Love at First Novel by Gu Lingfei

"So, what's wrong? You don't like Tatum as a potential son-in-law?" Mr. Ormond asked, noticing his wife's stunned silence. "If you're not sold on a guy like Tatum, our daughter might seriously never tie the knot."

"If Elora stays single and sticks around with us forever, you'd be worried sick," he added.

"We're not exactly winning any parenting awards here. It's exhausting that we've dumped so much on Elora so young. We already owe her big time. We can't just chain her to us forever— she deserves to chase her own happiness."

"As parents, all we want is for our kids to be happy, right? That's what keeps us sane. We're not chasing fame or fortune-our family's got plenty of money already. When it comes to Elora getting married, it's all about the guy's character. If his bank account or status doesn't quite match ours, or even falls a little short, we can roll with it. But Tatum? I think he's a solid match-perfect, even."

Mrs. Ormond shot back at her husband, "Don't you think Tatum's too far away? He's from Wiltspoon-two or three thousand kilometers from here. A flight takes hours."

"It's an hour-and-a-half drive just to our airport, then a few more hours in the air. After landing in Wiltspoon, it's another hour or two to the Yorks' place. That's a whole day wasted traveling just to visit our daughter. It's brutal. I'd rather she marry local. Sure, we've got plenty of rich guys around here, but fine, I'll give you this—they're not as good-looking as Tatum." She had to admit, Tatum checked every box for their daughter.

Ormond shrugged. "So what? Tatum's working here now, isn't he? Is he itching to quit and bounce? Elora's not the type to ditch her responsibilities and follow him to Wiltspoon right now. Didn't she tell you they'd stay here

then muttered, "Yeah, she

clearly on the

husband yet, but he'd already pieced

what's eating you?" Mr. Ormond pressed. "Hit the sack already. If you don't crash

off the bedside lamp

Why stress ourselves out? We don't have the stamina for

back and see how it plays out. We've had Tatum around for months-he's right under our noses every day. We can tell he's a good guy, so chill. The Yorks have a solid rep in Wiltspoon. If you're still freaking out, we'll

he yawned, rolled over, and faced away from her. Within