Chapter 224 Let Them Go Home
The countdown on the big screen hit zero, and all the lights instantly converged on the ornate door at the left side of the stage.
Quinton was clearly in a state of extreme excitement. Although the earlier incident had been unpleasant, what came next was the real main event.
He cleared his throat, his voice carrying through the microphone to every corner: "Tonight's champion not only truly deserves this honor, but will also receive a unique privilege! According to the competition rules, the biggest investor of this competition will personally take the stage to fulfill that special wish sealed in the system for the champion!"
The audience below stirred restlessly, and the comments in the online live stream flew by even faster.
[Do we even need to guess? The investor must be Mr. Hensley!]
[Mr. Hensley's actions just now were so cool. Will he go on stage to announce that he and Ms. Martinez are together?]
[I can't wait anymore!]
[Just now Isadora tried to frame Amelia, but Mr. Hensley exposed Isadora's scheme on the spot. Mr. Hensley must really love Amelia!]
Cecilia stood at center stage, the trophy in her hands cold and heavy. She turned her head slightly, her gaze passing over that door and landing on the empty main seat in the guest section.
That had originally been Rufus's seat, but he'd been missing since the second half began.
"Let us give our warmest applause," Quinton took a deep breath, raising his arm high, "to welcome the biggest sponsor of this competition, and the one who gives designers unlimited support—the CEO of the Chapman Group, Mr. Rufus Chapman!"
The applause rang out twice before stopping abruptly.
The venue fell into a strange, dead silence, with only the background music that didn't know any better still rumbling awkwardly.
In the audience, everyone looked at each other in confusion.
Who? Rufus?
Wasn't it supposed to be Stefan?
The ornate door slowly opened. Rufus wore a charcoal gray custom-tailored suit that fit him perfectly, making his figure look tall and straight.
He wasn't wearing a tie, his collar slightly open, revealing the hard lines of his collarbone. His whole person radiated an unapproachable, cold aura, along with the absolute arrogance of someone in power.
The live stream comments froze for a moment, then a flood of comments appeared.
[How could it be Rufus?]
[The CEO of the Chapman Group? Isn't he still mourning his dead wife? How did he come to invest in a design competition?]
[Where's Mr. Hensley?]
[I'm confused too. What's the relationship between Rufus and Amelia? Why have we never heard about this before?]
Rufus paid no attention to the shocked, confused, and even disappointed looks around him. His eyes held only Cecilia standing under the spotlight.
He walked toward her, stopping in front of her, his eyes churning with a madness and possessiveness that only the two of them understood.
"Congratulations." Rufus spoke, his voice deep and magnetic, but without much warmth of congratulation. Instead, it carried a cold malice.
He reached out his hand, but not to shake hands. Instead, he very naturally tucked a strand of hair behind Cecilia's ear. This gesture was excessively intimate, carrying a sense of claiming ownership.
Cecilia didn't dodge. She just raised her chin slightly, her upturned eyes filled with undisguised mockery.
"Mr. Chapman really went all out." She lowered her voice, speaking at a volume only the two of them could hear. "To have a meal, you threw in several hundred million dollars?"
Rufus looked at the cold light in her eyes. Not only was he not angry, but he smiled instead.
"As long as it's what you want, never mind several hundred million dollars—even if you wanted the entire Harmony City, I'd buy it for you." He leaned close to her ear, whispering, "How about it? Is this surprise big enough? That position—Stefan can't fill it. Only I can."
In Rufus's view, Cecilia wanted dignity, wanted to establish her authority in front of the Hensley family. So he would give her the highest dignity, even pushing Stefan out, making her understand who was the man who could truly control everything.
Cecilia looked at Rufus's confident expression of "I've already seen through you," and the mockery in her eyes grew stronger.
"It really is big." She said softly, her tone carrying a strange lightness. "I hope Mr. Chapman can still smile this happily in a moment."
Rufus frowned, instinctively sensing something was wrong.
But before he could think it through, Quinton had already steeled himself and approached.
"What an unexpected entrance!" Quinton wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. "Mr. Chapman's support for the design industry is truly moving. So now, let's reveal Ms. Martinez's champion wish!"
Rufus quickly collected himself, adjusted his cuffs, and turned to face the big screen with a relaxed posture.
He'd even prepared what to say.
When the words "dinner with the investor" appeared on the screen, he would graciously announce to the entire venue that he'd already reserved the entire Skyline Tower for this dinner, and would fulfill all her requests.
He wanted the entire internet to know that she belonged to him.
"Please look at the big screen!"
The lights dimmed, and the huge LED screen flickered.
The text Rufus had imagined didn't appear.
Instead, close-ups of handwritten letters appeared.
The handwriting was neat—on one side was Cecilia's handwriting, on the other was Amelia's.
The entire venue erupted in shock.
Rufus's pupils contracted sharply, and the smile that had been on his lips instantly froze.
What was this?
Without giving anyone time to react, the video continued.
While displaying the letters one by one, there was also a voiceover—two female voices reading alternately. This was what Cecilia had recorded in advance in a recording studio, imitating the two people's different voices.
"Cecilia, if you could survive, where would you most want to go?"
"I want to go back to my hometown in Shadow City. There's a cherry tree that Grandpa and I planted there. Harmony City is too cold, I don't like it here."
"Then you must keep up with treatment! When you get better, we'll go back to Shadow City together to eat cherries!"
"What if... I don't get better?"
"Then I'll take you back. I won't let you stay here alone and lonely."
These letters were of course forged. In her past life, Cecilia didn't know Amelia.
But Cecilia wasn't afraid of anyone investigating, because every word and sentence was from Cecilia's tears and blood before her death in her previous life.
The background music of the video gradually became sorrowful and grand. The final frame froze on a black and white photo.
It was Cecilia's grandfather, Patrick, who had chosen suicide to avoid being a burden to Cecilia, smiling kindly and warmly.
A line of text slowly appeared on the screen—this was "Amelia's" champion wish.
[My wish is not for myself. It's for my dear friend, Cecilia, who unfortunately passed away.]
[Her last wish before death was to be buried in Shadow City after death, to be buried with Patrick, to return her soul to her homeland.]
[However, Mr. Rufus Chapman, for some kind of self-gratification, forcibly moved Patrick's ashes from Shadow City to the "Eternal Cecilia" cemetery in Harmony City, leaving the deceased unable to rest in peace, making their final wishes fall through.]
[I request that Mr. Rufus Chapman, as the biggest investor in this competition, return Patrick's ashes and let Cecilia's ashes... go home.]
The video ended.
As the last word fell, among the thousands of people at the scene, there was complete silence.