Eat the Apple!

She pushed open a wooden door and walked in. There was a large lawn, a pavilion, a rockery, a fountain, and a huge bed of flowers... After walking with Amelia for some time, Karen saw a three-story French-style building. The interior decoration of the building was simple, which was styled with a nature-theme. This was in line with Kevin's style, and Karen knew this. Along the way, she had been in awe of the place that was as beautiful as paradise. If she could live here more often, she should be able to extend her lifespan for a few more years. Amelia did not enter the room. She stood at the door and said, "Since Director Kevin is here at the retreat, he would not let you live in the ordinary guest rooms." Karen thought to herself, "Those guest rooms are also very expensive, aren't they? How can they be ordinary? However, compared with the private villa area here, those guest rooms were far less expensive." Amelia added, "Mrs. Kyle, this is a private area. No one can come in. You don't have to worry too much." Mrs. Kyle? It was the first time that someone addressed her this way. Karen blushed and her heart raced. "Amelia, you can just call me Karen." Amelia smiled and said, "You are Director Kevin's wife. I can't find a more suitable name to address you than 'Mrs. Kyle'." Amelia's words were true, but Karen and Kevin did not even hold each other's hands, and her face became hotter. "You should go in and rest. I'll leave first." Amelia smiled and left politely. Standing in the large living room, Karen looked around and didn't know what to do. At this time, Kevin came in, he thoughtfully took the backpack that Karen hung on her shoulders, and took the lead to go upstairs. "The room is on the second floor." His legs were long, but he slowed down deliberately so that Karen could keep up. Karen followed him and said, "Kevin, can I discuss one thing with you?" Kevin opened the door and entered the room. He put her backpack on the luggage table and said, "The accommodation was arranged by Amelia." Karen did not know what to reply, "..." Well, she should take things as they come. Kevin walked to the window and opened the thick curtains. Looking out from the wide French windows, one could see the boundless sea. On the distant horizon, the sea seemed to be connected to the sky. This was the so-called merging of sea and sky. Occasionally, she could hear the sound of waves hitting on rocks, like happy music. Karen sighed sincerely, "What a beautiful place!" Kevin said, "If you like it, we can come here often in the future." Karen shook her head. "I don't like it very much." It was not that she didn't like it, but she didn't want to spend her hard-earned money like this. She also didn't want to spend any more of Kevin's money. Although Kevin had given her a bank card a long time ago, she did not intend to use it at all. If they were to be divorced one day, she would be able to leave more easily. Kevin could tell that Karen was not telling the truth, but he stopped asking and said, "Let's eat first. After eating and resting for a bit, you have to take part in the department activities in the afternoon." Karen nodded. "Okay." After a while, Kevin said awkwardly, "Karen, if you want to enjoy a hot spring at night, you can come back here and enjoy it in our private hot spring pool." Karen shook her head instinctively and said, "I want to have fun with everyone else." Kevin said very seriously, "No man wants his wife to wear so little clothes for other men to see." Uh... Karen suddenly felt that Kevin was overly protective of her. Even if he had no love for her, he seemed to mind other people merely looking at his wife. After taking a nap, Karen joined the big group of employees. May said enviously, "Karen, you're so lucky to be able to stay in the luxury villa area." Karen said, "It's not so convenient to live with the leaders." The leader she meant was Kevin, but May thought that she meant Amelia. She nodded in agreement and said, "You're right. It's more interesting to hang out with familiar people. Why don't you come with us tonight?" "Forget it." Karen did not dare agree. What if Kevin came to pick her up in the middle of the night? To create more fun, the HR department had prepared a lot of interesting activities. Based on their departments, the employees were divided into red, blue, yellow, and green teams. The first event was a beer-drinking competition. A large mug was filled with two liters of beer. A man and a woman will each take a straw and drink it. Whoever finishes it first, wins. The loser will be punished with a truth or dare challenge. All teams requested for their heads of departments to take the challenge first. In the first round, the red team which Karen belonged to, won. The yellow team lost the round and was punished. As they were being punished, the boss arrived. For a moment, he had become the center of everyone's attention again. Kevin signaled for everyone to continue to play. He sat aside and watched the game quietly. Now that the boss was around, everyone's behavior was somewhat restrained. However, when the host announced the second game, everyone let their guards down again. The second game was called 'Eat the Apple!'. Hanging an apple by a rope, the four groups selected a man and a woman respectively to participate. Starting from both sides of the apple, they had to bite and finish the apple, the last team to finish will be drenched with a bucket of ice water. Karen was a professional at this game, and that was exactly why the members of the red team pushed her out to take on the challenge. Karen glanced at Kevin guiltily. He looked unbothered. She had to buck up and step forward. William, also from the red team, stepped forward to volunteer to team up with Karen. At this time, Amelia looked at Kevin, and what she saw in Kevin's expression was much different from what Karen had thought. She immediately clapped her hands and said, "Does everyone want Director Kevin to come and have some fun?" Everyone had hoped for that, but no one dared to say anything. Since Special Assistant Gray had spoken, everyone became less restrained. They shouted in unison, "Director Kevin! Director Kevin! Director Kevin!" Kevin stood up slowly after a long while. Judging from his cold expression, it seemed that he had no choice but to accept the challenge. Seeing him walk over towards the teams, Karen kept praying in her heart, hoping that he would not choose her to play in her team. However, Kevin stopped and stood in front of her. "Wow!" Everyone screamed excitedly. The other women all regretted instantly. If they had known that Director Kevin would participate, they would have spared every effort to join this challenge, even if they might be drenched in water. In stark contrast to the excitement of the crowd, Karen lowered her head and did not dare to look at Kevin in the eye. If she had known that he would come, she would use the physiological period as an excuse to get away. The host shouted, "Get ready!" The other three teams immediately moved closer and watched the apples falling between them with full attention. Karen still kept her head bowed, thinking if she should just chicken out and admit defeat. However, Kevin said softly at this time, "Do you really want to lose?"