Chapter 425: You've Even Learned to Encourage Others to Confess to Me? 2

Chapter 425: Chapter 398: You’ve Even Learned to Encourage Others to Confess to Me? 2

Nancy Hughes didn’t drink and couldn’t sing, so she felt like she was just wasting her time by being there.

About halfway through, a colleague suddenly suggested they play a game, and Nancy Hughes was roped into playing as well.

“I’m really not good at games,” she said, waving her hands dismissively.

“It’s fine. You’ll get the hang of this one right away. It’s really simple.”

“All right.”

They were playing the King Game, which was all about luck.

You couldn’t say her luck was good, but it wasn’t bad either. She hadn’t won, but she hadn’t lost.

After playing for about an hour, she still hadn’t received a single punishment.

Phew. ‘Looks like my luck is pretty decent tonight.’

But just as she had that thought, her luck ran out.

The “King” picked her number. Resigned to her fate, she raised her hand. “It’s me.”

“And the other one?”

The King looked around at the others. Rose Everett, who was sitting across from her, calmly revealed her card. “It’s me.”

Like her, Rose was an intern, but she was also a recognized beauty.

Going easy on them for Rose’s sake, the group casually decided on a punishment: the two of them had to sing a duet.

Nancy grimaced. Singing wasn’t exactly her strong suit, either.

She was pretty good at drawing, but she was also a bit tone-deaf.

Amid the group’s teasing, they were pushed to the front. Rose handed her the microphone. “What do you want to sing?”

“Um, I’m not much of a singer!” she said, embarrassed.

“Then just pick one you know.”

Nancy was mortified at the thought of making a fool of herself. She glanced at the songs on the screen and randomly pointed to one. “Let’s do this one.”

“Okay.”

The music started. Rose began to sing along with the melody, while Nancy’s voice was barely a whisper.

It was a song she had heard back in high school. She hadn’t listened to it in ages and had even forgotten the melody.

Her voice grew quieter and quieter until, in the end, it was pretty much just Rose singing by herself.

When the song was finally over, everyone applauded. Rose turned back and gave her a smile.

Nancy forced a smile, put the microphone back, and returned to her seat.

They grew tired of that game and switched to another.

Nancy secretly pulled out her phone to check the time and saw that it was already past ten o’clock.

But no one showed any signs of leaving; they were all still having a great time.

“Nancy, what are you spacing out for? It’s your turn!”

“Oh, right.” She hastily drew a card and clutched it in her hand.

‘I wonder if he’s home yet.’

“Hey, you seem distracted. Are you waiting for a call from your boyfriend?” a female colleague next to her chirped, snatching her phone with lightning speed.

“Hey, my phone!”

She cried out in alarm, but the colleague was already holding it. “It’s locked. How boring.”

Nancy snatched her phone back and put it in her bag. ‘Thank goodness she didn’t unlock it.’

The atmosphere grew more and more heated. After all, they had been working together for nearly a year, and the punishments were becoming increasingly risqué.

“My stomach kind of hurts,” she said, using it as an excuse to go to the restroom.

“Hurry back! The games are more fun with more people.”

Nancy grabbed her bag and headed out.

In the women’s restroom, she happened to run into Rose Everett touching up her makeup.

She had only come out for a breath of fresh air. She went to wash her hands and greeted Rose, “Hi.”

“Hi.”

Rose gave her a cool glance, turned off the faucet, and dried her hands with a paper towel. “You still like Zane Lennox?”

“Uh…”

I should mention, Rose and she had been university classmates. Although they weren’t in the same major, they would run into each other from time to time.

For example, back when she had a crush on Zane, she would often see Rose by his side.

Zane’s attitude toward Rose was also different from how he treated others. If Nancy hadn’t been sure that Zane liked Georgia Thorne, she would have assumed Rose was his girlfriend.

Rose probably liked Zane, too, which made them former love rivals, in a way.

She even remembered hearing a more outrageous rumor back then—that Rose had been to Zane’s house to meet his parents and that they were going to get married after graduation.

It hadn’t been long since they graduated, and Rose already had a new boyfriend.

‘So I guess things didn’t work out between Rose and Zane.’

She shook her head. “No, I don’t have any contact with him anymore.”

“Actually, I’m still quite fond of him. It’s a shame you and Zane never got together.”

“What?” Nancy was baffled. “But… don’t you like him?”

‘Who in their right mind would want their love rival to get together with the person they like?’

Rose chuckled. “Oh, I am. I’m definitely quite fond of him.”

“But it’s the way a sister is fond of her brother.”

“What?”

“It’s simple. Zane’s mother is my aunt. Zane and I are cousins.”

“…”

The news was utterly shocking. She had always seen Rose as her love rival, only for Rose to now tell her she was Zane’s cousin.

‘How melodramatic.’

She fidgeted with her fingers. “Oh, so that’s how it is.”

‘No wonder Rose went to Zane’s house. No wonder Zane treated her differently.’

Now it all made sense.

Unfortunately, her feelings could no longer go back to how they were before.

Instead of the joy she might have imagined, a wave of melancholy washed over her.

‘Ugh, I kind of want to call Dylan Heston. I want to talk to him.’

She sent him a text, and he replied almost immediately. “Is the party over?”

“Not yet.”

Dylan saw her text and gave her a call. “What’s wrong?”

Nancy thought Dylan was truly amazing; he could tell something was on her mind from just that one text.

“I just snuck out for some air. I have to go back in a minute… My colleagues won’t let me leave early. What about you? Are you home?”

“Not yet.”

“I’ve been out for a bit. I should get back in, or they’ll think I bailed on them!”

“Wait, where are you?”

Nancy told him the address. “I’ve got to go.”

“Okay.”

During the short time she was gone, the heavy drinking had started in the private room.

This time, they were playing a dice game where the loser had to drink.

Nancy refused flatly. “No, I don’t drink.”

She almost never drank, and no matter how much others tried to persuade her, she refused to join in.

The later it got, the wilder everyone became.

Nancy sat alone in a corner, so sleepy she was about to pass out, dozing off on the sofa.

At midnight, the party finally started showing signs of breaking up.

She patted her groggy head and picked up her bag.

Most of her colleagues had drunk quite a lot, and the few sober ones were helping the drunk ones out.

Nancy and another female colleague struggled to support a larger female colleague as they made their way outside.

“Thank God tomorrow’s the weekend, so we don’t have to work.”

‘Yeah,’ she thought. ‘Right now I just want to go home, collapse into bed, and sleep until noon tomorrow.’

After helping their colleague into a car, the other woman said, “Okay, I’ll take her home. You’ll be okay getting back by yourself?”

“It’s fine, I’ll be okay.”

She waved them off and was about to hail her own cab when Rose called out to her. “Nancy, do you want us to give you a ride home?”

A man was standing next to Rose—her boyfriend. Nancy instinctively refused. “No, it’s okay. I can get home by myself.”

‘It’s better if I don’t third-wheel.’

“It’s no trouble. It’s late, and it’s not safe for a girl to go home alone. Let me give you a ride.”

“Really, it’s fine!” she refused again.

Just as she said that, her phone rang. It was Dylan. “Why didn’t you text me back?”

“Did you text me? I didn’t see it.”

“Are you heading back now?”

“Not yet. I was just about to.”

“Wait for me out front. I’ll be there in a minute.”

She hung up and said apologetically to Rose, “My boyfriend is coming to pick me up in a minute.”

“Oh, all right then.” Rose didn’t insist.

Landon Quinn told Rose to wait there for a moment while he went to get the car.

So the two of them stood waiting together.

The atmosphere was awkward. A cool breeze blew past, chasing away her sleepiness. She couldn’t help but wrap her arms around herself. ‘So cold.’

“So you have a boyfriend?” Rose suddenly asked.

Nancy gave a small, slightly awkward laugh and nodded. “Yeah!”

When Dylan said “in a minute,” he really meant it.

Just as Rose’s boyfriend pulled up to the entrance, Dylan arrived.

He got out of the car, took off his suit jacket, and draped it over her shoulders. “Why are you wearing so little?”

Dylan’s attention was entirely on Nancy; he didn’t spare so much as a glance for Rose, who was standing beside her.

Rose was surprised by Dylan’s appearance.

But she quickly concealed her surprise, and just as she treated everyone else, she extended her hand in a polite greeting. “Hello, I’m Nancy’s colleague, Rose Everett.”

“Hello, Miss Everett.” Dylan shook her hand, a brief, light grip before letting go.

It was a purely courteous touch. His hand was immediately back on Nancy’s shoulder.

Nancy quickly introduced him to Rose. “This is my boyfriend, Dylan Heston.”

Rose gave Dylan a gentle smile, but Dylan paid her no mind.

His eyes lowered to gaze intently at Nancy, and he squeezed her hand. “Are you cold?”

“A little,” she said softly.

“Miss Everett, let’s get together some other time. We’ll be heading off now.”

“Okay, drive safe.”

Dylan helped Nancy into the car. From her seat, Nancy waved to her. “We’re heading out then.”

Rose remained standing in place, maintaining a sweet smile until the car disappeared from sight.

‘So the office rumors weren’t fake after all.’

The smile on her face gradually faded, replaced by an icy expression.

Landon Quinn was taking a long time. After waiting for five minutes, Rose gave up on him and just hailed a cab and left.

When Landon finally pulled the car up to the entrance, he didn’t see Rose. He tried calling her, but her phone went straight to voicemail.

He was utterly baffled.

Meanwhile, in Dylan’s car, Nancy said, “I thought you would have gone straight home!”

She had been standing outside for a while, and her hands were cold. Dylan held them tightly in his own.

She really hadn’t expected Dylan to come pick her up personally, especially when he had his own work event to attend.

He smelled faintly of alcohol, the scent mingling with his own unique one and enveloping her.

“Sleepy?”

Nancy’s eyes grew heavy. She leaned against his shoulder and hummed in agreement.