Chapter 232: Chapter 232: Confession
Ashley Shaw turned her head to the side. Through the phone’s screen glow, she saw Ariana Grant’s face beaming with excitement, repeatedly saying "Awesome".
"I can’t believe such an awesome reality show is actually made by a livestream platform; who would believe that!" Ariana Grant marveled.
Claire Xavier murmured, "Mm," and said, "Warren Prescott indeed has had a business mind since childhood. Archie and I were tricked out of hundreds of thousands by him when we were kids."
"What???"
Now even Ashley Shaw showed a look of surprise.
She hadn’t heard about this before.
Claire Xavier explained, "It was probably in elementary school. Back then, he said he planned to open a bank and asked us to deposit our New Year’s money with him. He promised to double it in a month."
"Wait... you had hundreds of thousands in elementary school?"
"New Year’s money."
"I know it’s New Year’s money..."
"How much was your New Year’s money? I never really had a concept of money."
"Don’t say anymore, my body is warm." But the next second, Ariana Grant couldn’t help but ask, "So what happened later? Did he really open a bank?"
Claire Xavier chuckled, "He didn’t open a bank; he just took our money and lent it to other kids at the aristocratic school, charging them interest. He hit the jackpot, making tens of thousands in interest without using any of his own money. Then he ignored us, making us retrieve our own money. In the end, we couldn’t get the money back, and those kids even beat up my brother and me badly."
Ariana Grant widened her eyes, "Isn’t that a scam?"
"It was, indeed. Grandpa Prescott gave him a good spanking, brought him over to apologize, and confiscated all the interest he made. You wouldn’t believe how miserably he cried when he heard his earnings were to be taken away."
"I don’t know why I can’t imagine that scene at all."
"I can’t imagine it now either. He’s changed so much since those days."
As they chatted away, they noticed Ashley Shaw hadn’t spoken at all.
Claire Xavier couldn’t help but ask, "Ashley, did you fall asleep?"
"No," Ashley’s eyes rolled around as she stared at the phone screen, "I’m watching this reality show. It seems quite interesting."
In reality, she was waiting for the guests to make their entrance.
"Yeah, yeah, watch the show! It’s my first time seeing such an exciting show."
Claire Xavier sat up.
"Since both of you are watching, let’s not watch on the phone anymore. I’ll set up the projector so we can lie down and watch."
"Ms. Grant is so cool!"
The projector quickly connected to the phone.
Owen Sinclair was still introducing the show.
"Ten people can choose to team up to survive, or they can choose to go solo."
"It’s worth mentioning that those who choose to team up will have to share fifty million with their teammates in the end."
"And the production team will not offer any help unless participants voluntarily withdraw or encounter life-threatening situations."
"These ten guests will be placed into ten different livestream rooms. You can choose whose perspective you want to watch by entering their room."
"Now, let me introduce the ten participants of our ’Wilderness Survival’ program!"
"Come on, everyone, gather around!"
Ariana Grant was watching intently when she saw Leon Zeller appear on the screen.
Under the camera, Leon Zeller’s hair was short and neat, his eyes bright and deep, his nose straight, lips well-defined, and his face chiseled.
The Stardust Team’s jacket was tied around his waist, making his waist appear even slimmer.
After being pointed out by Owen Sinclair, he raised his hand to signal to the camera, which caused the bullet screen to flood the entire livestream.
[Ahhh, hubby is so handsome!]
[Whose idea was it for The Wolves to join this show? Our tender-skinned Wolves are going to be eaten alive by beasts, aren’t they?]
[You there, don’t you know? The Wolves have abs! Eight-pack!]
[Even I, a guy, can’t resist, girls step aside, let me go first.]
Ashley Shaw moved her eyes from the projector to Ariana Grant’s face.
She clearly saw an expression of amazement on Ariana Grant’s face, quickly replaced by a look of melancholy.
"Boring, I’m done watching, let’s play some games."
Ariana Grant looked away and said.
"Didn’t you just find it quite interesting? It hasn’t even officially started, they’re just introducing the guests," Claire Xavier didn’t understand.
"Yeah, it just started, let’s watch a bit more."
"I’m done watching, if you want to watch, you watch, I’ll go sleep on the sofa outside."
Saying this, Ariana Grant really did sit up, preparing to head to the sofa outside.
But then, Owen Sinclair’s voice rang out—
"Before we officially start, you all can say a few final words to your friends in front of the screen, or of course, to your family. Come on, The Wolves, you are the captain, you go first."
Ariana Grant’s footsteps involuntarily halted.
Only to see The Wolves take the microphone, not yet speaking as a rosy blush appeared on the young man’s handsome face.
"I... want to say something to my girlfriend."
Owen Sinclair looked surprised, "The Wolves have a girlfriend, really?"
"Mm."
With The Wolves’ nod of confirmation, the bullet comments were even more than before.
[What the hell? Did I mishear? My idol has a girlfriend? Since when?]
[Wait... my hubby has a girlfriend, why didn’t he notify me, his official wife?]
[Who! Who! Where is my five-meter long sword!]
[Three minutes, I want all the information on The Wolves’ girlfriend!]
Among the bullet comments were some joking ones, but more were directly announcing they’d unfan.
Claire Xavier clicked her tongue a couple of times and said, "A real man, announcing at his peak, there’s no one else like this in the entire esports circle. I heard he’s the one in the Stardust Team with the most girlfriend fans, isn’t he?"
Ashley Shaw looked at Ariana Grant, who was frozen in place, and smiled without saying a word.
On screen, Owen Sinclair asked with an aunt-like smile, "It seems your relationship is quite stable."
"I don’t know if it’s considered stable... the two of us are in an online relationship, she doesn’t know that I’m Leon Zeller."
Owen Sinclair was even more surprised.
But he quickly regained his composure and asked, "So when do you plan to tell her your identity?"
"If she’s watching the livestream, I think she should have guessed who I am."
Ariana Grant couldn’t help clenching her palms.
Yes.
She knew.
But she wished she didn’t know.
That way, she wouldn’t be so torn.
"So what do you want to say to your girlfriend?"
Sinclair tightened his grip on the microphone, as if summoning the courage for something big, and raised his eyes to look at the camera.
"Wait for me to come back!"
Owen Sinclair waited patiently, expecting Leon Zeller to say more, but saw Leon Zeller pass the microphone to his teammate instead.
Owen Sinclair couldn’t help asking, "Is that it? Nothing more?"
The microphone was handed back to Leon Zeller.
"I want to say the rest when I get back."
"OK! Now it’s time for our teammate..."
From then on, Ashley Shaw and Ariana Grant lost interest in the show.
Ariana Grant found her emotions too complicated; she had originally decided to give up and disappear from Leon Zeller’s world.
But seeing Leon Zeller so earnest today, she suddenly hesitated.
And Ashley Shaw, it was because of Warren Prescott...