"Hehe! Boss Kevin, Boss Su Ming—fishing is fun! It's faster than me jumping in and grabbing fish!"
Pardo lifted the carp excitedly. It looked about two pounds.
The four still skunked fishermen felt personally attacked. Then, Kevin and Su Ming's eyes lit with competitive fire.
Whoever gets skunked today is the dog.
Su and Hua looked calm—like monks in meditation—staring at their floats.
Although, judging by Su's eyes no longer fully closed but slightly open, he wasn't as serene as he looked.
The pond's surface stayed mostly quiet, disturbed only by small ripples and the occasional flash of fish. Pardo rebaited and cast again, energized.
Not far away, Griseo set up her board and started mixing colors.
"Everyone's colors… red, green, yellow… very warm."
The small girl loved the lively atmosphere. Her brush captured a fish-hungry cat, two boys locked in rivalry, one gentle young man, and one hidden master.
"Wah! I got another one!"
Whether it was luck or fate, the cat had now caught two fish ahead of everyone.
Su Ming's hand twitched on the rod. He almost yanked too early. Fortunately, most fishermen rest their rods on stands, so he didn't fling it into the water.
Then—
A sharp sound of line cutting air made Su Ming and Kevin turn.
Hua's rod was bent into a clean arc. The taut line pulled decisively toward the shore.
Jealousy made Su Ming feral.
And Pardo's excited shout—"Wow! Hua, that fish is huge!"—made him even more feral.
"Next one is mine," Su Ming said with forced calm.
"I'm the security department director," Kevin countered, gripping his rod like it owed him money.
"You—" Su Ming began, then his float plunged. "Ha! No time for you. I'm hooked!"
He grinned and pulled, setting the hook and hauling with confidence.
"Damn it—" Kevin's fist tightened.
"Su Ming, just wait—"
The hiss of a rod moving made Kevin turn again—only to see Su smoothly managing his line, tiring the fish with relaxed control.
One's own failure hurt. A friend's success was torture.
Meanwhile, Pardo had already caught a third fish. Kevin started wondering if he should just strip and jump in to grab a basin of fish by hand.
Su Ming stopped him on the grounds that there was a child present—then, for good measure, bragged about the nearly ten-pound grass carp he'd reeled in.
Kevin stared at Su Ming's punchable grin and nearly crushed the rod.
In the warmth of the day, and in the rhythm of Pardo pulling fish after fish, half the afternoon passed.
At last, near the end, Kevin finally hooked a fish—not too big, not too small.
But compared to everyone else, his score was tragic.
Pardo: 10 fish
Hua: 5 fish
Su: 3 fish
Su Ming: 2 fish
Kevin: 1 fish
Pardo caught ten. Pardo's rating today: 13.0.
Pardo is MVP.
Kevin caught one. Kevin's rating: 3.0.
Carried dog.
Looks like canceling the "loser cooks" rule earlier was a visionary decision.
Su Ming produced a party popper from somewhere and popped it above Kevin's head.
"Congratulations to Mr. Kevin for winning first place in the 'Eternal No-Fish King' Challenge. Any words for the audience?"
Kevin looked at Su Ming with deep resentment.
"I want to kick you into the pond."
"Then come over here."
"Idiot. You're a grown man."
Kevin turned away, refusing to engage with Su Ming's childishness.
"Everyone—fish is ready!"
Hua, temporarily the head chef, called them over.
Everyone knows: a martial-arts director who can't cook isn't a proper immortal. Hua's cooking was far beyond "I can manage."
The grilled fish smelled incredible. Three young men and one fish-loving cat were immediately enslaved by the aroma.
"Hold on. The phone eats first."
Su Ming took pictures of the fish and a group shot, then posted a classic nine-grid collage to his social feed.
Then he watched in horror as the first like appeared under his post—
Elysia.
Damn it. The pink demon is monitoring my social feed at high intensity.
Su Ming rarely posted. The fact that she liked it instantly proved how terrifying this surveillance was.
Then came a barrage of comments.
Mei (Japanese cuisine expert and wife): The color is bright and glossy. Class Monitor's skill is as good as ever.
Elysia: Waaah, I really want to go! You picked the exact time I'm out promoting—don't tell me you did it on purpose? I'll cry, you know~
Bronya (student): I'm a student. Give me some.
Kiana: Damn it! Su Ming, you naturally evil little punk! Eating good food without inviting me!
Hua: Not bad.
Do you people not have lives? Why are you all monitoring my feed? Keep this up and I'm going to "control" you.
Su Ming suddenly felt like the grilled fish had lost its flavor, as if countless eyes were watching him eat.
He put the fish down, angrily opened the feed to spy on others—
And found that Griseo had just posted a picture: the fishing scene from today. A fish-hungry cat, a grinning Su Ming, a dark-faced Kevin, Hua grilling fish, and Su with his eyes half-closed.
Caption: Everyone is happy.
Elysia: Wow Griseo, it's amazing! Come here, let me hug you
Some filmmaker: Cool.
Hua: Not bad.
Someone official: A work with both artistic beauty and daily warmth. Griseo did very well.
A therapist: Griseo, remember to thank everyone, okay?
Griseo replied to Elysia: Thank you, little sister Elysia.
It felt like someone else was lurking and watching too. Who could it be? So hard to guess~
Su Ming looked at Griseo being fed by Pardo. Her cheeks were puffed, her lips shiny with a little oil. She chewed like a small hamster.
It made him want to pet her.
Su Ming's hand itched. Griseo happened to look over, saw his expression, and frowned in confusion.
"Big brother Su Ming's color… got weird."
Not like this, girl. Don't do me like this.
Su Ming panicked and looked around. Everyone's expressions had turned… delicate.
Explaining would only make it worse.
The system hadn't even marked Griseo as a "target," okay?
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