Ch. 2871..2875: My Wife Is A Hacker Chapter 2871-2875

Chapter 2871

“It’s our turn now since you’ve given her your gift already,” Lulu teased.

“Of course,” Stanley said, not in the least surprised by how others had come to know about Tia’s birthday.

He felt that Nicole knew that today was Tia’s birthday, and that she had seen her plan to surprise from a mile away. If his guess was correct, Nicole had informed others of the occasion and its purpose.

“You’ve all prepared gifts too?” Tia asked, her eyes widening in surprise.

The last thing she had expected him to do was throw her a surprise party by inviting all of their close friends to celebrate her birthday this year. The only other thing she did not see coming was that they had shown up bearing gifts.

“Of course we did. Preparing gifts is a must for such an important occasion,”

Lulu replied, before handing her gift to Tia.

After everyone had given the items they had prepared to Tia, Preston lowered his head awkwardly and apologized. “Sorry, I didn’t prepare any.”

“Did no one tell you?” Samuel asked, a little taken aback.

He knew the kind of person Preston was, and that the latter coming empty handed was a result of him being genuinely oblivious to the purpose of this occasion rather than being a cheapskate.

“Yeah, no one did,” Preston said, his eyes downcast.

He wondered why everyone was aware of Tia’s birthday except for him.

Seizing the opportunity to tease him, Lulu raised her eyebrows. “Well, maybe it’s because you don’t have a girlfriend?”

They had gotten to know about Tia’s birthday through frequent and casual chats with one another. Nobody had made any official announcements, so they had accidentally forgotten to inform Preston.

“Are you trying to eat my heart out?” Preston argued.

After all, it was not his fault that he did not have a girlfriend, and Lulu’s jibes at the dinner table had only served to embarrass him further.

“Well, that’s unlikely,” Lulu said, shrugging her shoulders. “I was just reminding you that you still have a responsibility to shoulder.”

Understanding what Lulu was implying, Preston helplessly turned to Nicole, his eyes narrowed in discomfort. “Can you count me out like you did for Ellar? I’m begging you.”

If they continued mounting all of that pressure on him, he would find the responsibility too overwhelming for him to shoulder.

Frowning, Ellar retorted in disapproval. “Hey, I’m not throwing anyone under the bus here. Besides, I’ll soon have a girlfriend.”

After he had said his piece, Ellar unconsciously glanced over at Patricia. ‘If Patricia won’t be my girlfriend, I’ll stay single forever.’ Preston’s expression soured in an instant, and he murmured, “Why do I feel like I’m the only one being left out?”

That one single sentence from him got the entire crowd roaring and guffawing, making the atmosphere in the room even merrier than it had been.

Amid the gales of roaring laughter, Patricia was the only one who remained solemn. Her head was hanging low, as if she was lost in thought. She had seen through Ellar’s intentions, but she did not know how to proceed without scarring him in the process. She was thinking of ways to let Ellar know that they could never be a couple.

“Sorry, I didn’t know it was your birthday today. I have not prepared anything for you either,” Cindy suddenly admitted.

However, she did not regret her choice of following Martin over. She even went on to glare at him, resenting him for not telling her what the celebration was all about. If he had done so, she would have prepared something.

“Oh, it’s alright. No worries,” Tia said, pleasantly surprised by the fresh, new face before her.

“I’ll make it up to you the next time,” Cindy promised, feeling that it was the best she could do to not be rude.

Shaking her head, Tia instantly declined the offer. “There’s really no need for that. I really am happy that everyone is here today.”

Being the only young woman in her early twenties at the table, this was Tia’s first birthday celebration of such a grand scale, which had been nothing short of lively. To make things better, she even got to celebrate it with so many close friends and Stanley himself. It would be hard for her to not be satisfied by what they had done for her this evening.

“No, no,” Cindy insisted.

Tia raised her hand, about to further her objections when Martin stopped her.

“It’s alright, Tia.”

Martin knew Cindy would definitely make it up to her if she wanted to. After having spent a decent amount of time with Cindy, Martin had gotten to know how stubborn she was.

Chapter 2872

“Erm” Tia hesitated, turning to Stanley.

Stanley gave Tia’s hand a squeeze and said to Cindy,” There’s really no need for any gifts. You’re more than welcome to join our next gathering if you like.”

“Woah, really? Does that mean we’re friends too?” Cindy exclaimed, becoming even more excited as she had no friends here.

“Of course. Just come whenever you want,” Lulu chimed in.

“I would love to!” Cindy nodded. “Oh gosh. I’m so happy to be your friend.”

She had left her native country and traveled all the way to San Joto for Martin, but the prospect of being able to make more friends delighted her, nonetheless.

“I’ll remember to hit you up the next time we gather,” Lulu said.

She then turned to Martin and asked, “Will you join us next time?”

Everyone proceeded to stare at Martin, taking him aback.

Feeling awkward and uncomfortable, he answered, “I’ll see how things go.”

Martin would usually be indifferent to casual gatherings, but should the occasion be a special one, he would make it a point to show up.

After shooting him a meaningful glance, everyone looked away, not wanting to pressure him into coming along.

With a casual laugh, they turned their attention back to Cindy. “Although there’s no guarantee he is coming, you’ll have to.”

“Aw, you bet I’ll be there,” Cindy promised, looking forward to the next meet-up already.

As they chatted, Cindy took the opportunity to tell Tia that she would make up for her birthday gift once again, making everyone burst into laughter. They could tell how determined Cindy was, and they found her gesture to be rather cute.

Tia laughed along, having given up on the idea of declining Cindy’s offer. She knew that Cindy would just hand her the gift, no matter what she did to refuse.

After thanking everyone personally, Tia stood up and expressed her gratitude to the crowd. “Thank you everyone for coming to my birthday celebration.”

She knew everyone had kept her in the dark to throw her a surprise party, one with which she was absolutely happy.

“Don’t mention it, Tia. We’ll be family soon anyway.”

“That’s right. Hahaha.”

Tia could not help but blush at remarks directed at her, but that was not all there was to the evening.

It was then that Stanley stood up and wrapped his hand around hers. “Follow me.”

“Huh, where to?” Tia said, tilting her head in confusion.

Still, she stood up and followed Stanley away from the table.

They approached the small stage set up in the restaurant. As the two stood in position, the ambient lights in the restaurant dimmed. About a second later, a spotlight above shone upon them, its red beam making the couple the only highlight in the restaurant.

Not knowing what Stanley was going to do, Tia nervously asked, “Hey, Stanley…?”

All of a sudden, Stanley produced a bouquet of red roses from his back and gradually got down on one knee.

Then, he confessed, “Tia, it was my fault in the past for stalling and not giving us both a chance. Now, let me tell you that you’re the only woman I’ll marry and live the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?”

Tia was completely dumbstruck, her eyes welling up with tears as she realized that Stanley was proposing to her. It was like a dream come true to Tia, one she could not even muster a response to.

“Tia, come on! Marry him!”

“Don’t hesitate, Tia!”

Everyone’s cheers and words of encouragement slowly reached Tia, gradually giving her the courage to collect herself and lock eyes with Stanley.

Meeting his affectionate gaze, Tia bit her lips, and after a few seconds, she finally nodded. “Yes! Gladly!”

Chapter 2873

After receiving the bundle of roses, Tia wrapped her hand around Stanley's and helped him up.

With his eyes still locked with Tia's, Stanley produced a velvet box from his pocket. After opening it, he took a diamond ring out and gently placed it on Tia’s left ring finger.

“Oh my gosh, congratulations!”

"Finally, you've taken a load off everyone's mind."

Everyone congratulated the couple with joy, though they did not forget to complain about how long they had waited for this day to arrive.

Tia's cheeks reddened from the fanfare, while Stanley caressed her hair, smoothening them for her.

"I'm truly thankful we didn't slip past each other,” he said.

Stanley would often still cringe thinking about how foolish he was to put Tia at the sidelines. Fortunately, everything had played out the way they wanted now, and from this point onward, they were going to be together forever.

With the proposal over with, the restaurant's ambient lights returned to normal, and Stanley led Tia back to the dining table.

"My gosh! Well, you two didn't have it easy,” Lulu said, almost driven to the point of tears..

Tia's cheeks were still maroon from all the shyness and nervousness she had been feeling from the past minute.

Knowing that she was in no condition to respond to anyone,

Stanley held her in his arms and said to Lulu. "It was indeed a tough road.”

"Hehe. Cherish her forever, okay?" Lulu teased.

Solemn and unsmiling, Stanley nodded. "I will.”

“Stanley,” Tia called out, pulling his shirt in embarrassment.

As it was time for them to proceed, Nicole looked at them with a wide grin on her face. "Alright, settle down, guys. Let's all take a seat and prepare to dine in.”

With that, the waiters gradually served everyone their dishes, allowing them to chat while enjoying the food. It was an eventful night to say the least, and once everyone had gotten their bellies filled, they returned home.

The couples then filed out of the restaurant hand-in-hand, leaving Preston, who looked like a forlorn beggar on a rainy day, to approach Nicole. "It seems that I am the only one left to send you home. Do I have the honor, milady?”

Preston felt more comfortable sending Nicole back, for the alternative was following all the lovey-dovey couples home.

Amused, Nicole looked at him with a smirk and agreed, ”Sure thing.”

“Let's get going first. I do not want to see them. It's just heartbreaking, to be honest” Preston let out, eager to leave.

Without skipping a beat, Nicole teased, "Have you ever stopped to consider that you might be the one giving us heartache?"

Indeed, everyone was walking in pairs, save for Preston, who was left to sulk on his own.

Stunned and wide-eyed, Preston began to whine, "Aw, come on. Don't tell me you're going to bang my balls for that too?"

“Hahaha, come on,” Nicole laughed, and made her way to Preston's car with its owner following from behind.

“Ms. Riddle?" Patricia called out, wanting to follow Nicole home.

But before she could, Ellar grabbed her arm and said, “I think it's better if you stay back. Nicole must have something to discuss with Preston."

Patricia raised her eyebrows, not convinced by Ellar's explanation. "And how do you know that?”

"If they have nothing to talk about, my brother-in-law would have come,” Ellar confidently stated, shrugging his shoulders.

If Nicole had not reminded Jared to not pick her up, Jared would surely have shown up to bring her home.

Patricia paused, and after deciding that what Ellar said made sense, she stopped in her tracks.

Then, she turned around to meet Ellar's gaze and announced, “If there's nothing else, I'm heading home too.”

“I'll send you home,” Ellar said, hurriedly following suit.

"No thanks," Patricia declined.

Ellar, remaining as persistent as always, followed her.

Lulu could not help but shake her head as she observed their antics, "Can Ellar handle it?"

"Erm, he should be fine, I guess?" June answered with uncertainty as she frowned.

Although the two seemed quite compatible, and there appeared to be chances of a budding romance, there was still an air of uncertainty surrounding them.

 

Chapter 2874

Spencer and Samuel pulled their respective wives over. “Don't worry about them. Let's go back and rest.”

"Hey, we were just talking,” Lulu said, smiling at Spencer.

They were concerned about Ellar and Patricia, but deep down, they knew that it was not their place to interfere with other people's business. All they could do was wait and see how it would unfold.

"Let's go,” Cindy said, pulling Martin over as everyone began to go home.

Martin, uncomfortable with being touched, broke free from Cindy's grasp. "Alright."

Shrugging her shoulders, Cindy went on to bid her farewells to the Riddles. "We'll get going now. Please remember to call me over next time.”

"You can leave that to me," Lulu promised. She then flashed Cindy the good-luck sign, telling her not to give up on pursuing Martin.

Cindy smiled and nodded in understanding, before turning around to catch up to Martin.

"Are they going to be a thing?” June asked, unfamiliar with Cindy and her situation.

"I'm not sure, but I don't think it will be an easy road to walk,” Lulu let out, feeling that Cindy would need a fair amount of patience and determination to be with Martin.

“Come on,” Spencer urged, taking Lulu away before the women could start gossiping again.

Allowing Spencer to lead her away to the car, she glanced back over her shoulder and waved at the rest of the crowd. ” Bye, guys.”

"See you around,” June replied, and linked her arm to Samuel's. "Let's go.”

"Sure thing,” Samuel agreed with an affectionate smile.

Samuel and June then headed off to their cars after saying their goodbyes to Stanley and Tia.

Now, there were only two people left at the entrance of the restaurant, giving the surroundings an empty feel to it.

However, both Stanley and Tia were still feeling warm in their hearts.

With her bouquet of roses in hand, Tia murmured, “Why do I still have a feeling that I'm dreaming?”

Deep down, Tia knew it was not a dream, even though it was hard for her to believe that, as she and Stanley had truly become one following the marriage proposal she had accepted about an hour ago. Whatever happened next, the new couple would have to face it together for many years down the line.

"Silly girl," Stanley caressed Tia's head. “Let's go home.”

"Okay." Tia nodded and followed Stanley to their car.

"Please don't forget to join us for breakfast tomorrow morning,” Stanley reminded her.

Shocked for a moment, she asked. “Why?”

“And bring Mrs. Wallace Sr. along,” Stanley reminded her without answering her question.

With her eyes still on her new husband, Tia frowned and stopped to think for a moment.

Then, the realization of what he was up to dawned upon her.

“Why don't we wait for two more days?"

Tia had finally figured out why Stanley wanted her and Mrs.Wallace Sr. to join him and the rest of his family for breakfast tomorrow. She was so anxious about tomorrow's meeting with Stanley's parents that her heart began to race.

Although meetings between them were frequent, the one due to happen tomorrow carried with it a special significance. It would be her first time addressing the pair of Daniel and Gloria as future parents-in-law, and this knowledge made her inexplicably nervous.

Knowing what Tia was thinking, Stanley gently wrapped his hand around hers and comforted her. "Don't worry. They have been waiting for this day forever. Need I remind you that they will start arranging blind dates for me if I don't bring my girlfriend back to them?"

Tia knew Stanley was right, so she gritted her teeth and nodded in agreement. “Alright then.”

Although Tia was nervous about the meeting tomorrow, the last thing she wanted was for Stanley to be thrown into another blind date.

Chuckling, Stanley then started the car and brought her home.

Meanwhile, Preston was still in the midst of driving Nicole back home.

"Are you serious about waiting for me to get myself a girlfriend before carrying your wedding ceremony out?" Preston asked, quivering in fear.

Preston felt that it would be unlikely for Nicole to do so, but he needed Nicole's reassurance to get his much needed peace of mind. He needed to hear it from her, and he did not want to hold her back. Above all, he did not wish to meet the piercing gaze that Jared always had in his eyes in all of their encounters, for they had never failed to make him shudder.

Chapter 2875

Nicole could not help but smile at how ridiculous yet valid his concern was. "Come on, dude. That's just an excuse I came up with to comfort Nolan and Lana.”

In reality, her marriage would concern nobody but herself and Jared. No one else would be able to exert any sort of meaningful influence on the wedding.

“That's great.” Preston issued a sigh of relief.

Everything would be fine as long as he did not have a hand to play on whether the wedding ceremony happened or not.

Taking on a more serious look now, Nicole looked at Preston and added, "But, you should really start thinking about your own love life."

"Yeah, I will.” Preston replied.

He did not want to suffer the torture of being the only single person in the room every time he hung out with them. Being around these love birds while they harped on the idea that he needed to find someone soon was agonizing to say the least.

Nicole then smirked and shook her head. She thought it would be a good idea to just remind him about it, instead of poking her nose into his business.

Then, she shifted the topic of conversation. "I've got something to talk to you about.”

"What is it?" Preston asked in a serious tone of voice. He knew that Nicole would never sit him down for a discussion if the matter in question was a trivial one.

After pausing for a while, Nicole said, "Once we reach home, you should follow me in and have a look."

“Oh, okay.” Preston replied.

When they arrived at the Riddle residence, the both of them got down from the car and entered the house. There was no one in the living room, indicating that they must have all returned to their respective rooms and gotten ready for bed.

Nicole did not bother to disturb Daniel and Gloria. Instead, she brought Preston up to the second floor right away.

When they reached Nolan's room, the duo saw Nolan playing the very same game he had been engrossed with for the past few months. Meanwhile, Jared and Lana were sitting beside Nolan, their eyes trained on the computer screen.

Hearing that someone had entered, Nolan, Lana and Jared whirled around to look at them in unison.

"Hello Mommy. Hello Uncle Preston,” Nolan and Lana greeted them.

"Why did you bring me to Nolan’s room?" Preston asked in confusion.

He was wondering what Nicole was trying to do.

Without giving him a direct answer, Nicole walked up to the computer and said, "Have a look at this.”

While Preston proceeded to study the game with its intricate level designs, Nicole explained, "We've studied this game and confirmed that there's something wrong with it.

But, we don't have a single clue about what the developer's motives are. There's still no evidence."

“You don't have any evidence? Does that mean you guys know who the person is?” Preston asked.

"I've got a rough guess, yes.” Nicole's eyes darkened, wishing that the perpetrator was not who she thought he was.

Understanding what Nicole was trying to convey, Preston nodded and asked, "What do you want me to do?”

"So, here's the thing," Nicole replied. "When we began analyzing the game, we discovered that all levels must be completed, and that's what the developer wants us to do. However, Nolan can't clear the game on his own, no matter how many stages he completes, so I'll have to step in to help him out.”

"You want me to help him clear the stages?" Preston asked.

Nicole shook her head and clarified, “No. I need you to assist me.”

"Oh, okay.” Preston replied without any objections. "Tell me, what should I do?"

No matter what task it was, or how difficult it was, Preston would try his best to complete it as long as it was a request from Nicole.

"Recently, I've come to realize that we might have thought lightly about these levels.” Nicole said, attempting to explain what was on her mind.

Nicole had decided to take this matter seriously, so after some careful consideration, she had decided to enlist Preston's help.

Previously, she thought that all they needed to do was clear the stages and discover the developer's motives behind each stage, whereupon they would be able to proceed with finding the solution. After all, they would never come to know what the developer was up to if they did not complete the levels.

However, while Nicole was completing the levels, she could not shake the feeling that there was something fishy about the game design as a whole. On the surface, it seemed as if they had to work very hard to get past all the stages. But there were also moments when Nicole felt that someone was controlling the variables and monitoring the game progress remotely.