King of the Wilderness

Chapter 780: Chapter 356: Noble Considerations (3)

She stiffly turned her head, right into the gaze of her mother—Elizabeth, whose eyes looked cold and filled with ”resentment” despite her seemingly smiling face.

”Uh... Mom?” Kira’s smile froze on her face.

She couldn’t understand how her perfect plan, which she considered a ”century-level assist,” seemed to have backfired?

Just at the height of the cheerful atmosphere, the sound of a boat’s diesel engine suddenly approached from the private dock outside the villa, breaking the silence in the living room.

”Oh, damn,” Elizabeth’s anger quickly found a new outlet.

She glanced out the window, saying snappily, ”That guy who can do nothing but fish, finally bothered to come back.”

Accompanied by footsteps, a tall and thin man in professional sea fishing attire, his hair tousled by the sea breeze yet his spirit unusually high, appeared.

He came in holding a cooler, brimming with excitement. He was Mike’s father, Riven’s grandfather, a fishing-obsessed Irish gentleman—Sean O’Connell.

”Elizabeth! My dear!” He shouted loudly as he entered, completely unaware of the guests in the living room.

”You won’t believe what I encountered today! A swordfish at least 300 pounds! Right about five nautical miles off the coast! I battled it for three hours, just fell short...”

”Shut up, Sean.” Elizabeth cut him off coldly, ”Where’s your fish?”

The excitement on Sean’s face vanished instantly. He glanced at the empty cooler, saying sheepishly, ”Uh... it got away. But next time, next time I’ll surely bring it back!”

”Hmph, your ’next time’ happens more than hurricanes in Florida.” Elizabeth sarcastically remarked, though her eyes didn’t truly blame him.

Sean seemed accustomed to his wife’s reproach, only then noticing Lin Yu’an in the living room.

His eyes lit up immediately, and he extended his hand warmly: ”Oh! Are you Riven’s boyfriend? I’m Sean O’Connell, Riven’s grandpa, welcome to our home!”

He noticed Riven’s slightly red eyes and the pricey surfboard she held, then looked at Lin Yu’an, displaying a ”I get it” kind of expression.

Heartily patting Lin Yu’an’s shoulder: ”Good lad! Bold! Finally, a man appreciates my Riven’s charm!”

Not waiting for Lin Yu’an and Riven to defend themselves, he had already familiarly clasped Lin Yu’an’s arm.

”Come, come, don’t stay here chatting with these women, it’s boring! I’ll show you my arsenal! I assure you, it’s more interesting than Mike’s sailboat!”

At this point, Mike, having finished dealing with matters on the boat, also walked in from outside, and seeing the scene before him, he helplessly shook his head.

”Dad, don’t drag our guest off to see your treasures, he has to go offshore tomorrow.”

”Nonsense!” Sean paid no attention to his son, ”This young man obviously knows his stuff! He’ll definitely be interested in my collection! Come on, Lin, ignore them!”

Lin Yu’an, looking at this overly enthusiastic ”Fisherman” grandpa, didn’t know how to refuse.

He could only smile apologetically at everyone, as he was half-dragged towards a room deep in the villa.

In the living room, only Elizabeth, Mike, Riven, and Kira were left.

Elizabeth’s smile faded, and she raised her glass, gently swirling it, her gaze sweeping over her son, daughter, and granddaughter.

”Alright,” she slowly spoke, her voice calm yet full of matriarchal authority, ”Now, let’s talk about this Captain Lin.”

She looked at Riven, her gaze becoming complex and sharp: ”He’s outstanding, very outstanding, even better than I expected. But, Riven, you must understand, he’s already married.”

”Moreover, his marriage involves a complex Mormon family from Montana.”

”So,” she paused, speaking with emphasis, ”I hope you, maintain your boundaries.”

Riven lowered her eyelids, looking at the surfboard in her hands, saying nothing.

Mike also sighed, echoing: ”Yes, Riven. He is a good young man, but it’s unfortunate... we are not on the same path as him.”

Only Kira, the girl always eager for chaos, murmured softly: ”Isn’t this too cool! Mom, do you mean Lin... can have many wives?”

Elizabeth swept an icy glance over, causing Kira to immediately behave like a duck whose neck was strangled, obediently shutting up and sitting up straight.

The atmosphere in the living room grew somewhat heavy for a moment.

In the end, it was Riven who broke the silence. She looked up, her face restored to its carefree smile, as if the conversation earlier never happened.

She changed the subject: ”Grandma, don’t talk about it anymore. I’m starving, what’s for dinner? Is my favorite steak included?”

Elizabeth looked at her granddaughter, knowing she didn’t want to talk further. She also knew that some matters couldn’t be resolved through persuasion.

”Of course,” Elizabeth said no more, her face resuming a graceful smile.

”I’ve had the kitchen prepare top-grade steak from Giant Stone River Farm, booked last month and air-shipped, just arrived two days ago. Guaranteed fresh.”

Meanwhile, on the other side of the villa, Lin Yu’an initially thought Sean’s ’arsenal’ was meant literally.

Unexpectedly, it was an ”arsenal” that could drive any fishing enthusiast crazy.

It was a huge room, with hundreds of all sorts of top-notch fishing rods hanging on the wall.

From light lure rods for coastal fishing to heavy trolling rods for deep-sea fishing, everything was there, basically a miniature fishing gear museum!

”See this?” Sean tirelessly introduced, picking up an exceptionally beautiful rod.

”EverGreen’s Sea God, designed especially for squid fishing, its tip is so sensitive it’s finer than a hair strand! And this, Zenaq’s Expedition, it can be disassembled into three segments and packed into a suitcase to take anywhere...”

Lin Yu’an watched this ”Fisherman” listing his collection, feeling it’s about the right moment, he casually asked: ”Mr. Sean, with all this top-notch equipment, you must have caught many big fish, right? Anything impressive I could see?”

The enthusiasm on Sean’s face instantly stiffened.

But quickly recovered, he casually waved his hand, speaking with a demeanor full of ”mastery.”

”Oh, those... those big guys, after I reeled them in, I take a photo and release them back into the sea.”

”For me, what’s important is the battle with them, not the outcome. What we pursue is ’Fishing Joy,’ you know?”

Lin Yu’an looked at his deliberately nonchalant demeanor, then glanced at the brand new gear with protective films unremoved, understanding deep down.

He seemed to sense the unique helplessness and bitterness of this enthusiastic elderly man, confined to the ”empty handed” lot.

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