Chapter 457: A Dazzling, Eye-Blinding Catch

Li Shu tugged on the fishing line, lifting the little yellow croaker that was flailing its tail and struggling desperately, dangling it right in front of Zhu Ping’an and giving it a playful shake. She tilted her delicate chin upward in smug triumph, looking straight at him. Her long eyelashes fluttered once, and her bright, watery eyes sparkled like scattered stars. Her cherry-red lips puckered slightly as she mocked him with a teasing pout.

“Still plenty of time left—why are you in such a hurry?” Zhu Ping’an curled his lips, unimpressed. This scheming girl really had luck on her side.

“Oh my, what a strong sour smell,” Li Shu laughed, her voice crisp and sweet. “Hee-hee… when you lose later, don’t you dare try to wriggle out of it.”

She covered her mouth as she giggled, deliberately extending her pale, slender fingers to pinch the fishing line and wave the little fish right in front of Zhu Ping’an’s eyes again, rubbing salt into the wound. Then she twisted her willowy waist and drifted away gracefully. Her steps were light, her long skirt fluttered in the sea breeze, and her every movement overflowed with charm. Against the backdrop of her laughter, her tall, slender figure grew even more alluring.

A true enchantress.

That coquettish laughter could rival the siren songs of Greek myth—those deadly melodies said to lure sailors into the sea.

Zhu Ping’an froze for a brief second amid her playful laughter, then clicked his tongue and forcibly dragged his gaze away from her retreating figure, returning his focus to the fishing float bobbing on the waves.

Sure, Li Shu’s fishing luck was outrageous—but Zhu Ping’an still had confidence in himself.

After showing off to her heart’s content, Li Shu had her maid remove the little yellow croaker from the hook and drop it into a bucket. She rebaited the hook and cast the line into the sea again, this time throwing it even farther than before.

“Look, Zhu Ping’an! I’ve got another bite!”

Almost exactly like before, her line had barely hit the water when Zhu Ping’an heard her cheerful, lark-like voice ring out again.

This is completely unscientific.

Zhu Ping’an stared speechlessly as Li Shu once again jerked the rod up clumsily. A small, vividly colored fish flew onto the deck.

The fish was tiny—no bigger than a palm—but dazzlingly colorful and adorably oval-shaped. Its body was blue, crossed with several black stripes, while its tail shimmered yellow, strikingly beautiful.

“Ah! It’s so pretty!”

A cluster of maids gathered around, chattering excitedly as they admired the little rainbow fish. Even Baozi, the round-faced young maid who had been fishing nearby, put down her rod and joined them.

As if replaying the earlier scene, Li Shu once again lifted the colorful fish by the line and strutted over to Zhu Ping’an to show it off. Her smugness was practically reaching the clouds.

“Shh…”

Just as Li Shu was flaunting her catch, Zhu Ping’an smiled faintly and raised a finger to his lips. “My fish is about to bite too.”

Li Shu turned to look—and saw Zhu Ping’an’s float begin to tremble. It dipped slightly beneath the surface, then rose again… then dipped once more.

Her expression immediately grew tense.

It’s time.

Zhu Ping’an’s eyes glinted faintly as he placed both hands on the rod, ready to give this rookie a proper demonstration of textbook fishing technique.

“Watch carefully,” he said in a low voice. After Li Shu had hauled up two fish in a row, he could finally breathe easier himself.

He snapped his wrist sharply and decisively, flicking the rod upward so the tip rose about twenty centimeters.

That wrist snap was meant to drive the hook cleanly into the fish’s mouth.

Immediately after, Zhu Ping’an lifted the rod and reeled in the line in one smooth, uninterrupted motion. The line never slackened—perfect form.

Success. The fish came up.

In the sunlight, a slender little fish about as thick as a finger thrashed wildly, scattering droplets of water that refracted into rainbow colors.

Uh…

Zhu Ping’an stared at his finger-thin prize, his face burning slightly.

“Hee-hee… I can’t—this is the fish you caught?” Li Shu blinked in momentary disbelief, then burst into clear, ringing laughter. She could hardly breathe. With the way he’d looked just now, she’d thought he was about to haul in a whale—who knew it would be this?

Baozi covered her mouth and giggled too, her eyes curving into crescents. The other girls watching couldn’t hold back their laughter either.

Amid the cheerful chorus of giggles, Zhu Ping’an felt his ears heat up. So this is what getting slapped in the face feels like. He’d just declared he was about to give a standard fishing lesson—and ended up with a fish thinner than a finger. The little one Li Shu had just caught was at least ten times bigger…

This thing is…

Wait.

As Zhu Ping’an looked at the slender white fish on the hook, a thought suddenly flashed through his mind. He smiled quietly to himself. Perhaps this tiny fish would be today’s turning point.

“Hey, are you stupid?” Li Shu rolled her eyes. “Catching such a puny thing and you’re still smiling?”

Ignoring the laughter around him, Zhu Ping’an removed the little white fish from the hook and threaded it onto the large hook at the very bottom of the line, using it as bait. Then he cast the line back into the sea, letting it fall neatly into a current. He slowly released the line, allowing the float to drift naturally with the flow.

“Hey, idiot Zhu Ping’an, why’d you throw it back into the sea?” Li Shu scoffed. “Destroying the evidence?”

“We all saw it—Master is too late to deny it now,” Baozi said, laughing until her eyes nearly disappeared.

Zhu Ping’an merely smiled faintly, calm and unhurried as he watched the float on the water, wearing the serene expression of someone with a clever plan in hand. To everyone else, though, it just looked like stubborn bravado.

With the Ming dynasty’s maritime ban in effect—no private ships allowed to sail—the coastal fishermen nearby had all been relocated inland. No one fished these waters, so the sea here teemed with life.

Not long after Zhu Ping’an cast his line, the float began to move again. The girls’ teasing laughter hadn’t even faded when Zhu Ping’an stood up, preparing to reel in.

A sharp flick of the wrist—rod up!

The sea erupted with splashing water, sending ripples spreading wide. Zhu Ping’an felt a powerful tug on the line, the rod bending into a deep arc as the fish on the other end fought fiercely.

To prevent the fish from escaping or snapping the line, Zhu Ping’an kept the rod lifted, maintaining tension, and began to tire the fish out.

The sudden commotion drew everyone’s attention. The girls’ laughter froze on their lips as the violent churning of the seawater left them staring in shock.

Li Shu clapped a hand over her mouth, eyes wide as she stared at the boiling water…

Zhu Ping’an worked the fish for over ten minutes, until he felt the struggle weaken. Then he pulled the line toward the boat and grabbed a long-handled net with his free hand, plunging it into the sea.

“Ah! It’s huge…”

“That big—has it turned into a demon?”

When Zhu Ping’an finally hauled the massive fish—over a meter long—onto the deck, gasps rang out nonstop.

Staring at the enormous, thrashing fish on the deck, Li Shu’s mouth fell open. She couldn’t even speak. Her eyes were practically blinded by the sight.