Chapter 41: World Two [11] Part 2

“Even if I’m not fishing at the designated Fishing Spot?” Shao Qing asked, her gaze landing on a packaging box that looked fairly intact.

【Yes. During this period of Fortune recovery, you will be under a generalized good luck effect. Things will go unusually smoothly for you.】

Shao Qing’s lips curved into a smile. She bent over and picked up the sand-stained box. “You’re right. Just now, I was wondering if there was a way I could source ingredients entirely on my own. And look, here it is.”

Opening the package revealed a lure with multiple hooks attached and a coil of unused fishing line.

Hooks and line, acquired. For a bobber, any bottle or piece of styrofoam would do. For a rod, a sturdy, flexible branch would suffice.

“Someone threw away hooks and line?” Yu Hongjun’s attention was drawn by Shao Qing’s actions, her eyes glinting with curiosity. “Little Shao, what are you planning to do with that?”

“Sister Hong understands me. With hooks and line practically begging to be used, I want to try fishing on my own,” Shao Qing said with a smile, casually selecting a long piece of styrofoam.

“Plenty of fish love sea snails and shellfish. I can grab bait easily while I’m beachcombing. That way, every tool is self-sourced. The fish we catch will be supplies we gathered completely ourselves. No need to share with the production team.”

Having said this, Shao Qing stowed her finds into her Backpack and turned to face Yu Hongjun. “Sister Hong,” she said, beaming, “if I manage to catch some fish, can we have grilled fish for lunch again? I want to taste your cooking once more.”

Shao Qing’s radiant smile once again left Yu Hongjun mesmerized. Especially since Shao Qing was now backlit by the sun. The cascading sunlight draped over her like a thin golden veil, giving her a touch of untouchable sanctity.

It wasn’t just Yu Hongjun who was stunned. The face lovers watching the close-up in the Live Stream Room were enraptured too. After snapping back to their senses, they didn’t even bother howling in the Barrage Comments. Instead, they turned off the comments, frantically took a barrage of screenshots, and only then started clacking at their keyboards, spamming “Wifey!” as if they wanted nothing more than to just scoop Shao Qing up and take her home.

“Alright. If you want to eat it, I’ll cook it for you,” Yu Hongjun agreed with a smile, a trace of nostalgia in her eyes.

She, too, had met such a bright and sunny person in her youth. What a pity that she had been a mere newcomer then, powerless to watch as that wonderful person was slowly dragged down from their pedestal by the ugly forces of capital, and remained unable to recover even now.

—

Shao Qing’s ability to execute was formidable. After speedily collecting ten kilograms of marine trash, she didn’t even bother checking for Supply Point clues. She immediately went to find a suitable branch for a Fishing Rod.

With Jing Ke’s guidance, she selected a secondary branch that had been cut down the day before. After snapping off the brittle tip, it was about one and a half meters long. Normally, a rod of this length could only catch small fish. A big one would easily break it or simply not bite.

But that changed when this rod was in Shao Qing’s hands. She only needed to bait it with a few morsels of snail meat, choose a spot that looked suitable, and casually toss the hook out.

Her self-chosen spot had no umbrella or chair. Shao Qing just stood on the shore, quietly waiting for the Bobber to dip.

【The stream’s camera is on you now. Netizens have started betting pools. Some bet you won’t catch a fish in an hour; others bet you’ll have one in five minutes.】

【The Fishing Enthusiasts from yesterday have caught wind of this and gathered again. Many are criticizing your rod and hook setup. Because their individual expert opinions all differ, the Barrage Comments are a firestorm of incredibly technical arguments and debates.】

【The regular viewers are busy watching the Fishing Enthusiasts fight, so no one’s paying any attention to whatever the Paid Trolls and Anti-fans are trying to stir up.】

【Your face-con followers are, as always, licking their screens and declaring they’d smash their heads against a wall for you.】

Hearing Jing Ke read out the bizarre comment content in her flat, calm voice, the corners of Shao Qing’s mouth twitched irrepressibly upwards.

Before she could even whisper her thanks, the Bobber floating on the sea surface plunged violently downward.

Shao Qing snapped the rod back on pure instinct. The moment she felt the line go taut with instant speed, she grabbed the plastic water bottle serving as her line spool and began a tug-of-war with the fish on the hook.

【 ‘No way, she actually got a bite? It’s barely been three minutes!’ ‘Someone zoom that camera in down there! I bet there’s a diver putting fish on her hook!’ 】

【 ‘See? I told you all along, catching fish depends on skill, not on what brand of rod and hook you’re using!’ ‘Click here to watch a Fishing Enthusiast have a meltdown! Getting a bite on this kind of makeshift setup? How do you think that makes the guys who spent tens of thousands on a single fishing rod feel?!’ 】

The atmosphere in the comments was utterly joyous. The Fishing Enthusiasts, who cared only for the fish, didn’t even glance at the other squabbling. Their eyes were fixed on the one fish that had taken Shao Qing’s hook!

【Not bad. A wild Yellow Croaker, and a good size, too. Over two jin. Perfect for steaming or making soup.】 In the brief instant the fish broke the surface, Jing Ke identified its exact species and size.

After a tug-of-war lasting about three minutes, Shao Qing deftly reeled in the line using the water bottle. As the golden fish was yanked from the water, it glittered spectacularly in the sunlight.

Getting the fish safely up, Shao Qing examined the Yellow Croaker from all angles, then placed it in a Supplies Box temporarily acting as a live-well.

【 ‘Come on, give me an address! Just give me the address! That’s wild Yellow Croaker! Yellow Croaker!’ ‘Holy crap, how much is that single fish worth? Pure wild has gotta be thousands per jin, right?’ 】

【 ‘Wait, is this for real? Is the production team rigging this?’ ‘How could they rig this? Are you watching the Cameraman’s shots? You really think there’s a diver down there sticking fish onto her hook?’ 】

【 ‘Gotta say, even if they did rig it, they wouldn’t use an expensive, premium Yellow Croaker like that. At most, it would be another Sea Bass.’ ‘Just mindless Anti-fans. This is clearly Qingqing’s insane luck. Getting a fish in three minutes with unprofessional gear. Totally different from certain others.’ 】

“Xu Yin still hasn’t caught a single fish?” Shao Qing asked, catching the key point in the comments Jing Ke had relayed.

【Correct. And it’s not just Xu Yin. Zheng Xingxing and Liu Chang didn’t go chop wood either. They teamed up to fish with Xu Yin. Current tally: Xu Yin zero, Zheng Xingxing one, Liu Chang three.】

Shao Qing unhurriedly baited her hook with fresh bait, found her angle, and cast it back out with a flick.

“Hasn’t Xu Yin given up? Going over an hour without a single fish… he won’t make ten by the end of the day,” Shao Qing said.

【The three have formed a cooperation. If a single person can’t catch ten fish, they’ll use your loophole method. Pool the catch from three people to reach ten.】

Shao Qing couldn’t help but laugh internally. “Xu Yin cares about face. I doubt he’d back out midway. But if he ends up with absolutely nothing, he probably won’t be thick-skinned enough to mooch off the others’ food.”

“Too bad this show isn’t a 24-hour live stream. Once it gets dark, Xu Yin can just have his Assistant bring him something to eat.” Shao Qing’s tone sounded regretful, but it was laced with nothing but casual indifference and contempt.

【Do you need me to step in? If Xu Yin cheats, I can cause a slight malfunction in one of the fixed cameras. For instance, the feed could accidentally connect to the live stream, directly exposing the truth of his cheating.】

“Don’t you think there might be something wrong with doing that?” Shao Qing asked.

【What could be wrong? It’s just a minor technical glitch with a camera.】 Jing Ke seemed puzzled.

“That would affect the entire Production Team. I certainly look down on Xu Yin’s behavior, but there’s no need to drag the whole production down with him,” Shao Qing explained.

“More importantly, Xu Yin is just a Flight Guest. He’s only here for this one segment. If the show gets a bad reputation from this, the ones most affected will be the four Regular Guests.”

【Shao Qing, you’re different from what I imagined.】

“Oh? How so?” Shao Qing kept her eyes on the styrofoam bobber, ready to pull at any moment.

【Xu Yin was the cause of your three-year fall from grace. I didn’t expect you’d consider so many factors when you finally get a chance to retaliate. It seems you’re not in a hurry to take revenge.】

“No. I’m not a magnanimous person. I hold grudges,” Shao Qing said with a soft laugh. “I just want to collect a lot more incriminating evidence against Xu Yin. Then I’ll release it all at once.”

“Petty, small-scale attacks are meaningless. If you’re going to strike, you strike to crush your opponent completely and utterly into the ground, ensuring they never have a chance to rise again.”

Shao Qing’s tone shifted, taking on a subtle hint of self-deprecation. “Look at me. Aren’t I a perfect living example? Xu Yin’s been subtly working against me for what, three years now? Each time, he throws a bucket of mud at me and just watches as public opinion slowly ferments in a direction that hurts me, hoping I’d just slowly fade away from my pedestal. But three years later, I’m still standing here. I’m covered in Anti-fans, but my name is still hot. If I just wanted to cash out and run, I could easily retire with a comfortable fortune and live out my life.”

【Shao Qing, don’t compare yourself to trash. You exist on fundamentally different planes.】 Jing Ke cut her off, her tone unprecedentedly serious.

【Those slanders are baseless fabrications. You are a person of principle and integrity. Xu Yin is someone who will stoop to any low for fame. You are not the same.】

“Are we so different? Aren’t we all in this industry just to make money?” Shao Qing said dismissively. “If it weren’t for the money, I would have quit a long time ago. My savings aren’t small anymore.”

【It is different. You genuinely love acting.】 Jing Ke’s tone grew even more solemn.

【I don’t know what others think, but I know you, Shao Qing. You are a good person.】

【You’ve persevered until now to realize your dreams. And a huge portion of the money you earn goes to building Hope Primary Schools. You are a person of noble character, nothing like that piece of trash, Xu Yin.】