Chapter 60: The Kid is Bewitched

Chapter 60: Chapter 60: The Kid is Bewitched

"Wow, Sister Qing’s luck is insane."

"That was a little too fast. Has her hook even been in the water for a minute?"

"Not even thirty seconds! That’s insane!"

"As a seasoned angler, I can confirm: fishing is a superstitious art, and a beginner’s luck can be infuriatingly good!"

After that, it was as if Gu Qingyin had activated a cheat code, pulling up one fish after another. She caught three in ten minutes.

Huo Xinghai couldn’t help but wonder, ’Was my teaching really that good?’

The production team, on the other hand, was in a full-blown panic. They couldn’t just let her keep fishing like this! The director and planners held an emergency meeting, and five minutes later, they revoked Gu Qingyin’s right to fish any further.

Gu Qingyin was, of course, not happy. "I was just starting to have fun. If you won’t let me play until I’m happy, what kind of vacation is this?"

The director played his trump card. "I can give you a special privilege."

Gu Qingyin raised an eyebrow. "Let’s hear it."

"If you stop fishing now, when we tally the results tonight, the other two teams will have to give ten percent of their earnings to your team."

The director’s words were immediately met with an objection from Lin Xiaoyun. "On what grounds?"

Lin Tian and Lin Xian said nothing, but their brows furrowed as well. They hadn’t caught a single fish yet, and now they were expected to give away ten percent of their earnings in advance.

The director smiled. "If you disagree, we can just let Gu Qingyin keep fishing."

Lin Xiaoyun was left speechless. It would be one thing if Gu Qingyin stopped catching fish, but if she kept on like this, the competition would be over before it even began.

Considering Gu Qingyin’s current lucky streak, it was impossible to imagine her not catching a single other fish.

Lin Tian and Lin Xian also had a look of sudden realization. At first glance, it seemed they were at a disadvantage, but when they thought it through, they were actually the ones getting the better deal!

"Fine! If Sister Qing agrees, we’re okay with it."

Lin Xiaoyun adjusted the hair at her temples and discreetly nudged Huo Zhao Hua. He pursed his lips, then nodded. "We don’t have any objections, either."

Gu Qingyin pouted. ’The director is such a schemer,’ she thought. But if she refused, she really would look like a bully.

"So if I’m not fishing, what am I supposed to do? I can’t just stand here and zone out, can I?"

The director’s eyes lit up. "You can be in charge of supervision, make sure they don’t cheat! You can also be the hype squad, cheering them on!"

’That sounds so redundant.’

Gu Qingyin couldn’t resist rolling her eyes. Her desire to just go on strike reached its peak.

"Or you could be their coach. After all, the more fish they catch, the bigger your cut," the director proposed.

"Hm? Now that sounds a bit interesting." Gu Qingyin looked from side to side before finally turning to Lin Tian, full of confidence. "I’ll teach you how to fish!"

Lin Tian was deeply moved and full of hope. "I don’t expect to be as amazing as you. Half as good would be... no! I’d be happy with just one-third of your skill!"

"No problem!" Gu Qingyin, full of fighting spirit, began her hands-on instruction.

To be honest, her teaching was far more detailed than how Huo Xinghai had taught her. But whether Lin Tian just wasn’t born with a knack for it, or if her hands and brain simply weren’t in sync, she just couldn’t learn, no matter how she was taught.

When it came to baiting the hook, her hands trembled so much she couldn’t manage it. It was already hot out, and Lin Tian grew so flustered her face flushed red, with beads of sweat forming on the tip of her nose.

Gu Qingyin took one deep breath after another, reminding herself not to get angry. ’She’s just a kid, she still has room to grow.’

"Are you scared?"

Lin Tian froze. Pursing her lips, her eyes already rimmed with red, she mumbled, "A little."

Gu Qingyin sighed. "Let me bait the hook for you. But when it’s time to actually fish, you’re on your own."

Lin Tian was moved beyond words. "Sister Qing!"

Gu Qingyin handed the baited rod back to her. "Cast it out. You know how to do that, right?"

Lin Tian nodded vigorously, gripped the rod with both hands, found her stance, and gave it a mighty swing!

The hook didn’t fly out as she’d intended. Instead, it swung in a circle around her, nearly snagging Gu Qingyin’s head before wobbling unsteadily toward the water’s surface.

It all happened in an instant. Lin Tian didn’t even have time to react. When she realized she had almost hooked Gu Qingyin, she was so scared that tears instantly started streaming down her face.

"Sister Qing!"

Gu Qingyin glanced at her calmly. "It didn’t catch me, did it?" ’Even if the hook had been several times faster,’ she thought, ’it wouldn’t have come close to hitting me.’

"Stop crying and hold the rod." Gu Qingyin patted her head. "You’ll get a fish on the line soon."

Perhaps it was Gu Qingyin’s extremely nonchalant demeanor that calmed Lin Tian’s frantic heart. She wiped away her tears and asked between sobs, "Do I... do I pull the line now?"

Gu Qingyin went over and, hand over hand, showed her how to reel in the line, only letting go once she was sure Lin Tian understood.

At first, Lin Tian thought it seemed easy enough. But the moment Gu Qingyin let go, her expression changed. ’How did it suddenly get so heavy?!’

Lin Tian was a girl idol; the most strenuous exercise she ever did was dance practice. When had she ever done this kind of manual labor?

Exposed to the wind and sun, forced to use all her strength... and worst of all, she was so bad at it that she’d almost hurt someone.

Guilt, frustration, and the anxiety of not knowing whether she could even catch a fish all combined to make Lin Tian extremely tense.

As time passed, her state grew stranger and stranger. Her eyes were rimmed with red as she stared unblinkingly at the surface of the sea, her hands pulling mechanically at the fishing line with a numb sort of persistence.

"Tian Tian?" Gu Qingyin had just returned from talking to Huo Xinghai when she noticed something was wrong. Lin Tian looked as if she were in a trance—what people colloquially called being bewitched.

Traditionally, being ’bewitched’ this way refers to sleep paralysis, but in the world of metaphysics, the term’s scope is much broader.

In a situation like Lin Tian’s, the person is awake but cannot control their body. They’re completely frozen yet totally unaware of what’s happening to them.

Lin Tian couldn’t turn her head to look at her, but she was no longer as rigid as a moment ago. Her lips were moving, whispering something.

Her voice was quiet, and the sea wind was strong, so Gu Qingyin couldn’t hear clearly. She had to lean in close, hoping to catch a few words to identify the girl’s fixation and break her out of the trance.

Not until Gu Qingyin had leaned most of her body over, her ear nearly pressed against Lin Tian’s lips, did the broken words finally reach her, carried on the wind.

"Fishing... reel the line... fishing... reel the line..."

Lin Tian kept repeating those two phrases, her obsession on full display.

Gu Qingyin was momentarily baffled. ’Fishing? This is Lin Tian’s first time fishing, isn’t it? Can an obsession form that quickly?’

She couldn’t help but reflect, ’Was I too strict when I was teaching her? Did I scare the poor kid? No, that can’t be it! I definitely kept my temper in check!’

Now that she knew what the fixation was, there was nothing to fear. ’Fishing? That’s simple enough!’

But when Gu Qingyin went to take the fishing rod from Lin Tian’s hands, she found the young woman had it in a death grip; she’d have to break her fingers to get it loose.

Gu Qingyin was speechless. ’Alright, then. The girl’s pretty stubborn. She insists on fishing herself.’

Gu Qingyin glanced toward the water, contemplating the possibility of jumping in to personally bless the bait.