Vanessa Sterling and Jasper Jones landed in the cold and hunger. On the boat, Jasper tentatively asked Vanessa about the person she was hiding from, and Vanessa shared the general situation with Jasper.
After landing, Jasper pushed the lifeboat away, letting it drift with the sea currents so that even if it was discovered, they wouldn’t be traced back to this island.
Although their clothes were dry, Vanessa was only wearing a thin dress, which seed particularly flimsy in this weather.
There were traces of human life on the shore, it might have originally been a beach, but due to the high tide, the water was close to the rocks on the shore.
Jasper helped Vanessa over the rocks, and they could see a lighthouse in the distance.
"We can’t settle along the coast. In such secluded places, the residents are local, so if we stay with them, it will easily draw attention. If your brother cos looking, they’ll easily expose our whereabouts."
Vanessa nodded. After drifting for a day, she barely had the strength to speak.
From a distance, they could see the flashing of headlights and hear the sound of car horns.
"Let’s go. There should be a main road over there, let’s check it out."
Along the road, there were orange trees, which was the harvest season, and Jasper picked a few by the roadside to barely fill their stomachs.
The two reached the roadside, which seed to be a relatively busy road with quite a few vehicles passing by.
Jasper took out a wallet from his pocket, the IDs and bank cards were inside, along with a few damp bills.
Fortunately, they encountered a bus by the roadside. Jasper tried to wave his hand, and the bus stopped. Seeing their clothing, the ticket seller couldn’t help but say, "Aren’t you two cold? Wearing so little."
The ticket seller spoke in a dialect, which Jasper understood and could speak, so he replied in dialect, "We are fishern from here. It wasn’t cold when we went out during the day; originally, we were supposed to return in the afternoon, but were delayed, which is why it’s nightti now."
"It rained during the day today too, but certainly not as cold as at night. Where are you two headed?"
Jasper looked at the route map on the road, recognized the starting stations, and replied, "The terminus."
Ticket seller: "Twenty-five per person."
It was much warr on the bus, and Jasper had thought about the path forward, softly saying to Vanessa, "Take a nap, I’ll wake you when we arrive."
Vanessa nodded, despite the complexity and unease inside, the exhaustion of the day indeed made her feel overwheld.
Jasper always gave people a particularly reliable feeling, making others unknowingly depend on him and trust him.
The bus shook and arrived at the terminus after driving for over an hour.
By that ti, the bus station was already closed, with buses large and small parked all around.
The two got off the bus, and Vanessa saw the surveillance caras by the roadside, feeling inexplicably worried. She looked around and saw a convenience store not far away, saying, "I want to buy a pair of scissors."
Jasper asked puzzled, "What is it?"
Vanessa: "I want to cut my hair. That way, even if he cos looking, he won’t easily recognize ."
Understanding Vanessa’s intention, Jasper said to her, "Wait here, I’ll get them for you."
Jasper walked into the store, and the owner looked at his thin clothing and bare feet, feeling he looked odd, worried he might be a thief, and kept watching Jasper.
Jasper still had a few hundred dollars in cash, so he bought scissors, two pairs of plush slippers, so water, and so bread and snacks to fill their stomachs.
When he got to pay, he went back for a comb.
The owner looked at Jasper, making sure the bills he gave weren’t counterfeit before giving him the change.
Standing behind Vanessa with the scissors, Jasper held Vanessa’s long hair in his hand, feeling a bit pained to cut it.
But thinking about her current situation, he had to use the scissors to slowly cut the soft black hair he was holding.
"Leave it a bit longer now, when we get to the hotel, I’ll properly fix it. My brother is a hairstylist, I’ve learned a few tricks from him."
Hearing Jasper ntion his brother, Vanessa glanced down and said, "Brother Jones, you should go back. You’re different from , you still have family who need you more than I do."
Jasper smiled and said, "Don’t worry, I’ve thought it through. I’ll settle you first, then find my way to another island, saying I drifted there with the sea and was rescued. That way, even if they look, they won’t find this island. I’ll still keep in touch with my family, just that initially, I may not be able to stay with you all the ti."
Vanessa frowned, still seeming uneasy.
She was always afraid sothing might go wrong, and scared she wouldn’t be able to escape Miles Sterling’s control, which might implicate Jasper.
But if Miles Sterling thought she was already dead, he might not search extensively.
Three days later, the shipwreck salvage work was coming to an end.
Vanessa appeared on the missing persons list.
There were over twenty people on the missing list; called missing, but everyone knew they drowned in the sea with bodies untraceable.
In the following days, searches would continue along the coast, with so bodies possibly floating ashore.
But whether found or not, it scarcely mattered.
She was dead.
Miles Sterling never thought soday she would leave him in this manner.
"Young master, let’s go back. The old lady has been looking for you for days."
Miles withdrew his gaze from the calm sea surface; she loved the sea, perhaps a burial here was a fitting final rest for her.
But... he never allowed her to die, how could she?
"Let’s go. The rain is getting heavy."
Miles turned away, following the butler into the car.
The car drove back to The Sterling, and as soon as he got out, Wendy Jennings’s nagging resounded: "Where did you run off to? Huh? It was ancestor morial day yesterday, and you were the only one absent! Hurry and apologize to your grandfather, explain yourself properly!"
Miles didn’t speak, stepping out of the car with a downcast expression.
Seeing his stern face, Wendy got all the more annoyed: "Who are you putting a face on for? I’ve heard from the butler, that troubleso girl was on the cruise that had an accident a few days ago. It’s good riddance for such a jinx to die! Maybe it was her presence that caused the mishap, she’s been a drag on you for years!"
Miles took a deep breath, turned around, and headed back towards the car.
Wendy turned, thinking he left sothing behind.
Only to see Miles taking the car keys from the driver, imdiately sitting in the driver’s seat, starting the car, and driving out of the courtyard without a word.
Wendy reacted, taking two steps to chase after the car body, angrily shouting: "Co back! Where are you going?!"
Receiving no reply as the car only sped away, soon disappearing around the road corner...
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