Chapter 2

Emma was different from me. She was a college student from the next village, and she had worked her way out of our mountain village. She only came back during holidays.

But her family was poor and couldn’t afford tuition or living expenses. We had grown up together, and I had been secretly giving her money all along.

Things had gone naturally between us, so by rights, we should have ended up together.

When I found her, she was on the phone.

I suddenly jumped out from the side and scared her.

She quickly turned off the phone I had bought for her, hung up, and pouted at me. “What are you doing, Noah? You scared me!”

Happily, I told her that my dad was going to pass the craft down to me.

I told her I was about to make a fortune. One fish sac could bring in hundreds of thousands. If I made a few, it wouldn’t be long before I was financially free and could buy her a nice house and a nice car.

Emma’s eyes lit up. She didn’t know my family was this rich, or that making fish sacs could be this profitable.

She even told me dreamily that if we had money, we should move into the city and bring her parents and younger brother there to live too.

When I brought Emma home, my dad had already cooked a full table of good dishes.

When Emma saw my dad, her eyes lit up at once. She licked her lips and pinched my arm hard. “Noah, you never said your dad looked this young, or this manly!”

Of course I knew what she meant. My pride was stung, and I said sharply in her ear, “Once I learn how to make fish sacs, I’ll be manly too.”

Emma nodded without really understanding, but her eyes still kept drifting back to my dad.

My dad frowned. “Emma, sit down. Just call me Uncle Sun.”

Emma sat down cheerfully. It was a round table, but she sat very close to my dad.

Then Eli suddenly came back.

After straightening up, he looked tall and handsome, with those bulging muscles of his.

I clearly heard Emma’s breathing grow heavier.

Eli walked over to Emma and asked my dad, “Is this your son’s girlfriend?”

As he spoke, he handed my dad a bank card.

“Earlier I broke the rules, so I paid an extra fifty thousand. There’s three hundred thousand in here.”

Emma stared at the card without saying a word.

Only after my dad took the card did she finally let out a breath, looking almost disappointed.

“Yes.” My dad glanced at Emma, sounding a little displeased.

Eli said he was sorry for disturbing us and was about to leave.

But then Emma suddenly stood up excitedly and stammered, “Wait, why don’t you stay and eat with us?”

Now even I frowned.

This was a family dinner. You’re the guest. What do you mean by inviting someone else to the table?

Emma knew she had misspoken and quickly tried to fix it. “I just mean, we can eat together. That’s all. There’s no reason not to keep a guest at mealtime.”

But Eli laughed when he heard that and said to my dad, “I see your son really is going to inherit your craft.”

Then he walked over to Emma and, right in front of me, reached out and touched her.

Emma said she hated it, but her body didn’t seem to resist him at all.

I was furious. Was he trying to slap a green hat on me right in front of my face?

I shot to my feet and was about to reason with him, but my dad stood up and blocked me.

“Enough. Don’t overthink it. A man who’s been fitted with a fish sac will never love another woman in his life, and he can’t love another woman either.”

I knew the rule, but this was going too far.

My dad directly ordered Eli to leave first.

But as Eli left, Emma wanted to go too.

Fuming, I stood there coldly and watched them leave.

My dad sighed. “This is fate. Come on, son, didn’t you always want to see Dad’s personal fish sac?”

“Come to my room at nine tonight.”