Halting in his tracks, Alexander didn’t continue walking forward.
By then, Perrin had already finished lamenting. The instant he lifted his head and spotted Alexander standing a stone’s throw away, he snorted. “Let me tell you this, Sophia. Never find a boyfriend who’s dense. A dense person has low EQ and can drive you mad!”
Aware that he was referring to Alexander, Sophia giggled softly. “Got it, Granddad.”
Perrin nodded in satisfaction before casting a look at Alexander once more.
The so-called dense Alexander walked right over to them. “Would you like something to drink?”
“No.”
“Orange juice, please.”
Perrin and Sophia spoke almost at the same time, upon which Alexander replied placidly, “Sure.”
After saying that, he spun on his heel and went back into the cabin.
Sophia stole a glance at Perrin before her and chuckled without saying anything.
A little over a hundred nautical miles away was a developed island. Sophia felt that it was rare for Perrin to go out to sea, so it would be too bland to only sail around on a yacht and fish for a bit.
That was a fairly renowned island in Jadeborough. Three hours later, the yacht docked by the island.
It happened to be lunchtime, so there weren’t many people on the beach. Donning a hat and sunglasses, Sophia led everyone onto the island for lunch.
Although it wasn’t a holiday that day, there were still quite a number of people on the island. Coincidentally, the group of young men they met at the port that morning was also on the island. One of them was acquainted with Alexander. When the man caught sight of the latter from afar, he wanted to go over and greet him, but the person beside him pulled him back. “What a fool! He’s obviously out on vacation today, so you’ll be dampening the fun to go over!”
Pondering for a while, the person in question felt that it made sense. “The woman beside him is Sophia, right? It seems that he has really gotten back together with her!”
“When my mother was out playing cards, she heard that Mrs. Xenos had been kicked out of the Xenos residence. It was because she treated Sophia badly that Alexander gave her the boot.”
“Tsk-tsk, it looks like Sophia is really something else!”
“Hear, hear!”
The afternoon sun was scorching. Sophia was afraid that Perrin would get a heatstroke, so they were preoccupied with arriving at the restaurant quickly. As such, they had no idea that others were gossiping about them.
There was a five-star hotel on the island, and it was packed to the brim during the holidays. There were still many people that day, but it was significantly quieter. Rows of diners lined the coast, but Sophia didn’t give them any thought for fear that Perrin would be unused to them.
After having lunch, they went back to the yacht to rest. Perrin was advanced in years, so he had to take a nap. Soon after arriving back at the vessel, he returned to his room to rest.
It was a little over two o’clock in the afternoon, the hottest time of the day. Sophia stayed in, sitting on the couch while gazing out at the ocean in the distance.
Right then, there were few people on the beach and port. Perrin was already asleep, and the sailor had also gone to rest. It was only Sophia and Alexander in the living room of the cabin.
However, Alexander had just gone out to take a call, so Sophia was the only one left there.
Having woken up at a little over six o’clock in the morning, she was a touch sleepy. Lounging on the couch, she dozed off without realizing it.
When Alexander walked back in after his phone call had ended, he was greeted by the sight of her slumbering on the couch beside the window.
At that moment, the sun was shining brightly, and the entire living room was lit.
By the time he had gone over to her, he could distinctly see her thick and curly eyelashes. Her snowy-white skin almost glowed under the sunlight, tempting him to caress it.
He stared at her for a few seconds before leaning down and carefully scooping her up.
Just as he had stepped onto the corridor leading to the room, Perrin’s room door suddenly swung open. The eyes of Perrin, who opened the door, and Alexander, who held the man’s precious granddaughter in his arms, met.
Inclining his head at Perrin, Alexander explained softly, “Sophia is asleep.”
Perrin glanced at Sophia in the man’s arms and saw that she was indeed asleep, slumbering quite soundly at that, probably because she was exhausted after having gotten out of bed at the crack of dawn that morning.
Such distress inundated him that he could no longer be bothered about his aversion to Alexander touching his precious granddaughter. Likewise lowering his voice, he murmured, “Be careful not to wake her.”
“Will do,” Alexander replied.
While saying that, he carried Sophia to the master bedroom around the corner.
He carefully placed her on the bed, turned on the air-conditioner, and pulled the covers over her before leaving the room.
As soon as he turned back into the corridor, he noticed Perrin standing at the room door. Only when the latter saw him coming out did he head back into his room and close the door.
Oh my goodness, he’s guarding against me as though I’m a big bad wolf!
When Sophia awakened, she found herself in the room. The curtains were drawn tightly, and it was pitch-dark in the room, so for a moment, she couldn’t discern how long she had slept.
Her phone wasn’t in the room, but an electronic clock stood beside the bed. The time indicated was three-forty seven in the afternoon.
Yawning, she got out of bed and went into the bathroom to wash her face. She reapplied her sunscreen before leaving the room.
It was exceedingly quiet on the yacht, and it seemed as though everyone was still sleeping. It wasn’t until she had exited the corridor that she saw Perrin and Alexander playing chess.
At her appearance, both of them lifted their heads and looked at her.
Sophia did the same. Snagging a cushion from the couch at the side, she sat between them. “Go on.”
Needless to say, she understood the principle of remaining silent while watching a chess game.
As he said that, he reached out and made his move.
Thereafter, he shifted his gaze to Sophia. “What do you think of my move, Sweetie?”
Quirking a brow, Sophia threw a look at Alexander before picking up the white chess piece Perrin had just moved and shifted it to another square. “I think this will be a better move.”
Perrin scrutinized the chessboard for two seconds before a light bulb went off in his head. “Haha, my granddaughter is indeed smart! Okay, it’s your turn now.”
His brows twitching imperceptibly, Alexander swung his gaze at Sophia. The latter, who had just given her grandfather some “guidance,” met his gaze without showing any guilt.
In the end, Perrin and Sophia nonchalantly did takebacks, teaming up together and defeating Alexander.
When the game of chess ended, Perrin didn’t find the fact that he had been discussing his moves with Sophia to be a form of cheating. He glanced at the chessboard before pinning his eyes on Alexander across from him. With a straight face, he declared, “Your skills in chess are dismal that you couldn’t even defeat an old geezer like me.”
Beside him, Sophia chortled softly. Alexander eyed her before relenting, “It was because your skills are too outstanding.”
He had all too adept at flattery that Perrin could no longer say anything unpleasant though he initially wanted to snub the man for a bit.
Sophia cast a glance at the time. “It’s already past four o’clock. Let’s go fishing, Granddad. When it’s past six o’clock, we’ll go to the west coast and watch the sunset.”
Perrin had loved fishing when he first retired. Later, he seldom went fishing anymore after tragedy struck Penelope. Instead, he accompanied her to the hospital for chemotherapy, ensured that she took her medication, and slept with her.
Penelope was a sassy and domineering woman when she was young, but in front of Perrin, she was a docile lady. After she had taken ill, she became hot-tempered. Perrin coaxed her as though cajoling a child when he persuaded her to take her medication and accompanied her from sunup to sundown for fear that she would be unhappy, so he hadn’t the time to go fishing.
Nonetheless, he did everything gladly.
Sophia heard all that from Lukas, and that was why she thought of bringing Perrin out to sea.
Upon hearing that, Perrin was so happy that even Alexander didn’t seem as hateful anymore. “Sure, whatever you say!”
At the side, Alexander opportunely interjected, “I’ll go and tell the sailor to set sail.”
When it came to deep-sea fishing, the location was also very important.
