CHAPTER 263: CHAPTER 263: IT’S ME—DISAPPOINTED?

At night, Ethan Lynch arrived outside the facility.

Over the past few days, he had already figured out the layout of this place.

The night breeze blew gently as Ethan Lynch watched the brightly lit building of the facility from afar.

People were coming and going, and Ethan Lynch patiently waited.

He was waiting for an opportunity.

It had to be tonight.

...

There’s a time difference between Cygnus and Aeston.

At this moment, it was already daytime in Aeston.

Early in the morning, after Serena Sterling and Silas Hawthorne sent Seraphina to kindergarten, Serena Sterling was busy with the preparations for the concert.

This time, several songs required interactive stage layouts, so the rehearsal was very important.

In the past few days, Jasper Ford personally supervised these things.

This was the first confirmed public schedule for Serena Sterling in these past days that everyone knew about.

Just as Serena Sterling stopped at the entrance of the venue, countless reporters swarmed around.

Chloe immediately helped to block the crowd, but she couldn’t stop people from coming too quickly.

Chloe immediately started shouting for security personnel to come over.

In that gap, numerous reporters had already surrounded Serena Sterling, leaving no way out.

"Serena Sterling, what have you, Julian Lawson, Silas Hawthorne, and Jasper Ford been doing this past week? Why has there been no news?"

"Serena Sterling, are you aware of Vera Hansen restarting the luxury villa series? What do you think about it?"

"Serena Sterling, how is the matter regarding Vera Hansen infringing on your work’s naming rights progressing? Please give us an answer!"

...

All the questions accumulated over the past week were now thrown at Serena Sterling by these reporters.

Some people around were taking photos, and others were livestreaming.

They insisted that Serena Sterling answer questions.

Moreover, they also noticed that Serena Sterling was dressed strangely, covered very tightly despite the hot weather.

They even asked about that.

Serena Sterling felt exhausted.

She hadn’t been sleeping well lately, feeling mentally drained.

So, she hurriedly left under the protection of the security personnel Chloe had called, who were always ready.

Leaving behind a bunch of anxious reporters, and among them, Vera Hansen’s people mixed in.

Originally, they had prepared well.

As long as Serena Sterling responded, no matter what she said, they planned to steer the topic towards Vera Hansen.

Negative attention is still attention.

This was Vera Hansen’s plan at the current stage.

But Serena Sterling simply ignored them.

The person facing them was Chloe.

Chloe had been trained over these days and was very skilled in dealing with such situations.

Polite, but played dumb.

When asked more, Chloe said she was just an assistant and knew nothing.

Not far away, in another parked car, Vera Hansen watched all this with a twisted expression.

The plan fell through, and she slammed the car door in anger.

Sitting next to Vera was a caregiver, who, seeing Vera growing increasingly irritable, lowered her head, not knowing what she was thinking.

"Miss Vera Hansen, you haven’t been in a good mood lately," the caregiver suddenly said.

Vera gave her a sharp look.

"What do you mean by that!" Vera demanded.

"Nothing, I just thought you’ve been different since you came back," the caregiver said, pressing something hidden in her coat pocket.

Vera rubbed her temples.

She was just tired of pretending.

Before, she hadn’t planned to take the path of controversial attention, so she had to pretend more.

But now...

Besides, she was in her own territory here, and everyone in the car was on the same side, so what was there to fear?

"Don’t ask questions you shouldn’t!" Vera said coldly.

The caregiver lowered her head; she didn’t dare to look at Vera.

She increasingly felt that staying by Vera’s side was not a wise choice.

Especially after Vera was exposed by Serena Sterling last time, she had become more and more irritable.

Often venting her frustration on her.

After staying in the sanatorium for a while, her temper had worsened.

Especially last time, when Vera was on the phone, she overheard some snippets while passing by.

So, she needed to find a way out for herself.

To completely distance herself, she needed evidence, a bargaining chip.

Meanwhile, while the caregiver was racking her brains on how to do this, Serena Sterling had already arrived inside the venue.

Today’s work began.

She matched everything with all the staff one by one.

Then came the rehearsal.

She walked through each point, ensuring everything was in accordance with the process.

She sang into the microphone.

Her voice had been hoarse from shouting, but after a few days of rest, it was now fine.

The sound echoed through the venue, and everything went very smoothly.

Time passed slowly.

Until it finally ended.

The staff present all applauded.

"Miss Serena, the stage effects are great. If the concert goes as smoothly as today, it will surely be well-received!"

A staff member said from the side.

Serena smiled and nodded, thanking them for their hard work.

Then she went to change clothes.

Sweat had made her feel sticky.

Chloe stayed by Serena Sterling’s side, accompanying her to the dressing room.

"I’ve sent the reporters away," Chloe told Serena Sterling, "You can safely go back after changing clothes."

Serena nodded.

"By the way, Mr. Silas is on his way; he’s already inside the venue now. He said he wants to have dinner together tonight." Chloe continued.

Serena acknowledged, then patted Chloe on the shoulder, "Thank you for your hard work today."

"Not at all, not at all."

At this, Chloe even chuckled.

Silas had secretly given her a big red envelope, asking her to take care of Serena Sterling.

Her bag was still bulging at the seams.

"Hurry and change your clothes!" Chloe said, pushing Serena Sterling into the dressing room.

Serena smiled helplessly, taking her clothes inside.

Outside the dressing room, Chloe hummed a tune happily.

Serena quickly changed her clothes, checking her neck in the side mirror, which had scabs, some already fallen off, revealing new skin.

She was a bit worried, wondering if makeup could cover it later.

As she thought—

"Knock, knock, knock." Someone knocked on the door.

Serena wrapped a scarf around her neck.

She grabbed the clothes she had changed out of and opened the dressing room door.

But there was no one at the door.

Serena was puzzled, then she saw a figure around the corner.

Remembering what Chloe had told her about Silas earlier.

So, she smiled, folding clothes as she walked out, saying, "Silas, you’re here..."

But what appeared before her was not Silas Hawthorne, but Julian Lawson.

Serena’s body tensed up instantly.

Her body uncontrollably trembled slightly, and without a word, she turned to leave.

But Julian Lawson blocked her way.

Earlier, when she came out and naturally called Silas’s name, it made him jealous.

"Why that expression?" Overwhelmed by emotion, Julian Lawson clenched his fists, "Disappointed to see me?"