5
Clint, dressed in a high–end suit, was waiting backstage, about to go on stage to receive his award.
At that moment, Rachel’s phone rang.
She felt irritated and took it out to turn it off, but she accidentally saw a message pop up on
the screen.
“Rachel, call back immediately. Arland is in trouble.”
Rachel sneered.
Thinking of the message Arland had sent earlier, her dislike for him grew stronger.
She replied casually, “What new trick is he playing now?”
Clint was about to step on stage to receive his award.
She had no energy or attention to
deal with Arland.
If anything was going wrong now, it was likely just another attempt to ruin Clint’s moment.
Soon, her friend’s call came through
She impatiently hung up.
Clint nervously looked over at her. “Rachel, I’m a bit nervous.
Rachel took his hand. “Relax, I’ll always be here with you.
As the announcer called Clint’s name, Rachel smoothed out the non–existent wrinkles in his clothes, smiling as she watched him step onto the stage.
The spotlight fell on Clint.
At that moment, he was the center of attention.
Clint took a deep breath, smiling slightly, and stepped forward, walking toward the stage.
Her phone rang again.
Rachel answered it.
Her friend’s anxious voice came through. “Rachel, Arland is in trouble. Last night, the Koch family’s villa caught fire, and by the time they found it, it had already turned to ruins.”
“Arland was inside and never came out…”
“The police say the situation doesn’t look good…
A
Rachel couldn’t help but laugh coldly. “Don’t think I do know what he’s up to. Tell Arland
to give up on this idea.”
“I’m not
for it.“!
Before her friend could say more, Rachel hung up the phone.
To avoid further trouble, she simply turned her phone off.
Just as she put her phone away, Vivian’s phone rang as well.
It was the same friend calling again.
Vivian was about to answer when Rachel immediately pressed the hang–up button.
“It’s Arland causing trouble again. Don’t mind him. Clint’s award ceremony is more important.
Vivian frowned. “What does he want this time?”
“What else? Stirring up trouble, trying to get us to go back.
“He doesn’t want us to watch Clint receive his award. He just wants to make Clint sad.”
Vivian’s frown deepened, and she turned off her phone as well. “He’s really becoming unbearable.”
“Arland is too arrogant. We should teach him a lesson this time.”
Rachel sneered. “Exactly.”
The applause was deafening on stage, and Rachel and Vivian clapped along, their eyes never leaving Clint’s slender figure.
Clint, smiling sweetly, looked down at them.
“To receive this award, I want to thank two people.”
“My senior and my sister.”
“If it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t be here today.
“Thank you.”
Rachel and Vivian both wore the same gentle smile, their gazes fixed on Clint as though he was their entire world.
The award ceremony came to a perfect end.
To celebrate Clint’s victory, Rachel and Vivian went on vacation with him.
On the way to the vacation spot, Clint asked about the phone call during the ceremony.
“Did my brother call you? Before I went on stage. I vaguely heard his name.
“Don’t worry about him. He’s trying the same old trick again, trying to start a fire to get
attention.”
“Rachel,
don’t th
say Clint softly defended, “My brother just wants to get your attention. He doesn’t mean any harm.”
my fault. If you two weren’t here with me, my brother wouldn’t have come up with such
“How about we go back and check on him?”
“If he yells at me, I’ll just pretend I didn’t hear.”
Clint’s eyes were moist, looking like a gentle kitten who had been wronged.
Rachel lovingly stroked his face. “Clint, you’re just too kind, that’s why he keeps bullying you.
Vivian chimed in as well.
“Clint, don’t blame yourself. He’s the one being arrogant and bullying others.”
Just then, Vivian’s phone rang.
The caller claimed to be a police officer from New York, asking if she was Arland’s relative.
Before Vivian could answer, Rachel snorted. “A police officer? Arland’s gutsy enough to have someone impersonate the police.”
“My badge number is xxxxxx. We received a report early this morning. One of the villas in the southern district caught fire.”
“The surveillance shows that Mr. Arland returned to the villa, and he didn’t come out until the house was completely burned down.”
“Due to the severe damage, we only found some items, which are likely Mr. Arland’s.”
Rachel’s face grew even more sarcastic. “Playing dead? Tell Arland this trick won’t work. He’d better give up on that idea.”
Rachel grabbed Vivian’s phone and immediately added the number to the blacklist. Someone like Arland, who caused so much trouble, could never die so easily.
