Chapter 284 Who Is Rocking the Boat?

Chapter 284 Who Is Rocking the Boat?

Sophie couldn't hold back any longer. Gripping the oars with both hands, she grinned and said,

"Okay, I'll count three-two-one, then we go! Three—"

Sophie didn't bother counting "two" or "one." The moment she finished speaking, she pushed off with both oars and shot forward. The boat sped ahead rapidly, splashing water everywhere.

Dylan yelled in frustration,

"Sophie, you're cheating! That doesn't count!"

While shouting, Dylan rowed hard, trying his best to catch up.

The two boats headed toward the center of the lake one after the other, filled with laughter and playful shouts that broke the quiet by the shore.

Only Isabella stood still, not moving.

She felt like countless eyes were watching her from all around. Those gazes carried an icy chill, closing in from every direction, making her deeply uncomfortable.

But when she looked around, there was only grass swaying in the wind and the sparkling lake water. There were no signs of anything—as if those stares were just her imagination.

Isabella let out a cold laugh, her lips curling into a mocking smile.

"Interesting. Showing up this early? Someone must be really eager."

She calmly reached into her bag and pulled out a small golden bell. The bell was delicate, carved with complex symbols, and gave off a faint glow.

Pretending to adjust her clothes, she casually let the bell drop to the ground, then used her heel to press it into the soft grass. The bell disappeared instantly without a trace.

After finishing this, she finally started walking slowly toward Charles's boat.

"Cousin, you guys can't keep up!

Look how perfectly Melinda and I work together!"

Dylan sat in the rocking wooden boat, swinging his feet proudly and splashing tiny droplets of water. He shouted toward Isabella at the top of his lungs,

his face full of youthful swagger.

Halfway through his shouting, he suddenly seemed to notice something wrong. He frowned, turned to see Sophie's boat passing his, and called out with his hands on his hips,

"Wait a minute! Sophie! Are you cheating?

Our boats have two people rowing, but yours only has you. That's not fair!"

Sophie held up her streaming equipment, keeping the camera steady on the lake scenery. She blew a loud whistle at the camera,

her lips curling into a sly smile, her tone dripping with arrogance.

"Actually, I only used one hand and still left you all behind. What's fair about that?

This is called skill, kid."

"Hey! Don't call me a kid!"

Dylan instantly got mad and shouted through gritted teeth.

Teenage boys hate being treated like children and fear being looked down on.

Sophie's casual "kid" hit Dylan right where it hurt.

Dylan snatched the oar from Melinda's hands, rolled up his sleeves to show his still-developing arm muscles, and put all his strength into rowing forward.

The oars stirred the lake water with splashing sounds, and soon

the boat carrying him and Melinda shot forward like an arrow, pulling quite far ahead of Isabella's boat.

Isabella leaned against the side of the boat, still wearing a somewhat amused smile,

but when she casually glanced down at the lake bottom, her pupils shrank slightly and the smile vanished from her face.

Beneath the clear water, there were quite a few dark shadows moving quickly.

Those shadows had strange shapes—they didn't look like schools of fish,

but rather like living things chasing and playing around. They moved extremely fast and soon gathered beneath Melinda and Sophie's boat,

stirring up barely noticeable undercurrents in the water.

On the other side, Charles was also itching to join in. Watching Dylan's boat rowing farther away, his competitive spirit was stirred up too.

Charles eagerly reached out to grab the oar from Isabella's hands, wanting to race Dylan as well. But Isabella didn't give Charles the chance.

Instead, she quickly snatched the oar from Charles's hands too.

Isabella held an oar in each hand and rowed hard toward Melinda and Sophie's direction. The boat immediately picked up speed.

Charles, having his oar taken away, felt a bit indignant and opened his mouth to protest, but seeing Isabella's furrowed brow,

he thought about how Isabella had traveled all the way from Eltheron to Regal City and must be exhausted, so he'd let her have some fun. He swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue.

Charles could only sit at the bow with his arms crossed, holding his breath and watching Dylan "show off" all by himself, his cheeks puffed out like a pufferfish.

Suddenly, Charles felt a bone-chilling cold shoot up from the soles of his feet, making his whole body feel cold.

He felt uneasy.

He was about to tell Isabella about this

when he felt the back of his collar grabbed by an ice-cold hand,

gripping so tightly it was like an iron clamp that he couldn't break free from.

With a muffled splash, Charles was pulled off the boat without warning, and the icy lake water instantly engulfed him.

"Help! Help! I can't swim!"

Charles flailed wildly in the water, his arms and legs thrashing about,

splashing water everywhere. He swallowed several mouthfuls of water, his voice full of panic.

Isabella whipped her head around, saw Charles struggling in the water, her face darkened, and she shouted sternly,

"Charles! Calm down!

You can swim!

Every kid in the Tudor family can swim!

Don't panic, stay calm, and grab my oar!"

Hearing Isabella's stern voice, Charles's confused mind cleared up a bit.

Oh right, he could swim. He'd even won a championship in a Boy Scout swimming competition when he was little.

It was just that being suddenly pulled into the water by that ice-cold hand

had frightened him so much that he'd forgotten his own abilities.

He quickly steadied himself, held his breath, and swam a few strokes with his arms and legs,

successfully grabbing the oar Isabella extended to him. He was about to climb back onto the boat using the oar.

Just then, the boat carrying Dylan and Melinda suddenly began to rock violently. The boat swayed left and right with increasing intensity,

as if something was ramming the bottom from underwater. Dylan's face turned pale with fear, his hands gripping the oars tightly,

his body swaying with the boat, unable to hold back his cries of alarm.

Melinda clutched the edge of the boat desperately, afraid she'd fall in.

She looked at Dylan and cried out,

"Dylan, don't move! I don't have an oar, and if you keep shaking like this, I'm going to fall in like Charles!"

Dylan thought Melinda was deliberately rocking the boat. Frightened, he raised both oars high and quickly defended himself,

"Melinda, I'm not moving! I'm holding both oars in my hands, how could I move?

I thought you were the one shaking around in the middle of the boat and making it rock!"