CHAPTER 33: CHAPTER 33: SHOCKING! EUGENE VAUGHN KNOWS HER INSIDE OUT

Under the shade of the trees, a row of chairs was arranged in pairs, many couples had already taken their seats.

Victoria Sinclair was pushed forward by Angela Austin, she panicked and turned to try to hide in the crowd.

At that moment, Wayne Lombard and Xiaoqin came over, grabbing Victoria Sinclair by the arm, "It’s about to start, where are you going?"

Victoria forced a awkward smile and pulled her arm back, "I’m not participating, you guys have fun."

Xiaoqin, being naturally sociable, pulled Victoria to the chairs and pressed her down into a seat, "It’s just for fun, participation is what matters."

Victoria sat uncomfortably, like on pins and needles, and stood up again.

Xiaoqin pressed her down again, looking around, "Where’s your husband?"

Victoria felt helpless, just hoping Eugene Vaughn wouldn’t show up, to go as far away as possible, preferably to have left already.

The host handed out small whiteboards and pens, "Is everyone seated? The competition is about to begin."

Victoria stood up to explain, "Sorry, we really aren’t participating."

Xiaoqin pulled her down to sit again, pointing forward, "Here comes your husband."

Victoria turned her head and saw Charlie Spencer bringing Eugene Vaughn over.

Eugene Vaughn was totally out of it, looking confused as Charlie Spencer sat him down next to Victoria Sinclair.

With Eugene there, Victoria was in despair, giving up on struggling, her face drooped, squinting at Angela Austin: Nice one, you really screwed me over!

Angela’s smile was exceptionally bright.

Eugene looked at Victoria, "What’s going on?"

"A competition."

"What kind of competition?"

"Mind reading."

"What?" Eugene was taken aback.

"Literal meaning." Victoria lowered her head, took off the pen cap, and scribbled on the small whiteboard, feeling tense and awkward, very uneasy.

At this moment, the host picked up flowers and a trophy: "These are the prizes for first place, a bouquet of fragrant flowers, and the Most Loving Couple trophy. Please do your best to answer the questions and strive for this highest honor."

Eugene finally understood, his face turned grim, he put the pen and board down, and stood up.

The host immediately pointed at Eugene, "Back out at the last minute, are you really going to embarrass yourself like that?"

Eugene’s eyes were cold as ice, staring at him.

The host, unfazed by Eugene’s stern expression, calmed the situation with his hands, "Sit down! The competition has begun, love first, competition second, no matter the result, don’t let it harm your harmony as a couple."

With so many old classmates watching, Victoria Sinclair felt embarrassed, slowly stretched out her finger to tug lightly at Eugene Vaughn’s pants.

Eugene’s gaze fell on Victoria’s white hand.

Victoria kept her head down, softly whispering, "Just write anything, it’s okay to come last."

After a brief silence, Eugene picked up the whiteboard and pen from the chair seat and sat back down.

"You’re really acting strange today." Eugene spoke lightly with slight resignation.

Yeah!

How could she not be acting strange?

Making a rare appearance at an old classmates’ gathering, and being forced to join such a competition.

It’s completely out of character for her, Victoria Sinclair.

The host started with enthusiasm, "The competition officially begins. First question, a freebie: What is your wedding anniversary date, couples should write the date they became official."

Both Eugene and Victoria wrote 5.1 on their boards.

All ten couples showed their answers, and the crowd applauded.

The host said, "Great, all ten groups got it right. Second question, gentlemen please listen carefully, what is your partner’s favorite flower?"

Victoria wrote: Night blooming cereus.

She thought Eugene wouldn’t know for sure, as she had never told anyone what her favorite flower was, not even her family or best friends, and you couldn’t even buy this flower in the market.

Eugene revealed his board: Night blooming cereus.

Victoria sneaked a glance, her heart skipped a beat, she looked at him in surprise, her face full of confusion.

How could he have guessed it?

Half of the participating couples answered incorrectly on this one.

The host tallied the scores and said again, "Third question, gentlemen please listen, what’s your partner’s favorite color?"

Victoria: Apricot white

Eugene: Apricot white

Seeing his answer, Victoria felt a chill, Eugene’s understanding of her exceeded her expectation.

Outside the competition, Angela Austin was stunned, the color could have been either apricot or white, but for such a specific color as apricot white, she even suspected the couple might have reviewed answers together.

The host, slightly embarrassed, asked, "Gentlemen, please listen, how many days is your partner’s menstrual cycle?"

Victoria: Six days.

Eugene: 6.

Seeing Eugene’s answer, Victoria’s heart rate accelerated, her ears started to heat up. What seemed like ordinary questions to other couples turned out to be quite out of the ordinary for her.

Getting it wrong would have been reasonable.

The fact that Eugene got all the answers right gave her goosebumps and made her feel unbelievable.

Angela Austin was shocked, covering her mouth.

The host summarized, "The ones who got all answers right are Wayne Lombard and Eugene Vaughn."

Wayne Lombard was very pleased, glanced at Eugene and said, "I’m definitely going for the prize!"

Eugene ignored Wayne, his expression indifferent, never glancing at Victoria’s board.

He composedly listened to the questions, writing and erasing, erasing and writing.

The host excitedly announced, "There’s only one prize, a winner must be determined, gentlemen, please continue with the questions. What animal does your partner fear the most?"

Victoria and Eugene simultaneously wrote: Snake.

Next to them, Wayne Lombard and Xiaoqin wrote the same answer.

Their scores were once again tied for the lead.

Xiaoqin put her hands together, secretly pleading with Victoria Sinclair.

Victoria had no mind for the competition, her head was filled with the fact that while Eugene didn’t love her, he knew her so well, she felt a tingling on her scalp, confused beyond measure.

The host cheerfully said, "Wayne Lombard and Eugene Vaughn are neck and neck! Here’s a freebie question, what is your partner’s favorite food?"

Eugene wrote: Bamboo shoots.

Victoria hesitated for a while, then wrote: Lamb.

After showing their answers, Wayne Lombard and Xiaoqin exchanged a look, seeing they got it right, they quickly turned to check Victoria and Eugene’s answers.

They didn’t expect Eugene to get the freebie wrong, and excitedly jumped up and hugged.

The host picked up the flowers and trophy: "Congratulations to Wayne Lombard and his girlfriend, for winning the fragrant bouquet and the Most Loving Couple trophy."

Applause filled the venue, the atmosphere was delightful.

As the competition finally ended, Victoria Sinclair couldn’t wait to put down the whiteboard and pen, got up and walked straight towards Angela Austin.

Angela, looking bewildered, held her hand, questioning, "Is your nickname ’Little Panda’ just for show? You clearly hate the gamy taste of lamb, why did you write lamb? Eugene got it right, your favorite is bamboo shoots, why did you hold back?"

Victoria pulled Angela away in big strides, at that moment, her mind was a mess, feeling low, she quietly asked, "Angela, we’ve known each other for eight years, how many of these questions do you know?"

"I know your favorite food is bamboo shoots, and your most feared animal is a snake, I don’t know the rest. There was also one question, I thought your favorite color was apricot."

Victoria dared not stop, asking while walking, "So, how did Eugene know?"

"Could he have peeked at your answers?"

Victoria paused her steps, looking at Angela, as if she had found a reasonable explanation for an illogical situation, "Did he really peek?"

Angela shrugged, guessing uncertainly, "You two were sitting quite close, he could probably see out of the corner of his eye, right?"

"It’s just a casual, fun competition, isn’t it?"

"Maybe it’s a matter of male pride."

Victoria let out a long breath, it seemed reasonable, yet there was an inexplicable tinge of disappointment.

Angela looked back while walking, "Aren’t we taking Eugene’s car back?"

Victoria: "Not on the way."

Angela: ...