Chapter 152 - Love at First Text

All good things must come to an end. For the Special Class and E.C. Class, many of them were reluctant to leave so quickly. However, duty calls and time waits for no man. Instead, as the mascot of the gathering, Alex announced that six years was way too long for a reunion. They would do this yearly instead. Nobody objected but many excuses were made about possible reasons for why they might not make it. Thankfully, one stern glare from Scarlet was all it took for everyone to apologise and commit to the annual event.

While the first day was used for resting up from the jet lag and the second day for full out partying late into the nights, the third day was spent packing. Some had to leave earlier because of work and flight timing but Jenna did manage to get a group photo with everyone in it to be sent to everyone after it was edited. Of course, a copy of the photo would be blown up and displayed in the Wilde mansion.

Scarlet and Alex decided to relax by the pool instead now that some of the class had left the mansion. It wasn't easy for either celebrity to get any alone time or private time to simply relax and be themselves. Being under the camera all the time and scrutinised by the public at all times can be tiring.

Jasper had to head back that afternoon because Jake wasn't able to handle everything as he claimed. Mrs Wilde wasn't the easiest person to say goodbye to but when Jasper promised her that they were welcomed to the new office whenever they wished, the heiress cheered up. Scarlet laughed at how Mrs Wilde sometimes had that childish side to her. It seems like growing old wasn't a choice but growing up was optional. The singer envied her mother's bubbliness sometimes. Ever since she started closing in on Anastasia, the stress piling up inside of her had blackened her youthfulness and the depression was like the swamp trying to consume her from the inside. Scarlet knew she was falling but she had to stay strong even for just a little longer. Once this was over, Scarlet would return to work and commence her other plan to gather more information about Anastasia and how his organisation worked through the Pineapple Group. After much probing, Scarlet was certain that the new owner of Pineapple Group – Zhu Ming Yang, was definitely involved somehow.

Unfortunately, Scarlet didn't know if Mr Zhu was approaching her just as a genuine fan or because he was suspicious about her agenda and identity. It was no secret to the world that Liu Xiu Wen was also Scarlet Wilde after that Sweet Sixteen gala announcement. If Anastasia had changed targets, Scarlet would be the next person in line he would try to kidnap and use her to threaten Wilmer into giving away the company.

"What's troubling you?" Alex asked.

The girls were sun tanning on the pool benches with their sunglasses on and sipping on some fruit juice in their swimsuits. While the atmosphere was relaxing, the mood wasn't. The model didn't know what her sister was thinking behind those shades but she knew Scarlet's mind wasn't resting, unlike her body.

Scarlet bit on the straw and sighed. "Don't you ever feel tired of smiling sometimes?"

Alex blinked. "What do you mean?"

The singer sulked. She knew her insecurities were really petty but those were the little things that piled up and threatened to break down her walls. On the outside, Scarlet was an optimistic and determined individual with a burning passion for her work. The world had often praised her with such words and Scarlet can only smile at them and offer empty words of gratitude. Behind the scenes, Scarlet hated just about everything she did apart from writing. If it wasn't for her motive of getting close to Anastasia and his contacts by making herself an obvious target in the spotlight, Scarlet would have never acted, modelled or pursued a music career willingly. She was the kind of girl who secretly loved comfortable boots over strapless heels. She was the kind of girl who preferred an oversized old hoodie to a stunning body-hugging gown. She was the kind of girl who enjoyed the company of a few close ones and her bed more than greeting hundreds of unfamiliar painted faces just like hers at parties that don't mean anything to her.

While Scarlet remained silent and brooding, Alex observed her for a little longer. For some reason, the model could understand what Scarlet was referring to even without an explanation. For the model, she wasn't tired of smiling because she couldn't remember any incident where she had to force herself to smile and look pretty. Unlike Scarlet, Alex was very comfortable with attention. In fact, Alex didn't think she could do without all the attention she'd been given ever since she was a child. Scarlet grew up in a cold and empty household without any warmth. However, the Wilde household was very different. There will always be someone around and their family was very big. Some, if not most, of the employees were considered family and Alex grew up surrounded by people.

Instead of saying anything, Alex put her drink down and walked over to Scarlet's bench to give her sister a cuddle. Due to their height difference, Scarlet got fully enveloped into Alex's chest, making her feel rather uncomfortable. If there was something about Alex that made Scarlet more jealous about their height difference, it would be those knockers on Alex's chest. Scarlet couldn't help but feel severely inferior every time they went out together because Alex looked womanly and Scarlet was just a doll-like girl no matter how much time had passed. In fact, Scarlet resented how she could easily pass for a twelve-year-old at her age.

"Let go!" Scarlet squirmed and Alex laughed. In the end, both girls ended up tumbling into the pool after a mock fight. The water was refreshing in the heat and that was how Elfie found them.

"Hello, ladies. I see you're both having fun?"

The sisters turned to greet Elfie before getting out of the water. It was approaching noon and the sun was scalding.

"Hey, Elfie. What's up?" Alex grinned and Scarlet dried herself off with a towel.

The hacker smiled. He was here to catch Scarlet and play cupid but seeing as Alex was here too, he might as well secure another beta tester for his chat room testing.

"Actually, I'm here to ask for some help…"

That got Scarlet and Alex's attention at once. Elfie had helped them a lot over the years and never really asked for anything in return. Now that he finally asked for help, the sisters were not going to refuse him.

"How can we help?" Scarlet asked and Alex told him to count her in.

The programmer was momentarily surprised. "You're not going to ask what it is about first?" He didn't think that getting approval was going to be this easy.

The disbelieving look on Elfie's face gave the sisters stitches from laughing too hard. Scarlet wheezed and Alex wiped away tears from the side of her eyes.

"No, we're willing to help however we can. It's rare for you to approach us for help anyway," Scarlet assured and Elfie felt slightly bad for using their trust in such a way. However, he knew that even if he was hated after everything was over, he wouldn't regret what he did if they found out. After all, that's what being a hacker was about. They don't care about the opinions of others, they do what they believe is right and only fought for their version of justice.

With a smile, Elfie explained how he wanted to take the chat room to a new level and open it to the public. He borrowed Jasper's name for that and both girls bought the reason.

"I'll be giving both of you moderator functions so you could test the features as well. Of course, feel free to hop in any rooms and make friends or just lurk and read what other people usually talk about. If there is any bad behaviour you can exercise your rights and report them for me so they'd be on the ban list."

Elfie then went into detail and demonstrated the revamped chat room. Scarlet immediately fell in love with the dark theme and anonymous chat concept. People could change their usernames and while Elfie said that the hidden number code behind the usernames was fixed and system assigned, that four-digit code was not visible to others apart from the admin.

Scarlet and Alex created their accounts and started testing it out. Since it hasn't been released to the public yet, they could mess around for all they wanted. Scarlet created a room called "Dumb Blonde" and Alex was made the room's host. The girls had a ball testing out gif bombing, name changing, role-playing and trash-talking without restraint.

While observing everything from the log, Elfie wondered if this was a good idea. Both sisters were having too much fun and with the anonymous filter, the kind of things they typed shocked even Elfie. Who knew that beneath that nice kitten image laid such wild lionesses?

Elfie shuddered. Whatever. This was not his business, if Edward wanted to get to know Scarlet, this would be his problem from now on. Elfie was done playing Cupid and if they got together eventually, the hacker had no responsibility for the world's possible destruction.