Chapter 49
It only took half an hour to drive from the restaurant to Star Park, but due to the surge of people on Christmas Eve, it had to take double time.
Diana and Toby only talked about their funny childhood when having dinner in the restaurant. But after integrating with streetlights and traffic, the two seemingly came back to their adult world, asking each other about their present life.
Diana had nothing novel about her real life to tell him. She just grew up with natural trajectory that could be expected at a little age, and has not gone astray in these years.
But Toby suffered a lot in these years. He was originally the only child and was doted on by the Hunter family, but since his identity changed, he could not enjoy in affluence any more like his childhood. Luckily, even so, he was not very poor. He also could not have such a wonderful experience as the new Mr. Hunter had in the rest of his life.
Probably because of the shallow family affections, Diana was able to empathize with Toby's situation since she learned the truth in the second day of junior high school.
If a crown prince suddenly told her that she was their long-lost daughter, she would happily to be their noble little princess;
But if her biological parents were from a poor town, she probably resisted to leave the Swift family.
Diana euphemistically expressed her opinions, while Toby just smiled.
Holding the steering wheel with one hand, he took out a box of chewing gum from the locker on the side, and looked at the dissipated and luxurious buildings in the distance while opening it, saying calmly, "It's not as unacceptable as you think. I've been doing fine these years."
Diana turned to look at him.
He continued, "Actually, I really felt bad at first, but it was fine after I got used to it."
Stopping at the red traffic light, Toby handed her a piece of chewing gum, and recalled in a soft tone, "To be honest, I can't remember many things. Maybe because they happened too long ago. I just remember when I just moved out from Luxury Bridge, I had insomnia for about half a month... At that time, I couldn't sleep all night, missing my grandparents, parents, Rein and my other friends."
He glanced at Diana, "Of course, I also miss you very much. I thought you were really noisy before, but since you didn't come there, I could not even get used to my quiet house."
Diana pursed her lips without saying anything.
Toby added: "Actually, I really have had resentment about that. I'm a venture capitalist now. I was under a lot of pressure when I first started working, so I always complained that if I were still a member of the Hunter family, I didn't need to work so hard."
He paused for a while, and then chuckled, "Don't talk about that any more. It has passed, and everyone is fine now. The Hunter family have found their own child, and I also can live well everywhere after leaving home."
It was easy to spurt out that, but was really hard to experience.
--
Diana who has been away from home for several months had a profound understanding about that.
Diana wanted to comfort him, but didn't know how to do that, so finally she just nodded and changed the subject, "Well, you are... 27 years old this year, right? Have you made a girlfriend?"
Toby recalled with squinting, "I've been in a relationship several times at college, but they were not the best match to me, so we broke up. I have been busy with work in the past few years, so I have no time to make a girlfriend."
The red traffic lights turned to be green, and all cars moved forward slowly. Thinking of something, he asked again: "I came here from X City, and I heard from Sherry that you and he have been there some time ago?"
"Yes, we went to have a meal. Are Sherry and... her mom okay?"
Toby replied without hesitation: "She is very good. Originally, I intended to take them to P City to live with me after I settled down, but they said they couldn't get used to it, so they won't come here."
Seeing Toby's calm expression when he said this, Diana couldn't help but be a little puzzled. Sherry told her before that Toby didn't have a good relationship with them, nor have much contact with them, but she didn't think Toby reject them. It was really strange.
After Sherry told her something about Toby, she defined him as an indifferent and gloomy man who could not relieve himself from the change of his life. But after having dinner and talking with him this day, she thought he was positive, generous, and seemingly didn't care about his past.
--
Obviously it was the best result for him after a twist of fate, but Diana didn't feel real about that.
-
Toby stopped his car at Star Park and then he went to open the door for Diana sitting in the co-pilot. Diana was still in a trance at this time, so he leaned in again to unbuckle her seat belt.
But Diana reacted in time, and reached out to stop him, "No, I'll do it myself."
She then unfastened her seat belt and hurriedly got out of the car with her bag in hand.
It was snowing outside, a little more heavily than it was on the road they came here.
Toby looked up and asked, "Does it snow in P City for the first time this year?"
Diana nodded and reached out to pick it up, "The weather forecast has talked about that some time ago, but it didn't snow until today."
When she spoke, there was a hint of loneliness in her eyes that was not easily discernible.
In fact, she really wanted to watch the first snow with Josh, and spent the Christmas Eve with him. But he didn't contact her again after watching the show, and only asked Sam to send her clothes... but she didn't care about these clothes at all. She just wanted to stay with him.
But it didn't work even if she contacted him. After all, he always devoted himself to work like an emotionless money-making machine. Maybe he would never have a romantic interest of spending Christmas Eve with his wife in his life.
Thinking about it this way, she didn't feel lost.
"...Diana?" Toby called her name again because she didn't respond him at the first time.
"What?" Diana returned to her senses and looked at Toby apologetically, "I'm sorry. I was thinking about something just now. What's wrong?"
"Well, I just think it's good to see you again."
Toby smiled softly, revealing two rows of white and neat teeth. He was tall and slender, and looked particularly clean and warm while standing in the snow at a winter night.
Diana couldn't help but smile for a long time.
She looked at Toby and said with some emotion: "It doesn't seem to be particularly appropriate to call you Brother Toby since we have been adults, and I don't seem to have a proper position to stand on your side to share a bitter hatred of your opponents... But no matter what happened in the past and the future, I sincerely hope that you can live happily and can always be as warm and sunny as you were in my memory."
Toby also looked at her, giving a wee smile, and suddenly stepped forward to hug her. hug her.
A black Land Rover was parked in the distance.
Toby quietly stared at the blurred driver's seat far away without speaking.
--
Diana, I'm sorry. Since a long time ago, I've not been the brother Toby in your memory.
-
After returning to the apartment, Diana took off her makeup and washed herself as usual. Her home was so quiet, and on Christmas Eve, Bonnie was still working overtime without a raise, and it was unclear when she could come back.
Diana took a glance at her phone after applying a facial mask, but Josh didn't send her any messages at all. She was really speechless.
Sitting cross-legged on the sofa, she couldn't understand why.
He also graduated in a university abroad, didn't he? But why didn't he attach importance to the Christmas Eve? He once studied at Harvard, but why he was not xenocentric? Why not wish her a "Merry Christmas"? How could such a cold man get a wife?
Diana was even holding the grudge for Josh didn't contact her on Christmas Eve, but Betty even displayed her affections with her boyfriend at this time.
Betty: [Picture 1]
Betty: [Picture 2]
Betty: [This is the ring Haley gave me. Do you think it looks good! ]
Diana: [...]
Diana: [Have you never practiced the finger exercise I taught you? Your fingers are short and stubby, even not as good as my toes. Won't you be embarrassed to wear a ring? Have you already posted pictures on your WeChat Moments? If you really want to do that, you'd better take it off and just post a picture of the box. Don't embarrass yourself.]
Betty: [...]
Betty: [May pictures have been posted.]
Betty has been used to being scolded. If Diana praised her one day, she must feel something wrong, and think that she was making a big plan and finally gave her a critical strike. Therefore, after receiving Diana's regular reply, Betty felt ease and boldly acted cute to Haley.
She puffed up her face, raised her chubby hand and asked, "Diana said that my hands are short and fat, so they don't look good with wearing a ring. What do you think about that?"
Haley touched her head, "You look good no matter what."
Betty nodded, and then sent another message to Diana.
Betty: [Haley said I look good no matter what. Haha.]
Betty: [Satisfied.] (An Internet meme)
Fortunately, she still understood a little sense of proportion. Before Diana officially attacked her, she timely provided the latest information to divert her attention.
Betty: [By the way, when Haley and I were watching a movie at a department store today, we met Mandy.]
Diana:[Mandy? who? ]
Betty: [...Mandy Lee! Can you have a little respect for your rival in love!]
Diana: [...]
Diana: [Who did she watch a movie with?]
Betty: [A man. He is quite tall, but there are too many people in the cinema tonight, so I didn't see his face clearly. Besides, at that time, all people have come in the pitch-dark theater, so I didn't see them clearly, nor met them when I came out.]
Diana thought of Josh subconsciously, so she somehow felt a little irritable.
Betty: [But the man is definitely not Josh, because he didn't have a tyrannical temperament of earning 100 million dollars in one minute by standing there as the later."]
Diana: [Next time, please pay attention to the correct way of punctuation, otherwise don't speak. Thank you.]
Betty: [...? ]
Betty: [What's wrong with me?]
Betty couldn't help but talk about her grievance of being taunted instead of being praised for reporting the news in time. Diana didn't bother to watch her perform, but as she was about to put down the phone and wash her face after removing the facial mask, Bonnie suddenly called her.
She answered the call. Bonnie on the other end of the phone, seeming to be being chased by a chainsaw killer, was out of breath, and talked incoherently, "Do-do you know whom I saw? I'm back and in the elevator now. I saw Josh and a man downstairs..."
Diana spurted out for a second, "Kissing?"
Bonnie paused, "What are you talking about? There are just two men. OH, no. A man..."
Diana suddenly remembered something, so she ran to the window to open the curtains without wearing shoes.
Toby's white Mercedes-Benz did not gallop away, but was parked beside a Land Rover across the road.
The two men stood in the middle of the two cars, with their hands in their pockets, raised their heads together, and looked at-she?