Sea Survival: My Luck is Off the Charts

Faye Yardley then watched as Melissa Chapman, on the other end of the line, started wailing. ’Oh no, she doesn’t regret giving me that card, does she?’ Faye thought. ’Because I’m not giving it back.’

"He’s never let a woman get that close to him! And you... you said you were just friends! WAHHH..."

"Um, wasn’t there someone else next to him?"

"But you were the only one linking arms with him! Sob sob..."

Faye Yardley: ...

’How could you tell from such a blurry photo?’

’Does she have eagle eyes or something?’

Melissa cried for a good while, and Faye Yardley had no idea how to console her. To Faye, linking arms with a companion was no big deal—sometimes it could even be seen as a polite gesture.

But clearly, that line of reasoning wouldn’t hold up with Melissa Chapman, so Faye could only let her cry it out.

After all, she had just received a large sum of money from her yesterday. It wouldn’t be right to be so heartless and hang up on her today.

"Don’t think that just because we’re kind of friends now, I’ll give up on Nora Nash! The woman standing by his side in the end will be me, and only me!"

Faye Yardley gave her a thumbs-up. "Go for it!"

Hanging up on Melissa Chapman, Faye Yardley couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief. ’She’s so gullible, but talking to her is so stressful,’ she thought. ’I never know what she’s going to focus on.’

"Sigh... I really didn’t lie to her this time. Everything I said was the truth. At most, I just didn’t tell the *whole* truth."

Faye Yardley slapped her forehead. "I’m really not a good person, am I? The things I say are getting more and more twisted."

Remembering she still had things to give to Eleanor Jonas, she quickly clipped the video recording, bundled it with some items and the remaining 50 gold coins, and sent it all over.

She didn’t know if Eleanor was online 24/7, but in any case, the items were received the instant she sent them.

Soon after, she received a big, heart-filled, kiss-blowing thank you from Eleanor Jonas.

The items weren’t numerous, but they were useful.

Although you got one chance to fully recover your health upon entering this place, you got injured far more often.

The ability to regenerate a severed limb, to some extent, really gave a person the courage to take risks.

She went out to the small balcony to check on the Magic Plant and the Green Egg she was cultivating.

The Green Egg hadn’t produced anything, so Faye Yardley just gave it a pat and didn’t feed it any more Light Energy Fragments, afraid that feeding it too much might cause it to mutate.

The Magic Vine, on the other hand, had automatically shed two leaves from its base.

Faye Yardley slapped her own head. "Oops, I forgot to buy some potion to speed up your growth. But it’s a good thing my brother went over there. I’ll send him a message to remind him, and while I’m at it, I’ll have him bring me back a few bowls of that delicious fish fillet congee."

The fish fillet congee made by The Merfolk was completely different from any she’d had before. They clearly had their own secret recipe. She figured she could have her brother bring a few portions back for Willow Yardley to taste and then try to replicate.

After all, on the vast ocean, the one thing they weren’t short on was seafood.

"Thank you," she said to the Magic Vine. "Bella really loves eating your leaves. But make sure you only shed them if it doesn’t affect your own growth, okay?"

After saying this to the Magic Vine and giving it a little dew, she leaped straight down from the small balcony.

Seeing that another identical cottage had been erected next to Eamon’s, she went straight over. She found Cole Kensington leaning against the doorway, silent, with his arms crossed. Eamon was beside him, gesturing animatedly, but Cole clearly had no intention of responding.

When he saw her approaching, Cole Kensington stood up straight, just watching Faye Yardley without a word.

"What’s wrong? Is the house not decorated yet? Eamon, what are you trying to do?"

Eamon pointed to a corner of the garden and said with a hint of grievance, "Big Sis, I wanted to put a few potted plants by his wall, but he won’t say if he agrees or disagrees."

"If he didn’t object, that means he agrees. Go ahead and do it. But the inside of his house isn’t decorated yet?"

"Second Sis is decorating inside. All he said was, ’Whatever.’"

Cole Kensington showed no other emotion. He didn’t seem uncomfortable, but his attitude toward Faye Yardley was indeed respectful.

Faye Yardley beckoned to him. "Let’s go sit over there. There are some things I’d like to get straight first. After all, we’ll probably be spending the next two years together, won’t we?"

"Yes, Miss Yardley."

As she spoke, Bella ran over and nuzzled affectionately against Faye Yardley. Faye stuck a leaf directly into its mouth and patted its head. "Go play in the sea for a while."

Leading Cole Kensington to the pavilion, Faye Yardley poured him a glass of watermelon juice. "I don’t know your age yet. Are you of the Human Race?"

"Sixteen. Human Race. Thank you."

"In that case, you can call me ’Big Sis’ like the others. The Little Green Man you just saw, Eamon, is also my employee. He’s in charge of growing things for me—the watermelon juice we’re drinking now came from a watermelon he grew. Willow is my younger sister and acts as the housekeeper. You can go to her directly with any daily needs."

Cole Kensington let out an "oh" to show he understood, but then looked a little lost. "The contract you hired me under was for weaving. What do you need me to weave? My master told me to come here to protect you."

Faye Yardley couldn’t imagine how strong a sixteen-year-old boy had to be for Nora Nash to acknowledge his abilities. And on top of that, he had been captured by the Merfolk and kept as a slave.

’The Merfolk are supposed to be neutral toward the Human Race, so how did he get captured?’

When in doubt, of course, the best thing to do was ask directly.

But Cole Kensington was silent for a long time before he finally said, "We were the ones who initiated an attack on one of The Merfolk clans, The Piranha-folk. As the defeated party, it’s only normal to be treated as slaves by the Merfolk."

Holy cow. Faye Yardley was, quite literally, thinking, ’Holy cow.’

’The Piranha-folk... just from the name, you can tell they’re a fierce clan. So why would they challenge them?’

"Actually, we had almost wiped out that small clan of The Piranha-folk, but then..."

Whatever happened, the end result was a crushing defeat.

"You have a younger brother?"

"Yes. It’s just my brother and I left in our family. As long as my brother is with Master, I have nothing to worry about. So, Miss Ya—... Big Sis, you can rest assured. I will protect you with all my heart."

Faye Yardley said, "Oh. You really trust Nora Nash, don’t you?"

"Of course. His name alone is the greatest guarantee."

’So impressive. When will the day come when the name ’Faye Yardley’ alone is enough to command that kind of trust!’

’Of course, that’s just a thought for now. But she could make it a goal to strive for.’

"What can you weave? You can go to the cultivation room and see if there are any suitable materials."

Cole Kensington walked right down from the pavilion to a patch of bamboo. "If you’d like to see, Big Sis, I can weave something with this bamboo right now."

Faye Yardley’s eyes lit up. "I see now! I didn’t expect someone so young to be a craftsman. Don’t break any of this off. Go to the cultivation room and ask Eamon for some. Could you make me a rocking chair?"

Seeing Cole Kensington about to leave immediately, Faye Yardley called out to him and tossed him a potion for internal injuries. "You need to rest and recover right now. I’m not in a hurry. Just make it after your body has healed."

"This is for me?"

"Of course. Besides you, is there anyone else here who needs medicine?"

Cole Kensington looked at the potion in his hand, a hint of gratitude welling up in his heart.