Normally, when faced with a choice, Chu Mingcheng would hesitate a little, think it over, and then decide.

But today, he lowered his head and immediately went for it.

However, halfway down, his face was stopped by a hand.

Jiang Luoluo looked at him with a half-smile, her breath smelling of alcohol. "Tsk, tsk, tsk, men!"

Chu Mingcheng calmly straightened up. "I was just trying to stand up, you know."

"No, I don't know. I just know someone was trying to take advantage of the situation," Jiang Luoluo said, shaking her head as she sat up.

Chu Mingcheng rolled his eyes, somewhat speechless. "If you're going to pretend to be drunk, at least make it look real. Your eyelashes have been fluttering the whole time, not to mention your arms were wrapped so tightly..."

Embarrassed by his criticism, Jiang Luoluo acted like a petulant young woman, getting up and pushing him toward the door. "I don't care—you just had bad intentions!"

In reality, she simply hadn't had time to pull her hands back, and then Chu Mingcheng had leaned closer, leading to a misunderstanding.

Feeling him get closer, Jiang Luoluo had been very nervous. But thinking that they weren't boyfriend and girlfriend yet, her mind instantly cleared, and at the critical moment, she reached out and pressed her hand against his face.

"Yes, yes, you're so beautiful, what man could resist? I just made a mistake that all men make." Chu Mingcheng didn't resist, letting her push him toward the door.

He didn't argue either. There was no point in reasoning with a woman, especially one who'd been drinking.

At this point, just complimenting her would be enough. She'd like that.

Sure enough, while Jiang Luoluo was still listing his faults, she was secretly delighted.

As she pushed him out the door, seeing he was about to leave, she suddenly pulled him back.

Then, under Chu Mingcheng's surprised gaze, she stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek.

"I'm partly to blame for what happened tonight. Consider this compensation!"

Facing his confused look, Jiang Luoluo was also a little shy and flustered. After making her excuse, she quickly tried to close the door.

Chu Mingcheng immediately put his hand out to block it, then pointed to his other cheek. "You have to be fair. You haven't kissed the other side yet!"

"Get lost!"

Jiang Luoluo kicked out, and in the instant he dodged, she slammed the door shut with a bang.

Chu Mingcheng touched his kissed cheek, shook his head with a smile, and then went back to his own house.

His relationship with Jiang Luoluo had already surpassed friendship. He knew that if he confessed, she would seriously consider it and would most likely agree.

But in reality, he enjoyed this feeling of gradually getting closer and more intimate.

At a certain point, confessing or not didn't really matter. It would happen naturally.

…..

The next day, because of his first high-intensity spearfishing session, Chu Mingcheng overslept and missed his morning run. He was woken up by a call from Zhang Wei.

It had been almost a month since he'd left Wenshi, and Zhang Wei had been clamoring to come visit.

He'd held back before because he hadn't gotten his license. Now that he knew Chu Mingcheng had it, how could he possibly resist?

"Ah Cheng, Ah Yang, and I are planning to come see you. Is there anything you need us to bring?"

Chu Mingcheng, who'd been drowsy when he answered the phone, was instantly wide awake.

"Of course there is. Don't take a plane—just drive here!"

"Help me bring my car over, and bring Mimi and her family too."

"Huh?" Zhang Wei, on the other end, was immediately stunned. "So you're just using us as free labor?"

Hearing his reluctance, Chu Mingcheng immediately tried to persuade him. "Hey, what free labor? Think about it—if you take a plane, it'll be a hassle to bring back the fish you catch at sea. You'll have to pack them and check them in."

"Driving is a bit more trouble, but you can just put the fish in a box, keep them fresh, and toss them in the trunk. Then you can take them back with you, right?"

"What did you say? A box of fish? I'm not well-educated—don't lie to me!" Zhang Wei was tempted by the thought of a box of fish. When had he ever been so rich?

But having been skunked three days every week, with only a few small fish on the other days, he was still very skeptical. How could there be so many fish?

Faced with his doubt, Chu Mingcheng was very calm.

"It's just a box of fish—no big deal. I spearfished yesterday and got several hundred jin."

"You know Narrow-barred Spanish mackerel, right? Every one of them was a meter long. Then I ran into some cobia—most of them were meter-long too. Even Luoluo caught two and sold them for one thousand four hundred."

"Not to mention the forty-jin tiger grouper, and the spotted beakfish and striped beakfish. I'll send you a picture later."

"What later—send it now!" Zhang Wei hung up and waited for Chu Mingcheng's photos.

He was so excited by what he'd heard that his angler's soul was about to burst. If there were really that many fish, never mind driving a car—he'd carry it over.

Chu Mingcheng didn't disappoint him. A short while later, he received a dozen photos on his phone.

Not only were the fish big, but there were so many of them.

A dozen or so, nearly twenty fish, spread out on the deck. What angler could resist that temptation?

He immediately replied: "Bro, besides bringing the car and Mimi and her family, is there anything else you need?"

"Nothing much. Have Chen Yang drive a bigger car. He can bring some fish back for my parents on the way."

"OK, OK, I'll get ready now and set off in a bit!"

Zhang Wei and Chen Yang's visit made Chu Mingcheng very happy. He wasn't sleepy anymore. He got up and started preparing.

The drive from Wenshi to Xiamen was about seven hours.

It was only eight in the morning now. If they set off at ten, they should arrive here after five in the evening—just in time for dinner.

Chu Mingcheng had originally planned to go to the shipyard today to ask about a winch or crane, but now his friends were coming to Xiamen.

Never mind anything else—he had to let them try the teppan tofu tonight. But he wouldn't buy the tofu; he was going to look for some valuable fish, just for the seafood.

He first cleaned the house, then prepared to go out to sea.

Chu Mingcheng went to Jiang Luoluo's house and found her door open, with Zhang Ruomei's voice coming from inside. He walked right in.

Seeing only her in the living room, he asked, "Is Luoluo busy again?"

Zhang Ruomei nodded. Knowing their current relationship, she explained the work in detail.

"Yes, a game organizer is holding an anime convention. Luoluo, as a relatively famous content creator in the dance section, received an invitation this morning. She has to leave for Pengcheng this afternoon to prepare."

"There's a performance segment. Luoluo needs to prepare a dance. We'll be there for a few days."

"This..." Chu Mingcheng was a little speechless. He'd thought she was resting these few days and could take her out to sea to explore. He hadn't expected work to come up so suddenly.

But there was nothing he could do. Jiang Luoluo was going on a business trip to another city. He wouldn't be going with her, as he had his own work to do.

And with Chen Yang and Zhang Wei coming, he couldn't leave.

Just then, Jiang Luoluo came out of the bathroom, still in her pajamas, her face a little wet from clearly having just washed it.

She wasn't surprised to see Chu Mingcheng. She'd heard them talking outside the bathroom.

"I was planning to go out to sea with you again today, but now I can't." Jiang Luoluo seemed to have forgotten about last night's events and was very natural now.

Speaking of not being able to go out to sea, her face showed a hint of regret.

Chu Mingcheng laughed. "You can go out to sea with me anytime you're free. Work is unavoidable. What time is your flight? I'll take you to the airport."

Hearing he was going to take her, Jiang Luoluo smiled. "Ten o'clock flight. I'll change, and we can go."

"Alright, let me know when you're back, and I'll pick you up."

"Okay!"

After taking them to the airport and watching Jiang Luoluo wave at him before walking in, Chu Mingcheng felt a little empty inside.

She'd been by his side for this period, and he seemed to have gotten used to it.

Shaking his head, Chu Mingcheng drove back.

He had a simple lunch, then went to the pier.

He added water and called for a fuel truck.

While he was waiting, the pier's security guard came over with a middle-aged woman and a young girl.

Chu Mingcheng took one look and knew they were looking for him. He frowned. Were they here to cause trouble again?

But the security guard explained as soon as he brought them over. The two women were mother and daughter. The man who'd been arrested yesterday was their husband and father.

They were here to ask for his forgiveness, hoping to get a letter of understanding to reduce the sentence.

The mother's attitude was very good, and she'd even brought some things to give him.

The daughter, on the other hand, was a little impatient, but her attitude toward him wasn't bad, which was somewhat strange.

Unfortunately, the "victim" had gone to another city today and couldn't give a letter of understanding.

Besides, the matter itself wasn't serious. He would probably be detained for less than three months. Chu Mingcheng felt there was no need for a letter of understanding at all.

Let that person reflect in there for a few months, come out and do a proper job, and stop thinking about crooked schemes.

In the end, Chu Mingcheng directly refused. He didn't even plan to tell Jiang Luoluo about this.

This middle-aged woman looked very honest and was very timid when she spoke. It was clear she was an honest person.

Therefore, Chu Mingcheng was more polite to her and didn't accept her things. He was just surprised that she would marry such a man. He estimated that in that era, it was probably out of necessity.

As for her daughter, she barely spoke, as if she'd just come with her mother.

After sending them away, Chu Mingcheng took out a cigarette and gave one to the security guard. He didn't usually smoke, but he kept some on hand.

"Uncle, do you know the man who was arrested yesterday?"

The security guard took the cigarette and put it behind his ear. "I don't really know him, but I often see him come to the pier to buy fish."

"I heard people talking yesterday. They said that man is not a good person. He basically spends all the money he makes on himself outside and doesn't care about his family."

Just a few words, and Chu Mingcheng understood why the daughter's attitude was so strange. It was clear she wasn't close to this so-called father.

In the past, the social atmosphere was heavily patriarchal. If this family only had this one daughter, then it was clear that the mother and daughter had lived a very hard life.

But these things had nothing to do with Chu Mingcheng. After the fuel truck came and filled up the tank, he set sail.

The fuel cost over seven thousand yuan, which made him feel a little pained. Chu Mingcheng decided that he didn't care if his brothers had seafood to eat or not—he had to earn back the fuel cost first.

As for the bait and crushed ice, a few hundred yuan was acceptable.

As the boat sailed on the sea, Chu Mingcheng found that the weather today was somewhat strange.

The pier had been clear and sunny.

After sailing for an hour, the sky was covered with dark clouds, and it started raining heavily.

But in the distance, on the sea to his front right, the sun was shining, presenting beautiful blue scenery.

Storms on the sea were like this—catching people off guard.

If he could always know the weather and wind conditions on the sea, then even a small boat like his could venture to the open ocean.

Some experienced fishermen often took small boats to the open sea, as the fish resources there were more abundant.

Chu Mingcheng would check the fish finder from time to time. If he found an isolated island or a hidden reef on the sea surface, he would go to the vicinity to take a look.

After sailing for another half hour, he finally found significant fish activity near an isolated island.

From the fish finder, there were quite a lot of fish, but they weren't too big, so Chu Mingcheng decided to fish for a while first to get some live bait.

He circled the isolated island and was surprised to find that there was a coral reef next to the island.

This was a good spot. Places with coral reefs usually have more valuable groupers and lobsters.

But the water was a bit shallow, so it was hard to say anything about the groupers.

And he couldn't fish here. He planned to go to another spot to fish for a while first. When the time was right, he would go down and see if there were any lobsters, so he could catch them for dinner.