Chapter 136  +23.  Disappointment was inevitable, and Cedric was prepared for that. He raised his hand, giving a bag to Rosie. “Could you please give this to Sienna?”  “Oh, sure.” Rosie quickly took it and glanced at the bag–it was desserts from Tasty Bites.  “Thanks,” Cedric said with a slight smile. “I’ll head out now.”  “Alright, take care.”  “Hmm.”  Watching Cedric’s back as he left, Rosie sighed and turned back to the backstage area. She placed the bag in front of Sienna and said, “Here, this is from him. Desserts from Tasty Bites, not cheap at all.”  Sienna frowned, feeling a heaviness in her heart.  Rosie, curious, couldn’t help but ask, “Are you avoiding him on purpose? He seems nice and polite. Don’t you like him?”  “Yeah, he’s not bad, totally not.” Sienna didn’t answer the last question and sighed helplessly, “It’s exactly because he’s so good that I have to avoid him.”  “What?” Rosie was surprised. Thinking about Cedric, she guessed, “Is he some kind of rich kid?”  “Yeah,” Sienna nodded.  Rosie suddenly understood, thinking for a moment before nodding, “I get it. I understand your choice. Us regular folks should probably just stay in  our lane.”  “Yeah,” Sienna replied. Somehow, she felt that Rosie seemed a little down and distracted. But Rosie quickly recovered, her smile blossoming gently. “I’ll go get you some clothes.”  Sienna smiled, “Thanks.”  *  Josiah parked the car by the side entrance of the dance troupe. After waiting for almost half an hour, he finally saw someone come out.  This was the staff exit, so everyone leaving was part of the dance troupe. From a distance, Josiah saw Sienna walking over, linking arms with another girl, chatting and laughing.  He swung the car door open and got out, jogging a few steps until he stood right in front of her. “Sienna.”  Sienna stopped short, looking at him in surprise. “Do you need something? Is Miranda looking for me?”  “Why does it always have to be Miranda? Can’t I just want to see you?” Josiah frowned immediately, looking annoyed. His mood changed as quickly as turning a page.  “Sienna.” Rosie pointed to the side. “I’ll wait for you over there, okay?”  “Alright.” Sienna was full of gratitude. She really couldn’t figure out what Josiah was thinking and was afraid of making him angry. He had a really bad temper, and it was better to keep things simple. “So, did you want to talk about something?”  Josiah reached into his pocket and pulled out the headband he had just repurchased at TeeMall. He tossed it to Sienna and said, “Here’s your  headband.”  Sienna reflexively reached up and caught it, almost dropping it on the ground. Even though the light was dim, she recognized it instantly. “This isn’t my headband.”  “I couldn’t find yours,” Josiah said, as stubborn as ever. “I wanted to return it to you yesterday, but you wouldn’t take it. So, I…I just bought this for you. Take it or leave it, he stammered a bit, unexpectedly nervous.  Before Sienna could reply, he looked at her eagerly. “Does it look good? Do you like it?”  Before Sienna could figure out what was happening, Josiah glared at her impatiently. “I’m asking you, do you like it or not?”  ‘Why’s he being so harsh all of a sudden? With his attitude, how could I dare say no?‘ Sienna just nodded, “Yeah, it’s nice.”  1/3  Extra Check–in  Vouchers  Ad–Free Reading  Exclusive Profile  Badge  6:55 PM  +23  Chapter 136  Since it was meant as compensation, she thought she might as well accept it. As for the Tayitian pearls, she had no idea about them; she just thought of them as a regular one–dollar hairband.  She casually slipped the hairband onto her wrist, its color standing out against her tender skin. Josiah noticed, and a faint smile appeared on his lips.  “I’m heading out,” Sienna said, pointing at Rosie. “My friend’s waiting for me.”  Josiah gave a slight nod. “Yeah, go ahead.”  “Mm–hmm.” Without saying goodbye, Sienna turned and ran to Rosie.  “Are you ready?” Rosie asked.  Sienna nodded, “Yeah.”  “Let’s go,” Rosie smiled.  Then the two girls walked away arm in arm. Josiah watched their figures fade into the distance for a moment, then snapped out of it, got into his car silently, and tailed them. They boarded a bus and eventually entered an old residential area in the city.  Josiah parked his car at the entrance of the neighborhood and murmured to himself, “City Pearl.” He kept it in mind, turned the steering wheel, and headed towards Mousea House.  The private room there was bustling with people today, with two tables set up for cards. Yosef was at one of the tables, dominating the game.  Thomas had organized the game and quickly came over to greet Josiah. “Hey, you’re here. I thought you were going to skip out on us.”  Josiah leaned back on the sofa, unfazed by being momentarily overlooked.  “Wow, you’re in a great mood.” Thomas nudged Josiah with his elbow and winked, his voice low. “Come on, is it because Sienna and Cedric broke up?”  Josiah, who was drinking  arted choking. He gave Thomas a look and snapped, “What nonsense are you talking about?”  “Still not admitting it, huh? It’s all over your face,” Thomas said. But he wasn’t going to push it any further. As friends, it was enough to just leave it at that.  “Right now is a great chance. If you really feel that way, go for it. As your buddy, I’m here for you.” After saying that, Thomas stood up and walked  away.  Josiah sat alone, and his heart was beating faster. ‘A good chance? Maybe, it’s not impossible to give it a try?‘  Early morning, Sienna was brushing her hair when Rosie walked by her. Strangely, Rosie turned back and called softly, “Sienna.”  “Hmm?” Sienna looked puzzled. “What’s up?”  Rosie bent down and picked up the pearl hairband beside her, a bit unsure. “Is this yours?”  “Yeah.” Sienna couldn’t see what the problem was.  Rosie was just curious, and she quickly explained, “Sienna, I don’t mean anything by it. Don’t get me wrong. I just think it’s not something you’d buy.”  “Why?” Sienna still didn’t understand. “Is there something wrong with it?”  “The hairband is nice. I just noticed that you’re usually pretty thrifty,” Rosie said honestly–she could tell that from Sienna’s eating and dressing habits, which was why she commented.  But now, she regretted it a little and added, “But, it’s perfectly okay for a woman to sometimes splurge on something she likes to treat herself.”  “It’s not that.” Sienna vaguely sensed the issue and held onto the hairband. “Do you mean it’s expensive?”  “Yeah,” Rosie nodded. “Didn’t you know?”  “How can it be?” Sienna carefully examined the headband. Although it wasn’t hers, it looked very similar, both with a few white beads inlaid. Suddenly, she looked up. “The pearls are real?”  2/3  Extra Check–in  Vouchers  Ad–Free Reading  Exclusive Profile  Badge  6:55 PM C  Chapter 136  “Yeah,” Rovic nodded fiercely. “It’s genuine, no doubt about it. Remember my job? I wouldn’t mistake it?” She was a fashion designer and immersed in the fashion world, so she could definitely tell the difference between fake and real pearls.  B