Lin Yuan remained silent, then chuckled softly.

With his hands at his sides, he continued to bring the cooled porridge to Si Jin's lips.

He replied casually, "If it weren't for Jinjin, who would be your friend?"

The Mermaid King stared in disbelief, choked on his breath, and coughed several times in a row.

Ignoring the etiquette between countries, they walked directly into the restaurant.

The guards tried to stop him, but Lin Yuan waved them away, only instructing them: "Tell the kitchen maids to give the Mermaid King an extra set of chopsticks and a bowl."

"yes."

The guard turned and left.

The Mermaid King stood rooted to the spot, his face flushed and then turned pale with anger: "Don't bring me any bowls or chopsticks, I'm not eating!"

“Three years ago, my son left the sea on his own, leaving behind an extremely childish letter saying that he was going to go ashore to find true love!”

"I never imagined I'd be tricked by you, you big evil dragon."

“Lin Yuan William, don’t you know how old you are? You’re the same age as me, but you’re a whole cycle older than Jin Jin.”

"What, you've been single for so long that you're starting to covet your own brother's son?!"

"If Ferrion hadn't told me, I wouldn't have known that Jinjin was with you."

"I've been looking for him for three years, but I still can't sense any information about him. Do you know how many years that has been!"

By the end, the Mermaid King's hands were trembling slightly with anger.

He strode forward, about to snatch his son back, when he saw Lin Yuan shove a crystal ball into his hand.

It was the very ball from which the fairy hunted Ferrion and McCarrin all over the world.

The moment the crystal ball touched the Mermaid King's hand, the images inside began to play.

The Mermaid King was stunned for a moment, and then gradually understood what was happening inside the crystal ball.

He stopped trying to snatch his son back, raised his eyes with a complex expression, and glanced at Lin Yuan.

"Judging from your expression, I can tell you didn't receive the crystal ball." Lin Yuan explained, "Three years ago, it was Ferrion who conspired with the prince of the Wizard Kingdom to trick Jinjin into coming ashore, cut off his tail, and gave it to his lover to cook and eat."

"They even went with that witch to the Elf Kingdom to imprison the fairy, attempting to wreak havoc on the world."

“Jinjin has lost his tail and therefore his magic, so you naturally can’t sense him.”

“He was whipped daily by his landlord with a barbed whip in the dilapidated apartment in the Wizarding Kingdom.”

"Finally, it was thrown into the monster's mouth by the prince of the Wizard Kingdom."

"If I hadn't met him while hunting, you would never have found your son in your entire life!"

“Fer...Ferion…” the Mermaid King murmured absentmindedly, seemingly finding it hard to accept this.

In his memory, Ferrion and Sijin were both good kids.

They were all his pride, how could this be...

How could he have done such wrong things with that universally hated witch, McCarthy?

"Was this crystal ball given to every country by the fairies?"

As if to confirm something, the Mermaid King asked again.

“Yes,” Lin Yuan replied. “If you don’t believe me, you can use a magic circle to send a message to the king of another country and ask him.”

"I guess the reason you didn't receive the crystal ball is probably because... Ferrion destroyed it before you found out."

… …

These words stirred the mermaid king's emotions, leaving him unable to calm down for a long time.

In the end, they still couldn't get their son back from the dragon's arms.

He could only sit opposite Lin Yuan and let him do as he pleased...

An extra set of bowls and chopsticks was added.

After saying this, Lin Yuan felt a pang of heartache again.

Unable to resist, he lowered his head and pecked Si Jin's lips in front of the Mermaid King.

"..."

——————

An extra chapter is added to thank everyone for the gifts.

P.S.: When do you kids start school?