I'm a web novelist, and you want me to work in the entertainment industry?

It was a black, scarred creature, having endured countless years...

Worn-out slippers.

"..."

After a brief silence, a burst of cheerful laughter rang out from the shore.

Cheng Che stared at the tattered slipper, feeling utterly exasperated. He realized the world was being far too cruel to him.

[Hahaha, I thought it was some kind of fish, it's so black!]

As expected, anglers can catch almost anything except fish!

[Actually, I get it now. Che-ge did this on purpose; he was cleaning up the trash in the fishpond, which is a good thing!]

"Actually, if you think about it another way, the chances of fishing for slippers are definitely lower than fishing for fish," Tian Xiwei said with a smile, patting his shoulder to comfort him.

Cheng Che gave her a disgruntled look: "I really thank you!"

The first round of berry fishing has ended, and everyone rebaited and cast their lines.

Yan Lei's side has almost finished preparing the bait.

He brought his hands, which had just been mixed with bait, to his nose and smelled them, then said with a look of rapture:

"This tastes just right, there shouldn't be any problems now!"

After saying that, he simply prepared a feeding area and then baited the spot.

"A true professional angler—" Yan Lei cast the fishing line, the bait hit the water, and the float stood steadily on the surface.

"No matter what pond, season, or weather, we can consistently catch fish."

"You'll see today what a real master is like." He was very confident.

[Who knew Teacher Yan was such a seasoned angler? (Thumbs up)]

[The underachiever just has too much stationery; I bet five cents he won't catch anything.]

I disagree. Teacher Yan's approach to selecting ingredients and seasoning is exactly the same as mine!

How can you prove that doing exactly the same thing as you is a good thing?

Time passed by, minute by minute.

Five minutes later, Yan Lei's fishing float remained motionless.

Xia Ziyi's fishing float suddenly sank, allowing her to pull up a grass carp that weighed approximately two pounds.

"I'm so awesome!" Xia Ziyi stood in front of the camera with a smug look on her face.

"Hmm, not bad, not bad," Yan Lei calmly commented. "This size is just right for making West Lake Fish in Vinegar Sauce."

Five more minutes passed.

Tian Xiwei and Xu Anan also lifted their rods again, each catching a palm-sized crucian carp that was wagging its tail lively.

"Hmm, sure, sure." Yan Lei remained calm. "We can make an extra pot of fish soup tonight with those two crucian carp."

Three more minutes.

Liu Xianhua's fishing float sank, and this time he caught a carp weighing over a pound.

"Well, it's alright." Yan Lei barely managed to keep his expression unchanged. "But carp has too strong a fishy smell, so basically nobody eats it."

Five more minutes.

Cheng Che's second shot also came up.

The water splashed open, and another black slipper hung on the hook, dripping water.

"..."

Cheng Che looked at the pair of slippers in front of him, which seemed to belong to long-lost brothers, and fell into deep thought.

Tian Xiwei and Xia Ziyi stood on either side of him behind him, neither of them saying a word, just laughing.

"Hmm, that's really impressive." Yan Lei chuckled. "To be able to fish out a pair of slippers, that's much harder than catching a big fish."

Cheng Che disagreed.

He took a deep breath and carefully took out the third berry—which was also the last one for now.

This berry was the reddest and largest of all, glistening invitingly in the setting sun.

He hooked it up like a gambler would with his last chip and cast it out.

He knew this would be his last dance.

Upon witnessing this scene, Yan Lei gradually felt a sense of urgency.

Of the six people present, even that silly boy Da Hua caught a fish, leaving only him and Cheng Che with nothing...

No, at least Cheng Che had two worn-out slippers, but he really had nothing!

The boast he just made is still fresh in everyone's mind; he absolutely cannot become the only air force pilot!

He decisively reeled in the hook, baited it with fresh bait, and solemnly cast it out.

Cheng Che glanced at him, his eyes filled with the burning passion of "ambition in youth, to be the best in the world".

Yan Lei glanced back at him, his eyes holding the unwavering spirit of "an old steed in its stall still aspires to gallop a thousand miles."

Two men, one old and one young, held fishing rods and engaged in a silent contest by the fishpond.

Ten minutes...

Twenty minutes...

Half an hour passed.

Their fishing hooks remained untouched.

The other four people stopped fishing and gathered around the two, waiting for good news.

Forty minutes...

Fifty minutes...

An hour has passed.

The two fish hooks still didn't move.

Xia Ziyi and Tian Xiwei leaned on Xu Anan, one on each side, and were drowsy.

An hour and a half...

Two hours have passed.

Henry Lau lay sprawled on the grass, drifting into a peaceful sleep, accompanied by soft snores.

Some viewers in the live chat have already had enough:

I'm begging you two, have some decency and put that damn fishing rod away right now!

【Seriously, what are you even insisting on? That bait should have floated long ago after soaking for two hours!】

How long are they going to keep fishing?

But Cheng Che and Yan Lei did not stop, remaining silent like emotionless wooden figures.

They bait their hooks, they cast their lines; this is a war between kings, which can only end when the fish are caught!

Two and a half hours have passed.

Xia Ziyi had already woken up and, rubbing her eyes, lifted her head from Xu Anan's shoulder.

Henry Lau turned over, his snoring stopped for a moment, then resumed.

Tian Xiwei didn't sleep. She sat with her knees drawn up to her chest, quietly watching Cheng Che's back.

Perhaps because she listened to "Take Her Eyes" at noon, she didn't find it boring at all; instead, she felt very peaceful at that moment.

It was already evening.

The setting sun cast a deep orange hue over the entire fishpond, and the shadows of the willow trees along the bank were stretched long.

at last!

As if they had agreed beforehand, the two fishing floats sank into the water almost simultaneously.

"It moved! It moved! Both of the floats moved!"

Xia Ziyi let out a gasp, announcing that the curtain was about to be raised.

Cheng Che and Yan Lei instantly became extremely focused.

"Here it comes, here it comes, here it comes!" Yan Lei gripped the fishing rod with both hands, bending it into a certain arc with considerable force.

He grinned crookedly, knowing that this time there was definitely something to sell.

The moment the fishing float sank, Cheng Che felt a tremendous force coming from underwater.

In the rush, he was pulled so hard that he staggered half a step.

I'm super?

I caught a shark!

He adjusted quickly, gritted his teeth, and began to pull the fish ashore.

Thanks to their tireless efforts, two splashes of water broke through the surface!

Yan Lei's side is a little faster.

In the afterglow of the setting sun, a small, silvery-white creature was pulled to the shore. It was about the length of a finger and was flapping its tail in the air.

Yan Lei remained silent.

But at this moment, no one paid attention to him, because Cheng Che's fish had also been pulled to the shore.

It was a huge silver carp, with a massive head that took up nearly a third of its body, and its back was covered with fine scales.

The fish has smooth and beautiful lines, and is almost as long as an adult man's arm. It looks to weigh at least 20 pounds.

"Wow, so big..." Xia Ziyi was the first to exclaim in amazement.

Tian Xiwei and Xu Anan behind them both had shocked expressions on their faces.

Henry Lau was even more exaggerated, opening his mouth so wide it was almost big enough to swallow a light bulb.

Thank goodness I didn't compete with him in fishing, otherwise I definitely wouldn't be able to become a better man.

Yan Lei looked at the big fish, then at the small fish he had caught, and suddenly smiled.

Actually, everything today is fake; it's all a setup.

In fact, everything that happened today was real; it was all a setup.

He couldn't tell whether it was true or false.

Cheng Che remained silent, only sighing softly, turning his back to the crowd, leaving behind an unfathomable silhouette.

He faced the setting sun, arms raised high, like a king welcoming his coronation.