The Fish I Catch Can Level Up-Chapter 20: Clear-Headed

First, they went back to Chu Mingcheng’s house to feed the cat. Zhang Wei was surprised to see it.
"A-Cheng, what's the deal with the cat?"
"Oh, it's the cat that used to steal my fish," Chu Mingcheng explained. "Now it's my cat. Since I'm living here now, it's nice to have some company."
"Heh, interesting."
Zhang Wei was about to reach out and pet it, but Chu Mingcheng grabbed his arm.
"It's a stray. I haven't taken it to the vet for a check-up yet. You're not afraid of getting bitten?"
Zhang Wei pulled his hand back with an awkward laugh. "Right, I wasn't thinking for a second there!" He then grabbed one of the live crucian carp and dangled it in front of the cat, watching it eat.
Chu Mingcheng paid him no mind, grabbing a change of clothes to go take a shower.
The place Jiang Luoluo had booked was a mid-tier Japanese restaurant. Chu Mingcheng couldn't figure out why girls liked Japanese food so much. Was it because the portions were small, making it seem like they ate less?
Still, someone else was treating, so he certainly wasn't going to complain.
Led by a waiter, the two of them slipped off their shoes and entered a private room.
Jiang Luoluo and her two friends were already seated and waiting, having changed back into their casual clothes.
For their video shoot, she and Zhou Jiayi had worn heavy makeup. It looked great on camera, but in real life, up close, it was like they were wearing masks. Seeing Jiang Luoluo now with only light makeup on, Chu Mingcheng felt her charm had somehow increased severalfold.
Zhou Jiayi was also a great beauty, but when compared to Jiang Luoluo, she was just missing a little something. It wasn't about facial features, but rather a contrast in their skin.
Jiang Luoluo's skin was incredibly fair. Dressed in a plain white T-shirt, her complexion was nearly as white as the fabric. From up close, he could see her skin was also exceptionally smooth, though he couldn't tell if it was thanks to some skincare product.
Zhou Jiayi was just a shade tanner, which made her seem a notch less stunning in comparison.
Of course, both women had their own unique appeal. Plenty of men would prefer Zhou Jiayi's type—after all, she was a sweet girl with big, expressive eyes.
Although Chu Mingcheng had sized up both women, in reality, this all flashed through his mind in the instant he walked in. He greeted Jiang Luoluo and her friends, introduced Zhang Wei, and then sat down across from them.
Despite being a total goofball around Chu Mingcheng, Zhang Wei was behaving in a perfectly natural and proper manner. He didn't immediately start fawning over the beautiful women. Seeing that Jiang Luoluo and Chu Mingcheng seemed to know each other well, he took the initiative to chat with the quieter Zhou Jiayi, and it wasn't long before the two of them were getting along.
After all, how many men who could "repair a juicer" were ever simple?
As for the photographer, Zhang Ruomei, she was excellent at her usual role of fading into the background.
"I didn't realize you were such a rich girl," Chu Mingcheng teased Jiang Luoluo. "Picking a place like this."
"I looked it up online," she said. "The reviews were really good, so I chose it. Why is it very expensive?"
"For the five of us, a meal here will probably cost close to two thousand yuan."
"Hmm, what I ordered is probably around that price," Jiang Luoluo said, unfazed. Since she had chosen the restaurant, she was naturally aware of the cost. "But it's fine for an occasional treat." With her income, spending a few thousand on a big meal once in a while was nothing to lose sleep over.
"By the way," she asked, "are there any other fun places to visit around here besides Yan Mountain?"
"In terms of famous attractions, Yan Mountain is the main one. But if you're talking about fun activities, you could try tide-pooling. You catch seafood during the day and then cook it up for a big feast at night. It should be a pretty interesting experience."
Tonight, neither Chu Mingcheng nor Zhang Wei had any intention of playing the gentleman and secretly paying the bill like a couple of simps. But relationships were built on reciprocity; for a friendship to last, there had to be give and take. That's why he deliberately steered the conversation toward tide-pooling.
If Jiang Luoluo was interested in his suggestion, he would naturally prepare a seafood feast to host them, ensuring he didn't just accept her expensive Japanese meal for free.
Jiang Luoluo hadn't grown up by the sea. While she'd been to the beach before, she had never actually gone tide-pooling. Chu Mingcheng's description immediately piqued her interest.
But she wasn't here alone, so she turned to consult her companions first.
"Jiayi, Mei-jie, do you guys want to go tide-pooling?"
Zhang Ruomei shrugged. "I'm good with whatever!"
Zhou Jiayi seemed quite interested as well, nodding in agreement. "Okay! I've never tried tide-pooling either!"
Seeing they were both on board, Jiang Luoluo turned back to Chu Mingcheng with a radiant smile. "Then we'll be counting on you tomorrow!"
"No problem! But since you're coming tide-pooling, you should probably find a different place to stay for the night. My old family home is actually on an island, and you can go tide-pooling right there. There's a cross-sea bridge, so you can drive straight over. You can stay at a hotel on the island tonight."
"That works. We'll go back and pack our luggage after dinner. Will you two mind waiting for us and then showing us the way?"
The Japanese food was, well, Japanese food, but the five of them had a great time chatting.
After the meal, the guys waited downstairs at the girls' hotel. When they came down with their luggage, the two men proactively helped load the bags into the car. After all, they had just been treated to a grand feast.
Zhang Wei drove that night. Chu Mingcheng had been busy all day, and having used his Life Conversion ability twice, he was feeling a bit drained.
"Wei," Chu Mingcheng said from the passenger seat, "you and Zhou Jiayi seemed to be getting along great. Are you interested?"
Zhang Wei just smiled and shook his head. "What's the point? She's not my type."
Chu Mingcheng looked at him, surprised. "With her looks, she's not your type? And her figure isn't bad either!"
"That's not what I mean," Zhang Wei explained. "She seems pretty innocent, and I'm not looking for a relationship that leads to marriage. Better not to lead her on. Besides, a girl that beautiful isn't short of rich guys chasing her. She might not even be into someone like me."
"I see. I thought maybe you found her a bit pretentious or something, and that's why you weren't into her."
"Pretentious? Why would you say that?" Zhang Wei thought back. He felt Zhou Jiayi was perfectly nice. He hadn't noticed anything off about her, other than that she was a bit quiet and shy.
"You don't think the way she talks is a little... like she's trying too hard to be cute?"
"Isn't that just how people from Taiwan talk?"
"Uh... she's Taiwanese?"
"What else?"
"Ah, my bad. I misunderstood." Chu Mingcheng felt a little embarrassed. "No wonder her accent sounded a bit strange. So that's why." He didn't watch Taiwanese movies or TV shows and had never interacted with anyone from there, so he hadn't been able to place her accent. People from there tend to use more tonal particles in their speech, which can come across to outsiders as deliberately trying to sound cute.
"What about you, then?" Zhang Wei shot back. "Jiang Luoluo just treated you to a two-thousand-yuan dinner. Is there something going on between you two?"
"You think any girl would be interested in me in my current unemployed state?" Chu Mingcheng retorted. "Besides, all I want to do right now is make money. Everything else can happen naturally."
Both Chu Mingcheng and Zhang Wei were incredibly clear-headed. They weren't the type to fall for one of the three great delusions of life just because a girl showed them a little initiative.
That said, neither of them would refuse to have high-standard female friends. That was precisely why he planned to take them tide-pooling and treat them to a seafood feast tomorrow—to return the favor for tonight's dinner.
After dropping Jiang Luoluo and her friends off at a hotel on Yanmen Island and saying goodnight, Chu Mingcheng went home, then took today's sea sandworms to the noodle shop to sell them. He didn't sell them all, though. He kept half a
jin
back to entertain his guests tomorrow.