Chapter 22: The Blue Flower

"Alright, alright... but please calm down a bit. Please don't push it any further, my heart can't take it," the manager surrendered.

Diana, on the other hand, was beaming with excitement. "Okay, okay, I got it. Thank you so much for today. Can I just ride this motorcycle home now?"

"Sure, but please don't go crazy on the road. Remember, safety first..."

The manager's words were drowned out by the roar of the engine as Diana took off with a burst of exhaust.

Feeling conflicted, the manager pulled out his phone and pondered how to delicately report the situation to Mr. Matthews. But before he could even begin typing, he was interrupted by another thunderous roar. Suddenly, Diana made a sharp turn and smoothly came to a stop right in front of him.

Safety first! Does she even know what that means?! The manager ranted in his mind. But on his face, he managed to squeeze out a warm smile. "Miss Thompson, have you had a change of heart? Would you like to choose a car to drive instead?"

"No, I forgot my bottles of red wine," Diana said as she opened her helmet and walked over to retrieve the forgotten item from the side of the motorcycle. She placed it on the seat and noticed the manager's strange expression. "Is there something you'd like to say?" she asked, puzzled.

The manager hesitated before replying, "No, I just want you to be happy."

Diana shrugged and waved casually. "Okay, then. See you later."

"Drive safe," the manager called out as Diana revved the engine and took off with another burst of exhaust.

The manager sighed and thought to himself: "This job is too difficult."

Diana sped all the way back to the Thompsons' villa, and as she arrived at the doorstep, she applied the brakes in a swift motion and brought the motorcycle to a halt. She made a phone call to the maid, Ms. Taylor, to confirm that her father was not at home. Only then did she carefully ride the motorcycle back to the garage. 

James, Diana's father, was always old-fashioned and believed that young ladies should be gentle and reserved. He would not approve of her riding a motorcycle, especially given her current image, which had taken a hit and was only just starting to recover. Diana knew she couldn't afford to risk another setback. 

She tiptoed towards the garage, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. At that moment, the butler, Mr. Cooper, spotted her and hurried over. "Miss, this motorcycle..." he began to say. 

"Shh..." Diana put her index finger to her lips, signaling Mr. Cooper to be quiet. "Mr. Cooper, a friend gave me this motorcycle. Please don't let my dad find out. If anyone asks, just say it belongs to Andrew and leave it in the garage." Diana breathed a sigh of relief as Mr. Cooper nodded in agreement. She was grateful that the old butler was always willing to keep her secrets.

Andrew had long since become independent, having his own successful company, so James didn't usually concern himself with what he did. So just let any blame for things that went wrong fell squarely on his shoulders, Diana thought.

Although Mr. Cooper was somewhat puzzled, he had always doted on Miss, whom he had watched grow up. Since the motorcycle wasn't a big deal, he nodded without hesitation. "Alright, don't worry, Miss."

"Thank you so much, Mr. Cooper." Diana grinned as she put the motorcycle away in the spare garage before happily returning to the villa.

James had not yet returned, and only Serena was at home. As soon as Diana saw her, her smile disappeared. Ugh, she had come back only to see someone she didn't want to see. What a bummer!

Seeing that only Diana had returned, Serena was surprised. "Diana, why did you come back alone? Where's Maddie?"

"Oh, Maddie is still playing with her friends, I had something to take care of, so I came back first!" Diana explained to Serena over the phone.

"You two are best friends, how could you leave her like that? It's not allowed next time," Serena replied, holding her cup like a high-class lady. Her tone was still gentle, but there was a hint of command in it. Over the years, Diana had always obeyed her without question, never feeling that anything was amiss. But now, the more she listened, the more uncomfortable she felt.

Diana put on an innocent look and said, "Ms. Stewart, Maddie is with her friends, what could possibly happen? I came home alone, why don't you care about me?"

Serena was taken aback by Diana's response.. She quickly said, "What are you talking about? Of course, I care about you. I just...asked casually. Diana, what's wrong? Are you feeling down?" Serena furrowed her eyebrows. She wasn't used to Diana using such a harsh tone with her.

"Oh, it's nothing. I'll go upstairs first," Diana replied calmly, picking up her bag and walking up the stairs. As soon as she turned around, Diana's expression immediately changed. Ha, she thought she could still manipulate her like before. Who does she, Serena, think she is?

Serena stood there, feeling a mix of confusion and frustration. She couldn't understand why Diana was acting this way towards her. She had always been the obedient one, but now she was starting to realize that something was off about their relationship. Serena had always been the one in control, and Diana had always followed her lead without question. But now, for the first time, Diana felt like she wanted to assert herself, to take control of her own life.

As soon as Diana returned to her room, she received a notification that $400,000 had been transferred to her account. The manager had indeed transferred all the money to himself. In that case, she could put away Andrew's card for the time being. She already had so much money! Diana lay down on the bed and stretched her arms out in a big yawn. Today had exhausted her, but it was pretty enjoyable!

She took out the Diohn Club card and carefully examined it. When she saw the blue flower pattern on the back, Diana was struck with inspiration and decided to look it up online. In no time, she discovered something.

[A blue flower was a central symbol of inspiration for the Romanticism movement, and remains an enduring motif in Western art today. It stands for desire, love, and the metaphysical striving for the infinite and unreachable. It symbolizes hope and the beauty of things.]

Diana's gaze fell intently on those lines. For the infinite and unreachable... did John think that she would have to fall in love with him unless a miracle happened? The thought stirred up a hint of bitterness in Diana's heart. The events of her past life were still fresh in her mind, and they left her chest feeling tight. In this life, she decided to make up for it all and compensate this man as much as possible.

Lost in thought, Diana's phone suddenly rang, and she saw that it was a message from her third oldest brother, Colin. He had sent a particularly beautiful photo of a shooting star!

[Colin: I saw a shooting star unexpectedly today, so I'm sending it to you.]

It seemed that Colin was still thinking about what she had told him last time. Diana had never been interested in astronomy before, but looking at this photo, she felt that it was truly radiant and beautiful. In the pitch-black night sky, a shooting star with a tail was emitting a mysterious and captivating glow. She now had a better understanding of why Colin loved astronomy so much.

[Diana: I received it, and it's very beautiful!]

Upon seeing Diana's message, Colin quickly replied.

[Colin: I took many other beautiful photos. Do you want to see them?]

After finishing his explanation, Colin "swished" over a dozen pictures of the night sky and began to explain each one to Diana. Colin, who was usually reserved, was only talkative with her. He was a bit childish, but it was endearing. Even through the screen, Diana could feel Colin's excitement. After chatting for a while, Colin suddenly realized something.

[Colin: Diana, maybe I've talked too much. After all, you're not that interested...]

[Diana: No, not at all. I find it really interesting. Colin, you'll definitely become an excellent astronomer in the future!]

[Colin: Thank you, that's my dream.]

Diana's heart skipped a beat when she read those words. Colin, in this life, go chase your dreams and you'll definitely achieve them!

Diana was about to continue chatting when a knock on the door interrupted her. She furrowed her brows and asked, "Who is it?"

"It's me, Diana," Maddie's voice came from outside.

A sardonic smile crept across Diana's lips. It was the first time that Maddie had realized she needed to knock on the door. She quickly replied to Colin and ended their chat before lazily saying, "Come in."

Maddie pushed the door open and walked in. Her face was not looking normal, and she was trying hard to control her emotions, but her expression was still off. She had been scammed for $100,000 today, and upon returning home, Serena had informed her that Diana seemed to be in a bad mood, so she came over to check on her. Diana in a bad mood? She was in a terrible mood herself!

Maddie sat down beside Diana with a stiff expression and slowly said, "Diana, Mom told me that you seemed to be in a bad mood when you came back today. She's worried about you, so she asked me to come and check on you."

Diana's face was filled with a look of helplessness as she spoke, "Maddie, did you see what Brandon and his friends were trying to do to me today? How can I be in a good mood after that?"

Maddie's anger surged even more at the mention of this. Who was playing who here? "But you didn't lose anything, so why are you so upset?"

"And also, I came out to look for Luke, but I couldn't find him, so I'm not happy," Diana continued, lying through her teeth. At this point, Luke should be lying dead somewhere on the side of the road, she wondered if anyone had found him yet.

When Maddie heard that Diana was concerned about Luke, her face softened a bit. But she wasn't in the mood to pay much attention to Diana. Her mind was filled with her own problems worth a hundred thousand dollars. "Diana, what were you thinking today? Why did you take wine from the Diohn Club? Don't you know how expensive it is?"

Diana had a bewildered expression on her face as she asked, "How expensive can a few bottles of red wine be?" However, inside, she was bursting with joy. The truth was that she had intentionally chosen to buy the wine at an exorbitant price!

Maddie was getting worked up as she said, "It cost $400,000! Brandon didn't have enough money on him, so I had to lend him $100,000!"

"$100,000?!" Diana was momentarily stunned and stared at Maddie with a fixed gaze.

Maddie thought that Diana had realized her mistake and said, "After all, you were the one who bought the wine, so..."

Maddie thought to herself: "Diana is a fool, but she should have understood my intentions. The money is something that Diana has to pay!"