Chapter 750 - 746: Melinda Sterling

The two of them exchanged a glance and raised their eyebrows.

To both Cecilia and Ethan, their maternal grandmother—and for that matter, all their relatives back in their old home in Fornan—were distant strangers.

They could barely recall ever meeting them. Their mother rarely took them back for visits, and they couldn’t even remember how many years it had been since the last time.

Their aunt was even more detached; as far as they remembered, she had only gone back once.

"Hello, Mom."

The call connected. Jasmine’s tone was as flat and even as usual.

But her mother on the other end of the line was frantic. "Jasmine, Mindy’s run off to Lorcain! You need to go pick her up, quick! Don’t let her get lost!"

"What?" Jasmine’s brow furrowed the moment she heard this. "Mindy is coming to Lorcain? What is she coming to Lorcain for?"

"Oh, for heaven’s sake, how would we know!" Her mother sounded absolutely furious. "That darn girl’s gotten too big for her britches. She disappeared this morning, and your older brother and sister-in-law just thought she’d gone out. Next thing we know, she sends a message after boarding a plane, saying she’s off to Lorcain to find a job. She’s never traveled far from home in her life! How is she supposed to survive in Lorcain all by herself?"

"You’re in Lorcain, aren’t you? Her plane just took off. If you head to the airport now, you can definitely meet her. Once you’ve got her, buy a return ticket and send her straight back. That little brat... just you wait, your older brother will break her legs when she gets back!"

Jasmine was even more shocked. Mindy, getting a job?

She was even younger than Cecilia. Shouldn’t she be in school?

"Isn’t she supposed to be starting school?"

"What school? She didn’t get into any universities after the entrance exams, so she said she’s done with studying." Her mother clearly didn’t want to discuss it and just hurried Jasmine along. "Treat this seriously. Go pick her up, and don’t let anything happen to her while she’s alone in Lorcain."

Jasmine didn’t dare to delay. If something really did happen, her mother would surely blame her for it. "Fine, I get it."

Cecilia had been watching her mother the whole time. She knew the call from her grandmother must have been about something urgent. As soon as her mother hung up, she asked, "What’s wrong? What did Grandma need?"

"Mindy secretly got on a plane and ran off to Lorcain. Your grandmother wants me to pick her up and send her back." Jasmine was already on her feet as she spoke, unable to stop herself from complaining, "I don’t even have to ask to know what happened. With your grandmother’s and your uncle and aunt’s attitude of favoring boys over girls, I can only imagine how much Mindy must have suffered back home. Why else would she run away in secret?"

Her older brother, Miles Sterling, was a few years older than her, but Jasmine had children early. Miles, on the other hand, had only married and started a family after graduating from college.

So, even though Melinda Sterling was Miles’s first child, she was two years younger than Cecilia.

And Miles had four children in total—Mindy was the only daughter, while the other three were sons.

"Mom, I’ll go pick her up. I’m the only one with nothing to do today."

Cecilia stopped her mother, popped the last wonton into her mouth, and stood up. "You go to the office first. I’ll let you know once I have her."

"Will you be able to recognize her?" Jasmine was a little worried. After all, her daughter hadn’t seen Mindy in several years.

’A girl can change so much as she grows up.’ She probably wouldn’t even recognize Mindy herself now.

Cecilia didn’t have Mindy’s WhatsApp. She didn’t have anyone’s WhatsApp from her family back home. So she looked at her mother and said, "Ask Grandma for a recent photo of Mindy. When the flight from back home lands, I’ll check everyone at the arrivals gate one by one. I’ll definitely be able to find her."

Jasmine hesitated for only a moment before nodding. "Alright. You two are around the same age. When you see her, try to talk some sense into her. If she wants to hang out in Lorcain for a few days, let her, but she absolutely has to go back in the end. Otherwise, if something happens, we can’t take that responsibility."

Cecilia understood what her mother meant. "Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of her."

At Lorcain Airport, Cecilia had already checked the flight information before arriving. Based on her calculations, there was only one flight from her hometown, scheduled to land at 9:30.

The time was drawing near. Passengers began to file out of the arrivals gate one after another. Cecilia stared at the photo on her phone, making sure she wouldn’t mistake her.

After about half an hour, Mindy finally appeared.

She was wearing a light jacket and pulling a huge suitcase, as if she had packed everything she owned into it. She had a lost look on her face as she came through the gate, her eyes filled with helplessness. It was obvious she was a complete stranger to the big city.

Cecilia recognized her instantly and walked straight over. "Mindy!"

Mindy turned her head and saw a stunningly beautiful woman walking toward her. She looked around in confusion, and even when Cecilia stopped right in front of her, she still didn’t recognize her.

"Do you know me?" Mindy asked, looking at Cecilia with bewilderment.

Cecilia gave a helpless smile. It wasn’t just that Mindy didn’t recognize her; if she hadn’t had the photo, she wouldn’t have recognized Mindy either.

"I’m your cousin, Cecilia. Remember me?"

"Cecilia?" Mindy was clearly shocked, but she did remember. Her eyes widened as she looked Cecilia up and down. "You... you’ve gotten so beautiful!"

Faint memories began to surface. Mindy vaguely recalled that Cecilia had been very pretty even as a child.

"You snuck off to Lorcain, so your grandma called my mom. I came specially to pick you up," Cecilia explained.

Mindy looked annoyed at hearing this. She had completely forgotten that her aunt had moved to Lorcain. If she had known, she would have gone to Kyden instead.

Cecilia, however, noticed Mindy’s thin clothing. Fornan wasn’t like Lorcain; winters there were still above freezing, and by March, spring had already begun.

But in Lorcain, it was still ten-odd degrees below zero in March.

"You’re not dressed warmly enough. Come on, let’s get in the car first."

Mindy was a bit resistant. She was afraid of being sent back home. But looking at the enormous airport around her, she felt a surge of fear. It was clear she had no real concept of a big city; only after arriving did she realize she was completely lost and had no idea where to even go.

So she nodded and followed Cecilia to the car.

She had never been in such a nice car before. The seats were like clouds, so soft and comfortable.

"You haven’t eaten, have you?"

"They had bread on the plane. I ate one."

"It’ll be around noon by the time we get downtown. I’ll take you to get something to eat first. Don’t you have any warmer clothes?"

Mindy looked down at her jacket and shook her head. "This is the warmest thing I have. I can buy a padded coat online."

Cecilia looked at her and sighed, her heart aching a little. She was just too thin.

Her build was similar to that of Estelle, who was always managing her figure. So she sent a message to Estelle, asking if she had any spare winter clothes she wasn’t wearing that she could "contribute."

When they reached Downtown, Cecilia found a restaurant that was, by her standards, relatively ordinary.

But even so, it was still a luxury for Mindy. She stopped Cecilia at the entrance and said, "Sis, we don’t need to eat somewhere this expensive. Some fast-food noodles or something would be fine."

She wasn’t just being polite; she was saying it with complete sincerity.

Cecilia’s heart ached at how sensible she was. She squeezed her hand. "It’s not expensive. Let’s go in."