The Samsung ad’s Manager Parker was also nearby at this moment, looking a bit worried: “If it rains, the event will be greatly affected…”

Julia Thompson smiled and said, “It shouldn’t be that unlucky. Let’s hope it doesn’t start raining so soon.”

Christopher Carter glanced at the two of them, then looked at the Apink manager who was still pretending to be a block of wood, and shook his head without saying a word.

Did no one really think that those girls performing in the rain was something that deserved humanitarian concern?

Forget it, if these well-dressed elites from the legal world didn’t mention it, why should I, a guy from the underworld, care so much?

※※※

Apink’s luck was pretty good. When it was their turn to go on stage, the sky was covered with dark clouds, but the rain stubbornly held off. The girls breathed a sigh of relief and began performing their recently well-practiced “Mymy” with smiles on their faces.

Christopher Carter watched with his arms crossed, his eyes slowly narrowing.

This song wasn’t his type—too fresh and pure, completely at odds with his temperament. His gaze swept over the girls on stage, but in the end, his focus still landed on that piece of meat that had slipped away just as it was about to reach his mouth.

This was the first time he’d seen her smile.

Her eyes curved in a beautiful smile, prettier than he’d ever seen her before.

When she started singing, she was relaxed and confident, radiant, as if she’d found the meaning of her life.

Christopher Carter unconsciously swallowed, feeling his mouth a bit dry.

He knew that kind of smile could never belong to him. She would never show that smile to him.

It had nothing to do with past offenses; it was the eternal divide between black and white.

It was just… such a pity.

Really beautiful…

Christopher Carter slowly closed his eyes.

Just as his eyelids were about to shut, he suddenly sensed something and snapped them open. In the crowd not far away, it seemed that an arm was raised, holding a bottle of mineral water, poised to throw it onto the stage.

Anti!

A sharp glint flashed in Christopher Carter’s eyes, like a fierce beast startled awake, fur bristling all over.

“Whoosh!” The water bottle flew straight toward the stage. The crowd erupted in commotion. The girls on stage all sensed it, turned their heads in unison, and screamed in fright. The scene turned chaotic.

Emily Green’s pupils dilated. She instinctively felt that if she didn’t dodge, the bottle would hit her right on the forehead… but at that moment, her mind went blank, and she couldn’t even react…

With a “bang,” something flew in from the side, hitting the water bottle dead-on with fierce force, knocking it away so it landed with a thud at the edge of the stage.

People stared in surprise—it was… a cigarette pack?

Marlboro, huh…

“Kevin King!” Christopher Carter had no time to be proud of his cigarette pack’s heroics. He charged toward the Anti while roaring, “If you keep standing there like an idiot, I’ll tear you apart!”

Kevin King snapped out of his daze and lunged forward, grabbing the still-stunned Anti in a tight hold. Christopher Carter arrived and punched the guy in the stomach. The man’s eyes bulged as he groaned and collapsed to his knees.

Christopher Carter glared at Kevin King. A few underlings rushed over, grabbed the man, and dragged him backstage. The girls on stage couldn’t continue performing, so they hurriedly took their bows and left. The Samsung ad MC quickly got on stage to keep things moving.

A clap of thunder rumbled, and it looked like the rain was about to fall.

But none of the onlookers left. The whole thing had happened in a flash, and many people hadn’t even processed it before it was over. Still, it was exciting—everyone was chattering away, looking extremely animated.

They were excited about the sudden appearance of the Anti, the almost miraculous cigarette pack, and speculating about the guy’s fate… In short, no one cared what would have happened if someone had actually been hit.

Backstage, Christopher Carter looked at the Apink girls, huddled together and trembling a little in fear, then at T-ara, who were quietly comforting their juniors with sympathy and indignation. He nudged the Anti, who was pinned down by Kevin King, with his toe, then turned to ask Manager Parker, “How do you want to handle this?”

Manager Parker was breathing angrily, still feeling a lingering fear. If someone had gotten hurt at the event he was in charge of, his career at Samsung would probably be over. Luckily, President Carter had proven reliable and actually managed to intercept the bottle…

As for someone throwing the bottle, that really couldn’t be blamed on security. No matter who was in charge of plaza security, it’s not like they could confiscate everything from the audience like at a concert…

So he felt even more grateful and respectful toward Christopher Carter, saying, “We really owe you this time, President Carter.” He shot a look of disgust at the Anti and said coldly, “Send him to the police.”

“Yeah.” Deep down, Christopher Carter really wanted to give that guy another good beating, but this time it was official business, so it was better to let the police handle it. He gave Kevin King a look, about to tell him to take the guy to the station, when suddenly someone spoke up.

“Um… Manager Parker, President Carter… I think… maybe we should just let this go…”

Christopher Carter was taken aback and turned to look. The speaker was Apink’s manager, the one who’d arrived early in the van at the start—her name was Jessica Thompson.

“What do you mean?” Christopher Carter couldn’t quite understand.

Jessica Thompson clearly felt awkward too, but still stammered, “Having an Anti… is really our own fault.”