CH 13

Chapter 13: Rare Giant Cat Shark

Yang Xiaolong didn’t dare to be careless. While he loosened the line reel, he stepped forward with a lunge, feeling somewhat nervous despite already knowing it was a big catch.

“Brother Long, are you okay?”

“I’m…I’m fine.” Yang Xiaolong didn’t expect Jing Tian to be so fierce. But if it weren’t for her quick reaction just now, he might have lost the several hundred yuan fishing rod.

As he breathed a sigh of relief, Jing Tian realized that their posture was a bit awkward and blushed, staying motionless.

Yang Xiaolong regained his senses and, though separated by clothing, he could still feel a softness on her chest, causing his heart to flutter.

The lure had been pulled to the extreme, and the top of the rod bent to a ninety-degree angle. This couldn’t continue, so he quickly rotated the line reel again. The cat shark was really fierce, dragging the octopus for about ten meters.

Jing Tian hugged him tightly, moving as he moved, and the two of them seemed to become one as they struggled with the fish.

After more than ten minutes, Yang Xiaolong’s hand was a bit cramped, and he couldn’t exert any more force.

“Jing Tian, come forward. I can hardly hold on anymore.”

“Okay.”

Jing Tian turned around from behind and took over the fishing rod in his hand.

“Ah!”

The force in her hand was too great, and Jing Tian was almost knocked into the boat rail. Fortunately, Yang Xiaolong reacted quickly and used his hand to help block her in advance. The force was so great that her hand was scraped off by the metal.

“How are you doing?”

“It’s okay, I don’t know how to use this type of fishing rod,”

“I’ll do it,” Yang Xiaolong said as he shook his wrist. He had used too much force earlier, but now he had eased up.

Taking the fishing rod again, the cat shark in the water was much weaker after being dragged multiple times. Yang Xiaolong quickly reeled in the line while sliding towards the edge of the boat. He couldn’t let the shark recover, or it would be a difficult task.

After a few minutes of dragging, the cat shark appeared on the surface of the water.

“Cat shark, it’s actually a cat shark!” Jing Tian shouted excitedly, unable to contain her joy.

“Quick, get the net ready.”

“Okay,” Jing Tian left from behind him, turned around, and tightly gripped the net in her hand.

“Slow down a bit, don’t let it drag you down,” Yang Xiaolong reminded her as he lifted the fish up.

Jing Tian nodded. The cat shark was not small, especially with its long tail, and it was a bit difficult to fit it into the net.

“Let’s count to three and lift it up together.”

“1, 2, 3, go.”

The two of them worked together and finally managed to lift it up. Exhausted, Yang Xiaolong sat down on the deck, sweat dripping down his face.

By this time, the sky had already started turning white,  Uncle San heard the noise and walked over.

“Jing girl, I heard you shouting just now. Did something happen?”

“No, Uncle San, look!” Jing Tian happily bounced and jumped. It was the first time she had caught such a big fish.

Uncle San approached to take a look, and saw a cat shark lying on the deck with its belly exposed and the hook still not removed.

“You guys caught this?” he asked.

“Yeah, we did,” Jing Tian replied.

“Wow, impressive!” Uncle San gave them a thumbs up.

As they spoke, others came over to join in the fun and were amazed at the sight of the cat shark.

Yang Xiaolong breathed a sigh of relief and was about to put the shark in the live fish compartment after removing the hook from its mouth. Suddenly, the shark’s tail hit him hard on the face with a loud “smack.”

“Ouch!”

“Damn it!”

Yang Xiaolong threw the shark to the side, his eyes stinging and sore from the hit.

“Are you okay?” Jing Tian went up to him and handed him a tissue from her pocket. “Here, wipe it off.”

Jing Er, the second uncle, grinned with his yellow teeth, “Yang, this thing holds a grudge. Be careful when you sleep tonight.”

“Jing, don’t talk nonsense, let’s get back to work,” Uncle San scolded, and the group left with laughter. In fact, people on the coast knew that cat sharks could hit people, but only Yang Xiaolong, who was inexperienced and foolish, dared to hold it directly.

The first night at sea passed, and in a few more hours, they could start hauling the nets. Yang Xiaolong hadn’t slept all night and was ready to take a nap in the rest room. Jing Tian was still excited and snapped a picture to post on her social media before rushing off to make breakfast.

The people on the boat were idle and saw that Yang Xiaolong and Jing Tian had caught a lot of fish overnight, making them envious. They grabbed their fishing rods and squatted neatly on the deck, stretching their necks like cormorants, eager to go down and feel for fish.

Jing Er had been casting for half an hour straight and his arm was sore. Except for catching an octopus, he had caught nothing.

The others were in the same boat, only catching small fish and shrimp.

“Third Brother, what kind of luck did Xiaolong and Jing Tian have last night? They caught a lot of fish in one night,” Jing Er threw his fishing rod aside and took a puff of smoke.

“Yeah, Xiaolong looks like a newbie, and I’ve never seen Jing Tian catch fish before.”

“Hey, who knows,” the people at the bow of the boat were puzzled and discussing. Although they were all old fishermen, they usually caught fish with nets and were novices at fishing. Thus, someone who could catch fish was not necessarily good at fishing.

Yang Xiaolong was unaware of their thoughts. He woke up after a nap and it was almost 9 o’clock in the morning, and he was already hungry.

Opening his eyes, Jing Tian was on the phone with someone. There was cooked rice in the electric cooker, and he served himself a bowl and ate it by himself. He had never realized that instant noodles could be so delicious.

“Beep~”

“While eating, Ocean No. 1 restarted, they should be preparing to pull up the net.

Jing Tian’s phone call ended, she had a happy expression.

“Brother Long, is it enough? If not, I can make more for you.”

“It’s enough, it’s enough.”

Yang Xiaolong noticed that Jing Tian’s gaze towards him was a bit strange.

“Jing Tian, is there something on my face?”

“Mmm,” she nodded, but then seemed to realize that it wasn’t right and shook her head.

Yang Xiaolong was a bit confused by her reaction and wiped his face with his hand.

“Ouch!” The pain in his eye made him suck in a breath of cold air. He took out his phone to take a look and saw that half of his face was red and swollen, as if he had been punched.

Seeing him like this, Jing Tian wanted to laugh but was afraid of being impolite, so her face turned bright red.

“Brother Long, thank you for last night.”

“Don’t mention it, I should be the one thanking you. If it wasn’t for you acting quickly and hugging me…”

At this point, Yang Xiaolong suddenly realized that he was saying something inappropriate and stopped.

Jing Tian had already lowered her head, rubbing her clothes corners with her hands, her face as red as an apple. The atmosphere became a bit awkward for a while.

“Xiaolong, come over and prepare, it’s time to trawl.”

“Oh, okay.”

Just as the two of them didn’t know what to say, Uncle San’s loud voice called out to them.

“I’ll go over first, ah.”

“Okay,” Jing Tian’s voice was as soft as a mosquito’s.

Yang Xiaolong didn’t linger and quickly got up to run towards the bow of the ship. Jing Tian looked at his back, feeling a bit strange in her heart. After muttering to herself, “What am I thinking?” she followed him.