Chapter 101: Chapter 101: interactive gas
Alexander cast a brief glance toward Alicia. "She’s highly capable. If it weren’t for Alicia Sinclair, ??clat Beauty wouldn’t have achieved what it has today. I owe her sincere thanks."
The host cleared her throat, eyes deliberately sweeping the dia as if to ensure every word was captured. The room humd with anticipation, aware that every glance, every statent, could ignite another wave of comntary online.
The host’s smile widened. "CEO Blackwood, I’m sure that’s not quite the answer everyone was hoping for."
Alexander hadn’t anticipated the follow-up. His gaze flickered briefly toward Alicia.
The script for the event had been prepared in advance by the in-house team—there was no reason for the host to deviate. Which ant only one thing: this question had been added deliberately. By her.
Alexander understood imdiately. Alicia was using their connection to stir speculation, to ignite conversation. With Lilian seated in the audience, the implications were obvious.
Romantic rumors always drew the most attention.
The director had carefully arranged the mont, even ensuring the caras lingered on him long enough to capture every subtle reaction.
The dia sharpened their focus. Not a single movent escaped their lenses.
Online, the live-stream surged. Within seconds, the topic shot to the top of trending charts across multiple platforms.
After a brief pause, Alexander answered, "Alicia... smart and sensible."
It was the safest response—asured, neutral, impossible to misinterpret.
The host let out a soft laugh. "I didn’t expect CEO Blackwood to be so cautious."
She turned smoothly. "Now, Director Alicia—how do you and Mr. Blackwood usually get along?"
All eyes shifted.
Alicia accepted the microphone, her expression calm as she faced the cara. She didn’t answer imdiately. Instead, she let the silence stretch, deliberately heightening the anticipation.
The comnt section flooded with anxious speculation.
The venue fell quiet.
Then, with a faint smile, she said, "You guess."
The response detonated across the livestream.
"I can’t take this—why would you stop there?!"
"She’s even more cunning than him."
The host shook her head with an amused sigh. "Director Alicia, it seems you’re even craftier than CEO Blackwood."
She clapped her hands lightly. "Alright, let’s move on. It’s ti for our first interactive ga—Thread the Needle. Let
explain the rules."
As the explanation unfolded, murmurs spread through the audience.
The premise sounded simple: threading a needle.
The catch was anything but. Participants couldn’t use their hands. One would hold the needle between their lips, while the other would guide the thread the sa way.
The implication was obvious.
The mont the rules were announced, both the venue and the livestream erupted.
"Who ca up with this?!"
"At a product launch? Seriously?"
Guests laughed openly, while the dia practically lit up with excitent. This kind of ga belonged to variety shows—not a formal corporate event.
Which made it perfect.
Alexander lowered his gaze slightly.
There was no need to guess who had approved this. Alicia had orchestrated it—and she knew exactly what would follow. Attention, controversy... and criticism.
The staff brought the props forward.
"Alright," the host said brightly, "please decide—who will take the needle, and who will take the thread?"
Alicia glanced briefly at the tray before looking at Alexander. "Which do you want?"
Without hesitation, Alexander picked up the needle, holding it steadily between his lips.
Alicia took the thread, biting lightly on the end, leaving just enough visible to work with.
"Let the ga begin."
The countdown started.
They stepped closer.
Too close.
The caras zood in, capturing every fraction of movent. Alicia leaned forward, her expression focused, her movents precise. The thread trembled slightly as she adjusted the angle.
Alexander remained still, his posture controlled, his gaze lowered just enough to avoid direct contact.
The distance between them shrank to almost nothing.
A collective hush fell over the room.
Then—
Success.
The thread slipped cleanly through the needle.
Applause broke out instantly.
The livestream exploded again.
"That was insane."
"Tell
that wasn’t intentional."
Alicia stepped back first, her composure intact, as though nothing unusual had happened.
Alexander removed the needle calmly, his expression unreadable.
The host clapped enthusiastically. "That was smoother than expected!"
But the energy in the room had already shifted.
Because everyone knew—
This was only the beginning.
"Congratulations to CEO Blackwood and Director Alicia, you won’t face any punishnt. Oh, what a sha, really. Next, please have Director Alicia take a seat, and we’ll be drawing for our second interactive guest."Alicia walked to the edge of the stage, handed the microphone to a staff mber, and made her way to her seat.
Her expression remained calm, clearly knowing what was coming next.
The host turned, her tone rising with excitent. "Now, for our second round of interaction..."
The screen began scrolling, and as expected, Lilian sumr was chosen.
"Definitely rigged."
"Whoever planned this is a genius."
"Miss Lilian Sumr, would you please join us on stage?"
The cara cut instantly.
Lilian rose gracefully, a gentle smile on her lips as she walked forward. Her presence alone seed to soften the atmosphere, drawing a wave of supportive cheers both in the venue and online.
The contrast was imdiate.
Where Alicia’s segnt had stirred tension, Lilian’s arrival brought warmth—and expectation.
As she stepped onto the stage, the comnt section surged again:
"Finally!"
"This is what we’ve been waiting for!"
The host bead. "For this round, we’ll be pairing Miss Lilian Sumr with CEO Blackwood."
A ripple passed through the audience.
Even without another word, the caras instinctively shifted between the two of them—Alexander, and Lilian.
The tension tightened.
The cara zood in close to Alexander’s face. His expressionremained calm, his eyes deep and unreadable.
The host continued, "This ti, we’ll be doing a variation—sa concept, but with a slight twist to increase the challenge."
The staff quickly reset the props.
Lilian was wearing high heels, making their height difference almost a full head with Alexander .
Compared to before, the atmosphere had changed.
Where his interaction with Alicia had been controlled and restrained, this one carried a different kind of weight—one shaped by history, by rumors, and by the eyes of millions watching.
"I have a question is for both miss Lilian and CEO Blackwood. When did you two first et?"the host continued
Alexander paused before answering, "College."
The host let out a knowing "Oh," raising an eyebrow. "So, you’ve known each other for quite a long ti."
The comnts went wild again.
Although they hadn’t officially announced their relationship, to the online audience, this was practically a public declaration.
The OTP (One True Pairing) was reignited like magic.
The planning was clearly designed to guide the fans.
Just monts ago, the OTP fans had felt their hearts shatter watching Alicia and Alexander’s interaction, but now, they were back on their feet, fully alive again.
"Without further delay, let’s move on to the next interactive ga."
The host’s smile widened as she gestured toward the stage. "For our second interactive ga, we’ll be trying sothing a little different—The Whisper Challenge."
A ripple of curiosity spread through the audience.
"Here’s how it works," she continued. "One participant will wear noise-canceling headphones while the other whispers a phrase. The goal is simple—read their lips and guess the sentence correctly."
Simple. Harmless.
At least, on the surface.
The staff quickly brought out the props.
Lilian accepted the headphones with a soft smile, her movents graceful as ever. The mont she placed them over her ears, the faint hum of the outside world seed to disappear for her.
The cara zood in.
Alexander stood opposite her, composed as always, though his gaze had grown slightly more focused.
"CEO Blackwood," the host said lightly, "you’ll be the one whispering first."
A card was handed to him.
For a brief second, his eyes scanned the words.
Then, almost imperceptibly—he paused.
The cara caught it.
The audience noticed.
Online, the comnts surged:
"Wait—what did he just read?"
"Why did he hesitate?"....
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