Jessica was secretly pleased. She would very much rather have Adhha walk away with the title of the winner. She was not entirely sure she wanted to get back into a relationship with him, but a sponsored date with Adhha would be enjoyable. The alternative, to spend a day frolicking with Chong Jin and smiling for the video camera, would be torture.

But Jessica’s hidden smile began to fade as Chong Jin gained ground. His fans had apparently decided to launch a frantic rescue effort. By the time Adhha reached the third to last beep-light, Chong Jin was right on his tail. As the audience watched with bated breath, the flashing vote count on the screen for the STAR specialist sped up, while that for the SMRT technician slowed down. There was a collective gasp when the beep-light ahead of Chong Jin came on and he took one step forward triumphantly, placing himself on par with Adhha.

That was the moment Jessica decided to do what no contestant had dared do before. She sat up straight, stared into the video camera and flashed the hand sign that everyone was now conversant with—TW for True Warrior.

The Studio Two audience emitted gasps of horror and shock. There were a couple of ear-piercing screams from among the feline girls. Even the game show host was momentarily at a loss for words. As for the contestants, Adhha flushed with joy, while Chong Jin flushed with anger. But Jessica was undeterred. She kept her gaze on the video camera and kept repeating the hand signs.

And it worked! The SMRT technician’s vote count revived itself as though Jessica had executed cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The figures sped ahead and allowed Adhha to step onto the second to last beep-light twenty counts ahead of Chong Jin. By then, everyone in Studio Two was cheering for Adhha. Chong Jin folded his arms and tried to look nonchalant but it was obvious to everyone that he was seething with rage. When the last beep-light turned red for Adhha and he stepped forward to receive Jessica’s kiss of acceptance, half the audience jumped to their feet and cheered themselves hoarse. The underdog had won!

“You did it! You broke the ratings record!” Andreae was waiting at Jessica’s place upon her return. They had arranged for a sleepover to celebrate.

“I am so exhausted!” Jessica flopped onto the bed after her shower. “And I am so glad the producer arranged the filming of my outing with Adhha on Friday. It will give me a couple of days to rest.”

“You go ahead and sleep,” Andreae urged. “I will go onto the Arm Wrestle for Love website to initiate a discussion so that I can insert the link to the ‘J Bruise’ website. I’m pretty sure our sales are going to hit the roof!”

Jessica grinned and buried her head under the pillow. It was reassuring to have a friend watch her back.