Turning Of The Tide By Diana Sander Novel
Chapter 517

Chapter 517

After Christina sat down, Joseph wiped the other stool and adjusted his clothes before slowly taking a seat.

From Christina’s perspective, she could see the snow on Joseph’s shoulder. She also noticed that the color of his arm on one side was darker. Today’s snow had a slight drizzle mixed in.

Christina instinctively looked at her own clothes, and she noticed that there was not a single snowflake on them. This action from Joseph was akin to throwing a stone into the deepest part of the lake, hitting the very center of it.

After staring blankly for a while, she took out a packet of tissues from her handbag and handed it over to him, gesturing for him to wipe. “Wipe your shoulder,” she said. “It’s a little wet.”

Joseph took the packet of tissues and pulled one out, but he could not manage to wipe the particularly dark spot. Christina could not bear to watch. She stood up, walked over to Joseph’s back, and took the tissues from the table. Silently, she helped him wipe away the snow from his clothes, gently patting it off first and then absorbing the moisture with the tissues.

Christina spent several minutes doing this, and throughout, Joseph had a smile on his face, remaining still as Christina helped him.

“Done,” Christina said, feeling th

fabric with her fingertips and double-checking it.

“Thank you,” Joseph said. Just as Christina was about to leave, Joseph quickly grabbed her wrist and asked her a question to sound her out. “Do you want to build a snowman?” he said.

Christina thought, “Build a snowman?

“What a distant memory. How many years ago was it when I last built a snowman?” Ever since Chris went to college, he had no intention of taking over the company. This heavy burden had fallen on her shoulders.

The major that she chose was not a major that she loved, but she did not regret it. Among the three children, there had to be one to help out as their parents continued to get older.

-She thought, “I think I built a snowman with Stella when I was in my senior years at high school.

“It seems like it. I can’t remember.”

Joseph had always been observant. He could discern her true thoughts from her silence. He pulled her to sit on a stool. Then, he turned around and went to a spacious place. After choosing a spot, Joseph began to collect snow from the snowy environment. His warm hands were swiftly numbed by the cold.

The busy figure in the snow once again left Christina in a daze. This man was really skilled in understanding Christina’s feelings. Step by step, he entered her heart silently. She was completely unguarded.

Joseph did not talk about love or affection. Ever since he confessed, he did not ask her if she wanted to be with him, nor did he rush her to make a decision. It was as if he was not the one who had confessed.

Joseph walked back and forth, exposing himself in the rain. A pile of snow had already piled up in the open space. Christina could not stay seated. Joseph’s intention was to capture Christina’s attention, not through his busy figure but through the charm of the snow. However, Joseph did not know that Christina was actually paying attention to him.

She got up, walked over to Joseph, tugged at her coat, and squatted down. No one was holding an umbrella. The snow was still falling. “What should I do?” she asked.

Upon hearing this, the man beside her smiled and said, “I’ll collect the snow, and you can form the snow into shapes.” He would handle the laborious work. She just needed to work on the design in one spot.

“There’s quite a lot of snow here,” Christina said. “Don’t go to get more snow.” Christina felt the urge to hold Joseph’s hands, wanting to know how cold his hands were.

In the end, she gave up, thinking that it was somewhat inappropriate. When her hand touched the snow, she no longer needed to feel the temperature of Joseph’s hands. The coldness of the snow made Christina shiver, but she smiled happily and began to make snowballs. Joseph helped create the snowman’s body, concerned that she might be too cold.

The two of them worked together and soon, they finished making a snowman. Joseph took off the scarf around his neck and wrapped it around the snowman’s neck.

The cold wind mercilessly penetrated his neck. He felt cold, so much so that he shook his shoulders. It was really quite cold, but his hands, which were soaked in snow, had already begun to feel warm.

Christina’s hands were getting warm as well.

It happened that there was an office upstairs that could enable people to have a view of the scene downstairs. Ethan stood expressionlessly by the window, craning his neck.

The bodyguards, one by one, curiously craned their necks. One of them asked, “Ethan, what’s our boss doing?”

Ethan replied, “Are you blind?”

The bodyguard said, “Our boss has gotten into a romantic relationship? Wow.”

Ethan looked at the bodyguard as if he was looking at an idiot. He thought, “Is this being in a romantic relationship? He’s wooing her, idiot.”

The two people downstairs felt a sense of accomplishment when they looked at the finished product, especially Christina. She had a long-lost joy on her face that was genuine, relaxed, and free from worries.

Christina was looking at the snowman, while Joseph was looking at her. When she turned around and mentioned wanting to take a photo so that it could serve as a keepsake of this moment, their eyes met. In an instant, sparks flew. A sense of romantic undertones and a romantic element intertwined with the falling snow.

Their hearts began to beat irregularly as the romantic element entered their bodies. The two of them, who were half-squatting, looked as if their energy points had been pressed. They remained motionless, and they only had each other in their eyes.

They kept moving increasingly closer to what their desires guided them toward. Christina followed her heart and tilted her head. Just when both of them were only half an inch apart, a sneeze interrupted the romantic moment that they wanted to continue.

When Christina snapped out of the romantic moment, she immediately stood up awkwardly. She lowered her head, pressed her right index finger against her nose, and said softly, “I’ll go back to my room first.”

Joseph’s gaze turned serious. He nodded and said, “Okay.”

Christina quickened her pace and left. Looking at Christina’s back as she left hurriedly, Joseph first smiled. Then, he restrained his smile and said coldly, “Come out.”

When Ethan, who was upstairs, saw the person coming out, he immediately sprinted downstairs at full speed.

Two minutes later, Ethan stood beside Joseph. The person who sneezed was Benjamin the driver. He was the bodyguard who drove Christina around and protected her.

Benjamin grinned and said, “What a coincidence, Mr. Turner, I just wanted to see how things are developing between you and Ms. Yamin.”

Ethan noticed that Joseph had become displeased. He thought, “Who would be happy when their good time is disrupted? If it were me, I would have long removed Benjamin’s arm.” He had seen it clearly from upstairs just now. Joseph and Christina almost kissed.

In the end, such an idiot appeared out of nowhere. Ethan was afraid that Joseph would get angry, so he kicked Benjamin first, saying, “Hurry up and apologize to Mr. Turner. Why did you come to the hotel instead of staying at home to let your arm heal?”

Benjamin received the eye signals from Ethan. He then looked at Joseph, who was as cold as the snowman nearby. Benjamin began to panic. “Mr. Turner, I was wrong,” he said. “I was wrong. Can I go back to let my injury heal?”

He thought, “Is it too late to run now? Can I act as if he didn’t see me? Sneezing isn’t something I can control.

“There’s a gust of cold wind, and then there’s a sneeze. That’s a natural reaction.”

Ethan struggled to hold the umbrella. The height difference became evident. Joseph’s tone was very calm as he said, “You’re very free. Getting thrown once is not enough.”

He was referring to the shoulder throw from Christina.

Benjamin quickly shook his head and said, “No. I’m not. My hand isn’t fully healed yet.”

Joseph’s voice was colder than the winter snow. He glanced at the snowman behind him and said, “I don’t want to see any snow on the hotel’s steps tomorrow morning.

“If this snowman melts, you will stand in this spot and pretend to be a snowman.”

Benjamin looked like he was on the verge of tears but not being able to shed them. He felt deeply regretful. He thought to himself, “Why did I wander around late at night instead of sleeping? And now I can’t sleep for the entire night. I need to clear the snow and guard Ms. Yamin’s snowman. How miserable.”

As soon as Joseph finished talking, he took the umbrella from Ethan’s hand and said, “Put the shoe inserts in tomorrow.”

Ethan replied, “Got it, Mr. Turner.”

Benjamin, who was punished, burst out laughing. He said, “Haha. Mr. Turner thinks you’re short. So darn hilarious. Hahaha.

Shoe inserts.”

Ethan, a man of few words but resolute, gave Benjamin another solid kick, saying, “Just a reminder. There shouldn’t be any snow on the hotel’s steps tomorrow.”

Benjamin’s mind was finally brought back to the harsh reality. He thought, “What? It’s still-snowing now. How is it possible for the steps to be snow-free? Isn’t this like asking someone to sweep the fallen leaves away and make a courtyard clean all the time during fall? What a joke.

“Mr. Turner is just trying to play a prank on me, seeking revenge. My damn nose. Why didn’t I sneeze earlier or later? Why

couldn’t I wait for them to kiss before sneezing?”.

Benjamin raised his hand and rubbed his nose. He thought, “Mr. Turner might as well ask me to sweep the restroom. At least the hotel’s restroom is very

clean.”

When Christina returned to her room, her mind was filled with images of Joseph and herself getting very close to each other. She raised her hand to touch her cheeks, as if she could still feel Joseph’s warm breath on her face. Her face began to blush slightly. She thought to herself, “If it weren’t for that sneeze, we would probably have…

“Why did we end up almost kissing?” She let out a sigh and inwardly predicted that she might not be able to hold on for long. “This man is extremely seductive,” she thought.

She could now be sure that she had developed feelings for Joseph. However, she needed to confirm one thing. She wanted to know whether he was naturally gentle or if he was only being exceptionally gentle during this particular period.

What Christina was afraid of was the change between the dating phase and marriage. She could not see this aspect clearly at the moment, and this was where her confusion lay.

She was not a young girl who could recklessly disregard everything, like in a TV drama where young girls ran away and abandoned everything. Marriage involved two families. There were many things she needed to consider.

Furthermore, Joseph was from Sapphire City, while she was from Athana. She still needed to support the Yamin family. She could not abandon everything and do as she pleased. After thinking about it, Christina let out a sigh. “Indeed, adult love isn’t that simple,” she thought. “We can’t just leave as we please, and we can’t just be together with each other just because we want to be together with each other. There are too many things to consider.”

Joseph, who had a deep understanding of people’s emotions and could connect with people on a profound level, was just so hateful. He deliberately sent a message to remind Christina. [Sorry, in that kind of scene, I can’t help but want to kiss you.]

Christina was left speechless.

Christina adjusted her emotions, walked toward the floor-to-ceiling windows, and glanced at the snowy landscape outside. She then removed her wet coat and texted, [I understand. It’s a normal reaction for adults.]

Joseph texted, [Thank you for being understanding, Ms. Yamin.]

Christina did not forget to remind him. She texted, [Don’t mention that. Change your clothes in time. They are wet.]

Joseph texted, [Okay. Got it.]

Christina tossed her phone onto the bed, and it rolled on the large bed. She took her pajamas and went to take a shower.

Half an hour later, Christina sat under the blanket, adjusting the temperature to a comfortable degree. Sitting on the bed, she started to write post-shift reports, summarizing a series of tasks.

Busy work could temporarily clear trivial matters from one’s mind. This was one of the reasons she enjoyed working. When people got busy, they would forget that they needed to think about their worries, forget to be sad, and forget to think about what to do tomorrow.

Meanwhile, inside the presidential suite, Joseph was also working overtime with his laptop on his lap. He was working overtime to adjust the contract with Christina. He had never intended for the legal department to handle this contract from the beginning.

After typing the last word, Joseph picked up the glass of red wine from the corner of the table and took a big sip. He rubbed his fingertips and recalled the scene downstairs. He could feel that Christina had feelings for him as well.

It was just that he could see a trace of worry and hesitation in her eyes.

He thought, “Is it because she is from Athana, while I come from a foreign country? Or is it due to the lack of management within the Yamin Group? I can handle all of these. It’s not a problem.

“Or does she not trust me? The previous issues are all solvable, but the last one can only be proven with time.

“Trust between people isn’t built in a day, and I can’t blame Ms. Yamin for having doubts. She’s not a young girl anymore. She moves in the business world and at negotiation tables. She sees more things than the average person. Naturally, she has more things to consider.

“It’s not surprising. If she wasn’t good at thinking, the Yamin Group wouldn’t have completed one business deal after another through her efforts.”