The girl brushed past, leaving behind a faint scent.
Milo Sinclair immediately turned around, wanting to catch her, only to find she was running fast.
Following her out of the music shop, Milo Sinclair had to jog to catch up, blocking her path with a turn and looked her over, frowning and asking, "How old are you this year? Are you an adult?"
This question left Shea Thorne stunned.
She had encountered many situations of being approached like this in public places, most of the boys were timid, trying hard to steady themselves and act gentlemanly, asking for her name, her phone number or to add on WeChat, wanting to make friends.
This was the first time someone suddenly blocked her path and directly asked about her age.
Shea Thorne was bewildered, Milo Sinclair thought she hadn't heard him, frowned and asked again.
"Are you eighteen years old?"
No wonder he asked that way, in order to distinguish herself from Ariana Thorne, Shea Thorne deliberately wore a somewhat pink princess dress today, coupled with high heels and a bow on her head, she didn't even reach his ears in height.
Milo Sinclair realized he might have scared her, and softened his voice: "Sorry, pardon my intrusion, I just want to be friends with you."
Her little princess look truly made him unsure if she was a grown-up girl.
Shea Thorne's height just allowed her to see the gold-rimmed glasses in his decorative pocket, making her appear more petite and adorable in front of him, but she definitely didn't want to look up to meet his eyes. This person was truly rude, no matter how good he looked, she didn't like him.
So, Shea Thorne raised her head and rejected, "Sorry, I don't make friends with people much older than me."
Judging by his attire and aura, he definitely seemed to be older than Ariana Thorne by over five years.
She is young and beautiful now, plenty of fresh-faced guys are waiting for her to have fun with, she doesn't need to make friends with much older people.
After saying that, she moved a bit to the left, bypassed Milo Sinclair, and ran off with her cello case.
Milo Sinclair turned around, watching her running figure, analyzing her bones from her running posture, finally satisfied, he smiled.
Good, she's an adult.
...
Shea Thorne circled around the mall, and confirmed that person wasn't following her anymore, before heading to the fourth floor to find her roommates.
Her roommates were trying on clothes, and upon seeing Shea Thorne returning with the cello case, they asked, "Couldn't be fixed? Fixed so soon?"
They could only think of those two possibilities, either it couldn't be fixed and she brought it back, or it was fixed, and she brought it back conveniently.
But Shea Thorne shook her head and said, "No, I rented another one. That cello needs fixing, I'll use this one temporarily."
"Oh? When did you become so diligent? What, not revolving around Miles Crawford anymore?" Rhonda Ford asked back. Previously, her eyes were only for Miles Crawford, so much that she neglected her major classes a lot. If not for her previously practiced techniques, she might have been called in by the teacher for a chat.
Shea Thorne said nothing, with Ariana Thorne inside her body, she couldn't directly mention Miles Crawford, she only smiled and said, "He's busy learning medicine, I should have my own things to do, to pass the time."
"That's more like it, us girls should have our own lives, so those pesky men don't think we'll die without them." Sharon Somerset chimed in, agreeing as she heard Shea Thorne speak, "Do you want to try some too? I think that pink bubble dress would suit you perfectly."
Shea Thorne glanced at the princess-styled dress, then nodded to try it on. She wasn't that kind of girl before, when she was young, she always envied others wearing princess dresses.
Now, Ariana Thorne's appearance matched this type, pretty and vibrant, wearing clothes like this looked great no matter how coy, she surely wanted to try them all.
After trying several dresses, Rhonda Ford's boyfriend Jonah Bell came over, he is a local heading back to school to get some materials, knowing Rhonda and the others were in the mall, he came to see Rhonda.
The girls wisely gave the couple some space, Shea Thorne left her cello with Jonah Bell, asking him to help bring it back and leave it with the auntie downstairs of the dormitory.
When they're in love, the two are especially sweet. Jonah Bell is a local; Rhonda Ford had already met Jonah Bell's family, who particularly liked Rhonda Ford and would always bring her some treats.
Whenever Rhonda wasn't around, the stuff would be left with the aunt downstairs, over time the aunt also received small gifts; Jonah Bell is the most familiar with the dormitory and the aunt.
Shea Thorne didn't buy too many clothes but went to dye her hair directly.
Originally dyed black and straight, it was changed back to the previous chestnut-colored curls. Ariana Thorne's face didn't appear awkward anymore. She was like a porcelain doll type of girl, now with the hair change and pinkish makeup, she looked like a famous real-life doll.
She should be meticulously protected, only having to think about which dress to wear every day as a little princess.
Looking at her transformation, a strange feeling rose in Shea Thorne's heart. She realized it came from Ariana Thorne, suggesting: Jonah Bell is free, implying Miles Crawford might be free too, I'll call Miles Crawford now and let him see how it looks?
Inside, a sense of anticipation rose up, Shea Thorne knew she agreed.
She sent a video message to Miles Crawford, but he didn't answer.
Ariana Thorne, undeterred, persuaded Shea Thorne to call again: maybe he's busy? Didn't see it, he often didn't see it before.
Shea Thorne raised her brow, a wicked delight emerged inside her, she immediately dialed the video again, still, no answer, dialed again no answer, and again.
Until Ariana Thorne inside was giving up, Shea Thorne hadn't let go, the last call was picked up impatiently on the other end by Miles Crawford.
"I'm busy, what do you want?"
In the video, Miles Crawford was wearing a white coat, his face full of impatience.
Seeing this face, Shea Thorne recalled how he coldly treated Ariana Thorne, the first life being together with the surrogate woman, the second with a colleague from the lab.
The only common point of these two lives was that when Ariana Thorne died and got buried, he hadn't come to see her once.
She questioned again, what on earth did Ariana Thorne see in him?!
So what if he's handsome? Good grades are useless, cannot be food or shelter!
Seeing Miles Crawford, a sudden surge of tender feelings flowed unwarranted in Shea Thorne's heart, she said sulkily, "I… I got a new hairstyle, wanted to let you see if it's pretty…"
Miles Crawford, however, was impatient, even not moving from the microscope, saying, "If you have nothing, go read more books, don't bother me with this trivial matter."
"I…" Shea Thorne hadn't finished speaking, on the other side a sentence "I'm really busy" cut off the video.
Shea Thorne calmly put away the phone, thinking: still not giving up? Jonah Bell is busy too but has time to see Rhonda, surely Miles Crawford isn't busier than Jonah Bell?
Yet Ariana Thorne persisted, saying: it's okay, it's good he's busy, he will become a famous doctor in the future.
Being so accommodating as a woman, Shea Thorne had nothing to say, even now, she's still making excuses for Miles Crawford, if she were Ariana Thorne's roommate, she'd look down on her.
While speaking these words, that kind of tender, watery feeling is a love she had never experienced throughout her life.
She dared to bet her life, if this life restarted without her overseeing and controlling this body, then Ariana Thorne would still follow the footsteps of the previous two lives, marry Miles Crawford again, suffer his cold violence, and die young.
In the first life, she went mad and her daughter disowned her.
In the second life, her daughter blamed her for forcing Miles Crawford not to come home, eventually she and her daughter died together in an accident.
In this third life, it seemed the daughter didn't need to be born, after all it's just another death.
Why exactly? Unlimited tolerance for Miles Crawford, yet not a trace of hate?