The white rose I picked up cried and said she liked me.

"Hahahahahahaha..."

The man, who had watched Xu Xi from the very beginning, could no longer hold back.

She covered her mouth, laughing so hard she was shaking.

Although she tried her best to control herself and not laugh too loudly, the laughter sounded incredibly grating to the man's ears.

"I'm really impressed..."

Xu Nian wiped the water off her face and sighed deeply.

Although he was very frustrated, he was also secretly pleased.

This was the first time he had seen a smile on Xu Xi's face.

It's not a smile done to please others in business dealings, nor is it a fake smile; it's a genuine, hearty laugh from the bottom of one's heart.

Her smile is beautiful, a blend of unrestrainedness and a touch of reserve, like a lady from a prominent family during the Republic of China era.

This feeling is much happier than if Xu Nian caught ten pounds of fish.

A smile should help her recover from her depression sooner.

King You of Zhou lit the beacon fires to amuse the feudal lords, all to win a smile from his concubine Bao Si.

He didn't have the same abilities as King You of Zhou, but if he could make a fool of himself in front of his Daji and make her laugh, it would be worth it.

"The fish in this lake are really clever; they're impossible to catch. I bet all the less intelligent fish have been caught."

Xu Nian coughed lightly, trying to justify herself.

"Never mind, let's go home. I'll make you something else tonight."

He wanted to leave this place that made him sad.

"cut."

Xu Xi crossed his arms in front of him and said lazily.

"It's clearly because you're incompetent."

"Okay, okay, I'm not good enough."

Xu Nian rubbed her nose in annoyance.

He packed up his fishing gear and prepared to head home.

A small, fair hand reached out in front of him.

Looking up along the tender, lotus-root-like arm, there was a proud and pretty face with a pouting little mouth.

What are you doing?

Give me the fishing rod.

"You want to go fishing?"

Xu Nian raised an eyebrow.

"Let's try two casts."

Xu Nian handed the pole to the girl.

"The fish here are hard to catch; you definitely won't catch anything after two casts."

"What if I catch it?"

"No, don't worry."

Xu Nian scoffed.

He fished here for two hours and only caught one fish, which then got away.

How could Xu Xi possibly catch any fish while sitting here with two fishing rods?

The girl hummed softly, her small hand reaching into the man's pocket and groping around.

"What are you looking for?"

Xu Nian felt itchy and couldn't help but dodge away.

"Don't move, stay still!"

Xu Xi pressed down on the man's shoulder and pulled two bags of cat treats from his pants pocket.

That was given to him by the taxi driver before Xu Nian got out of the car.

To be precise, it should have been given to Xu Xi.

Because she is the kitten in the cat carrier.

Xu Xi tore open the cat strip, squeezed it into a ball, and stuck it to the fishhook.

"Are you crazy? Using cat treats as bait?"

Xu Nian's lips twitched.

The girl rolled her eyes at him.

"What do you know? This is called finding a different path."

"The fish in this lake are used to being caught with ordinary bait."

"When they see fishing bait, they know they're there to catch them."

"You need to change the bait to lower their guard."

Xu Nian shrugged and obediently sat on the small stool, acting as Xu Xi's fishing platform.

He didn't understand these things; he only knew that cat treats were for cats.

Fish eat cat treats? Unheard of.

Xu Xi moved very slowly, gradually extending the fishing rod and gently casting the hook into the lake.

Looking from a distance, a man is seen carrying a backpack, from which two slender arms and a small head emerge, fishing with a fishing rod.

There was a somewhat eerie atmosphere.

"Forget it, you won't catch any fish like that."

After holding Xu Xi for a while, Xu Nian felt her thighs getting a little numb from sitting on him.

As soon as he finished speaking, the buoy in the water began to shake violently.

"Hold on tight, the fish's taken the bait!"

Xu Xi clicked her tongue and began winding the coil with her small hand.

Xu Nian stared wide-eyed in disbelief.

No, really? Did they really catch a fish?

Furthermore, judging from the arc formed by the bend at the tip of the fishing rod...

Is this a big fish?

Xu Xi struggled to shake the fishing rod from side to side, his teeth clenched tightly.

"What are you all standing there for? Help!"

"Huh? Oh..."

Xu Nian quickly gripped the fishing rod with both hands and followed the girl to play the fish and tire it out.

This fish was really strong; it took the two of them several minutes to reel it in before it slowly stopped resisting.

"I say 3, 2, 1, let's all pull back the club together!"

"3.."

"2.."

"1..!"

"Thump!"

With a splash, a large, dying fish leaped out of the water.

Upon seeing the size of the fish, Xu Nian was so surprised that her jaw almost hit the ground.

This is a catfish, as long as from shoulder to wrist, and as thick as an arm.

It's quite heavy when you carry it in your hand, probably weighing about 10 pounds!

He didn't dare to delay and quickly threw the fish into the bucket to prevent it from escaping.

"My goodness, this fish is huge!"

Xu Nian exclaimed in surprise.

He had only ever seen such a large fish in the kitchen of Yuntianlou.

"snort!"

Xu Xi raised her head as if to claim credit, revealing her snow-white neck.

"Wow, Little Flame, you're amazing!"

Xu Nian scratched her neck as if petting a kitten and exclaimed in admiration.

Xu Xi hummed softly.

"Let's go home! I'll cook the fish for you tonight."

Xu Nian couldn't stop smiling as she looked at the big fish in the bucket that had regained some strength and was struggling vigorously.

Although Xu Xi caught the fish, he also helped out, so strictly speaking, he didn't come back empty-handed today.

"Wait a minute."

Xu Xi opened another packet of cat treats, crumpled it into a ball, and smeared it on the fishhook.

"Are you still going to fish?"

"We agreed on two casts, so wait until I finish this cast before you leave."

The girl gently cast her line, releasing the bait into the lake.

Xu Nian held the girl in his arms with curiosity, his eyes fixed on the fishing float on the water, not daring to blink.

Is fishing with cat bait really that effective?

But after more than ten minutes, the float still didn't move.

"Looks like your luck has run out."

Xu Nian laughed and ruffled the girl's silver-white hair.

"Let's go, the sun is setting, it'll get cold soon, we should go home."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a loud splash came from the fishing float, like a large rock being smashed into the lake.

Xu Xi was momentarily distracted, and the fishing rod flew from her hand, fell to the ground, and was dragged into the water.

Holy crap!

Xu Nian swore and quickly put down the cat carrier containing Xu Xi from her arms. She took a few steps forward and picked up the fishing rod from the ground.

But the fish that had taken the bait seemed to be stronger than him, pulling the man step by step into the lake.

"Hey!...My God, we've got a huge one!"

Xu Nian tried her best, but she couldn't fight back.

Just as one foot was about to step into the water, at the crucial moment, Xu Xi rushed out of the cat carrier, came to the shore, hugged the man's waist tightly, and pulled him backward with all her might.

"I said 3, 2, 1, let's push together."

"3..."

"You big dummy! Use the net!"

"Oh, oh, oh!"

Xu Nian picked up a fishing net from the side, aimed it at the whirlpool in the lake, and lunged forward.

He gritted his teeth and struggled to drag the fish ashore.

The moment the fishing net emerged from the water, his eyes widened in disbelief.

A carp nearly a meter long and as thick as his waist was seen struggling in the fishing net, like a small tank!

"Holy crap! This carp... must weigh at least twenty pounds!"