After Confessing To My Childhood Friend - Chapter 51
Chapter 51: Fishing
◎Heart-to-Heart◎
The April weather in Yonghuai was sunny and pleasant. Under the spring sunlight, the Huai River sparkled, and the broad river surface was occasionally cut by passing boats, leaving behind gentle arcs of waves.
Chen Mengyin sat fishing, while Xu Qingqing was behind her lighting charcoal. Beside her, Wang Xueling was preparing ingredients for the barbecue, and Xie Zhirou was laying out a picnic mat and arranging their snacks.
“Fish well—whether we get to eat fresh grilled fish later depends on you,” Xu Qingqing said as smoke from the charcoal choked her. “Cough cough, this batch of charcoal is worse than last time. Took forever to light, and there’s so much smoke.”
Chen Mengyin: “…”
“So, you all went through the trouble of dragging me out here just to make me fish?” she asked in disbelief.
Xu Qingqing replied, annoyed, “Fishing is important, okay? If your mind isn’t calm, you won’t catch anything. We’re training your mindset.”
“Exactly! You’ve been so obsessed with studying lately, you’re almost possessed. Honestly, I liked the old unruly you better,” Wang Xueling said as she brushed oil on the grill. She placed the hardest-to-cook chicken wings on the edges and grilled the quicker ones in the middle.
“You need to relax, clear your mind, and reset your attitude before studying again. Otherwise, if you keep going like this, you’ll definitely do worse next exam.”
Chen Mengyin again: “…”
“You’re being so hurtful. Do you know how badly your words hurt my already fragile heart? A broken heart can’t go back to how it was before! You’re a murderer—you killed the purest version of me!”
“We believe Zhirou can piece you back together, perfectly aligned,” Xu Qingqing said.
“Totally,” Wang Xueling added. “You can ask Zhirou yourself.”
“What?” Xie Zhirou walked over after finishing the mat. “Is there something I can help with?”
“We were saying you’re like Hua Tuo reincarnated—a miracle doctor,” Xu Qingqing said with a grin. “No need to do anything now. Go keep Mengyin company. I’m afraid if she doesn’t catch any fish, she’ll throw herself into the river.”
From afar, Chen Mengyin shouted back, “I won’t!” Her eyes never left the water, carefully watching the bobber’s every movement.
She had to catch a fish—to impress Xu Qingqing and the others. She’d show them the might of the Yonghuai Fishing Queen!
Xie Zhirou took the grilled skewer Wang Xueling handed her, grabbed a folding chair, and sat down beside Chen Mengyin.
“Try it,” she said, blowing on the still-hot meat and holding it up to Chen Mengyin’s mouth. Mengyin turned and bit off two pieces of pork belly.
It was hot. She hissed as she chewed the crispy, juicy meat. “Sss, hot… but not bad at all.”
Xie Zhirou took a bite too—the meat was perfectly grilled: crispy, fragrant, and not greasy at all.
Seeing Mengyin’s satisfied look, she fed her the rest of the skewer. Mengyin ate half and left the rest for Xie Zhirou to finish.
“Xueling, if you ever get tired of work, you should open a BBQ stall,” Chen Mengyin said, licking her lips.
Wang Xueling was speechless. “So opening a stall doesn’t count as work? Just because there’s no time clock or boss doesn’t mean it’s not a job! You’re disrespecting stall owners!”
“I was just trying to compliment your cooking skills indirectly.” Suddenly, the bobber dipped underwater. Feeling a tug, Chen Mengyin said, “Wait, hold that thought. I think I’ve got something!”
Fishing required patience. If you rushed, you’d lose the fish.
She steadied herself, raised the rod slightly to test the weight. The fish wasn’t big—probably palm-sized.
With practiced ease, she jerked her wrist upward to hook the fish, let the rod’s elasticity wear it out, and once it was tired, Xie Zhirou swooped in with the net.
“We got it!” Mengyin cheered, dropping her rod and hugging Zhirou, who was still holding the net with the fish wriggling inside, splashing water everywhere.
Zhirou patted her back. “You’re amazing, Mengyin.”
Mengyin blushed with joy.
“Whoa, you really caught one?” Xu Qingqing ran over, then laughed when she saw the small fish. “This one might feed the three of us one bite each.”
Mengyin frowned. “What do you know? Quality over quantity. If you don’t want any, someone else will eat it!”
“I never said I wouldn’t eat it. Keep fishing. You’re not allowed back until you fill the bucket.”
“Waaah! Zhirou, she’s bullying me!” Mengyin fake-cried on Zhirou’s shoulder.
“There, there, don’t cry. I’ll fish with you,” Zhirou soothed.
“You’re the best,” Mengyin said, giving her a kiss. Zhirou touched her hair and kissed her back.
These two shameless lovebirds were so busy being lovey-dovey, they completely ignored everyone else.
Taking advantage of their distraction, Xu Qingqing made a sneaky escape.
Seeing her plan succeed, Mengyin grinned smugly. Zhirou helplessly placed the fish in the bucket and asked if she was having fun.
“Very much,” Mengyin replied, picking up her rod again.
She cast her line—the ripples spread across the river, and the bobber slowly stilled.
“I’m sorry,” Zhirou said quietly.
“For what?” Mengyin asked.
“I’ve just been worried about you.” Zhirou stared at the shimmering water. “You haven’t been yourself lately. Your mom and I have both been so concerned, but nothing I tried worked to make you smile.”
“I hate seeing you like this. I just want you to be happy.”
Zhirou looked at her. The sunlight on the river reflected in her eyes, blurring the boundary between tears and light.
Mengyin understood. She stared at the bobber—her once-expressive eyes now dull, emotions hidden deep inside.
“I was just… mad at myself,” Mengyin said.
Mad for slipping up. Mad for not being good enough. She simply didn’t know how to make peace with the version of herself that had messed up.
“I’m sorry for worrying you all,” she said, looking at Zhirou with newly bright eyes, wiping away her tears. “Thank you for not giving up on me. I’m really grateful.”
Zhirou took her hand, brushing her damp cheek against Mengyin’s palm. She looked up, lashes fluttering softly.
“So… are you okay now?”
“I’m okay now.”
Mengyin kissed her hand.
“You all went to such lengths to get me out here. If I don’t bounce back, next time you might drag me to a haunted house to calm down.”
“Sigh, honestly I got a bit full of myself after those two good grades. I thought I was amazing and could solve anything.”
“You gave me tons of practice questions, but I cheated sometimes—just looked at the answers because I thought I already knew how to do them.”
“And you saw how that turned out—I made the same mistake twice on the real exam.”
“Actually, I’m kind of glad this exam was a wake-up call. Otherwise, if I went into the college entrance exam like that, I’d be doomed.”
She had kept all this to herself. At first, she feared Zhirou would scold her for being arrogant. Later, it wasn’t scolding she feared—it was feeling unworthy. She was afraid what Li Ran said about her would become true.
Fear consumed her. To suppress it, she studied harder. But the moment she paused, it crept back in to devour her whole.
“It’s me who should thank you all, not the other way around,” Mengyin said.
Zhirou looked into her teary eyes, held her hand tightly, and said solemnly, “I’ll always be with you.”
Mengyin’s vision blurred. She dared not blink, afraid her tears would fall.
A gentle hand wiped her eyes clear again, and she saw Zhirou’s gaze—so soft and loving.
She felt herself floating in a peaceful ocean, kissing the pure white clouds in the sky.
…
Later, Mengyin caught a few more fish.
Tired of fishing, she and Zhirou returned to camp with their bucket and watched Xu Qingqing gut the fish while eating Wang Xueling’s grilled skewers.
Descaling, gutting, removing gills.
The little grass carps lay on the grill in a neat row, waiting for Wang Xueling’s special seasoning massage.
Xu Qingqing sat cross-legged on the picnic mat to watch. “Xueling, if you don’t want a job, you could open a BBQ stall,” she said.
If not for Xueling’s patience, those fish would’ve been slapped across Qingqing’s face by now.
She was so annoying—just like Mengyin!
Wang Xueling kept a straight face as she sprinkled spices, grumbling silently.
Her skills were indeed good enough to open a stall. Even with the bones, the fish tasted amazing.
Mengyin and Zhirou sat shoulder to shoulder. The riverside had become lively, filled with anglers and laughing children flying kites on the grass.
“Thank you,” Mengyin suddenly turned to tell Xu Qingqing and Wang Xueling, catching them off guard.
Qingqing got flustered. “Ugh, gross. So cheesy. Bring back the shameless old you!”
Wang Xueling looked up at the sky. “Huh? No red rain falling…”
“Ugh! You guys! I try to be sentimental for once, and this is what I get?” Mengyin shrieked, leaping on top of them.
The three of them wrestled and screamed with laughter, unaware of the pure joy on their faces.
Zhirou watched from the sidelines, smiling.
Later, when the second mock exam came, Mengyin walked into the exam room calm and composed. She recognized the familiar questions and carefully worked through them.
When scores came out, Zhirou was more nervous than Mengyin. She regretted not running for class committee so she could’ve seen the scores early.
Mengyin, on the other hand, was relaxed. “What’s done is done. Let’s just wait for the teacher.”
Fortunately, the teacher anticipated their anxiety and had the subject reps distribute the tests early.
Zhirou immediately tallied Mengyin’s total score. Seeing that she had improved by almost ten points, she threw caution to the wind and hugged her right there in the classroom.
“Now can you relax?” Mengyin smiled into her embrace.
Zhirou nodded, beaming.
Only 30 days left until the college entrance exam.