The Fish I Catch Can Level Up-Chapter 13: Keep the Music Playing, Keep the Dance Going!

Chu Mingcheng arrived at Shanghe Park shortly after. There were many small stalls and vendors here, and with it being National Day, the place was incredibly lively. However, there weren't many anglers. After asking around, he learned that someone had caught two alligator gars in a row yesterday, and since then, no more traces of them had been found, leading everyone to believe the area was cleared out.
Chu Mingcheng frowned, a little regretful that two thousand yuan might be gone. Still, he wouldn't know if there were any left until he scanned.
[Detecting artificial lake, beginning scan...]
[Scan complete. No invasive species, alligator gar, found.]
There really weren't any! Chu Mingcheng was a bit disappointed. "Let's go. This place is fished out. We'll check out Qingping Park."
"Ah, we should've gone there first!" Zhang Wei exclaimed, nudging Chu Mingcheng with his elbow. "With looks like yours, Ah Cheng, it'd be a crime not to show your face there too, wouldn't it?"
"That's why I'm friends with you—I value your honesty!" Chu Mingcheng shot back with a grin, playing along.
Meanwhile, on the Road...
As the two headed for Qingping Park, the two women who had been staring at Chu Mingcheng earlier were now giggling and playfully bickering in their car.
"Jia Yi, did you just lose your soul back there? Feeling all lovesick?"
"No way~" Zhou Jiayi's face flushed crimson with embarrassment, but she didn't forget to retaliate. "I think you're the one who got totally smitten, Luo Luo! If I hadn't reminded you, you'd still be staring, wouldn't you?"
Jiang Luoluo felt a bit embarrassed herself, but couldn't admit it aloud. "I was clearly looking at that alligator gar."
"Eww~ You were clearly staring at his face the whole time!"
"I was not! You little brat, stop talking nonsense! Take this, my Nine Yin White Bone Claws!"
"Hahaha, that tickles! Stop it... Luo Luo, don't touch there!"
The photographer, who was driving, watched the two women wrestling in the back seat and chuckled helplessly. "Alright, you two, we're almost at Qingping Park. You'll want to get yourselves fixed up."
Jiang Luoluo and Zhou Jiayi finally stopped playing and began to tidy their hanfu. They had known each other for nearly eight years. Jiang Luoluo had transferred to a school in Taiwan during high school and happened to be in the same class as Zhou Jiayi. Later, they coincidentally attended the same university, though one majored in classical dance performance and the other in guzheng.
However, after Jiang Luoluo started university, her family's business ran into problems, so she decided to film her dance videos and upload them online to see if she could earn some living expenses. As a result, with her exquisite dance skills and inspired choreography, she quickly became a moderately famous video creator on Bilibili. Although she didn't earn a lot, she no longer needed financial support from her family after university.
After graduating, Jiang Luoluo specifically collaborated with Zhou Jiayi once, and the video unexpectedly became a minor hit, gaining half a million followers within a week. This also significantly increased the views on her previous videos, naturally tripling her income. However, she rejected all invitations from online influencer agencies. She specifically hired her own photographer and improved her filming equipment.
Jiang Luoluo was well aware of the pitfalls of being tied to big companies. Although she could earn more money in the short term, she would lose more than just her freedom, and who knew what would happen in the future. She'd rather earn a bit less; worst case, she could open a training class when she got older rather than become a puppet controlled by corporations.
This trip was actually Jiang Luoluo's specific invitation for Zhou Jiayi to join her. Zhou Jiayi, being from Taiwan, had always yearned to visit the mainland, so Jiang Luoluo invited her to come along, with filming videos just a secondary purpose. This county town was their first stop. They came to Lecheng because of Yan Mountain, a 5A-rated tourist attraction there. But having just arrived in the county town yesterday, they decided to explore the city for a couple of days first. Zhou Jiayi had suggested filming videos in the park, and Jiang Luoluo was more than happy to cooperate.
Qingping Park
Qingping Park was considered the largest park in the county town with the best environment. The lake here wasn't artificial; it was natural. Built against a mountain, it also offered many water activities. Plus, people often came here to camp, attracting many young women.
When Chu Mingcheng and Zhang Wei arrived, they discovered a problem: a traffic jam.
"How about we just find a place to park outside and walk in?" Zhang Wei suggested. The only road leading to the park was a mere three hundred meters long, but it was completely jammed with cars. Pedestrians had to walk on the grass beside the road. It would take at least two hours to drive in, as the cars were barely moving. Even if they managed to get in, it would take just as long to get out. Chu Mingcheng naturally wasn't foolish enough to drive in.
The two decided to go have lunch first, then rested a bit before returning. After parking their car outside, they put on their fishing gear and walked into the park. It took them over ten minutes to reach the side of the small lake.
National Day in the south wasn't cool. Today's temperature still reached over 28 degrees Celsius. Many young women by the lake were enjoying water activities in skimpy swimsuits, while others, wearing life jackets, were showing off their long, pale legs on jet skis in the middle of the lake.
And around the lake, LSPs of all kinds stood packed together, from grandfathers to little kids with water guns. At this moment, age was no barrier; everyone was kindred spirits.
Chu Mingcheng appreciated the vibrant scene, his eyes taking in the many attractive figures around the lake, before he remembered his mission and used his last scan of the day.
[Detecting small lake, beginning scan...]
[Scan complete. There are seven alligator gars in the reservoir. The largest is 11.26 jin (approx. 5.6 kg). Host, please fish them out as soon as possible to physically eliminate them and protect the aquatic ecosystem.]
That big? Can my lure rod handle it? Chu Mingcheng frowned. Theoretically, his MH-stiffness lure rod could catch this 11-jin alligator gar, but if it broke, that was money down the drain! He then checked the locations of these alligator gars and found that they weren't clustered together like in Central Park but were all spread out.
Even though the water activities here looked fun, there were many anglers in the slightly quieter spots around the lake. Three of the alligator gars were within these anglers' areas, and he estimated they would be caught soon, including the largest one. Four others were in a different area. Although they were very dispersed, there were no anglers there. These four smaller ones were only a little over three jin, with the largest being eight jin. His lure rod could handle them perfectly, and four fish meant four thousand yuan—he couldn't miss that.
"Ah Wei, I'm going to fish over there. What about you?"
"I'll watch... I mean, I'll play here for a bit, then come find you."
"Alright." Seeing Zhang Wei's "flexible" priorities, Chu Mingcheng decided not to disturb his fun. He carried his fishing gear alone and walked into the distance. Qingping Park was much larger than Central Park; this time, it took him over twenty minutes to reach his first fishing spot.
Just as he was about to take out his lure rod to fish, a familiar guzheng melody began to play.
"No way it's that coincidental?"
Chu Mingcheng's heart stirred. He put his fishing gear back on and, curious, went to investigate. Passing through a bamboo grove, he found the familiar trio in front of a patch of flowers. Because their location was a bit secluded and they had just started filming, there were no spectators around, which made Chu Mingcheng's sudden appearance quite conspicuous.
The first to see him was Jiang Luoluo. For some reason, her heart fluttered with shyness when she saw him approaching, causing her to stop her dance moves. She stopped, and along with her, Zhou Jiayi, who was playing the guzheng, and Zhang Chumei, who was filming, also stopped. They followed Jiang Luoluo's gaze and discovered Chu Mingcheng behind them.
"..."
The trio suddenly stopped and collectively looked at him, but Chu Mingcheng felt no awkwardness at all. Instead, he waved his hand, signaling for them to continue.
"Don't stop! Keep the music playing, keep the dance going!"