Chapter 26: Careful Preparation

Diana followed her brother Andrew around the lumber market until she finally found what she was looking for. She sneaked the wood into her room and immediately got to work. Her room had a small study with good sound insulation, which was perfect for secretly preparing her gift. It was best not to let anyone know, especially Maddie, to avoid any mischief.

Diana was busy as a bee, and she didn't come out until dinner time. Ms. Taylor knocked on the door a few times, but no one answered. She became curious and pushed the door open. As soon as she walked in, she heard the sound of banging and clanging coming from the study.

"Miss Diana?" Ms. Taylor knocked on the door.

The room fell silent for a moment before Diana slowly opened the door and poked her head out. "Ms. Taylor, are you the only one?"

"Yes. What are you doing in here?" Ms. Taylor was puzzled as she walked into the study. As soon as she entered, she saw that the room was in disarray. There was a piece of high-quality wood on the ground with a pile of tools next to it.

Ms. Taylor was stunned for a few seconds and then asked uncertainly, "Miss Diana, are you...carving?"

"Yeah, keep it a secret, okay? Don't tell anyone," Diana whispered.

"I understand." Ms. Taylor looked at Diana's delicate and beautiful face and was moved for a moment.

James Thompson was very skilled at carving when he was young. He had held Diana on his lap and taught her how to carve when she was just learning to speak. She was indeed a genius and excelled at everything she did. When she was in elementary school, her work was auctioned off for tens of thousands of dollars and she was hailed as a prodigy. James was once extremely proud of her and brought her with him wherever he went, boasting to everyone about his precious daughter. Those were such happy times for their family. But later, after her mother passed away and the Stewart family entered their lives, Diana had never touched any hobbies again and was completely reduced to a useless person. Ms. Taylor had thought that Diana would continue to decline, but she didn't expect...

"Ms. Taylor, why did you come to find me?" Diana's question brought Ms. Taylor back to reality.

She snapped out of her thoughts and immediately said, "Oh, it's time for dinner. Mr. Andrew is here today, so the house is more lively."

"Okay, Let's go." Diana and Ms. Taylor walked down the stairs, one after the other. Halfway down, Ms. Taylor suddenly stopped and held her stomach, showing a painful expression. Diana turned around and asked with concern, "Ms. Taylor, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing. My stomach has been a little uncomfortable lately. I probably ate something bad," Ms. Taylor replied. Upon hearing this, Diana had a sudden realization. She remembered that in her previous life, Ms. Taylor had died of stomach cancer during her senior year, and it had been too late to treat it by then. She passed away in less than six months.

Thinking of this, Diana quickly said, "Ms. Taylor, you should get a physical check-up tomorrow. Small illnesses left untreated can easily become serious."

At first, Ms. Taylor was about to refuse, but seeing Diana's determined eyes, she had a change of heart and said, "Okay, I will go for a check-up in a while."

"Don't wait too long, do it tomorrow. I'll have Lynn(the driver) take you there," Diana insisted and made the decision for her. Seeing this, Ms. Taylor had no choice but to agree.

Diana breathed a sigh of relief and quickly walked down the stairs. Inside the living room, she moved a chair and immediately sat next to James, while Andrew naturally sat on her other side. Wow! There were Chinese mitten crabs and lobsters on the table today! Seeing the delicious food on the table, Diana's eyes lit up with desire.

"This is something Andrew bought for you because he knew you liked it. Andrew, you spoil her like a child," James said, pretending to be complaining, but there was some indescribable joy in his tone. After all, his little daughter had finally improved and was getting along well with her family. He felt very relieved.

"Well, it's all my fault," Andrew replied with his mouth, but his hands didn't stop for a moment as he peeled the lobsters and crabs for Diana. She enjoyed Andrew's feeding and buried herself in the delicious food, feeling satisfied.

After eating halfway, she suddenly felt that something was off. Where was Maddie, the busybody? She hadn't seen her today. No wonder it seemed quieter than usual today.

"Where's Maddie? Why isn't she down for dinner?" Diana asked.

"Maddie hasn't been feeling well these past few days. She's sick today," James replied, sounding a bit surprised. "Don't you know?" Diana and Maddie were always inseparable, so it was odd that she didn't know Maddie was sick.

"Oh? She's sick? That's why Serena hasn't said a word all day. She must be upset," Diana thought to herself.

Then Diana looked up and met Serena's puzzled gaze. She coughed slightly and said, "I knew. I just didn't realize she was so sick that she couldn't even eat." She finished the shrimp in her bowl and then bit into a piece of pork: "I'm going to go check on her!"

Serena's expression improved when she heard this. As long as Diana still sided with them, it was all good.

Andrew frowned: "Finish your meal first before you go."

"It's okay. I'm full. I'm going up now," Diana joked. Maddie was sick, and it was such a relief. She had to go see her! It would be even better if she was bedridden and had no energy to think of any bad ideas.

Diana went upstairs and eagerly pushed open Maddie's room door. As soon as she walked in, she saw Maddie sitting on the bed. Although she looked a bit tired, she seemed to be fine. Diana was disappointed. Maddie was definitely a troublemaker.

"Diana?" Maddie was surprised to see her. Since Diana came back from the hospital, she seemed to be more distant from Maddie and hadn't come to her room. Now that she saw Diana, Maddie was a bit pleased.

"Oh, I heard you were sick, but you seem fine. So, I'm relieved. I'll go now," Diana said, feeling disappointed that Maddie wasn't really sick. She was just still upset about the $100,000 she lost, which caused her loss of appetite.

"Diana, wait," Maddie walked over and grabbed Diana's hand. Then she said seriously, "Something big has happened."

"What happened?"

"Have you not seen the posts on the university forum?" Maddie exclaimed, anxiously flipping through her phone and passing it to Diana. "Luke got so drunk the other day at the Diohn Club that he passed out next to a trash can. Someone took a picture of him and posted it on the university forum today! It's not just embarrassing, but I heard his family found out and grounded him for a week. We can't even get in touch with him now."

Diana chuckled in amusement. She hadn't expected to receive such unexpected news. "How could this happen?" She shook her head and tried to put on a melancholic expression. "His image at college is ruined. He's so pitiful."

"Yeah, Diana. Why don't you go visit him tomorrow?" Maddie urged. "He's going through a rough patch, and if you go and comfort him, he'll definitely see your feelings and fall in love with you."

What confusing words was Maddie saying? Diana almost rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Let's see about that. I'm on thin ice with my dad, so I can't afford to make any more mistakes."

"But you said you liked Luke, and now you won't go see him?" Maddie was becoming anxious.

"That was before. I'm trying to be with John now, and it's not as bad as I thought it would be," Diana replied with a smile.

When Maddie heard John's name, she paused and her eyes betrayed a hint of anger. This foolish Diana actually wants to marry John?!

"Okay, you rest up. I'm leaving now," Diana took the opportunity to end the conversation and left without noticing Maddie's sulky expression.

As soon as she stepped out the door, Diana took out her phone and logged into the university forum. The top trending topic was indeed Luke's drunken collapse on the street, and Diana burst out laughing when she saw the photo. Who took that photo? She wanted to give them a thumbs-up! Luke was sprawled out among a pile of garbage, covered in dirt and vomit on his face. He looked so disgusting that he could have been mistaken for a homeless person. The replies to the post were equally hilarious.

[Flower: Oh my god! Luke has always been someone I admired, but I never thought he was an alcoholic! My image of him is shattered now~]

[A small potato: I used to be infatuated with him, but now I feel like I've been awakened by a bucket of cold water!]

[Explorer: So the question is, what kind of trash is this?]

[Moon baby: There must be something that happened. I don't believe that the Campus Hunk would be so unappealing!]

When Diana saw this post, she couldn't stand it. She replied with a different account:

[Meatball: Campus Hunk? I remember in the previous university vote, Colin was firmly in first place, beating Luke by a lot! What makes him a Campus Hunk?]

This was the truth. Cloud City University had a Campus Beauty and Campus Hunk ranking contest every year, and last year's Campus Beauty was Maddie, while Colin had always been the Campus Hunk. But because Colin didn't care about these things at all and spent most of his time wandering around with professors and the Astronomy Club, his popularity was gradually overtaken by Luke. After posting this sentence, Diana felt much better. She was about to put her phone away when she suddenly heard a sound. She looked at it and it was actually a message from John!

[John mate: I will arrive at Cloud City tomorrow morning at 11 o'clock.]