After spending hours enjoying the beach in the afternoon, the night fell, and everyone gathered around the bonfire, kicking off an exciting and lively beach party. In the high-pressure world of venture capital, moments like these, where the entire team could relax and bond, were truly rare.
The first game was the balloon stomp. The rules were simple: 16 people were selected, 8 men and 8 women, with each man teamed up with a woman. The women had two balloons tied to their ankles, and the men were responsible for protecting their team's balloons while trying to pop the other teams' balloons. Once all the balloons on a team were popped, that team was out, and the last team standing won a mysterious grand prize prepared by the admin team.
There were only 9 women in the company, so besides Luna, who was hosting, all the other women had to participate.
Luna had 8 women tie their balloons and then took a megaphone to shout, "Gentlemen, if you want to join, raise your hand!"
Many of the men eagerly raised their hands. Luna smiled at the enthusiasm and said, "Wow, didn't expect the guys to be so into it. To make it fair, we'll have two people from each of the three investment teams, and two from logistics. You can decide who you want!"
Ryan raised his hand high and asked, "Luna, do we team up with the women from our own group?"
"That's decided by a draw," Luna replied.
Ryan turned to Aiden Thompson, "Aiden, you in?"
Aiden Thompson wasn't particularly excited about the game, but when he heard Grace Li would be participating, he said, "Sure."
Ryan then asked Mike, "What about you?"
Mike replied, "You and Aiden go ahead. I'm good."
"Heh, well then, I won't hold back," Ryan said with a grin.
Aiden Thompson looked over at Grace Li, who was tying balloons with Olivia. The balloons on her ankles swayed gently in the sea breeze.
The eight men gathered to draw their names. Ryan opened his slip and saw that he'd drawn Amanda from the front desk. He leaned over to Aiden Thompson and asked, "Who'd you get?"
Aiden Thompson looked at his slip and saw it said: Scarlett Harris.
Ryan looked at him with envy, "Whoa, Scarlett, huh?"
Aiden Thompson handed him the slip, "Let's swap."
"But I didn't draw who you want," Ryan said, showing Aiden his slip.
Aiden Thompson was mentally prepared not to team up with Grace Li, but he wasn't keen on pairing up with Scarlett Harris either. "It's fine, let's swap," he said.
Luna overheard and placed her hands on her hips, "Hey, hey, let's respect the game rules, okay? Who you draw is who you get!"
Ryan laughed and held up his slip, "Luna, I got Amanda."
Luna took his slip, noted it on her phone, and said, "Ryan and Amanda are a team."
After noting down the names, Luna turned to Aiden Thompson, "Hey, Aiden, let's see who you got."
Aiden Thompson's gaze briefly landed on Grace Li. At that moment, David from the New Energy team approached Grace Li and showed his slip, "Grace Li, looks like we're teamed up!"
Grace Li smiled and responded, "Then let's do our best!"
Luna saw Aiden Thompson zoning out and asked again, "Aiden, let me see your slip."
Aiden Thompson handed it to her, and Luna grinned, "Wow, you got Scarlett!"
Luna then shouted over to Scarlett Harris, "Scarlett, you're with Aiden Thompson!"
Scarlett, having just finished tying her balloons, quickly walked over, flashing a sweet smile, "Aiden, I look forward to working with you!"
Grace Li heard Luna's words and glanced over to see Aiden Thompson paired with Scarlett. She quickly wiped the surprise off her face and returned her focus to David, who was explaining their strategy.
When the game started, things quickly became intense. The women, with balloons tied to their ankles, hid behind the men, who were responsible for not only protecting their balloons but also stomping on the others' balloons.
Laughter, screams, cheers from the sidelines, and the sound of balloons popping all blended together, echoing through the night air on the beach.
Five minutes into the game, two teams had already been eliminated. Grace Li, who was quick on her feet, had managed to avoid all the attacks, and both of her balloons were still intact.
Scarlett Harris, however, had only one balloon left. She tightly gripped Aiden Thompson's T-shirt, sticking close behind him. When someone rushed at her to pop her balloon, she screamed and jumped onto Aiden's back, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and her legs off the ground.
It was an undeniably awkward moment.
Grace Li noticed this and momentarily lost focus, which led to one of her balloons getting popped. She quickly regained her composure and sprinted away. David rushed to block an opponent and protect her.
Scarlett Harris stayed on Aiden Thompson's back for several seconds. Aiden Thompson, without showing any emotion, said, "I can't move like this."
Only then did Scarlett get off him, but she immediately continued to pull on his shirt.
By this time, only four teams were left in the game. Aiden Thompson wasn't really concerned about winning, but when he saw Grace Li being chased by James Shun, with David pulling her behind him to protect her, he immediately rushed forward to take on Lin's team.
While dodging Lin, Grace Li accidentally collided with Aiden Thompson and ended up in his arms.
Aiden Thompson steadied her with a firm hand, and when Grace Li saw it was him, she quickly pulled away. With everyone watching, she avoided making eye contact and quickly ran off.
Scarlett Harris saw Grace Li run away and noticed that Grace still had one balloon left. All Aiden needed to do was make a move, and she would be out. Scarlett couldn't help but ask, "Aiden, why didn't you pop Grace Li's balloon earlier?"
Aiden Thompson casually responded, "I didn't realize."
Before Scarlett could say anything else, she suddenly screamed as Jason rushed toward her, aiming to pop her balloon. Scarlett quickly ran in front of Aiden Thompson to shield herself.
All four teams converged in the center, and chaos broke out as everyone tried to pop each other's balloons. Aiden Thompson, who wasn't that invested in winning, decided to help Grace Li. He quickly stomped on Lin's team's balloons, and soon only three teams remained.
Aiden Thompson, with newfound determination, popped Jason's team's balloons, leaving only his team and Grace Li's team.
David, full of energy, launched a strong attack, pushing Scarlett Harris back. She was clutching Aiden Thompson's shirt so tightly it was about to tear.
In the end, Scarlett's balloon was popped, and Grace Li's team won.
Grace Li and David went up to collect their prize, while Aiden Thompson sat back down. Ryan walked over and teased, "You've been protecting your girl, huh?"
"Got a problem with that?"
"No, not at all."
After the balloon stomp, the next game was darts. Many of the colleagues who hadn't played the balloon stomp gathered around.
Grace Li returned to their team's resting area after collecting her prize. Olivia asked, "Boss, what's the prize?"
Grace Li shook the box in her hand, "A fitness tracker."
"Wow, that's pretty nice!"
Ryan leaned on the sand, saying, "I actually need one of those. If I'd known, I would've fought harder to stay in the game."
"There's a dart competition with a prize too. You still have a chance."
"Well, I'm going to give it a try." Ryan clapped Aiden Thompson on the shoulder, "You coming?"
"No interest."
"Tsk."
Grace Li glanced at Aiden Thompson and smiled subtly, but said nothing. She sat on the cushion next to Olivia, with two people between her and Aiden Thompson.
Earlier in the game, Aiden Thompson had taken on two teams attacking Grace Li's group, and when it came down to just her team and theirs, he'd practically let them win. His intentions were pretty obvious.
Around 10 p.m., the women started heading back to the hotel to shower and get some rest.
Grace Li was also planning to head back, but her phone buzzed. She looked at it and saw a message from Aiden Thompson.
Aiden Thompson: Wanna go for a walk?
Grace Li: Where to?
Aiden Thompson: Meet me outside the ice cream shop.
Grace Li: Sure.