Chapter 399: Really hard to resist doing something

Sunlight filtered through the trees in scattered spots; when the wind blew, the specks of light shimmered, and far away the water surface glittered.

Xu Yanfeng sat on a stone-built stool, baited Zi Heng's small fishing rod, and taught him some simple fishing techniques: 'Just take this rod, cast it into the air, wait for the hook to fall into the water, and see if you notice the float bobbing on the surface? If a fish bites, the float will jerk up and down; then you must seize the moment and lift it. Got it?'

Zi Heng nodded seriously and played by himself.

Xu Yanfeng felt it wasn't enough and gave him another reminder: 'If the fish is bigger, its struggle will be strong; you might not be able to pull it up. In that case, don't show off—either drop the rod and leave it, or call Dad for help. Otherwise, if you match strength with the fish, Dad worries that instead of you catching the fish, the fish will catch you. If that happens, Dad will have to jump in and fish you out.'

Zi Heng: '……'

Beside her, Xia Xi stared, stunned: 'Does this reservoir really have such big fish?'

'Of course.' Xu Yanfeng said firmly, 'Old Fang releases plenty of fry into it every year.'

He saw Zi Heng fishing with proper form, felt somewhat relieved, then helped Xia Xi adjust her rod; before he could speak, Xia Xi interjected: 'You don't need to teach me again—I listened carefully when you taught Zi Heng just now; it's very simple.'

Xu Yanfeng shoved the baited rod into her hand, lifted his chin slightly: 'Give it a try.'

Xia Xi stood up, swung the rod into the air; for some reason, the hook didn't fall into the water as she expected, and no matter how she pulled, it wouldn't budge. Looking back, she saw the line tangled in a branch behind her.

……

Xu Yanfeng looked at her dazed expression, raised his tone slightly, and repeated her earlier words: 'Really simple?'

Xia Xi laughed embarrassedly: 'Help me.'

Xu Yanfeng struggled to free the line from the branch, then didn't let her do anything; he helped her flick the hook into the water and handed her the rod. She obediently sat down, eyes fixed on the float on the water.

Xu Yanfeng began preparing his own rod; at that moment, Zi Heng excitedly stood up, noticing a faint movement on his rod, he held his breath, focused, eyes blazing, following Xu Yanfeng's earlier instruction, waiting for the fish to bite firmly before lifting.

A small fish dangled from the hook, struggling and wagging its tail in the air.

Zi Heng couldn't believe he'd caught a fish so quickly: 'Dad!'

Xu Yanfeng looked at his excited little self, ruffled his hair, and praised: 'My son is truly amazing.'

He put down his own rod, helped Zi Heng remove the small fish from the hook, and tossed it into a blue plastic bucket filled with water. Zi Heng watched the little fish darting happily in the water, unwilling to look away. This was his first fish caught on his own, and he felt a great sense of accomplishment.

Xia Xi propped her chin, staring at the float that hadn't moved all afternoon; impatiently she lifted the rod to see that the bait underneath was gone—apparently eaten by a fish.

Xia Xi pressed her lips together, speechless.

Xu Yanfeng: 'Don't rush; the enjoyment of fishing is in the process itself.'

Hearing a WeChat chime from the bag on the ground, Xu Yanfeng remained seated, unmoving, and directed Zi Heng, who was crouched there admiring his catch: 'Son, help Dad get his phone out.'

Zi Heng was especially obedient; he pattered over, did as told, pulled the phone from the bag, glanced at the label, and reported to Xu Yanfeng: 'Dad, it's Tang, Yi, Zhou.'

'Oh, it's your Uncle Tang. You met him that night—the unreliable uncle who gave you your car.' Xu Yanfeng guessed Tang Yizhou wasn't calling about anything important, spoke casually: 'You answer it for Dad.'

Zi Heng swiped to answer.

Tang Yizhou called via video; his face appeared on the screen: 'Xu Er, you… uh? You're the adopted son, huh? Where's your dad?'

…… Zi Heng's youthful face showed a speechless expression; he only had Zhou Du as his godfather, no other godfather, and this person didn't know what was going on, unilaterally insisting on being his godfather.

However, Zi Heng also couldn't be bothered to correct him, slightly shifted the screen to the side so he could see Xu Yanfeng: 'My dad is fishing.'

'Xu Er, where are you fishing?' Tang Yizhou asked enthusiastically.

After asking, he suddenly realized: 'Looking around, this scenery seems familiar—isn't this Old Fang's reservoir? If I may say, you sure know how to enjoy life. Sigh, the vacation is really boring; a few others have run off somewhere unknown, impossible to find. Why don't I join your father-son fishing party? I realize it's indeed been a while since I last fished; my hands are itching.'

Xu Yanfeng, who had been silent all along, finally spoke: 'You're not welcome.'

Tang Yizhou was displeased: 'Who do you think you are to speak? Is this reservoir yours? I'm going to confront Old Fang about this.'

Xu Yanfeng took the phone from Zi Heng's hand, held it high, framing his and Xia Xi's faces in the shot: 'See?'

On screen, Xia Xi wore a hoodie and sweatpants, a pink baseball cap; she turned her face and made a scissor gesture as a greeting to Tang Yizhou. Xu Yanfeng chuckled at her playful look, curled his lip: 'We're not a father-son pair; we're a family of three, a parent-child outing. What are you meddling for? Hurrying to act as my son?'

Xia Xi couldn't hold back her laughter, thinking, 'You guys are really childish.'

Tang Yizhou felt he was truly brainless; Xu Er's love-struck mind—of course the vacation should be spent with his wife, how could he have forgotten?

'Hang up, the fish is hooked.' Xu Yanfeng said, then promptly ended the call, reeled in his rod, and a decent-sized grass carp flopped on the hook.

Now the pressure fell on Xia Xi; she still hadn't caught a fish to this point, pouting and muttering: 'I surely won't be worse than Zi Heng, will I?'

Xu Yanfeng heard her and said: 'I'll count this one as yours.'

Xia Xi stared blankly and refused: 'No need; I want to do it myself.'

After waiting most of the day, at last she avoided being 'air force'—she too caught a fish, proving she still had skill.

Naturally, dinner was the fish they'd painstakingly caught over half a day; indeed it was fresh and plump.

Against the dark sky dotted with stars, Xu Yanfeng and Xia Xi sat on wooden chairs on the balcony, breezing while admiring the constellations and chatting about trivial matters. Zi Heng was tired, yawning nonstop, half-asleep on the recliner, with a yellow-and-white cat curled at his feet.

Xu Yanfeng went inside to fetch two blankets, draped one over Zi Heng, and flung the other over Xia Xi's shoulders, wrapping her, and said softly: 'It's chilly at night; watch out for a cold.'

Xia Xi pulled the nearby chair over, snug against her own; after Xu Yanfeng sat down, she shook out the large blanket and wrapped him in it too: 'You said I was… yet you're wearing short sleeves yourself.'

Xu Yanfeng wanted to say he wasn't cold, but the words rose to his lips and he swallowed them back, smiling as he put his arm around her. Xia Xi leaned against his chest, truly feeling the warmth from his body—more effective than the blanket.

Xu Yanfeng slowly lowered his head, his breath brushing her earlobe, drawing nearer until he fully kissed her earlobe.

Xia Xi turned her head; before she could warn him not to mess around, he seized the moment and kissed her lips. The atmosphere was so lovely that he really couldn't hold back from doing something.

Xia Xi was so nervous she couldn't stand it, worried Zi Heng would see, so she kept dodging; but he pursued her like a game, coming in for a kiss. At one instant, their eyes met, they both laughed, and their eyes seemed to have caught starlight, shining brightly.

After a while, Xu Yanfeng sighed, rose, wrapped the blanket tightly around her, walked to the recliner, and lifted Zi Heng up.

Zi Heng stirred awake but wasn't fully conscious, his eyelids twitching as if about to open. Xu Yanfeng tossed him onto the bed, patted his back, and said: 'Go to sleep, or you won't have the energy to play tomorrow.'

Zi Heng mumbled something, turned over, and kept sleeping.

Xu Yanfeng covered him with the blanket, returned to the balcony, and scooped up Xia Xi from her chair.

The vacation blinked and was over; the return journey was just as jammed.

The car trunk held fresh fruits and vegetables picked from the manor, which he delivered to Su Jinru; she kept them to eat for dinner.

Xia Xuan wasn't home; Xia Xi asked about her, and Su Jinru replied: 'She's at the hospital; she'll be back shortly.'

It was still early; Su Jinru wasn't in a hurry to make dinner, she pulled Xia Xi aside to chat: 'Have you set the wedding date? I heard from your sister that you've already tried on the wedding dress.'

Xia Xi leaned affectionately against her mother's shoulder and laughed.

Su Jinru patted her head: 'Don't grin foolishly; I'm asking you a serious question.'