Yu Xian ultimately didn’t make a move on those two goldfish.
If Su Xi came home from school and found that the glass tank had been turned into a pot of red chili broth, she would probably cry hard enough to collapse the roof of Jinshui Bay Villa No. 1.
That night, he dug out a dusty canvas bag.
Inside was only a fiberglass rod worth 9.9 yuan with free shipping, and a few packs of fishy-smelling earthworms costing fifty cents.
No more high-tech tricks this time, no more special waters.
He would just go to the Wild Wolf Valley Reservoir on the outskirts of Jiangcheng and honestly catch a few crucian carp.
He didn’t believe there could be fish in this world that wouldn’t even bite earthworms.
6 a.m., Wild Wolf Valley Reservoir.
A thin layer of mist floated above the water.
Yu Xian found a wild reed-covered spot, casually scattered a handful of fermented rice bait, hooked an earthworm, and cast the line.
Water depth: 1.5 meters—classic crucian carp zone.
He lit a cigarette and stared intently at the float.
One hour, three hours. By noon, the sun was directly overhead. The float remained steady as a rock, not even twitching.
Yu Xian’s fingers holding the cigarette began to tremble.
Just as he was about to snap that cheap 9.9-yuan rod in frustration, he heard very light footsteps behind him.
A white off-road vehicle stopped by the dirt road. A young girl stepped out—high ponytail, tight ice-silk sun-protective jacket.
She carried an expensive carbon-fiber tackle box and smoothly set up three meters to Yu Xian’s left: mixing bait, measuring depth, finding bottom.
When she cast, her forearm and wrist moved perfectly in sync—landing with pinpoint accuracy.
Yu Xian’s eye twitched.
An experienced angler.
Within ten minutes, her wrist jerked sharply. The water exploded into white foam.
A half-pound crucian carp was flung onto shore and landed neatly in the landing net.
Yu Xian’s eyelid twitched again.
Five minutes later—another strike.
A wild carp over one jin.
For the next hour, Yu Xian sat like a wooden post, listening to constant slicing water sounds and splashes of fish being pulled out.
She caught over ten fish in a row. Her livewell was nearly full.
Meanwhile, Yu Xian’s float remained motionless—as if welded into the water.
His breathing grew heavier.
The scar on his left hand’s tiger mouth, just recently scabbed over, began to ache faintly.
Damn it… I’ve even pulled out a nuclear submarine before, and today I’m getting crushed by a little girl in a random pond.
Sensing his resentful stare, the girl set down her rod and walked over, holding a ball of kneaded bait.
“Big brother, your bait doesn’t seem to be getting any bites. Is it because earthworms don’t work at this water temperature?”
Yu Xian turned and looked at her clear eyes. His pride as a 55-year-old fishing veteran in his previous life immediately kicked in.
“No need.”
He pointed at the calm water, stiff-faced.
“I’m ‘cultivating the nest.’ Catching big fish requires patience. Your high-frequency casting disturbs the bottom. What I’m doing is called Jiang Taigong fishing—whoever is meant to bite will bite.”
The girl paused, then quickly glanced at the bandaged wound on his left hand, a faint glint flashing deep in her eyes.
“I see… Big brother, you’re amazing. My name is Li Yao. I just started fishing. Can you teach me how to ‘cultivate a nest’?”
Being called “big brother” made Yu Xian feel instantly comfortable again. He put on a master’s demeanor and began spouting nonsense.
He dragged out all the tricks he once used in business to fool investors.
“Fishing is about harmony with nature. Your casting just now was too rigid. True technique involves ‘hydrodynamic frequency differentials’ and using ‘ocean-current resonance and infrasonic interference’ to attract fish schools.”
Li Yao’s heart pounded wildly. She clenched her notebook tightly and recorded everything rapidly.
Hydrodynamic frequency… infrasonic interference…
This was clearly an inland freshwater reservoir, yet he deliberately used deep-sea terminology like “ocean currents.”
This man… was definitely not talking about fishing.
Every word he said was identical to the sonar operational logic of the latest military deep-sea reconnaissance submarine.
He was disguising classified technology as fishing talk—testing her? Or warning her?
With every word she wrote down, her fingers trembled more, cold sweat forming on her back.
To casually turn national-level strategic secrets into fishing small talk… that calmness was like an abyss. It made even breathing feel careful.
“That’s too deep for me, big brother. I’ll need to go back and digest it properly.”
She closed her notebook. Her attitude was no longer just respectful—it carried a trace of awe toward an unknown monster.
At sunset, the sun dipped low.
Yu Xian’s float still hadn’t moved.
Silently, he packed up his rod, his back looking somewhat tragic.
Li Yao walked over and directly poured her heavy fish bucket into Yu Xian’s plastic container.
“Big brother, I learned a lot today. Consider these fish my tuition. Can I get your contact?”
Yu Xian stared at the full bucket of fish, swallowing hard.
With this, Su Wanyi would definitely stop looking at him like he was useless.
Not bad. This girl knew how to handle things.
“Alright.”
Since he had taken her fish, he gave her his number, slung the 9.9-yuan rod over his shoulder, and strode toward his beat-up pickup.
“If you don’t understand anything later, just ask. In all of Jiangcheng’s waters—there’s nothing I, Yu Xian, can’t figure out.”
His shadow stretched long under the sunset.
Li Yao stood by the reservoir, watching the pickup kick up dust as it left.
Her sweet smile slowly faded, replaced by extreme restraint and cold focus.
From a tactical pocket in her cargo pants, she pulled out a modified satellite phone. The “ocean-current resonance infrasonic interference theory” she had just recorded was encrypted in triple layers and sent directly to the Japanese Navy Intelligence Headquarters.
Transmission successful.
She exhaled softly, but her hand remained ice-cold.
“Yu Xian…”
She murmured the name, staring into the direction the pickup disappeared.
“A monster who can capture Sea Wolf No. 7 barehanded… do I, just a small shrimp, really have the right to be your opponent?”
Discussion
Comments
0 comments so far.
Sign in to join the conversation and keep your activity tied to this account.
No comments yet. Start the conversation.