Chapter 15 He's Starting to Care About You

Yvette had to admit to herself that she was feeling a bit uptight.

There was a sense of resentment in her heart, yet she was reluctant to let Albert see it.

Why was this so? Simply because she was convinced that Albert would not cherish her feelings.

Yvette put her phone in the pocket of her white clothes. Her expression became calm, and she politely said, "I'm going to a meeting, so I'll leave first."

Albert glanced at Yvette, his eyes full of gloom, putting pressure on Yvette.

Yvette pretended not to notice Albert's dissatisfaction and just left like that.

Albert's flight mission today was no different from usual—four short flights, two round trips, allowing him to return home in the early hours.

Among the crew this time was a first officer, an F1 with just over three thousand hours of flying experience, a young man named Steve Orlando.

Steve had been mentored by Albert for a few days in the past, and he had always held Albert in high esteem.

Steve was still very curious about everything on the plane, clearly a novice. As he entered the cockpit, he played with his badge.

Albert glanced at Steve and saw the name Orlando on Steve's badge. It was just a surname, but Albert's brow furrowed.

"Mr. Valdemar, did you just come from the medical assessment center?" he inquired. Steve's expression was very happy, looking quite excited.

Albert was preparing for the flight, not looking up as he replied to Steve, "Yes."

"Mr. Valdemar seems to love going to the medical assessment center recently," Steve curiously asked Albert, "Is Mr. Valdemar interested in someone at the medical assessment center? You've been going there quite frequently lately."

Albert's hand on the buttons paused for a moment, slowly turning to look at Steve. Albert's gaze was calm and composed, lacking much emotion, yet it made Steve somewhat fearful.

Steve, preparing to fasten his seatbelt, was startled by Albert's gaze, thinking Albert was getting angry, quickly saying, "Mr. Valdemar, I was just joking."

Steve straightened his back, focusing, thinking to himself that he had talked too much.

Steve thought Albert would scold him, but Albert just calmly raised his chin and said to Steve, "Get ready."

Steve breathed a sigh of relief, thinking everything was fine, but then heard Albert calmly say, "This time's plan, you need to take off and land three times within 90 days, right?"

Steve couldn't help but feel panicked.

"Take a seat, didn't I teach you? Come to the right seat," Albert said and his voice was low, giving a serious command that instantly made the atmosphere in the cockpit tense.

Steve habitually sat in the observer's position, momentarily forgetting the dispatcher's arrangements for the day. Steve quickly moved to the right seat.

Albert adjusted his headset and said, "Do your best."

Steve regretted saying that extra sentence, feeling Albert's focus on him. From takeoff to landing, any slight hesitation from Steve would be met with Albert's gaze.

Although Albert didn't say anything inappropriate, Steve felt extremely scared, sweating nervously.

Steve grew highly suspicious, pondering whether Albert had perhaps experienced a setback with someone at the Medical Examiner's Center. Otherwise, why would Albert react unhappily upon hearing Steve mention the center?

However, just as quickly as Steve considered this, he dismissed the notion.

'Who at the Luken Branch of North Airlines didn't know Albert? How could there possibly be a woman that Albert couldn't win over?

Steve wondered, 'So why was Albert so unhappy today?'

After completing four short flights, Albert returned home in the early morning.

Albert had worked all day, feeling very tired, yet his mind was clear as he drove.

The road back to Luken was in an undeveloped area with long traffic light cycles, waiting 180 seconds for a red light.

As Albert waited for the traffic light to turn green, he suddenly remembered what Steve had said to him.

Had Albert been to the medical assessment center frequently lately? Albert carefully recalled and realized he had been going more often recently.

Today, Albert was going to see Yvette, but what about the last time? It seemed Albert also went to see Yvette the previous time.

This revelation puzzled Albert greatly.

Thinking about Yvette's attitude towards him today, Albert couldn't help but furrow his brow in slight annoyance.

Being a pilot, Albert detests the feeling of losing control over something.

A sense of frustration crept into Albert's thoughts.

Albert unlocked his phone and left a voice message in a long-muted chat group.

Albert asked, "Are there any gatherings tonight?"

One of Albert's friends: [Definitely, I have engagements every day.]

One friend promptly replied to Albert's message. After responding, he felt somewhat surprised.

One of Albert's friends: [Albert, well done. You've worked the whole day today, haven't you? Don't you need rest?]

Albert: [Where at?]

One of Albert's friends: [Let's head to West Street; I'll be there in about an hour.]

As the traffic light turned green, Albert stepped on the gas, swiftly accelerating his speed.

After work, Sylvia Evans came to find Yvette to have dinner together.

Sylvia's parents ran a business in a county under Luken. She was mostly busy with work and rarely at home. Sometimes, when she didn't feel like cooking, she would ask Yvette to go out to eat with her.

Sylvia knew Yvette hadn't eaten properly all day, so she took Yvette to a Thai restaurant to ensure she had a good dinner.

The Thai restaurant had a strong Southeast Asian atmosphere, lifting Yvette's spirits.

Sylvia ordered a bit too much food, unable to finish her main dish, so she forcibly served Yvette half of her pineapple fried rice.

Sylvia urged, "Eat up; you've eaten too little today."

Yvette smiled and said to Sylvia, "Okay."

As Sylvia ate, she kept talking to Yvette, chewing her food and chatting.

Sylvia said, "Don't you think it was a wise choice for me to invite you to dinner today? I know Albert won't be home until very late tonight."

Yvette suddenly stopped scooping the fried rice with her spoon and said to Sylvia, "How do you know more about Albert's schedule than I do?"

Sylvia felt embarrassed and said, "Sorry, I'm used to it. I joined a chat group where people revealed the schedules of pilots of the appropriate age. I'll tell them not to disclose Albert's schedule in the future."

Yvette didn't want too many people to know about what happened between her and Albert, so she quickly said, "I was just kidding. You don't need to delete Albert's schedule. It would be suspicious if you specifically asked them to delete Albert's schedule."

Sylvia didn't pay much attention to Yvette's discomfort. However, suddenly recalling something, she said to Yvette in a somewhat flattering manner, "On another note, Albert wasn't scheduled for any flying missions today originally. Yet do you still remember what happened a few days ago?"

Yvette asked curiously, "What?"

Sylvia started to divulge, "It's about Violet! She strongly demanded to resume flight missions as soon as possible, just to be on the same crew as Albert. Violet was assigned to the same crew as Albert, but the captain was switched to another shift."

Yvette acted composed, and said, "I see."

Sylvia interrupted Yvette, "Don't speak yet, I'm not done."

Sylvia said in a lower voice, "Albert and Victor switched shifts, and despite Violet's efforts, it was all in vain."

Yvette recalled the day she heard Albert thanking Victor for swapping shifts with him in the parking lot, realizing it likely pertained to the matter Sylvia was discussing.

Yvette lowered her head, and replied, "Okay, I understand."

Sylvia was displeased with Yvette's reaction. She chided, "Don't pretend to be calm, giving me such a perfunctory response."

Yvette helplessly said, "Then how should I react to this?"

Sylvia chose to disregard Yvette and drew her own conclusion on the matter.

Sylvia concluded, "I must say, you've been with Albert for two years now, and one would expect that there should be some sentiments developing between the two of you, right?

Sylvia added, "How can Albert possibly feel nothing for you? I sense that Albert is beginning to care for you."

Yvette wanted to deny Sylvia's conclusion several times, but in the end, she didn't.

Sylvia was a very happy girl who always saw things in a positive light.

Yvette just mocked herself in her mind.

Does Albert care about her? If he does, would he forget to pick up a pregnant Yvette and leave her alone in a convenience store until 3 a.m.?