Chapter 1914 - Party, Gossip, Spectators

New York was ablaze with lights and noise at night, and the air was full of celebration.

In a rare instance, Luke had traded his daily work and casual clothes for a formal gray suit.

It was Claire’s Christmas present to him, and it was his first time wearing it.

Claire held onto his arm, and the two of them chatted as they walked along.

Selina was a little behind them, and she looked around curiously.

Cameras flashed every now and then, taking photos of the trio.

Luke and Selina were unperturbed and didn’t evade or hide from the cameras since the three of them were walking down a red carpet.

It wasn’t an award ceremony, but a slightly more formal charity fundraiser.

The participants were basically all big and small figures in the entertainment industry, from singers, film stars and producers, to makeup bloggers, critics, philanthropists and so on.

The reporters taking photos were basically laboring under strict orders.

It was late at night, and they had to squat outside the venue in the cold wind. After everyone went inside, they still had to go home and produce fanciful write-ups for publication tomorrow.

It wasn’t easy for anyone to make a living.

Claire handed over an invitation card at the reception desk at the entrance, and the staff politely pointed out the table number and location.

Luke had always taught Claire to be prepared and not to casually flout the rules.

Claire had hence confirmed with the organizers beforehand that she would be bringing two people with her.

This was exactly what Luke and Claire were discussing.

Claire firmly believed that her brother wasn’t some goody-two-shoes.

A few years ago, she had still been young enough not to focus on things like these.

After being in the entertainment industry for a few years, however, even with Catherine’s protection and the mysterious old man’s guidance, she still came into contact with a lot of the dark side.

Just because she had a family which protected her and she didn’t have to deal with certain unspoken rules didn’t mean that she could change them.

As she slowly became more experienced in dealing with people, she mulled over what Luke had been like since she was young as well as the training he had given her over the years.

At that moment, she asked Luke in a low voice, “You keep telling me to abide by the rules. Do you dare swear that you always abide by the rules?”

Luke smiled. “I’m telling you not to ‘randomly’ break the rules – I didn’t say you should ‘always’ follow them.”

Stunned for a moment, Claire immediately reacted. “Are you saying it’s okay to disobey when the situation calls for it?”

Luke continued smiling. “Show restraint today for better gains tomorrow.”

Claire: “…So you tricked Joseph and me when we were kids?”

Luke said matter-of-factly, “If life is an exam, the two of you are D- students who make so many mistakes. I’m an A+ student – I only make the occasional mistake. Of course, the small mistakes outstanding students make aren’t worth mentioning.”

Claire: …

Selina snorted as she listened.

Claire was still too naive. Luke was actually compartmentalizing – Batman breaking the rules had nothing to do with him.

As they chatted, the three of them entered the venue.

Inside were big round tables, like at a Chinese banquet.

This wasn’t uncommon. Many private fundraisers didn’t use a layout of rows of folding chairs, since that made it difficult for guests to interact with each other.

After finding their table number, the three of them sat down.

The table was closer to the door at the back – this was related to Claire’s status.

Her family didn’t push her, and she preferred to sing and have fun with Stacy; she wasn’t interested in going further in her career.

Currently, she could only be considered a small star.

Even so, her popularity had been increasing in recent years because the songs that Luke gave her were too good.

Other people only had one popular song every few years or so, but she had one or two almost every year; she had basically never dropped off the charts.

At the moment, Luke was on the left, Claire was in the middle, and Selina was on the right.

That way, Claire and Selina could share gossip about the celebrities present.

Private investigator Selina was a lover of gossip, a digger of dirt, and a fan of scandals.

Luke pretended not to hear them as he observed the female celebrities around him.

The male celebrities? They weren’t as handsome as Luke, and he simply ignored them.

A private charity fundraiser was more relaxed than a large soiree, but was still more sophisticated than a gathering of 20 to 30 people.

This was reflected in the outfits that the female celebrities were wearing.

Few were wearing outlandish evening gowns, but it wasn’t like anyone was wearing T-shirts or flip-flops. Most were wearing party dresses in the latest styles.

However, this didn’t stop the female celebrities from fighting for attention.

Plunging necklines, exposed sides and backs were all key features – everywhere one looked, the view was nice.

Of course, Luke looked at them purely with admiration.

As the saying went, the biggest attraction with what a woman wore was revealing what lay underneath.

These female celebrities were a dab hand at this.

It was easy for him and Selina to come to this sort of event if they wanted to, but they weren’t interested in wasting their time.

Claire asked them to accompany her this time to satisfy her curiosity.

While they were chatting and looking around, the other three people at the same table – also two women and one man – were also paying attention to them.

However, the man and one of the women were very close, and had come together.

The two of them sized up Luke and Selina many times.

Claire didn’t need to be introduced. The double-colored wig that covered half her face and revealed only her mouth and chin was her trademark.

Selina had a mature look and was talking to Claire. The couple thought that she was Claire’s friend in the circle, and didn’t think much of it.

Luke looked a little soft, and they treated him like a newbie whom Claire had brought with her to see the world.

The other woman who was on her own observed for a moment before she got up to sit down next to Luke and strike up a conversation.

Luke didn’t need her to introduce herself. He knew that this was Susan Miller, a new TV star who had become a little famous in recent years.

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As long as he wanted to, information on everyone here would be projected on the inside of his Gucci sunglasses in ten seconds.

Susan had approached him not because she wanted to hit on him, but because she was bored and felt out of place.

Also, the couple were singers from the same company. She didn’t have anything in common with them, and they were quite arrogant.

But Susan’s career was only just starting to take off – she indeed couldn’t compare with these two B-list singers who had hit it big at the very start.

They had taken a few verbal jabs at her, but she couldn’t lose her temper, or she would look like low-class trash.

Seeing how Luke seemed to have been ‘snubbed’ and was looking around, Susan immediately felt that this ‘newbie’ was in the same boat.