CHAPTER 269: CHAPTER 269: CONCERT, GATHERING OF BIG SHOTS

Aeston.

The sky was already bright.

Serena Sterling opened her eyes and saw Silas Hawthorne lying beside her.

He woke up before her, and when he noticed her stirring, he smiled.

"You’re awake," he said.

Serena nodded.

She thought of the incident last night where things almost got out of hand and turned away, a bit embarrassed.

Silas knew what she was thinking. He didn’t say anything, just pulled her into his arms.

His arm wrapped around her waist, holding her completely in his embrace.

He gently inhaled the scent of her shampoo from her hair. If she weren’t sick, he would have thought these days were quite blissful.

Serena just looked at the scenery outside the window, lost in thought.

Time drifted by quietly.

The past few days were very peaceful.

The bruises on Serena’s body, thanks to timely medication and care, quickly scabbed and peeled off, revealing newly grown skin.

Shayla Randall continued treating Serena as usual. She had mentioned MECT therapy, but Serena said the concert was a few days away, and even if she were to proceed, it would have to be after the concert.

So these days it was still injections and medication.

Perhaps because of the drugs, Serena felt numb these days.

She didn’t know what she was doing.

This was the first time in her life she felt such confusion, as if an entire day mysteriously passed by, and upon reflection, she remembered nothing.

Three days after the rehearsal, Serena stared at the scenery outside the window at night, listening as Jasper Ford droned on confirming the various details for tomorrow’s concert during a video call.

On the other side, Silas was still handling matters.

He seemed to be very busy lately.

As if sensing something, Silas looked up in Serena’s direction.

He put down his work, walked over to her, knelt, and met her gaze.

"Once the concert is over tomorrow, everything will end," he said.

Serena looked at his handsome face and nodded.

It was like planting an anchor in her heart.

To help her persevere.

He looked at her, stroked her face, and said softly, "You’re still too thin. You need to eat more later."

It had been hard enough just to gain a little weight.

Serena suddenly thought of the chubby ragdoll cat and fat koi at home and smiled.

Time quietly flowed by, soon Serena checked her phone and saw it was almost midnight. Tomorrow night, the concert would start.

"Let’s sleep." Silas walked over, turned on the small night light, and turned off the main light.

"Okay," Serena answered.

Meanwhile, in Cygnus, Ethan Lynch was sitting in the airport waiting area, waiting to board his flight.

He had wanted to return to his country a few days ago but was questioned due to suspicions and restricted from leaving the country.

It wasn’t until today someone managed to get him out.

It was the people from Hawthorne Group who spent some time getting him out.

Now he was waiting to board the plane.

He held a briefcase with important documents in his hand.

Looking at the briefcase, he felt nervous inside.

"Ethan, didn’t expect things to blow up like this." The foreign friend beside him, who came to see him off and was also flying to another place, said helplessly, "I wanted you to stay a few more days."

Ethan responded calmly, smiling, "It’s fine, next time I’ll come over when I have the time, or you could come to Aeston. I should be there."

"Alright, it’s a deal then. I want to eat spicy crayfish!" the foreign friend said with a smile.

Ethan smiled and nodded.

The boarding announcement was already calling, and Ethan waved goodbye to the foreign friend as he boarded the plane with the others.

Seated, the plane started moving, soaring into the sky, and only then did Ethan feel slightly at ease.

In over ten hours, the plane would land in Aeston.

He would bring these documents and reveal the entire truth!

...

Aeston, the next day arrived quickly.

Early in the morning, Serena went to Ford Entertainment.

Everyone gathered and headed to the venue.

Meanwhile, Vera Hansen made another move.

She announced that today, the first live broadcast of her luxury villa floral series after its restart would kick off.

This provoked numerous netizens’ resentment.

"Serena is holding her concert, and you’re just broadcasting, aren’t you? Just trying to hitch?"

"So disgusting, didn’t you say you’d pause the luxury villa floral series to apologize to Serena? Now why is it restarting?"

"Honestly, not even pretending anymore!"

"Who in the world watches her live or tips her? Are there really people placing ads or tipping her? How curious."

...

Curious or not, there were indeed people who scheduled Vera Hansen’s live broadcast.

The audience was quite diverse.

Some were her die-hard fans.

Some were people who disliked Serena.

Others came to watch the spectacle or from marketing accounts and the like.

Vera used Julian Lawson’s personal resources again.

Julian currently left her on her own; he didn’t interfere with what she did.

In truth, Julian couldn’t manage anymore.

He had been lying in his apartment for three days.

In his mind, scenes from the past few days replayed along with the words Shayla Randall said to him.

These days, various people had visited him: the elderly Lawson couple, Ian Yates, Isla Lawson...

The person who saw him the most was Jude Chaucer, essential for stabilizing the company and handling certain matters.

The Lawson Corporation remained steady, not appearing much different than usual. In fact, due to a new product launch, they garnered praise and saw a rise in stock price.

Yet, Julian didn’t think about these things. He just lay there, looking at the traces of Serena’s struggle on the large bed from that day.

The bed seemed to still carry her scent from that day. He folded the blankets and set them aside, reluctant to get up.

It wasn’t until the day of the concert that he got up, cleaned himself up, and stood before the mirror to shave.

Over the past few days, he had thinned out a bit.

Julian again thought of the painfully thin Serena.

He felt sorrow.

Time reached 6:00 PM like this.

The concert was to begin at 7:00 PM.

At this moment, the outside of the venue was lively.

Countless concertgoers happily chattered, holding promotional materials that they could receive for free.

There were two types: free gifts and paid merchandise.

A street was cordoned off outside the venue to facilitate purchases.

Most of the merchandise was masks and records from Serena’s time on "Heavenly Sound," and more.

The concertgoers loved them.

Most of those who liked Serena had followed her since "Heavenly Sound."

Now they were all discussing these issues.

Just then, several cars parked nearby, catching the crowd’s attention.

Traffic control was enforced nearby, so only those with certain status could drive in.

Out of the Bentley came three members of the Hawthorne Family.

The Rolls Royce stopped, looking flashy, and Xander Linton stepped out. On seeing Silas Hawthorne, he nodded.

Then, from a car came a wheelchair first, and Julian Lawson’s face appeared before the crowd.