Stronger Every Time I Die
Arthur coughed and quickly composed himself. Taylor reacted too, not caring much about decorum, and suddenly slapped Arthur's shoulder hard. "Good job, man! You were prepared all along! You knew Finley was going to pull something at the banquet, didn’t you? You knew it, didn’t you?” As Taylor spoke, he couldn’t help but burst into tears. Heaven knows how scared he was just a moment ago! He was terrified! Taylor was the only child in his family, and his parents had struggled to get him through college. He was the hope of his entire family! If he really had gone to jail, he couldn’t imagine how disappointed and heartbroken his parents would be. He felt he wouldn’t even be able to face them. But then, suddenly, everything is resolved? Like Taylor, many others present couldn’t believe it either. Arthur chuckled and patted Taylor's shoulder. “Not just me, your suit is rigged with pinhole cameras too.” Taylor’s suit was personally arranged by Arthur. Better safe than sorry. Taylor was shocked. The tears on his face stopped abruptly, and he stared blankly as he unbuttoned his jacket. In his excitement and joy earlier, he hadn’t paid much attention and had hurriedly put it on. My jacket was also filled with countless pinhole cameras? As Taylor opened his jacket, the micro cameras hidden inside were revealed to everyone. The crowd was dumbfounded! They really didn’t know what to say anymore. Who attends a banquet covered in cameras? And two people at that! Arthur addressed the crowd, “Did everyone see the truth you wanted? Should we replay the footage from Taylor’s cameras again?” As he spoke, Arthur shook his phone, pretending to tap on it to play the video. “No!” This loud shout didn’t come from the crowd below, nor was it from Finley or Kent. Instead, it was from Hugo and Mateo on the stage, who had been closest to the big screen! They had seen enough of that footage. They were sick of it! They could dream about that footage every night for a month! They really didn’t want to see it again! They even forgot their status and rushed forward to grab Arthur’s hand. Seeing their action, everyone in the venue breathed a sigh of relief. If they had to watch more, they would vomit. Those images were etched in their minds like indelible marks. Arthur looked amused at their reaction. He had been so focused on playing the recordings that he hadn’t realized how deeply it had affected them. Hugo’s robust voice filled the venue, “Everyone present! If anyone hasn’t seen it clearly, step forward! Go watch it by yourself!” As his words echoed, there was an unprecedented silence in the venue, so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Forget stepping forward; they didn’t even dare to breathe too loudly, fearing Hugo would notice and think they wanted to watch. That big screen was so large that everyone, whether near or far, could see everything very clearly. Who hadn’t seen enough? Everyone had seen enough! Way too much! Taylor's earlier outburst had torn through the last veil of secrecy. Arthur had known all along that Finley would try to frame him at the welcoming party, which is why he had made thorough preparations in advance. Reality had slapped them harshly. Those who had just been defending Kent, a fellow ordinary person, were now ashamed to the core. But Finley was such a kind person, he had even sponsored poor students to go to school, a saintly figure rare in this world. They couldn’t understand why such a kind person like Finley would do such a thing. Why would someone as kind as Finley do this? They couldn’t accept it, nor did they want to! At that moment, Kent was paler than a ghost that had been dead for half a month, his whole body shaking. He murmured unconsciously, “It’s over, it’s all over.”The venue was very quiet, and although his murmurs were soft, everyone could hear them clearly. People looked at him with complicated eyes. As indignant as they had been just moments ago, their feelings were now just as tangled. After several twists and turns, their emotions had involuntarily fluctuated wildly. In the end, they were just spectators here for the drama, not really intending to think too hard about it.
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