Chapter 929: Chapter 929: The Shaless Man Approaching Thirty
Upon entering the villa, Mary Scott imdiately went to boil hot water for her younger brother. When she ca out, she saw David Locke being pushed in by Martin.
The man’s handso face was dark and sullen. Mary Scott was puzzled. Who had ticked this guy off again?
David Locke happened to catch Mary Scott’s expression—she looked like she was thinking, “This guy sure has a lot going on.” Instantly, he stiffened, and it seed like he was about to explode in anger. However, he held back for the sake of appearances and asked, “When you ca in, didn’t you feel like you forgot sothing?”
Mary Scott tilted her head, puzzled. What had she forgotten? After thinking seriously for a mont, she answered candidly, “Nope.”
David Locke took a deep breath, only to lock eyes with Alfred Scott’s gleeful and schadenfreude-filled expression. His smile didn’t reach his eyes as he asked, “It’s not great to spend Lunar New Year alone over there, Alfred. Why don’t you both stay here?”
David Locke fully expected that, after their last dispute, Alfred Scott would certainly not stay. He himself had no intention of letting Alfred stay either—this was just a polite gesture.
He was confident that Alfred, known for being thin-skinned, would definitely refuse.
But in the very next mont, David Locke heard Alfred Scott politely thank him, “Then I’ll trouble you, Director Locke.”
He didn’t even bother calling him brother-in-law anymore.
David Locke’s follow-up words got stuck in his throat. He suddenly felt furious, but since he had been the one to extend the invitation and Alfred had rely followed through, if he reneged now, who knew how furious Mary Scott would be with him? He could only grit his teeth and reply, “It’s no trouble.”
Those three words were spoken with such gritted intensity that Mary Scott could almost taste the bitterness in them. She glanced at David Locke, puzzled. Did this man not want her brother staying here? Granted, she also felt that it wasn’t ideal for both her and Alfred to stay with David Locke, but with Lunar New Year coming up, how could she leave Alfred alone in a rented apartnt and feel at peace taking care of David Locke here?
“How about Alfred and I…”
“It’s settled, then.” Mary Scott had barely begun to propose a compromise, deciding to return ho on New Year’s Eve, when David Locke cut her off. She could only anxiously glance at her younger brother.
Alfred Scott gave his sister an assuring look, then turned to David Locke and said, “You better behave. I’ll be keeping an eye on you to make sure you don’t bully my sister again.”
David Locke: “…” And now he regretted it. What was he supposed to do?
But it didn’t matter how much David regretted it; the decision was already made.
With the New Year fast approaching and David Locke unable to make preparations due to his leg injury, these responsibilities naturally fell to Mary Scott and Alfred Scott. The siblings made themselves comfortable on the sofa and started planning things out.
David Locke finally couldn’t hold back anymore. “This is my house. Shouldn’t you at least consider my opinion?”
Mary Scott and Alfred Scott both turned to look at David Locke and then simply turned their heads back, continuing their discussion.
David Locke: “…”
What could he do? Pick a fight?
Fortunately, Mary Scott had so semblance of conscience. After their discussion, she finally turned to David Locke and asked, “Do you have any food restrictions?”
“You don’t already know what I can’t eat?” David Locke’s tone was annoyed and snappy.
Alfred Scott was unimpressed. “See, sis? I told you there was no need to ask him.”
Mary Scott nodded in agreent. “Alright, let’s keep planning.”
David Locke spent the entire afternoon stewing in frustration. In the end, he only managed to calm down after retreating to his study to take a work call.
The siblings watched the grumpy man roll away and exchanged mischievous grins. But no sooner had Alfred finished chuckling than he turned serious. “Sis, did you and Mia really run into him with the car?”
Mary Scott nodded awkwardly. “Why would I lie to you about sothing like that?”
As she spoke, she rembered the night she thought she had hit David Locke to death. The mory alone was still enough to send chills down her spine.
Seeing his sister like this, Alfred couldn’t help but ask, “You two… you didn’t do it on purpose, did you?”
“Cough, cough, cough…” Mary Scott choked on the water she had just taken a sip of. Coughing violently, she glared at Alfred. “What nonsense are you talking about? How could we have done it on purpose? It was… it was an accident. Just an accident!”
But the way she hastily dismissed the idea only made Alfred increasingly suspicious that the car accident might have been intentional. Still, she was his sister. Alfred decided not to push the issue further, but he couldn’t help feeling a hint of sympathy for David Locke.
At least it was just a shattered bone. If it had co to amputation, his life would’ve been ruined. Moral of the story: never ss with won!
Alfred Scott nodded to himself with great satisfaction, feeling quite enlightened by this new revelation.
Mary Scott watched her brother’s face and felt like sothing was off. “You don’t believe , do you?”
“Haha, of course I believe you!” Alfred quickly replied.
Mary Scott stared at her brother a mont longer before finally feeling reassured. She then urged Alfred to take a shower and not catch a cold.
Once Alfred left, Mary Scott was left alone in the living room. Sitting in the villa she had temporarily left, only to return so soon, she found herself overwheld with mixed emotions. She wasn’t sure if she and David Locke shared a fateful connection, or if they were caught in so inescapable karmic entanglent that bound them tightly together.
Sighing, Mary Scott turned on her phone to check the latest developnts online. The first thing she noticed, though, was a notification for a paynt received—an alert for a deposit of one million yuan.
Mary Scott stared at it in a daze before rembering that it was the endorsent fee from Raspberry Snacks. Surprised, she imdiately called Simon Baker.
On the other end, Simon chuckled. “It’s almost New Year’s, so Raspberry had their finance team settle your endorsent fee early. Pretty considerate, huh?”
Mary Scott grinned so wide her eyes nearly disappeared. “Considerate? They’re practically the best! I need to give Raspberry Snacks a huge shoutout!”
Simon chuckled. “Well, make sure you go all out with that shoutout because I’ve got even more good news for you.”
“Even more good news?” Mary Scott was intrigued. Could there be another endorsent deal?
But Simon suddenly played coy. “You’ll find out after New Year’s when you join the show. Why so impatient?”
Mary Scott couldn’t help but laugh lightly. Since he said that, she didn’t press him further but instead voiced concern about the show. “Director Baker, I really want to thank you for clarifying things on the show’s end. Without your team’s statent, I can’t imagine how bad the sar campaign against would’ve gotten. But are you sure it’s okay? I heard Duke Blue is Royal Entertainnt’s golden boy. Won’t they retaliate against you or the show for how hard you hit back?”
“Don’t worry about that. Our show’s backers are as solid as a rock. You do you; we’ve got your back,” Simon joked with a laugh. Deep down, however, he felt a tinge of curiosity about Mary. With such a powerful benefactor behind her, why had she spent the last few years being relentlessly targeted?
Of course, every celebrity has their secrets. Having been in the industry for years—albeit not very successfully—Simon knew better than to ask questions he shouldn’t.
Mary Scott found his comnt amusing. If “Detectives and Wilderness”‘s backers were truly that influential, they wouldn’t have invested in such a mid-tier variety show, right? Still, since Simon was being so reassuring, she didn’t want to dampen his enthusiasm. She thanked him again before ending the call.
After hanging up, Mary Scott promptly transferred nearly half the endorsent fee to Mia Anderson. Sure enough, her phone rang shortly after—it was Mia.
The mont she picked up, Mia’s excited screaming ca through, “Ahhhhhh! Mary, you’re the best! I love you! You’re my goddess, my savior, my everything!”
Mary Scott teased, “Calling daddy now? Your real dad would be heartbroken to hear that.”
“No he wouldn’t, trust ,” Mia said with a sheepish laugh. After babbling on for a bit, she got serious. “Mary, did you hear? Duke Blue’s top fan unfollowed him and even called him out. It’s causing such a ss, even the buzz around the Spring Festival Gala can’t overshadow it!”
The glee in Mia’s voice was evident in her final sentence.
Mary Scott wasn’t too surprised. “His personality issues catching up with him—it’s only natural that fans would do this.”
But after saying that, Mary couldn’t shake the feeling that sothing didn’t add up. Duke Blue wasn’t a newcor; he should’ve known how to handle situations like this. How did it escalate to this level?
Mia must’ve picked up on Mary’s confusion because she eagerly filled in the blanks. “Normally, even a big fan leaving wouldn’t cause this much drama. But do you know who that fan is?”
Mary frowned. “How would I know his fans?” But then, a thought flashed through her mind. She might actually know. Otherwise, Mia wouldn’t have asked. A possibility dawned on her. “Could it be… RivetBag?”
“Bingo! It’s RivetBag!” Mia sounded ready to crown Mary the reigning genius.
Mary was more baffled than ever. Based on what had happened at the airport, RivetBag seed like one of Duke’s most diehard fans—so much so that she physically lashed out to “protect” him. Why would she suddenly turn against him like this?
It’s like Mia could read her mind. “You know he sued her, right? At first, she honestly thought Duke would help her. She even managed to get his number through so mutual contacts with fan club officials. But when she called, guess what happened? His assistant flat-out dismissed her, saying Duke had nothing to do with her legal troubles. At first, she thought it was just his assistant being difficult, so she kept trying to reach him. But you know what happened next? Not only did Duke refuse to help, but he also outright scolded her, calling her stupid and self-destructive. Oh, and believe it or not, she recorded the whole thing. Is that not asking for disaster?”
Mary listened, her recollection of Duke Blue’s two-faced nature making this revelation far from shocking. “Alright, enough gossip. It’s Lunar New Year—spend so quality ti with your family, okay? Once the holiday is over, it’ll be back to the grind. Besides recording ‘Detectives and Wilderness,’ we still need to shoot content for Raspberry Snacks. Better rest up while you can!”
“Got it, boss lady!” Mia chirped happily. She had been with Mary through thick and thin—even when there was almost no work coming in. Now that things were finally looking up, she treasured every opportunity.
After ending the call with Mia, Mary opened Twitter and found that Duke Blue was indeed occupying a spot on the trending list—and the engagent was anything but low. She skimd through the posts and saw that, just as Mia said, a fan had written a scathing exposé.
This fan, who went by the na “Love Duke Forever,” explained how they had followed Duke Blue since his debut, watched him go from a nobody to a B-list actor, and even shared photos of all the rch they had purchased over the years—products he endorsed, with hundreds of duplicates bought each ti. Their devotion was hard to deny.
The fan’s public denunciation explicitly detailed their heartbreak: how Duke had once seed to shield them in a mont of vulnerability, only to later insult and abandon them. They ended their post by attaching the lawyer’s letter they received and the audio recording of Duke’s deaning remarks.
Before this, Duke Blue had already been mocked online for his hypocritical comnts about Mary after the program team exposed the truth. But now, with this additional scandal, many of his remaining loyal fans started to abandon ship as well.
What made this even more impactful was that “Love Duke Forever” was a prominent fan in Duke’s community, with a great deal of credibility. Her defection caused a ripple effect, prompting even more fans to follow suit. In the short ti that Mary was scrolling through her feed, Duke Blue’s follower count had dropped from nearly ten million to six million.
However, the more Mary read, the more she felt sothing was off. Even though Duke Blue wasn’t new to the industry and had just been pumled by the program team’s revelations, how could one fan’s tirade cause this level of disaster? There had to be bigger players behind the scenes. Her gaze involuntarily shifted toward David Locke’s study.
As if on cue, David opened the door.
Mary didn’t manage to avert her gaze in ti, catching David’s attention as their eyes t. Feeling slightly awkward, she asked, “Finished with your call?” She made as if to stand up, but David stopped her with a pointed look.
“What are you looking at?” David maneuvered his wheelchair to her side.
Watching how deftly David operated his wheelchair, Mary was suddenly reminded of an old romance series she had once seen. The female lead would always begin with, “I married the world’s most XYZ man,” only to end with, “…until he wound up in a wheelchair.” The storylines always had wheelchair drama as an essential elent.
At that mont, Mary felt like she and David had been slotted into the characters of one of those clichéd dramas.
She had to stop herself from laughing.
David, seeing Mary’s lack of response, instead caught the faint, suppressed smile on her lips. His brows drew together slightly. “Am I that funny to you?”
“No, not at all,” Mary snapped back to reality with a survival instinct sharpened by experience.
David didn’t seem convinced, his gaze fixed intently on her. To divert his attention, Mary waved her phone. “I was scrolling through the trending list about Duke Blue. Looks like he’s done for this ti. Did you make so promises to one of his forr fans?”
Mary’s gut told her that the fan couldn’t have orchestrated such a precise and devastating takedown on her own. Her actions had been too calculated.
“Make promises? Please,” David replied disdainfully, clearly still disgusted by the fan’s audacity to lay hands on the woman he liked.
As for the so-called promises Mary was suggesting? All he had done was hint at a certain sothing, which the fan had foolishly acted upon, ultimately turning against her own idol. People like that didn’t deserve sympathy.
Mary nodded in understanding and decided not to dwell further on the matter. She instead shifted the focus to their Lunar New Year plans. “Alfred and I were thinking of going out to shop for New Year’s supplies. Will you be alright here by yourself?”
“No,” he replied flatly.
“What?” Mary had assud that, with his leg injury, David wouldn’t want to go out. She had only asked as a courtesy and had not expected such a firm refusal. Glancing at the man in the wheelchair, she hesitated. “But your leg…”
“You can push ,” David interrupted, his tone entirely matter-of-fact.
Mary: “…” This man really had no qualms about making demands.
Although she had a dozen refusals on the tip of her tongue, Mary eventually nodded reluctantly and then asked another question. “Are you sure it’s okay for you to skip spending New Year’s with your parents?”
“Among the three great acts of filial piety, not having descendants is the worst. They’d probably prefer I secure a wife and start a family than spend ti with them. New Year’s with them doesn’t matter,” David replied shalessly, his impeccable face adorned with shaless, teasing amusent.
Mary stared at him. If she hadn’t heard it herself, she wouldn’t have believed he could so brazenly say sothing so indecent. Secure a wife and start a family? What did that even an? Were all n approaching thirty this shaless?
“What? Did I say sothing wrong?” David asked, feigning innocence and ignoring Mary’s annoyed glare.
Mary shot back a sarcastic smile. “It’s broad daylight. Dream on.”
David smirked in response, interpreting her words as a challenge to keep dreaming.
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