"Ding-a-ling!"
The crisp sound of a bicycle bell made Jared, who was busy working, turn around to look toward the shore.
There, his perfect girlfriend with a curvaceous, sexy figure and a sweet face had returned.
"Hi, baby."
Sam parked her bicycle next to Jared's seaside shack and greeted his dog.
Noticing her boyfriend's gaze, Sam hung her backpack and drawing tube together on the bicycle.
She knew that Jared was actually quite prone to jealousy.
So, she subconsciously decided not to tell her boyfriend that the guest who hired her as a guide today had given her an oil painting.
Sam didn't go straight home; she planned to smooth things over with her boyfriend.
After all, Jared was a bit jealous yesterday because she took a side job as a guide.
Walking toward the fishing boat, Sam took the initiative to greet him.
"Hi, darling."
Jared withdrew his gaze from the bicycle, though he knew his girlfriend's personality.
He still couldn't help but feel a bit jealous of her 'intimacy' with that guide today.
"Hi, honey."
Jared forced a smile onto his face.
He couldn't let his girlfriend Sam know that he had followed her today.
Jared was worried that it would lead to anger and questioning.
It might expose his past actions—how he had followed her more than once because he was afraid she would betray him.
Seeing her boyfriend looking exhausted, Sam actually felt a bit of guilt in her heart.
She smiled and fished out the payment she had just received from Hunter today.
"Look at this!"
The moment she pulled out one thousand us dollars from her pocket, Jared's eyes immediately lit up.
Today, he had obtained a map suspected to be a treasure map from the Asian Youth who had hired Sam.
For publicity, Paradise Island claimed that pirates had occupied the area hundreds of years ago.
There were actually souvenir shops on the island that sold artificially aged pirate treasure maps.
Jared had bought them in the past and even personally searched some locations on the maps, confirming they were all fakes.
However, the map he got from that Asian Youth was very new.
Although Jared didn't have a steady job, he had actually put in the effort over the years while dreaming of getting rich through treasure hunting.
He had some knowledge of the nearby sea conditions, tides, and ocean currents.
With just a few glances, he was certain that the map was likely a genuine treasure map.
Because the location marked on the map happened to be a place Jared had recently suspected due to the recent storm at sea.
He thought the underwater currents might have moved things from the deep sea to one of several offshore locations.
Storms weren't just a recent occurrence; they had happened many times in the past.
Jared calculated carefully and felt that the place marked on the map might really be an underwater treasure site.
Because of this discovery, he couldn't even be bothered to continue following his girlfriend.
Jared had rushed back with the map and found a way to get some money.
Then he bought some repair tools and materials, spending the whole day busy repairing his old, dilapidated fishing boat.
However, the materials he could buy with that money were clearly not enough.
With this thousand us dollars, although it might still be insufficient,
it was better than nothing!
Sam saw her boyfriend staring intently at the money in her hand, the longing in his eyes impossible to hide.
Out of guilt, she smiled and stepped forward, stuffing all the money into her boyfriend's hand.
"For me?"
Jared was stunned, excited but also looking a bit unnatural.
"Mm-hmm!"
Sam hugged him, not caring at all about the smell of sweat on him.
"What's mine is yours!"
In that instant, all of Jared's anger and suspicion toward his girlfriend vanished into thin air.
He excitedly took the thousand us dollars, picked his girlfriend up, and gave her a hard kiss.
Sam giggled non-stop, looking at her boyfriend with eyes full of affection.
After being affectionate for a while, she was set down and only then noticed the brand-new repair tools and materials on the boat.
So she asked curiously, "By the way, darling. Where did you get the money to buy these materials? Is it secret savings?"
Jared's expression became even more unnatural.
He pretended to smile sheepishly and didn't answer her.
Sam was too gentle and didn't press him further.
She said with a smile, "Keep working then. I'm going to take a shower and get some rest early."
"I have work tomorrow."
"Okay!"
Out of guilt, Jared didn't make a fuss about the fact that his girlfriend had to be a guide for that handsome Asian Youth again tomorrow.
Sam gave him another kiss on the cheek, then waved and went ashore, preparing to go back to her own place to rest.
She didn't notice the unnaturalness and unease on her boyfriend's face at all.
Sam soon returned home, and as soon as she turned on the light, she discovered that her room had been rummaged through.
She was a meticulous woman; she frowned and looked around, then suddenly seemed to remember something.
She hurried to the dressing table, opened the drawer, and took out a small metal biscuit tin.
After quickly opening it, she saw that it was empty.
Sam's face turned pale, and then she understood everything.
Holding back the tears in her eyes, Sam quickly grabbed the biscuit tin and walked outside.
"...Jared!"
Sam shouted her boyfriend's name angrily, "Did you sell my mother's gold necklace?"
"That was an heirloom she left me. I told you, that's the one thing you can't touch."
The biscuit tin had originally held a gold necklace, a memento of Sam's mother, who had died at sea with her father.
Her parents had gone out to sea, and their boat sank in the deep sea; even their remains were never found.
This gold necklace was Sam's last memory of her mother.
Jared hadn't expected that his secret act of taking his girlfriend's most precious gold necklace today,
selling it for some money to repair the fishing boat, would be exposed so quickly.
He didn't dare look at his angry girlfriend, but for the sake of going out to find treasure, Jared had no money left at all.
Jared hadn't worked seriously in the past, and not many friends were willing to lend him money.
After unexpectedly getting that map from Hunter, which was very likely a real treasure map,
the dream of getting rich through treasure hunting, which he had already picked up again after losing another job, instantly outweighed everything else.
He had no money himself and knew his girlfriend had none left either.
After thinking it over, he eventually took the only valuable thing his girlfriend had—a gold necklace—and sold it for a sum of money.
He bought some repair tools and materials, intending to fix the fishing boat.
Now, seeing his girlfriend furiously questioning him, Jared knew he was in the wrong.
So he apologized, saying, "Sam, I'm sorry."
"I know I've made you angry this time. I did temporarily pawn the gold necklace to someone."
"But I made an agreement with them to go back and redeem it in a while."
"I know a place that might really have treasure."
"Sam, believe me."
"This time, I can really find the treasure and give you a wealthy life."
Sam had held back her tears for a long time but finally couldn't anymore, looking at her boyfriend who was apologizing with a face full of guilt.
She suddenly felt that this person was so strange... Sigh...
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