Chapter 461 - 295: An Inauspicious Start

Chapter 461: Chapter 295: An Inauspicious Start

Caught between the two women, cold sweat instantly beaded on Lin Chen’s forehead.

He hadn’t expected this. Things had been peaceful for hours, and it seemed like the atmosphere between the mother and daughter was finally starting to warm up. But then they started fighting over how to build the shelters.

Building three shelters at once was certainly difficult, but it had to be done.

Before their argument could get any more heated, he suddenly raised his voice and shouted.

"If that’s the case, then we’ll each build our own shelter! That should solve the problem!"

"Fine," Marcia said with a slight nod.

But to everyone’s surprise, Erica blurted out without hesitation, "I refuse! You don’t want me to sleep with him? Well, now I’m going to insist on it!"

"No. You’ll sleep by yourself. Don’t escalate the situation."

Seeing Lin Chen side with Marcia yet again, Erica stared at him blankly for a moment. Then, she suddenly reached up, unclipped the GoPro from her collar, and tossed it to him.

"Fine. Since nobody cares about my feelings or my opinion, you two can film by yourselves. I’m out. You can get *this woman* to invest in you. She’s got plenty of money, after all."

With that, she turned and stormed off toward the sea without a backward glance.

"Huh?"

Lin Chen fumbled to catch the device, momentarily stunned.

He glanced over at Marcia, whose expression was complicated, and scratched his head, a little embarrassed.

Just as he was about to speak, Marcia let out a soft sigh.

"I’m sorry for putting you in such a difficult position. Go after her, try to calm her down. That child... she’s been through a lot since she was young, so she’s very independent. She’s never really known a mother’s love, and her father is a rough-around-the-edges kind of man who couldn’t take good care of her. It’s all my fault."

"No, don’t say that. I don’t know the full story of what happened between you two, but Erica mentioned something briefly before, about her maternal grandparents. I’m sure you were forced into a corner when you made that choice. Besides, to build such a massive business empire on your own in such a short time... very few people in the world could do that. You’re already incredible."

"Thank you for the compliment. Perhaps I’m a success in my career, but as a mother and a wife, I’m definitely a failure."

Marcia gave a self-deprecating smile and waved her hand. "Go on. I’ll make my own way down slowly. Is it okay to choose a spot for the shelter at the foot of the mountain?"

"That should be fine. My territory is near the mouth of the river, so the tides are relatively stable due to the coastline’s shape. But it would be best to build the shelter at the edge of the forest. It would save a lot of physical labor and also provide protection from the wind and cold."

After saying that, he immediately turned and chased after Erica.

’I’ve known this girl for so long, and I’ve never seen her lose her temper like this. She’s even ignoring the recording... She must be really angry.’

Even though she had only been gone for about half a minute, it took him a full five or six minutes of pursuit before he finally caught sight of her back.

She was moving down the mountain at an incredible speed, almost at the pace of a race walker, weaving through the trees like an agile cheetah.

Whenever the downhill momentum caused her to pick up too much speed, she would slap a hand against a tree, using the reactive force to push herself away and forcibly change direction, which served to slow her down.

Perhaps because she was running so fast, the noise of her feet on the layer of fallen leaves and the sound of her slapping the trees completely masked the sound of Lin Chen’s footsteps. She didn’t notice at all that someone was chasing her from behind.

Lin Chen wanted to catch up to her, but he weighed eighty kilograms. Plus, ever since returning from Panama, he’d been eating more, and the weight he had lost was slowly coming back.

If he tried to sprint downhill, he wouldn’t be able to keep his balance at all and could easily get hurt. He couldn’t be as nimble as Erica.

Just like that, one chasing the other, they reached the foot of the mountain separated by a few dozen meters. Then, without stopping, they continued toward the sea.

Lin Chen didn’t say a word the entire time. He knew Erica was upset and figured he should let her blow off some steam first. It would be easier to talk to her afterward.

CRASH... CRASH...

Wave after wave crashed against the piles of loose rock on the shore, leaving behind a faint, dark waterline.

Erica, breathing heavily, casually picked up a large rock from the ground and hurled it into the sea.

PLUNK.

The surface of the sea erupted, sending up a huge spray of water.

After throwing a few more rocks, for some reason, she suddenly glanced back.

And when she did, she found Lin Chen standing quietly not far behind her, his chest heaving as he also panted for breath.

She froze for a second, the corners of her mouth twitching upward in a barely perceptible arc, before she immediately snapped her head back around.

"What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be waiting on your rich sponsor?"

"I know you’re upset that I kept siding with your mom today. From your perspective, I was definitely in the wrong. I apologize."

Lin Chen didn’t answer her question, instead offering a line he had rehearsed over and over again on the way here.

It was something he’d read while scrolling on his phone once. It said that if you get into a conflict with someone, your first sentence should never be a defense or a random apology. You have to first validate the other person’s feelings and then offer a sincere apology. Only then can you create a sense of empathy and help dissipate some of their anger.

"You don’t have to," Erica said, though her tone was clearly much softer. "It’s not your fault. I know I have a problem with my attitude, but I can’t control it. You wouldn’t understand."

"You’re right, I don’t understand. But this is the wilderness. I can’t just let you run around on your own. What if you run into a Black Bear or a Coyote?"

According to the survey report, his territory was near the mouth of the river and included several small islands. It had a rich diversity of species, and there were indeed signs that these two dangerous animals were present.

Coyotes are nomadic creatures. Although they establish habitats, their solitary nature means they are easily driven out by other large animals who invade their territory.

Furthermore, due to pressure from human activity, they’ve gradually shifted from being active in the daytime to being nocturnal. They also prefer to hunt prey smaller than themselves, so they aren’t considered too dangerous.

Black Bears, on the other hand, were a bigger threat to them.

"I brought Bear-Repellent Spray in my bag."

"That’s not good enough. It’s spring, the time when bears are gradually waking up from hibernation. This is when they’re at their hungriest. Even with Bear-Repellent Spray, it’s not a guarantee of safety. There was once a news report about someone who used spray on a brown bear, but it only enraged the animal, which then tore them to pieces and ate them clean."

"Then I’ll just have to trust my luck. It’s not like anyone cares about me anyway. Even if I die..." "OW! Why did you hit me?"

Before she could finish her sentence, Lin Chen rapped her on the head with his knuckles. She yelped in pain, clutching her head.

"Take it back! Now!"

"Why should I take it back?"

"In our Great Xia, that’s how you cancel out what you just said! How could you say nobody cares about you? Think about your dad, and your mom. If she didn’t care about you, she wouldn’t keep sending you money, and she wouldn’t have come all the way out here to experience your life."

"That’s not what I want to hear."

Erica pouted, staring straight at him.

Lin Chen’s breath hitched. He scratched his cheek awkwardly. "Well... we’re good friends, after all. So of course I care about you, too."

It still wasn’t the answer she wanted to hear, but it was much better than before.

Erica huffed softly and nodded with a hint of dissatisfaction. "I guess that’ll do. If you want me to stop being angry, it’s simple. Come over and give me a hug."

’Just a hug?’

Lin Chen could hardly believe his ears. ’When did this girl become so reasonable?’

’It seems she really took what I said to heart and didn’t make any outrageous moves or demands.’

Since she was behaving so well, and he knew he had mishandled the situation earlier, he didn’t say anything more. He just walked forward and gently pulled her into an embrace.

"Use some force. Didn’t you eat?"

"Still not enough. Harder. The kind of feeling like you’re trying to squeeze me into your body."

As Lin Chen squeezed with about seventy percent of his strength, just when it felt like he was about to crush Erica into a pancake, he heard a suppressed sigh next to his ear.

"Haaah... That’s better."

"This is the feeling. The feeling of really being cared for by someone."

Even though she could barely breathe and her ribs ached faintly under the immense pressure, Erica’s face was filled with a visible sense of satisfaction.

Lin Chen knew, of course, that he couldn’t maintain this for long, so he loosened his grip after about seven or eight seconds.

But Erica showed no intention of letting go. Her hands remained tightly clasped around his neck, her head resting on his shoulder. Her warm breath ghosted across his skin, tickling him like a thousand tiny ants crawling over it.

He didn’t rush her, just letting her hold him quietly like this.

Perhaps because of their earlier strenuous activity, her body was warm and had a slight softness to it. She felt wonderfully flexible, and hugging her was especially comfortable in a season where the average temperature was only in the teens.

Unconsciously, a few faint wisps of a floral scent drifted to his nose.

It was the perfume she had put on that morning. He was quite familiar with the scent; he’d smelled it on her often enough.

The two of them stood there quietly by the sea, listening to the rhythmic sound of the waves. Seagulls occasionally flew overhead, and the afternoon sea breeze brought a pleasant chill as it blew against them.

After what felt like a long time, Erica finally let go and took half a step back. Instead of wrapping her arms around him, she now cupped his neck with her hands. Her beautiful, crystal-blue eyes, like lapis lazuli, gazed up at him from close range, looking almost unreal.

Being stared at so intensely made Lin Chen a little shy. He instinctively tried to look away, but she blocked his view with her hand.

"No hiding. It’s time to train your courage again. If you can’t last for one minute, you’ll be punished!"

’This again?’

It wasn’t the first time, anyway, so Lin Chen wasn’t scared. He mainly wanted to look away because he was shy.

Time ticked by, second by second.

Seeing that Lin Chen, spurred on by her challenge, was actually able to meet her gaze without flinching, Erica started to feel a little bored. Her eyes darted around mischievously for a moment, and then she suddenly leaned her head closer to his.

As she moved closer, their breaths mingled, brushing against each other’s faces. The atmosphere instantly became charged with ambiguity.