"Famed Director Miranda Caught by Paparazzi Snacking on Pungent Noodles Backstage."


    "Director Miranda epts Award, identally Takes Home Bag of Chips Instead of Trophy."


    "Miranda''s Late-Night Date with Young Heartthrob... Turns Out to Be a Script Meeting Over Fondue."


    "Miranda''s Secret Social Media ount Exposed: A Feed Full of Food Porn."


    "Fans Beg Miranda to Drop Her ''Eat-Anything-and-Stay-wless'' Secret."


    "Miranda Secretly Married?"


    "Who is Miranda''s Husband?"


    "Miranda May Have a Child."


    "Miranda: The Woman with the Insatiable Appetite."


    Juniper scrolled quickly through the screen. Aside from a few posts specting about her family, everything else was about food.


    No wonder. She even brought a stash of snacks with her to a bar. The woman really loved to eat.


    It was kind of cute.


    "Find anything?" Lue asked, noticing the slight smile ying on Juniper''s lips. "Just the public stuff. She''s an internationally renowned director who''s won more awards than she can count and happens to love food," Juniper replied slowly, her fingers still gliding over her phone screen. "Nothing else besides that."


    She had even used Binary Oracle''s channels, but still couldn''t dig up any information on Miranda''s family. Married, with a child—yet any trace of her husband and son had been scrubbed clean from the inte. It only confirmed their belief that she was no ordinary person.


    "That Garner guy definitely knows," Lue said, gripping the steering wheel with an unlit cigarette dangling from her lips. "Should we ask him?"


    "No need." Juniper tugged at the corner of her mouth, turned off her phone, and tossed it into her bag before happily munching on the snacks Miranda had given her. "It was just a chance encounter. Why dig so deep?"


    If Miranda kept her private life hidden, she must have her reasons. A little respect for boundaries was important.


    "True," Lue nodded in agreement.


    At Cloudscape Community.


    When Juniper got home, she dropped her bag and copsed onto the sofa, utterly exhausted.


    "What did Lue drag you into that wore you out this much?" Shanley, dressed in dark gray loungewear, walked over with a ss of warm milk, his voice low and husky.


    "Ran into someone,” Juniper said with her eyes closed, too tired to even move an eyelid. “Helped her out of a jam and got a pile of snacks in return.”


    Snacks? Shanley unzipped her bag and found it filled to the brim. They were all imported brands, and none of them were cheap.


    More importantly, several items were from private bakeries that you couldn''t just buy, even with money. His mother loved them, so he happened to recognize thebels.


    "Man or woman?" Shanley asked, feigning calmness as he massaged her temples. "Old or young?"


    "You guess," Juniper opened her eyes and met his thoughtful gaze, deliberately being vague.


    "I''m guessing a woman," Shanley


    bel


    said, a lump of frustration forming in his chest, which he turned into a


    helpless smile. “And an older middle-aged woman at that.''


    "How''d you figure that out?" Juniper asked, confused as to how he knew.


    "You guess," Shanley retorted, yfully throwing her own words right back at her.


    "Fine, don''t tell me." Juniper''s expression soured instantly. She looked away haughtily and started to get up.


    "Are you mad? Shanley quickly pulled her back, holding her hand and coaxing her softly. "Among snacks she gave you, there''s a brand is


    wellness coffee


    specifically for women between forty-five and sixty."


    He figured the woman must have identally mixed it in while giving her the


    snacks.


    Juniper nced over and saw that he was right. His eyes were sharp!


    "The woman was being harassed,, and just helped her out Juniper exined concisely, examining the wellness coffee. "So she gave me all the snacks she had on her