Chapter 83

Sun Jianguo squatted by the reservoir, smoked a few cigarettes, and still couldn't figure out how Jiang Nian caught fish.

Weird.

Why doesn't the fishing rod work when it's in my hands?

One, two, three—Sun Jianguo watched Jiang Nian catch a fish every few minutes, a big fish every dozen minutes or so, and his face twisted with envy.

Fuck, what golden fishing rod?

Go fish for dead fish with it—it catches them perfectly, even Lin Zhengying would call you brother.

He ran over here, ran over there.

In the end, he chose to stand beside the God of Fishing, observing and learning, realizing the truth that the greatest art is simplicity.

As for the three fish he bought for the fish basket, Sun Jianguo had completely forgotten them. He just went through the motions for his son—buying farmed fish at the market was worse than buying wild ones.

His fish weren't even packed yet, but his son already was.

Sun Zhicheng chattered nonstop in the group chat about fishing knowledge, exuding a faint air of pretension. At first, the group was enthusiastic, but gradually fell silent.

Lin Dong walked toward the sports field, glanced at the class group, and couldn't help but feel speechless.

Here we go again—would you die if you didn't show off?

Ah Cheng, stop being Chen Yunyun's electronic pet! Her fishing skill is better than yours!

Such a clumsy way to show off—tch.

Even if you have a Porsche, posting pictures of it daily on your Moments—every one of the nine-grid photos includes a picture of the Porsche and a watch together.

At first it might inspire envy, but after a while, it just breeds disgust.

That's the downside of blatant showing off—by contrast, those who quietly radiate class without ever flaunting it are far more liked.

Lin Dong felt he was exactly that kind of person.

When he first chatted with Skinned Liuli, he learned she was a Gao Er student—a regular one, at the bottom of the academic ladder at Zhennan High School.

Facing someone who could show off, he never flaunted his own status as a Gao San Olympiad class student.

At first, he just listened to her vent about studying; from stiff chats, to exchanging daily photos, to finally talking about feelings, studies, and family at 11 p. m.

At some casual moment, he revealed his formidable math skills—only under her pressing questions did he feign nonchalance and let slip he was from the Olympiad class.

Awesome, so awesome—secretly showing off is what's fun.

Lin Dong shook his head and took a deep breath.

He and Skinned Liuli had never met, didn't know each other's appearances, only knew vague bits of information about each other.

Lin Dong was also certain Skinned Liuli didn't know who he was.

He liked dropping red herrings in chats to create mystery.

For example, Zhennan had two campuses—though he was from the southern campus, he sometimes asked students from the northern campus to take daily photos and send them to him.

Using his southern campus identity combined with northern campus daily life, he layered the deception. Even if Conan came, he couldn't uncover his identity without cheating.

He was practically Conan's holy vessel.

Skinned Liuli's brain was useless—she couldn't possibly deduce his real identity—but his brain was excellent!

First, her voice was sweet—she must be pretty. Add to that she was a Gao Er science class girl who liked taking photos, even if her photo editing was extreme.

Based on these clues, Skinned Liuli's class was B203—the Science Advanced Class Three!

So sweet—she's in Class Three too, just like me! One's Advanced Class Three, the other's Olympiad Class Three!

Though they'd agreed to keep the mystery, the young man was smitten. He meant no harm—just wanted to know what Skinned Liuli looked like ahead of time.

No matter how she looked, his heart would forever belong to Skinned Liuli!

He stood in a secluded spot, yet could overlook the entire sports field.

In a moment, Skinned Liuli would come with classmates to cheer for their class athletes. He had already deduced part of her outfit from a tiny detail.

All he needed was to send a fake message at the right moment, triggering an action unique to her—and he could easily lock onto her.

Lin Dong was already imagining it: a cocky genius boy and a soft, sweet, dumb girl. Fuck, when he falls in love, he'll write a novel based on this story.

As he waited boredly, he glanced at the group chat again.

Sun Zhicheng was still biting Chen Yunyun's hook, chattering absurd fishing techniques, even claiming he'd fry fish tonight.

You're good at cooking now? My godly baby, Ah Cheng!

Honestly, Lin Dong looked down on Sun Zhicheng. His looks were slightly sleazy, and showing off was his specialty—he couldn't go a day without some obscure flex.

Brother, the circus wouldn't even be worth watching without you.

But he was still his own team member, the core of a small group. As the leader, Lin Dong couldn't just stand by and watch, no matter how much he despised Sun Zhicheng.

Yunyun, fish for others, okay? Don't target your own teammates.

Poor Tom Cheng—what have you turned him into?

Lin Dong thought for a moment, scrolled up the chat history, and realized the fishing topic had started with Jiang Nian—but then Jiang Nian went silent after just a few messages.

Probably hasn't caught a single fish yet, sulking quietly.

This would be the perfect opening.

But to avoid drawing hatred, Lin Dong chose a different way to ask.

"(Grinning) @Jiang Nian, Brother Nian, catch any fish yet?"

"Holy shit, twelve already," Sun Jianguo marveled.

When Jiang Nian caught his first fish, he didn't care.

When the second and third bit the hook, he admitted the guy had something.

When Jiang Nian flipped the script and started catching fish from zero, he'd already been convinced—but too stunned to speak.

A beginner catching ten-plus fish at once? Fishing circles have stranger things, so this wasn't too outrageous—but whether luck or skill,

Either way, he was convinced.

At Sun Jianguo's strong insistence, the two added each other on WeChat.

Jiang Nian saw his classmate Sun Zhicheng in Sun Jianguo's Moments, and his eyelid twitched. Just then, someone @ed him.

He didn't see who it was, and casually posted the fish from his net bag into the class group.

It was just for show—who cares who it is?

Instantly, Sun Zhicheng, who had been flaunting in the group, fell silent. The rest of the class exploded, each one pulled out by the full bag of fish.

"Holy shit, that many?"

(Li Hua): "Bro Nian, you actually caught these? I'll give you three hundred—just admit you took someone else's fish. It's killing me to look!"

(Ma Guojun): "Damn, is this real? Brother Nian's a pro! Way better than armchair experts."

(Chen Yunyun): "Jiang Nian, are you good at fishing?"

Most people would probably humble themselves at this point.

Jiang Nian wasn't most people—he was from Class Three.

So he thought for a moment, cast a line casually, and turned on QQ's video recording feature. When he guessed the timing was right, he started recording—the frame showed only his crude fishing rod.

Three seconds later, the rod jerked violently.

A middle-aged man's voice rang out: "Young Brother Nian, your reeling technique's impressive! I'll grab the net—you won't lose it."

Just as Sun Jianguo was about to enter the frame, Jiang Nian stopped recording. With a swift swipe, he sent the video straight to the class group, then typed out humble words:

"Didn't buy a rod—just used a bamboo stick to fish."

The class group exploded again. If Jiang Nian had shown off wealth, no one would've cared. But catching ten or so fish with a bamboo stick? That was real envy.

"Holy hell, you're serious, Nian!"

"It's really a bamboo stick? Jiang Tianjiao, what ancient fishing method is this?! I can't take it—I'm getting one tomorrow."

Sun Zhicheng stared at the photo—the familiar net bag. He replayed the video several times. That familiar voice—he could now be almost certain.

The fish were caught by Jiang Nian!

He'd just claimed in the group it wasn't him—that maybe his own dad caught them, but only three. At least that wouldn't blow up in front of Chen Yunyun.

Good. This was good.

Lin Dong watched the flood of praise for Jiang Nian, shook his head, and exited the group.

Fishing? Only peasants like fishing.

He had more enjoyable things to do—Skinned Liuli, hey, my little Skinned Liuli. He dreamed of embracing her, kissing from lips to fingertips, trailing downward.

Soon, the B203 group entered, scattered and slow.

Lin Dong's gaze swept through the girls—where were the red hair ties? He had good vision in one eye, so he covered the other and began searching.

But after three or four scans, he still couldn't spot any cute girl with a red hair tie.

"Didn't she come?" he murmured, then pulled out his phone. "Better confirm first—call her on QQ. Just use that excuse."

【Emergency】.

First send a frantic message. Wait for her to ask, then immediately make a QQ voice call. Give her zero time to react—ninety percent success rate.

But the side effect: usable only once. The more you use it, the less effective it becomes.

Fortunately, Lin Dong had never used it. Now he was about to—his fingers trembled, slick with fine sweat. He sent the message first.

Lin Dong's alt account (Shen Cong): "Skinned Liuli, you there? Emergency!!"

About forty seconds later, his phone vibrated.

(Skinned Liuli): "What's wrong?"

He gritted his teeth and dialed the QQ voice call. Please pick up! From today, everything turns around! He waited eagerly—until he saw a.

A black-skinned JK girl, weighing nearly two hundred jin, pressed her phone to her ear on the sports field.

At the same moment, his own phone connected.

Skinned Liuli's soft, sweet voice rang out: "Shen Cong, what's wrong? What happened?"

Lin Dong froze. His phone clattered to the ground. Cracks spread from the bottom corner upward like a spiderweb, dense and unbroken.

JK baby, do you love me? Speak!

He couldn't utter a word. His earlier thoughts flooded his mind again: (I want to lick Skinned Liuli from head to toe), (kiss from lips to fingertips).

Ugh!!

A near-physiological nausea forced him to vomit instantly. He hid in a dark corner, unable to stop gagging.

"Ugh!!"

"Shen Cong, what's wrong?" The phone carried a concerned voice.

Lin Dong had just finished gagging—her words made him gag harder.

He trembled as he picked up his phone, hung up without a word, and deleted Skinned Liuli, his heart like a knife through it.

Love, when it comes and when it leaves, paralyzes the heart equally.

Lin Dong tilted his head back, closed his eyes, and let out a long sigh.

"Is youth ending?"

Buzz.

His phone vibrated again. He pulled out his cracked-screen device—it was a new online acquaintance from two days ago. Because of Skinned Liuli, he'd only chatted critically with her.

She'd laughed hysterically at his jokes and sent a few photos of her legs.

Yao Yao Can't Sleep Enough: "So boring. What are you doing?"

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