Chapter 22: The TikTok Fishing Cup

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Blondie Little Handsome: Just one episode? Who’s going to watch that? If the foreigner next door sees it, they’ll think I’m looking down on them. Make another episode, one for everyone in the group!

Ma Xiaodongdong: Stop posting. This is a serious fishing group chat. If you keep posting, Brother Fan, the group owner, might get in trouble.

Blondie Little Handsome: Nose-picking emoji.

Young Master Zhou: Hey everyone, check this out! The Douyin Fishing Cup is going to be held in Sanya City on the first of next month? Is this for real?

Blondie Little Handsome: You just found out? I saw it a few days ago.

Ma Xiaodongdong: Sanya City is only a little over a hundred kilometers away, just an hour or two by car. Shall we give it a try?

Blondie Little Handsome: Then a bunch of big shots will go. Are we just cannon fodder?

Young Master Zhou: We catch dozens of pounds a day too. Honestly, we’re not worse than those masters!

Blondie Little Handsome: Hearing you say that, maybe it’s not impossible...

Suddenly, Zhou Hong, Blondie, and Ma Dongdong thought of something and frantically tagged Jiang Fan, calling him “Dad” repeatedly.

Young Master Zhou: @Jiang Fan Dad! Need bait!

Blondie Little Handsome: @Jiang Fan Dad! I’ve never asked anyone for help my whole life! Just this once—can I sell my soul for bait to enter the competition?

Ma Xiaodongdong: ▷︎|ııı|ıı|||ı|ı|ıı|ııı|ıı11” (Dad! Always asking you for things without saying thanks, only after growing up did I understand how hard it is for you.)

Jiang Fan: ...Are you three really that starved for fatherly love?

Young Master Zhou: Awkward smile.jpg Brother Fan, the Douyin Fishing Cup is being held in Sanya City, and the first prize is one million. Aren’t you going to join?

Jiang Fan: What Douyin Fishing Cup???

Blondie Little Handsome: //: Douyin Fishing Cup.link

Blondie Little Handsome: This one, Brother Fan, the four of us go together!

Ma Xiaodongdong: No beating around the bush, Dad! Your son wants to buy bait from you—five packs! @Jiang Fan

Jiang Fan clicked the link and browsed through the so-called “Douyin Fishing Cup.” It really was an official Douyin competition, held in Sanya City, with a first prize of one million yuan, second prize fifty thousand, third thirty thousand...

Participant requirements: Anyone can register (Note: After successful registration, professionals will shortlist candidates based on personal Douyin followers, videos, and expertise. Those selected will advance to the next round.)

After reading this, Jiang Fan took a screenshot and sent it to Zhou Hong and the others.

Jiang Fan: Screenshot.jpg

Jiang Fan: You don’t get to compete on site just by signing up; there’s a preliminary selection.

Young Master Zhou: Oh damn! They’re looking at follower counts? I only have a few hundred followers—what’s the point?

Blondie Little Handsome: Haha, I have over twenty thousand followers!

Ma Xiaodongdong: ...I have just over a thousand! Slim chance!

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Jiang Fan: It’s not impossible to try. Maybe we’ll pass the preliminaries?

Young Master Zhou: Brother Fan’s right, I’ll register first out of respect!

Blondie Little Handsome: Registration success screenshot.jpg

Ma Xiaodongdong: Wait for me! I’m verifying my identity!

...

Jiang Fan also registered and then put down his phone.

He only had these three followers on Douyin, so his chance to pass the preliminaries was slim, but if he made it, that one million would be a gift.

Just then, an Audi A6 stopped outside.

No need to guess—it was the determined Shen Zhiling arriving.

“Hey, you two, weren’t you supposed to attend the class reunion? How come you’re already eating at home?”

Shen Zhiling frowned as soon as she entered, knowing they had already eaten dinner.

Jiang Fan looked up. “How can hotel food compare to my wife’s cooking?”

Shen Zhiling rolled her eyes to the heavens. “Heh. Proud to have your wife cook? And you make her wash the dishes? Ha! I’m embarrassed for you!”

Liu Ruyan, having finished washing the dishes, immediately said, “I’m happy to do it!”

Shen Zhiling: “...”

Liu Ruyan frowned slightly. “Zhiling, you’re not allowed to talk about Jiang Fan like that. If you say more, I won’t let you come again.”

Shen Zhiling was speechless beyond words and too tired to argue.

Mostly, she knew she couldn’t win against Jiang Fan and feared another awkward moment.

“Alright, alright. Hurry up. Qiyan and the others are waiting for us—don’t keep them waiting too long.”

Soon, Jiang Fan, Liu Ruyan, and Shen Zhiling got into Shen Zhiling’s Audi A6 and headed to a large restaurant in Yuanshan Town.

Liu Ruyan had no interest in the reunion; if Jiang Fan hadn’t suggested going out, she wouldn’t have come.

After all, they’d been married over a year but hardly gone out together. Today, they treated it as a chance to relax.

By the time the three arrived at the meeting spot, it was already 8:30 p.m.

Inside a private room at the hotel sat three people.

Two men and one woman—the man on the far left was Liu Qiyan, the campus heartthrob of Tiandu University.

The other man was Liu Qiyan’s sidekick, Xu An.

The woman was a friend from their circle, Lin Jing.

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When Jiang Fan, Liu Ruyan, and Shen Zhiling entered, Liu Qiyan was chatting animatedly with Xu An and Lin Jing.

Seeing the three of them, Liu Qiyan immediately stood up, flashing a 105-degree smile. “You finally made it!”

He smiled and reached out to shake Liu Ruyan’s hand. “Ruyan, I didn’t believe Zhiling when she said you work in Yuanshan Town. But here you are—I came to Yuanshan just to meet you all. How have you been since graduation?”

Suddenly, a figure appeared beside Liu Ruyan and shook his hand.

It was Jiang Fan. “We’re all doing well. Senior Liu, how about you?”

Liu Qiyan felt Jiang Fan’s big hand and looked puzzled. “You, you are...?”

“Jiang Fan, university classmate, now Ruyan’s husband.”

“Haha, I almost forgot. So you’re Brother Jiang Fan. Come, come, all three of you sit down.”

They all sat and began eating and chatting.

Jiang Fan and Liu Ruyan had already eaten but nibbled occasionally, mostly listening.

Liu Qiyan was particularly talkative, dominating the conversation.

From university life to post-graduation experiences, then work...

Whenever excited, he flashed that 105-degree smile, trying to look cool, then glanced at Liu Ruyan, Shen Zhiling, and Lin Jing.

Anyone unaware might think he’d lost his mind.

“Speaking of work, Brother Jiang Fan, what do you do after graduation?”

Actually, Liu Qiyan knew Jiang Fan was unemployed and just loafing at home, so he asked deliberately.

Jiang Fan shrugged. “Me? Profession: Capitalist Terminator.”

Shen Zhiling chuckled. “Heh, sounds nice. Isn’t that just lying around at home unemployed?”

She ignored Jiang Fan and turned to Liu Qiyan.

“So, Senior Qiyan, when we came in, we heard you, the great adventurer, talking about exploration. What interesting stories? Tell Ruyan and me.”

At this, Liu Qiyan flashed his 105-degree smile again.

“You mean today’s expedition with the national exploration team into the Water Curtain Cave?”

“Not much happened, just this morning. Our group of six went inside and suddenly encountered a lost fisherman. That guy was reckless, fishing in a place like the Water Curtain Cave.”

“If I hadn’t found him, he’d probably have died inside like those two amateur explorers last year.”