Chapter 31: Chapter 31: Female Fishing Companion
"Off to fish~"
After finishing her meal and grooming, Xiao Mi jumped directly onto Chu Mingcheng's legs to lie down. Just then, a lively female voice suddenly came from not too far away.
Chu Mingcheng and Xiao Mi turned their heads to look, only to see a woman wearing a camera on her head and dressed in a fishing outfit, energetically trotting toward them with a tackle box in tow.
It was only when she got closer that she realized there was already someone by the shore; her voice suddenly stopped.
Especially since Chu Mingcheng's handsomeness made her stare in amazement for a moment, though she quickly regained her composure.
She then smiled sheepishly, adopting a shy demeanor, and quietly set up her fishing spot about twenty meters away from Chu Mingcheng.
Female anglers are quite rare!
Given the camera strapped to her head, it seemed she was also a social media personality.
In the next while, Chu Mingcheng's fishing rod remained quiet, yet he occasionally stroked Xiao Mi and teased her, which kept him from feeling bored.
The female angler on the other side was preparing her bait and organizing her tools.
But Chu Mingcheng could feel her stealing glances at him from time to time, estimating about seventy percent of her attention on him and the remaining thirty on Xiao Mi.
Seeming to wait for the bait to take effect and having nothing else to do at the moment, the female angler finally couldn't resist coming over to start a conversation.
"Hey handsome, your cat is so cute, can I pet it?"
Chu Mingcheng looked at Xiao Mi and couldn't help but laugh, realizing that bringing out a cat indeed made it easier to strike up conversations—it provided an excellent excuse.
"My cat is a bit particular about people, but you can try to see if it lets you pet it."
As he spoke, he picked up Xiao Mi and set her on the ground, while the female angler took the opportunity to sneak a peek at his profile before squatting down to try and pet Xiao Mi.
"Meow~"
Unexpectedly, Xiao Mi immediately bristled and issued a strong warning from her mouth, telling this strange woman not to come closer.
"Uh..." The female angler quickly withdrew her hand, somewhat at a loss for words.
Seeing this, Chu Mingcheng had no choice but to pick up Xiao Mi again and place her on his lap, apologizing, "I'm sorry, Xiao Mi was a stray cat before she met me; she's still got a wild streak in her, so it's better if you don't touch her."
"A stray cat?" the female angler said in surprise, "Then how did she come to..."
"It's kind of fate, one time she stole a big carp from me, after that I started feeding her fish daily, and as I kept feeding, she became my cat."
The female angler appeared to wear little makeup, but she was quite attractive and importantly, had a great figure. Thus, Chu Mingcheng found himself interested in chatting with her a bit more.
"Haha, that's pretty cool," the female angler smiled heartily, extending her hand to Chu Mingcheng, "Nice to meet you, I'm Yao Xin, and I often come here to fish."
Chu Mingcheng gently shook her hand, "I'm Chu Mingcheng, I don't have a fixed spot for fishing, as long as there's water, you'll find me nearby."
"Ha, you make it sound like you're a Fishing Man!"
"Not bad, not bad!"
"Hey, let's exchange contact info. I'm in a fishing group; I'll add you."
Seeing Chu Mingcheng hesitating, Yao Xin continued to persuade, "The group is full of like-minded anglers. Sometimes, when there's a good spot or a big run of fish, everyone shares it out."
"It's way more fun to fish together than doing it alone!"
Chu Mingcheng was indifferent initially but became interested upon hearing about fish runs.
To have a successful sea fishing trip, information is crucial. Fishing is not just about having a fishing rod; different fish require different setups, including rods, line combinations, and baits.
Knowing where the fish are running helps prepare the right gear to avoid coming back empty-handed from a trip to sea.
After adding the contact details, he joined the fishing chat group.
Chu Mingcheng immediately set his messages to do not disturb mode, as he preferred to lurk quietly.
But perhaps because a girl pulled him in, the group suddenly burst into excitement, urging the new member to share a photo.
If the newcomer didn't want to share a photo, then Yao Xin could do it instead.
"Don't mind them, they're just LSPs. I'll introduce you to a few friends when we get a chance." Yao Xin didn't bother with the group and directly exited the chat interface.
"Sure!" Chu Mingcheng smiled at those asking for a photo. It's normal for guys to have hobbies.
Yao Xin, who had stumbled upon a handsome guy she fancied, couldn't bear to leave just yet.
Just as she wanted to know more about him, the fishing rod beside Chu Mingcheng finally showed some action. The float on the distant water surface zipped and vanished, indicating a fish had bit the hook.
Chu Mingcheng was quick to react and immediately grabbed the fishing rod.
But the great pull from the fishing rod caught him off guard, almost slipping from his hands.
At that moment, he couldn't worry about the cat on his lap, so he stood up, gripping the fishing rod with both hands.
Cats are good at balancing, and sensing Chu Mingcheng's movement, Cat Fist prepared itself and firmly pressed its paws on the ground.
The fish on the hook was not small, and Chu Mingcheng found he couldn't reel it in right away.
So he started moving to the right side, guiding and wearing out the big fish in the water.
The fishing rod was bent into a full moon, looking as if it was about to break at any moment.
But Chu Mingcheng knew it was hard to break the front part of the rod. If it were to break, it would be just above where his hands gripped the handle, which was the weakest point.
"Huff puff~" Within just five minutes, he didn't know if the fish was tired, but he felt quite exhausted.
No wonder the fishing store owner had told him to start with big freshwater fish first. If he had started with sea fishing directly, he might not have been able to handle it without experience, and losing the fish due to the hook slipping off would have been likely.
"Just hang on a bit longer, this fish will run out of energy soon." Yao Xin cheered him on from the side, already holding a landing net, ready to help scoop up the fish once Chu Mingcheng brought it to shore.
The fish struggled on the water surface, creating splashing noises, and the fishing line was so taut, it seemed like it could break at any moment, yet it held strong against the fish's struggling.
Chu Mingcheng felt the fish's strength waning, and immediately put more force with his hands, pulling the fish toward the shore.
The distance of over ten meters quickly closed a bit, but the fish hadn't exhausted all its energy and started to pull on the line again.
A new round of struggle began, and this time, Chu Mingcheng pulled to the left side, continuing to wear out its strength.
Another five or six minutes passed, and Chu Mingcheng's breathing became heavier, indicating his significant energy expenditure.
Seeing this, Yao Xin couldn't resist stepping forward and asking, "Do you need help?"
"No need, this fish just weighs about twenty pounds, I've got this." He joked, not willing to let go of such a big catch on his first try.
Time slowly passed, and it was only after several more minutes that the fish finally flipped belly-up, clearly exhausted.
This time, Chu Mingcheng pulled the fishing rod backward, easily bringing the fish to shore. Yao Xin quickly scooped it up with the large landing net and placed it on the shore—it was a big grass carp.
"You're pretty lucky, I rarely encounter such big grass carp usually."
"With the Ou River so vast, how could I not catch something big!"
"It's not a stocked pond, catching big fish is all about luck."
Just then, the grass carp seemed to regain a bit of strength, thrashing its tail in the landing net. Cat Fist, who had been sniffing around, saw it move and immediately "papapapapa" unleashed several Cat Fist punches, leaving Chu Mingcheng and Yao Xin laughing heartily.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone