“Estelle, don’t leave me.”
“I won’t,” Estelle smiled and suddenly remembered something. “Sir, the wind was howling on our way here just now, and I didn’t hear what you said. What did you say to me?”
“A secret about me.”
“About your identity?”
“Yes.”
“Then did you… tell me your real name?”
“Yes.”
After hesitating for several seconds, Estelle asked tentatively, “Could… Could you tell me your name again?”
As she was about to lift her head from Mr. Mysterious’ arms, he gently pressed her head against his chest and spoke in a childlike tone, “I’ll only say it once this time. Since you didn’t hear it, you’ll have to wait until I feel like telling you the next time.”
“It doesn’t matter if you tell me,” Estelle pouted and said. “Anyway, I know your family name is Hans, and your birthday is on December 31st.”
Mr. Mysterious’ heart jolted when he heard this. “You… You know my birthday?”
Then he said to himself, ‘Estelle, you… you know that I’m actually Cristofer? Did you hear what I said just now?’
All of a sudden, Mr. Mysterious stiffened and panicked.
“Of course,” Estelle replied. “You and Cristofer are twins, so your birthdays fall on the same day. Both of you were born on December 31st. Sir, when we first met, it was in Room 1231 of the Grand Hotel in Hadale City. Did you select that room number because it corresponds to your birthday?”
Hearing this, Mr. Mysterious breathed a sigh of relief, “Yes, that’s right.”
“I knew it,” Estelle chuckled and continued, “But learning more about you hasn’t been easy. Rebecca informed me that she has been trying every possible way to obtain information about you from Justin, but he refuses to disclose anything.”
“Justin is indeed a loyal friend,” Mr. Mysterious smiled and winked at her.
“We’ll keep in touch with Justin and Rebecca after we leave here, shall we?” Estelle inquired.
“No,” Mr. Mysterious said as he shook his head. “After we leave here, we will cut off all our connections at this place.”
“Why? Do we have to do that?” Estelle asked in confusion.
“Estelle, there’s something that I can’t tell you for the time being. We have to do that. When you know everything in the future, you will understand why I did it.”
Estelle knew that no matter what Mr. Mysterious did, he had his own reasons. But she really couldn’t bear to part with Rebecca.
During the time when the Hudson family faced a downfall, Estelle’s former friends grew fearful of being associated with her and consequently severed all ties with her.
In her most challenging moments, when Estelle could not afford her mother’s medical expenses, Rebecca came to her aid. Estelle will forever be grateful to Rebecca for her kindness and generosity.
Estelle let out a heartfelt sigh, thinking to herself, ‘We still have some time before we depart. Acquiring all of York’s shares in the company will require considerable effort. I will cherish the moments when I can be with Rebecca.’
“Estelle, it’s half past six now,” Mr. Mysterious said, wrenching Estelle’s mind back to the present.
“Yes. What’s wrong?” Estelle asked.
Mr. Mysterious then pointed to the eastern horizon and said, “The sun will rise soon.”
It was not until this moment that Estelle realized why Mr. Mysterious brought her here.
“So, you brought me here to watch the sunrise?” her eyes widened.
Mr. Mysterious nodded. “Don’t you want to watch the sunrise?”
“Yes, indeed. I have never witnessed a sunrise before,” Estelle admitted. “As a child, I always believed that the sun would rise every day and that there would be plenty of opportunities to experience it in the future. However, many years have passed, and I still haven’t had the chance to see it.”
Mr. Mysterious proceeded to wrap Estelle with his jacket and embraced her tightly from behind. “Now, you have the chance,” he whispered. “All your wishes will come true.”
“Sir.”
“Yeah?”
“You said that you knew all about me. Then have you ever secretly read the diaries I wrote when I was in high school?”
“Well, I’ve read part of them.”
“You read it?” Estelle was surprised.
“Yes. And when I read them, I found that you are really lovely,” Mr. Mysterious pecked on her cheek, smiling.
Feeling a little embarrassed, Estelle pouted, “But I remembered that I hid the notebook well. I don’t think anyone else has the chance to read the diaries, not even Cristofer.”
“Do you remember where you hid the notebook?”
“Of course. I hid it in the cabinet beside my bed…” Estelle suddenly realized that she had spilled the beans, “No, I’ll hide it in another place when I return later. My previous diaries are too childish. I can’t let you read them anymore.”
Without saying anything, Mr. Mysterious just smiled and held her more tightly.
After a while, he asked, “Are you sleepy?”
“A little.”
“You may get some sleep. I’ll wake you up when the sun rises.”
“Aren’t you sleepy?”
“No.”
“You are worthy of being called a superhero,” Estelle joked with a smile.
Hearing this, Mr. Mysterious chuckled and then said gently, “Have a good sleep.”
Feeling cozy and snug in his embrace, Estelle grew increasingly drowsy, finding it harder to keep her eyes open.
“Sir, remember to wake me up when the sun rises,” she said in a lazy voice.
“Okay.”
Maybe it was because Estelle was too tired after working for a whole night, or Mr. Mysterious’ embrace offered her a sense of security that she fell asleep soon.
After a long time, she vaguely heard Mr. Mysterious calling her name.
“Star, wake up.”
When Estelle woke up and opened her eyes, she was dazzled by the strong sunlight and quickly squinted her eyes.
The sun was rising from the horizon in the sky, and the clouds around were dyed red.
“The top of Mount Cloud is the highest position in Hadale. It is the best place to watch the sunrise.” Mr. Mysterious told her, “It’s a sunny day today. We are lucky.”
The sun rose quickly, and half of it was revealed while they were talking.
The bright golden light kissed the whole city as if the city was decorated with gold lines, and the coldness gradually faded away. Basking in the warm sunshine, Estelle felt warm.
Then she whispered, “The sun is indeed more lovely than the stars.”
‘No wonder Cristofer gave up on me and chose Gretchen. For him, I’m a star while she is a bright sun.’
“But I prefer night and stars,” Mr. Mysterious murmured.
“Why?” Estelle turned her head to him.
“Because the darkness of the night conceals everything,” Cristofer explained. “During the nighttime, I can be truly myself. I can meet the people I desire to see and do whatever I please, without anyone interfering or stopping me.”