According to legend, Fu Xi’s daughter Mi Fei had descended from heaven to Luo City because the scenery at the Luo River had enchanted her. She taught the people how to make nets and catch fish. She even passed on the hunting, rearing, and herding methods she had learned from her father.
Later on, she accidentally drowned in the Luo River and turned into the Luo Deity. To this day, she continued to watch over the place.
This was a tale every Luo City citizen had heard from when they were young. On the riverbank, a Luo Deity statue over six meters tall stood. Each time there was a festival, the people nearby would put some fruit and light snacks beside the statue as offerings.
After alighting from the bus, Qin Guanglin walked for a bit and arrived at the foot of the Deity statue. With his umbrella in hand, he looked at the statue. He had drawn it before during his school days. It was challenging for him to replicate that elegant and ethereal deportment. Although he copied 70 to 80 percent of it after a lot of effort, he still received a generous prize from the school. They also put his drawing on display for more than two months.
Sunlight shone directly on the statue in clear weather. It looked even more beautiful with dazzling gold rays on it. In comparison with rainy days, Qin Guanglin felt that it lacked some character. So, he turned around and left, not planning to draw it.
The rainy weather did not hinder fishing enthusiasts from setting up camp on the riverbank. As they chatted idly under their large parasols, they compared their baits and bragged about the largest fish they had ever caught. They even gossiped about who had gone home empty-handed yesterday.
The young chap who appeared amongst the group of middle-aged people was particularly eye-catching. Everyone else had an umbrella on their hands, whereas he was wearing a raincoat with its hood over his head. He was staring calmly at his buoy marker.
It was his best buddy Xiao Yu.
“Well, well.” Qin Guanglin walked next to Xiao Yu and kicked the bucket on the ground. “If I’m not wrong, you’re supposed to be working now, right?”
It jolted Xiao Yu to his senses. He looked up and said in surprise, “Lin?! Why are you here?”
“I came to inspect your work.” Qin Guanglin smiled. “You’re quite bad at this. You haven’t even caught one fish.”
There wasn’t even a strand of hair in the red water bucket.
“Ha. I’ll just treat it as doing charity.” Xiao Yu’s face was overcast. “It was so difficult for me to arrange for a day off. I braved the rain to come here and feed the fish. I’m such a good samaritan.” He paused. “Are you here to collect material?”
He would only run about in this weather for one reason. Xiao Yu understood him too well.
“What else would I be doing? I’m not a fishing enthusiast.” Qin Guanglin assessed his surroundings. There was not a single boat on the river, only ripples created by the falling rain. He was slightly disappointed.
He thought briefly before pointing to the middle of the river and suggesting to Xiao Yu, “Why don’t you get a little boat and fish in the river? You’ll definitely be able to catch a big fish.”
Xiao Yu was delighted. “Should I change into a straw coat?”
“That would be even better!”
“With a pot of wine?”
“Eh, sounds interesting!”
“Sing a song loudly and have a jar of wine, fish alone, and enjoy a full harvest?” Xiao Yu glanced askance at him. “Go hire a model if you want to draw. Don’t get me in trouble.”
“You’re wasting time here, anyway.” Qin Guanglin shrugged. “I reckon you’ll have to lie down and drink some water when you leave.”
They would scoop out the bait if they could not catch any fish. If they could not scoop out the bait, they would take weeds with them. If there were no weeds, they would lie down and drink a mouthful of water before leaving. Whatever the case, they could not go home empty-handed. This was the principle of fishing enthusiasts.
“You don’t understand. It’s the process that we enjoy.” Xiao Yu lifted his rod to look. The bait had disappeared again.
“Sure. Take your time enjoying yourself.” Qin Guanglin could not comprehend it. Sitting here on a rainy day is already an enjoyment? He genuinely could not understand such an interest. “I’ll go elsewhere to look around.”
“Don’t. I’m quite bored alone.”
Xiao Yu hesitated briefly while holding the fishing rod. He did not put another bait on it and started packing up instead. “I’m not fishing anymore. Where should we go?”
He could not waste his entire day feeding fishes, for these fishes became more and more sneaky. He would buy a telescopic fishing rod and come again another day.
Qin Guanglin no longer felt like walking around since he had not found the scene of a fishing boat that he wanted. “Where can we go in this rain?”
“Play billiards? The Internet cafe?” Xiao Yu randomly thought of two places. There weren’t many things men could do together.
“Bring all your equipment back home first.” Qin Guanglin helped to carry the bucket. “Ask if anyone else in the group chat is free to come out and play with us.”
“Good idea. Let me see which chap has nothing to do.” Hearing this, Xiao Yu took out his cell phone and sent a text in the group chat.
Anyway, no matter how boring the activity was, it would become interesting as long as it involved more people. Even if they were only playing cards, they could very quickly waste an entire day away.
The two of them walked toward Xiao Yu’s house. His house was just nearby, so they did not have to take a bus. It would take them a half-hour walk to reach. It was Xiao Yu’s father who had cultivated and influenced him to take up this fishing hobby.
“Has your job been going well recently?”
“I’ve been accumulating experience. How good can a small company be?” Xiao Yu shook his head. “Big companies usually require two to three years of work experience. I have to continue staying in this small company for more than a year before I can switch to a big company and earn big bucks.”
Qin Guanglin gave him a thumbs up. “Job-hopping to get a promotion and a pay raise. Not bad.”
“That’s how it works, to begin with. The more experience you have, the more valuable you are. Oh, by the way…” Halfway through his speech, he started smiling in a depraved manner. “How were the tricks I taught you the last time? Did they work?”
“Uh…”
There was no way Qin Guanglin would admit that he had failed to tease her and had instead been teased. He said vaguely, “They were useful. Very useful.”
“Ha.” Judging from his behavior, he must have had his nose rubbed in the dirt. He pretended to be in deep thought and said, sighing, “Young people. It’s not embarrassing to fail at courting someone. Just change your target.”
“Well… I managed to court her.”
The secret manual that Xiao Yu had given him the last time stated one should not hide a relationship. There had to be a problem if she did not want to reveal it. Either he was a fallback, or she was just having a fling with him.
Qin Guanglin was not the type of person who would announce the fact that he was dating someone. But since he had already revealed this much, he had to admit everything honestly.
“Hm. Changing a target would be easier… What?” Xiao Yu came to a late realization and turned his head to look at Qin Guanglin. “You courted her?”
“Yes. I’m no longer single.” Qin Guanglin nodded.
Xiao Yu looked him up and down and said disdainfully, “Hmph. It’s useless. I can see through you with one look.”
“…”
What the hell can you see through?!
Qin Guanglin could not be bothered to explain.
“You’re still putting up a front with me?” Xiao Yu smiled proudly, taking it he had tacitly admitted to it. “Treat me to a meal, and I’ll teach you more tricks.”
“Having a meal is fine. You can forget about the rest.” Qin Guanglin suddenly felt that this chap was not very reliable.
Furthermore, this was already his second girlfriend. This was only Xiao Yu’s second girlfriend, too. Both were about the same. Although it wasn’t better to date more people, having experience is definitely helpful. They pretty much had the same amount of experience now.
“Forget it if you don’t want to learn.” Xiao Yu took out his cell phone and glanced at the replies in the group chat. He snarled, “This traitor, Sun Wen!”
“Hm? What happened?”
“He forgets his friends when he has a girlfriend.” Xiao Yu replied in the group chat before shoving his phone in front of Qin Guanglin. “You see this? This is the daily life of an attached man.”
In the group chat, Sun Wen said that he had to accompany his girlfriend. He even posted a selfie of the two of them outside. Underneath that was a line from Xiao Yu. “You’ll die early if you show off your relationship.”
“It’s not like he keeps her company every day. How is that his daily life?” Qin Guanglin felt that Xiao Yu was spouting nonsense. Daily life? How could he possibly keep her company every day?
“If you’re not working today, you’ll definitely be with your girlfriend.” Xiao Yu spoke as if it was a matter of course.
He glanced at Qin Guanglin derisively. “Would I come here to fish if I had a girlfriend? Would you come here and walk around if you had a girlfriend?”
“Huh?” Qin Guanglin did not understand. “What’s so special about today?”
“Open your QQ account and browse. Everyone is posting photos and showing off their relationship.”
Xiao Yu shoved his cell phone into his pocket. His gaze turned sharp, as if he could see through all lies.
“Today is 520, the day that singles will suffer. How could you possibly be loitering around if you have a girlfriend?”