Overprotected By My Tsundere CEO

Chapter 823 - 535: Mechanism City [05] Clarence Is Kidnapped

After seeing off the two brothers, Clarence finished a bottle of wine and ate all the peanuts on the table.

As he was about to open another bottle, a wave of drunkenness hit him. His hand wavered as he reached for the wine, eyes narrowing slightly as he thought of the two boys, pondering something unknown.

No.

He hadn’t realized it before, but now thinking back—

Earlier, when he saw Marcus Shaw, the boy seemed familiar, and when he was told he was Parker Shaw’s son, it felt natural. But now, thinking of Parker Shaw again, something felt subtly off.

Why does he bear some resemblance to Captain Easton...

This thought suddenly struck him and wouldn’t go away. He glanced towards the door, hearing footsteps outside, wondering if the two boys had returned.

Staggering to his feet, he walked over and pulled the door open.

However, as soon as he saw who it was, his pupils dilated slightly, and he instinctively closed the door and turned to run.

*

Nearing noon, the sun blazed outside, scorching the ground beneath. The heat seemed capable of burning one’s feet through the dry soil.

Oliver Scott walked beside Marcus Shaw, scratching his head, unsure of how to react.

"Brother."

After a long while, Oliver softened his voice, calling out to the silent figure beside him.

Marcus Shaw’s eyelashes lifted slightly, his gaze shifting as he glanced at him briefly.

After a moment of contemplation, Oliver carefully asked, "Should we tell sister about this?"

—Parker Shaw was most likely killed by a group eyeing Mechanism City.

It was a matter of life and death, not a trivial issue.

They were both underage; no matter how capable, they couldn’t privately investigate such matters. But he knew Marcus Shaw’s personality—as soon as he knew about this, he would certainly not ignore it. However, Marcus would likely shoulder this alone.

His quirky brother’s personality was quite difficult.

"My dad has nothing to do with her."

In other words: Nora Scott didn’t need to help investigate the truth about Parker Shaw’s death.

Even though Marcus was fully aware that with just one word, Nora would surely agree to help.

But Evelyn Easton already felt sorry towards Nora. With all his family’s issues, how could he repeatedly trouble Nora... Thinking this, Marcus pressed his lips together, forming a tight line.

Oliver asked, "Then what do you want to do?"

His eyes flickered, and Marcus coolly replied, "We’ll see."

With his eyebrows slightly drooping, Oliver sighed lightly, thinking he would just wait to see Marcus’s decision first.

At this moment—

Two off-road vehicles sped towards them from behind, honking twice without slowing down at all. Marcus and Oliver exchanged glances, instinctively stepping aside a few paces, as a gust of wind rushed past, stirring up dirt everywhere.

Oliver choked and coughed twice, squinting as Marcus gently pulled him aside.

"What are they doing!"

Waving his hand in the air to disperse the dust in front of him, Oliver frowned.

Marcus glanced back.

At first, he didn’t think much of it and started to walk forward, but after two steps, something suddenly occurred to him. He paused, his expression becoming more serious as he looked back again.

Marcus said, "They came from Clarence’s direction."

"Huh?"

Oliver was surprised.

Then he said, "When we went to Clarence’s place, we did see off-road vehicles nearby, and a few people seemed to be smoking."

"..."

At this, Marcus had already turned around, running straight towards Clarence’s home.

Oliver sighed, quickly following.

Clarence’s home was quite remote. Not having returned for decades, everyone in the village was building new houses in more convenient places. Only Clarence’s old house stood in a desolate area, with only one road leading to it.

In other words, anyone on this road was likely heading to Clarence’s place.

They didn’t have far to go, running quickly, and before long, they reached Clarence’s shabby house. As soon as they entered the yard, they saw rubbish scattered everywhere, the door of the earthen brick house wide open, with tables and chairs overturned inside—chaos, with no trace of Clarence.

Oliver had a bad feeling: "Could it be..."

Marcus immediately turned and ran back.

Taking a breath, Oliver hurried to catch up, asking, "Brother! Where are you going?"

Marcus said, "I’m going to chase after them."

"!!!"

Truly a decisive brother.

But Marcus didn’t plan to handle this alone; he quickly added, "Tell sister."

"Okay."

Hearing these instructions, Oliver’s tense nerves finally relaxed a little.

*

Because the Buddha was particularly cooperative and very understanding, the short film was shot quickly, wrapping up in less than an hour.

"That’s a wrap!"

After finishing the instructions, the director pondered for a moment and then proactively approached Nora Scott.

Instead of making any requests, he asked Nora, since this wasn’t a contractual shoot, hinting that she could ask for a higher price.

"No need." Nora chuckled softly and said flatly, "You’ve taken good care of me in the past."

"..."

The director was taken aback.

He glanced at Nora a few times, then thought about the current situation in the industry, feeling both grateful and a bit sad.

Back then, he had offered Nora some guidance because she was young and often offended others due to her distinctive personality, leading to backstage staff gossiping and targeting her. Out of sympathy, he had offered some support. However, he didn’t think he had truly helped her much. Years later, he had almost forgotten, not expecting Nora to remember it so well.

Recalling this, Nora added, "Besides, I haven’t signed with any company, so I’m already earning quite a bit."

This was true.

When an artist signs with a company, their income is split with the company, and while the numbers may seem considerable, the artist doesn’t receive much in the end. But Nora, handling everything on her own without a middleman taking a cut, earned a respectable amount even if she charged less.

Moreover...

With a wealthy boyfriend who could casually drop 14 million for an elder, Nora indeed wasn’t short on money.

Thinking this, suddenly another off-road vehicle approached.

Following the sound, Nora glanced over. Her lazy demeanor instantly shifted when she saw the modified off-road vehicle, her eyes lighting up.