"Mr. Keith, why are you always brainless when speaking?" Armand complained inwardly.
It'd be life-threatening if they couldn’t talk properly!
Timothy said indifferently, “Since you are not tired, Mr. Keith, what do you think we shall do next?”
Kenneth gaped.
Timothy was always like this. He was a schemer! When he planned to do something, he wouldn’t
speak it out directly but make others speak for him.
Kenneth’s brain worked fast. Looking at Timothy, he said tentatively, “Well... shall we go backstage?”
Timothy slightly praised him. “Good. Let’s greet those students who have performed.”
Kenneth breathed a deep sigh of relief.
He felt so lucky that he had guessed it correctly.
Armand was relieved as well.
The backstage was quite lively and crowded. A lot of students had joined this show, so a lot of parents
had attended. Once the show ended, all their families rushed backstage and talked to their children.
Brook and Deborah were not the exceptions.
“Caroline, you played so well today. I enjoyed your piano solo. Wonderful!” Deborah put on a fake
smile.
Caroline took Deborah’s arm, playing cute. “Thank you, Deborah. I know you said this to cheer me up
because you love me so much. I’m so touched. I feel so happy to be with you.”
Of course, Caroline must fawn on Deborah, who was Manfred’s older sister.
Manfred was a filial man, caring and loving his sister. Deborah had a massive impact on him.
Caroline smirked to herself.
Brook stroked Andrea’s hair and said, “Andrea, your dance is amazing today. I took a lot of your
photos. Rylee is your younger sister, so you should be more tolerant towards her. Don’t always argue
with her. Rylee is short-tempered, so you can’t always be against her, OK?”
Andrea pouted unhappily, “Dad, I always take her as my younger sister. I treat her with kindness. Rylee
is holding hostility against me, though. Dad, you can’t be so biased. You can’t always take Rylee’s
side.”
Brook nodded helplessly. “I know. I know. I’ll scold Rylee. Andrea, you fell on the ground. Have you
recovered?”
Andrea had already forgotten that she had fallen before. It didn’t hurt any longer. However, as soon as
her father asked her, she was taken aback for a moment. Two seconds later, she returned to her
senses and faked groaning. “Ouch! It still hurts. I’m afraid my organs have been displaced because of
it. Dad, you don’t care about me.”
“Of course I care. I’ll scold Rylee strictly, OK?”
After speaking for a while, Deborah suddenly realized something. “Where is Manfred? Where has he
gone?”
Caroline was also startled, looking around.
“Let’s go take a look inside, Deborah.”
Deborah frowned and answered, “Okay. Let’s go. Manfred is always alone. Caroline, also my brother is
supposed to be a good example to you, but he is quite childish. You should be with him more often and
talk to him more.”
Caroline was overjoyed, nodding. “No problem! I’ll spend more time with Manfred. We have a lot of
interest in common.”
Brook, Deborah, and Caroline walked backstage.
Daphne had sharp sight, so she saw Manfred immediately. Pointing ahead, she yelled, “Isn’t Manfred
there?”
Others all looked over, only to find that he was sitting on a chair next to Rylee. Tilting, he was smiling
and chatting with Rylee happily.
Boom!
A wave of anger swept through Caroline’s body and heart.
Rylee Carroll! You genuinely try your best to hit on my man! You bitch! Her inner voice exclaimed.
In anger, Caroline said, “I wonder what Rylee has done to attract Manfred. Deborah, have you seen
them? He’s with her again.”
Deborah squinted in anger, her chest heaving up and down fiercely.
Brook didn’t feel anything wrong. Instead, he was delighted and mumbled, “Manfred is so good-
tempered. He could get along with Rylee.”
Andrea was about to curse Rylee as a temptress, but Daphne dragged her fiercely to stop her.
After all, their dad was here. If they cursed Rylee’s mother in public, their dad would get angry.
Deborah was so enraged. The more she asked Manfred to distance himself from Rylee, the more he
ignored her, didn’t he?
“Manfred! What are you doing here?” Deborah strode over, patting Manfred on his arm. The latter was
shocked, standing up in a panic.
“Deborah?”
Deborah’s eyes were full of anger. “Manfred, you deliberately ignored my words, didn’t you? Why do
you have to be with this wretched girl?”
“Deborah...”
“I’m not a wretched girl!” Rylee suddenly said in a cold tone.
Deborah was taken aback, looking over at her. She roared, “What did you say? How dare you talk
back!”
Rylee raised her chin, grinding her teeth. She said, stressing each syllable, “Stop insulting me. I’m not
a wretched girl!”
Deborah took a deep breath and widened her eyes. “You are wretched to the core. You always play
dirty tricks and cling to Manfred. You damned slut!”
“Deborah! Enough is enough! How can you talk like this?” Manfred couldn’t stand it any longer and
roared in anger.
Deborah looked over at Manfred. Her eyes reddened gradually. Then she burst into tears. “I’d rather
die. I brought you up alone. How dare you yell at me! You were not like this before. How come you’ve
changed? Who has turned you into this? What's the point of all those sweats and tears of mine!”
As she spoke and cried, Deborah covered her face while trembling.
Manfred couldn’t do anything when seeing her like this.
There's one thing his sister said was right. Their parents had passed away when they were little. It was
his sister who had brought him up. Deborah was like his mother.
“Deborah, what are you doing? Please calm down,” said Manfred.
Brook hurriedly walked over, hugged Deborah, and coaxed her, “Don’t cry, Debbie. You can talk nicely
to Manfred. He’s always sensible. Please calm down.”
Caroline and Andrea walked over as well. Andrea said ironically, “How could Deborah not feel sad,
Dad? Why don’t you blame your daughter? We even feel ashamed to scold her. She never learns good
but only clings to men. She’s so young, but she’s good at hitting on men.”
Rylee glowered at Andrea. With a sneer, she said, “Really? Do you mean I’ve hit on Manfred? Or,
probably someone wanted to hit on him but failed, so you are all upset about it?”
Caroline blushed in anger.
Brook roared at Andrea, “Enough! Can you just shush? We’re in public. Aren’t you afraid others will
laugh at us?”
Andrea rolled her eyes, lowered her head, and quieted down.
Brook held Deborah and frowned at Rylee. He said irritably, “Rylee, you’d better behave yourself.
Others will talk behind your back. You are a girl. You must pay attention to what you’ve done and said.”
Manfred said unhappily, “Brook, can you please stop treating Rylee like this? It’s not her fault. I came to
see her as I wanted to. It’s my own business. It’s my own willingness.”
Brook was taken aback. Deborah cried more loudly. Hence, he had to coax her again. Looking at
Manfred helplessly, Brook said, “Manfred, could you please not piss your sister off again? She’s quite
weak. She has endured all kinds of hardships to raise you.”
Deborah looked up with her tearful eyes, but she yelled at Rylee fiercely, “Rylee Carroll, listen!
Remember! You can never approach Manfred. You’d better put away your nasty thoughts. How dare
you dream of having anything with Manfred! Dream on! No way! Who do you think you are?”
Daphne also echoed, “Have you heard what Deborah said?”
With a snicker, Andrea chided in, “Indeed. Rylee, you must remember what Deborah said.”
Caroline said calmly, “Yeah. Deborah is right. No matter what kind of family education a woman has,
she must be careful with her behaviors so that others won’t gossip about her.”
Rylee was enraged. They united together to bully her. She looked over at Brook in despair and couldn’t
believe that her father didn’t even defend her as if she were just a whore.
Students around were peeking at her in silence.
Rylee clenched her fists tightly, gritted her teeth, raised her chin, and said stubbornly, “Since you all
disdain me, why are you so worried about Manfred? Do I need to swear that I won’t lay a finger on
Manfred? I’m like a filthy fly, and I don’t deserve to dirty your beautiful and elegant Manfred?”
Manfred bit his bottom lip and couldn’t stand it any longer. He stood next to Rylee, putting his arm on
her shoulders, and snarled, “I didn’t want to speak it out. Since you are all targeting at Rylee, I should
confess my love to her now. It’s not Rylee who pesters me. She has never treated me particularly. It’s
me...”
Deborah widened her eyes. Caroline gaped without being able to breathe.
In a hurry, Deborah interrupted him, “Shut up, Manfred. You idiot! Are you out of your mind?”
“Wow... It seems quite lively here.”
Suddenly, they heard a cold voice. It was a question, but the tone was so icy that people shivered.
All people on the scene looked in the direction of the voice, only to find that Joseph was standing with
Timothy at the door.
There was a large group behind him.
On Timothy’s handsome face, there was a trace of unhappiness. His clear and shiny eyes were
shooting out a murderous gaze.
Rylee looked at Timothy tiredly. Her petite body wobbled slightly.
In a hurry, Deborah interrupted him, “Shut up, Manfred. You idiot! Are you out of your mind?”
“Wow... It seems quite lively here.”
Suddenly, they heard a cold voice. It was a question, but the tone was so icy that people shivered.
All people on the scene looked in the direction of the voice, only to find that Joseph was standing with
Timothy at the door.
There was a large group behind him.
On Timothy’s handsome face, there was a trace of unhappiness. His clear and shiny eyes were
shooting out a murderous gaze.
Rylee looked at Timothy tiredly. Her petite body wobbled slightly.
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