Chapter 2: Encountering Lu Xiaolu

In the evening, Liu Yufei and Fan Zhengqing brought some fruit over.

“Lao Yang, you could go buy a lottery ticket tomorrow. You’re really amazing to come out of this unscathed,” Liu Yufei said, sitting by the hospital bed and munching on an apple while giving him a thumbs up.

“It’s just good luck,” Yang Xiaolong said, feeling a bit sentimental. He thought that after surviving a close call, good fortune would surely follow, and this time, it really did.

The nurse came over to change his IV bag again, and then the manager came to ask about his condition. Before leaving, the manager gave Yang Xiaolong some good news.

“Because you were on a day off when this happened, it couldn’t have been considered a work-related injury. However, I applied to the boss, and we can provide you with some compensation.”

“Thank you, manager,” Yang Xiaolong said gratefully.

“Well, rest up and take care,” the manager said before leaving.

“Okay, rest well,” said the manager.

After being on an IV drip for two days, Yang Xiaolong’s swollen foot had mostly healed. He could be discharged from the hospital today. He had been lying in bed for two days, feeling sore all over, and the smell of disinfectant was making him dizzy.

After changing into his clothes, the attending physician prescribed some oral medications for him and advised him not to eat spicy food and to rest more in the coming days.

Yang Xiaolong nodded in agreement, paid the bill, and left with the receipts.

Back in the dormitory, Liu Yufei was playing games on his phone. His metal bunk bed creaked as he moved, and he had a cigarette in his mouth, making his eyes sting.

Seeing Yang Xiaolong return, Liu Yufei looked up and asked, “Do you want to play some games together? The other team is too strong.”

“No, thanks. Have you found a job yet?”

“Yeah, I found one. I’ll be leaving in a bit.”

“Hey, do you remember when we went fishing by the seaside before? I went back there yesterday and saw a seafood wholesaler recruiting people. They even offer opportunities to go out to sea every month and the salary is decent.”

“That’s great. Good luck with that,” Yang Xiaolong replied as he made his bed.

“By the way, do you want to come with me and make some big bucks by going out to sea and fishing?”

“Forget it, I don’t dare to go out to sea now.”

“Sorry, I forgot. Come over to my place sometime and I’ll treat you to a seafood feast.”

The bed had developed a musty smell from not being aired out for a few days. So, Yang Xiaolong took the sheets and comforter outside to be sun-dried on this sunny day.

“Okay.”

Time flies by quickly, and before he knew it, it was the end of the month. Since finding out that he could possess an octopus, Yang Xiaolong had been spending his free time watching the sea. Today happened to be his day off, and he retrieved his dusty fishing gear from under the bed and headed to the beach to try his luck.

The air in the port city was always damp, and even in the hot summer, you could occasionally feel a cool breeze. Especially during the high tide in the evening, the chilly seawater and sea breeze would hit you.

At the beach, Yang Xiaolong sat on a smooth rock with his large bag and his big shorts and slippers. He was taking out his fishing gear when he noticed a group of people slowly walking towards him not far away.

There were three adults with two children, and the man leading the group seemed familiar. Yang Xiaolong was puzzled. Where had he seen him before?

While he was pondering this, the group had already arrived in front of him. The two kids were barefoot and jumping around on the sandy beach.

The little boy pulled the woman beside him and said, “Auntie, I want ice cream.”

The other woman raised her eyebrows and scolded him, “You naughty boy, do you want a spanking?”

The little boy was frightened and moved away. The woman in the red dress picked him up and said, “Shirley, what are you doing? Let’s go and buy ice cream.”

The little girl timidly raised her hand and said, “Auntie, I want some too.”

“Okay, let’s all go together.”

“You spoil them too much. I’ll wait for you here. Little Donkey, What do you want to eat?”

“Maybe some crispy fried rolls. I’ll wait for you here.”

Yang Xiaolong suddenly remembered who the man was. It was Lu Xiaolü, the most beautiful fisherman who had been on TV, donated to many schools, and was selected as one of the top ten outstanding young people. There was also a documentary about him and his wife’s fishing life, which was like poetry and a distant land, and it had captured the hearts of many young people. Now, he finally got to meet him in person.

As he was thinking about this, Lu Xiaolü came over and crouched down next to him to watch him fish.

Yang Xiaolong asked first, “Hello, you’re Lu Xiaolü, right?”

“Yes, and you are?”

“I’m Yang Xiaolong. I saw you on TV and I’m a fan of yours. I didn’t expect to meet you in person today.”

Lu Xiaolü smiled, “Thank you. You like fishing too?”

“Yeah.”

“Are you here to fish?”

“No, I’m here to travel. We’re leaving tomorrow.”

“Oh.”

Between two straight men, there wasn’t much to talk about, and it quickly became awkward. Finally, Lu Xiaolu broke the silence and said, “Well, I’m going ahead. Goodbye.”

“Okay, see you.”

As the happy chatter and laughter of the family of five

As the family of five left, laughing and chatting, Yang Xiaolong’s mood was lifted, and he smiled to himself as he began fishing. He quickly set up his rod with bait and settled into his fishing spot.

He watched as the family disappeared into the distance, then refocused on his fishing. He had brought only one rod and one lure with him today, in a hurry to get out on the water.

After setting up his rod, he sat down on his small folding chair and focused on controlling the blue ring that was sleeping in a crevice between two rocks.

This little creature was good at finding hiding spots; even with a flashlight, it was hard to spot in the crevices and seaweed that surrounded it. The waters in this area were mostly developed and polluted, with little to discover beyond some shells and garbage.

As Yang Xiaolong continued to control the blue ring and explore the deeper waters, he encountered more seaweed and rocks, and the water became clear and transparent. Although he hadn’t found any big catches yet, he spotted plenty of small shrimp and crabs crawling around the crevices of the rocks.

Suddenly, he noticed something moving in the water. A red shadow flashed by as the blue ring passed a clump of seaweed. Yang Xiaolong followed the creature, which was about half an arm’s length in size, with a red body and small black spots. Its mouth was large, and it had protruding teeth like a snaggletooth.

Yang Xiaolong recognized it as a grouper, having seen it on television before. As the grouper sped up, the blue ring chased after it, blocking its path with a blue aura. The grouper had to change direction, and Yang Xiaolong took advantage of this to attach a prepared octopus lure to his line. The distance between him and the grouper was about forty meters, a perfect distance for casting.

Standing up and stretching, he made his cast, but the lure fell crookedly into the water. Embarrassed, Yang Xiaolong reeled the lure back in, adjusted his aim, and cast again, this time with better accuracy.