Chapter 123: Chapter 123: Why Didn’t Aaron Lynch Come Back?
Thea Lynch had already played three rounds without a single win.
It wasn’t a matter of skill; every time she was one step away from winning, someone else would beat her to it.
In simple terms, her luck was just awful.
In games that require strategy, Thea never lost, but when it came to luck, she was notoriously unlucky.
However, Thea never gave up.
Once again, she was beaten by Sean Bell.
She gradually realized something was off, looked up at the figure across from her. Receiving her gaze, he smirked nonchalantly, "Need me to go easy on you?"
That kind of comment warranted a punch.
If it wasn’t for Thea’s good temperament, if Sean spoke like that to Ian Preston, a mahjong tile would have hit him in the face the next second.
Thea didn’t respond, beginning to draw her tiles.
She figured out Sean’s tactics; he was observing her pattern and predicting the tile she wanted to win on, deliberately blocking her path.
Sean was truly crafty.
Silas Cheney also noticed this, and while sorting his own tiles, he reminded Sean, "Play properly, or else you’ll have to set up a table and play by yourself."
This round, Thea had a great hand; she could win with several tiles, from three to six bamboos.
Any one of them would do.
But as if cursed by the goddess of misfortune, five minutes passed without her drawing a single bamboo. She could only wait and see who would discard one.
Sean clearly had them, but knowing she needed them, he stubbornly held onto them to tease her.
Thea decided to endure; surely one would come her way eventually. She noticed Ian hesitating over a tile, itching to urge him on.
He looked up and gave her a glance.
Thea didn’t understand his look, "Aren’t you going to discard, third brother?" She was eager to draw her tile.
Ian looked away, swiftly changing a tile in his hand and discarding it, "Two bamboos."
Thea was momentarily stunned, reminded by Julian Zimmerman on the side, "Thea, you can win with this."
"Jeez. Was that intentional, third brother? What a nice shot." Sean immediately called him out.
Thea craned her neck to see Ian’s tiles, "Were you going easy on me, third brother?"
"No," Ian pushed his tiles forward, revealing them, "I really needed to discard that one."
Thea glanced at his tiles briefly, seeing no connection to two bamboos, and believed him.
Silas chuckled quietly on the side. Sean had been watching Thea’s tiles intently, and Thea her own, so no one paid attention to Ian.
But positioned opposite Ian, Silas saw every tile Ian drew and discarded.
It wasn’t that Ian was cheating, more that he was also tracking Thea’s winning condition, discarding any bamboos after confirming her need for them.
Essentially, from the start, he was planning to help Thea win.
In the following rounds, Thea won two more times—once on her own, and once thanks to Ian’s help.
Thea naturally had her suspicions about Ian’s intentions but found no clear pattern. Yet, looking at his play, it didn’t seem his help was deliberate.
Still, it felt too coincidental for complete disbelief.
By the end of the afternoon, Thea had won two million.
"Who did I win this two million from?" Thea looked at Ian.
Thinking Ian had lost the most.
"Neither won nor lost," said Ian, who spent the afternoon calmly playing with chips left by the second older brother.
"I won a little," Silas participated half-heartedly, not playing seriously.
Hearing this, Thea shifted her gaze to Sean across the table.
"Did you lose that much?"
Thea remembered Sean winning at first.
Sean didn’t mind; he intentionally went against Thea all along. His focus wasn’t on Ian or the rest.
Especially Ian, who had several self-drawn wins later on.
Whatever Sean initially won was almost entirely lost to Ian. Then, Thea won several times, costing him more.
It was only then he realized, at the end of the round, he was the real loser.
But it was insignificant, just small change, as if he had bought Thea a piece of jewelry.
When it was time for dinner, they sat on the balcony, drinking tea and chatting.
"I heard something happened with the Sinclair family today?" The second older brother was oblivious to the younger generation’s drama, just curious about the Sinclair family’s affairs.
With this question, Sean looked at Thea, and Thea sneaked a glance at Ian, who remained unfazed, sipping tea with no intention of answering.
Ultimately, it was Silas who spoke up.
"That old fox was caught taking bribes, and he happened to offend third brother—not a good coincidence."
Julian was slightly taken aback, "Weren’t the two families somewhat friendly before?"
"Not really," Ian put down his tea cup, speaking mildly, "At most, there were some mutual interests."
Known for his frankness, Julian didn’t dwell on it, swiftly changing the subject.
Soon, an aunt came over, pushing Grandpa Lynch along.
The younger ones stood up, and the aunt explained, "The old master wanted to see Thea, so I had no choice but to disturb you."
Julian moved forward, taking over from the aunt, signaling her to attend to her other tasks, leaving the old master to them.
Once the old master was beside Thea, everyone sat down.
Despite attentive care, Grandpa Lynch appeared frail and slightly sickly due to his age.
Thea tenderly touched her grandfather’s hand, feeling the bones beneath.
She dared not use much pressure, "Grandpa, you were looking for me?"
Grandpa Lynch was somewhat lucid, asking her why she wasn’t at work today.
"I took a day off, look, second brother is back." Thea pointed to Julian on the other side, "Grandpa, do you recognize him?"
Grandpa Lynch hesitated, reaching out to hold Julian’s hand, "The Zimmerman’s second son?"
"Yes, Grandpa, it’s me." Julian, being an only child, was nicknamed the Zimmerman family’s second son, thanks to birth order among the younger generation.
"So, the second son is back, when did you return?"
Earlier, around noon, Julian had come from the Cheney Family to see Grandpa Lynch, but the old master ate early and was already resting.
In the afternoon, after greeting them, the old master went out for chess and didn’t notice Julian.
Julian didn’t interrupt his activities, waiting until now.
"Yesterday, I flew in yesterday, but it was too late to visit you."
"Good, good to have you back." Grandpa Lynch warmly held his hand, his gaze sweeping over Julian before he abruptly asked a surprising question, "Where’s that kid Aaron Lynch? Didn’t he come back with you?"
Everyone: "..."
When checking the timeline, the year Aaron was transferred, Julian also began frequent overseas trips. Thus, the old master assumed they went abroad to work together back then.
