Crashing into an Old Flame
Chapter 176: Switching preferences

Chapter 176: Switching preferences

Diana glanced at her sister quietly.

Usually, Daisy was a swift and decisive person. She did not like to drag things.

If she had some issues with someone, she would flush the person out of her life without wasting another second, rather than letting them bother her in this manner.

’’You don’t seem to like him that much. How did you end up getting entangled with him then?" Diana eyed her suspiciously as she placed the straightener aside, ’’He even mentioned a contract.’’

Daisy sighed like she was contemplating whether to talk about it or not. After a few moments, she spoke up.

’’I used to work for him two years ago. When I learned of that job, I was satisfied with the pay. Since I was a bit short on cash back then, I decided to apply for it,’’ Daisy said.

’’Why would you disguise yourself then?" Diana walked towards the bed and sat beside her.

’’I have done many kinds of jobs. During my first job as a business analyst, I was not in a disguise and they almost discovered my identity. It’s convenient to switch identity so that even if there is trouble, all I need to do is remove my disguise and no one will be able to track me.’’

As Diana thought about it, she felt like it made sense, ’’Have you done something illegal?" she probed out of pure curiosity. Back in the past, they were close but they barely had the chance to know more about each other’s lives.

Daisy was uninterested in the life of a socialite that Diana lived in the shadows of her mother. And Diana lacked the guts to inquire about what exactly was the kind of thrill and unrestrained life Daisy lived.

Daisy winced visibly at her words, bringing her out of her reverie, ’’Not to extremes. Just once or twice in my teens. I had hacked into some confidential documents for a huge sum of money.’’

It was rare for Daisy and her to converse about what kind of life Daisy lived or what jobs she took. So it amused Diana to know that.

’’I don’t think what Ryle does is entirely legal,’’ Diana still remembered the gun he carried with him. Although she was not greatly knowledgeable about guns, she knew enough to know that it was a rare model.

’’Nothing that hurts my conscience,’’ Daisy replied without a shift in her expression.

Diana nodded, ’’Then... Why do you disguise yourself now? Shall we talk to Warner to help you talk to Ryle regarding this? He won’t hold a grudge, will he?"

’’The job requirement back then was only for males. He hates being tricked.’’

The two sentences were enough to explain the gist of the matter. Diana sighed.

’’I went to Beijing a few weeks ago.’’

Diana’s head snapped up when she heard that.

"Initially, I had planned to disappear from the wedding and go abroad for a short time till everything settled down. But when I came back, I heard about the rumors regarding my ’love child’," Daisy’s lips thinned at the mention of that, "I could not find Si Yena so I had to break into the Chen Mansion for information. In your room, I found the card of that orphanage. I tracked Si Yena down and the rest came to this. Even she had no idea about your whereabouts."

Daisy initially wanted to stay there and continue looking for Diana and Angel.

"But I realized that I would eventually exhaust myself with no leads if I continue like that."

"So, when Ryle pestered you to take up the job again, you accepted it?" Diana guessed.

Daisy nodded, "I signed the contract to work for him for 2 years."

"2 years? You can’t resign?"

Daisy shook her head, "He is a petty man. I hurt his ego by disappearing and he could not track me down so now that he saw me again, he did not give me an escape."

"Did he force you?" Diana held Daisy’s hand.

Daisy smiled softly, "Force me? He can try his luck. I accepted this job out of my own will. I made him double my pay. Ryle is not a simple businessman. He is a capable man with enough resources. In one way or another, I had wanted to use him to find you."

"But you found me the moment you landed here..." Diana fell speechless when she looked at the weird expression on Daisy’s face.

It was as if Daisy planned so much and sacrificed herself for two years just to find a cake, only to find the cake in her refrigerator. And now, it was too late to undo her sacrifices.

"What now?"

Daisy shrugged, "We will see how it goes. Working for him is not a big deal. Since we are living here for the time being, getting some extra money doesn’t hurt."

Diana nodded, "Money never hurts," she inched closer to her, "Buy me some dresses when you have time. And diamonds too."

Daisy poked her forehead, "Why don’t you ask your ’friend’?"

Diana choked on the air.

"Diana."

"Hmm?" Diana immediately straightened up when she heard her sister’s solemn tone.

"Ryle should not know about my identity, no matter what. I trust the people you trust. Ivy seems fine. But Ryle... is not what he seems," Daisy frowned.

"What do you mean?" Diana was confused, "Although I haven’t interacted much with him, Maxim and him are best friends."

"I am not talking about Maxim and him. I don’t like Ryle as a person. He is not trustworthy. And he is not what he acts like," Daisy did not know how to put in words. Even at the airport, Ryle seemed to be offended by Diana’s words. Had Maxim not stepped in between, what would that man have done? "He is a dangerous man. Two years are not too long. But while I work for him, he must never know that I have deceived him. He won’t make it easy for me."

Diana nodded, "I understand."

"Good."

"I am worried about you. What have you gotten yourself into?" Diana lowered her head. Her sister, regardless of anything, was a delicate girl in the end. Now it sounded like she was tricked by the big bad wolf.

While the so-called ’delicate girl’ was sitting in front of Diana healthy and fine...

A certain big bad wolf sneezed in his office room.

"Hmm? Who is cursing me?" Ryle rubbed his nose.

Could it be Maxim? Did his parrot start another episode already? No, it was not possible. Maxim was probably in the hospital at this hour.

Dexter? No, that guy sounded like he was down with pneumonia. He would not have the strength to curse him. Not to mention that being the kind boss that he was, he gave him a day off without hesitation.

Ryle stroked his chin in contemplation.

At this time, there was a knock on the door of his office, "Come in."

"Boss, we have tracked Daisy Chen’s contact numbers."

"Numbers?" Ryle raised an eyebrow.

"She seems to carry two phones. One of them has her public profile and accounts which are managed by her father’s team. The other..."

"..Is it a private number?"

The head of the IT department nodded.

Ryle raised an eyebrow. Keeping a private phone, Ryle was certain that probably nobody at her home was aware of that or else she would not have escaped so easily, "Track it down."

"W-We tried..."

"Why are you stammering?" Ryle leaned back on the chair, crossing one of his legs above the other as he glanced at the man with narrowed eyes.

"Our systems started performing sluggishly. There is a virus in them," As Ryle’s gaze deepened, the man quickly spoke up, "We were quick to retreat. The other party would not know anything about it."

Ryle nodded, "Get me more information about Daisy Chen. Every little detail. It is not every day that Maxim asks me for help. If I can make him grateful, he would probably keep my parrot for a few more days," Ryle mumbled under his breath. He had kept a pet on a whim now it was tough for him to handle it alone.

The person who overheard those words: "_" Must you curry favor with your best friend like this? How shameful...

"Boss..."

"What is it?"

"It is, after all, the Chen Family’s business. They are no ordinary people. Is it worth it making enemies out of them over nothing?"

Ryle propped his head on his palm as he smirked, "One or two Chen Families won’t send me to my doom. Carry on with it."

"Yes."

After the man left, Ryle tapped the desk lazily.

"There is more to this Daisy Chen than what meets the eye," he mumbled. None of the socialites he had come across were this wild.

And it seems like she had someone backing her up with the way her phone is protected. Even his people were unable to track her down properly. When he took up the responsibility to find this runaway heiress, he had not thought that it would be a challenging task.

But things did not seem as easy now.

Dexter, that guy, was already clinging to Diana. With Diana shielding him, and with Maxim shielding Diana, it would be a long race before Ryle reached Dexter. He had yet to make that guy regret leaving his job and disappearing without notice.

So, helping Maxim would be helping himself. Once Diana’s sister was thrown into the mix, Diana’s priorities would shift without a doubt.

Then, Ryle would love to see where Dexter, that little mouse would hide himself.

The more he thought, the further it pleased him.

Ryle could not help but daydream about the ways he would torture Dexter to make him regret and beg for mercy.

Heheheh~

...

In a nightclub near Sixth Street Viaduct, Los Angeles.

When Diana stepped inside the nightclub, she came to a realization. Regardless of the country or city, the club was electric, everyone feeding off of the smiles and countless feet moving to the crazy beat as if they belonged to the music.

Back in Beijing, the socialites would often hold kitty parties in luxurious nightclubs or restaurants and Diana would tag along with her mother. But this time, things were different. She was not obliged to socialize with anyone here nor did people flock around her to curry favor with her parents.

Diana tended to forget about her stress when she was drunk or amidst a crowd of cheerful people. She was determined to keep clubbing tonight as if it was her last day on earth but probably that’s just a way her mind avoided things that she should not dwell on.

She slipped through the crowd, making a beeline for the bar.

She was about to go for wine, her first preference but in the end, she switched to whiskey.

Try new things. She reminded herself.

And three whiskeys later, she found herself back on the dance floor, hands in the air, body moving like an uncoiling rope, she let go of every shred of inhibitions she had been keeping over the months she spent here.

Her eyes fluttered close and the joy was like a shot of adrenaline, straight to her heart as she felt like she was one with the music, one with every person dancing in the place.

As she swayed her hips, her dress moved, and the sequins caught the disco ball lights twirling above-launching every shade of the rainbow in the darkness. Diana was dancing without a care for the world, hence missing the attention that she was beginning to garner.

In a secluded corner of the bar, a pair of eyes followed her movements closely.

Once the adrenaline was down, Diana lost her interest in dancing. She made her way back to the bar and sat on a bar stool.

’’The same,’’ she said to the bartender who had served her earlier.

The bartender smiled, ’’You can put it on my tab, beautiful.’’

Diana propped her chin atop her intertwined fingers as she looked at him. She realized that he seemed to be around the age of a university student, perhaps a few years younger than her. He was a good-looking one.

But as soon as the thought crossed her mind, a certain face flashed in her head.

Not as good-looking as him. The thought followed almost subconsciously.

Diana waved her hand, shaking off her wayward thoughts. She was here to unwind, not to dwell on her chaotic thoughts, ’’No thanks,’’ she said to the bartender who took the hint and went from flirtatious to professional within a beat.

’’Excuse me.’’

Diana raised her head upon hearing the voice and she was greeted with an unfamiliar face in front of her. If she remembered it right, she had briefly caught sight of this man on the dance floor earlier.

’’Yes?"

’’It’s a busy night. For a pretty lady like you to sit here alone is just not fair,’’ he smiled like a gentleman, ’’Do I have the honor to join you?"

...

A/N: If the number of coins used to unlock the Chapters fluctuates, just know that I have increased the Chapter length. I wrote a long Chapter today (around 700 extra words) so this Chapter might cost you more coins. [200 words=1 coin]

Also...

Happy reading <3 I haven’t been able to write good author’s note for y’all lately but I just hope that you’ve been doing well <33333