CHAPTER 148: CHAPTER 146: THE BLACKENED MAN

"Who did this?!"

The party had descended into chaos, with what were once elegantly dressed men and women now covered in thick, foul-smelling black ink!

The worst victim was Shawn Lyle! His face was covered with filthy, stinking stuff.

―――Just a few minutes earlier, outside the villa wall.

Luna lay on top of the car, observing the situation with binoculars.

When she saw the woman next to Shawn Lyle, she thought the woman looked familiar. Upon frowning and thinking for a moment, she remembered it was Emily Lyle.

Emily, who had pitifully claimed yesterday she wouldn’t disturb the Lyle family, was now at their house today!

Thinking it over, she decided to get out her phone and dialed Elliana Lyle’s number.

"The number you have dialed is switched off, please try again later..."

Hearing the automated message in the receiver, Luna frowned, wondering why the phone was off at this time?

Could it be she hasn’t gotten up yet? But it’s already midday, could something have happened?

To be safe, she called the Bennett Family villa.

"Hello, this is Mr. Bennett’s residence."

Upon hearing the voice, she immediately recognized it was Lana’s, so she asked, "Lana, where’s your young mistress? Hasn’t she gotten up yet? Go and check on her upstairs."

"Hello, Miss Luna, our young mistress went out with the young master early this morning."

Hearing this news, Luna was somewhat relieved. After hanging up, she picked up her binoculars again, only to find Emily Lyle had already disappeared.

After waiting two or three minutes more, Emily still did not return.

And she didn’t have the leisure to wait any longer.

She took out a modified toy launcher from the black bag, loaded it with two black water balloons that would burst upon impact, and set up her position on the car roof, aiming the launcher directly at Shawn Lyle’s face.

"Mr. Lyle, your wisdom is unparalleled, truly a veteran in the business world."

Enjoying the compliments from others, Shawn Lyle was very pleased,

"Not at all." Hardly had he spoken when a black shadow came flying at him!

He was momentarily stunned, and then his smile vanished, replaced by an expression of terror!

Before he could dodge, the black balloon smashed directly onto his right cheek!

Though it didn’t hurt, he lost his balance and fell to the ground, his surroundings veiled in darkness, the thick, viscous substance temporarily blinding him.

To make matters worse, the stench almost made him vomit!

The people around him weren’t spared either, getting splattered to varying degrees. Following this, glasses and tables were destroyed!

"Second brother! Second brother, are you okay?" Apart from Florence Lyle running over to support Shawn Lyle, everyone else was busy dodging!

"Who did this?!" Shawn Lyle wiped at his eyes with his sleeve, glaring angrily at the scene!

Luna, with her binoculars, quickly assessed the situation and decided to wrap up. She gathered her things and hurriedly climbed off the car roof.

Within half a minute, the car had driven off, so even if Shawn Lyle’s people wanted to find her, she was long gone.

Inside the house.

"Dad! Are you okay?" Emily Lyle nearly didn’t recognize Shawn Lyle with his face smeared in black.

His features were obscured by the black, so it was impossible to tell what expression he wore; his hands and neck were also filthy!

Seeing his daughter’s concern, Shawn Lyle was somewhat comforted, yet the guests had either left or dispersed while his face had been completely disgraced!

"I’ll go wash up, you stay inside, don’t go out."

Emily wanted to reach out to help, but the stench made her nauseous, so she said, "Alright, you go ahead, Dad."

Meanwhile, Florence Lyle, who had helped Shawn, was also taken by maids to change and wash.

"Oh dear! How did things get to this point? If mom were here, she’d be furious." A woman in a vibrant yellow dress chattered as she walked in.

Emily didn’t know this woman. At this moment, many people were gathered in the room, but she only knew Ada Lee.

So she approached Ada and whispered, "Cousin, could you introduce me? I’m not familiar with everyone."

Grinning, Ada Lee didn’t refuse Emily’s request.

"Aunt, don’t be upset." Ada Lee walked up and said.

Simultaneously, Emily quickly moved forward, revealing a well-behaved smile: "Aunt."

This title of "aunt" quieted everyone present.

Belle King, who had been complaining, soon scrutinized the smiling girl before her with disdain.

"A bastard child daring to return, I say, it’s you who brought this disaster!"

Emily’s smile froze, her face turning red with embarrassment and anger.

"Aunt, Emily just lived abroad and didn’t return, how can you call her a bastard child?" Ada Lee seemingly tried to explain, subtly intensifying Belle King’s ire.

Sure enough, Belle King scoffed, "I say, Ada, how can you be so dim? I’ve weathered big storms - when did Minglan have a second daughter?"

"This..." Ada Lee’s expression immediately became awkward, quickly adding, "Aunt, it’s not impossible, Grandma always wanted Aunty to have a brother, maybe she was pregnant with a girl and couldn’t bear to abort her, afraid of displeasing Grandma, so sent her abroad to be raised."

While the women bickered, the men were too disdainful to interfere, but at this moment, Uncle Victor Lyle intervened: "This clearly looks like a decent kid, what bastard child? Isn’t that a horrible term? Could my brother bring back such a disgrace as an illegitimate child?"

Emily gritted her teeth tightly. Though both Ada and her uncle spoke on her behalf, she couldn’t feel happy, for she really was an illegitimate child.

This humiliation fueled her desire to become Shawn Lyle’s publicly recognized daughter; she wanted to solidify this identity!

"Fine, fine, consider it my slip of the tongue in anger." Belle King said, then to Emily, "In a moment of urgency, Aunt misspoke; as the younger generation, you should be more magnanimous."

Belle King’s contradictory behavior, both scolding and appeasing, made Emily’s hands tremble with anger, but she knew she couldn’t show her anger!

Since it was a fact, there was nothing to be mad about. She finally forced a smile, humbly saying, "Aunt is right."

Perhaps Emily’s reaction satisfied Belle King, who also smiled: "That’s right, we’re all family."

Overall, Emily’s demeanor was much better than Elliana Lyle’s, which pleased Belle King.

...

Before long, Belle King’s family of three left, leaving only Ada Lee and Emily Lyle.

"Aunt is straightforward, don’t take it to heart; once you’re familiar, it’ll be fine. When I first met Aunt, it was even..." Ada Lee sighed helplessly, swallowing the rest of her words.

Hearing Ada’s words, a trace of a smile reluctantly appeared on Emily’s face.

Bam―――!

The sound of a door slamming upstairs was followed by the crash of breaking glass!

"Dad! What’s..."

The words stuck in her throat, the person before her in a bathrobe, with a face marred by black stains, some dark and some light, irresistibly amusing.

No need to guess why Shawn Lyle was so furious, the dye must be unremovable.

Forcing Shawn Lyle to meet people with such a blackened face was simply impossible.

"Find them! Find the damn troublemaker for me!" Shawn Lyle’s face turned even darker with rage!