Chapter 2 The Prelude (Part Two)

"Alright. Then go to Country R with me," Austin suggested, crossing his arms over his chest.

"No way!" Clare refused without hesitation, "I don't want to join you just to be tortured by Grandma."

Tortured?

Austin couldn't help but roll his eyes. "Don't let Grandma hear you say that. Otherwise, she would be really pissed off."

"Right, of course," Clare said with an exasperated sigh. She knew well enough that if she said anything like that in front of Jean, it was like she was asking for a death wish.

With a grunt, she jumped onto Austin's bed, the stuffed bear still tightly in her arms, and started to kick her legs rudely.

"I'm still so upset!" she cried out, repeating what she had just said earlier.

From her tone, Austin realized that there must be something else irritating his sister besides the fact that he was about to leave H City.

"Who pissed you off?" he asked gently.

"Our irresponsible parents, that's who!" Clare was filled with righteous indignation and complained, "They just told me that they were going to abandon me and enjoy their annual vocation in Country F. They are going to abandon me, just like you!"

She then sat on the middle of the bed to frown deeply at her brother. "They'll be gone for three whole months! I mean it's fine that they're going to this so-called 'annual event' that I have never even heard of until now. Of course, they can just leave the company's affairs to their subordinates. In fact, I want them to enjoy their little trip to Country F. But how could they leave me alone at home so irresponsibly? They've gone too far this time! So! I'm very angry now! And so! I've made up my mind..."

Clare paused, trying to elicit a sense of suspense.

Leaning in, Austin adjusted his expression and pretended to be curious.

With a satisfied smile, Clare straightened her back and squared her shoulders. "I'm going to run away from home!"

Her voice resounded inside Austin's room, each word said with much robustness.

If Austin only ranked as second as the person who knew Clare the most, no one else could ever possibly rank first. And so, when he heard her say that she was planning on running away from home, he knew she meant it.

Since school was about to begin, Clare couldn't go on the trip with their parents. On top of that, Austin was about to leave as well. Staying at home alone for three months could drive her crazy with boredom. It wouldn't be a surprise if she ended up burning the house down! Because of this, it was understandable that she would want to run away.

Of course, Austin deeply loved and cared about his sister. And so, he couldn't help but ask the first question that popped into his mind. "Where do you want to go then?"

"To S City! I'm going to study there! Mom and Dad already agreed to it. And I won't have to worry where I can stay since I can come live with our cousin!" Clare said determinedly.

Hearing this, Austin nodded. There were several people in S City who were very close to the three of them, and they were also the same few people who knew what kind of person Clare was really like. When Clare was eight years old, she, Cassie and several other became sworn sisters. After that, they named their small group "Dreamlike Seven Stars". Now it sounded a bit childish, but it was the result of their long discussion about their treasured friendship. Given this, S City was the first place that came to Clare's mind when she thought about 'running away' from home.

"That sounds like a good plan," Austin said. "But have you decided which school to go to?"

"XY High School!" Clare smiled and answered without hesitation.

A slight frown appeared on Austin's face. "Why?"

"Everyone else at Dreamlike Seven Stars is studying in XY High School now. Wouldn't it be...weird if I didn't go there when I went to S City? Besides, XY High School has a good reputation. Doesn't it make sense if I studied there?"

"Really? That's all?" Austin asked doubtfully.

Looking at her brother, Clare blinked innocently and threw the question back to him. "Or what?"

"Grandpa passed away in S City, and he used to be a member of the board of directors of XY High School." Austin's face became serious. "Clary, don't tell me that it has nothing to do with your choice to go to XY High School."

"Brother..." Clare felt a little frustrated. "You always make me feel bad by exposing me like this! Fine. Yes, part of the reason why I chose to go to XY High School is because of Grandpa."

Clare scooched over to the edge of the bed to get closer to Austin. "But, don't you have some doubts about Grandpa's death?" she continued. "Be honest, Brother. You know that there was something wrong with what happened to Grandpa that year. I don't believe that Grandma, Dad, Mom and Uncle Lewis can't see it! But after three years, they didn't do anything about it at all. Don't you find it strange? Besides..." Clare grabbed her stuffed bear and placed it on her lap, a subtle smile on her lips. "Don't tell me that the reason why you agreed to go to Country R so easily has nothing to do with Grandpa."

Austin sighed with a smile. Just like how he was towards her, there was nothing he could hide from Clare.

"Yes, you're absolutely right," he admitted. "But Clary, just as you said, Grandma and the others also know that there is something wrong. And they haven't done anything in the past three years, which proves that this matter may be more complicated than we imagined, and even dangerous..."

"I'm not afraid of danger!" Clare interrupted. "I just want to find out the truth. Brother, don't you want the same? Since you can investigate into it, why can't I?"

"Because you are my sister," Austin answered.

Clare raised an eyebrow at him. "What? Just because I'm a girl, I can't go?"

Austin laughed, "I just don't want you to get into trouble. But now that you have made up your mind, I know I can't stop you. Just make sure you can take care of yourself."

"Of course!" she chimed. She knew her brother would understand her.

"Just make sure not to let Cass and Amie know about it," Austin added. "After all, it's just our simple suspicion now. No need to make them worry, too. If there is really any trouble, I don't want them to be involved. If we can't find anything, it doesn't matter. Maybe we're just overthinking this whole thing."

Clare nodded obediently. "Don't worry. I know what I'm doing."

Standing up, Austin ruffled her hair. Then, he turned around and walked to the bookshelf. He took an intricate box from the topmost shelf and handed it to Clare with a smile. "I saw it a few days ago by accident and thought it was suitable for you, so I bought it. Do you like it?"

Clare took it and asked curiously, "What is it?"

Taking the box back, Austin opened it for her, revealing a small trinket. "It's just a bracelet. It's a gift for you."

Clare took out the bracelet and her eyes gleamed with excitement. "Wow, Pisces! You are the best brother ever!"

The purple crystal bracelet in the box was a product of the famous jewelry brand "Pisces" in H City. Its specialty did not lie in its high price and exquisite appearance, but in its uniqueness. All of the jewelries at Pisces were all designed by the top designers in the world. They were exquisite and each style was one of a kind. That was why the price of the jewelry was extremely high, but it still attracted the nobles and all the rich people in H City to buy their products.

Austin took the bracelet, and put it around her wrist. "Stop joking around. Take good care of yourself when you go to S City, okay?" he said softly.

"Got it." Clare looked at the bracelet her brother put on for her with a smile and teased, "Brother, you are more like Mom than Mom is."

But, Austin ignored her comment and looked at her seriously. "Clare, please try to keep a low profile. Okay? You know, you have always been in trouble since you were a child."

Clare sighed exaggeratedly, "Alas, I have no choice. This is the life of such a beautiful creature such as myself."

Rolling his eyes, Austin went back to sit in front of his computer, busying himself with the game he had been playing earlier.

Three days from now, he would go to Country R to receive instructions from his grandmother. Meanwhile, his sister was about to move to S City to start a new life.

A simple decision is enough to completely change the course of one's life. But at this moment, Austin and Clare were still not aware of this...