The Sea Queen of 1985

Chapter 144: Chapter 144: Crazy Pursuer

But the pretty woman was faster, sticking her hand right into the crack of the door.

Her hand got squeezed, but she didn’t seem to mind the pain. Prying at the door with both hands, she said, ”Housekeeper Xu, please just let me see Ye Feng. I’ve already come here twice.”

Seeing that her hand was already red, Uncle Xu couldn’t bring himself to force the door shut. With a pained expression, he said, ”Miss Yu, the young master said he needs to rest and isn’t seeing any guests.”

When Han Xiaorui heard the name ”Miss Yu,” she remembered Chen Yupeng’s earlier warning.

’Is this that crazy pursuer of Ye Feng’s?’

She was about five-foot-three with a nice figure, wearing a red-and-white polka-dot dress. Her permed hair was tied up.

She had delicate features, and her smile revealed two small, prominent canines.

Looking so pitifully charming just to see Ye Feng, she didn’t look at all like the ruthless person Chen Yupeng had described, the one who repeatedly went after Ye Feng’s other pursuers.

’You really can’t judge a book by its cover!’

”Housekeeper Xu, please just let me in. I just want to see Ye Feng.” Yu Lina was on the verge of tears. She just liked Ye Feng; did it have to be this hard?

Uncle Xu was in a difficult position. The young master had said that if he let Yu Lina in again, he would stop recuperating here.

”Miss Yu, please don’t make things difficult for me.” Uncle Xu’s face was strained. ”The young master said he doesn’t want to see you. If you keep this up, you’ll only make things awkward for both our families.”

Yu Lina was upset. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw Han Xiaorui, a beautiful woman. She pointed a finger at her. ”Who is she?”

Uncle Xu was about to introduce her, but Han Xiaorui stopped him. ”I’m just delivering some peaches.”

She didn’t want to stir up trouble before she had a better sense of who Yu Lina was.

”Right, she’s delivering peaches.” Uncle Xu paused, startled. He was afraid Han Xiaorui would get the wrong idea, and then the young master would probably get upset.

Taking advantage of Yu Lina’s momentary confusion, Uncle Xu shut the door.

’The young lady is quite pretty, but she’s just too stubborn.’

She had been spoiled by her family, but his young master didn’t like her and had no desire to spend time with her.

Han Xiaorui and Uncle Xu carried the peaches into the kitchen together.

Uncle Xu smiled. ”Xiao Han, the young master is in the backyard reading under the osmanthus tree. I’ll wash some peaches and bring them out to you in a bit.”

”Thank you, Uncle Xu.” Han Xiaorui nodded and headed toward the backyard in the direction he had pointed.

The morning weather was perfect. Sunlight filtered through the leaves of the osmanthus tree, dappling the ground with spots of light.

Ye Feng was sitting in a lounge chair with his legs propped up on a stone table, engrossed in a book he held in his hands.

Hearing footsteps, Ye Feng turned his head. When he saw Han Xiaorui, he asked, ”Xiao Rui, what are you doing here? Weren’t you out at sea?”

Han Xiaorui hadn’t called ahead this time. She wanted to see the surprised look on Ye Feng’s face.

And Ye Feng was indeed very surprised, and pleasantly so.

”We got back yesterday at noon. We returned to port early because our hold was full.” Han Xiaorui’s voice was light and crisp, with a hint of pride. ”We caught some great fish, so I brought some for you to try.”

Ye Feng shifted to one side of the lounge chair and patted the empty space next to him. ”Come, sit here.”

Han Xiaorui said coquettishly, ”In your dreams!”

She pulled up a chair for herself and sat down beside Ye Feng’s lounge chair.

Ye Feng chuckled and expertly took Han Xiaorui’s hand. ”It must have been tough out at sea. How is the crew getting along?”

Han Xiaorui smiled. ”It wasn’t that tough. The crewmen I hired are all experienced. They don’t let me do any work, unless it’s to wrangle crabs and lobsters that are scurrying around after we pull up the nets.”

”We pull in the nets every three to four hours, so you can’t get a full night’s sleep, but other than that, it’s fine. I’ll get used to it. I took a lot of photos. I’ll give you some once they’re developed.”

”Okay!” Ye Feng nodded. ”Don’t leave today. Stay and have lunch with me.”

Han Xiaorui grinned. ”That’s what I was thinking, too. The peaches at my place are ripe. I picked a lot yesterday and brought a basket for you. Uncle Xu went to wash some, so you can try them in a bit.”

Ye Feng nodded. ”I’ve loved the honey peaches from here since I was a kid. They taste amazing.”

Just as he spoke, Uncle Xu came over with a plate of freshly washed peaches. ”Young Master, Xiao Han, have some peaches first. I’ll have the kitchen prepare lunch using the seafood Xiao Han brought.”

”Thank you, Uncle Xu,” Han Xiaorui said gratefully. ”By the way, is the old madam not here? I wanted to say hello.”

Uncle Xu replied, ”The old madam, the old master, and the second young miss are all out. They went to a wedding reception for an old friend’s child. It will just be you and the young master for lunch.”

”Oh, I see. I’ll say hello to them next time, then.” Han Xiaorui smiled. This was nice, too—a quiet meal with just her and Ye Feng.

Uncle Xu went to the kitchen to discuss the lunch menu with the chef, leaving only Ye Feng and Han Xiaorui in the backyard garden.

Ye Feng took a bite of a peach, and his eyes lit up with amazement at the taste of the honey peach’s flesh. ”I can’t remember how many years it’s been since I’ve had a peach. I didn’t expect them to be even more delicious than I remembered.”

”Even if it’s delicious, you can only have one,” Han Xiaorui said with a laugh. These peaches were quite large, so he shouldn’t be greedy.

The fruit plate held the equivalent of two peaches, cut into small pieces to be eaten with toothpicks.

While eating peaches, Han Xiaorui told Ye Feng about the kinds of fish she caught in the ocean and shared other interesting stories.

This was the first time the two of them had spent time alone together up close since they started dating. They spoke in soft voices, and the atmosphere was harmonious.

Ye Feng seemed to have an endless stream of questions. Like a curious child, he kept asking things, prompting Han Xiaorui to answer one after another.

Through their conversation, Ye Feng got a sense of Han Xiaorui’s experience at sea and her state of mind. ”This might be forward of me, but I’d still like to ask: how much did you make on this trip?”

”You guess!” Han Xiaorui replied slyly. ’What’s the fun in telling him directly?’

Ye Feng smiled faintly. ”Three hundred thousand.”

Han Xiaorui’s eyes widened in surprise. ”How did you guess that correctly?”

”Was it that hard?” Ye Feng smiled. ”Have you forgotten what I do for a living? I often find the truth based on small clues. From our chat just now, I figured out how many nets you hauled, what fish you caught, and their prices. It comes out to roughly two to three hundred thousand. I just guessed on the high end, and I was right.”

Han Xiaorui gave him a thumbs-up. ”You’re amazing.”

”You flatter me,” Ye Feng laughed. ”Not as amazing as you. You’ve already made back the cost of the boat in a single trip. A big boat like yours costs a lot to refuel each time, and with so many crewmen, you can only make money if you’re lucky. If you’re unlucky, you might even lose money!”

Han Xiaorui knew the real story. Without her superpower, she never could have had such a massive haul from the sea.

”You’re right, I won’t earn this much every time. But it’s good that I’ve already earned back my initial investment. Now the pressure is off.”

”If I earn a lot, I’ll spend a lot. If I earn a little, I’ll spend a little. But I trust my instincts. I think I can make a name for myself at sea.”

Ye Feng agreed. ”As long as you like it, go for it. I have money, I’ll be your safety net.”

”No need. I can handle it myself.” Han Xiaorui wasn’t the type of woman to rely on others. If fishing ever stopped being profitable, she would find another way to make money.

’Always keep the initiative in my own hands, not in someone else’s.’

Ye Feng didn’t argue. His actions in the future would speak for themselves.

Just as the two were enjoying their conversation, they heard a loud THUD. Someone had fallen from the top of the wall.