Jasper seemed to be a regular. The owner, an ordinary-looking middle-aged man, brought two bowls of beef noodles to the table and chatted familiarly: "Haven't seen you in a while. Been busy lately?"
Jasper picked up his chopsticks, elegantly picking the cilantro leaves out of his bowl one by one and placing them on the table. "Yeah. Busy raining on people's parades. Didn't have time to grace you with my presence."
The owner, used to his nonsense, laughed it off. His gaze fell on Diana, possessing the warm, scrutinizing look one gives a junior. "First time seeing you bring a girl here. Such a lovely girl—she's your girlfriend, isn't she?"
Jasper didn't even lift his eyelids. His tone was slow and drawling, laced with his usual reckless energy. "My family keeps a tight leash on me; she insisted on following me just to get a bite to eat. I couldn't shake her off, so I had no choice but to bring her along."
Faced with the owner's teasing "so that's how it is" expression, Diana's face stiffened. She forced a small, awkward smile and simply lowered her head, pretending to be invisible.
The shop was tucked deep away in an old alley, its signboard peeling, but the craftsmanship was undeniable. The rich, white bone broth soaked the chewy noodles, topped with thick slices of beef. The rising steam seemed to soothe the chill that had seeped into her bones during the long walk.
By the time she finished the bowl, a light sweat had broken out on the tip of her nose, and a faint flush showed through her fair skin. Diana looked up, only to collide with Jasper's deep, inscrutable gaze.
His own bowl was almost untouched. He was leaning back loosely against the chair, his long fingers tapping rhythmically against a coarse porcelain teacup.
"Enjoyed your meal?"
Diana pursed her lips and asked softly, "Even GPS can't find a place like this. How did you discover it?"
"In this city, there is no place I don't want, and there is no road I can't find." His brow held a natural, ingrained arrogance, as if every speck of dust in the capital had to answer to him.
On a sudden impulse, Diana retorted, "Then I suppose you're intimately familiar with the hidden compartments in the women's restrooms too?"
The moment the words left her mouth, she regretted it. To play that game with Jasper Sterling was essentially asking for trouble.
Sure enough, Jasper's hand on the cup paused. He looked her over with a playful, mocking glint in his eyes. "Getting bold, are we? It seems you've eaten too much."
"...I'm full," Diana murmured, pulling a tissue to carefully dab the corners of her mouth. Her elegant lipstick had long since worn off, leaving her lips a moist, pale pink from the heat of the soup.
Jasper stood up, grabbing his car keys. "Since you're full, go settle the bill."
"I'm paying?" Diana blinked, doubting she had heard correctly.
In all her years with the Knight family, whether following William or that circle of rich heirs, she had never had the chance to pull out her wallet. In their eyes, she was always the one to be protected.
"Who else?" Jasper said, sounding as entitled as a debt collector. "I saved your life and gave you a private ride, and now I have to provide the meal too? Miss Bell, are you treating me as a Living Buddha or as your fiancé?"
"..."
"If you don't have the money, call William and tell him to come ransom you."
Choked for words, Diana resigned herself to searching for her phone.
The moment the screen lit up, her heart skipped a beat. Over twenty missed calls covered the screen like falling snow—from William, Maya, even the driver.
Two WhatsApp messages from the top pinned contact jumped out, brief but carrying a terrifying sense of pressure.
William: Where are you?
William: Diana, answer the phone.
Before she could process her panic, Maya's phone call vibrated like a death knell.
The moment she answered, Maya's anxious voice nearly pierced her eardrum: "Diana! Where on earth are you? Are you trying to scare us to death?"
"I... after I finished shopping with Eleanor, I sat outside for a while," she tried to steady her voice.
"Felix waited at the mall entrance for three hours! Your phone was unreachable, you were nowhere to be found—do you have any idea how chaotic it is out there?" Maya's voice was thick with suppressed rage. "What is wrong with you, pulling a vanishing act at a time like this?"
Looking out at the silent, dark night, Diana suddenly felt like a child who had caused a great deal of trouble. "I'm sorry. My phone was on silent; I didn't hear it."
"Your brother has been out looking for you all night! Give him a call immediately!"
William answered on the first ring.
Hearing his familiar breathing on the other end, all the excuses Diana had prepared got stuck in her throat. A sour ache rushed to her nose.
"William..."
"Where are you?" William's voice was steady as always, devoid of any obvious anger, but that only made Diana's guilt weigh heavier.
"At a noodle shop."
"Send me the location."
Diana obediently gave the address. He replied with a low, "Stay where you are. Don't move."
After hanging up, Diana stood in the dimly lit shop for a moment. The owner was slowly wiping down the tables.
She walked over and asked, "Sir, how much is it?"
The owner didn't even look up, his cloth never stopping. "That Mr. Sterling settled it on his way out."
He paid?
Diana turned around in a daze. The man who had been sitting there was already gone.
Pushing open the door, the cold night wind hit her face.
The flashy Koenigsegg was parked at the mouth of the alley. Jasper was leaning against the car door, a single spark of red from a cigarette glowing in the dark. He was still in that unruly white shirt, the fabric pressed against his frame by the wind, making him look even more cold and cynical.
"My brother is coming soon. I'll wait for him here." Diana stepped closer and said sincerely, "Jasper... thank you for tonight."
Though his mouth was annoying enough to give her a headache, if she had sat by the river alone all night, she didn't know which abyss she might have slipped into.
Jasper exhaled a cloud of smoke, squinting at her through the thin mist. His voice was incredibly lazy. "There are many ways to thank me. I have the least interest in the kind that only involves moving your lips."
With that, he crushed the cigarette and vaulted into the car with practiced ease. The roar of the engine instantly tore through the silence of the old neighborhood, and the silver streak of light vanished around the corner like a wild beast.
Twenty minutes later, a black sedan pulled up smoothly at the alley entrance.
The owner of the old shop waited until William got out and picked Diana up before he finally pulled down the rolling shutter.
Inside the car, William didn't start the engine immediately. His gaze lingered on Diana's slightly disheveled hair for a moment. "Even the Knight family drivers couldn't find a place like this. Who brought you here?"
Diana guiltily picked at her fingernails, whispering, "A friend I used to know. We just happened to run into each other."
"What kind of friend?"
"...Just someone from school. He happened to be passing by. He's already left."
The car merged smoothly onto the main road, the streetlights flashing past.
"What did Eleanor say to you today?" William asked, seemingly at random.
Diana looked out the window. Eleanor's barbed words felt like a nightmare she hadn't woken up from. "Nothing much. We just chatted, and I helped her pick out a birthday gift for her mother."
"What did you buy?"
Diana's mind went blank. She had spent the whole afternoon blowing in the wind by the river; there was no gift. In her desperation, she blurted out the first thing that came to mind: "Coffee beans... and a coffee pot."
It was a flimsy lie. She could only hope Eleanor wouldn't expose her later.
By the time they entered the Knight family mansion, it was late at night, yet the living room was brightly lit.
Kai Knight had returned early from his business trip and was sitting on the sofa, while Maya paced the room in agitation.
"You're finally back!" The moment Maya saw her, her pent-up frustration and anger exploded. "You're usually the most sensible child. What happened today? Getting lost while out with Eleanor, not answering the phone, nowhere to be found—do you know if it weren't for Eleanor's sake, we nearly called the police?"
Diana stood in the foyer like a wooden doll that had done something wrong. "I'm sorry, foster mother. It won't happen again."
Kai stood up to smooth things over. "Alright, as long as the child is back safe. Diana just wanted to clear her head; don't scare her."
He turned to Diana. "Your foster mother was truly worried. Remember to let the family know where you're going next time. William drove around the north of the city three times looking for you."
Diana lowered her head. "I know. I've caused everyone trouble."
Maya rubbed her temples, her tone still cold and hard. "It's not the trouble I'm afraid of; I'm afraid you don't know what's important. Accompanying Miss Hayes is serious business. You disappear just because you feel a little slighted..."
"Mom." William interrupted coldly, his palm pressing down on Diana's shoulder in a reassuring gesture. "She's tired. Let her go upstairs."
Diana's gaze quickly brushed past Maya's incredibly sour face. Because of William's repeated, unprincipled favoritism, her position in this house seemed to be becoming increasingly delicate.
William's expression was calm. "Go on."