CHAPTER 122: CHAPTER 122: FISHING AND THE HUMAN HEART

Amelia Wright sat back down.

This time she didn’t rush to start, quietly waiting until an elderly person next to her caught a fish.

She watched the other person’s actions carefully, observing how the thin fishing line, like a strand of silk, was managed without haste as the fish struggled, until the fish in the water tired, and the elder slowly reeled it in.

Holding up the fish, the elder laughed heartily: "Haha, looks like I’m the first to catch one today. Not bad, right? At least five pounds!"

"Alright, alright, don’t get so cocky, keep it down."

"What’s there to be proud of, it’s just one fish, the real winner laughs last."

Several seniors snorted dismissively, all keeping their eyes on the water, unwilling to admit defeat.

Amelia Wright watched closely, roughly understanding how to reel in the rod.

She felt like the fish on the hook, painfully struggling, but unable to escape destiny and resentment no matter how hard she tried.

So she could only descend into it, drowning in revenge, ignoring the pain in her heart.

Amelia Wright baited the hook again and cast the line once more.

But this time, no one noticed her, the seniors all assumed she didn’t know how to fish.

If it weren’t for Robert Reed protecting Amelia Wright, these quirky old men would have chased her away long ago.

Amelia Wright was too quiet.

So quiet that one could almost overlook her presence.

Anywhere else, just her face would easily make her the center of attention.

But not here, in the eyes of these seniors, no matter how pretty Amelia Wright was, she wasn’t as interesting as the fish in the water.

Until there was some movement on the water’s surface in front of Amelia Wright, causing the seniors to frown simultaneously.

Matt Rowe couldn’t help but say, "Old Reed, maybe I should get a young one over here to take your student out for a walk, she’s distracting everyone, and if she flubs again, the water will be scared."

Matt Rowe was being quite soft-spoken and polite for the sake of Robert Reed.

However, after Robert Reed turned back, he just stared at Amelia Wright in a daze.

Amelia Wright naturally began to reel in the line.

Last time she had been clumsy and chaotic.

This time her movements were smooth and natural, like a seasoned angler.

The elder who had caught the first fish couldn’t help but exclaim: "She’s imitating my moves!"

So surprised was he that his voice inadvertently rose.

Amidst everyone’s astonishment, Amelia Wright lifted a fish, removed the hook, and placed it into a bamboo basket soaking in the water beside her.

Then she rebaited the hook and cast again.

The entire process was so quiet that it was strangely comforting to watch.

Matt Rowe finally reacted, asking, "She’s copying Old Mr. Dunne, how did she learn so well?"

Robert Reed heard this, his smile so wide it nearly reached his ears, and boasted, "Oh, come on, what’s the big fuss, forgot to tell you all, my student here, she doesn’t have many strengths, but she’s got a strong ability to learn."

Several of the elders felt inexplicably envious.

Then came the quiet waiting.

One fish after another was hooked.

Everyone was enthusiastic, but Amelia Wright remained quiet.

Perhaps the fish liked the quiet too, as Amelia Wright’s bamboo basket yielded a fruitful haul.

Every time Robert Reed saw Amelia Wright catch a fish, he was even happier than if he had caught it himself.

Time gradually passed, and it was 11 in the morning.

The sun was rising higher, and it was getting a bit hot.

After several hours of fishing, having spent substantial energy, Amelia Wright thought these elders should head back.

It was then that Matt Rowe suddenly exclaimed: "Big fish!"

Everyone looked over.

"Judging by the pull, this is probably the biggest one of the day."

"Old Mr. Rowe, keep steady, don’t let it escape."

"Slow down, take it slower."

Everyone gathered around, very excited.

Amelia Wright watched Matt Rowe, his face flushed, with sweat on his forehead, and she slightly frowned.

A ten-pound fish jumped out of the water under the tug of the fishing line, its tail flapping, splashing Matt Rowe’s face with water.

Matt Rowe still wore a smile, but in the next moment, his face suddenly turned pale.

The fishing rod fell from his hands, and the big fish fell to the ground, struggled a few times, then leaped back into the water, freeing itself from the hook.

Matt Rowe pallidly collapsed to the ground.

"Old Mr. Rowe!"

"Matt!"

Everyone hurried over as fast as they could.

Amelia Wright then realized why Matt Rowe had suddenly suffered a heart attack.

After persisting with hours of fishing, now with the sun directly overhead, the excitement of catching a big fish had caused the incident.

Amelia Wright quickly ran over, calmly stating, "Move aside."

No one would make way, fumbling and panicking to provide first aid, and calling an ambulance.

The usually quiet and soft-spoken Amelia Wright suddenly shouted loudly: "Everyone move aside, I can save him!"

Only then did everyone hear Amelia Wright speaking.

They also understood that Amelia Wright was saying she could save him.

The old men hurriedly cleared a path for Amelia Wright.

Amelia Wright knelt down, seeing Matt Rowe’s pale face and obvious difficulty in breathing.

She quickly pulled open Matt Rowe’s clothing to ease his breathing and instructed sternly, "Don’t crowd around, keep the air circulating."

Then Amelia Wright took out a rolled-up cloth bag from her person.

She quickly unrolled it, and everyone saw that it contained a set of silver needles.

Amelia Wright picked up one silver needle and directly inserted it into the Neiguan acupoint.

The elders were startled.

"Is this... do you know medicine? Just inserting needles at will, be careful not to cause any problems."

"Wait, don’t act recklessly, I’ve already called an ambulance, randomly inserting needles can be deadly."

Everyone knew Amelia Wright was Robert Reed’s student, a national painting major.

Traditional Chinese medicine is profound, not easy to learn, even if one tries to learn, it takes time, and Amelia Wright was so young.

Amelia Wright ignored them, quickly inserting the second needle.

Robert Reed stopped those trying to interfere, calmly saying, "Matt’s condition looks too dangerous at the moment, maybe he can’t wait for the ambulance; I trust my student."

"Old Reed, this is a matter of life and death, you really trust her that much?"

Robert Reed nodded firmly: "I trust her."

This single "I trust her," made Amelia Wright think about how she was using her teacher, completely undeserving of his trust, causing her heart to ache immensely.

She took a deep breath and swiftly continued inserting needles.

The struggling Matt Rowe slowly began to breathe again.

He moved his fingers slightly and woke up.

The onlookers anxiously asked, "Matt, are you okay?"

Matt Rowe’s first words were: "Where’s my fish?"

The crowd fell silent in bewilderment.

Nearly lost his life, yet still thinking about the fish!

Amelia Wright interrupted this idle chatter and quickly asked, "You had a sudden cardiac arrest, I’ve done some emergency measures now, the safest approach now is to take medication, where’s your medicine?"

Matt Rowe weakly whispered, "In the farmhouse, under the pillow in my room."

An older man sprinted off, yelling as he ran, "You guys take care of Matt, I’ll go get the medicine."

A few minutes later, with the medication taken, Matt Rowe’s condition stabilized temporarily.

An hour later, Matt Rowe was carried onto the ambulance.

Before the ambulance doors closed, Matt Rowe looked at Amelia Wright and solemnly said, "Thank you."