CHAPTER 282: CHAPTER 282: THE CONCERT ENDS, HOLDING HER IN MY ARMS

The crowd cheered and screamed once more.

The blue butterflies were still flitting about, and blue lights appeared beside countless seats.

"What is this!"

Someone noticed.

The crowd looked around and then picked them up.

They were blue butterflies, made into clapping wristbands, a little souvenir.

Someone immediately put it on their wrist.

It was like those butterflies that burst from the flames had flown to their sides, landing on their wrists.

"Wow, it’s like magic!"

The crowd marveled, raising their hands to show the blue butterflies on their wrists, the cheers growing louder, some even shouting themselves hoarse, and echoing endlessly.

They didn’t want the concert to stop.

They wanted to continue feeling moved by it.

But, as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end.

Serena’s eyes were red-rimmed, and the giant butterfly in the sky was still flapping its wings. Serena softly said, "Even though I’ve said it many times, I still want to say, I’m very moved, thank you all."

She bowed again.

The blue butterflies had disappeared, and Serena stood up straight amid the cheers.

After saying a few more words, Serena announced the end of the concert.

The pleas to extend the event echoed throughout.

Many were wiping tears.

Yet, the concert still came to an end.

Security personnel came to orderly guide the fans out, ensuring everyone’s safety.

Both inside and outside the venue.

Serena headed backstage.

"Serena!"

He called out to her.

But his voice was drowned out by the noise of the entire venue, and no one heard.

Nor did she turn around.

Julian could only watch her slender back as she left.

Two hours of continuous singing and the intense stage had made her stumble. He instinctively reached out to steady her, but the distance between them was too great, and so many people were in between. His outstretched hand hovered powerlessly, unable to reach her.

In the end, Serena was supported by Chloe, who had rushed over, and the two headed backstage together.

The three photos surfaced before his eyes once more.

Her, covered in blood.

Her, eyes unfocused.

Her, critically ill.

...

Julian gripped the handle of the suitcase tightly, his knuckles bulging.

Others in the VIP seats were leaving.

Silas and Xander couldn’t be bothered with Julian and hurried backstage to check on Serena.

Leaving only the Lynch siblings standing there.

They glanced at the suitcase in Julian’s hand.

Ethan was the first to speak, "Still haven’t cracked it?"

Julian clenched his jaw.

Bianca, seeing Julian like this, understood and snorted mockingly, "Bro, I told you earlier, you gave him a hint, and I gave him a hint, yet so many hours have passed without him solving it. He simply has no heart!"

Ethan shrugged, "You just realized today?"

Bianca shrugged her shoulders with a sarcastic tone, "True, I should have known long ago, someone’s heart was eaten by a dog."

The two took turns, full of sarcasm.

As Julian seemed to be swelling with anger, they mentioned going backstage to check on Serena.

"Serena’s health isn’t good. Lately, she’s lost a lot of weight due to a certain jerk, and it’s uncertain if her body can handle this concert," Bianca worried.

Ethan nodded in concern.

The two were about to leave, but Julian moved his wheelchair to block their path.

His eyes were red, looking at them.

"She recently..." he began but the words wouldn’t come out.

"She’s not well," Bianca finished his sentence directly.

"It’s not the first day you know about Serena’s poor health," Bianca stated bluntly, "And it’s all because of you, Julian, it’s all your doing!"

Julian hung his head, saying nothing.

"Move aside!" Ethan commanded, "We need to go backstage to check on her."

But Julian still did not move.

"What exactly do you want?" Bianca asked impatiently.

"The password," Julian said softly.

Bianca laughed.

"You have the nerve to ask us?" Bianca mocked viciously, "Figure it out yourself!"

Seeing Julian not budging, Ethan turned back with Bianca to take an alternate route farther away.

As they reached one end, Bianca seemed to think of something and turned back.

"Right, don’t forget to urge Vera, have her keep an eye on the time. The concert is over, and Serena’s given her time is up. Let’s see if she chooses to confess and apologize."

After saying this, Bianca followed Ethan backstage.

Leaving Julian in place.

People in the venue were orderly exiting, an assistant stood behind Julian, waiting for his orders.

And he held onto the suitcase, unwilling to leave for a long time.

He tried a few more times.

"Beep, incorrect password!"

The repeated alerts made him feel like he was going to explode.

...

Backstage.

Serena sat down with Chloe’s help.

She was drenched in sweat.

Chloe immediately brought over warm water and energy drinks for her.

Serena gulped it down for a while, finally calming herself.

She hadn’t felt it much while on stage, but now that she was off, she felt tired.

Actually, she had trained to boost her stamina for the concert, but then the incident at the apartment happened...

But fortunately, facing Julian now, she no longer had a knee-jerk reaction.

Consider it an achievement of sorts.

"The online response is superb!" Chloe said while wiping her sweat.

Jasper also rushed over, beaming, "Just some clips we released have already sparked massive discussions, and that drone butterfly is going viral!"

"More will be released once these fans leave!"

Jasper showed pride and relief.

"Serena, you were truly amazing!" Jasper said loudly, his eyes moist.

He had been very worried before.

Not about the concert, he had seen many of these as a boss of an entertainment company.

There were plenty of botched concerts and celebrity scandals in the industry.

What worried him was Serena’s physical and mental condition.

Her illness was evident to everyone.

Serena was still sweating, even with the air conditioning in the backstage, it didn’t stop. Her body was exhausted, yet her spirit was high.

She understood Jasper’s concerns, so she pat his arm to reassure him.

"I’m fine," she said, "really fine."

Her knee-jerk reaction upon seeing Julian had improved, and in the future, she would heal little by little.

Jasper nodded.

Silas and Xander arrived in quick succession, earlier Silas prevented the incident from being spread, so he only told Xander that Serena was injured.

It wasn’t until Ethan and Bianca mentioned it that he learned the truth.

He was so angry, he felt murderous.

Serena looked at the others present, the Lynch siblings, and then June, Orion, Justin, Quinn... and so on.

They were all here, to watch her concert.

Her heart felt warm.

Finally, Serena looked at Silas who had been standing to the side the whole time.

She smiled at him.

He walked over and embraced her in his arms.