Chapter 84 I'm Happy to See You Fail Miserably
Almost everyone turned their attention to the two people under the spotlight.
Ethan held the microphone, pouring out his heartfelt confession.
Sophie feigned shyness but clearly loved the attention and cheers from the crowd.
Lily watched the scene unfold, a hint of sarcasm in her eyes. Even without the drama from her past life, Ethan still ended up confessing to Sophie.
Now, Sophie was a rising social media star, known for her innocent looks and quite popular.
Dennis glanced at Ethan, then shot a warning look at Eric.
Eric swallowed hard. "I didn't expect this guy to show up here."
After Ethan publicly confessed to Lily last time, Eric had to call his uncle overnight to keep Ethan in check and stop him from making any more public declarations, all to protect his life.
Ethan had stayed away from Lily and flown back to Empire City right after exams. Who knew he'd come back?
And right into trouble.
Lily turned her head. "Doesn't matter. With everyone wearing masks, no one knows who's who. Let's just enjoy ourselves."
"Lily, I love your carefree attitude. Let's head to the VIP booth. It might be less crowded than outside."
Once Lily sat down, a server quickly approached to take their drink orders.
Eric was quick to order. "Lily, what would you like?"
"A cocktail, something pretty."
Dennis remembered the last time Lily got drunk. He stared at the server. "Bring her a soda."
"No way. Coming to a bar and not drinking is like not coming at all."
Lily was a bit frustrated.
Dennis felt a bit exhausted. The memory of that barbecue night flashed in his mind. He stared at Lily. "Have you forgotten what happened last time you got drunk?"
Lily recalled the incident, feeling a bit guilty. "I admit my tolerance isn't great, but I didn't do anything crazy, did I?"
Eric looked at Dennis curiously. "Lily's such a good girl. She wouldn't go wild when drunk, right?"
Dennis, feeling a bit guilty, looked away. "If you get drunk, you won't be able to enjoy anything."
Dennis's throat tightened. The events of that night, which he had tried to forget, suddenly resurfaced, unsettling him.
Eric nodded. "How about we order a low-alcohol cocktail?"
"Alright."
Lily thought Dennis made sense. If she got drunk, she wouldn't remember anything later.
Lily ran off to the dance floor alone.
From the nearby VIP booth, Ethan noticed Lily dancing and whistled. "Nice moves!"
Sophie, beside him, felt a pang of jealousy. Of course, these flashy girls could catch a man's eye.
She had been stringing Ethan along, never intending to accept him.
But today, she received a call that might have been from her father, leaving her anxious. Without the Roberts family's support, she needed to find a wealthy boyfriend to marry quickly.
Ethan's bar confession today was timely, so Sophie reluctantly agreed.
Sophie gritted her teeth. "Ethan, let's go dance."
"Sure."
Ethan's eyes were fixed on the girl in the center of the dance floor, but he tried not to be too obvious with Sophie around. After all, he had just won Sophie over today, and hadn't even slept with her yet.
Soon, Lily noticed Ethan and Sophie approaching from the corner of her eye.
What a buzzkill.
Lily turned and walked in the opposite direction, not wanting to see Sophie.
But as she moved, she bumped into Austin.
Lily couldn't believe how small the world was.
"Lily, stop right there!"
Lily pretended not to hear, but Austin blocked her path.
"Lily, do you realize how much losing the finals has affected the team?"
Lily's tone was cold. "I don't care. Let go."
"Now the investors don't want to continue funding, sponsors are pulling out, and some team members want to leave. This is all because of you!"
Austin was frantic.
Everything had been going well. Despite the initial loss, the comeback match was impressive.
Many investors approached to discuss partnerships, but now, because of the finals loss, they wanted to back out.
Lily pushed him away. "I didn't even compete in the finals. How is this my fault?"
"It's because you didn't compete that we lost. Don't you get it?"
Austin grew angrier, pulling Lily towards the exit.
"I arranged to meet the investors here to discuss renewing the contract. You need to explain to them."
"Let go. Why should I explain?"
"Because the team was formed because of you. Now you want to quit just like that? It doesn't work that way."
Austin glared at Lily. "If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have formed the team or invested so much money in it."
"Are you kidding me? You wanted to form the team because you love gaming. I helped you plan, convinced Michael, and even competed."
"So you're part of the team. Now that there's trouble, shouldn't you help resolve it?"
Austin's loss in the competition and work problems had him stressed out.
Seeing Lily having fun in the bar only made him angrier. "You have to explain. Come on!"
Lily grabbed a nearby drink and splashed it on Austin. "Wake up! I won't help you."
"You don't have a choice."
Austin dragged Lily to a private room upstairs.
Inside, several middle-aged men were seated with women beside them.
Austin spoke up. "Didn't you all want to hear my sister's explanation? She's here to clarify. She didn't compete out of spite. With her, we would've won the finals."
One of the men said, "Lily is really unreasonable, isn't she? Quite the temper, quitting just like that, so irresponsible."
"Exactly. We invested in Titan Team because of her."
"If it weren't for her impressive performance in the comeback match, we wouldn't have invested."
Austin felt awkward. He hadn't told Lily about this.
Lily was speechless, realizing Austin had negotiated investments using her name.
No wonder he was so insistent on her competing. This was his plan all along.
Austin quickly tried to smooth things over, changing the topic. "She does't understand. I've already educated her."
"If she's here to apologize, she should show some sincerity. Drink these first."
Another man poured ten glasses of beer. "Finish these, then we'll talk business."
Lily glanced at the beers. "I'm not drinking."
Why should she apologize and drink?
Austin's expression changed. He whispered to Lily, "Drink them. If you can't, I'll drink for you."
Only Lily could reassure these investors now.
Lily looked coldly at Austin. "I won't drink."
"Lily, this is your only chance to apologize. Drink them, and I won't hold your past actions against you."