A Young Woman's Heart

"Where is Wanyan?" She looked at Li Wanyan again.

With a pale face, Li Wanyan slowly shook her head, then pointed to another basket and said softly, "Did Yaoyao forget to bring bait?"

"Oh...right."

"Xiao Yao~ Do you know how to use a fishing rod?" Mo Xiaoxiao asked with a light laugh.

"Not really, what about Xiaoxiao?"

"This is a relatively simple fishing rod. I know how to use it. I just need to thread the line through it. The float and everything else are already attached."

"Oh... what about the bait? This bait seems to be loose."

"You need to add water, then knead it," Mo Xiaoxiao demonstrated.

"Ugh, what a disgusting feeling." Mo Xueyao couldn't help but think of some kind of human excrement.

"Pfft, it's just the color."

"It doesn't feel very good to the touch... Silver, you do it!"

"What? Why should I do it?" Hua Yinyin complained. "Little Yaoyao did it herself!"

Finally, the two of them worked together, with a feeling of disgust yet amusement, to mix the water-soaked bait evenly.

Then she took out a small ball of fish, hung it on the hook, and finally, imitating Mo Xiaoxiao, tossed it high into the sea.

As for whether you can catch any fish... well, that depends on fate.

Because Mo Xueyao couldn't even tell whether the fish had taken the bait or not.

This seems to be something that can only be done purely by feeling?

Fishing can actually be a bit boring.

Fortunately, the fishing rod could be hung directly on the railing, so Mo Xueyao could just leisurely drink cola and enjoy the scenery.

"The sea is all the same, it feels a bit lifeless," Hua Yinyin suddenly said in a low voice.

"Where is the silence? There are so many fish on the surface of the sea."

"I mean, it's like civilization is coming to an end... there are other creatures that still exist, but humans no longer exist."

"So, what's wrong? Why did you suddenly have this thought?"

"This scene moved me deeply," Hua Yinyin shook her head. "Hmm—I want to draw an illustration!"

Did you bring your tools?

“Of course, for an artist, basic painting tools are always carried with them!” Hua Yinyin smiled proudly, unzipped her bag, and took out a small drawing board.

For ease of carrying and use, she brought colored pencils and oil pastels.

Mo Xueyao watched as the image slowly took shape from its initial outline, as if she were witnessing a world being gradually constructed—a subtle and magical feeling.

"Xiaoyao, it seems like your fish has taken the bait. Aren't you going to reel it in?" Mo Xiaoxiao reminded her at the right moment.

"Oh! Really!?"

……

Chapter 46 Sea Fishing (Part 2)

On the other side of the cruise ship, Mr. Xue was quietly fishing, with Duanmu Ji sitting beside him.

However, his mind was clearly not on fishing, because his gaze kept drifting towards Mo Xueyao.

Mr. Xue ignored his strange behavior and continued fishing with great concentration. He also seemed to speak very little when no one was talking to him.

Two boys, each with different reasons but both somewhat reserved, sat together, creating a quiet yet natural atmosphere.

"Splash—" Mr. Xue suddenly cast his line and caught a sea fish, which was only the size of his palm. After examining it carefully, he threw it back into the sea.

Duanmu Ji glanced at him sideways, then looked back at the sea. After a long while, he asked, "How did it get lost?"

"Too small."

"You don't like it?"

"Haha, no, that's not it." Mr. Xue chuckled, his rosy lips revealing pearly white teeth that seemed to glow in the sunlight. "The fish is too small; it's better to release it."

"So that all the fish aren't caught?"

"Yes."

Duanmu Ji grinned, it was hard to tell whether he was being sarcastic or mocking: "There are so many fish in the sea, how could we possibly catch them all?"

"Resources are not inexhaustible; even renewable marine resources must be used in moderation."

"Then it's no use if you try your best alone."

"Don't refrain from doing good just because it's a small thing." Mr. Xue patiently advised, "If everyone is conscious of this, then resources can be used indefinitely, benefiting future generations."

"...That's impossible." Duanmu Ji felt he was joking.

"So, that's the direction we should strive for."

"What efforts?"

“We should strive to make everyone aware of this,” Mr. Xue laughed. “However, it’s certainly not that easy to actually do, so let’s start with ourselves.”

Duanmu Ji moved the fishing rod slightly, but the hook was empty; the bait had disappeared without him noticing.

But not long after, Mr. Xue caught a big fish—about the size of his two palms. Although it wasn't particularly big, it was a mature fish, so he threw it into the fish basket next to him.

Duanmu Ji secretly wanted to compete with him, but he couldn't catch any fish no matter what he did. Occasionally he would catch a few small fish, but when he saw Mr. Xue's smiling face, he would helplessly throw them back.

Actually, if you look closely, everyone is a beginner; not many people can actually catch fish.

Only Mr. Xue and Mo Xiaoxiao are quite good at this...

Moreover, Mr. Xue is clearly more skilled at sea fishing than the latter—the fish in the basket can attest to that.

Duanmu Ji directly wanted to compete with the best fisherman among the students, but all he gained was setbacks.

Wang Jiale leaned on Lu Bolun's shoulder, leisurely looking at the sea. They were the only couple among the students, and their sweetness at that moment filled many people with envy and jealousy.

"Hurry up and pull it up!" Wang Jiale suddenly shouted, pointing at the sea. "It's definitely taken the bait!"

"Splash—" Lu Bolun obediently reeled in the fishing line, but the bait was intact and there was no fish on the hook.

"No."

"Oh well...bad luck."

"Hey, Lele, don't give orders randomly."

"What do you mean by giving random orders! Do you even know anything about this?"

"Cough! That can't be that fast."

"You've been waiting too long, what if he runs away?"

"But we still can't catch any fish this way—"

"How dare you question me? Humph, so what if I failed a few times? Failure is the mother of success!"

"..." Luberon was speechless.

Gao Yuan, who was standing nearby, chuckled and nudged Li Hongran's arm, saying in a low voice, "See, having a girlfriend isn't all that fun."

"Pshaw, you never see them being happy."

"Damn it, let's talk this out. Stop making dirty jokes all the time, okay?"

"What did I say?" Li Hongran casually fiddled with her fishing rod. "Your own thoughts are filthy, yet you blame others."

"Sigh, look at you, do you still want to find a girlfriend? You can't reason with women at all."

“I do want to, anyway, she listens to me when we're in bed.” Li Hongran raised an eyebrow.

"Damn it, you're doing it again."

"Didn't I learn it from you?"

Students who have never fished before often want to give it a try, but after a few failed attempts, they lose interest.

For example, Aya Akimoto raised her hands and shouted, "Teacher, can we go swimming?"

Compared to the shore, this is a truly deep area.

“There shouldn’t be anything nearby, so going down isn’t out of the question, but… Qiu Yi, keep an eye on her.” Ye Wen winked at Qiu Yi. “Also, make sure she’s tied to the rope when she goes down, so she doesn’t drown.”

“Okay!” Aya Akimoto nodded happily.

Apart from her, no one else wanted to go swimming.

The deck is quite a distance from the sea surface, and even standing on it, one feels a strange fear of the unfathomable depths below.

After tying the ropes, Aya Akimoto did some warm-up exercises and then jumped down. Akimoto watched from the side, along with a sailor from the ship.

This is to prevent accidents, so that we can go down to provide rescue if necessary.

Logically speaking, for safety reasons, students should not be allowed to go into the sea, but Ye Wen was soft-hearted and granted her this small wish.

And under normal circumstances, there shouldn't be any problems.

"Puff-"

"Wow--"

"Who jumped into the sea?"

"Akimoto Aya—you scared all our fish away!" Wang Jiale shouted, complaining, though he was joking, of course.

“Yes, yes,” the others echoed with smiles.

"Then I'll catch a few for you~!" Aya Akimoto said, and actually dived into the sea.

Qiu Yi stared nervously at the rope, calculating the time carefully. If she didn't surface, she would forcefully pull her up.

However, Aya Akimoto wasn't so reckless. She had a good understanding of her diving abilities and surfaced again after a short while. Judging from her ease and skill in the water, it was clear that she wasn't a novice swimmer in such a sea.