A Game of Seduction

Someone in the group chat asked: [Why are you suddenly trying something like this, Samuel? This is new.]

Samuel replied indifferently: [What can I do? If I’m the one who breaks up with her, my dad will kill me.]

[But if she cheats on me, things get much easier]

[We've been together for so long, I'm sick of her. If I don't break up with her soon, my family will start pushing me to get married.]

Someone immediately buttered him up: [You're so smart, Samuel! This is a good idea!]

A message came from someone with a pink cartoon cat profile picture: [He isn't that smart. I gave him the idea.]

I recognized who it was. It was Gemma Campbell, the young woman Samuel treated like his little sister.

Samuel began by sending the message: [All hail Gemma.]

Everyone else followed with the same message.

[What if Nina finds out you're pulling a big one this time?]

[What's there to be afraid of? It will be even better if she finds out. If she leaves on her own, I can save some money.]

Gemma sent an emoji that meant she agreed. [Exactly. Nina is the most shameless one here. She's been holding on to Samuel for all these years.]

Someone then started stirring things up. [Why don't you just get together with Samuel, Gemma? Keep it in the family and all.]

[Buzz off! I treat Samuel like an older brother! If we had anything going on, Nina would never have had a chance.] Gemma quickly denied anything between her and Samuel before sending a laughing emoji.

[What's wrong with being your older brother?] And that one line from Samuel was enough to set everyone off. The group chat was instantly flooded with messages again, with everyone teasing the two of them.

In the middle of the suggestive mood, someone suddenly typed in: [Nina is quite pretty, though.]

Samuel started commenting again: [She's too meek. That's so boring.]

[I bet none of you can add her on Facebook within a month.]

The next second, Jason sent a screenshot to the group chat. It showed that he had just added me successfully.

[Not bad! Jason took first place.] The group chat was as lively as a party.

Everyone waited for Samuel to pay up.

For a moment, the group chat went quiet. Then Samuel sent Jason a transfer of five thousand dollars to Jason. [My name is Samuel Sanders, and I am a man of my word.]

The group chat burst into cheers.

That five-thousand-dollar transfer made the game feel even more real.

Everyone knew Samuel and I had been together for five years.

I laughed at myself. It turned out that even five years of relationship could have a price tag placed on it.

I muted the noisy group chat.

At the very end, I caught a glimpse of Samuel saying: [Nina is very conservative. If Jason wants to earn the money, it probably won't be that easy.]

I smiled faintly, took out another phone, and sent Jason a message. [I'm hungry.]

Less than five minutes later, I heard the keypad lock click open.