?Chapter 1642:


    Before anyone could react, Christina tipped an entire bucket of icy water straight over Jaxen’s head. La, standing too close, was sshed as well and jerked upright on instinct, scrambling to dodge the spray.


    “La, you’re up next,” Christina said lightly, lifting the second brimming bucket of freezing water. “Could you squat down for me?”


    “I…” La’s eyes flushed red. She turned and cast a desperate, pleading look toward the three Jones brothers.


    They didn’t react in the slightest. One of them even stepped forward, as though ready to help Christina steady the heavy bucket.


    “Just squat already,” Gerry said impatiently, a frown creasing his face. “Bonnie’s arms are getting tired.”


    All three brothers looked genuinely uneasy watching Christina hold the weight, worried she might strain herself. Seeing how instinctively they shielded her, La clenched her jaw in helpless fury. She nced at her brother — soaked through and shivering uncontrobly — before finally lowering herself down.


    This humiliation would not be forgotten.


    La crouched there, her entire body tense, shaking with dread. She had no way of knowing when the water woulde, and the waiting itself became unbearable. Just as her nerves reached their breaking point, the icy water crashed down from above. A piercing cold flooded through her skin and into her bones, wrenching violent shivers from her body.


    “Wow, La, you really handled that well,” Christina said brightly, sounding genuinely impressed.


    La ground her teeth so hard they might have cracked, yet she still forced her lips into a courteous curve. “Christina is the impressive one, carrying something that heavy so easily.”


    “That’s not true.” Christina hesitated, a trace of guilt flickering across her face. “I’m sorry — I only won by chance, and you ended up being punished because of it. You don’t hate me for that, do you?”


    “Of course not. How could anyone hate you? You’re adorable,” La said with a smile, forcing the bitterness back down her throat.


    Jaxen swallowed his irritation and arranged his expression into something friendly. “Bonnie, we still enjoyed ourselves. Don’t me yourself — there’s really nothing to feel bad about.”


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    “I was afraid you might me me,” Christina said, blinking with innocent concern. “You’re all so kind to me. I really like you.”


    Their sweet words made herugh quietly to herself. She caught every subtle shift in their expressions, the corner of her mouth lifting in a faint, nearly invisible smile. They thought she was the one being hunted. They had no idea she was the one setting the trap.


    The Wade siblings believed that enduring a bucket of cold water had earned Christina’s goodwill and stirred guilt in her heart. To them, she was just a sheltered country girl — simple and easy to steer. They silently congratted themselves, convinced she would soon be firmly under their influence. They werepletely unaware they had already stepped straight into her trap.


    The following day, La called and invited Christina to visit the Wade estate. They had nned to go out the night before, but after the drenching, La had imed illness and the n was abandoned.


    “Just me?” Christina asked, pausing deliberately.


    “Yes,” La replied. “Bonnie, I don’t feel well — I think the cold water made me sick. Could youe see me? I don’t really have many friends…” Her pitiful, pleading voice filled the line, and Christina’s lips curved ever so slightly. If she refused to step onto the board, how could the game move forward at all?


    After letting the silence linger for a few seconds, she spoke softly. “Alright. I’ll bring some fruit ande see you.”


    “I’ll have a drivere get you,” La said quickly.


    “No need — that would just be a hassle. The Jones family already has a driver,” Christina said, turning it down without a moment’s pause. Worried Christina might reconsider, La chose not to push the matter further.


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