Turning Of the Tide by Diana Sander

Chris had already fallen far behind the woman. He could not even see her back. He sat on the bench in the neighborhood and prepared to rest.

He adjusted his clothes and his scarf until the annoying cold wind wouldn't get into his collar.

As soon as he sat down, his butt felt cold. It was the kind of cold that seeped into his bones. Out of reflex, he jumped up. His feet were warm, but it was chilly outside. He attempted to sit down on the chair again, but this time, he gradually allowed his buttocks to make contact with the seat. This way, he felt less cold.

After resting for about 10 minutes, even the chair had warmed up. Feeling that it was almost time, he stood up.

He straightened his clothes and scarf, put his hands in his pockets, and walked briskly toward the villa.

When he arrived at the door, Chris raised his hand to look at the tand realized that it was not even six o'clock. In order to prevent his mother from forcing him to go to the company, he stood in the bone-chilling wind and waited for another ten minutes.

He was alone at the entrance of the villa, fighting with the cold wind.

Chris didn't open the door of the villa until 6:10 a.m.

As soon as he entered the villa, Chris felt alive.

They were from two completely different worlds. The temperature difference was too great.

On the stairs, Charlie had already dressed up and was making his way downstairs. His wife's actions had deprived him of any desire to sleep, so he decided to get up. Meanwhile, Angie had already fallen back asleep.

Chris, who had just entered for less than a minute, shivered from the cold. His ears and hands were cold. He picked up the air conditioner remote control in the living room and raised the temperature. The air conditioner in the living room was turned on by the servants in advance.

Charlie followed his gaze to the temperature on the air conditioner and reminded his son. "If you set the temperature this high, it will feel even colder when you go outside later." With such a significant temperature difference between indoors and outdoors, the risk of catching a cold was high.

Chris shook his head. "I think it's good if | catch a cold now." At least he didn't have to go for a morning run.

People who went jogging in this weather must have something wrong with their heads. Chris suddenly remembered the short-haired young woman he passed by during the morning run. Either she was unique, or she was crazy. Perhaps she had just experienced a heartbreak and was trying to alleviate her sorrows through morning runs.

It was probably the latter. From the way she was dressed, there should be nothing wrong with ber brain. There was a high chance that she had fallen out of love.

However, this method of venting seemed much better. It was better than standing on a tall building, contemplating jumping, and then having the police hassle to rescue her. Chris thought to himself.

Charlie had already descended the stairs and walked directly to the dining room. He pulled out a stool and sat down, taking the bowl! from the servant. "Cand eat something. You should lower the temperature of the air conditioner. | will go to work later." Hearing this, Chris did as he was told. He picked up the remote control and lowered the temperature a little.

After adjusting it, he placed the remote control on the table and walked to the dining room to eat.

Seeing that the temperature had been adjusted, Charlie ate his breakfast and asked, "Why did you think of going for a run? Did your mother force you?" Chris looked as if it were obvious. Otherwise, could it be that he had gone crazy, braving the cold outside so early in the morning? Charlie pondered for a few seconds and did not speak. It was unknown what he was thinking, but the restaurant instantly fell silent. After a while, Charlie asked, "Are there many people running in the neighborhood?" Chris sneered. "I'm the only lunatic." However, he thought of the young lady again and said, "There's one | don't know." Charlie asked, "A young lady?" Chris replied, "Maybe, but I'm not sure of it." Charlie was quite speechless, thinking that distinguishing between men and women was a straightforward task, right? Ten minutes later, the two of them finished their breakfast and wiped their lips with a tissue. Chris glanced at his father and tried to ask, "Dad, you really don't know why Mom forcedto run in the morning?" Upon hearing this, Charlie continued wiping his mouth, probably having a direction in mind for the speculation.

He calmly replied, "Your mom is doing it for your own good. Haven't you seen the news in the past few days? An eighty-year-old person swims in winter every year and is even healthier than us. In your free time, pay more attention to the news, and don't spend every day thinking about how to perform surgeries." Chris wondered, 'I'm at winter running, not winter swimming. Besides, if winter swimming is so beneficial, why don't you try it?" When he saw the dissatisfaction in his son's eyes, Charlie coughed guiltily and forced himself to remain calm.

"Don't question why I didn't go for a winter swim. If you remain single for a few more years, your mom and | won't even hope to live until 80. Reaching 65 would be challenging enough." Chris was speechless.

After breakfast, Chris went to the hospital. He was afraid that if his mom woke up, she would start making things difficult for him again. For safety's sake, it was better to go to work early.

Half an hour after Chris left, the door to Stella's room opened on time. Wearing a down jacket, she skipped downstairs with a black limited edition bag on her shoulder. This was a birthday gift from her sister, Christina, and it was sent from Sapphire City.

When Stella arrived downstairs, she noticed the living room was so quiet that she could hear the sound of needles falling. However, the temperature in the room was very high, making her feel like she was wearing the wrong clothes.

Usually, her mother would sit on the sofa early in the morning and watch television. Where did she go this morning? Stella asked the servant standing quietly at the side, "Where's my mom?" Chris was probably still asleep. Her father must have gone to work.

The servant replied respectfully, "Mrs. Angie is sleeping upstairs. Mr. Charlie and Mr. Chris have already gone out.

They should have gone to work." Stella was surprised. "Chris woke up and went to work?" Stella raised her hand and looked at the red watch on her wrist. "It's not even eight o'clock yet. Doesn't Chris go out at eight o'clock every day?" He would not get up when there was no surgery.

What was wrong with him today? Why was he acting so strangely? Was he in a relationship? Did he go out so early for a date? It was strange, right? It was absolutely strange.

Just as Stella's mind was filled with questions, the servant spoke again, "Mr. Chris woke up at 5 am and even went out for a morning run." Hearing this, Stella was stunned. It took her a few seconds to react. Her first reaction was to think that her brother was crazy. She looked up at the glass that was wiped clean by the servants. Through the glass, she could even feel the cold wind outside. The branches were constantly swaying.

Seeing this, Stella shivered and took the breakfast from another servant. She mustered her courage and went to work. It would take a few minutes for the car to start. If she was late, she would be scolded by Leia.

When she walked out of the door and felt the real cold, Stella felt Chris was crazy even more.

In Yamin Group, Leia wore a coffee-colored suit, a black high-necked base layer, black slightly flared trousers, and a pair of 3 inches nude high-heeled shoes. She stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, holding a cup of coffee, overlooking the scenery in front of the office building.

There were more high-rise buildings in this city than in Sapphire City. In Sapphire City, there were mainly villas and low-rise buildings, but in Athana, the higher the office building, the more it reflected one's status and position. Each city had its own distinctive features.

Leia stared off into space as if lost in thought, contemplating something. Her fingertips, coated with a layer of nude protective nail polish, rhythmically tapped on the cup's surface, emitting a subtle sound that, upon closer listening, was rather pleasing.

The black door was knocked three times, and it was apparent that someone was using their knuckles, likely the index and middle fingers, to tap on it. The sound was subtle. Leia snapped back to attention, walking toward her office chair in high heels. She gently placed the cup on the table and with parted red lips, she said, "Cin." The secretary entered with a stack of papers and reported on the morning's work. "Ms. March, these are the documents you need to sign today. There's a high-level meeting in the morning, and in the afternoon, a few university students will cfor interviews for the sales representative position." As she spoke, the secretary opened another folder in her arms and placed it in front of the woman. She reported seriously, "These candidates were selected after two rounds of screening. Ms. March, do you need to personally interview them?" The woman lowered her head and did not answer the secretary immediately. She reached out and flipped through the resumes given by the secretary. There were a total of three people. After reading them all, there was no expression on her face. It was unknown if she was satisfied or not. The secretary had been with her for so long, but she could not tell what she was thinking.

Leia had never shown her emotions on her face and always looked businesslike.

After a moment, Leia pushed the documents and closed the folder. She looked up at the secretary and instructed, "You go for their interviews in the afternoon. In the future, don't bother tellingabout these things.

Keep the good ones, and the ones who aren't up to par, just show them the door, understand?" The secretary nodded. "Understood." The woman took a pen from the holder and twirled it around her fingertips. She flipped to the last page and began to sign. After a rough glance at the contract, she signed two copies but withheld her signature on the last one, handing it back to the secretary. "Find out who is in charge of this contract. There are three typos. Different phrases in different sentences convey different meanings. The company drafts contracts every day. Shouldn't he know where typos are least likely to occur? Do | have to teach him this?" Leia did not point out those three typos. Instead, she let the person who made the mistake find them himself.

The secretary took the contract and apologized. "It's my fault. | didn't review it." Leia wanted to say something, but the phone next to the mouse began to vibrate. She glanced down and gestured to the secretary. Today, the secretary assigned to her by Christina went to meet with clients. Her tone was not very pleasant. "You can leave. | don't want a second time." After the secretary went out and closed the door, she picked up the phone. "Ms. Yamin, is this an phone inspection?" The call was from Christina. She laughed. "How could | dare? You are the center of attention in front of my dad now, and | have to rely on you to speak highly of me." Leia spun around in her chair and stood up again. Her high heels clicked on the floor. "Is there an order?" Christina rarely called Leia. Every tshe contacted Leia, they talked about equipment the most. Nowadays, Yamin Hospital's equipment was imported from Sapphire City. Leia needed to communicate with Christina when it cto stocking up. After communicating, the two of them would talk about topics other than work. Their personalities matched and as tpassed, their relationship was not bad.

Christina chuckled lightly, not beating around the bush. She was not one to mince words. "I heard from Mona that you haven't had a health checkup. Take stto go to the hospital. We can't afford to have Yamin Group gain a reputation for neglecting employee health." Mona was the secretary left behind by Christina for Leia. Leia liked her very much.

Leia stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window again. She liked standing in this position. "There's nothing wrong with my body. I'll go for a checkup with Stella later." Upon hearing her sister, Christina asked, "How has she been recently? Did she make any mistakes?" No one knew where Leia was looking. "She has almost settled down. It's just that she is only serious when she is at work. When she is not at work, she can hardly remember that she is an employee of this company. I'm quite envious of her lifestyle." Christina smiled. "Why do | have a feeling that she's going to lead you astray?" Leia laughed out loud. "My self-control is alright. | don't think there's such a possibility." Christina also smiled. "She just doesn't have any career ambition. If she can avoid working, she won't. Someone has to push her forward. Even if the tiger is chasing behind her today, she still takes her tto see how much distance is left." Leia agreed with Christina's accurate evaluation of her sister. "Everyone pursues different things, but, as a woman, we should have our own careers." This was the confidence women had when they retreated.

For Leia, who was not from a wealthy family, she was always on the way up. She worked hard every day.

Sometimes, she wanted to relax and sit down to rest, but she could not.

That was why she said that she was a little envious of Stella. When Stella wanted to rest, she could rest.

Leia couldn't. She was the only child of her parents. If she didn't work hard, she wouldn't be able to support her parents.

Christina was silent for a few seconds before speaking again. "You don't have to ask Stella to calong. Stella had a physical examination at the beginning of the year. With her constitution, it's hard for her to get sick. It's you who should go for a checkup sooner rather than later." Leia was afraid that if she didn't agree now, Joseph would personally cdown later to inform her to get a health check. It was just a checkup. There was no need for everyone to take turns reminding her. After going through tomorrow's work in her mind, she finally decided. "I'll go tomorrow morning. I'll cto the office after the checkup." Seeing that Leia agreed, Christina did not say anything else.

Leia had always done what she said. It was her weakness that she did not know how to fool others. Therefore, Christina believed that Leia would go.