Chapter 116

"Eh, brother, your technique really seems like you just learned it; I thought you were joking just now." Laochen also looked astonished.

Ye Cheng covered his face, this is embarrassing.

Zhao Zhiming sat on the Chairman's Platform, chatting and drinking tea with Jiang Weiyang while keeping an eye on Ye Cheng.

Seeing Ye Cheng come up with an empty rod, his hand that was about to drink tea froze midair.

"Old Zhao, this little brother of yours seems like a novice," Jiang Weiyang said with a chuckle.

"Yeah, you didn't say you came to win the championship, did you?"

"Look at little Cui, how steady he is—just one look and you see the bearing of a great commander; you, little friend, seem a bit abrupt."

"Old Zhao probably just misjudged."

Several people started joking about Zhao Zhiming, talking over each other.

Zhao Zhiming was quite embarrassed, gave a forced laugh twice, "Well, don't rush, he's a slow-starter type, my friend is a slow-starter player."

Ye Cheng began to think, I used to fish like this before and still caught fish, didn't I?

Could it be that today's Luck Value is too low, so the same operation doesn't work?

No choice, he could only honestly tidy up the fishing line again and prepare to drop the hook once more.

At that moment, a cry of surprise came from the middle position.

"Wow, got a fish!"

"It's only been a few minutes!"

"Cui Shuran really is different, huh."

Ye Cheng turned his head to look; Cui Shuran's slender figure rose to her feet, a lively, jumping fish hanging from her line, looking about one jin.

Not that big, but being the first to catch a fish also shows she has skill.

After Cui Shuran caught a fish, others also began to catch fish one after another.

Ye Cheng stared at his motionless float before him, feeling a bit helpless.

"Move it a bit," Laolin reminded.

"Oh." Ye Cheng stood up and did a chest-expanding exercise.

Laolin looked at him astonished, "No, kid, I meant move the fishing line, not you."

Ye Cheng's outstretched arm froze instantly, and everyone around looked at him like he was crazy.

He hurriedly sat down, imitating Laolin, and gently tugged the fishing line.

"Exactly, like this—you need to make the bait move, make the fish think it's a living creature, like me and Laochen, you need rhythm, imagine the thing in your hand isn't a fishhook but that you yourself are a fish, luring a big fish, hahaha." Laolin laughed as he spoke.

Ye Cheng followed Laolin's teaching and began learning to lure the fish.

Heck, relying on the system's exclusive bait, he actually attracted a fish.

But this fish is a bit cunning, each time just lightly nibbling the bait, the float wobbles left then right, never sinking.

Ye Cheng stared intently at the Sea Surface, waiting for that moment it would sink.

However, after the float swayed left and right for a while, it actually stopped moving,

"Don't be so nervous, your bait's already been eaten clean; hurry up and reel it in to change the bait," Laochen said calmly.

"No way, finished?" Ye Cheng lifted the line to look, and sure enough, damn, it was empty as can be.

This is a master among fish—after eating it, he had no reaction at all.

Ye Cheng's repeated mistakes had the people on the Chairman's Platform laughing uncontrollably, each looking at Zhao Zhiming with amusement.

"Brother Zhao, you just found someone to fill the numbers, right?"

"Or maybe you took a liking to her family's sisters, and you're here to butter up your brother-in-law."

"Even when the bait's gone, you need someone to remind you—you can't even tell that yourself."

Zhao Zhiming's face flushed red, not knowing what to say.

On the other side, Cui Shuran glanced sideways at Ye Cheng with her peripheral vision, the corner of her mouth slightly lifting, thinking to herself: I thought he was some kind of big deal, just here to clown around; thanks to Zhao Zhiming earlier saying he could win the championship, I actually believed he had some skill.

After confirming Ye Cheng posed no threat to her, Cui Shuran turned slightly aside and focused on dealing with the fish before her.

Ye Cheng didn't know someone had already given up on him; he simply re-baited and cast the line again.

He firmly believed one thing: luck is just part of ability; more people rely on diligence than luck.

Beside him, Laolin and Laochen had similar luck—both empty rods, and they also came up to change bait.

"Little Ye, your casting really needs practice; the shore is so shallow, there's hardly any fish, you gotta cast farther out." Old Chen number 100 could work and talk at the same time.

"Can't help it, he's just started learning."

"Just starting isn't an excuse either; let me tell you, if you don't cast your rod out, it definitely won't work, and since we're all here, we'll teach you and be done."

"Right, come on, just pick up the rod and first practice that rough method."

The two were very enthusiastic, after fixing their own rods in place, they began teaching Ye Cheng how to cast.

According to them, beginners should use a slightly rough method, like a civilian layup in basketball—there are flashy dunks and also this ordinary layup.

This method is summed up in one word: Smash!

Treat what's ahead as an enemy, grip the rod with both hands, lift it high and smash it down hard; though the posture looks a bit ugly, the effect isn't bad.

Of course, also remember to pull back in time, lest you actually break the rod.

Following the posture taught by the two instructors, Ye Cheng tried it once; they'd talked so much about using wrist strength, waist and abdomen strength, but he couldn't feel any of it.

He just remembered one thing: smash it down.

Lift high!

Smash down!

Uh...

Where's the line?

Ye Cheng looked bewilderedly ahead, raised it high and Smash down, how come the fishing line didn't come forward?

"Ouch—who is it, can't you watch where you're going?"

A cursing voice came from the right; Ye Cheng turned his head and saw that his fishing line was hooked onto someone's clothing. Fortunately this guy was wearing a jacket; if it were short sleeves, blood would surely have been spilled on the spot.

"Ah, sorry, sorry, I didn't handle it well just now." Ye Cheng hurried over, removed the fishhook for the person, and offered a cigarette as an apology.

That person didn't say anything, just reminded Ye Cheng to be more careful next time.

Because of this commotion, everyone participating in the competition looked over; though they didn't burst out laughing, at least they were snickering privately, which made Ye Cheng hurriedly run back to his spot.

Damn, I've never lost such a big person in my life.

"Brother Zhao, how do we explain this?"

"Ah, right, you don't even know how to cast the rod, hahaha."

Zhao Zhiming had completely given up, raised his tea cup and took a sip, casually brushing it off, "Experts don't worry about details."

"Hahaha, Brother Zhao said it well."

When Ye Cheng cast again, the people around all looked over, afraid that a flying hook would snag their own faces.