Turning Of the Tide by Diana Sander

Inside one of the cafes, the four of them now sat together.

All four of them took off their jackets without saying anything. The four of them just looked at each other, sizing each other up.

After looking at each other for a few minutes, Stella's university classmate could not take it anymore and spoke first. She had originally chere with Stella to relax.

A few hours ago, Stella said that she had been working overtrecently and was having an existential crisis, so she needed fresh air to revive herself. As such, they had chere to have scoffee. In essence, Stella's friend was just a tool.

"Chris, I'm here to accompany Stella for coffee. However, | still wish you and your girlfriend well.” Stella's friend sincerely wished Chris well. She was still quite embarrassed about what she had witnessed earlier and felt like she was there to accompany Stella to catch Chris in the act.

Leia held Chris" hand under the table. Chris wanted his sister to keep it a secret. As soon as Chris opened his mouth, he met his girlfriend's gaze. Then, Leia shook her head, indicating that she would speak, "I've been dating your brother for a while." Leia said.

Stella didn't say anything.

Leia wanted to continue, but Chris wouldn't let her. "I was the one who asked Leia to hide it. You should know why. There are so many things going on every day. Our relationship is just an ordinary one, not svariety show." Chris meant that there was no need for so many people to pay attention and watch them.

Chris tried to retaliate before his sister complained. Sure enough, Stella thought of her mother. Thinking about it, it made sense.

If their mother found out, she might scare Leia away.

With this explanation, everything else becclear. All the times that her brother left early and returned late, went out for a long jog before returning home, or did not return hfor dinner despite finishing work on time.

The mystery was solved.

Stella belatedly asked in a low voice, "So you were the one who sent the flowers that day?" There was a hint of disbelief on her face.

Chris did not deny it, so it was sort of an admission. Chris asked his sister, "Doctors can't buy flowers?" Stella was speechless. It wasn't that doctors couldn't buy flowers. It was just that it was a little strange for Chris to buy flowers, and Stella wasn't used to it.

Since Leia was here, Stella could not forget that Leia was her boss. Stella asked carefully, "So... Chris... when do you plan to make it public? I'm just asking. | don't mean anything else. I'm just asking." Stella's friend wondered why Stella was behaving this way in front of her brother's girlfriend since Leia seemed quite gentle.

Leia smiled. "In the office, I'm your boss. Outside, I'm just Chris" girlfriend.” Chris liked to hear these words since they gave him status.

Chris was overjoyed. "Listen to Leia. Stop behaving this way. | feel uncomfortable just looking at you. As for Mom, we'll wait and see whenever she finds out. There's no need to specially inform her." Chris knew his mother's personality too well. If his mother found out, she might hire someone tomorrow to help them plan their wedding.

That kind of thing would definitely happen.

Half an hour later, the two cars drove from the splace back to the sdestination, except that Stella had taken her friend hbefore driving back to the Yamin family villa.

Since Chris did not overtake cars on the way back, Stella could catch up to Chris even after sending her friend home. Staring at the car which was driving slowly ahead, Stella could only shake her head.

Chris was driving at a snail's pace to spend more twith his girlfriend. Chris had practically slapped himself in the face, especially since Chris was the one who said he preferred surgery to dating someone.

A bachelor who had been single for too long would have too many tricks up his sleeve when he started dating. No one would be able to stand it. Stella stepped on the accelerator and overtook him, leaving Chris and Leia behind with a puff of exhaust.

Chris looked at the car in front of him and said unhappily, "I'l talk to her when we get home. She's driving so fast in the middle of the night." Chris held Leia's hand with one hand.

Leia nodded and glanced at the speedometer in the car, which showed Chris was driving at 13 mph. Leia didn't say anything and just smiled. "If you want to tell your mother, | have no objections.” Upon hearing this, Chris turned to look at Leia and was very surprised. He looked away for a second and thought for a moment before rejecting, "Let's not. My mother is very enthusiastic. Her enthusiasm might not be something you can withstand. I'll lay sgroundwork first then we can see how it goes." Leia smiled. Leia had never interacted with Chris" mother, but she could roughly analyze her personality from what everyone said. "There's nothing bad about being cheerful,” Leia said.

After sending Leia hand kissing her goodbye, Chris returned home.

Stella had arrived hearly. Stella avoided looking over at her parents who were sitting in the living room. Her entire body felt uncomfortable because she was keeping a secret. It almost felt as if she was storing food within her body. Her stomach was uncomfortable, as if something was about to cout, but could not. It was stuck in her throat, and she looked at her mother and then at her father.

It was hard to swallow.

When Angie turned around, she happened to see her daughter looking at her. Stella was caught red-handed. "What are you doing? If you have something to say, just say it. Don't be like a flea that keeps twitching." "No, | just didn't shower last night, so my body is a little itchy. Are you watching television?" As she spoke, Stella lied and began to scratch her neck.

Angie did not answer her daughter's idiotic question. Anyone could see that Angie was watching television. "Where's your brother?" Angie asked.

Stella's gaze wavered. "How would | know? | didn't place a location tracker on him. Why don't you call him?" After saying that, Stella ran upstairs. She was extremely fast, and her actions were strange.

Angie stared at her daughter's back for a few seconds and did not think much about it, instead nagging, "The boy needs someone by his side to tell him what he should and shouldn't do. Otherwise, he won't know what he needs to do. He needs a push. The girl, on the other hand, is so flippant and never serious." Angie was really worried.

Charlie didn't answer his wife. He didn't know how to answer her either. After all, his daughter's personality was more like his wife's.

The door opened with a click, and Chris entered with a hint of a cold aura. Chris glanced around and saw that his sister was no longer around. "Dad, Mom, I'm going up to shower." Angie replied calmly, "Okay." To Charlie, who knew Angie well, it was abnormal for his wife to speak so little. Charlie knew that Angie must be hiding something.

Sure enough, the next day, just as Chris left the house, Angie woke up. Charlie asked Angie what she was going to do, and Angie told him to go back to sleep.

Angie knew how to follow someone, so she didn't rush out of the house. Instead, she waited for more than ten minutes before going out. Angie wore a mask, a hat, and a scarf as she quietly hid under a big tree.

Angie would wait.

Five minutes later, something shocking happened. A woman and her son were holding hands as they ran.

They ran so fast that Angie didn't get a good look at the woman's face because the woman was on her son's left, and her son's height blocked her from Angie's view.

Angie was speechless.

Angie thought that she was hallucinating. She rubbed her eyes to see clearly, but the couple had already run far away. Angie could only wait for them to run the next round. She was too excited.

The cold wind blew, making Angie's teeth chatter. Angie adjusted her coat and hid behind the tree like a thief.

On the second lap, Chris and Leia stopped running and changed to a walk. The two of them interlocked their fingers and chatted, laughing. It looked like they were very close. The girl raised her head and smiled from tto time. Chris also smiled until his eyes narrowed.

This time, Angie was sure that what she saw was not an illusion. Angie also saw her future daughter-in-law's appearance.

Angie suppressed the urge to rush out and restrained her excitement. She did not disturb the young couple and maintained her image of a future mother-in-law. Angie straightened her clothes and quietly returned to the villa. Looking at the departing figures, Angie was overjoyed.

Everyone had been wrong. They thought that Angie would be especially excited and scare Leia away.

Angie walked into the villa and instructed the servants. The corners of Angie's mouth curled up, almost reaching the back of her ears. "Stew sswift grain and make sbeautiful pastries. Make them taste better." The servant felt that Angie's behavior was abnormal, but she still replied respectfully, "Yes, Madam." Angie's son had finally done it. Angie knew she had to be calm and take things step by step. She could not scare her future daughter-in-law away. She had to take it slow for them to move to the next stage.

Angie, who was in a good mood, played a cheerful song, humming as she went upstairs wearing her slippers. Charlie was woken up and asked, "Why are you playing songs so early in the morning? | was sleeping." The door was not closed, and the music downstairs was loud. Charlie could hear the songs playing.

"You only know how to sleep all day long. Get up and go to work." Angie said. Their son was about to get married, so she felt her husband should also stop sleeping. Angie could not hide her thoughts much longer. She sat on the edge of the bed and said mysteriously with a rich expression, "After | tell you something later, you won't want to sleep anymore." Charlie narrowed his sleepy eyes. "What did you do?" Last night, Charlie had felt that his wife was up to something.

Angie told Charlie what had happened in the morning, with all the details. Angie even told Charlie how many flowers had bloomed that morning. What could originally be said within a sentence was turned into an essay by Angie.

Charlie looked at his wife, who was smiling so widely that her eyes could not be seen. "Are you sure?" "You're amazing. Did you even listen tojust now? | told you with so many details, yet you still ask such nonsense. | saw them twice. | have good eyesight. Otherwise, | wouldn't have taken a fancy to you.” As she spoke, Angie raised two fingers in front of Charlie's face and waved them in front of his eyes.

Charlie didn't say anything.

Half an hour later, Angie and Charlie were having breakfast in the dining room. Both of them were in a particularly good mood.

The fact that their son could find a girlfriend could be considered as resolving one of their biggest worries.

When Stella cdown, she heard the songs playing in the living room. Stella walked towards the dining room. "Mom, is today a good day?" "Yeah. After eating, take sswift grains and the pastries over there for Ms. March to try," Angie instructed.

Stella carefully pulled out a chair and sat down. Stella took her plate and utensils from the servant and stared at her mother without blinking. "Mom, you..." The quick-witted Angie replied smugly, "I gave birth to you and your brother. | know what you're up to just by looking at you. How could | not know about your little tricks? Your brother made a mistake, thinking | would directly storm over there. Am | that stupid? What if | scare my future daughter-in-law away? With my help, your brother will only get twice the results with half the effort.

"What is he thinking? He wants to win over his girlfriend all on his own? My hair will turn white just from waiting. Does he wantto take care of his children after I'm old and can't move around anymore? At that time, will | be taking care of them, or will they be taking care of me?" Stella took a bite of the pastry. It tasted quite good. Stella recalled what she had witnessed the previous night. Her brother wasn't that bad. He was quite impressive. "Mom, you might have a misunderstanding. It's not as bad as you think. Chris is pretty good."Stella said, thinking that Chris's only flaw was that he was a little slow.

Angie interrupted her daughter. "Alright, hurry up and eat and send the breakfast over. Don't worry. | won't look for my future daughter-in-law directly. | know my limits. We have to play it step by step. We can't be anxious." Haste makes waste, but stability makes haste.

Stella nodded. Although Stella did not know what her mother wanted to do, she continued to eat. The breakfast today was delicious.

When Chris cin, Stella was leaving with the food. "You overslept. You should wake up earlier." Chris said.

"I'm bringing this to Leia. I've already sent her a message to ask her not to buy breakfast. Mom specially made this. You get it, right?" Stella asked.

Chris was not a fool, so of course he understood that his mother had found out. Chris was stunned for a moment and thought to himself that his sister was unable to keep a secret. "Alright, go." When Angie saw her son walk in, Angie said straightforwardly, "Don’t worry. | won't create trouble for you. I'll only help." Chris nodded. Chris guessed that Stella must have said something to his mother to make his mother change her enthusiasm.

Chris went straight to the dining room to eat. Angie turned off the music and switched to a television .

"Chris, how far have you progressed with your beautiful girlfriend? Have you held hands and kissed her?" Angie asked.

Chris" hand that was holding his spoon paused for a moment. "Yes." He answered.

Angie nodded thoughtfully. This progress was not bad. At least she didn't have to push him for this and his mind was no longer preoccupied fully by surgery.