Far from their expectations, it was not really a family lunch but a grand celebratory buffet dining. Staff and waiters were standing at a center table where different dishes were placed. The food was mostly an international cuisine.

There were other well-dressed old guests also. Some were men in suits with ladies on their side.

"I told you, this lunch is prepared by my father. And he hired an international chef to cook all these meals. He also invited his friends in the business." Clark whispered to his friends after they all got their food served.

"Indeed."

"Let's eat!"

Jasmine and Charles approached the table where their eldest son, James, and his friends were occupying. At one glance, anyone could tell that his friends were also from the rich and reputable families around District 7.

"Errr, this is awkward," Joey mumbled as his eyes cast on one of James' friends.

"What's the matter?" Clark inquired

"Your brother's friend... that girl wearing the purple hairband. That's the ex that I just mentioned." Joey answered.

At first, he just felt like there was a familiar laugh when he heard James and his friends laughing on the balcony. But it's a distinctive sound, one that only carved in his memories. He tried to dismiss the familiarity of the sound. Yet, when they went to the dining hall, he realized that it was really his ex.

Claire swirled her glass of soda and secretly looked at the girl. "What a small world! HAHA It looks like she did not notice you yet. Did you too have a bad break-up?"

Joey shook his head, "It was worst than a bad break up. Remember when I said that I have an injury? My injury was not related to a sports accident. It was because she hired men to beat me."

All of them went silent and gasped for air. They were taken aback. Joey just opened up something so personal and tragic about his life.

"Hehehe it's a long story. A romance that led to enmity," Joey clicked his tongue before he turned his attention to his plate.

"Did you cheat on her? For a girl to hire people to beat you, that means she is really angry," Claire mumbled.

"It was her who cheat on me. But she did not want to break up. I insisted on leaving her, so she got angry. Though, I have no regrets on leaving her," Joey explained. "Let's not kill the celebratory mood with my past relationship," he added.

"Sorry about that," the group whispered their sympathies and started eating. They shifted their attention from the people around them to the food on the table. No one spoke for a few minutes.

"Good thing the foods are delicious, Eat many!" Sofia tried to revived their mood and passed a bowl of meat to Joey. The nodded in agreement. The taste was superb!

Just as they were about to finish their food, Joey's ex caught his familiar figure and finally noticed him. The lady haughtily walked towards their table without minding the confused glances that her friends threw at her.

"What are you doing here?" the ex interrogated. She placed her hands on her waist and stood like a dignified person.

Joey did not need to look who was speaking. He slumped his shoulder and leaned on the chair. His eyes were still on his plate as he answered, "I am one of the guests."

"One of the guests? Well, not anymore! Get out!" the lady screamed. People quickly turned their heads towards her to see what was happening.

Charles and Jasmine excused themselves from their friends and immediately left their table to approached the ruckus.

"What's wrong?" Charles asked. He recognized the girl. He glanced at the other table where James was occupying yet, his eldest son was nowhere to be found.

"Uncle, I don't want this person here. Get him out, please!" the lady said in a tone that demands urgency.

"Dear, they are Clark's guests... stop--" Jasmine was trying to smoothen the situation but she abruptly stopped in mid-sentence after the young lady took a glass on the table and smashed it on the floor!

CRASHH!

The sound of crashing and breaking echoed the entire hall.

Sofia watched closely her group members as she sensed that it would be getting out of hand at any minute. Clark was looking at the floor indicating that he was greatly embarrassed. Stephen and Claire were also upset as they glared at the lady. Only Joey gave a blank face.

"Thank you for the food. It's almost 1 pm, my group needs to practice. We have a great time! Please don't mind us! This is just a misunderstanding between schoolmates!" Sofia smiled towards Clark's parents and looked around the other guests. She gathered her legs that were lazily stretched and stood from her seat.

Clark cast her a look of gratitude. "Mom, I will be practicing at Sofia's place," he softly informed his parents.

"Okay, dear." Jasmine smiled at her son. Charles also nodded but did not speak.

The rest of the members did not say a word. Claire and Stephen took a gulp from their glasses and slowly wiped their lips. They easily got the hint that they needed to leave before anything bad could happen. Joey just gave a quick look at his ex with his emotionless face.

As they were about to leave, Sofia also stared at Joey's ex. "Hope we meet at the tournament next week," her voice was cold, devoid of any sense of friendliness.

Upon hearing what Sofia had just said, the lady stood frozen. She felt some chills in her spine. Her sense of superiority almost got crashed. She even pulled a chair and sat down.

~

In the car, Clark awkwardly stayed quiet. He felt sorry and did not know what to say. The driver could also sense the tense atmosphere so he just turned the volume of his radio louder.

"The food is delicious, Clark. So, the lunch was worth it. Hehe," Joey was the first to break the silence.

"Darn! Your ex is crazy, bro! Breaking glass in front of the host! It's good that you left her!" Stephen tilted his head while remembering what had just happened.

"I know right!" Joey laughed and gave them a goofy smile.

"Sorry guys. That lady is the daughter of my father's client. So, we cannot offend her. So sorry, Joey." Clark finally found a courage to speak.

"Ahh, I know her family background. Don't worry about it," Joey assured Clark that he was not offended.

"That ex of yours, she will be participating in the tournament, right?" Sofia asked calmly.

"Yeah, they were on my brother's squad," Clark answered.

Sofia felt her phone vibrated in her pocket. As she opened the screen, there was a notification in her mail. It was a message from the Tournament Committee.

"The elimination round of the tournament is a battle royal," she spoke while staring at the image of the game map. Above the map, there was a label written. 40-Player-Map.

The map was wider and there were 8 bases which mean there would be 8 squads that would compete in one map for a single round. The last surviving squad that could manage to protect their base or destroy all the opponent's bases would win. Each base has only three protective towers. From the look of it, it would be a game of protecting and defending style.

"The elimination round would be a passive-aggressive gameplay!?" Stephen sounded.

"This would be more exciting! Forty players in one map to compete in a single round. That's a good strategy," Sofia commented.

"So, if we don't win in the 40-Player-Map... we cant proceed to the next round?" Clark nervously asked.

"AHH, don't call the bad luck! We will win!" Claire smacked the boy on the shoulder.

"It's an elimination round. The point of this match is to eliminate many participants. This is not just a battle of skills and strategies but also a battle of luck," Joey pondered.

As they arrived at Sofia's unit, they proceed on their plan. All they do was searched every squad that would be participating in the tournament. One by one, they watched their gameplays and studied a possible strategy to use against them.

Sofia took a notebook and even make notes of the highlights of the game. They were too engrossed that they have not realized the time. The sun quickly set and the moon and stars shone in the sky. But the group did not stop until they realized that they have been yawning several times.

Outside the building where Sofia lived, an innocent driver had been answering anxious calls from Clark's parents. He was facing a great dilemma.

"Where are you? Where is my son? Is everything alright?"

"Boss, your son went inside this building together with his friends earlier. And I haven't seen him get out." the driver answered cautiously. He was just inside the car waiting for Clark to come out but even his shadow never showed up.

"Make sure to bring Clark home before 11 PM. Or else I will teach the both of you a lesson!"

"Yes boss! I will contact the young master now!"

Back in Sofia's place, she reflected something. In her past life as the CEO, Lisa was used to working late. Reading and signing contracts as well as planning company investments. Now that she become Sofia, she realized that there were not many changes in her life. The only difference was the driving force within her towards achieving success.

She caught a glimpse of the time on her phone and realized that it was already late.

11:05 PM

"Call your parents and tell them that you are staying over for tonight." she suddenly stated.

"AHHH..." Clark jumped in surprise after seeing the time. He was even more worried when he saw more than 20 missed calls from his parents and driver. He accidentally turned his personal phone into silent mode!

The last message that was shown in the notification was from his driver.

"Young Master, come out already. Your parents will beat me if I can't bring you home before 11 PM. You need to go home."

"Guys, I have to go home!" Clark worriedly scanned his phone and read the messages. He slowly looked for his father's contact number to call him. Just as he was about to press the call button, an incoming call notification appeared on his screen.

"Clark, where are you? It's past 11 PM already!"

It was his father's voice on the other line.

"Dad, I forgot the time. We were planning for the tournament," Clark quickly answered.

"Ahh... I instructed your driver to bring you before 11 PM. You have us all worried!" his mother's voice followed.

"Sorry to make you worry, mom! I will be staying over in Sofia's unit. It's just near the school, mom."

"Alright, it's better if you take a rest. Be careful."

Clark sighed in relief after the phone call ended.

"Are we staying here for the night?" Stephen yawned.

"Your place is just near. You can also go home," Sofia told him.

"Ehh.. my body is tired. I'm staying... hehe," Stephen quickly mumbled and laid down his body on the floor.

"The two of you can use my unit. I have two larger sofas. Come!" Claire pointed Stephen and Joey to follow her but Stephen did not move on his spot.

"Errr, I'll go," Charles volunteered.

In the end, Joey and Charles slept in Claire's unit. Claire and Sofia shared a bed while they threw a blanket and pillow for Stephen who was already asleep on the floor.

"I felt like my mind is drained. I'm sleeping now," Claire stretched her body comfortably told Sofia. She then quickly went on her bed.

Sofia just smiled and grabbed her gaming chair. She opened her computer as she planned to continue to watch gameplays.

"You're not sleeping yet?" Claire called her.

"Maybe later!" Sofia answered and placed her headphones on. She continued to write notes and sketched some formations that only she could understand.

The night quickly turned into dawn. Sofia finally finished watching the gameplays of more than a hundred squad participants. She mostly fast-forwards the videos and just observed the clashing and dynamics of the squads.

She closed her eyes for a while and leaned her body on the chair. Her body was totally exhausted.

Slowly, she leaned her head on the table and fell asleep. Her fingers were still on the mouse but she no longer mind how uncomfortable her position was.