Her habit

Chapter 4 Her habit

The so-called 'treat-day' treatment did not mean that Stella would not be able to eat snacks or sweets on any other day. It was just a way for the couple to create a special day that the girl would look forward to. On a special day, normally once a week or twice a month, they would bring their daughter to come out to relax.

They would either bring their daughter Stella to go out to some places to have some fun, go to amusement parks, the beaches seashore, or just simply bring her to a lively place to have fun. Depending on her behavior on other days, she would be rewarded.

At times like these, Seline and Lu Yang would indulge their daughter's desire for snacks and sweets.

Thanks to good food and a carefully prepared healthy diet eaten over her entire life, their girl had developed good and sensitive taste buds. She could differentiate between what was delicious, what was average, and what was unpalatable. She had become a foodie herself and she was particularly picky when it comes to her snacks.

The girl sometimes even sighed with emotion, pretending to be an adult, saying that her only haven and happiness was being able to eat all her favorite snacks.

Whenever she said that Seline and Lu Yang would always be amused hearing it, wondering where she learned such words.

That's why, using her privileges on 'treat day', Stella would request her parents to buy her favorite snacks around. And such a day was a day she considered her happiest day. She had always been looking forward to such a day every week.

Not only can she eat tasty snacks, but her parents would also accompany her to play around. Unlike other days when they were busy with work, on these days, they would accompany her all day long. Such a joyful day, if it was not her happiest day, then what else could it be?

Earlier this morning, this baby girl was a bit mad and sulking. Her favorite daddy couldn't accompany her to play! This baby girl is angry! And the consequence would be terrible!

Originally Lu Yang had promised Stella to bring her out today. But because of the sudden call from work, he had to go out early this morning. That's why when the mother saw her daughter's gloomy face, knowing her idea at heart, she quickly coaxed the girl.

Keeping in line with the promised 'treat-day' Seline promised to fulfill one wish of hers today. And you know what they say, a mother knows her child best. At times like this, treating her baby girl with her favorite ice cream is the best way to coax her.

So, she vaguely gave several suggestions, such as maybe bringing her to the shopping complex, or such as maybe treating her to some ice cream.

Hearing what her mother said, Stella immediately thought of her vanilla chocolate ice cream sold at the ice cream parlor on the top of the shopping complex. The girl immediately jumped for joy and eagerly made sure that Stella would keep her promise to treat her with her vanilla chocolate ice cream.

Though she called it vanilla-chocolate ice cream, in truth, it was not a simple common ice cream in cone biscuit. Rather, it was an exquisite, six-layer black forest vanilla ice cream parfait. The ice cream was topped with slices of strawberries and cherries, coupled with love letters biscuits as well as chocolate chips sprinkled on top.

It was the most expensive dessert here, but it was also among the most popular among the regular patrons.

So, treating herself to the ice cream parfait itself was her most anticipated reward that Stella often pestered her mother with as well as the easiest way for Seline to coax her daughter.

And the fact had proven that her baby girl was currently happily enjoying her ice cream, forgetting her sadness about not having her daddy here.

---

While talking to Grandma Ann and teasing the girl, the mother had always glanced around now and then. Because of her upbringing, she has had a habit of always being cautious and prudent.

Although she was aware and knew it in her heart, that the probability of something unusual happening was extremely low. Especially in an area where the place's environment and security factor were guaranteed, there was almost no possibility of any threat or danger that could approach her and the people around her.

However, things like 'habit' was a scary thing.

She was someone who was born into a distinguished family with a long history. Her family had deep background and had certain influence within the political and military circles. It was what people call a clan.

While the current new generation of family members might no longer be wealthy and powerful giants as their ancestors once were, the family still has certain influence and rights within political and military matters.

As the young generation became more interested in business and commerce, the family might no longer be actively involved in politics and state affairs.

But the people in the military and politics still hold some respect towards the retired older generations. So, even if the family influence had declined, for those with a vested interest, her family's words were still taken seriously.

And because of this, many dangers could come to her due to her identity. Those malicious people could come to her under all sorts of pretentious reasons and pretexts. They might approach her for money, use her as a negotiation chip, take advantage of her family influence, or for any other ridiculous motives.

So long as she was alive, there would always be such risks of her being endangered by these people with malicious intentions who want to harm her.

Because of this, during her young time, she was taught the need to be aware of any possible danger that might come. She might not be an expert, but she was taught various self-defense techniques and was trained to use all her five senses to carefully observe her surroundings.

She learned how to sense killing intents and dangerous aura, as well as to discern and judge whether people were malicious towards her or not. She also learned simple tracing skills, the arts of negotiations, some medicine and first aid treatment skills, as well as various other skills that would allow her to survive.

She was taught these skills and techniques, not to force her to join the politics or the army. Rather, she was taught these skills to increase her probability of surviving should any dangerous element threaten her and her dear one's lives. In the unlikely event, she could utilize this knowledge to safeguard herself and her family while waiting for reinforcement or outside help to arrive.

During her training, she was exposed to and became aware of various possible threats that existed, such as kidnapping, violence unreasonable revenge, coercion, blackmailing, as well as other possible dangers.

Because of this, even though she was not paranoid or overly sensitive toward her surroundings, her training over the years created a habit of never allowing herself to let her guard down when going outside. Her trained eyes can easily spot any unusual situation, thus allowing her to respond to any sudden incident.

At this moment, she looked to the sky to see the clear summer weather. Although the time was getting late, because it was still summer, the sky was still bright.

However, this look towards the sky made her notice something odd. While controlling her facial expression to not alarm anyone, she carefully observed the overhead situation. Upon closer look, her pupil suddenly constricted and a trace of panic flashed past across her eye. But she quickly hid it.

She felt chills behind her back and cold sweat quietly fell down her spine.

She tried her best to force herself to remain calm. Acting nonchalantly, she slowly took back her gaze and looked towards her daughter. No one noticed her changes.