America: I'm causing trouble for environmental organizations

There's an old internet meme.

It's called "being so angry, but still having to keep smiling."

Edward's reaction at that moment perfectly illustrated this statement. He felt the gazes directed at him from all around him were like sharp knives, piercing him painfully.

I want to leave.

But they dared not leave.

He knew very well that if he left like this, he would face a lot of ridicule.

Torn between these thoughts, she tried to avoid looking embarrassed or pathetic.

Edward didn't even dare to take a deep breath or make any big movements.

Unfortunately, despite his various attempts to disguise it, his flushed face, due to his excitement, still betrayed his true emotions.

This made Clarissa on stage feel very comfortable, and her gaze unconsciously kept drifting towards Meng Ran, who was standing at the back of the crowd taking pictures with a DSLR camera.

The brother who loves his wife is recording a video.

The man I love is taking pictures.

Hey!

Today is truly a wonderful day.

It would have been even better if Theron hadn't kissed Bane!

That annoying Kieran! He just kissed me and then came running over to yell at me. I haven't even experienced any of the sensations yet! Couldn't he have waited a minute or two before coming out?

Let go of the complicated thoughts in your heart.

Clarissa began to focus on presiding over the auction.

Meanwhile, the fat uncle "Neil" sitting next to Edward was afraid that Edward might do something impulsive, so he kept whispering to comfort him.

"Don't be angry, that's how young people are when they grow up. Elena and the others don't listen to me at all now either."

"I'm not angry!" Edward's voice sounded as if it were being squeezed out from between his teeth.

"It's good that you're not angry. We can talk about it after the banquet," Neil continued to remind him.

This reminder helped to calm Edward's agitation.

However, he couldn't wait until the banquet ended; he planned to go and have a serious talk with Kieran and Clarissa after the auction.

time.

Second by second passed.

It was 8:30 p.m.

The auction has finally come to an end, and the amount raised has reached a considerable sum.

"24.7 million!"

"They actually got over 200,000?"

Mira and Franka sat in the corner, like an accountant, constantly calculating the returns on the donations, and the more they calculated, the more distressed they became.

However, what saddened them even more was...

The amount raised tonight is actually more than this.

Since there are only so many items up for auction, it's impossible to get all the guests present to contribute money.

Therefore, when you receive your gifts and thank-you notes later tonight, everyone will donate some money, ranging from a few hundred to several thousand yuan, as a way to offset taxes.

All together, it amounts to tens of thousands of dollars in profit.

In other words, this dinner is expected to raise nearly 300,000 yuan in donations.

They've made a fortune.

Whether from the perspective of reputation or actual benefits, Clarissa has made a huge profit tonight in the eyes of both of them.

"What should we do?" Mira asked Frank.

"What? What should we do?"

"Why don't we go back and persuade Eunice to change his mind? We should at least get a share of this money for our budget," Mira whispered.

"Are you kidding me? One second Eunice changed his mind, and the next second Clarissa dared to accuse the association of misappropriating donations in front of everyone!" Frank immediately denied the suggestion.

"Will...will it?" Mira still didn't want to give up.

"Of course she will. Clarissa is ruthless; she wouldn't even spare her own father. Would she let her colleagues in the association off the hook?"

Upon hearing this, Mira immediately shut her mouth.

Meanwhile, Edward, on the other side, finally couldn't sit still any longer.

After instructing his wife Mary to call Clarissa and Kieran, he left the banquet hall and headed straight for the corridor to the side of it.

Fat Neil was worried, and after hesitating for a while, he got up and followed.

A few minutes later...

Reluctantly, Clarissa and Kieran were led to the corridor by Mary.

The two sides met.

Edward had been trying to suppress his anger for a long time, but finally he couldn't hold it in any longer.

Pointing at the brother and sister standing side by side, he lowered his voice and angrily demanded, "You two had better give me an explanation!"

"What explanation do you want? What did we say wrong? Isn't it all the truth? I kept my word, you should apologize to me!"

Clarissa rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

Edward's hands began to tremble at this attitude.

Seeing this, Fat Neil quickly said, "Hey, listen to me, apart from making you lose face a bit, this dinner was undoubtedly a success in other aspects."

The momentum is strong, and Clarissa has gained influence. Even Kieran has been brought into the spotlight of some of Detroit's elite circles.

This will benefit his campaign for city council. If Kieran can also win over the grassroots in the next few months, he might actually be elected this time.

That's right, even though Kieran is running for city council.

But his family had no hope that he would be elected this year.

Because Kiran is still relatively inexperienced.

Back then, Clarissa's grandfather, Patrick, arranged for Edward, who was in his twenties, to run for election first, in order to enhance his qualifications.

Then, after losing the election, through connections within the Democratic Party, Edward was placed in the Detroit city government for four years.

They only really started to exert their strength in the next session.

Edward is now replicating this path.

Therefore, upon hearing Neil's words, he immediately scoffed, "Hahaha, you're too optimistic, Neil. I haven't even started to exert myself this year."

After saying that, he glanced at Kieran and Clarissa, and gritted his teeth, saying, "I have to tell you a reality: without my support, you are nothing."

Especially you, Kieran, if I didn't use my connections to fully support you behind the scenes, you wouldn't be elected this time, let alone next time, or the time after that!

"Come on, Edward!" Kieran exploded as well.

He leaned closer to Edward and retorted, "What favor? After Grandpa died, the O'Connell family's political influence also vanished."

"You always have that phrase on your lips: 'Don't expect me to do anything for you by taking advantage of my kindness.'"

"It's simply that your subconscious keeps reminding you that you don't actually have any connections that can make a decisive difference."

"You dare not, and are unwilling to, admit this."

"So you can only prepare for potential failures by saying things like this and criticizing my and Liz's behavior."

"You just want to be able to say, 'It's not that you, the father, are incompetent, it's that Liz and I are incompetent,' when you fail in the future."

"You simply don't have Grandpa's trading skills. Is it so hard to admit you're not capable? What are you pretending to be, this elite!"

The streetlights cast a warm yellow glow.

Countless small flying insects hovered around.

Melodious ball music drifted from the banquet hall entrance not far away.

And in the corridor.

Zilean's barrage of attacks plunged the area into a deathly silence.

Mary panicked.

She knew very well that everything Kieran said was true, and it was precisely because it was true that Edward could not accept such criticism!

Neil panicked too.

God!

How did this argument escalate to this point?

What should we do?

We can't just watch them fall out with their father and son, or father and daughter, can we?

What should I do? What should I do?

How do we clean up this mess?

"Click~"

The sound of a camera shutter broke the deathly silence in the corridor.

The group turned to look at each other.

But then, about seven or eight meters away, a man holding a DSLR camera, striking a very elegant and professional pose, said to the group, "Come on, everyone, give us a smile."