Chapter 11: "Friends"

With a swish of her body, Diana turned around, as if she had really decided not to go out. Maddie was taken aback. She had not expected this kind of reaction from Diana. If Diana did not go out, Maddie's plan for the day would be ruined!

Maddie said, "Forget it, Diana. You can wear whatever you want. Come on, let's go out!"

With Diana's attitude, Maddie couldn't help but feel a cold snort in her heart, but she walked out anyway. After all, she had to go out, she had many unsettled accounts with Luke, that scumbag!

"Okay, let's go." Diana said calmly and walked out. Watching her leave, Maddie felt a little relieved. It was clear that she still cared about Luke.

The two got in the car and quickly arrived at the agreed location. As soon as Diana got out of the car, she saw two luxury cars parked not far away. One was a BMW and the other was a Maserati. Most of the people standing by the cars were familiar faces.

The girl wearing a yellow camisole with shoulder-length hair was Ava Johnson. Her boyfriend, who looked a bit spoiled, was Brandon Williams. The other girl, wearing a blue dress, was Lily White. The guy with an earring in one ear who looked a little rough around the edges was vaguely familiar to Diana. He seemed to be in the grade above them and was named Noah Davis.

"Maddie, you finally came! We've been waiting for you for so long!" Ava exclaimed as soon as she saw Maddie, rushing to greet her. Lily also walked over to join them. The two of them have a very close relationship with Maddie, having helped her play pranks on her in the past.

After the Thompson family fell from grace, Ava and Lily stood by Maddie's side and verbally attacked her with vicious insults. Diana couldn't forget their ugly faces, but here they were, hugging Maddie and acting all lovey-dovey.

"It's been a whole summer since we last saw each other, I missed you guys so much," Maddie said in a gentle tone, hugging Ava and Lily in turn. The three of them were acting all cute and lovey-dovey, making Diana shudder with disgust.

Suddenly, Ava's boyfriend Brandon whistled and said, "Hey Maddie, who's this beautiful girl?" Boys always seem to be more interested in beautiful girls than girls themselves.

As soon as he called out, Ava and Lily noticed that there was another girl who had come with Maddie. She had her hair tied up in a ponytail and stood there somewhat aloofly. Although she was wearing a simple T-shirt and jeans, it couldn't hide her stunning face and cold temperament. Ava and Lily didn't recognize her at first.

"Who is she? Why haven't we seen her before?" Ava crossed her arms and stared at Diana, feeling somewhat familiar. "Why do her features seem a bit familiar...?"

Reluctantly, Maddie said, "She is Diana."

Upon hearing this, Ava and Lily were both shocked and unconsciously widened their eyes as they looked at Diana. This girl...was Diana?! The one who used to look like a ghost and was a joke in Cloud City's elite circle, Diana?!!

Ava couldn't believe her eyes. Was this really what Diana looked like? "Are you joking, Diana? Did you get plastic surgery?" she asked incredulously.

Diana coolly looked at Ava and replied, "I'm not like you, why would I need plastic surgery?"

As soon as she spoke, Ava and Lily were convinced that it was indeed Diana's voice. Ava, who had been slow to react, suddenly became angry and demanded, "What did you mean by that earlier? Did you call me ugly?!"

Diana gave her a cold glance, which only further fueled Ava's anger. What was wrong with this Diana? Not only had her appearance changed, but it seemed like her personality had become worse too.

"Hey, don't argue. We've got another beauty on our hands, isn't that a good thing?" Brandon leaned against the car and shamelessly ogled Diana. "You know, if you showed your true face earlier, I might have even pursued you!"

Ava gave him a fierce glare. "What did you just say, Brandon?"

"Oh, just something I blurted out," Brandon shrugged, but his eyes were still fixated on Diana. He was a total visual creature, and even though he was with Ava, he constantly flirted with other women. Now, seeing Diana look so stunning, he couldn't resist the temptation.

Ava grew even angrier at the sight. She glared at him hatefully, then turned her gaze to Diana. "Diana, do you have no shame? Trying to seduce someone else's boyfriend?!"

What is she babbling about? Diana's mouth twitched, thinking she must have misheard. Is Ava out of her mind?! 

Diana coldly glanced at her. "You better keep your boyfriend's libido under control and stop him from acting out everywhere!" 

Brandon, who was handsome and came from a wealthy family, was taken aback by Diana's words. His face turned sour as he asked, "What did you say?!" 

Noah, who was standing on the side, was also stunned. This girl had such a hot temper! "Alright, let's not argue here. Let's go to the restaurant," he intervened. "Diana, I'm Noah, a senior from the finance department." With that, Noah tried to lighten the mood with a friendly smile. 

Diana simply glanced at him casually, not saying a word, leaving Noah feeling a bit awkward.

As Lily watched the two men vying for Diana's attention, she couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy. She had always been fond of Noah, and had even asked him to come out tonight in the hopes of deepening their connection. Yet, here he was, flirting shamelessly with Diana.

"Maddie, why did you bring her here? Can't you send her home?" Lily complained, tugging on Maddie's arm.

Although Maddie also felt uncomfortable, she couldn't just send Diana away. They had come here tonight to meet Luke, and she couldn't risk missing that opportunity.

Maddie smiled gently, "Brandon, Noah, stop teasing our Diana. She has a crush on Luke and came here today just to see him."

Upon hearing this, Brandon and Noah snapped out of it. It was common knowledge at Cloud City University that Diana liked Luke. They had previously made fun of her for her odd behavior, but now that they saw how beautiful Diana was, they were a bit jealous of Luke.

Noah shrugged, "Then let's meet up at the restaurant first. Luke should already be there."

"Okay, let's get in the car then," Maddie said, leading Diana towards the car.

But Ava stopped them with a hand, "Diana, what did you mean by what you said just now?"

Diana glanced at her, "What did I say?"

"You're pretending to be stupid, aren't you! You haven't settled the account with me yet!" Diana still looked indifferent, "What did I say to you?"

Seeing her arrogant look, Ava was so angry that she almost hit her. She gritted her teeth and looked at Maddie next to her, "Maddie, I spared her because of you, but now I don't even want to see her!"

"Ava, don't be angry." Maddie turned to Diana, looking somewhat displeased, "Diana, apologize to Ava, and let's forget about this."

Apologize? She must be joking! Diana took out her phone and said casually, "Apologizing is impossible. Since I don't care about hanging out with weirdos like you, let's go somewhere else."

With that, she turned around and seemed to be about to leave. Maddie was extremely annoyed, but had to put on a gentle face and pull Ava's hand, "Ava, that's just Diana's temperament. Don't bother with her."

At this moment, Noah also stepped forward and said, "Hey guys, we finally came out to have fun together. Let's not make it unpleasant." Then he turned his head and patted his car, "Diana, why don't you come ride with me!"

Diana gave him a cold glance. She didn't want to get in his car, but when she saw Lily's deadly glare beside her, she smirked wickedly and said, "Fine." Diana walked over to Noah's car and got in.

Seeing this, Maddie finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Lily was absolutely furious about Diana's behavior. She couldn't understand what was going on with her. Seeing Diana get into Noah's car left a sour taste in her mouth, so she turned on her heels and ran straight to Brandon's car. She hoped that her outburst would make Noah come after her, but he didn't even give her a second glance. As soon as Diana got in the car, Noah hit the gas and sped away.

Lily was so angry that she started shouting at the top of her lungs: "That Diana is such a bitch! What was she thinking? Noah came here with me and now she's taken him away!"

Ava was equally upset and added: "I never realized it before, but she clearly has the potential to be a homewrecker. Not only did she tempt someone else's boyfriend, but she also stole someone else's boyfriend. She has no shame!"

Both Lily and Ava directed their anger towards Diana, feeling completely justified in their indignation. Meanwhile, Maddie stood by, pretending to be apologetic: "Diana has always been spoiled and stubborn. She can be very difficult sometimes. I'm sorry on her behalf."

Ava turned her head angrily and said, "It's none of your business. Why are you apologizing to her? You are also a daughter of the Thompson family now. You're not as arrogant as she is!" 

"Exactly!" Lily agreed, "I've never seen such a shameless woman before!" 

Hearing this, Maddie felt extremely comfortable. The group quickly drove to their destination. 

Diana got out of the car and saw that they had arrived at a high-end restaurant. Since everyone in the group came from a wealthy family, they naturally would not choose a mediocre place.

Except for Noah, the others had opinions about Diana and didn't speak to her or walked ahead with unhappy expressions after getting off the car. Diana was too lazy to bother with them and enjoyed the peace.

Maddie approached Diana and cautiously asked, "Luke is waiting for you in the private room, Diana. Are you happy?"

Diana's mouth curved into a playful smile, "I'm indeed looking forward to seeing him."

Maddie couldn't contain her excitement. It seemed that Diana still couldn't forget him!

At the door of the private room, Noah was the first to push it open. As they walked in, they saw a person who was already sitting there, wearing a white shirt, sitting upright in the chair, with a fair face and a hint of impatience in his wait.