A Beautiful Misunderstanding

Chapter 146 Bribe Me

Essie made honey-baked chicken especially for Holy. She placed a chicken leg on his plate and said, "Enjoy! Be careful, it's hot." Property © of NôvelDrama.Org.

"Thank you." Holly nodded with a smile. He blew on the drumstick and took a bite. "It's so delicious!"

"I'll roast beef ribs for you next." Essie stroked his head affectionately.

With a playful smile, Eva came up to Zac and murmured, "How soon are you getting married?"

Zac cleared his throat and said slowly, "It's just happening."

Eva grinned. "You must have developed love while living together. You two make a perfect match. Ever since I saw you together, I knew that you would make a great couple, but I did not expect your relationship to progress this fast."

A corner of his mouth quirked up. "You know my style has always involved quick fights and quick decisions."

Eva gave a thumbs up and said, "That's exactly why Hanson lost to you."

At the other end of the party, Ivy ran to Essie, who was then barbecuing for Holy, and asked, "Sister-in- law, why didn't you invite my Hanson here?"

Essie choked.

Zac cast a cold glance at Ivy.

"I really want to see Hanson here. When you hold a party next time, you must invite him, okay?" Ivy said with a hopeful expression on her face.

Essie couldn't say anything but, "Okay... Okay." She nodded perfunctorily.

Eva's eyes brightened as if she had stumbled upon a new discovery. She hurried toward them and asked, "Young miss, are you talking about Hanson Xia?"

"Yes. Eva, are you a fan of Hanson, too?" Ivy asked, her eyes blinking rapidly with excitement.

"No, I just know him very well." Eva smiled. "Are you a fan of his?"

"Hanson is the most handsome guy and the best guy in the world!" Ivy nodded eagerly.

Eva purposely raised her voice and said, "Hanson is such a gentle, elegant man. He's super sweet and warm, too. Definitely better than the playboy types or those selfish, harsh guys. People who idolize those sorts of people must be out of their minds."

Jim languidly sat on his lounge chair and took a sip of champagne. "That's something that some utility men would never understand," he said lazily.

'So what? Utility man was supposed to have their dignity,' thought Eva.

Before Eva could reply, Essie quickly fed her a piece of beef ribs. "Here, try it! It's very delicious," she said.

Eva chewed on the piece of meat in her mouth vigorously, as if imagining herself biting Jim's flesh.

Essie sighed inwardly. 'My poor friend, Eva. She finally had the chance to play heroine, but she had to go against an enemy like Jim.' It looked like she had to resort to plan B.

After the barbecue, Essie smiled and suggested, "Shall we have a fishing competition? One-on-one. We will draw lots to decide on our opponents. The loser will be punished by the winner."

The party guests enthusiastically responded, "Okay!" Everyone followed her to the lake not far from the villa.

She took out a box and let Jim draw a lot first.

A frown settled between his brows when he saw the name on that slip of paper.

"Hmmm... looks like Jim's destined to be with Eva." Essie grinned with a mischievous gleam in her eyes.

She had tampered with the contents of the box so that there was only one name in it. No matter which lot Jim would draw, the result would have been the same.

Eva went to stand before Jim and scowled. "You jerk, you're going down. You want to make a bet?"

"Sweetheart," Jim replied insultingly with a cold sneer, "there is no bet in this world that I don't win."

"All right, then." Eva put on her game face. "The loser does one thing as punishment as dictated by the winner. Anything goes, as long as it's legal."

"Deal. You're the one who laid down the terms, so don't chicken out." Jim flashed Ivy a self-satisfied smirk, his dark eyes twinkling under the sunlight. He was fully confident about the bet's outcome, that is, him emerging as the victor.

"Yes, I promise," Eva replied in a firm tone. These lines were all fabricated by Essie.

Essie knew that Jim would accept the bet. If he ended up losing, then the leading role would be Eva's.

She gave similar-looking baits to Jim and Eva, but with one significant difference. Essie found out from the villa's steward that crucian carp was the most abundant and herring, the least. Then she gave Eva the carp's favorite bait and to Jim, the herring's bait. As long as Eva could get more fish than Jim, she would win.

Eva sat on a small chair, looking relaxed. Fishing was her expertise. She used to sneak out to go fishing in a river in front of the old house in her hometown.

Jim sat not far from her seat. The sun shone on his handsome face, making him look like a god who had descended on earth.

Eva turned her head to glare at him. 'Why the heck does he have to be so hot? That face should be illegal.'

"You will lose today," she said in a matter-of-fact tone, looking quite complacent.

"Don't talk so soon," Jim quipped, an eyebrow arching up disdainfully. Eva had already lost from the moment she was matched up with Jim.

"Haven't you heard that proverb saying that fish sinks to the bottom of the river at the sight of a beauty? That means being too handsome is a bad thing. How can the fish take the bait when they hide as soon as they see you?" She smirked.

Jim choked. 'Okay, was that a compliment?'

"Hm. While you would scare fish into fainting. Which is worse, fish who hide or those who faint?"

Eva shrugged, "Then you're the one with a problem with your eyes." Then, a snort escaped her. "Besides, you may say that I'm not good looking, but at least I never went under the knife to appear like cookie-cutter women. How many women in the industry do you think could say the same?"

Jim didn't reply. What she said was true; natural beauties in the entertainment industry had become a rare breed. Admittedly, some women claimed not to have undergone major cosmetic surgeries, but they usually had one thing or another touched up.

There was silence between the opponents by the lake.

After a long while, he gently rubbed his lips in a contemplative manner and asked, "Did you participate in the preliminary auditions for 'The War Emperor'?" He had checked out the list and saw her name among those who passed the first screening.

Eva shook her head slightly. She did not think that the ruse would be up so soon.

"I met all of the conditions that you listed. Why can't I participate?" She pursed her lips mutinously.

"You've played bit parts numerous times, and your longest appearance was less than 20 minutes. If I play this role with you as my leading lady, you will pull me down." Every word was a profound insult.

The blood drained from Eva's beautiful face. "Yes, I am insignificant and an unknown. But even when acting as a passer-by, I give the role my all. I just want to give myself a chance. If you think I'm not good at acting, you can kick me out. But if you block my opportunities because of personal reasons, then you are highly unprofessional person who doesn't deserve the title 'King of Entertainment'."

A veil seemed to have dropped over Jim's eyes. "Okay, I hope you can make it to the finals. Let me see what you're capable of."

At this time, Essie was in no condition to worry about Eva. She was in a worse situation, because she managed to get Zac.

"Honey, what punishment do you think I'll give you later?" Zac touched his chin and smiled wickedly, as if he was already the winner.

Well, this was his territory, and he owned all of the fish. He was the host. As an outsider, could she even win?

'That's it. I should set a trap, myself,' Essie thought.

"We still don't know who's going to win," she retorted. She pouted her mouth and her face twitched. She knew that the odds weren't in her favor, but she couldn't lose her morale.

His charming eyes twinkled irrepressibly. With an affectionate grin, he said, "Honey, I know exactly what I'm going to ask as your punishment." Essie's eyes widened in panic. With that, he unhurriedly turned the fishing line's gears and assembled a carp fishing hook.

Her mind in shreds, Essie stood there at a loss. Why didn't she think ahead and give him a herring lure?

"No, it doesn't count this time. The fish here won't eat my bait because they know that you're their owner. Even if you win, it wouldn't count." She clicked her tongue scornfully.

"Fine, I'll exchange baits with you." With a sly smile on his face, Zac reached out his big hands and grabbed Essie's tool box.

The woman rolled her eyes wildly and replied, "It's no use. They still know you're the boss."

The man slowly took out a pair of sunglasses from his pocket and put it on, so half of his handsome face was obscured. "Now they won't recognize me, right?"

The woman froze where she stood.

Zac got all of the fish and put them into the bucket one by one. By comparison, her bucket was empty save for an inch of water. She was anxious, and her mind desperately churned to find a solution out of her predicament. A sudden inspiration struck her.

"Excuse me, I need to go to the bathroom." She stood up and pretended to leave. After taking two steps, she suddenly stumbled and fell to the ground. By 'accident', Zac's bucket rolled into the lake. The fishes escaped happily and soon disappeared.

She got up and looked at the empty bucket bouncing in the lake. Her thick eyelashes fluttered as daintily as wings of a butterfly. "Oops, sorry! I didn't mean it. How can you fish when you don't have a bucket?"

'Might as well surrender, babe. You can't beat me,' she thought wickedly.

Zac grinned, a look of pure affection shining in his eyes. Her naughty trickster personality was so amusing and adorable. In his eyes, she was both cute and sexy.

He stretched out his arm, grabbed her wrist and pulled her into his arms. "It doesn't matter, I already caught a big fish. I win every time."

She smiled playfully, grabbed his collar, and said, "What do you know, so did I. It's a tie."

He gently scratched her nose and remarked, "Then we get to punish each other." Satisfaction was evident in his voice.

What did he mean by that? She was the one who would suffer!

"I'm going to see how things are going between Eva and Jim," she said hurriedly, grabbing the chance to make her escape.

"You have replaced the baits. You don't need to check." Zac gently nibbled at her earlobe, making her shiver. This naughty nine-tailed fox... no wonder nothing could get past him.

"You can't tell Jim about it." She placed her pointer finger on his lips, effectively shutting it.

Surprised by the action, she hastily pulled back her finger with a small cry, but Zac grabbed ahold of it and put it back to where it was.

She could not help giggling. "You're even trying to eat my hand! Stop it, you're not a dog!"

His perfect lips curved in a slight smile. "I can keep your secret... but you have to bribe me first."