are lots of misunderstandings between you and Kayla. Perhaps both of you can take this opportunity to resolve your misunderstandings so that all of us can be family once more,” he said.
Family… A look of disgust crossed Sophia’s face, looking as though she had feces in her mouth. Did Kayla really go to Africa? She’ll definitely bully me if I go to the Harper Family’s engagement banquet!
Just as Sophia was about to reject the invitation, someone took the invitation card from Richard all of a sudden. Stanley had appeared behind Sophia at one point in time, and he even held her shoulders with one of his arms. Looking like a boyfriend who was protecting his girlfriend, he accepted the invitation card on her behalf.
“Alright, no problem. We’ll definitely be there!”
Pretending that he didn’t notice the grim look which appeared on Richard’s face, Stanley said very seriously, “This time, I’ll definitely go to your party in a car with a rental fee of 10,000 per day.”
Richard’s face fell even more; he simply turned around and left after bidding Sophia goodbye. After he walked away, Stanley threw the invitation card into a garbage bin at the side. Pretending like nothing had happened, he said to Sophia, “Come on, Sophie! Follow me and let’s get something great to eat!”
Sophia strode forward. “I’m not going,” she said curtly.
Stanley caught up with her. “Today’s the offline gathering of our esports team, so lots of gaming experts will be attending! You know about the Esports World Championship, right? It’s the most incredible competition of all time!
Our Dragon Fox Team is the champion of Cethos, which will represent the country to participate in the international competition soon! Basically, the greatest gaming experts in Cethos are in our team! Come on, I’ve already made reservations.
Those two scumbags will not be coming to the gathering, but I’ve already paid for the reservations. If we don’t go, my money will be wasted. Please, come on, come with me!”
Today… seemed to be the day of the offline gathering for the esports team. Although Sophia had rejected their invitation without any hesitation, perhaps she could go and have a look.
After all, they didn’t know who she was either; she could even take the opportunity to meet her other teammates. Besides, she wouldn’t feel awkward since her old, aggressive husband wouldn’t be coming to the gathering anyway. Therefore, Sophia reluctantly agreed to go with Stanley. “I’m hungry too, so I think I’ll just go with you then!”
With that, the duo left the campus together. They took the subway to the place where the offline gathering of the esports team was being held.
Since all members in the gaming team were highly-paid professional players, the venue for the offline gathering must definitely be a grand place. They had even reserved a huge suite for the gathering!
When they reached the place, they noticed that the rest of the team members had arrived. There were six of them in total. Including Sophia, who didn’t reveal her identity, there were seven of them. As she expected, Scary Phoenix was not there.
All members of the esports team were prominent figures indeed. Among the six members, four of them were professional gaming experts often featured in various gaming magazines. Sophia actually knew all of them—she even saw Sean in the team!
“What brings you here, Sean?” Sophia goggled at his face in shock, which was even prettier than a girl’s.
Sean looked like a 180-centimeter tall girl. A shy expression crossed his smooth, supple face as he scratched his head and grinned. Stanley introduced, “Sean might be a little girly in real life, but he’s really awesome in the game. Do you know the Dragon Belle Warrior character in our esports team? That’s him!”
Sophia felt that her entire perspective on life was altered completely. The Dragon Belle Warrior was so incredibly fierce in the game; it was actually Sean!
Just as she expected, there was not a single girl in the team. All of them were young boys and middle-aged uncles. They were surprised when they saw Sophia as they asked, “She is…”
Sirius? Scary Phoenix? She doesn’t look like Scary Phoenix at all. However, Sirius is a notorious jerk; how could he possibly be a beautiful girl like her?
Stanley introduced Sophia to the team members. “She’s my friend. She’s a gamer too, so I brought her here to have a look.”
“Oh, your friend…” A comprehensive smile crossed everyone’s face.
Everyone sat down, while Sophia was still in shock about the revelation of Sean being the Dragon Belle Warrior in the game. She watched as Stanley pulled out two pictures from his backpack and placed them at the side. “I brought these two here as well,” he uttered.
The two pictures were the character images of Sirius and Scary Phoenix in the game; Stanley had taken the liberty to print and frame their pictures for the gathering. He placed the two pictures on the positions he prepared for both Sirius and Scary Phoenix. The pictures were also monochrome.
Sophia was speechless upon seeing his actions. Naturally, a team of gamers mostly talked about gaming when they gathered. Sophia listened to them too even though the two pictures placed beside her looked somewhat weird.
After the gathering, everyone went back to their homes respectively. Stanley insisted on sending Sophia home, so they passed through Time Square in the middle of the city and took the subway home.
Time Square was one of the most bustling and luxurious commercial areas in Bayside City. It was most crowded at that time with many people strolling around the square.
Various commercials were played on large screens located at the most eye-catching spots in Time Square; celebrities who could be featured on these screens had to be A-list actors or actresses and top international brands in Cethos.
When Sophia passed by the square, she heard a familiar voice all of a sudden. She raised her head and saw the huge screen playing the trailer of Michael’s new movie. This time, Michael was acting in a period drama; he played the main role of a young master of a wealthy family eighty years ago, looking very handsome and charming in the movie.
His unique elegant charm was unparalleled. As his ever so handsome image appeared on the large screen over and over again coupled with his husky, pleasant voice, people walking on the square couldn’t help but stop and look at him on the screen.
Sophia raised her head and looked at the handsome man; she was mesmerized by his charm too. How can my idol look so handsome?
Stanley raised his head and looked at Michael too. From time to time, he turned and took a glance at the dreamy look in Sophia’s eyes, who was standing beside him. Yet another girl who’s been bewitched by my uncle. He couldn’t stop himself from advising her, “Sophie, you have to stop thinking about my uncle. There’s no way my uncle would like you!”
However, it seemed as though Sophia wasn’t listening to him at all. Stanley then continued, “You should look closer around you—maybe you’ll find a surprise around you somewhere!”
Stanley was rather confident with his looks. After all, he came from the same family as Michael. They looked somewhat alike, and he was the most attractive guy in the School of Computer Science! Unfortunately, Sophia was so mesmerized by his uncle’s charm that she didn’t even notice him at all!
As if trying to say something again, Stanley was about to open his mouth when he noticed an object moving from the corner of his eyes suddenly; he had caught a glimpse of a blinding, cold light. Upon looking closer, it was actually a blade!
The icy blade was about to stab into Sophia’s neck, who was raising her head and looking at Michael! Without any hesitation, Stanley kicked Sophia in her back; it sent her flying faraway outward. Thus, the blade missed its target.
Sophia, who was still oblivious of what was happening, turned around and saw the athletic Stanley lunging at a person. She was an unattractive girl, and she had already rolled over and got up after being pressed down on the floor by Stanley in just a few seconds.
A ray of icy light flashed through her hand and next moment, a small inch-long blade appeared from out of nowhere in her hand. The blade then extended to a few inches long in silence within seconds. It shone with a layer of dark tint on its surface as it stabbed directly into Stanley’s heart quickly!
A-An assassin?
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