Chapter 40 Chosen
The next day, Edric wasn't absent from the recording scene either. After the 25 male guests finished their introductions, Irene's eyes lingered on a male guest named Bert Kent for a few seconds. Edric had been staring at Irene. When he saw her gaze at Bert, he frowned slightly.
During the second round, it was Irene's turn to ask the male guests questions. When it was her turn to question Bert, Irene asked him an additional question, "I want to know your opinion on romance, marriage and responsibility."
"Romance is a matter of two people being in love with each other. It can be a lifetime or a moment. Marriage is a lifetime of living together. Responsibility is what you have to bear when you do something."
"Do you believe in love at first sight?"
"I believe in it."
"Do you think love at first sight is love?"
"Strictly speaking, I don't think falling in love at first sight is love, but rather passion. True love should be developed over time. It requires two people's views on life and values to be basically the same. It needs two people to have chemistry and be mutually dependent upon each other."
Irene nodded and moved on to the next male guest.
The expression on Edric's face became gloomy. According to his understanding of Irene, if she wasn't interested in him, she wouldn't spend so much time to get to know him. He stared at Bert for a while. He wasn't handsome, and at most could only be regarded as well proportioned. As for his job, he was just an ordinary company employee. He really couldn't find any aspect where he outshone the other male guests.
It was precisely because of this that he felt alarmed, and so did John. John gently asked, "Mr. Myers, something's not right, is it?"
Edric nodded. "It's up to you!"
The third round was an interaction game. Today's interaction game was based upon the first experience of love - "Happiness is waiting for you on the other side of the Milky Way". The rule of the game was that the male guest would walk blindfolded onto the stage full of obstacles while Irene would command from behind to see which of the male guests had the best chemistry with Irene.
Bert was the last male guest who played the game with Irene. As he had been watching the game previously, he got the hang of the game. Under Irene's command, he passed through the obstacles very steadily and soon made his way near the destination.
The audience burst into applause due to their chemistry. But at this moment, Bert suddenly slipped and fell to the side. Upon seeing that, Edric suddenly stood up.
The stage was full of obstacles. When people fell, their instinctive reaction would be to take care of themselves. If Bert did that, Irene, who was on his back, would definitely be thrown out because of inertia. With the stage full of obstacles, if Irene was thrown out, the result could be imagined.
Just as Edric stood up, an unexpected scene happened. Bert didn't attend to himself first as everyone had expected. Instead, his first reaction was to protect Irene on his back.
Because of his movements, Irene didn't get thrown out because of the inertia, but continued to be fixed on his back by his arms. Bert, on the other hand, wasn't so lucky. He fell forward and landed heavily on the barrier.
All the staff rushed forward. Bert's forehead was scraped by the barrier. Irene was unharmed, except a little frightened.
Seeing that Irene was unscathed, Edric sat down again and glanced coldly at John, who was beside him. John quickly lowered his voice and clarified, "I didn't do it! I haven't thought of a plan!"
The staff went up to rescue Bert and Irene. Someone asked Bert how his injury was and whether he needed to see the doctor. He answered, "It doesn't matter. It's just a minor injury. I'm not so fragile!" Looking at the wound on his forehead, Irene took out a handkerchief and handed it to him. Upon seeing this scene, Edric's face darkened. John, who was next to him, snorted. "That Kent guy is quite interesting! He had already arrived at the finish line, but he suddenly caused such a scene. There wasn't any oil on the stage, so how did he fall down?"
Edric's eyes darkened, but he didn't say anything.
This incident quickly died down. Bert insisted that he was fine and could go on. After confirming that he was really fine, the program's staff began the fourth round.
In the fourth round, the male guests made the final declaration of love to Irene. Because of that scene just now, Irene's eyes were fixed on Bert.
When that man was in danger, he didn't prioritize his own safety, which made her feel very touched inside. She had suffered too much and needed such a man. Because of that incident, she had a good impression of Bert and didn't have much of an opinion on other male guests.
Soon, other male guests announced that it was Bert's turn, and Bert appeared very emotional.
"I'm an ordinary man who doesn't have money, power, or looks. I'm very excited to be able to stand here and make a love declaration to you today." Bert's voice was choked with a sob. "I don't want to say fancy words, because if you choose me, our future life would be ordinary and devoid of luxury. So my love declaration is to tell you my story."
"Strictly speaking, my life is very miserable now. My father abandoned my mother and left with another woman when I was in high school. My mother couldn't accept this blow and chose to commit suicide, so I became an orphan when I was a teenager. I was able to attend college with the financial support of my relatives. After I graduated from college, I fell in love with a girl in my class. She was a high-maintenance girl from the city. We loved each other very much and got married. At first, we were very happy. Later, her parents expressed their dislike towards me due to my lack of ambition. Besides, there were also personal factors that contributed to my wife abandoning me three years later. I married her in an impoverished state, so I left in an impoverished state after the divorce."
Bert's story was surprisingly similar to what Irene had experienced that Irene was stunned for a moment. Edric was stunned as well.
From the man's self-introduction, she felt that this man had something she was familiar with, so she asked him one more question. Irene ended up feeling very satisfied with his answer. Love at first sight was just passion rather than love. Real love was the result of years of accumulation. If it was in the past, she wouldn't think so. But after all of this, she felt it deeply.
Her marriage with Edric was so beautiful and surreal that she ignored human nature and humanistic desires. That was why she suffered so miserably.
She controlled herself and asked, "Do you hate your ex-wife?"
"I used to hate her!" Bert replied.
"You don't hate her now?"
"Right! Now, I don't hate her anymore. People always have to look forward and can't be consumed with hatred from the past for their entire lives, so I moved on." Bert replied calmly, "In fact, I'm very grateful to her now. I'm grateful that she once loved me, and I thank her for making my life more eventful."
People should look forward and couldn't live in the past for their entire lifetime. Irene knew this saying, but she had hidden for three years and still couldn't let herself come out of it. She still hated Edric and couldn't keep her calm when facing him.
Since Bert was able to make himself not resent or love her, it proved that he wasn't a narrow-minded person. Of course, the reason she had her sights set on him wasn't only because his experience was very similar to hers.
It was because he had instinctively protected her when she was in danger. People were usually selfish when they were in danger. Irene believed that under that kind of situation, Bert's choice was from the bottom of his heart. Furthermore, they were all people who had experienced the same kinds of hardship. She believed that they had a common ground to communicate so that they could avoid harm. So far, Bert was the most suitable person for her on the stage.
"I have one more thing to tell you." Irene took a deep breath. "The main reason behind my divorce was my infertility. That's why my ex-husband had an affair with a mistress. If you choose to be with me, it means that we will grow old together alone. Are you willing to do that?"
Edric instantly grew very sullen. Irene actually asking this question here was a slap in his face. He remembered that Irene had asked him the same question.
"Edric, I can't give birth. We won't have any children for the rest of our lives. Even so, will you be with me for the rest of your life?"
His answer at that time was very certain. Could it be that Irene asked this question deliberately because he was here? He instinctively looked at Irene, but found that she was staring at Bert and waiting for his
answer.
Bert pondered over it for a while before replying, "If I say yes, you'll feel that my answer was too hasty. I just want you to give me some time to prove it. As long as you're with me, we'll live a happy life even if we don't have a child!"
"So, Irene, what's your choice?" The host asked.
"I choose to start a new relationship with Mr. Bert Kent," Irene replied.
Irene's blind date program ended successfully. She and Bert walked down the stage hand in hand amongst the audiences' blessings. The audience dispersed in twos and threes. Kinsey rushed out and hugged Irene as she gave her blessing. She also invited her and Bert to have a midnight snack.
Edric retreated from the passageway with a gloomy expression and returned to the car outside. John said, "Mr. Myers, where are we going?"
Edric closed his eyes dejectedly. After a long time, he ordered John in a gloomy voice, "Go home!"
John started the car. The car drove quickly the entire way. Edric had his eyes closed as he rested. He didn't open his eyes until John stopped the car and opened the door. When he got out of the car, he suddenly said, "Go and investigate the background of that man named Kent."
News of Irene's successful blind date was reported upon by the media in the entertainment headlines. Many people found Bert Kent holding Irene's hand inconceivable. Among the dozens of male guests, Bert Kent was rather below average. Him successfully getting to win Irene's hand made him seem like a dark horse.
Many netizens lamented upon how she was out of his league.
Lily and Deborah sat in front of the TV as they watched the live broadcast. When they saw that Irene chose Bert, Lily showed a disdainful expression. "Irene's taste in men is getting worse and worse!" Deborah let out a sigh of relief. "What do you know? If there wasn't a person such as Bert tonight, the show wouldn't have been as entertaining."
"Do you mean that Bert was the TV station's pawn?" Lily was confused.
"How can the TV station find such a suitable pawn?" Deborah sneered. "I have to talk to your father about this matter."
"Mom, what on earth are you up to? Didn't you say that you would deal with Irene? Up until now, I haven't seen you deal with her yet. Now that she has found such a person, we should turn a blind eye. Why do we have to tell dad? He wouldn't agree if he found out."
"We must tell your father about this matter. When something happens, we can get rid of it completely."
"Something's wrong? What's wrong?" Lily was very curious.
"You'll find out in the future!" Deborah didn't want to reveal more.
Steven came back very late. After he came back, Deborah told Steven about the success of Irene's blind date. She lambasted Bert as someone utterly worthless. Upon hearing her words, Steven became very angry. "Irene was too rash. I will talk to her tomorrow."
The next day, Steven personally went to Irene to express his opinion on Bert. Steven thought that since Bert was ordinary-looking and had an average job, he couldn't bring happiness to Irene, so Steven asked Irene to end her relationship with Bert.
"Irene, listen to Dad's advice. People are shady nowadays. How much do you know about Bert? All you know about him is from seeing him several times during the blind date program, so you're being too hasty by choosing him."
"It's not up to you to decide my affairs!" Irene ignored Steven's advice. She chose Bert partly because she was moved by him, and partly because of the situation. She was already in the teeth of the storm. It was time for her to leave the blind date program.
Steven's opposition provoked Irene's rebelliousness. "He might be an ordinary person, but he's honest and reliable, unlike someone, who appears sanctimonious but has an extramarital affair behind his wife and children's back."
Steven's face turned bright red. "Irene, you can't risk your future because of resentment!"
"Mr. Cook, I don't resent anyone. I told you, I don't need irrelevant people to intervene in my life. Please go back!"
Steven saw that there was no way to persuade her, so he had no choice but to leave sulkily.