American Hunting: Starting with Solitary Life in the Wilderness

Chapter 234 "Love Like a Tide"

A large wooden table was moved in front of the fireplace, with a hot pot steaming in the center. The pot had a thick, glossy, and enticing layer of butter broth at the bottom.

The scalding hot butter churned in the pot, with red dried chilies and green Sichuan peppercorns floating in it. A domineering aroma, a blend of spiciness and rich, meaty fat, instantly filled the entire wooden house, making every pore open up.

The table was covered with all sorts of ingredients.

At the very center was a large plate of freshly sliced ​​moose tenderloin. The red and white marbling was clearly visible, and it looked incredibly tempting under the light.

Beside it were vibrant green hardy cabbages; thinly sliced ​​cherry radishes; and potatoes and dried mushrooms that Emily had dug out of the cellar.

Lin Yu'an's eyes were completely captivated by the scene before him, a scene brimming with the warmth of everyday life. He felt his stomach, which had been tormented by the wilderness for fifty days, rumbling with joy.

"Let's eat!" Arya smiled, picked up the first slice of moose meat with her chopsticks, and put it into the bubbling red oil.

Lin Yu'an couldn't wait any longer. He picked up a slice of meat and dipped it in the boiling butter. The meat slice instantly turned from red to white, curled up, and was coated with a layer of glistening butter.

He rolled the piece of meat in the garlic and sesame oil dipping sauce, then eagerly put it into his mouth.

A long-lost, exquisite flavor exploded on his taste buds in an instant!
The tenderness of moose meat, the richness of butter, the heat of chili peppers, and the spiciness of garlic... all the flavors blend together perfectly.

This is the true taste of happiness in the civilized world!

Lin Yu'an could no longer speak. He was like a wild beast that had been starving for fifty days, putting slice after slice of the delicious meat into his mouth, feeling every cell in his body being revitalized under the impact of this warm and spicy energy.

Arya and Emily didn't eat much; they just smiled and kept putting food on his plate, their eyes full of doting and tenderness as they watched him wolf down his food.

Dinner ended, and it was already 8 p.m.

Above the sky in the outside world, the magnificent green aurora continues to dance and flow silently, like a sacred river of light stretching across the heavens.

It casts a soft yet strange light upon the earth, coating the boundless snowfield with a dreamlike phosphorescence, outlining the silhouettes of every spruce tree and every mountain ridge.

Ethan and Olivia were already fast asleep, their breathing even and deep, with contented smiles on their little faces.

Lin Yu-an tucked the blanket around her son and then placed a very gentle goodnight kiss on her daughter's smooth forehead.

He walked out of the nursery, gently closed the door, leaving behind the innocence and tranquility of childhood in that small world.

When he returned downstairs, the atmosphere in the living room had undergone a wonderfully natural change.

The flames in the fireplace were no longer as strong, no longer leaping merrily as before; only glowing embers remained, quietly and steadily radiating heat and a soft red light.

This light, unlike the bright and dazzling light of lamps, has a warm and hazy quality, bathing the entire interior of the wooden house in an ambiguous amber glow.

Arya and Emily had already finished bathing and changed into comfortable silk robes that accentuated their beautiful figures. They were nestled on the sofa, quietly waiting for him. Arya's robe was a vibrant burgundy, while Emily's was a soft, moon-white.

A lingering, spicy aroma of the hot pot still lingered in the air, but it had long been neutralized by the scent of burning birch and the mixed floral fragrance emanating from their bodies after their bath, creating a uniquely homey scent that was both incredibly comforting and slightly unsettling.

Lin Yu'an didn't say anything. He just slowly walked over, stretched out his arms from behind the sofa, and gently embraced the two of them from behind.

His chest pressed against their warm backs, and his face was buried in their soft, still damp hair.

"I'm back." He buried his face in Arya's golden curls and repeated the words.

“Welcome home,” they answered in unison, their voices as soft as if they were murmuring in a dream. Then they looked up at him with eyes that shone brightly in the firelight and were filled with endless love.

He lowered his head and kissed Arya's lips, their lips filled with longing for each other.

Then he turned to Emily, and this time, his kiss was filled with boundless tenderness and affection, and a hint of indescribable guilt.

He could feel Emily's body, which had become softer and more sensitive than usual since becoming pregnant, trembling slightly in his arms.

Lin Yu'an slowly released them, walked around the sofa, and stood in front of them. He didn't sit down, but instead knelt on the carpet, positioning himself lower and looking up at them.

“Let me see you.” His voice was hoarse, with an almost greedy scrutiny.

He reached out his large hands, covered in tiny scars, and first took Arya's hand. Her palm was warm and strong, full of life. Then he took Emily's hand; her palm was delicate and soft, with a warmth unique to pregnancy.

Place their hands on your cheeks and feel the softness of their palms.

“You’ve lost so much weight…” Emily finally spoke, her voice filled with undisguised heartache. With her other hand, she gently, as if stroking a work of art, touched his chiseled cheekbones and his sunken eye sockets.

“But he’s also…more robust.” Arya touched the lines of his neck, which were more defined by the loss of muscle, and the steel-like muscles in his arms.

"I'm fine." Lin Yu'an closed her eyes, enjoying the long-lost, gentle touch.

"I just... left the excess fat in the Labrador."

His words drew a soft chuckle from them.

Lin Yu'an opened his eyes, staring intently at Emily, and then very carefully placed his hand on her still flat stomach.

"Is the little one here a boy or a girl?" he asked softly, as if afraid of disturbing the unborn life.

"It's still very small, like a tiny bean. We'll need some more time to find out if it's a boy or a girl." A happy blush spread across Emily's face.

Lin Yu'an's palm lingered for a long time in that warm place that nurtured miracles. He tried to feel, to listen, even though he knew he couldn't feel anything.

In the living room, the embers of the fireplace cast their last glow, and the air was filled with a near-frozen tranquility, brimming with love and longing.

Just then, Arya, who had been silent all along, suddenly let out a soft laugh.

The laughter, like a pebble thrown into a still lake, instantly shattered the gentle tranquility.

Lin Yu'an and Emily both looked at her with some confusion.

Arya didn't speak; she simply stared intently at Lin Yu'an with her pale green eyes, which shimmered beautifully in the firelight.

Then, she slowly stood up from the sofa, her burgundy silk robe flowing like flames across her beautiful curves as she rose.

She walked up to Lin Yu'an, bent down, and gently lifted his chin with her slender fingers, forcing him to look into her eyes. Her voice wasn't loud, but it carried a languid, irresistible allure.

“Welcome home, my hero. But… the story time by the fireplace is over.” She paused, her red lips close to his ear, her breath like a warm current, instantly shattering the ice he had built up over the past fifty days. “Now, shouldn’t we go to bed and hear the story of your body?”

After speaking, she didn't wait for Lin Yu'an's reaction. Instead, she turned around and extended her hand to Emily, whose cheeks were also flushed. Emily placed her hand in hers with a hint of shyness but also with complete trust.

Arya, holding Emily's hand, took elegant and firm steps and led the way up the stairs. As she stepped onto the first step, she turned back and winked at Lin Yu'an, who was still kneeling on the carpet.

In those eyes, there was provocation, invitation, longing, and an undeniable possessiveness after something was lost and then regained.

Lin Yu'an watched their backs as they walked away. One was as passionate as fire, and the other as gentle as water, yet they blended perfectly into one, extending an invitation to him together.

He took a deep breath, and his heart, which had been dormant in the wilderness for fifty days, was now completely ignited!
He stood up and followed in their footsteps toward the warm bed he had been away from for so long.

Outside the window, the magnificent aurora borealis was slowly unfolding across the sky. Its cool light shone through the huge floor-to-ceiling windows, casting a flowing, pale green patch of light on the bedroom floor.

Inside the bedroom, the soft, warm yellow light intertwines with the cold glow of the aurora outside the window, creating a warm yet dreamlike atmosphere throughout the room.

Arya and Emily had already sat down by the bed and turned to look at Lin Yu'an who had followed them in.

Without the slightest hesitation, Lin Yu'an closed the bedroom door, as if shutting out everything from the outside world.

When he turned around and saw Arya's eyes, which held a hint of provocation and endless longing, he responded to all her invitations with his actions.

He strode to the bedside, knelt on the edge of the bed, placed one hand on the mattress, and with the other hand he held Arya's nape and kissed her without saying a word.

He responded to her fiery provocation in the most direct way. Arya responded just as fiercely, pouring all her passion into the kiss.

After a long while, Lin Yu'an's forehead pressed against Ailiya's forehead, and both of them were breathing heavily.

He turned his head, his gaze falling on Emily, whose eyes were as gentle as water. The passion that had almost consumed everything just moments before instantly transformed into boundless appreciation.

He lay down on his side between them, stretched out his arms, and embraced them both again.

Arya, like a desert scorched by the sun, is full of intense energy.

Emily, on the other hand, is like a tranquil, deep lake reflecting the aurora borealis—gentle, profound, yet containing the power to nurture life.

Lin Yu'an turned on the TV in the room. A documentary about tectonic movements was playing on the screen, accompanied by stirring music that was incredibly powerful!

Everyone watched and listened intently as the earth trembled and the beautiful music seemed to be sketching a brand new portrait, from the smooth hair to the delicate collarbone.
Each image is like someone who has been blind for a long time using their sense of touch to rediscover the world they know best.

The music also caressed Lin Yu-an's chest, which appeared even brighter due to his thinness after participating in the show, and the steel-like muscles on his arms.

The music seemed to have its own will, flowing slowly and continuously with an indescribable tacit understanding.

Passing over the clearly defined abdominal muscles is like plucking a taut string. Then the music becomes deeper, and the earth's crust moves to a point of instantaneous tension along with the music.

As the music flows gently, the camera moves beyond geographical boundaries to a range of gently undulating mountains.

Ultimately, this creates a complete sketch of people and natural scenery.

The music, like a string of a zither spanning millennia, resonates across this harmonious landscape of humanity and nature. Accompanied by the shifting of the earth's crust, the music seems to awaken the scorching, hard volcanoes hidden within the mountains.

The already straight mountain peaks became even more towering into the clouds due to the compression of the earth's crust, and the tectonic movement caused the earth to emit muffled groans.

The muffled groan of the earth's crust being squeezed, like a command and a plea, completely ignited the imminent eruption of the active volcano!
This is perhaps the power of music; it can awaken the powerful energy of nature and the primal.

Accompanied by music, the earth's crustal movement, which had been going on for an unknown period of time, finally came to an end, like a human being letting out a final, extremely faint, suppressed sigh.

Arya was very tired and went to sleep halfway through watching TV. Perhaps disturbed by the sigh, her breathing became uneven as she slept.

Her sleeping posture wasn't very elegant, and the soft material of her silk robe became somewhat disheveled from tossing and turning.

The flickering lights inside cast the interwoven silhouettes of the figures into a flowing, undulating mass of shadows.

The earth remained clear-headed, after all, it was too early in life for mixed martial arts to take place.

Emily didn't ask for anything more; she simply buried her face deep in the earth's neck to feel its real and natural presence.

Arya, in her unique way, constructed a perfect, wordless closed loop within the harmonious picture of humanity and nature.

When the music stopped, the tectonic activity on the television screen finally subsided, and the storm on the screen was no longer a storm, but turned into a misty drizzle falling on the earth.

The world was left with only the rhythmic, contented breathing of the breaths.

The melody of Jeff Chang's song "Love Like a Tide" still lingers, like the aftermath of a storm.

The earth's touch can be clearly felt as a steady, soft heartbeat, with a "thump-thump-thump-thump" vibration like the most intense drumbeats.

Arya, like a lazy kitten, curled up in the arms of the earth and fell into a deep sleep.

Her breathing was deep and even, and a satisfied smile lingered on her lips, as if she were still savoring this long-awaited reunion in her dream.

Emily, meanwhile, lay quietly with her eyes open, her cheek pressed against the earth's broad bosom, listening intently to the earth's powerful heartbeat.

The aurora dancing outside the window cast shimmering light into her gentle eyes through the glass. In those eyes, there was love, tenderness, and boundless anticipation for the new life to come.

Lin Yu'an lowered his head and gently placed a kiss on Emily's forehead, his voice hoarse yet tender: "Sleep, I'll be right here."

"Mmm," Emily responded softly, finally closing her eyes with peace of mind, her long eyelashes casting faint shadows in the aurora.

Her hand, however, remained tightly clasped in his, as if trying to fill the void of those fifty days with this intimate connection.

Lin Yu'an didn't sleep. He kept his eyes open, staring quietly at the ceiling, feeling the warmth and weight of home coming from both sides.

Exhaustion washed over him like a tidal wave, but his mind was clearer and more peaceful than ever before.

A long night has come to an end.

A brand new future awaits them.

(End of this chapter)