Chapter 55: Never Would I Have Thought He Was This Kind of Zhou Chenglei!
Chapter 55: Never Would I Have Thought He Was This Kind of Zhou Chenglei!
Neither of them realized that their subtle intimacy had already filled Zhou Father with a sense of satisfaction.
Jiang Xia finally stopped feeling the pain after a while. "I'm fine now. Are you hurt?"
Zhou Chenglei lowered his hand and stepped back a bit. "I'm not hurt. Do you still want to fish?"
"Sure."
Jiang Xia picked up the fishing rod, no longer as carefree as before. She carefully cast it out.
This time, Jiang Xia wasn't sure if the shrimp was still on the hook, so she lifted it to check. Seeing it still there, she felt relieved.
Then she held the fishing rod and waited quietly for a bite.
Zhou Chenglei squatted down again, baiting another fishing rod for her to use as a backup.
But just as he finished baiting the hook, Jiang Xia excitedly shouted, "Zhou Chenglei, I got a bite! I got a bite!"
Zhou Chenglei: "..."
So fast?
Zhou Father also heard and his mouth twitched. "How could you get a bite so quickly? You probably just caught some trash."
But Jiang Xia felt the fishing line move. She tugged on it, and there was a slight resistance. She continued pulling and saw a red shadow struggling in the water, trying to swim deeper. The resistance grew stronger.
"Zhou Chenglei, hurry! It's struggling to get away! Will the line break?"
Zhou Father was surprised: Really a fish? She must be fishing in a pond, not the sea!
Zhou Chenglei reached from behind Jiang Xia and gripped the fishing rod in her hand, afraid the fish might escape. After holding the rod tightly, he didn't pull it up immediately. Instead, he alternated between loosening and tightening the line, letting the fish struggle in the water. "Let it struggle a bit in the water to tire it out before pulling it up. That way, the line won't break as easily."
Zhou Father: "..."
The fishing rod was made of ordinary bamboo, but the line was special. His son had bought it at the military camp, made from special materials. He had said it wouldn't break even if a fifty-pound fish was caught!
Zhou Father watched the two of them, and in his eyes, it looked like Zhou Chenglei was hugging Jiang Xia from behind.
His mouth twitched.
Never would he have thought Zhou Chenglei was this kind of person!
Zhou Chenglei reached from behind Jiang Xia, holding the fishing rod. Jiang Xia was in front of him, their bodies pressed together, four hands gripping the rod tightly.
Jiang Xia was enveloped in his embrace, and the fish was struggling fiercely in the water. She was excited and nervous, not noticing how close they were.
After a while, Jiang Xia turned to ask him, "Is it almost time? It seems to be losing strength, right?"
"Wait a bit longer," Zhou Chenglei said, looking down at her.
From this angle, her profile was beautiful in a different way. Her skin was as soft and tender as a peach, making him want to take a bite.
Zhou Chenglei's Adam's apple moved.
Zhou Father was speechless, looking up at the sky.
Seeing the fish was almost exhausted, Zhou Chenglei said, "It's time. I'll let go, and you try to pull it up."
Zhou Chenglei released the fishing rod, and Jiang Xia lifted it.
A red fish leaped out of the water!
"Red Grouper!" Zhou Father blurted out, his eyes lighting up.
He had fished all his life and had only caught one Red Grouper, which was just over a pound. But the one Jiang Xia caught looked to be about two pounds, and it was very plump!
Zhou Father felt a bit envious.
If he had Jiang Xia's luck, he would have been rich long ago!
Envious or not, he was also happy.
"Quick, put it in the bucket to keep it alive," Zhou Father reminded Zhou Chenglei, smiling and showing his white teeth in the dim light. "A good start!"
Catching a Red Grouper on their first trip out to sea was worth a few hundred dollars. It looked like today would be a good day.
Zhou Chenglei carefully removed the fish from the hook, then filled a bucket with seawater and placed the fish inside to keep it alive.
Excited by her first success, Jiang Xia eagerly cast her line out again.
Zhou Chenglei baited another rod and watched her from the side.
Less than two minutes later, Jiang Xia felt another bite. "Zhou Chenglei, another fish is on the hook!"
"Try to reel it in yourself," Zhou Chenglei instructed, noticing it was a sea bass, weighing about one or two pounds. He wanted her to practice.
Jiang Xia successfully reeled in the fish.
Zhou Chenglei removed the fish, and Jiang Xia cast another line.
This time, it took a bit longer. Several minutes passed without a bite, but Jiang Xia remained patient.
The bait slowly sank deeper into the water, trailing behind. A large fish, with its mouth wide open, was chasing a few smaller fish and accidentally swallowed the bait.
Finally, Jiang Xia felt a tug. As she reeled in, she noticed a long shadow in the water. "Zhou Chenglei, this fish seems pretty big," she said, her voice tense as she carefully pulled the line.
Zhou Chenglei, who had been watching her, turned his attention to the water.
The fish suddenly thrashed violently, causing Jiang Xia to stumble and nearly fall into the sea.
Zhou Chenglei quickly grabbed her waist and took control of the fishing rod. "I'll handle it. You go get the landing net."
Jiang Xia carefully stepped aside.
Zhou's father, seeing the commotion, became anxious. "What kind of fish is it?"
Jiang Xia ran to fetch the landing net, her excitement palpable. "It's a huge one, black in color, much bigger than the others! I don't know what kind of fish it is."
"It's a Humpback Grouper," Zhou Chenglei replied.
The Humpback Grouper, also known as the Napoleon Wrasse, is the largest species of grouper, growing up to two meters long and weighing over 800 pounds.
Zhou's father was thrilled. "The landing net is here! How big is it? Take your time reeling it in, be careful not to break the line or lose the fish."
Zhou Chenglei had specially designed the fishing rod, and the line was strong enough to handle fish up to fifty pounds. However, this Humpback Grouper was much larger, likely exceeding fifty pounds, so he was cautious about the line breaking or the fish escaping.
Jiang Xia rushed back with the landing net.
She helped grip the fishing rod while Zhou Chenglei, fearing she might not have enough strength, held the rod with one hand and the landing net with the other.
The fish was thrashing violently in the water, making it incredibly difficult to catch.
Several times, Zhou Chenglei almost managed to net the fish.
Jiang Xia noticed and said, "Hold on, I'll get another net."
She grabbed another net and threw it into the water, hoping for the best.
The Humpback Grouper, in its struggle, got entangled in the net. Seizing the opportunity, Zhou Chenglei used the landing net to scoop it up.
Together, they finally managed to haul the fish onto the boat!
Jiang Xia was elated. "This fish must weigh over eighty pounds!"
Zhou's father took a look and chuckled. "It does. We'll get a good price for it!"
Jiang Xia was completely hooked. After admiring the massive fish for a moment, she said, "I'm going to keep fishing."
Seeing how quickly Jiang Xia was catching fish, Zhou's father also got excited. "A-Lei, you drive the boat. I want to fish too."
The boat couldn't stop while they were dragging the net.
Zhou Chenglei pretended not to hear, claiming his hearing was poor.
He wanted to stay by Jiang Xia's side.
Zhou's father: "..."
What a disloyal son, favoring a girl over his own father!
(End of Chapter)
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