Chapter 381: A Backstab from Raj
Seeing Sheldon and Penny's team taking the lead, the naturally competitive Bernadette began fabricating stories about Penny calling Leonard a wimp behind his back to provoke him. It has to be said, this tactic worked brilliantly; Leonard indeed began to work hard to catch up, not wanting Penny to look down on him.
In contrast to the intense competitive atmosphere there, the atmosphere on Ron's side became increasingly strange, increasingly romantic.
After discovering the next clue by observing the ground from the Ferris wheel, they successively went through a challenge involving sharing a boba tea and finding the next station's clue at the bottom of the cup.
Then they joined a dance flash mob, dancing intimately with six couples before finally obtaining a clue card from one of them. Then, at a carnival shooting gallery, they knocked down a plush toy in a difficult hugging pose...
Ron and Collins's relationship also became increasingly ambiguous until, at some unknown stage, the amusement park clown, already bribed by Rajesh's money, handed them a Pocky stick.
"Welcome to this challenge! You two work together, each holding one end, to eat this Pocky. The goal is to keep the remaining length less than 0.5 centimeters. How about it? Ready, challengers?"
Ron rolled his eyes. What a joke! 0.5 centimeters? What's the difference between that and a kiss?
Okay, there is a difference. After all, with the thickness of both lips, it's impossible to eat the Pocky down to 0.5 centimeters without basically kissing!
Forgive Ron for maintaining a semi-distant attitude towards innocent girls like Collins. Even now, their relationship has only progressed to simple hand-holding and light kisses; they've never had a deep kiss.
There's no way around it; Collins is so different from Ron's other women.
First, she's a very innocent girl, and Ron often feels like he's too much of a player to be good enough for her. Second, and most importantly, is Collins's background.
Collins' father, Mr. Tuohy, was a longtime friend of old George, and her mother was Mrs. Cooper's best friend; the two families were old friends. This meant that Ron absolutely could not toy with Collins' feelings.
Around them, a crowd of onlookers, eager for entertainment, gathered. Seeing the blush on Collins' face growing deeper, Ron quickly called for a halt: "Excuse me, I guess this activity is something Rajesh specifically prepared for those couples. If you're uncomfortable, we can skip it..."
"No, I think I can do it." Before Ron could finish, Collins snatched a Pocky stick from the clown's hand, popped it into her mouth, and then kissed Ron with her eyes closed.
What could Ron do in this situation? He could only cup Collins's face and kiss her back.
"Wow~" A handsome man and a beautiful woman are always the center of attention wherever they go. Their passionate kiss drew cheers from the surrounding crowd, but Ron was no longer in the mood to care about anyone else.
Because Collins had actually pulled away from Ron, placing a piece of Pocky, definitely less than 0.5 centimeters long, on the table next to the clown: "We won! Where's the clue for the next level?"
She even turned back to give Ron a victorious smile.
"The location for your next level is over there," the clown pointed to a small bar in the distance...
Meanwhile, unlike their slow progress, which was less than halfway done, Sheldon's treasure hunt was nearing its end. Leonard, Penny, and Bernadette were scrambling on the sofa for the last gold coin.
But they came up empty-handed.
"Where did that damn gold coin go?!" Leonard roared, "Isn't the final answer Sheldon's spot?"
"Yes, Leonard," Rajesh elegantly swayed out of the bedroom with a glass of wine, "The answer is absolutely correct."
"Then where's the gold coin?"
"That's a good question. Where are the coins?" Rajesh's cryptic manner made Bernadette want to punch him in the face. "Why don't you all check your pockets?"
Everyone reached into their pockets and pulled out a coin.
"I put them there earlier today."
"I still don't understand." Penny glared at Rajesh.
"Don't you understand? When we all have fun together, we're all winners," Rajesh reached into his pocket and pulled out a coin as well. "See, even I'm a winner."
"Are you kidding us? This is the stupidest thing I've ever heard." Bernadette exploded. She'd gone to so much trouble to get that good-for-nothing Leonard motivated, and now he was telling her everyone had won?
At this moment, the last group, Howard and Amy's team, arrived. Howard quickly hugged his wife: "Don't be angry, honey, Rajesh just wanted to do something nice for everyone. Wait, where's Ron? Where did they go?"
"Heh~" Sheldon sneered: "Maybe Harvard and UCLA are just at that level. Maybe we can go have dinner first."
"No, no, no, Sheldon," Rajesh quickly explained for Ron: "I actually arranged for him to go on a different path. He didn't participate in the same game. He wanted to use the hunt to give Collins a gift, so he left it with me. I estimate they won't be back for another hour. Can you help me decorate the apartment?"
"Oh my god! A romantic gesture!" Penny's anger vanished instantly: "What should we do?"
"I've bought everything. It's in your apartment. Now all we need to do is..."
An hour later, Ron and Collins, following the game instructions left by Rajesh, had traveled through most of Los Angeles and returned to the apartment corridor.
"I'm sorry, Collins," Ron said, leading Collins by the hand as they walked up the stairs. "I only asked Rajesh to help me replace the treasure from the scavenger hunt with the gift I was planning to give you. I think he must have misunderstood something, which is why he arranged the route like this."
"Really? What gift are you planning to give me?" Collins asked, her heart racing.
Just then, the two reached the apartment door, and Ron opened it. "Why don't you go and see for yourself? I got this from my business trip. I think it would suit you perfectly."
Ron was referring to the necklace, of course. As he spoke, his back was to the apartment, and he hadn't seen what was inside. Otherwise, he would have regretted what he had just said.
Collins gasped in surprise, her voice trembling. "Ron, are you really going to give me this?"
Inside the apartment, a path lined with rose petals was flanked by blooming flowers. At the end of the path, on a pristine white pedestal, the necklace chain was arranged in a heart shape, with a diamond ring in the center.
"Of course," Ron replied, oblivious to her surprise.
"Thank you, I love it so much!" Collins hurried to the table, excitedly slipping the ring onto her finger. Just as she finished, music suddenly filled the apartment.
"It's a beautiful night, we're looking for something dumb to do. Hey baby, I think I wanna marry you. Is it the look in your eyes, or is it this dancing juice ..."
(End of Chapter)
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