The weather was particularly nice on Saturday. When Shea Thorne got up in the morning fully armed, her roommate casually asked, "You're up so early, where are you going?"
The question was barely out before she realized she'd asked a silly question. Where else would she be going? Definitely to find Miles Crawford, to play the role of a caretaker.
Every weekend, she used to go to Miles Crawford's place to clean, do laundry, and cook, regardless of the weather.
Rhonda Ford heard this and climbed out of bed, saying, "You won't find him now; Jonah Bell and his friends followed their mentor to the hospital for their internship study. They won't be back until next week."
"When did they leave?" Shea Thorne asked.
"It was Wednesday. They said they left at four in the afternoon." Rhonda Ford replied without thinking, "They have internships on Saturdays and weekends too, so they're definitely not around now."
After saying this, she felt she'd overreacted. Ariana Thorne, when playing the role of the devoted wife, didn't care if Miles Crawford was home or not. She didn't need his approval to do household chores perfectly.
Shea Thorne understood, that was the day she was reborn—leaving with the mentor at four o'clock, no wonder she waited from five to nine and never saw him.
Recalling the WeChat messages from that day, Ariana Thorne had left a message for Miles Crawford at three, saying she'd bring him dinner in the evening, yet he didn't reply to say he wouldn't be home, leaving her waiting.
By nine at night he still hadn't come home, perhaps deliberately avoiding Shea Thorne's visit.
A pang of pain hit her heart, it seemed Ariana Thorne was heartbroken.
But Shea Thorne wasn't ready to give up, and asked, "Where did they go? Is it far?"
"Not far, just two blocks away at Sinclair Private Hospital." Rhonda Ford said, that hospital has a branch in Kingscrest and is the nearest hospital to them. Where Miles Crawford and his friends intern depends entirely on where their mentor takes them.
Noticing something was off with Shea Thorne, Rhonda Ford smiled and said, "You didn't know?"
Shea Thorne nodded.
"Ah, sometimes I feel you're really putting up with so much. Just for love, who else suffers like you do? Even if it's with a jerk, he'd know to sweet-talk and deceive you for a couple of days. What are you doing this for?" Rhonda Ford was a bit frustrated, completely unable to understand Ariana Thorne's love for Miles Crawford.
Miles Crawford had great looks, was academically outstanding, and had a bunch of admirers at the National Medical University.
Shea Thorne loudly claimed to be Miles Crawford's girlfriend. If it wasn't for her boyfriend, Jonah Bell, knowing Miles Crawford and vouching for Shea's connection to him, she'd probably be attacked by the junior girls at the National Medical University en masse.
Miles Crawford treated her with his "three no's policy": no rejection, no response, no protection.
"Exactly, Miles Crawford is excellent, but is he worth you putting yourself down like this?" Hearing Rhonda Ford's words, Farah Hale, the roommate, chimed in, saying, "You're not bad-looking, why hang yourself on the Miles Crawford tree?"
Ariana Thorne's appearance wasn't just beautiful; she was genuinely stunning—beauty that seemed too pure to tarnish. Since the start of term, many classmates had confessed to her, some even better than Miles Crawford, yet she seemed enchanted, persistently trailing behind him.
Shea Thorne also wanted to know why, but she was currently controlled by Ariana Thorne, unable to sever ties with Miles Crawford. However, she could let others speak more of Miles' flaws, hoping Ariana would wake up.
Did you hear?
He's just nearby, capable of coming home daily, yet doesn't tell you what he's up to.
Indeed, Shea Thorne felt a stabbing pain in her chest, but she was happy.
"I'm going to the mall to repair my cello; anyone want to join?" Feeling about done, Shea Thorne asked her roommates if they wanted to go out.
Ariana Thorne's cello wasn't a good one; she remembered it as an old instrument left by Ariana's mom, now neglected. It needed a visit to the shop for repairs.
As for tidying Miles Crawford's place, the part in her heart wished to go, but she wouldn't. Whoever wanted to go, could go.
"Really?! Which mall are you going to? I'll go too!" Hearing she's headed for the city mall instead of being a devoted housewife, the three roommates immediately perked up, got ready, and joined Shea Thorne.
…
In the mall, there was a music shop on the third floor where Shea Thorne took her cello for repair, while her three roommates, not specializing in cello, wandered around the makeup section, waiting for Shea Thorne to finish and join them.
Though she'd been reborn, the world hadn't changed. This music shop she often visited; all of her cellos had always been repaired here. It used to be in an old alley and only moved to the mall in the past two years.
Only the receptionist was present now, saying the owner had just stepped out and would be back in a while. Shea Thorne put the cello down and waited in the customer seating area for the owner to return.
It wasn't long before a mother and son duo entered.
The boy was young, about ten years old, while the mother looked elegant—they were there to pick up a repaired cello.
The receptionist handed them the cello, and the mother opened the case for inspection, troubled, she asked, "Could you try it out for me? I don't understand this, and my child is too young to know. It's not easy coming all the way from our place."
Shea Thorne understood—they'd come for a repair and worried it wasn't fixed, wanting the receptionist to test it.
But the receptionist was troubled; he was just the receptionist, not able to play the cello.
"Um... you might have to wait for the owner to come back to try it for you. How about waiting a bit?" Only their manager can play any instrument; some of the instruments here can cost a fortune, and he couldn't risk testing them for clients.
The mother and son had no choice but to wait.
They sat on the sofa opposite Shea Thorne, waiting for the manager, leaving the cello case open on the table in front of Shea Thorne. Shea looked at the anxious mother-son duo, with the mother constantly checking her watch, indicating she was pressed for time.
The cello was a tens of thousands worth Christina, coincidentally, she had once used an identical one.
Thinking for a moment, Shea Thorne asked, "Are you pressed for time? If it's alright, would you let me try it for you?"
After speaking, she pulled up awards certificates from Ariana Thorne's competitions on her phone to show the mother, proving she knew what she was doing and wasn't just pretending.
Those certificates were from Ariana Thorne's normal days of competing. The originals were burnt by her in a mysterious two-year break from school; the mother and child didn't know her name, so using them wouldn't be an issue.
The mother glanced at the certificates; this beautiful girl before her had won more awards than her son's music teacher, and pushed the cello case over, saying, "Before, my child accidentally bumped it, and they said the sound post was displaced, losing resonance. I don't understand, and don't know if it's fixed."
Shea Thorne nodded and took the cello to test the sound.
While testing, she chatted with the child; she was a natural artist, and couldn't resist the urge to perform when touching the strings.
The child's mother didn't mind, so Shea performed without holding back, tuning and demonstrating for the child.
The little boy genuinely liked it, circling Shea and saying, "Sis, can you play a piece? I haven't learned many songs yet; play one for me!"
Shea glanced at the boy's mom, who, although eager, seeing her son's fondness, nodded and said, "Please, play a bit more for us."
Shea bowed her head in thought, finding her feel, and then began.
…
She hadn't played for a while; Ariana hadn't practiced in ages, her fingers weren't nimble, so the piece wasn't perfect.
Yet, she felt Ariana's exhilaration within her heart, indicating passion for the cello remained.
But why had she stopped practicing?
From Shea Thorne's perspective watching Ariana's previous life, that devoted follower wasn't just hanging around Miles—she had time for music, joining a less prestigious school, yet capable of entering better competitions to improve.
Still, she chose to imitate Miles's ambiguous acquaintance's style, wasting time replicating meaningless moves, neglecting the cello entirely.
Ariana Thorne's current "sharp" black-haired appearance totally mimicked Zoe Wymond, the senior in Miles's lab. Zoe was a career-driven girl, often in elegant commute pantsuits, with the simplest black long hair, and top marks in the lab.
Since Miles joined, he enjoyed discussing academia with Zoe, often being with her. Whenever he reluctantly dined with Ariana, his conversation wouldn't stray from praising Zoe.
A month ago on Ariana's birthday, after pleading for Miles to celebrate with her for ages, he didn't show up.
Ariana bought a cake and waited at home until the next day; calls went unanswered, texts ignored. On the last call, Zoe answered, annoyed, telling Ariana not to call again.
In a normal relationship, this would escalate—she wouldn't back down, he'd need a serious apology.
But Ariana, this frighteningly devoted follower, began mimicking Zoe the next day—not only altering wardrobe but straightening her natural curled hair to jet black—for Miles to notice her.
Yet, things didn't improve; Miles grew more distant, leading to the current silent treatment.
Shea Thorne felt suffocated, determined to alter this unlikable persona!