Chapter 456: Fishing

“Hypocrite! Stingy miser! Do you dare compete with me in fishing?!”

After receiving the freshly installed fishing gear, Li Shu lifted her large, glossy black eyes and shot Zhu Ping’an a look full of disdain. Clearly still indignant about how he had just argued with her, she puffed out her rosy, tempting little lips and—without the slightest hesitation—declared a fishing duel against him.

“I already let it go, and you’re still hung up on it,” Zhu Ping’an said, unable to help but smile as he looked at her bristling with anger. “Who are you calling stingy, exactly?”

“You’re a boy, yet you argued with a girl like me—and you still dare say you’re not stingy?!” Li Shu huffed coquettishly, pouting as she raised a delicate little finger and pointed it straight at him at just the right moment.

…What kind of logic was that? Completely unreasonable.

“Well?” Li Shu pressed again. “Do you dare compete with me in fishing or not?”

“If I, a guy, compete with you, a girl, wouldn’t that just make me look petty?” Zhu Ping’an shrugged lightly, turning her own words back on her.

“Coward.” Li Shu puffed out her cheeks, waving her pale pink finger in front of his face. “You don’t even have the courage to compete with me. You’re a total coward.”

She was exactly like a proud, tsundere little hen.

The feeling was eerily similar to a small hen puffing out her chest and declaring she wanted to compete with an eagle in flying.

“I’m just afraid you won’t be able to accept losing,” Zhu Ping’an said as he rotated his wrist, feeling that he had been successfully provoked by this scheming, tsundere little girl.

“Who wins and who loses isn’t decided yet,” Li Shu retorted, curling her lips.

The sunlight was just right, and the sea was unusually calm. Warm light poured down over the rippling surface, which shimmered like emerald silk embroidered with countless golden flowers. From time to time, fish broke the surface, splashing water into the air. Likely, ocean currents had gathered nutrient-rich salts here, nourishing abundant plankton—and plankton, in turn, were irresistible delicacies for fish. As a result, this bay was rich in marine life.

It was spring now. The weather was warming, the water temperature rising, and fish that had spent the winter dormant were beginning to feed actively. This was the peak season for fishing.

Perfect timing. Perfect location. Perfect company.
It was the ideal moment to fish.

They agreed on the rules quickly: one hour, and whoever caught the most fish would win. Once that was settled, Li Shu and the little maid Baozi chose their spots on the deck, excitement practically radiating from them.

Of course—though it was all fishing—the treatment was very different.

Li Shu fished in absolute comfort, attended by several maids. A soft couch covered with sable fur was carried to the deck and placed behind the railing. Beside it stood a small table laden with fruit and tea. Above the couch, a canopy like a sunshade had been erected, carefully shielding her delicate, snow-white skin from the sun.

Baozi could linger nearby and enjoy the shade as well, but Zhu Ping’an had no such luxury. He sat out in the open sunlight on a simple chair, fishing the hard way. Still, it was only early April, and basking in the sun was something Zhu Ping’an actually enjoyed.

Waves, sea breeze, a sunshade, and beneath it two young girls dressed in ancient-style clothing—no matter how one looked at it, the scene was fascinating. You’d never see something like this in the modern world. Though… if the two girls were wearing bikinis instead, it might be even more interesting. Zhu Ping’an chuckled inwardly at his own mischievous thought.

“There’s no room for you here,” Li Shu said quickly when she noticed him looking over. She scooted her little bottom inward, occupying most of the couch. She had clearly noticed that this spot had the most fish splashing earlier. After all, the winner could demand any one request.

Zhu Ping’an didn’t mind. He shook his head lightly and lowered his gaze to begin adjusting his fishing gear. He’d long wanted to try sea fishing, and today that wish was finally coming true. In the past, he’d often lurked on fishing forums, drooling over other people’s sea-fishing hauls and reading scattered bits of experience they shared afterward. He wasn’t unfamiliar with sea fishing at all. As for fishing itself, he was thoroughly experienced—he’d fished many times back in Xiahe Village.

When buying the gear, he’d specifically told the shopkeeper it was for sea fishing, so the hooks, lines, rods, and floats were all thicker and sturdier than usual. There were two kinds of bait: one was the shop’s homemade bait, and the other was earthworms.

Li Shu hated worms, so she and Baozi used the shop-made bait, which at least looked pleasant. Zhu Ping’an, on the other hand, chose the earthworms.

After adjusting the float height, Zhu Ping’an pinched off a section of worm and threaded it onto the hook. With a smooth flick of his wrist, he cast the line over the railing. The line traced a graceful arc through the air and landed about five meters away. The float popped upright on the water’s surface.

The sea shimmered under the sunlight, and the red float stood out vividly against the blue expanse.

Seeing Zhu Ping’an begin fishing so smoothly, Li Shu and Baozi visibly panicked. They were already clumsy while setting the bait, and when they tried to cast their lines, they nearly tangled themselves together. Though their casts landed a bit close, they at least succeeded.

Fishing skill mattered—but luck was undeniably just as important.

Truly, luck mattered a lot.

In terms of experience, Zhu Ping’an could leave Li Shu dozens of streets behind. He knew all the old sayings—“Fish in the grass with your back to the wind; without grass, face the waves,” and “A sun halo means good fishing; a moon halo means empty nets.” He understood them all thoroughly. Yet when it came to luck… Li Shu’s might have been far stronger.

That girl’s fortune was practically bursting with purple aura!

The moment Li Shu awkwardly tossed her line into the sea, before the float had even fully steadied itself, it began to move.

Zhu Ping’an found it hard to believe. That scheming, tsundere girl’s luck really was outrageous. She wasn’t far from him, and he could clearly see it—she had just cast her line, and the float was already twitching.

Timing the rod lift was the key to successful fishing. When the float first started to wobble, it was usually just the fish testing the bait—or brushing against the line. That wasn’t the moment to pull.

But Li Shu didn’t care about any of that. The instant she saw the float move, she let out a shout of joy and jumped up.

“The fish is biting! Haha! Zhu Ping’an, you’re definitely going to lose!”

With that, she excitedly yanked the rod upward with all her strength.

Zhu Ping’an shook his head slightly. This wasn’t the right timing at all—and her technique was far too amateurish. Pulling so violently would usually cause even a hooked fish to slip free.

He dismissed it without a second thought.

Yet before his dismissive expression could fully form, it froze in place. He stared, speechless, and muttered, “Unbelievable…”

Right before his eyes, Li Shu—this utterly novice, scheming girl—lifted the rod with brute force. The rod bent into a clean arc. The sea surface exploded with a splash, and a lively fish was flung straight onto the deck. By sheer coincidence, it landed not far from Zhu Ping’an’s feet, thrashing and slapping its tail, silver scales flashing brilliantly in the sunlight.

“Ah! I caught one! Such a big fish!” Li Shu cried excitedly.

She grabbed Baozi and jumped up, the two of them hugging together like a pair of little hamsters. Their laughter rang out, crisp and delightfully sweet.

The fish wasn’t actually that big—only about half a jin at most—but Li Shu was thrilled, as though she had just caught the largest fish in the entire sea.

Perhaps… happiness really could be that simple sometimes.