(Chapter 28) Inspirations

This was the day that Francesca learned that the world was extremely big. Seeing the car drop off at a mansion that was larger than her own, she felt she had accidentally friended an heiress.

"Alright, my parents should be inside with something to eat." Astrid opened the door and stepped out, yes, she was hungry still.

Francesca was in awe of the pathway to the mansion doors, it wasn't particularly grand or expensive, but the flower patches outside were beautiful.

"The Madam planted them since the Young Miss enjoyed the scenery." Winoa informed Francesca in what she was seeing.

Francesca dumbly nodded. Now she knew that Winoa was a servant in this family...

But what was this family? She had never heard of the family name that Astrid used in school...

"Mum, dad." Astrid greeted with a smile as she walked in. Winoa and an amazed Francesca followed behind her.

"I'm glad you had a good time. Dinner will be served in a little bit. How about you come sit down for a bit?" Mrs. Tuhs aimed the last sentence at Francesca, she was happy that Astrid had brought a friend home.

"Mm, Francesca, my daughter and Winoa had told us about you. We thank you for taking care of them." Mr. Tuhs spoke with a smile, he appreciated both this girl's character, and her father.

Francesca nodded with a slight blush. But she was also quietly stunned into silence. 'Astrid's mother... She looks so familiar.

Astrid sat down and started to drown herself in some snacks and tea. She had acquired a taste for some old-fashioned English-infused tea.

However, she only drank a single cup a day, she didn't overindulge in the tea since she also liked other drinks...

She ate various biscuits and cookies that were specially baked for her on her tastes, it was fairly milk heavy and sweet.

As Astrid effortlessly ate and drank, Winoa started to do some work she was required to do.

Francesca was stuck in silence, she was in an awkward position here.

It wouldn't be bad if Astrid wasn't in such a rich family. But now Francesca didn't know how to act.

Luckily, Mrs. Tuhs was extremely adept at making people feel comfortable, she asked some questions about school and what she wanted to do in the future.

Francesca slowly became more comfortable with being in a different house. As she started to talk about her dreams and aspirations.

"Oh, I would like to be a model. I admire the models that walk on the catwalk. Especially Volgader, she is my end goal!" Francesca had stars in her eyes as she spoke about her dreams.

Mrs. Tuhs had a soft smile on her face as she listened to Francesca. "A model? Mm, I'm sure when you grow up you will be perfect for the catwalk." Mrs. Tuhs praised, she honestly believed that.

Astrid had a subtle smile on her face as she ate the final biscuit. noticing her mother's subtle attitude and change in tone. She had confirmed something...

Volgader is the ultimate goal for most aspiring female models. She had reached a stage where no one could touch her. She started off as a nobody within the small Russian catwalk shows. But her professionalism and beauty had quickly catapulted her to international fame.

She went global as she reached her early twenties, she was seen everywhere across the globe. As many companies clambered to get her name on their clothing.

As she reached her late twenties she stopped showing up on the catwalk as often as before. She became a precious commodity, as she even acted in a couple of award-winning films. Famed for their dancing choreography and great stories.

But Volgader somewhat disappeared from the public eyes. She made sparse appearances for another 5 years, before completely disappearing from the public eye.

Since she was modeling during a more magazine-focused time, not so many younger people knew her growing up. But within the modeling industry, she continued to be the goal that many aimed for, as the aspiring models would be shown her videos and magazines.

Francesca had grown up with little influence from her mother, but she knew of her mother's love of Volgader, henceforth. When her mother died, she aspired to be a model that her mother could be proud of, and hopefully be someone that the younger generation like herself looked up to.

"I've called your father and he is fine with you staying round. Please make yourself at home as you like." Mr. Tuhs came back from a phone call he made, it turned out he called Mr. Di Rui.

Francesca nodded. She felt comfortable in this home, despite loving her father, she had missed her mother. So Mrs. Tuhs gave her good vibes for sticking around.

They stayed talking for a little while until dinner was served. Winoa was at the table alongside the girls as Andrea served the table.

Upon learning Winoa was Astrid's attendant Francesca didn't feel much, she didn't care about that and saw they both cared for each other. So seeing Winoa's mother attending to Mrs. Tuhs, she understood how good this family was.

"Hey, what is that?" Francesca asked in curiosity as Astrid sipped down a bowl of red liquid.

Astrid put down her spoon and gave a smile. "Nourishing soup." She responded, she didn't know what it was either. But she knew if she didn't have any within a day, she would start to lose her strength.

Francesca nodded with a slight blush, she forgot that Astrid was ill for a long time. So making sure she would be healthy was important.

After dinner Astrid went out to walk in the garden on her own. She often did this anyway so everyone let her do her own thing. While Francesca was shown a little of the house.

While outside, Astrid sat down on the bench with her phone out. She then closed the page she was on and gained some understanding.

'So mother is Volgader? But how did she completely disappear from the face of the earth like that? Her father doesn't have the power to do that. Even my identity is hidden at school... So it's related to mother? Is it her maiden background?' Astrid felt some displeasure, she knew there were many secrets behind her and her parents.

Just her illness alone was beyond understanding, she had done research continuously on her symptoms and causing of it but couldn't find anything but silly theories on her being a vampire. But now that was in her head as an idea, she didn't know enough about this world, and knowing that her mother's identity was so secret. Was there another secret society beyond humans?

It was illogical, but Astrid couldn't rule it out. She would need to do some more testing on the matter later... She couldn't hack into anything since she wasn't used to the technology just yet. Just estimating maybe after a few months she could start to hack into Hanxi's files. Then she would be confident to hack anything and get away safely without a trace.

But what worried her the most at the moment was her mother's pregnancy, since she was 48 soon, being pregnant at her age could be dangerous. She needed to become stronger herself so nothing like today could potentially happen.

That girl was young and inexperienced, based on Francesca being bullied in the past, Astrid calculated that she would complain to her father that Francesca bullied her. And the gangsters would be ordered to scare Francesca. But since she had gotten older, the methods were getting crueler, maybe that girl now had the guts to contact the gangsters? Hence why they were happy to have some fun with her...

At least she made ample preparations, if not, her body wouldn't be able to keep up with a group of gangsters no matter her knowledge. She wasn't adept at fighting in this body yet. So she might make some crucial over or underestimations of what she would be capable of.

And she couldn't do anything in public either, there were laws against weapons so that wouldn't be an option. Considering she was also a minor her having a weapon would be a sure-fire way straight into a mental health clinic.

She would then be exposed as someone much older than her actual age.

As Astrid thought about things, she suddenly felt a scratching urge within her.

"Damn, I'm overthinking this." She mumbled under her breath. In her former life she often smoked when she was thinking about things, the nicotine often calmed her down and allowed her to think clearly.

She was certain her parents wouldn't be too happy about allowing their recovered daughter to start smoking, so she washed away her thoughts for now. As she looked at the relaxing and beautiful sights of the flower garden.