If I wait for Jacob, we will be left behind. Thereâs no point competing anymore. We canât prepare lunch without any condiments.
With that thought in mind, Angeline clenched her jaw and shrugged off her jacket. She then put on the life jacket prepared by the film crew.
âIâll do it.â
Seeing that, the host flashed her an encouraging look. âOkay. We will cheer for you!â
With that, Angeline took a deep breath and strode toward the water resolutely.
When the icy sensation of the water hit her skin, she grew nervous. Cold sweat beaded her brows.
Fear overwhelmed her when she recalled how she nearly drowned to her death previously in another variety show.
Fortunately, the stream wasnât that deep, and she was still able to keep her composure.
Angeline inched slowly forward, wasting a lot of time. Soon, she heard the other team leaping into the stream.
As the other participants were going to catch up to Angeline, Floretta started hopping and waving her hands frantically.
âGo, Angel! Donât be scared!â she cheered.
Hearing that, Angeline summoned her courage to quicken her pace.
The finishing line was right before her eyes. Angeline happened to look down and noticed that the water had reached her waist. At once, her heart leaped to her throat.
Her breathing grew heavy, and she could no longer hear anything. At the same time, she felt her vision turning blurry.
Her body swayed, and she was on the verge of blacking out when a pair of large hands reached out all of a sudden to support her back.
âWake up, Angeline. Are you all right?â
Angeline heard a manâs voice beside her ear. His cool palm patted her cheek until she slowly regained her senses.
She opened her eyes abruptly to see Evander gazing at her worriedly. Her cheeks turned pink at the realization.
As she seemed fine, Evander relaxed slightly. He held her arm and ordered, âCome ashore with me.â
âNo! The game is not over yet.â
The bundle was right before her eyes, and the other two teams were about to catch up to her. She pointed at the bundle and yelled frantically, âHurry, take off the red flag for me. We canât lose!â
Unable to swim anymore, she could only cast Evander a pleading look.
A hint of fury lined Evanderâs expression. He couldnât understand why she was so adamant about winning that she even disregarded her own safety.
However, he still placed a hand on Angelineâs back and swam toward the bundle while supporting her.
With Evanderâs help and guidance, Angeline was much calmer.
She gradually picked up her pace and rushed forward to snag the red flag.
Following that, the host blew his whistle and announced, âCongratulations to the blue team for winning first place with the instructorâs help!â
Instantly, Angelineâs gloomy expression was replaced with delight.
âWow, we won!â Still standing in the water, she flung her arms around Evander, overwhelmed with emotions.
Something tugged at the manâs heartstrings as she leaped into his arms, her soft body pressing up against him.
Soon, the corners of his eyes crinkled up in joy as he reciprocated the hug.
His voice was low as he uttered, âCongratulations.â
Though his reply was curt and simple, it contained tenderness and affection that was unbeknownst to anyone but him.
After coming ashore, Angeline got the condiments she lacked from the film crew. She then found an empty spot and started preparing the tools to cook.
Jacob rushed over after getting some rest and saw Evander in the middle of building a fire while Angeline was teaching Floretta how to pick fresh vegetables. It was a surprisingly harmonious sight.
âWow, I know how to pick vegetables now! Iâm so happy!â Floretta clapped in delight. Filled with excitement, she hugged Angeline and jumped on Evanderâs back.
Together, they looked like a happy family of three.
With the heavy ingredients in his hands, Jacob stormed over and declared, âHow could you start cooking without waiting for me? Iâm a member of the team!â
Everyone turned over their shoulders to look at him.
Angeline felt embarrassed as Jacob had been helping them carry the ingredients for the whole morning. She didnât want to be too hard on him, so she suggested, âWhy donât you gather some firewood? Thatâs easy enough, right?â
âOkay! Iâll do that right now!â Jacob agreed as his lips curved into a pleased grin.
He quickly tossed the ingredients to the ground and ran off to gather firewood as though he was afraid someone else would steal the job from him.
A while later, he suddenly realized something wasnât right.
Here I am, working hard to gather firewood, but at the same time, Iâm giving Evander and Angeline a chance to spend time alone!
He turned over his shoulder to see Angeline wiping dirt off Evanderâs cheek with a wet tissue. The sight caused him to tremble in fury.
Oh, Iâm such a fool!
Alas, the cameras were still filming, so he couldnât call it quits. Thus, he had to tamp down his frustration and continue gathering firewood.
After having lunch, the three teams played a few games in the forest before returning to the guesthouse.
Filming for the day officially ended.
As the clips needed some editing, the variety showâs official account only posted a few photos of Evander, Angeline, and Floretta interacting with each other on Twitter.
No one knew that the photos would cause a stir online.
Evander was the CEO of an entertainment company with plenty of celebrities working under them.
However, he only appeared occasionally during important events and usually kept a low profile.
Hence, his first appearance on a variety show caught the attention of many.
The comments flooded in, mostly full of admiration for him.
Oh, Mr. Golding is so hot. Heâs the embodiment of all CEOs Iâve imagined when I read romance novels.
Oh, I love this. He, Angeline, and Floretta are the perfect family of three.
Sorry, Jacob. Iâm going to ship them.
Meanwhile, in a cafeâs private room, Olivine was slumping lazily in her chair, clad in a red long dress.
Her long nails decorated with sparkles were tapping on her phone screen.
However, a scowl crept up her face when she saw the sudden trending news about Evander and the netizensâ comments.
She raised her phone and hurled it at the door. Bang!
The phone hit the doorframe and smashed onto the floor, shattering upon impact.
Even so, Olivine was still smoking in anger. Tossing away her phone did nothing to appease her fury.
Jealousy soon filled her eyes.
Why is this happening? Evander likes keeping a low profile. Why did he join the show with Floretta and show himself to the public? This isnât his style. That b*tch Angeline mustâve done something to make him do this!
She was deep in thought when the door was pushed open to reveal the scarred man from before.
He bent down and picked up Olivineâs broken phone. The scar on his face twitched as he grinned, making him look extremely scary.
âMs. Sherrock, why are you mad? Iâm afraid youâd faint after hearing what I have to say.â