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Watching the two people at the pool table, Chen Rui suddenly had a question he wanted to ask Wang Xinzhuo beside him, but he hesitated to speak up.
Wang Xinzhuo noticed Chen Rui's unusual demeanor, as if she could read his mind. She voiced his thoughts, "Are you wondering why people like us from high society play these games that are typically for the common folk?"
Chen Rui smiled awkwardly and didn’t deny it; he indeed wanted to ask that question. Since she had brought it up, how could he refute it?
"What do you think we should be playing instead?" Wang Xinzhuo asked with a smile, turning the question back to him.
Chen Rui thought for a moment and realized he didn’t really know the answer. "Maybe golf... or something like that."
Wang Xinzhuo chuckled. "No matter what game it is, the purpose is simply to relax. Just because someone is wealthy or noble doesn’t mean they can’t enjoy games played by commoners. Games are just a form of entertainment; the purpose is what matters. It's like when we play with guns—it's not because we’re soldiers or special forces; we just find it exhilarating! It helps us unwind, which is why we do it."
Chen Rui pondered her words and found them quite reasonable, though he felt something was still missing from her explanation.
"Are you also wondering why you never see those so-called high society people playing these games? They usually appear at events like galas or charity functions," Wang Xinzhuo continued, addressing another thought in Chen Rui's mind.
Before Chen Rui could respond, she elaborated, "There are many reasons for this. The first and most important one is face. Trust me, you know that no prominent figure would disregard their reputation."
"The second reason is personal behavior; when people are relaxing, they might unconsciously engage in certain activities. Who knows if those guys who usually wear suits are actually slobs in private?"
"Thirdly, this is something that true nobles or high society individuals care about: entertainment can help them better understand the cultural significance behind it. Generally speaking, valuable forms of entertainment often hide profound cultural roots, which is something that real upper-class people pay attention to."
Wang Xinzhuo’s explanation provided a comprehensive overview of the entertainment preferences within high society. Chen Rui began to admire her ability to see the surrounding landscape so clearly while being part of it.
"You don’t need to admire me; I’ve just been laughed at more often," Wang Xinzhuo said with a self-deprecating smile.
Chen Rui shook his head and refrained from commenting. Sometimes, while self-deprecation might be acceptable for her, he felt it was not something he could agree with. Denying oneself and having others deny you were entirely different matters. Moreover, for someone with power and wealth, they might feel exhausted by their control over power but would never allow anyone to cross their boundaries.
Chen Rui didn’t understand where these people's boundaries lay. Although he often joked around with them, he always avoided certain fresh topics to prevent stepping on landmines.
Wang Xinzhuo looked at Chen Rui and murmured, "It's you who truly deserves respect."
"Me?" Chen Rui pointed at himself, gazing at Wang Xinzhuo with a confused expression, genuinely unsure if he was referring to Chen Zijing or himself. However, it was more likely that he meant Chen Zijing, after all, he was indeed very talented.
Coming back to his senses, Wang Xinzhuo quickly realized that the person before him was not the one he admired. He smiled apologetically and said, "It's nothing, I must have embarrassed you."
Chen Rui chuckled lightly, not minding it at all. "Let's just watch them play."
Li Xue's skills were truly impressive; it was unclear who had taught her. Perhaps she had hired a famous billiards player, Chen Rui thought to himself.
With a score of two to zero, the outcome was without any suspense as Li Xue won effortlessly. Especially in the first game, she cleared the table with one shot and scored a hundred percent. It was a pity this wasn't an official match; otherwise, Li Xue's name would surely have been recorded by the Snooker Tournament Committee.
Although there were only two games, they took quite some time, and everyone felt their stamina depleting rapidly. Playing billiards might not seem physically demanding, but every shot required careful consideration and precise measurement of angles. The energy and physical exertion involved were comparable to some intense sports.
As time drew near, Li Li consulted everyone before sending Luo Dong to prepare dinner. This decision left many feeling dissatisfied. Although Luo Dong's cooking skills were quite good, he was accustomed to making Western cuisine. Each meal was a fusion of Eastern and Western styles, lacking the charm of traditional Chinese food. Therefore, they were quite unhappy with Li Li for passing on the cooking task.
Despite their dissatisfaction, no one confronted him; after all, his meat could never compare to a steak or pork knuckle, especially when it was raw.
After dinner, everyone swiftly made their way to a screening room for what seemed like a routine activity.
It was indeed a screening room; however, given its size, it could easily be considered a small theater. It boasted luxurious equipment that typical cinemas lacked. In front of the first row of seats, there was also a fixed microphone positioned between the audience and the screen.
At first glance, this place resembled a conference room—albeit a luxurious one.
"What is this?" Chen Rui asked as he watched everyone settle into the sofas in the front row. He turned to Li Xue beside him with curiosity.
"Singing! What's wrong?" Li Xue laughed as she pulled Chen Rui onto a double sofa and opened the fridge in front of them. "What do you want to drink? But it's best not to have alcohol or carbonated drinks; otherwise, your voice will be hoarse when it's time to sing."
"Why? Does everyone have to sing?" Chen Rui asked in surprise. This group often acted unpredictably; who knew what new tricks they might come up with? But what else could they possibly do with singing?
This was truly disappointing for Chen Rui. The rules were simple, and there were no traps to ensnare others; everything depended on oneself. Whether one wanted to sing less or more was entirely up to them.
There was a scoring system in place where the computer would match the live singing with the original track to generate scores. After everyone had sung once, the highest and lowest scores would be discarded, and those eliminated would start choosing songs again. This process would continue, removing the highest and lowest scores each time.
Participants could choose songs that others had sung before, but they could not repeat songs they had already sung themselves. This rule was fair to everyone; after all, it was challenging to control how much one sang, and finding a balance was not easy.
Once everyone had sung three times, they would enter the second phase. In this phase, everyone except the performer would anonymously score their performance. After discarding the highest and lowest scores, an average score would be calculated for the singer. The other rules remained unchanged, and this phase would continue until everyone decided they no longer wanted to play.
This second phase could be used to undermine others! Chen Rui thought to himself. However, even if someone wanted to sabotage another, it wouldn't be easy since one had to discard a high and low score before calculating the average. If just one person aimed to undermine another, it was difficult, but if a group targeted someone…
Chen Rui suddenly felt as if this rule had been set up just for him. It seemed that once they entered the second phase, he would inevitably become the one who couldn't get off stage!
Looking at Li Xue's smile beside him, Chen Rui realized that this girl might also have some tricks up her sleeve! Is every woman in love an idiot? Step forward! Let's discuss!
After Bai Qingyu explained the rules, she smiled and asked, "Does everyone understand what I mean?"
"We understand!!!" A chorus of cheers erupted, which sounded to Chen Rui like 'We know who the target is!'
"Then let's start the first round from left to right!" Bai Qingyu said with a smile as she walked down and sat in the audience, teasing Luo Dong for a moment before suddenly winking at Chen Rui.
Why hasn’t anyone gone up yet? Chen Rui wondered when he suddenly realized that everyone was leaning their heads toward him. He abruptly recognized that he was the farthest left person!
Oh no! They’re targeting me right from the start! How ruthless can this be? Chen Rui coughed a couple of times. "My throat is a bit hoarse right now; I'm afraid I won't sing well. Let's start from the right side first; let me catch my breath."
The person on the far right was Zhou Zhi, who immediately expressed his displeasure upon hearing Chen Rui's words. "A hoarse voice is charming! Isn’t that right, Sheryl?"
"Yes! I love a hoarse voice," Li Xue said with a pitiful look at Chen Rui, her lips curling into a crescent shape.
This girl really has a habit of throwing her elbows outward!
"I..." Chen Rui wanted to find an excuse, but Li Li cut him off with a single sentence. "There are still two rounds of Truth or Dare left, right? So use one more! Get on stage! Now! Immediately!"
Seeing that there was no way out, Chen Rui sighed and quickly walked to the microphone. As he looked at the eight pairs of eyes fixed on him, he suddenly felt as if he were in a company meeting.
What am I afraid of? You have your strategies; can't I have my countermeasures? I haven't sung in years. I've listened to plenty of songs over the years but never tried singing. If I suddenly mess up now, I'll probably get the lowest score. And I haven't sung any of my old songs in a long time either, so those scores would likely be low as well. I need to find a song I used to sing well but haven't touched in ages. Although it won't be as good as before, it certainly won't be the worst, which perfectly meets the current need!
Chen Rui swiped his hand across the crystal screen, and a huge display behind him started playing the music video along with a collection of his personal photos and videos.
The prelude passed quickly, but the familiar melody filled Chen Rui with immense nervousness. He was terrified of singing the first line wrong; if that happened, his newly built confidence would collapse instantly!
"After we broke up, I watched you walk away, all promises turned into periods."
"Alone in an empty room, love and pain entwined in my heart."
"Our love has come to this point; am I being too selfish?"
"If love could start over, I would give up everything for you!"
"Missing You Tonight! How I wish you could be by my side; I wonder if your heart can still change for me."
"Missing You Tonight! Please let me love you once more, let love return to its starting point."
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