As soon as Rosemary hung up the phone, she saw her mother waving at her, signaling her to co over.
Rosemary strolled over with a puzzled look, only to be hushed by her mother, Louisa. "How is it going with Clark?"
Rosemary glanced at the distant figures and whispered, "Are you trying to set them up?"
"Ever since Crystal was a little girl, I’ve watched her grow up. She’s so innocent, brilliant, and smart. You couldn’t find a single flaw in her background, character, or education."
Louisa seed quite fond of the girl. "Most importantly, she’s been in love with your brother Clark for over a decade—everyone’s noticed. When she was in primary school, she said she wanted to marry Clark when she grew up. We thought it was just a child’s innocent words, but after all these years, she only has eyes for Clark. I think they make a great pair."
"But it seems like Clark isn’t interested in her?"
"Your brother Clark needs soone to give him a push from behind, or else he’s going to be too slow. She’s been making all the moves, yet he doesn’t know how to respond." Louisa was exasperated.
Rosemary caught sight of Clark in the distance, pulling out his phone to send a ssage. In a mont, her phone buzzed.
[Sis, where are you? Hurry up.] Clark sounded desperate.
"Let’s go, we shouldn’t intrude on them." Louisa pulled Rosemary away. "Let’s give them so ti together."
Rosemary gave a sympathetic look at the distant figures and replied, [Mom and I are going inside.]
Clark was speechless.
"Mind if we exchange digits?"
"Sure."
Rosemary offered her number. Crystal entered it into her contact list, then said, "Well, we’d better get going. You guys should get so rest. I’ll stop by again soon."
"Um, okay." Louisa and Kenneth stood up to see them out.
"Rose, Rose!" Clark called quietly from the staircase, waving at Rosemary. "Co up."
Once she was upstairs, Clark hooked an arm over her shoulder and whispered, "Did Mom ask you to give us so alone ti?"
"She didn’t exactly put it that way." Rosemary raised her eyes to his, a soft smile on her lips. "You’re not into Crystal?"
"I see her more as a buddy."
"Does she know that?"
"Yeah."
"Are you into that girl who gave you the lucky charm?"
Clark looked surprised. "How did you know?"
"You seed really attached to that charm. The night you lost it, you looked so anxious, like you lost sothing really important."
Yeah, to him, that thing was the last vestige. The final link between him and her.
Perhaps seeing the lancholy in Clark’s eyes, Rosemary couldn’t help but ask, "Where is she now?"
"Gone. A year ago." Clark walked to the large balcony on the second floor, staring at the distant scenery with a faintly self-mocking tone. "After breaking up with , she vanished without a trace... Took everything with her. If not for the charm I had on , she probably wouldn’t have left anything behind."
Clark gazed into the distance, his eyes filled with a subtle sorrow.
"Rose, this world is vast. It’s like looking for a needle in a haystack to find soone. All you get is disappointnt. Over and over."
Rosemary sensed the sadness in his words. "Did you two have a fight?"
"No." Clark’s voice was nostalgic. "We never fought. But near the end, she started to drift away. Eventually, she told she didn’t have feelings for anymore, that she was in love with soone else, and asked to stop looking for her."
"Did she really find soone else?"
"Probably." Clark wasn’t sure, but how could she be so heartless if not?
"Does Crystal know about you two?" Rosemary asked again.
"Yeah. She confessed her feelings to when I was at my lowest, right after she left."
"And you turned her down?"
"Yeah." Clark looked off into the distance again. "Crystal’s a good girl, but I’m just not into her. I didn’t want to lead her on."
Rosemary understood now. After a mont of silence, she asked, "Aren’t you one of Astronisia’s top hackers? Couldn’t you find out anything?"
"No, I tried everything. It’s like she never existed. Sotis, I wonder if everything that happened between us was just a dream."
Here’s your text with proper spacing and formatting for better readability:
Rosemary gazed at Clark’s profile, a sudden wave of sympathy washing over her.
"What’s her na? Maybe I can help."
Clark looked at Rosemary in surprise, then realized with a jolt that his sister’s hacking skills trumped his own. Maybe she could indeed find her.
"Send her personal details later," Rosemary said, her gaze falling on the road ahead. "If she’s doing well, there’s no need to disturb her. But if she’s in any sort of trouble, you could use this opportunity to clear things up."
Clark looked at his sister’s profile, finally agreeing, "Alright."
Serena, lurking in the shadows, was taken aback. She hadn’t realized that Clark had such a deep and haunting past. His family always assud he was single.
But why had he only told Rosemary?
Never her, his other sister.
Rosemary knew that soone was eavesdropping from the shadows. Serena was the only one who would stoop to such levels, but Rosemary couldn’t be bothered.
After taking a shower, Rosemary received a ssage from Clark:
[Carol Earwood, 22, a Libra, raised in an orphanage, was adopted at the age of 6 by a family and moved to 111 Stardust Lane in the Golden Fields of Sumrfield South District. Her adoptive parents were county teachers.]
Clark also sent a photo. The woman in the picture had an aloof and indifferent air about her—stunningly beautiful.
"Got it."
After responding, Rosemary sent a ssage to her subordinate:
[Find this person for as quickly as you can.]
[The fastest speed? Boss, what did this woman do to you? Dig up your ancestor’s graves or owe you a fortune?] her subordinate couldn’t help but respond. [There are many beautiful girls in the world, but I’ve only ever seen two with this kind of aura. One is you, and the other is her. Boss, are you two long-lost sisters? You both have a similar vibe!]
The woman gave off a sophisticated, distant air, her cool and indifferent gaze impossible to read.
She was like a puzzle.
[Just do it, and stop talking.] Rosemary sent the ssage and began to blow-dry her hair.
The Next Morning
Rosemary planned to visit 111 Stardust Lane.
As she was leaving, she overheard the servants discussing how Clark had sat on the balcony all night, not sleeping. They suspected he was upset.
Rosemary glanced at Clark’s bedroom. The balcony was now empty.
She chose a car from the garage and followed the GPS to Golden Fields. After finding a parking spot, she walked to Stardust Lane.
Stardust Lane was a small neighborhood. On the left were fish ponds, in the middle was a small road for pedestrians, and on the right were rows of houses.
Rosemary followed the rusted, faded house numbers, searching from one house to the next.
Many villagers ran businesses from their hos. So sold fruit, others ran convenience stores, and a few sold vegetables.
Number 110 was a breakfast stall. The owner had set up a small tent at the front, selling piping hot breakfast.
Quite a few people frequented his stall, the tables and chairs even spilling over to the front of Number 111.
"Boss, one hot milk, please."
Rosemary approached the stall and noticed that the tables and chairs in front of Number 111 were all occupied. She couldn’t help but ask,
"Boss, doesn’t this obstruct the neighbors’ entrance?"
"Ah, I can tell you’re new here. You’re not from this village, are you?"
The owner filled a cup with hot milk, giving Rosemary a once-over.
There wasn’t a girl this pretty in the village.
"I’m here to find a classmate, and it’s my first ti visiting."
Seeing Rosemary’s candidness, the shop owner didn’t hold back.
"Next door is Professor Earwood’s place. He and his wife quit their jobs to look for their daughter. They’ve been gone for a couple of months now."
"Their daughter is missing?"
"She claid to have found her birth parents a year ago, planning to settle abroad. After that, she lost contact with them. No matter how many calls or ssages Mr. and Mrs. Earwood made, they received no reply."
Rosemary’s eyes darkened.
"Professor Earwood said that their daughter was always obedient and sensible. She wouldn’t just leave like that. Supposedly, she found her birth parents, but those birth parents never showed themselves. Mr. and Mrs. Earwood felt that sothing must have happened to her, so they decided to quit their jobs and go to Iridia to find out."
The shop owner handed Rosemary a cup of hot milk.
"That’ll be a di."
"Iridia is a massive place. Without a detailed address, finding soone is like searching for a needle in a haystack." Rosemary paid, striking up a casual conversation.
"I heard she was in so place called ’Lida’. The na was too long, and I didn’t rember it." The shop owner continued making sandwiches.
"Lidaria."
"Yes! You educated folks are so clever. That’s the na!"
Another custor arrived at the breakfast stand, casually asking,
"Has Professor Earwood returned yet?"
"Nope, it’s been a couple of months. I wonder if they’ve found Carol. What a terrible situation, to raise a child only for her to leave with her birth parents. It’s practically killing Mr. and Mrs. Earwood."
"I’ve always thought Carol wasn’t heartless. Do you think she might have been scamd abroad?" another villager speculated.
"Impossible. She must have found her birth parents. Think about it—Carol’s been fluent in different foreign languages since she was little. She must be living well abroad, and I bet they’re just not letting her contact anyone here."
"Carol has always been quiet, but I always thought she had potential."
"Indeed, she had an air about her, unlike anyone from our small village."
"Poor Professor Earwood spent most of his life in this town. Now he’s off abroad looking for his daughter."
The crowd began to discuss amongst themselves.
Rosemary found a spot to sit, sipping her hot milk in silence.
"Do you think it could be related to those people who visited our village a while back?"
Rosemary lifted her gaze to the woman who spoke.
"Who knows? Professor Earwood says we shouldn’t blow this out of proportion. Best not to bring it up again."
"True. If Carol really found her birth parents and has no plans of returning, bringing it up would just be rubbing salt in Professor Earwood’s wounds. Better to drop it."
Rosemary continued sipping her hot milk. When she noticed the woman who’d spoken earlier leaving after buying her breakfast, she got up and followed her.
The woman was walking ho with her breakfast when she heard soone calling her.
"Excuse , could you tell more about those people you ntioned earlier?" Rosemary explained sincerely. "Carol is my senior at school, and she’s been very helpful to in the past. I borrowed so books from her, but I can’t get in touch with her. I’m worried sothing might have happened."
Seeing the genuine concern in Rosemary’s eyes, the woman decided to share.
"That happened a few months ago. One night, a group of people burst into Professor Earwood’s house around two or three in the morning. My roof was leaking that night, and the rain was dripping onto my bed. My husband saw them when he went to fix the roof."
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