Zachary, Nellie, and Rebecca all turned to look toward the roadside.
Beside a vintage car stood an elderly man leaning on a walking cane, dressed in a dark suit with intricate
embroidery. His gemstone thumb ring was particularly striking. His thin face was wrinkled, and only a few black
strands remained in his almost completely white hair. His gray-white eyebrows hovered over eyes that shone
with authority, so commanding that no one dared meet his gaze.
Zachary, Nellie, and Rebecca felt their hearts skip a beat at the stime. They thought, ‘Why is the old man
here?’
The person coming was Jaiden Lewis, the head of the four major families.
A young reporter at the scene was clueless and tactless, still trying to ask for more photos. A senior reporter
immediately snapped at him, telling him to be quiet. The young reportér felt aggrieved but did not dare to say
anything.
Zachary was the first to step forward and shake Jaiden’s hand, greeting him, “Mr. Lewis, what brings you here
today? This Art Festival is truly honored by your presence!”
Nellie, following Zachary, bowed slightly and greeted Jaiden politely, “Hello, Mr. Lewis.”
Rebecca, realizing she was a step behind, quickly followed the other two with a broad smile and greeted, “Mr.
Jaiden Lewis, I've wanted to visit you for a long time. Mr. Lionel Lewis toldthat you were resting at the old
manor, so | didn’t want to disturb you. | never expected to see you here today. How is your health?”
When Zachary noticed Rebecca's eagerness to ask about Jaiden’s health, he scoffed inwardly, ‘She’s too young
and impatient. Everyone knows about Jaiden’s health. In the past few years, he’s been in and out of the hospital
seven or eight times for various illnesses. Can he really be healthy? Isn't it just asking for trouble to ask that
now? How could I not realize how clueless Rebecca was before? I've overestimated her!
With a walking cane in his hand, Jaiden fiddled with the thumb ring, his eyes filled with depth. He looked at
Rebecca before saying, “This body of mine won't have many years left. | thought I'd make the most of my good
days by spending twith my unruly grandson.” Jaiden coughed several times as he spoke, and someone
beside him quickly handed him a handkerchief.
Zachary said with concern, “Mr. Lewis, it's windy outside. Let's go inside.” Jaiden’s eyes shone with approval at
those words. Rebecca felt frustrated, thinking, ‘Zachary got ahead ofagain. She still did not realize that it
was not just about being ahead. From the beginning, everything she said was always wrong, causing Jaiden’s
constant disapproval.
Lionel had originally planned for Ryan and Rebecca to get engaged, but Jaiden’s opposition ruined the plan and
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtended it before it even began.
After everyone went inside, the young reporter, Mason, was frustrated. He asked George, the senior reporter,
“Why didn’t you lettake more pictures?” Since Mason stood at a distance, he did not hear much of the
conversation, and he assumed Jaiden was just an ordinary old man.
George pulled him aside, lit a cigarette, and said, “Are you out of your mind? Do you know who he is? That's
Jaiden Lewis, the former head of the Lewis family in Seacrity. He was a big shot long before you were born!”
Mason, feeling arrogant after covering shot news, muttered, “So what? I'm just taking spictures.
What's he going to
do about it?”
George let out a puff of smoke and sighed. “You're still young and don’t know how Jaiden acted back then in
Seacrity. All four major families have shady backgrounds. If this were happened in the past, you would probably
be thrown into the sea to be fed to the fish,” he said.
George recalled sevents from his past. Back then, he had been in his twenties, just starting out in the media
industry. always thinking about how to catch explosive news and make a nfor himself. There had been a
twhen an informant had given him a tip about sbig news involving Jaiden. Just like Mason, his strong
desire for success had pushed him to follow the lead, even though he had known the risks of dealing with Jaiden.
He had finally uncovered sbig news, but it had not been about Jaiden. Instead, it had been about a rival
company related to him. The company’s factory had severely polluted wastewater, posing a significant
environmental threat. He had dedicated an entire page to reporting on the issue, so he had stood out among
many other reporters. Later, however, he had stumbled upon something that seemed wrong and had decided to
investigate further. Eventually, he had found out that the factory had not been at fault-it had all been a trap set
by Jaiden.
Just as he had been about to make the matter public, he had received a package. Inside the package had been
photos of his wife and son, 330 thousand dollars in cash, and a “thank you” note that Jaiden had signed. George
had been aware that he had already exposed himself, causing him immense pain and conflict inside. In the end,
however, he had suppressed his conscience and destroyed the evidence. Later, George had heard that the
company’s chairman had gone bankrupt overnight and lost his family. The chairman had been unable to cope
with the shock, so he had decided to end his life by jumping off a building.
That incident had beca lifelong nightmare for George, as his conscience had been constantly tormented by
guilt. He had realized that he had been used from the beginning. It had all been Jaiden’s plot.
When he looked at Mason, he was reminded of himself back then.
Apart from Arthur Chambers, the former head of the Chambers family, who had passed away from illness, the
other three who were still alive were all ruthless individuals. The tactics of those upper-class people were beyond
what ordinary folks could imagine.
Meanwhile, the auditorium seats were almost full, with only the two front rows of VIP seats remaining empty.
Students of Argrol University knew those seats were reserved for important figures invited to the Art Festival.
On the first day of the arts festival, after the opening ceremony performance, the piano competition immediately
followed. Argrol University valued efficiency, so the four competitions had no unnecessary segments. Each event
had a main judge.
The contestants took turns performing, and the judges scored them. The highest score determined the champion
of each event. Of course, anyone with an objection could voice it under the principles of fairness and
transparency. However, it had never happened in recent years, as the judges for each event were authorities in
their fields with absolute credibility.
The current Art Festival had just
announced the list of judges for the
four competitions on the public
notice board outside. They were the
young pianist 25) Holes whd
7
judged tHePiano competition;
Alexander Reed, Vice President of the
Seacrity Chess Association, who
judged the chess competition; Simon
Sunderland, President of Argrol
University, who judged the
calligraphy competition; and Vincent
Marsh, Vice President of the Seacrity
Painting Association, who judged the
oil painting competition. The content
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Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmchapter there!
The significance of those four individuals was undeniable, making the current Art Festival lineup the most
prestigious in recent years.
Meanwhile, Ruby stood at the
auditorium entrance in her white
dress, beaming UE eats:
"psp het bre: to greet the
ordinary students attending the event
but rather to greet important figures
like the Lewis family, Simon, and
Zion. The content is on
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chapter there!
The group was led by Jaiden, followed by Zachary, Nellie, and Rebecca, who were among the first to arrive. The
Smith family did not send anyone then, so Nellie represented them.
“Kuby composed herself and stepped forward. “”Hello, I'm Ruby Scott, the organizer of this Art Festival and
student council president from the finance department. Please follow me,” she said.”
The group, all prominent figures, nodded in response.
Ruby led the way, introducing herself
as they walked, and the group politely
complimented her efforts. She wes
secretly leased; tkiny they were
pfaising her excellent planning. Little
did she know, they were just being
polite. Those people had seen
everything. A hall and stage design
like that did not even catch their
attention. The content is on
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chapter there! x