Seeing Han Cheng already bagging the pupae, Lu Aotian, with his arms crossed and a swagger in his step, strode forward. Only then did he see that Ji Nuo’s face was as red as a monkey’s butt, as if he might keel over from heatstroke any second.
He considered himself a good boss. For his stinky little underling, he couldn’t always just rain thunder without some dew. So his usual gruff, boasting tone took a turn, switching to a softer version: “Aren’t you two hot?”
Ji Nuo was puzzled: “Yeah, we’re hot.”
That protective suit was stuffy and hot, plus swinging a pickaxe under the blazing sun. Even he felt a bit overwhelmed, silently rejoicing that he had chosen this task first.
Lu Aotian looked speechless: “Then why are you standing under the blazing sun? Get in the car, now!”
With that, he turned his little butt around. Having learned from previous failed attempts to pivot perfectly, Lu Aotian now had a precise grasp of the angle for turning on the spot. He then sped off with flair towards where the bus was parked.
Of course, the cub’s legs were only so long. One step from Ji Nuo or Han Cheng equaled three or four of his, so the family of three quickly returned to the car.
Once they buckled their seatbelts, the minibus departed again for the final checkpoint.
Before even settling in, Lu Aotian complained about the heat and told Han Cheng to roll the windows all the way down. This time, they didn’t have the car-sickness-inducing “biological weapon” Ruirui ahead of them. As the car sped up, the mountain breeze rushed into the vehicle, sweeping away the stuffy heat inside.
Lu Aotian assumed Ji Nuo’s flushed face was solely from wearing the protective suit under the sun, so he wrinkled his little nose and pointed at the towel in Ji Nuo’s hand: “Get a damp towel and wipe your sweat.”
Although it was clearly meant well, the little guy’s slightly disdainful tone and expression made it seem more like he was put off by Ji Nuo’s sweat stench.
Ji Nuo immediately used the remaining half-bottle of water to dampen the towel, wiped his face and neck, and then asked him: “Is there still a smell?”
Lu Aotian’s little lips pouted slightly. After a pause, his tone became even more disdainful: “No! It’s gone!”
The final fishing spot for Cold-Water Catfish was, unexpectedly, very close to the wasp pupa collection site.
After a ten-minute drive, they stopped again. The two adults and one child followed a shallow slope to the fishing spot pre-selected by the production team.
The so-called Cold-Water Catfish the locals referred to was actually a type of Stone Catfish, most adults only growing to the size of two adult fingers.
This fish had extremely high requirements for water quality and temperature and survived by preying on small fish and shrimp. It was exceptionally delicious, with little fishy smell. Because of its rarity, nearby residents usually only caught a few on occasion to stew into soup as a treat. It was sold very rarely on the market, and the price was always high.
Lu Aotian had never held any fondness for fish. Even if the production team hyped this Stone Catfish to the heavens, he had absolutely zero anticipation for the so-called famous dish Chicken Stewed with Fish.
A chicken covered in poop and a fish he could already imagine being fishy—put together, wouldn’t they just stink even more together?
The only thing that cheered him up was that the mountain stream location for fishing was on the shady side. Gusts of mountain wind made it quite cool. He found a large rock and sat down, planning to watch Han Cheng’s performance.
This time, the production team didn’t hire a master. They simply told Han Cheng that the fish were hiding under the rocks in the stream water, provided a simple fishing rod, and the bait was precisely the wasp pupae Ji Nuo had taken from the nest.
Perhaps because this group’s progress was just too fast, a staff member used a megaphone to call back Ji Nuo, who was eager to give it a try: “Little Teacher Ji, this level isn’t yours anymore. Please let Teacher Han complete it independently.”
[23333 Ji Nuo is so anxious, dying to snatch the rod and fish for Han Cheng.]
[So weird. Although it’s always Teacher Han who takes the initiative with Nuonuo, how to say it… the way Nuonuo looks at Teacher Han with that ‘I’m so easy’ expression, it feels like he’s really the one head over heels.]
[Hahahaha, the sister above really knows how to put it! Just that ‘I’m so easy’ face! Blushing and letting himself be at someone’s mercy, tsk tsk. This is on camera; if it weren’t a livestream, would it be, hehehehe…]
[? Flowing Yellow Flag, take this and go!]
Han Cheng looked at Ji Nuo’s still somewhat flushed face, his brows furrowing slightly: “Are you still hot now?”
Ji Nuo, his mind entirely on the fishing, shook his head without quite understanding, then heard Han Cheng ask him: “Not feeling unwell?”
Ji Nuo immediately shook his head: “What could I possibly be uncomfortable about?” After saying that, he even flexed his biceps. These tasks were way too simple for someone who grew up in the countryside like him.
Han Cheng gave a slight nod upon hearing this: “Go sit with Ao’ao in the shade over there first. I’ll be as quick as I can.”
Ji Nuo nodded, though his heart was still worried that Han Cheng hadn’t encountered these things before. The staff member’s megaphone urged again: “Little Teacher Ji?”
Only then did Ji Nuo walk over to the shady spot where Lu Ao’ao was. The little tyke looked at him with a complex expression.
Honestly, when he first sought out Ji Nuo, he thought this person looked like the upright, soft-hearted, and easily manipulable type. But he hadn’t expected him to be this easy to push around. Even without Han Cheng doing the pushing, Ji Nuo practically rushed to be pushed. It was a bit frustrating, like being angry at someone for not striving harder.
After all, in his view, Han Cheng, a mere minor celebrity, was completely unworthy of his—the grand Long Aotian’s—underling debasing himself like this.
On the other side, Han Cheng first baited the hook with a wasp pupa and cast a line. He waited a while. The float did move, but when he reeled it in, it was a tiny, finger-thick miniature trash fish.
[Hahahaha, so small and already out here working?]
[I don’t really get it, but may I ask if this super tiny stream grouper is the legendary Cold-Water Catfish? smug mocking face.jpg]
Bai Yong, remotely directing things, saw this and felt a surge of joy. So after all this, Ji Nuo’s group’s biggest weak link was actually Best Actor Han!
No one was more eager for Han Cheng to fail at fishing than Bai Yong. After all, today’s four tasks weren’t exactly easy for a pampered big star. He had originally expected the guests would be busy until dark, just to scrounge a pitiful collection together.
As for Ji Nuo, the bug in the system, he could be stalled for two hours by the crying, fussing Lu Ao’ao, so it shouldn’t have been too fast either.
But things went against his wishes. After digging the bamboo worms at 11:10, at the start of the second challenge, Lu Ao’ao, with the “help” of the destructive Little Fatty, had smoothly cleared it. By noon, the family of three was already beautifully enjoying a lavish lunch, then took a beautiful nap on the way to the third checkpoint.
Unsurprisingly, Ji Nuo speedran the third checkpoint as well, as if he were a human fast-pass, all checkpoints leading him straight to the express lane.
By the time the family of three arrived at the fourth checkpoint stream to fish for Stone Catfish, it was! Just! 1:15!!!
If things went at Ji Nuo and Lu Ao’ao’s pace, this game would definitely end before 2 o’clock. Speaking of which, it pained him to even think about it: Chicken Stewed with Fish? What luxurious dinner? Just make it afternoon tea for this family!
Thankfully! This group finally had a genuine weakness!
What could be more dramatically effective than a comeback story? A tailspin, of course! And it was the great Best Actor who crashed, just thinking about it was thrilling!
A so-called all-around Best Actor becoming the useless one on a kid variety show, completely carried by his wife and child—this was poles apart from the impression Han Cheng had previously left on the public.
Quite a few people in the livestream were already pouring oil on the Best Actor’s fire. However, since the livestream gathered too many of his fans, the overwhelming majority of the danmaku was still cheering him on and encouraging him.
Bai Yong had schemed and calculated, waiting all this time for this moment. As the wind blew, a slight moisture appeared at the corner of his eye. Making variety shows was really fcking hard.
Just as Bai Yong contacted his assistant to buy a trending topic to make a spectacle of the clumsy Best Actor floundering outdoors, Han Cheng put down his fishing rod and directly stepped into the water to wade into the stream.
Bai Yong immediately added a new phrase: #Han Cheng Throws Down His Rod#.
The water level here wasn’t high, the deepest part barely over twenty centimeters, very safe.
However, Han Cheng stopped before reaching a depth where his shoes would get wet. He flipped over a rock and pinched a river crab smaller than his palm. He caught two before walking back to the shore.
He found a rock, smashed the crabs into pulp, then used grass stems to wrap the meat paste simply in a leaf package, pricking many holes of varying sizes into it. He then tossed it beside a large rock in the middle of the stream.
Bai Yong had a bad premonition and immediately called for a staff member to go ask.
“Teacher Han, what are you doing?”
Han Cheng’s gaze remained fixed on the water below. He replied calmly: “Setting chum.”
The staff member’s eyes immediately filled with stars: “Teacher Han even knows how to fish for Stone Catfish?”
Han Cheng shook his head slightly: “Just trying it out.” After speaking, he glanced at the staff member: “Is there anything else you need to ask?” The fish would scatter if it heard voices.
The staff member immediately said no, and quickly turned and walked away.
Although Han Cheng had no experience fishing for Stone Catfish specifically, he had sea fishing experience. The wasp pupae the production team made them collect was likely the preferred bait for these fish.
However, this fish seemed very timid. Waiting for the small trash fish to stir them into a frenzy might take a long time, so he tried using chum as an experiment.
As expected, the moment the mashed crab meat entered the water, it attracted a large number of small trash fish, disturbing the surface.
These small fish were the Stone Catfish’s most frequent meal. With such a large-scale mobilization, even the timid Stone Catfish couldn’t hold back. They soon poked their heads out from under the rocks, just in time to encounter the wasp pupae Han Cheng cast their way.
The Stone Catfish, timid yet gluttonous, seeing the delicious pupa delivered right to their mouths, immediately ignored the smaller fish. They bit down on the bait as deep as it would go.
Thus, Han Cheng reeled them in one after another. In less than half an hour, he had caught sixteen, the process becoming a continuous assembly line: bait, cast, reel.
Seeing this, Bai Yong’s little assistant thought that now might not be the best time to buy a trending topic mocking him… but what if Director Bai wanted to reverse-psychology it to attract attention?
The little assistant thought it over and finally sent a message to confirm: [Director Bai, should I still buy the mocking trending topic for Teacher Han?]
Bai Yong saw the word “mocking” glaring back at him: [Buy my ass!]
On the other side, Han Cheng kept feeling that the flush on Ji Nuo’s face was somewhat abnormal. He picked up the fish bucket and quickly walked back.
