Fishing is an activity

"Why are you back again?" Chen Sheng couldn't help but rise to his feet as he saw the familiar figure appear at his office door.

Leaning against the doorframe was a bright-eyed, lively young girl. Watching Chen Sheng's obvious emotional shift, she let her lips curl into a slight smile. "I'm worried you might get lost, so I came to pick you up!"

"Go on, go on."

Chen Sheng had to resist the urge to roll his eyes. What kind of ridiculous reason was that?

As if he could get lost?

Still, despite himself, Chen Sheng felt a touch of happiness at Yu Youxin's arrival. He walked to the door and asked, "Did you forget something at the hospital?"

He was confident in his own expertise; it couldn't be that this little girl had fallen ill again.

"No, I just came to keep my promise!" she replied.

Chen Sheng paused, then remembered what she'd said as she left: "Come back and visit often?"

"That's right!" Yu Youxin smiled, her eyes narrowing charmingly.

"Well, now you’ve visited. And then?" Chen Sheng was at a loss for words. This girl was as unreliable as ever. No wonder she'd sent him that rope for no apparent reason.

Even though she'd never admitted it, Chen Sheng was certain it was her. She'd given him that healing game, so naturally she would know what was inside it. Getting someone to buy a rope similar to the "beginner’s equipment" in the game and sending it to him fit her style perfectly.

"Old Chen, let me take you somewhere nice to eat." Yu Youxin chirped, and with a light hop, she was behind Chen Sheng, placing her small hands on his shoulders. Like a child playing at being a train, she started pushing him out.

"Wait, my shift isn’t over yet!" With the scent of her perfume lingering in the air, Chen Sheng hurried to protest. Real life was real life, and a game was a game. He might be bold in that healing game, but he’d never dare act so recklessly in reality.

"Don’t worry, no one will say a thing."

"Even if no one says anything, that won’t do," Chen Sheng shook his head. Besides, he was on duty tonight.

"Someone will cover your shift!"

"Who?" Chen Sheng asked reflexively, only to see his supervisor, Cao Dahuo, walk over and say, "I’ll cover your shift tonight, Old Chen."

As he spoke, Cao Dahuo gave Chen Sheng a knowing wink and discreetly made an "OK" gesture with his hand.

Chen Sheng was speechless.

The meaning behind Cao Dahuo’s look and gesture was clear: I'll cover your shift, but you have to get her to introduce me to a girlfriend!

Sometimes, the unspoken understanding between men was just this inexplicable.

So Chen Sheng quickly took two steps forward, drew near Cao Dahuo, and whispered, "There’s nothing between me and her."

"Do you believe that yourself?" Cao Dahuo shot him a glance, his tone full of contempt.

"I do." Even if he didn’t, as long as others were around, he had to put on a resolutely serious face.

Chen Sheng kept a stern expression.

Cao Dahuo puffed out his round belly, still unimpressed. "Well, do you want me to cover your shift or not?"

"Thank you!"

After expressing his gratitude, Chen Sheng turned and left at once.

He had barely walked a few steps before glancing at the girl who had already caught up with him. "Where are we going?"

"I’ll tell you once we’re in the car."

But when Chen Sheng got in and asked again, he received the answer—"I’ll tell you when we get there."

Tell me when we get there? What’s the point, then!

Chen Sheng was helpless, but he kept his usual impassive expression, taking the opportunity to survey the car’s interior.

Driving was a man in a black suit, silent from the moment Chen Sheng got in. He seemed the picture of a professionally trained chauffeur for a wealthy family.

As for the car… well, Chen Sheng had no idea what make it was.

He didn’t know many cars. Perhaps it was because he’d always been absorbed in his studies, or maybe because of his meager finances. He’d encountered a lot of things his peers were interested in and knew well, but most of them hadn’t stuck.

Take basketball, for example—Chen Sheng knew how it was played, but his only involvement in games was buying lottery tickets.

The two-yuan kind.

He’d never cared for any basketball star.

The same went for cars. He had one, but unlike others who treated theirs like a beloved spouse, his was just a means of transportation. Naturally, his knowledge of cars was extremely limited.

So, Chen Sheng turned his gaze to the window.

Outside, the city’s nightscape flashed by in vibrant hues, but the car moved deeper into darkness, the surroundings becoming ever more remote. Chen Sheng couldn’t help but glance at the girl beside him.

Seeing his look, Yu Youxin, who had been sitting quietly, immediately leaned over with a mischievous grin, tilting her face. "Chen, are you worried that an old man like you might be eaten by me?"

"Drop the ‘old,’ will you? Thanks." Chen Sheng’s eye twitched. He was only approaching thirty—not even there yet! Far from the age of midlife resignation!

"Oh, Chen, are you worried that a man like you might be eaten by me?" she repeated obligingly.

Chen Sheng: "…"

Was that the "old" he meant for her to drop?

He knew perfectly well she was doing it on purpose, so he could only ask, "This road only leads to a small lotus pond, doesn’t it? Are you planning to go fishing?"

"That’s not a small pond—it’s a big river," Yu Youxin replied, giving him a strange look.

"A river? You think I don’t know?"

Chen Sheng chuckled.

Many years ago, it truly had been a river, but the water level had dropped, leaving just a small lotus pond.

He knew this well, because the stone tablet inscribed with a strange exercise method had been fished up from that very spot—back when it was still a river.

After mastering the technique, he’d gone back, only to find the river was gone, leaving just a pond. The place was so remote and the roads so rough that even fishermen avoided it; in fact, you could go for miles without seeing a soul.

Just then, the car came to a stop.

"Already? That’s fast!" Chen Sheng was surprised. It would normally take him at least two hours to drive here, plus another hour and a half on foot.

Puzzled, Chen Sheng couldn't resist opening the door and peering outside—only to see the rippling surface of water glimmering in the darkness.

At the same time, the gentle sound of waves reached his ears.

Chen Sheng was stunned.

It truly was a great river—and right there, upon its waters, he could make out the silhouettes of small boats. Unless his eyes were deceiving him, those boats looked suspiciously like the black-canopied vessels that had vanished from these parts many years ago.