Days on the island were leisurely and peaceful.
Playing in the sea by day, and in the water by night.
This was pretty much Lin Chu’s entire routine. He was on a proper, extended vacation, not thinking about a single thing, his mind occupied only with eating, drinking, and having fun.
He didn’t even look at the calendar or check the ti, having no idea what day of the week it was.
The mountains, he’d climbed them.
The water, he’d dived in it.
He’d watched the sunrise, and he’d watched the sunset.
He’d visited the church on Bohe Island and listened to the children’s choir sing.
He’d watched Teacher ng’s nude dive, all by himself.
He almost unlocked an achievent: sea-quake.
But the seawater was too salty, so he gave up in the end.
But of all the activities, the one that Lin Chu found most relaxing was fishing—sea fishing.
Although he usually got skunked, Xiong Jianwu was a first-class expert who could catch anything.
If he claid to have caught a torpedo one day, Lin Chu wouldn’t even be surprised.
...
On the boundless sea, two boats sailed out.
One was a small speedboat carrying Xiong Jianwu, Lin Chu, Lu Ming, and Liu Junfeng. It had two fishing platforms on each side, rigged with rods and lines, and it moved in fits and starts.
The other, a yacht not far off, also belonged to Xiong Jianwu. A group of n and won were on board—so sunbathing, so admiring the scenery. They had wanted to go out on the yacht today, so they’d tagged along.
"This area is pri for tuna. Two years ago, when I was thirty-six—my zodiac year—it was right here that I caught a bluefin. Fought it for a whole day and night. It was a real ’Old Man and the Sea’ mont, so damn satisfying! A once-in-a-lifeti catch."
Xiong Jianwu said loudly, one hand on his hip, brimming with pride.
For a fishing enthusiast, it was the glory of a lifeti.
Lin Chu smiled and nodded. "That must have been the best birthday present ever!"
He paused, glanced at his own hook with a hint of annoyance, and cursed with a laugh, "Damn it, I want to send soone down there to put a fish on my hook for !"
The others couldn’t help but laugh.
"That’s the kind of treatnt reserved for the top eunuchs of the Eastern Depot, Brother Chu. We n can’t stoop to that level."
Liu Junfeng teased with a smile.
Lin Chu’s fishing luck really was a problem, a huge one. He just couldn’t catch anything to save his life, not even with beginner’s luck.
The other three were catching fish one after another. Even if they were small, at least they were catching sothing.
But Lin Chu had truly caught nothing.
He hadn’t seen so much as a single fish scale.
A true feeder of the sea.
Lu Ming couldn’t help but laugh too. "Lucky in love, unlucky in fishing. It’s an objective law of the universe, the will of the heavens. Brother Chu, just accept your fate!"
He let out a villainous "Heh heh heh."
After being out on vacation for a while, everyone’s cringey-teenager energy had grown a lot stronger.
Lin Chu shot him a glare. "My fate is my own, not for the heavens to decide!"
"Catch a fish!"
"Dragon Kings of the Four Seas, gods and buddhas of all heavens, as swift as the law commands!"
The others burst out laughing again.
Amid the laughter, a small boat quietly appeared ahead. There were three people on it: a local, Xiaohei, and an elderly couple with graying hair.
Xiaohei was casting a net.
The old couple was leaning over the bow. The old man was helping, while the old woman was crying. The scene looked almost... strange.
Xiong Jianwu frowned slightly. "What are they doing casting a net here?"
He casually picked up the gaphone from the speedboat and shouted in English, "What are you doing? Casting a net here! Get lost!"
Xiaohei quickly waved his hands, looking flustered. He seed to recognize Da Xiong, the local big shot, and shouted a string of gibberish.
They were close enough now that Xiong Jianwu was able to understand him.
For a mont, his expression softened, and a look of lancholy appeared on his face.
He waved his hand, not bothering them any further.
Let them be.
"What’s going on?"
Lin Chu asked casually.
"Damn it. Two days ago, two people died here. Two boys, one older, one younger. The older brother brought his little brother out for a graduation trip, they snuck out for a swim at night, and they drowned. The bodies were never found."
"Those two... they’re the parents. They’ve co looking for the bodies."
"And they’re folks from back ho, the Northeast."
Da Xiong said with so irritation.
This kind of thing happened every year. Tourists drowning was just a force of nature, you could say.
Most of the ti, the bodies are never found. The ocean currents are unpredictable; it’s not like an inland river.
One big wave, and not even the gods could find them.
To put it bluntly, there’s no point in a recovery effort. No matter how much manpower and resources you throw at it, it would just be like finding a needle in a haystack.
Lin Chu pursed his lips.
A thought crossed his mind. "Let’s help them."
Hm?
Da Xiong glanced at him, hesitating. "What do you an?"
Lin Chu spat, a sudden heroic impulse coming from nowhere. "Help them. Rally the n, call the boats, get the local boat captains to do a full sweep. ’Fallen leaves return to their roots,’ right? Even if we can’t find them, we have to give it our all."
"I’ll pay for it."
"A 500,000 reward for finding the bodies. Run it through your accounts, and I’ll transfer the money to you."
Having been on the island for a few days, Lin Chu had a sense of the local prices. 500,000 was a huge sum, enough to make the local fishern search like their lives depended on it.
Hearing this, both Liu Junfeng and Lu Ming were stunned, but they quickly understood.
500,000 was nothing to Brother Chu. It was a matter of life and death; he could just consider it a donation.
Still, they were deeply moved.
’This... This guy is the real deal.’
Da Xiong’s face flushed red. He looked at Lin Chu, deeply moved, feeling a profound sense of shock that ca from the bottom of his heart.
He had spent a lot of ti with Lin Chu these past few days and found him to be a man who indulged in every pleasure—wine, won, wealth, and vice, he lacked none of it.
He never expected that, at a mont like this, Lin Chu would pull a move so incredibly righteous.
"We search!"
"Fuck!"
"This is sothing worth doing! To hell with fishing!"
"You put up the reward, I’ll put in the effort. I’ll rally the n!"
He slamd his fishing rod down, whipped out a satellite phone, and quickly started making calls, telling all the boat captains he knew to co over and help with the search.
Lin Chu waited for him to finish his calls, then said calmly, "You be the front man. Handle the reward and the search effort. Just send the bill later. I’m heading back. And don’t tell the old couple. I don’t need their thanks. I hate trouble."
Hm?
Hearing this, Xiong Jianwu took a deep breath and nodded.
’He’s level-headed.’
’Keeps things separate.’
"Brother, you’re fucking aweso. Haha, I really want to beco sworn brothers with you. Alright, you head back first. Leave the rest to ."
...
Back at the hotel.
Lin Chu had cald down again. He had done all he could. Now it was ti to go back to his usual routine.
So people asked why they had stopped having fun and suddenly returned to shore.
Lin Chu had gone back to his room. Liu Junfeng and Lu Ming, thinking it was a good deed, spread the word among their group, but forbade them from telling any outsiders.
After hearing the story, everyone was in disbelief, even finding it legendary.
It refreshed their impression of Lin Chu once again.
’A true boss. A real boss.’
’A good person. A truly good person.’
When Lin Chu found out, he started cursing in the group chat. "Stop your goddamn gossiping, every last one of you! What ’good person’? I’m not a good person. If any of you kicks the bucket, I’ll send a gift for your funeral too, 500,000. Anyone who brings this up again can get the hell out!"
His cursing could be described as extrely harsh.
’Why is he so moody?’
Liu Junfeng: "Alright, alright. On behalf of my future son, thank you, Brother Chu. (Grinning emoji) But given our relationship, shouldn’t you add a zero to that funeral gift? How about five million?"
Lin Chu: "...Get lost!"
Just then, Lin Chu suddenly noticed the virtual panel appear. Another friend slot had opened.
Liu Junfeng.
Tsk.
’Ha, you old dog. You finally broke, didn’t you?’
’I’ll have to think long and hard about how to make you call ’Daddy.’ Daddy’s is ten tis bigger, and I’m going to have to ’dote’ on you properly.’
...
...
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