Chapter 18 Truth or Dare Adventure Don't talk, let me hug you for a while. ...

When Tian Tian saw Xing Lan coming, she was overjoyed. She immediately abandoned her elderly father, who was still diligently catching crabs beside her, and rushed over to hug him, calling out, "Brother Xing Lan!~"

Happy birthday, Sweetie.

"This is a gift for you."

As Xing Lan spoke, she magically produced a small plush rabbit with long ears from behind her back, bent down, and presented the carefully prepared gift to her, gently patting her head.

"Thank you, Brother Xinglan!" Tian Tian looked up and jumped excitedly.

At noon, everyone celebrated Tian Tian's birthday together. The little girl wore a beautiful princess dress and cut Xing Lan a huge slice of strawberry cake, so big that the plate could hardly hold it all.

In comparison, she gave Deng Hao a very small portion, less than one-eighth of what she gave Xing Lan. As for the fresh, juicy red strawberries that adorned the cream, she didn't give him even one.

Deng Hao immediately became angry, but out of respect for Fatty, he held back and didn't say anything.

After eating the cake, Fatty took Sweetie to the small tent at the campsite for a nap.

The older employees went to have tea and rest, while the remaining younger colleagues gathered together, planning to go to a karaoke bar to sing and play some games.

Xing Lan had no interest in singing or playing games. He checked the time and was about to make an excuse to go home when Deng Hao stopped him with ill intent.

"Director Xing, it's rare for everyone to get together, let's go together."

Xing Lan has a cold personality and draws clear boundaries in his interactions with others. Apart from work-related communication, no one knows what his personality and life are like in private.

Perhaps it's because good-looking people naturally become the focus of attention. The more aloof and silent Xing Lan usually is, the more it arouses other people's curiosity and desire to explore him.

Playing games at a karaoke bar is the perfect opportunity to dig up gossip.

The others initially hesitated to force Xing Lan to stay, but Deng Hao spoke first, and several younger men echoed his sentiments.

"Yes, yes, it's more lively with more people."

"Yes, let's go together, Mr. Xing."

Going to a karaoke bar with the company's aloof, beautiful, and unsmiling director feels like taking a model student to a bar back in school—it sounds really interesting.

Although Xing Lan held a higher position than everyone else present, this was not the time to discuss work at the company.

In team-building and leisure settings like this, there's no hierarchy; everyone is equal. Anyone who can't handle the fun and puts on airs with a cold face appears overly rigid and tactless.

Deng Hao had anticipated that Xing Lan would most likely refuse his invitation, so he could then use that as a pretext to complain about Xing Lan being a spoilsport at the upcoming gathering, and at the same time, add fuel to the fire and tarnish Xing Lan's image in everyone's mind, thus winning people over in the opposite way.

But to their surprise, Xing Lan glanced at them, and without any hesitation or reluctance, naturally put the car keys she had just taken out back into her pocket.

"OK."

-

KTV.

After a few boring warm-up games, the most anticipated part finally arrived.

Truth or Dare.

In the previous games, whether it was the vocabulary test of visiting three gardens or the reaction speed test of Math 7, Xing Lan did not make a single mistake. She remained as nonchalant and at ease as ever.

Apart from him, everyone present had made mistakes to some extent, and the cup of bitter melon juice on the table, which was meant to be used as punishment, was almost finished.

No one would have guessed that Xing Lan, who never participates in any entertainment activities, is actually a hidden gaming king.

But the next game is different.

The rules of this adventure are that each person takes turns drawing a card. The person who draws a red card will be punished, and the specific punishment will be decided by the player who draws a black card.

Winning or losing is uncertain and depends entirely on luck.

The cards were brought by Deng Hao, who was also in charge of shuffling them.

Xing Lan sat in the corner and was the second to last to draw a card in the entire room.

When it was his turn to draw a card, only Deng Hao drew a black card; no one else had drawn a red card yet.

In other words, the unlucky one who draws the first red card today can only be either Xing Lan or the female intern sitting next to him.

The female intern was named Lu Yan. She was quiet and introverted, and had just graduated from school. She was very timid and never dared to look Xing Lan in the eye when handing him documents.

A male colleague in the same office named Zhao Yue liked her. He would buy her a milk tea every few days and had even subtly confessed his feelings to her. Lu Yan hesitated and didn't accept his advances, probably because she didn't like him but didn't know how to reject him.

Before Xing Lan drew the cards, several male colleagues laughed and teased her, winking and making faces at Lu Yan and Zhao Yue.

"Hey, Xiaoyan, if you draw the red card later, give Xiaoyue a hug!"

"A hug isn't enough! You have to give me at least a kiss! Hahahaha!"

With each joke they made, Lu Yan's face turned even redder.

She lowered her head, clutching the hem of her clothes helplessly, and shook her head gently, her voice barely audible.

"I...I don't want to..."

However, amidst the loud music, no one was really listening to her.

On the surface, Zhao Yue cursed the two men who were cheering the loudest, but his eyes were fixed on Lu Yan, who was blushing and bowing her head. He secretly looked forward to the scene when she would be forced to hug and kiss him.

Xing Lan glanced at Lu Yan, noticing the sweat on her forehead, and gently pursed her lips.

There are only two cards left on the table.

The cards are identical, yet they reflect different lusters under the dazzling lights.

"Hurry up and draw one, Director Xing." Deng Hao's lips curled into a mocking smile. "What's wrong? Are you afraid of being punished?"

Xing Lan lowered her eyes without changing her expression, reached out her hand, and her slender fingers landed lightly on the card on the left, but she did not rush to turn it over.

He turned to look at Deng Hao's expression.

Deng Hao was taken aback for a moment, then smiled at him with feigned ease, gesturing for him to draw a card.

Xing Lan looked away and casually rolled up her shirt sleeves, as if she had already made her choice.

Deng Hao stared at his unhurried movements, a hint of tension in his expression that was hard to hide, his eyes involuntarily glancing at the cards on the table.

Just as he was about to touch the card, Xing Lan's fingertip suddenly veered to the side.

Without a moment's hesitation, he picked up the card on the right.

There is a red heart in the very center of the pure white card.

The only red card of the entire match.

Lu Yan breathed a sigh of relief and turned to look at Xing Lan gratefully.

Deng Hao was stunned for a moment, then, after realizing what was happening, he became extremely excited and burst into laughter.

"Director Xing...it seems you're not having much luck today, hahaha."

Xing Lan gave a blank "hmm" without any expression, his eyes showing no dissatisfaction or surprise at the result, as if it were all within his expectations.

He looked at Deng Hao, who had drawn the black card, and asked calmly, "What is the punishment?"

Deng Hao scratched his head, and suddenly, as if he had thought of something, he started laughing to himself before he could even say anything.

"I've decided on the punishment." He raised an eyebrow, his eyes filled with malice and mockery, and said to Xing Lan, enunciating each word clearly, "Director Xing, please leave the private room now."

"Okay." Xing Lan got up to leave.

"Don't rush me, I haven't finished explaining my punishment yet." Deng Hao stepped aside to block him and laughed, "The first person you see after you go out, whoever it is, you have to hug them for 30 seconds. How about that?"

Deng Hao was smug, thinking his idea was brilliant.

Xing Lan usually keeps people at arm's length and hates physical contact with people. Asking him to hug a complete stranger is like putting a block of ice into hot oil; it would be unbearable for him.

Even after hearing the punishment, Xing Lan's expression remained completely unchanged.

He pushed aside Deng Hao, who was blocking his way, opened the door to the private room, and strode out.

Deng Hao and his group quickly followed behind him, eager to see him make a fool of himself.

This KTV is located in a campsite. It was the weekend, so there were quite a few people. However, most of the guests rarely came out after entering their private rooms. The only people who were frequently seen walking around in the corridor were a few waiters.

Xing Lan walked for a while without seeing anyone. A few minutes later, she finally bumped into someone at the corner.

The man was very tall, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist. He exuded a faint, delicate fragrance, similar to the refreshing scent of mint in summer.

It feels so familiar.

Xing Lan looked up and met Li Baidong's smiling, narrow eyes.

"..."

"What are you doing here?" The two looked at each other, and Xing Lan was stunned for a second. For some reason, her mood became a little confused.

He had mentally prepared himself to hug a stranger, but the boy who appeared before him turned out to be his roommate with whom he slept every night.

For a moment, I didn't know whether it was a good thing or a bad thing.

Li Baidong smiled and said, "A classmate of mine works part-time here. He's off today, so I came to visit him."

"Brother, what about you?"

"Company team building." Xing Lan seemed somewhat absent-minded.

He turned his head casually and immediately saw Deng Hao, who was hiding behind him, raise his eyebrows and wink at him, silently urging him on.

Li Baidong wore a loose black sweatshirt today, looking very relaxed, youthful and handsome.

"I see." He glanced down at his watch. "Brother, you go first..."

Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly caught a whiff of a familiar fragrance.

As the distance between the two shortened, the fragrance became increasingly clear.

He could guess with his eyes closed that it was the scent of Xing Lan's recently used shower gel—a sweet and delicate freesia.

Xing Lan bit her lower lip, then suddenly stepped forward and gently hugged Li Baidong, who was standing opposite her.

Her soft, fine hair brushed lightly against the man's chin, and although her movements were somewhat stiff, her body was slender and supple, like a black-haired kitten nestled obediently in a man's chest.

Li Baidong stood there, stunned, his mind blank.

The moment their bodies touched, his heart raced. Quickly realizing what was happening, he reached out and embraced Xing Lan, his hand gently resting on her supple, slender waist through the thin fabric of her shirt.

"Brother, you—"

"Don't speak." Xing Lan felt his face burning and his thoughts in turmoil. He closed his eyes and, trying to appear calm, said to Li Baidong in front of him, "Let me hug you for a while."

A note from the author:

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The next chapter is the day after tomorrow [poor face] tvt