Serious Photographer (Merry Christmas)

About seven or eight minutes passed. Jiang Yunlu's arms were already beginning to ache and tremble, and bead-sized drops of sweat rolled down her forehead, but she clenched her teeth, showing absolutely no intention of giving up.

"Almost there, it's out of energy!" Lin Mo's voice carried a tone of encouragement.

Sure enough, the struggling of the fishing rod gradually weakened, and the ripples on the water's surface began to calm.

"Reel it in!" Lin Mo ordered.

Jiang Yunlu mustered all her strength and, with Lin Mo's help, lifted the rod bit by bit.

Splash!

A large, shimmering silver sea bass suddenly leapt out of the water, tracing a beautiful arc in the sunlight and drawing a collective gasp of amazement from the onlookers.

The fish was fully as long as her arm. It thrashed wildly in the air, its scales glittering brightly in the sun.

Jiang Yunlu was trembling with excitement; she could even clearly see the hook caught firmly in the fish's mouth.

"It's so big!" she couldn't help but cry out.

Lin Mo quickly grabbed the landing net nearby and calmly scooped the fish into it.

When the massive fish was steadily hauled ashore, Jiang Yunlu was on the verge of collapse, but her face beamed with an unprecedentedly radiant smile.

"I... I caught it!" she panted, her voice full of unbelievable surprise.

Lin Mo patted her on the head, a smile in his eyes.

"Not bad. You caught such a huge fish, don't you want to take a picture to remember this?"

Jiang Yunlu looked down at the large bass still struggling vigorously in the net, then raised her sore, numb arms. Sweat had soaked the collar of her sportswear and stuck to her skin, yet her heart felt as if it were filled to the brim with something warm and swelling.

This feeling was even more exhilarating than scoring a point on the sports field.

She turned her head abruptly, her eyes strikingly bright in the sunlight as she stared straight at Lin Mo.

"I do! I want to take one with you!"

Lin Mo raised an eyebrow and then chuckled.

"Of course. I'm your chief technical advisor, after all. Just try leaving me out of a highlight moment like this."

"After we take the picture, I'm going to keep fishing!" Jiang Yunlu clenched her fists, her tone making it clear she was completely hooked.

"More?"

"Yeah!" Jiang Yunlu nodded heavily, her tone decisive.

Only now did she completely understand why so many people were so fascinated by this seemingly dull sport.

"Yeah!" Jiang Yunlu nodded heavily again; she was now fully experiencing the joy of fishing.

That's good. Lin Mo thought to himself that this athletic girl had finally found a new hobby outside of badminton.

At this moment, Jiang Chengshan strolled over slowly with his hands behind his back. His gaze fell on the plump sea bass on the ground, and he clicked his tongue in admiration.

"Not bad at all. The beginner's luck period really is something else; you can just cast a line at random and get a pleasant surprise."

As soon as he finished speaking, Jiang Yunlu rushed over like a gust of wind and grabbed his arm.

"Dad! Hurry!"

Here it comes! His daughter is going to share the joy of victory with her old man!

Jiang Chengshan felt a surge of pride. He cleared his throat, already preparing to strike a steady yet affectionate pose to accept his daughter's invitation for a photo together.

However, Jiang Yunlu's next words caused the smile to freeze directly on his face.

"Dad! Aren't your photography skills really good? Hurry, take a picture of me and Lin Mo! I only caught this fish because he helped me!"

Jiang Chengshan: "..."

His smile vanished, and he completely stiffened in place.

So I'm not the main character, but just the photographer?

His sweet little daughter, whom he always considered his warm, intimate little cotton jacket, now felt like she had been pierced straight through by the freezing north wind.

Despite the mix of complex emotions in his heart, Jiang Chengshan still gracefully waved to Uncle Zhao in the distance.

Uncle Zhao understood perfectly and immediately took out a massive DSLR camera from his bag; the lens looked incredibly professional.

When it comes to taking photos, the equipment must be top-notch.

Jiang Yunlu couldn't care less about what her dad was thinking. She was already excitedly pulling Lin Mo into position.

"I'm telling you, my dad is amazing at taking pictures. He took a lot of my photos in the past!"

His daughter's sudden praise instantly made the little bit of displeasure in Jiang Chengshan's heart vanish into thin air. He puffed out his chest and took the camera.

"Of course. Let me show you two what professional-level skills look like."

As he spoke, Jiang Chengshan held the camera and earnestly began looking for angles and measuring the light, muttering to himself all the while.

"Come on, the light is best hitting from this side. You two, move half a step to the left."

Lin Mo felt a bit helpless at this grand display, but he cooperatively lifted the large sea bass by its gills, suspending it between the two of them.

This was their shared trophy.

However, at this moment, Jiang Yunlu felt that the fish was incredibly an eyesore.

What she really wanted was simply a photo with Lin Mo.

The fish was completely unnecessary.

Not far away, Zhou Nianqian had completely stopped looking over at their situation.

He knew his mindset had become unbalanced, so he just sat quietly in his spot.

In reality, he didn't even know Jiang Yunlu yet, so getting jealous over a girl at this point seemed utterly pointless.

Therefore, he only wanted to focus on seriously learning how to fish.

He took a deep breath and refocused all his attention onto his own fishing bobber.

Back over here, Jiang Chengshan's photography direction was still ongoing.

"Hey, Yunlu! Smile a bit more naturally, don't look like a Shagu! Show eight teeth!"

"Lin Mo, you too. Don't be so serious, relax!"

Jiang Yunlu grew a little impatient with her dad's nagging. While Jiang Chengshan was adjusting the lens, she secretly inched closer to Lin Mo and complained in a low voice.

"My dad is too long-winded."

The distance between the two instantly closed. Lin Mo could even smell the faint scent of sweat on her, though it wasn't unpleasant.

He turned his head and lowered his voice, speaking at a volume only the two of them could hear.

"Any closer, and you're going to squeeze the fish away."

Jiang Yunlu's face instantly flushed red, as if she had been steamed by hot air.

Click!

Jiang Chengshan pressed the shutter. Looking at the image on the camera screen, he nodded in satisfaction.

"Mhm, this one is not bad at all, it has a great vibe! With this photo, I'll have to sit at the head of the table from now on."

Only after saying this did Jiang Chengshan realize something was wrong.

Wait, no! I'm supposed to be breaking them up. Why did I take such a romantic, atmospheric photo for them?

Besides, no matter what, I'm always the one who sits at the head of the table anyway.

I've been influenced. Jiang Chengshan wanted to delete the photo from the DSLR, but seeing his daughter look like this...

In the end, he just let out a sigh.

Whatever, whatever, I'll just keep it.

After the photo was taken, the surrounding anglers also started borrowing the fish to take pictures.

Don't ask why; if you ask, it's just about sharing the happiness.

"Alright! Now I already have one fish, so you guys better work hard!"

Jiang Yunlu showed off just a little bit.

Jiang Chengshan glanced at Lin Mo. "It's fine, it doesn't count as over until the sun goes down."

Lin Mo simply shrugged indifferently.

"Alright, as long as I beat Uncle Jiang, that's enough for me."

At this moment, Jiang Chengshan added another sentence, "We're going by quantity, not weight, you know."

After saying that, before Jiang Yunlu could even react, Jiang Chengshan ran off.

It seemed that even when facing his daughter, Jiang Chengshan still had a strong desire to win.

Lately, my daily routine has been very healthy. I basically go to bed before ten o'clock, and then wake up at eight in the morning to write my chapters.

I asked the doctor if I could take a plane. He told me to try and avoid it, asking, Have you seen Kingsman? Your head might explode just like at the end of that movie.

This doctor is very humorous, but his humor is incredibly dark.

So, I booked a high-speed train ticket to Guangyuan, Sichuan. It is a ten-hour ride. I am absolutely going to become the King of Steel Buns!

The city I live in never snows, yet my memories are filled to the brim with the feeling of heat. Guangzhou is seriously too damn hot!