Chapter 52: It

Zhang Xian also had "techniques" for handing out fish.

If the legs are good-looking and the face is pretty, give a big fish.

If the appearance is average, just grab any fish—it's all about matching the fish to the look.

After handing out fish for a while, the beautiful legs in front of him suddenly turned into thick, sturdy elephant legs.

He instinctively looked up—and the person coming to claim a fish was the sister from the grilled sausage stall next door; she had somehow changed her skirt and put on thick silk stockings he didn't know where she'd found, making her already thick legs look even bulkier.

"Young brother, can I get mine now?"

The grilled sausage sister grinned with her teeth showing. "Daily novels accompany you, 𝓉𝓉𝓀𝓈. 𝓉𝓌 ultra-smooth."

"Uh, yeah, you can get one."

The rules were his own, so Zhang Xian couldn't back out—he rummaged through the net bag and found the smallest fish to hand her.

Seeing this, the grilled sausage sister immediately protested: "Young brother, swap me for another one—this one's way too small!"

"Random fish distribution!"

Zhang Xian replied with four serious words, then called out loudly: "Next!"

"Young brother, you're playing favorites!"

"You can't be like this!"

The grilled sausage sister grumbled angrily.

Zhang Xian stayed silent, but the onlookers and those waiting in line weren't having it—they began to condemn her.

"She's giving fish away for free and still picking and choosing!"

"Exactly! Taking advantage without shame!"

"If you don't want it, give it to me—I don't mind small!"

"Just go already, don't hold up the rest of us getting fish..."

Seeing she'd stirred up public outrage, the grilled sausage sister could only leave grumpily.

But she kept muttering under her breath: "You give big fish to pretty girls, but give me a tiny one—didn't every woman used to be the village beauty when she was young?"

The grilled sausage sister had just plainly voiced Zhang Xian's unspoken "unwritten rule" for handing out fish.

But it wasn't bad—after all, Zhang Xian couldn't say these things outright; now that the sausage sister had said them, some women still waiting in line immediately pulled up their skirts a little.

Just showing a bit more leg—no big deal.

And when handing out fish next, Zhang Xian indeed found a big fish for the young mother with the short skirt.

"Next!"

The young mother happily walked off with the big fish; Zhang Xian's gaze landed on the next person's legs—and he froze.

The person coming to claim a fish was the brother from the iron-grill squid stall diagonally across—he'd somehow gotten a pair of black thigh-high fishnet stockings and put them on.

The problem was, his leg hair stuck out like two thick yams!

"Bro, you're really going all out!"

Zhang Xian's mouth twitched violently.

"Young brother, I want to eat fish too!"

The iron-grill squid brother chuckled: "Aren't you the one who wrote that wearing silk stockings qualifies you for fish?"

"Hmm, that's not wrong."

The rules were his own—he had to follow them; without a word, he grabbed a fish and handed it to the brother, thinking to himself: I'll have to add "fish claimants must be females aged 18 to 40" next time.

"Thanks, young brother!"

The iron-grill squid brother walked off smiling, holding the fish, while the crowd around erupted in laughter.

After a while longer, all the fish in the net bag were gone.

"Sorry, ladies, today's fish has all been given out."

"If fate allows, see you tomorrow."

Zhang Xian stood up and shook the empty net bag.

There were still over a dozen people waiting in line—they could only leave helplessly.

But one cheerful woman stepped right up: "Handsome guy, add me on WeChat—I'll come early tomorrow for more fish."

"Uh, okay."

Seeing the woman who came up had decent looks, Zhang Xian added her as a WeChat friend.

After packing up, Zhang Xian swung his leg onto his electric scooter, ready to leave—when suddenly someone called his name.

"Xiwei, what are you doing here?"

Zhang Xian turned toward the voice—and the person calling him was Lin Xiwei.

"I rented an apartment here."

Lin Xiwei pointed toward the direction of the residential complex's entrance.

"Wow, we're pretty close then."

Zhang Xian's home was only about four or five kilometers away.

"I saw you handing out fish—only if you wear silk stockings. I never knew you had this kind of fetish!"

Lin Xiwei smirked teasingly.

"Uh, people change, you know!"

"Do you cook for yourself? I've got two fish left—I'll give you one."

Zhang Xian opened the storage box on his electric scooter—he'd saved the two biggest fish to take home and eat.

"I didn't wear silk stockings—I don't qualify, right?"

Lin Xiwei pouted; she was wearing jeans—though not silk stockings, the tight denim clearly outlined her perfect leg and hip curves.

After all, she was the campus beauty back then, with a figure and face that still held up.

"What kind of relationship do we even have, talking about this?"

Zhang Xian smiled: "If it's convenient, I'll carry the fish up for you and get familiar with the building."

"Alright, then I'll trouble you."

Lin Xiwei hesitated slightly, then gave a light nod.

"Perfect, hop on."

Zhang Xian patted the rear seat of the electric scooter.

Lin Xiwei didn't play hard to get; she sat right down.

The electric scooter entered the compound and, under Lin Xiwei's directions, arrived at Building 3.

"Miss Lin, who is this?"

In the fitness equipment area downstairs, a man around thirty was walking his dog—but it wasn't really walking; he was clearly waiting for Lin Xiwei, staying right beneath the building without straying far. As soon as he saw her, he immediately stepped forward.

Yet, when he looked at Zhang Xian, his eyes betrayed unmistakable hostility.

"Hello, Zhang Xian—the 'Xian' from 'Shengxian.'"

Before Lin Xiwei could speak, Zhang Xian introduced himself voluntarily, extending his hand warmly.

"Hello, Zhou Peng."

The man shook Zhang Xian's hand, but felt it was damp.

"Nice dog. Talk later."

While Zhang Xian and Zhou Peng were shaking hands, Lin Xiwei had already walked straight into the building entrance—it was clear she had no intention of acknowledging Zhou Peng at all.

Seeing this, Zhang Xian quickly followed after her.

Zhou Peng, meanwhile, brought his hand—still shaken by Zhang Xian—to his nose and sniffed it: a fishy smell.

Fish seller?

How could Lin Xiwei be with a fish seller??

Zhou Peng frowned deeply, silently speculating about their relationship in his mind.

"That guy walking the dog was waiting for you, right?"

Inside the elevator, Zhang Xian asked.

"Sort of. He's like a stubborn adhesive patch."

"That shows you're attractive—no matter where you go, suitors never run out."

"Can't compare to you—you're about to marry a celebrity."

Lin Xiwei replied softly.

"Xiwei, your tone's off!"

"Someone who didn't know would think you're jealous!" Zhang Xian teased with a laugh.

Lin Xiwei said nothing; when the elevator arrived, she walked out without a word.

Her rented apartment was a one-bedroom, about forty square meters, with a compact layout.

Yet despite its small size, the place was neatly kept—clearly, Lin Xiwei was consistent inside and out, unlike some girls whose exteriors shone but whose living spaces were a mess.

"I don't have any men's slippers, only the disposable ones I brought back from a business trip."

Lin Xiwei took a brand-new pair of disposable slippers from the shoe cabinet and handed them to Zhang Xian.

"You've never had a boyfriend?"

Zhang Xian asked knowingly—he could see the red thread above her head, still tied to him.

"No. Unlike you—Chu Yourong is already your fourth, isn't she?"

"So you've been secretly keeping tabs on me!"

"No, Yuan Yuan told me."

"Make yourself at home."

Lin Xiwei wouldn't admit she'd been quietly watching Zhang Xian. She pointed to the sofa, then opened the fridge and pulled out a can of cola, handing it to him: "Still like this?"

"I do!"

"I'm a very loyal person!"

Zhang Xian yanked open the pull-tab with a "pop," took a big sip.

"Hmph, didn't notice."

Lin Xiwei took a soda water for herself and sat across from Zhang Xian.

"You've already taken the wedding photos—when are you planning to get married?"

After a moment of silence, Lin Xiwei asked.

"Are you in such a hurry to give me a gift?"

"I never said I'd come!"

"With our relationship, wouldn't it be inappropriate not to?"

"What relationship do we have?"

"Old classmates, old lovers."

"Pfft—who's your old lover?!"

Lin Xiwei rolled her eyes, then sipped her soda water slowly.

"I'm not teasing you—I've broken up with Chu Yourong."

"Huh? Broke up??"

Lin Xiwei was stunned: "But you just took the wedding photos!"

"It's because I met you on the day we took our wedding photos!"

"After Chu Yourong found out about your relationship with me, she got angry and we had a huge fight..."

Zhang Xian lied without even blinking.

"But she went to Liu Dongxu's wedding too."

"That was arranged long ago—she probably didn't want to stand Dong Xu up!"

Zhang Xian shrugged and took another big gulp of his soda.

"Really broken up?"

Seeing that Zhang Xian didn't seem to be lying, Lin Xiwei's lips subtly curled upward.

"Xiwei, why do I feel like you're enjoying this?"

"No way, how could I?"

Lin Xiwei quickly denied it.

"Fine, go ahead and laugh—you can barely hold back that smile!"

Zhang Xian spread his hands with indifference: "The sugar daddy plan failed—I'll have to rely on myself now!"

"I don't have any sugar daddy meals, but I can cook you dinner."

In high spirits, Lin Xiwei turned and went to the kitchen.

Soon after, she prepared four dishes and one soup—three hot, one cold.

"When did you get so good at cooking?"

Zhang Xian was stunned; in his memory, Lin Xiwei didn't seem to know how to cook at all.

"Eating out isn't healthy, so I learned to cook for myself."

"Cool!"

Zhang Xian gave a thumbs-up and immediately buried himself in his meal.

After fishing and then delivering the fish, he'd been busy all day—he was truly hungry, and with Lin Xiwei's cooking, he devoured two bowls of rice in one go.

By the time he left Lin Xiwei's place, his stomach was rounder than before.

This unexpected meeting went smoothly; Zhang Xian didn't rush to advance their relationship—just chatted like old friends, reminiscing about the past.

Before they took the wedding photos last time, they hadn't seen each other for years; both physically and emotionally, they needed to reacquaint themselves—it would take time.

He stepped out of the building entrance.

Zhang Xian was surprised to find Zhou Peng still at the fitness area downstairs; his little Teddy dog lay sprawled on the ground, clearly exhausted from playing.

"Young Brother Zhang."

Zhou Peng had clearly been waiting for Zhang Xian; as soon as he saw him step out, he hurried over.

"Old Zhou, still walking your dog?"

Zhou Peng clearly looked older than Zhang Xian, so Zhang Xian casually called him "Old Zhou."

"Yeah, our Bei Bei refuses to go home once she's out."

Zhou Peng gave a vague reply, then got straight to the point: "Young Brother Zhang, are you and Miss Lin relatives?"

Downstairs, Zhou Peng had been puzzling over their relationship—he'd even considered they might be lovers, but he thought Lin Xiwei could never be interested in a fish seller.

After careful thought, he guessed they must be relatives.

"Not relatives."

Zhang Xian waved his hand, then delivered the fatal blow: "Xiwei is my girlfriend!"

"Huh?"

"Girlfriend??"

Zhou Peng was stunned—this was exactly what he'd feared.

Since meeting Lin Xiwei, this beautiful neighbor, in the elevator two months ago, he'd been scheming to get closer to her, even proposing multiple times—but Lin Xiwei never gave him the slightest opening.

And now, to his shock, Lin Xiwei had chosen a fish seller as her boyfriend!

What kind of taste is this??

Zhang Xian hummed a tune as he straddled his electric scooter—he wasn't lying, Lin Xiwei really had been his girlfriend years ago!

He just needed to add a prefix to what he'd just said.

"Wait, when did you two get together? Why didn't I ever see you before?"

Only after Zhang Xian rode off on his scooter did Zhou Peng realize—he called after him, but got no reply.

He left the residential compound.

Zhang Xian hung his last fish—seven or eight catties—on the back of his electric scooter.

Instead of taking the shortest route home, he rode his scooter around the nearby night market, then returned contentedly to his alley.

But at the entrance to the alley, he stopped in front of the supermarket, pulled out a cigarette, and sat on his scooter to smoke.

Everyone coming and going from the supermarket couldn't help asking: "Xiao Xian, did you catch that fish? How many catties is it?"

Each time, Zhang Xian would casually reply, "Just seven or eight catties."

"Big Brother Xian, what are you doing here?"

Zhang Xian dragged out two cigarettes, and just as he was finally getting ready to leave, Pang Fei walked over, carrying his laptop bag—he'd clearly just finished overtime.

"Yeah, just seven or eight catties."

Zhang Xian answered offhandedly.

"Uh… did you catch a big one?"

It was fully dark; Pang Fei hadn't noticed the giant fish hanging behind the scooter until Zhang Xian mentioned it.

"Yep, that's my only hobby."

"Xiaoxian, you're really living the good life—nothing like me, just a poor slave!"

Pang Fei sighed.

"Living the good life? I'm just a jobless drifter!"

Zhang Xian waved his hand modestly.

As the two spoke, Liu Dongxu trudged up from behind, head drooping.

"Dong Xu, why are you back so late? Already working overtime on your first day?"

Pang Fei called out to Liu Dongxu.

"Yeah, did some overtime."

Liu Dongxu nodded, looking guilty.

Only Zhang Xian knew he hadn't found a proper job yet; everyone else assumed he'd started working, and of course, it was his father Liu Fusheng who spread that rumor.

"It's probably just hard to adjust at first—you'll get used to it!"

"I'm going to buy some stuff at the supermarket. You two chat."

Pang Fei offered reassurance, then turned and walked into the supermarket.

Once he was gone, Liu Dongxu finally cracked. He pulled a long face and told Zhang Xian: "Big Brother Xian, driving for ride-hailing is way too hard!"

"I drove half a day, barely made two hundred, then got one complaint—lost a hundred and fifty, got fined a hundred for illegal parking, and after deducting electricity costs, I ended up losing over a hundred today..."