Joanne was unaware that there was a well-designed one-week trap in front of her, but Freya was wise to see everything.

As Joanne's friend, Freya should have warned Joanne.

However-

"Come on, what do you want to play? Explain the rules clearly!"

In fact, Freya was even more interested in the game than Gavin, and she touched Chris to remind him without turning a hair.

Joanne was still unaware of it. She looked at Gavin seriously and innocently. Gavin couldn't bear to cheat her for a few seconds, but when he thought of this rare opportunity, he finally cleared his throat and explained the rules of the game.

Joanne got it at once and asked, "What about the reward and punishment?"

"Only one will lose in each round of this game. The loser has to tell a secret related to one of the other people present but she or he doesn't know. If you can't think of one, sing a song for everyone, or drink a cup of wine as the punishment! Of course, if others are not satisfied with the secret you told, you still have to be punished. You can't escape from it!"

"Tell a secret..." Joanne's lips twitched. "Our friendship will be ended at the end of this party."

Gavin laughed and replied. "Joanne, you think our friendship is so strong? We've broken it ten thousand times!"

"..."

Joanne did not realize that the game was purely a conspiracy against her and Brian. She inwardly pondered the rules with care and then clapped her hands. "Get started."

Brian raised his eyebrows-he had known that he and Joanne could not escape from this that night.

The first game started very quickly, and Gavin was the first to be punished.

The strange thing was that Gavin did not appear any annoyance but had a happy smile on his face. Freya urged him not to be mysterious and tell them a secret. Gavin looked at Joanne without hesitation-

Joanne's heart severely trembled.

"Is this guy going to expose my secret?"

Thinking carefully, she thought that she didn't have to worry. She and Gavin had only known each other for no more than half a year, what secret could he know of her?

"Joanne, come here to act as referee," Gavin said with a smile, "the secrets we told will pass the game on the condition that you're satisfied with it. How about this?"

Hey? Was there really such a good thing?

Joanne looked at Brian with uncertainty. She wanted to consult his opinion, but he silently turned his head against her...

Joanne didn't want to think too much and answered, "Okay!" She raised the corner of her lips, showing a look as if she was ready to tease Gavin. "First of all, I won't be merciful to you. Come and tell me a secret."

"Okay." Gavin showed a seemingly stress-free look. "I'll tell a secret of your Mr. Brian."

"Hey!"

Joanne once again looked at Brian with amazement, but Brian looked calm as if he had expected it.

However, those present were not sure whether Gavin had expected that Gavin would tell his secret, or Gavin would not dare to say anything too serious?

In order to listen to a serious secret, Joanne deliberately emphasized to Gavin. "Remember, only if I'm satisfied can you pass. If I'm not satisfied, you won't be able to pass for the whole night!"

"Rest assured, I keep it in mind." Gavin smiled meaningfully and pointed directly to Brian. "Joanne, this guy, he has been 'monitoring' you for many years!"

The words aroused Joanne's curiosity. "Monitoring me?"

"Yes." Gavin poured things out. "He hired a private investigator who would take pictures of you from time to time and send them to Brian once a week until you were married. You didn't know this, did you? For so many years, no matter how far you were from Brian, he kept an eye on you."

For two seconds, Joanne's brain went blank, and she felt as if she were listening to someone else's story.

After a long while, she muttered, "No wonder..."

Back when she was in college, she felt that someone was tracking her a few times, but when she looked back, there was nothing unusual. She once suspected that she had been affected with paranoia.

"Gavin wanted to see your reaction," Brian said in Joanne's ear, "calm down, I'll explain it to you when we get home."

Just as expected, Gavin showed a complacent smile and said, "Joanne, how was it? Are you satisfied with the secret I told?"

Joanne contained her shocked mind and nodded. "You've passed."

The second round started very soon. This time, the loser was Freya.

Without thinking, Freya directly pointed to Joanne. "I will tell you a secret about Joanne!"

In an instant, Joanne's heart jumped to her throat.

She was clear that Freya knew so many of her secrets as they had known each other for so many years, and... these secrets were all related to Brian!

Gavin couldn't wait to hear the secret and clapped his hands. "Freya, hurry up!"

Freya mysteriously smiled and opened her mouth-

Joanne suddenly had a very bad premonition. She was trying to cover Freya's mouth when Freya blurted out some words.

"Since entering university, Joanne has been very concerned about various commercial and financial reports. I thought she was interested in this field at first, but later I realized that she was only looking for the reports about Brian! And, she was collecting his news."

Gavin jeered loudly while Chris and Wesley all turned their attention to Joanne with interest. Joanne suddenly wanted to find a crack to hide herself.

Of course, there was no crack and she could only hide into Brian's arms like a little squirrel and cried and asked, "Did Gavin propose to play this game to tease us?"

Brian smiled and said, "Yes, you finally realized!"

"..." Joanne was full of regret.

"You can deliberately lose the next round," Brian said, "You know a lot of secrets of your brother and Freya, don't you?"

Good idea!

Joanne's eyes lit up. However, after a moment in pondering, she shook her head again. "I am still interested in your secrets!"

She didn't know how many things Brian had concealed from her. This was a great opportunity to get the news!

Brian's head hurt and Gavin had lost to Joanne again.

"Come on, tell me one more Brian's secret." Joanne smiled and looked at Gavin. "Please remember, it should more impressive than the one you just told."

Gavin thought for a moment and said, "He actually helped you a lot in secret." For example, when you were a freshman, you found a part-time job as a tutor. Did you ever doubt why the salary was so high? Because Mr. Brian told them to pay you so much. He was afraid that you would go to find more part-time jobs to make more money. That was too tiring and unsafe for you."

After that, Gavin felt very good about himself and asked Joanne. "How about this one? Is it surprising and moving?"

Joanne raised the corner of her lips and showed a bright smile. "I already knew this!"

She filled a glass with wine and pushed it to Gavin. "Drink it."

Gavin was a famous heavy drinker, and a small glass of wine had no threat to him, but he could tell that Joanne was getting back at him for Brian, so he suddenly felt that life was really miserable.

Even if love was as cumbersome as Wesley had said, it seemed that it was always better than nothing.

Looking at Gavin downing the wine, Joanne gradually figured out the purpose of the game, that was, to dig her and Brian's secrets, but only Freya and Gavin playing was not fun.

So in the next round, Joanne toughly dragged Wesley into the game.

Wesley seemed to be a prudent man; Joanne believed that he would not spill the beans, but if he did, it would definitely be a big one.

"Do you really want me to say it?" Wesley was so sly, and the smile around his brows did not reveal his intention.

Joanne decisively said, "Yes!"

Wesley looked at Joanne and said, "It must be the hardest time in your life when you were 15. In fact, at that time, Brian came back from the United States, and the night you spent in the suburban cemetery, he was with you there."

The time after her mother's unexpected death was indeed the hardest time in Joanne's life.

At that time, she was reluctant to accept the fact that her mother could no longer accompany her, and she had to face her mother's cold tomb, using this almost cruel method to force herself to live normally and not to immerse herself in sorrow.

She still remembered that night; the desolate suburbs, the cloud-covered moon, and the strange rustling sounds of the wind blowing leaves. She stood motionless in front of the cold tombstone, and her tears blurred her sight and the world in front of her.

Later on, whenever she thought of that night, she felt that it was the most lonely moment in her long life.

Leaning against the cold tombstone alone, she had to accept the fact that her mother had died.

However, in fact, Brian was accompanying her at that time? He was behind her?

Not only Joanne, but also Chris and Freya were shocked into wordless for a while.

In the following rounds, Joanne was in a trance. Even though Brian helped her, she still lost a few rounds.

According to the rules, she needed to tell a secret for each lose.

The things between Freya and Chris were bubbling with noise that everyone knew them, so, there was really no explosive secrets to tell. Joanne thought for a moment and told a secret that Freya had been able to sign in Lambert Group Media Co. because Chris asked Brian for help.

Gavin was the first one to boo. "We all knew this before!" For the first time, he pushed a glass of wine to a girl in an ungentlemanly manner. "After being done with this wine, we will continue to the next round."

Joanne accepted her lose and reached out for the wine but was blocked by Brian.

His voice was clear and low. "I will drink it for you."

"Oh, you can't do this!" Gavin stopped him and said first. "This is unfair to me and Wesley!"

Joanne couldn't help but laugh out loud. She took back her wine and said to Gavin, "Since you've tried so hard, I'll drink it."

She raised her head and drank up the wine.

Gavin dared not to go too far, therefore, the wine he gave Joanne was not that strong. However, Joanne had little tolerance for liquor, and she felt her chest and throat burning with the wine.

"Are you ok?" Brian looked at her with a frown.

Joanne waved her hand. "It doesn't matter. Continue!"

In fact, she also needed this glass of wine, because she had heard that the effect of this kind of wine always came slowly.

Now she needed to be sober, but later... she needed alcohol to be brave.

Several rounds later, Chris lost.

In Joanne's mind, Chris was an invincible man. Seeing Chris lost, she was more excited than everyone.

However, it would be boring to share any secrets at the moment. The idea of Gavin was obviously consistent with Joanne's.

Gavin proposed by saying, "How about you meet a requirement of Joanne's, Chris? You only know her secrets and we've heard enough of that. So, just satisfy Joanne's requirement, an easy one, and we'll let you pass, what do you say?"

Chris pondered for seconds and looked at Joanne calmly. "What's your requirement?"

However, his tone sounded somehow warning.

Joanne was not threatened as Brian was there with her.

"Sing a song for us," Joanne thought for a moment and said, "sing 'Xiao Wei'."

"Pumm"

Sure enough, Joanne was good at cheating her brother. Not only Gavin and Musiju smiled, but even Brian could not help but raise the corner of his lips.