Chapter 121 Stop Bothering Me
Everything happened too fast, defying all logic.
Cecilia's fingertip hovered above the screen as she stared at that instantly purified corner of the internet, lost in thought.
Did Stefan do this?
Without hesitation, she dialed his number.
"What's up, my chief designer?"
The call was answered almost immediately. Stefan's voice came through the receiver with a hint of amusement, his tone relaxed.
"Calling this late—are you celebrating our victory, or reporting new achievements?"
Cecilia got straight to the point. "The stuff online—was that you?"
Two seconds of silence on the other end.
"What?" Stefan sounded somewhat surprised. "What stuff? I just saw off some business partners and haven't had time to check online yet."
Before Cecilia could answer, he continued, almost to himself, "Though I can probably guess what happened."
"Isadora lost the competition, so naturally she'd use her favorite trick. Nothing more than the usual clichés—questioning your background, accusing you of plagiarism, claiming you got ahead through connections."
"Do you need me to handle the public opinion?"
His judgment was spot-on, and his reaction didn't seem fake.
Cecilia briefly explained the situation and hung up.
A chill ran through her heart.
It wasn't Stefan.
Then, looking across the entire city, who else had both the motive and the ability to calm the storm so quickly?
A name that made her heart suddenly clench surfaced in her mind.
Rufus.
The instant that thought emerged, an unfamiliar number suddenly lit up on her phone screen, flashing persistently.
Cecilia stared at the number quietly, as if watching a hand reaching out from the depths of hell.
She let it ring for over ten seconds until the ringtone became urgent, then slowly pressed the answer button.
She didn't make a sound.
"It's me."
That voice—carved into her bones yet despised to the core—came through the current. Even through the receiver, that familiar, suffocating sense of oppression hit her full force.
It was indeed Rufus.
Cecilia remained silent, just listening quietly.
The breathing on the other end was heavy, like a caged beast desperately suppressing its surging rage.
"Amelia." He pronounced the name syllable by syllable, each one bitten out with force. "Resign from Stefan tomorrow."
Cecilia never expected him to open with such words. She was stunned for a moment and nearly laughed out loud.
Her silence completely ignited Rufus's fury.
"I'm telling you to resign! Get out of Stefan's company right now! Can't you understand plain English?" His roar made Cecilia's eardrums ache.
"And then?" She finally spoke, her voice so calm it had no ripples, forming a stark contrast to his rage.
Rufus's breathing hitched, then his tone softened slightly. "The position of Chief Designer at the Chapman Group Design Department—I'm keeping it for you. Salary and benefits, the highest in the industry. Name your price."
Cecilia actually laughed out loud, the sound cold and heavily sarcastic.
"Mr. Chapman, is your memory not so good? Just a few hours ago at the exhibition, you wanted nothing more than to tear me apart with your own hands."
"What are you trying to do now? Can't win, so you want to buy me over?"
"I've seen your design." Rufus's tone shifted, carrying a strange sense of anticipation. "That clasp design—where did you learn it?"
Cecilia's heart jumped sharply, but her voice still betrayed no emotion.
"Is Mr. Chapman moonlighting as a judge now, studying the details of my design?"
"Answer me!" Rufus's patience instantly ran out.
"No comment." Cecilia coldly replied with those brief words.
The other end fell into dead silence, only Rufus's increasingly heavy breathing audible.
"Amelia, I'm not discussing this with you." He lowered his voice, each word laced with threatening coldness. "Don't forget—your father lying in that hospital, the medical bills—who's been paying them."
This was her deepest vulnerability.
And the last card Rufus thought he had to control her.
Cecilia abruptly closed her eyes. When she opened them again, that bottomless still pool had completely frozen into ice.
"Rufus, do you really think I'm still afraid of your threats?"
"An hour ago, you used your connections to suppress the dirt Isadora threw at me—not to help me, but because you couldn't stand that the substitute you'd chosen had surpassed the star by your side in talent. It made your supposedly impeccable judgment look like a joke."
"You're calling me now not because you appreciate my talent, but because you can't tolerate something that seems familiar to you slipping from your control and being taken by your rival."
"Your possessiveness, your control freak nature—same as always, disgusting."
"You—!" Rufus's voice was hoarse with rage.
"As for the medical bills," Cecilia interrupted him, her tone so cold it had no warmth, "thanks for the reminder, Mr. Chapman."
She hung up, giving Rufus no chance to say another word.
Then she opened her mobile banking app and precisely entered the bank account number Rufus had originally used to pay the medical fees.
She transferred the money back, with interest, not a cent off.
After completing this, Cecilia sent the successful transfer screenshot to Rufus's number, followed immediately by a message.
[Transaction complete. Don't bother me again.]
After sending it, she didn't hesitate to drag the number into her blacklist.
The world was finally quiet.
Cecilia tossed her phone aside, fell back onto the soft bed, and covered her eyes with her arm.
"Fractured" alone was far from enough.
She needed to become stronger, to stand higher, to possess the resources to counter Rufus.
Only then could she completely break free from that lunatic Rufus, protect Amelia's parents Robert and Mabel, and seek even a little justice for her past self.
Just as Cecilia's thoughts were churning, her phone vibrated again.
It was Stefan's assistant, Garth Tovar.
"Ms. Martinez, sorry to disturb you so late. Mr. Hensley has decided on short notice that he needs you to accompany him immediately to Shadow City to discuss an important partnership."
"The flight leaves in three hours. The car is already waiting downstairs for you."
Cecilia immediately sat up and agreed without hesitation.
"No problem."
She quickly packed a few changes of clothes, grabbed her simple suitcase, and went downstairs.
In the night, a black limited-edition car sat quietly in front of the apartment building, its body lines sleek, reflecting a low-key luster under the streetlights.
The car door opened. Stefan was sitting inside.
He had changed out of his evening wear into a well-tailored dark casual suit, with a laptop on his lap, K-line charts and data streams flashing rapidly across the screen.
"This urgent?" Cecilia got in and fastened her seatbelt.
"A very interesting project. It wouldn't make sense not to show up." Stefan didn't look up, his fingertips dancing across the keyboard, producing crisp tapping sounds.
The car started smoothly and merged into the sparse late-night traffic, speeding toward the airport.
Inside the car, it was so quiet that only the keyboard tapping and the streaming lights flashing past the windows could be heard.
After some time, Stefan suddenly closed his laptop.
He removed his gold-rimmed glasses and pressed his brow with his slender fingers, showing a hint of fatigue.
"To get you, my chief designer, to come along," he suddenly spoke, his voice carrying a trace of barely perceptible amusement, "I've stirred up quite a bit of trouble."
Cecilia looked at him, waiting for him to continue.
Stefan turned his head back.
Without his glasses, those eyes usually hidden behind lenses were fully revealed.
For the first time, Cecilia actively and carefully noticed his appearance.
Stefan had high brow bones and deep-set eyes, giving his gaze a naturally distant quality. Especially his straight nose bridge—like a mountain ridge—added a touch of hardness and aggression to that refined face.
But his lips were thin, though beautifully shaped. When not smiling, the corners of his mouth turned slightly downward, revealing a cool, restrained aura.
The neon lights outside the car window swept across his profile, light and shadow alternating on his sharply defined face, making him present a complex charm somewhere between refined elegance and cold danger.
Cecilia suddenly realized.
Stefan was a handsome man—the kind of handsome that came with intellectual superiority and powerful control.