HDRDTH -Chapter 19 You Call That Seafood?

That very night, Yu Xian hit the trending charts again.

But this time, the headlines had taken a dramatic turn:

#Patriotic Citizen Mr. Yu Accidentally Catches Foreign Spy Device While Fishing!#

#500,000 Yuan Reward! The Walking Human Sonar!#

#U.S. Military in Tears: Our High-Tech Lost to a Fishing Rod!#

In the video, Yu Xian stood on the deck with a coast guard ship and the giant black underwater drone behind him. The sea wind messed up his hair, but it couldn’t blow away his melancholy aura.

The comment section exploded:

【I’m dying laughing! Master Yu looks more upset than someone who lost money!】

【Master Yu: I just want fish! FISH! Can you spies stop crashing into my hooks?!】

【What kind of causality weapon is this? Is this the legendary fishing master who can catch literally anything except fish?】

【The government should just hire Master Yu full-time to fish aircraft carriers out in international waters!】

Inside the Jinshui Bay villa.

Su Wanyi rolled around on the sofa laughing as she watched the news on her phone.

“Oh my god, I can’t take it anymore… Xiao Yu, you’re too hilarious! Other people go out to sea to make money, but you go out to defend the nation!” Su Wanyi wiped tears from laughing so hard. “Five hundred thousand yuan again! Adding that to before, we’re basically millionaires now!”

Yu Xian lay sprawled on the other end of the sofa, holding the frozen ribbonfish Director Zhang had gifted him, his eyes lifeless.

“That’s not the ribbonfish I wanted…” Yu Xian muttered. “It’s charity… an insult to a fisherman’s dignity.”

“Alright, alright, stop sulking.” Su Wanyi scooted over and pinched his face. “To celebrate your heroic achievement, tonight I’ll personally cook—actually no, I’ll order takeout! Let’s have a full fish banquet!”

“Not eating.” Yu Xian rolled over. “No appetite. I’m heartbroken.”

Just then, the doorbell rang.

Wang Dafu arrived with his son Wang Xiaoming—who had already started calling Yu Xian “Grandpa”—trotting in excitedly.

“Dad! Mom! Great news!” Wang Dafu shouted the moment he entered. “I heard you caught another huge thing! Amazing! The entire wealthy circle of River City is talking about it! They’re calling you the ‘Sea-Calming Divine Needle’! Several bosses even want to invite you to bless their yachts!”

Yu Xian tossed the frozen ribbonfish back onto the table.

“Get lost. No time.”

“Come on!” Wang Dafu leaned closer mysteriously. “This time it’s different. This time… it’s the Qin family.”

“The Qin family?” Su Wanyi blinked. “Miss Qin?”

“Exactly! Young Lady Qin Yue herself!” Wang Dafu lowered his voice. “After listening to your advice last time, Old Master Qin stopped drinking that snake wine, and his health really improved! Miss Qin specially came to River City to thank you, and…”

He paused before continuing with a flattering grin:

“She brought something she says you absolutely won’t be able to refuse.”

“Not interested.” Yu Xian still looked like a dead fish. “Unless she’s bringing me a live bluefin tuna.”

“Not a fish, but even better than fish!” Wang Dafu pulled an exquisite black-and-gold invitation card from his pocket. “This is a special invitation to the ‘Global Deep Sea Fishing Tournament’! It’s being held in the Maldives, with a grand prize of ten million U.S. dollars! And apparently… the waters there are the richest fishing grounds in the world. There’s never been a single record of someone coming back empty-handed!”

SWOOSH—!

Yu Xian instantly sprang upright like a carp leaping from water.

His previously dead-looking eyes suddenly exploded with brilliance.

“No records of empty catches?” Yu Xian stared at Wang Dafu intensely. “You sure?”

“Absolutely! Why would I lie to my dad?” Wang Dafu thumped his chest proudly. “That place is called ‘God’s Fish Tank’! Throw a rock in and you could knock out two fish!”

“I’m in.”

Yu Xian snatched the invitation card away.

“Tell Miss Qin I accept her gift. When do we leave?”

Su Wanyi looked at the man whose expression changed faster than flipping pages in a book and helplessly covered her forehead.

So this was what they called… being completely manipulated.

…

Three days later, Qin Yue visited again.

This time she brought no bodyguards and wasn’t wearing that imposing cheongsam. Instead, she wore simple casual clothes and carried two boxes of premium tea leaves, behaving respectfully like a junior visiting an elder.

“Mr. Yu, thank you so much for your advice last time.” Qin Yue bowed deeply the moment she entered. “Grandfather went to the hospital for a checkup. It really was nerve pain caused by accumulated snake venom. Luckily we stopped early, otherwise the consequences would have been unimaginable. You are a benefactor to the Qin family.”

Yu Xian was in the yard washing the “Salted Fish No. 2.” Without even turning around, he replied:

“It was nothing. Mainly because that snake wine smelled awful. I could smell the fishy stink from eight hundred meters away.”

Qin Yue laughed awkwardly.

She knew this was merely a master acting humble.

“Actually, besides thanking you, I also have a request.” Qin Yue glanced at Su Qian, who was playing with mud nearby. “I heard your daughter is very talented musically?”

Su Wanyi, who was wiping Su Qian’s hands, immediately raised her head cautiously.

“What? Miss Qin wants to sign our Qianqian too?”

“No, no, no… I actually want…” Qin Yue hesitated, clearly embarrassed. “I want to ask your daughter… to sing a song for my grandfather.”

“Sing?” Su Wanyi froze.

“Yes.” Qin Yue sighed. “Although Grandfather’s health has improved, his spirits have remained poor. But after listening to The Brightest Star in the Night Sky, he finally had a peaceful sleep for the first time in years. He said there was light in the song, something that could drive away the darkness in his heart. So I hope Qianqian can come to the capital and sing for him in person.”

This was a perfect chance to connect with one of the top elite families in the capital!

Su Wanyi was about to agree when Yu Xian suddenly spoke.

“Not going.”

He turned off the hose, shook the water from his hands, and looked at Qin Yue.

“The air in the capital is bad. Too dry. Not good for the throat. Besides, the girl still has school. No time to fool around.”

Qin Yue was stunned.

She never imagined someone in this world would refuse an invitation from the Qin family… because of bad air quality.

“Mr. Yu, we can arrange a private jet! She only needs to sing one song! Name any price!” Qin Yue said anxiously.

“Not about money.” Yu Xian waved dismissively. “I hate trouble. But…”

His tone suddenly shifted as his gaze landed on the Global Fishing Tournament invitation.

“If you can handle my visa and equipment for that tournament, and also… get me a traditional courtyard house in the capital so my daughter has a place to stay when she studies there in the future, then I might consider taking her on a little trip.”

A courtyard house?!

Su Wanyi sucked in a sharp breath.

Courtyard homes in the capital were ultra-rare properties that money alone couldn’t buy! This man really dared to ask for anything!

Yet Qin Yue didn’t even blink.

“No problem! As long as you agree to come, I’ll have my courtyard house in Houhai transferred to your daughter immediately!”

“Deal.” Yu Xian snapped his fingers. “Wanyi, pack the luggage. We’re going to the capital to eat roast duck!”

“I thought you said the air was bad?” Su Wanyi couldn’t help complaining.

“That’s for other people.” Yu Xian spoke confidently. “I’ve got the ‘Dragon-Subduing Whip’ protecting me—immune to all poisons. Besides, I’ve never fished in Houhai before. I heard the old men there aren’t very good at fishing. I should go teach them a lesson.”

Su Wanyi: “…”