Wake Surfing

An hour later, the fishing competition came to an end.

Su Yang had caught six fish in total—three sea bass, one tigerhead fish, one yellowfin bream, and one black bream.

Meng Wenzhou, who had fallen silent earlier, managed to reel in three fish afterward—two sea bass and one ribbonfish.

Liu Bo, on the other hand, only caught a single saury.

Still, all three of them had something to show for their efforts. Meng Wenzhou stood up with a laugh and said, "I can't believe I lost to you, a fishing veteran like me. Fine, I admit defeat."

Su Yang chuckled. "Pure luck, that's all."

"A loss is a loss. Oh, wait—did we even set a bet?"

"Uh... I don't think so."

"Hahaha! Well, in that case, I'll just give you the highest honor between men."

"Sure, whatever you say!"

Su Yang shook his head with an easygoing smile. "Alright, alright. How much longer until we arrive?"

Meng Wenzhou glanced around, though he had no real sense of direction—he was just scanning the horizon for any sign of the island.

So far, there was no trace of land in sight.

"Shouldn't be too much longer. I told Old Li to have the captain slow down on purpose. Otherwise, we'd have been there by now."

"Got it. Let's head down—I want to try wakeboarding."

"Let's go." The four of them gathered their fishing rods and buckets and returned to the lounge area.

The girls immediately crowded around to inspect their haul.

"Wow! You guys are amazing! You caught so many!" Xia Keke exclaimed, playing up her excitement.

"Let me see!" Han Xiaoyu and Liu Meng also leaned in for a closer look.

"Whoa, that's huge!" Han Xiaoyu gasped, covering her mouth as she stared at the seven- or eight-pound sea bass.

"It's not that big. Sea bass can easily weigh over ten pounds," Liu Bo bragged.

"Then let's see yours," Liu Meng said, peeking into the bucket he was trying to hide behind his back.

Liu Bo scratched his head awkwardly. "Uh, mine's not worth looking at. Just had bad luck today."

Liu Meng circled around him and saw the lone saury lying in the bucket.

She smirked. "This is it?"

"I actually caught a bunch, but they were too small, so I threw them back. I’m just that kind of guy, you know?"

"Yeah, right."

After some playful banter, Su Yang and the others placed their buckets near the bar.

Zhang Ziming and Liu Bo immediately grabbed the microphone and started belting out karaoke tunes.

At that moment, Zhao Qingqing stood up and glanced at the sky. "Anyone want to try wakeboarding?"

Su Yang walked over with a grin. "That’s exactly why we came down."

Zhao Qingqing looked at him, her eyes sparkling.

Truth be told, she had noticed Su Yang the moment they boarded the yacht. When he sang earlier, she couldn’t help stealing a few more glances.

She had wanted to strike up a conversation and get closer to him, but seeing him sitting so intimately with Pan Ning—whispering and laughing—made her hesitate.

"Hello?" Su Yang waved a hand in front of her dazed face.

Zhao Qingqing snapped out of it, cheeks flushing slightly. "Oh! Right, uh... I’ll go get things ready. Just give me a sec." She quickly grabbed her large bag and started unpacking gear.

Su Yang smiled and returned to Pan Ning’s side. "You joining?"

"Not today. But I might go diving later," Pan Ning replied, munching on a slice of watermelon.

"You’re still up for diving? I don’t know if I trust you not to cramp up again."

"Relax, it won’t happen," Pan Ning said, puffing her cheeks in a rare pout.

Su Yang’s lips curled. "How about I dive with you, then? I wouldn’t mind trying it too."

"Sure, whatever."

After a bit more small talk, Zhao Qingqing finished her preparations.

She looked up at Su Yang. "Ready, handsome."

"Awesome! Is this thing hard to learn?" Su Yang asked as he approached her.

"Ever tried it before?"

"Nope."

"First-timers usually need some time to adjust. But if you’ve got good balance, you’ll pick it up fast. I’ll coach you."

"Sounds good!"

Zhao Qingqing slung her bag over her shoulder and headed below deck. "Gimme a minute—gotta change."

Su Yang nodded.

A few minutes later, Zhao Qingqing reappeared in a stunning white one-piece swimsuit with cutout details.

As she ascended the stairs, she tossed her bangs to the side. At 167 cm tall, her proportions were striking—narrow shoulders, a slim waist, and wide hips, embodying the perfect pear-shaped figure. Her legs, neither too thin nor too thick, were impossible to ignore.

Every guy on deck instinctively turned to look. Liu Bo kept singing but flubbed several lyrics, while Zhang Ziming’s voice faltered mid-song.

Su Yang swallowed hard. Damn, she’s a whole different person in that swimsuit. Guess it’s time to activate the System.

—System!

[Zhao Qingqing, Age: 23]

[Height: 167cm]

[Weight: 56.5kg]

[Face: 82]

[Body: 88]

[Relationships: 2, currently single]

—Close call!

Before Su Yang could dwell on it, Zhao Qingqing sauntered over with a smile.

"Hey, aren’t you changing?"

"Oh, right! Downstairs?"

"Yep, there’s a room below."

"Got it." Su Yang grabbed his bag from the table.

"Be right back."

He hurried downstairs.

"Eyes front!!" Shen Yixue pinched Zhang Ziming’s arm hard.

"OW! Aah—ahhh—ahhh—ahhh—♪ When the mountains lose their ridges... ♪"

The song’s intro kicked in just in time for Zhang Ziming to recover.

Shen Yixue rolled her eyes and plopped down beside Pan Ning to chat.

Liu Bo shot Zhang Ziming an impressed look. Nice save, bro.

Zhang Ziming wiped his brow. Man, can’t even look these days. So embarrassing.

Three minutes later, Su Yang emerged shirtless, wearing only his swim trunks.

Now it was the girls’ turn to stare.

The ones who’d seen him swim earlier took it in stride, but the four newcomers gaped in unison.

Zhang Ziming glanced enviously at Su Yang, then at the girls’ reactions, and silently vowed to hit the gym daily once back in Haicheng.

Su Yang smirked and walked up to the still-dazed Zhao Qingqing. "All set. Let’s go."

"O-oh! Right." She snapped out of it and grabbed the wakeboard. The yacht slowed to a stop near the stern.

"I’ll demo first, then teach you directly."

Su Yang sat nearby. "Got it. I’ll watch closely."

Zhao Qingqing flashed a grin and dove into the water with the board.

"Su Yang, pay attention!"

Zhao Qingqing placed the wakeboard horizontally in front of her, then centered the rope attached to the stern of the yacht on top of the board.

Next, she grabbed the rope, sat back, and rested her heels on the wakeboard.

"Just follow my moves when it's your turn," she said.

Su Yang watched intently, not even blinking, and nodded with a smile. "Okay, looks simple enough."

Standing nearby, Meng Wenzhou chuckled. "Ready?"

"All set!" Zhao Qingqing gave a thumbs-up from her seated position in the water.

"Alright." Meng Wenzhou turned and shouted toward the cockpit, "Captain! Hit the gas!"

Vroom!

The yacht’s twin high-powered engines roared to life.

As the yacht accelerated, Zhao Qingqing gripped the rope, planted her feet wide on the wakeboard, and smoothly rose to a standing position.

"Damn, nice! Pro moves," Su Yang remarked, admiring her toned legs.

Once the yacht picked up speed, Zhao Qingqing called out to Su Yang, "Watch closely—once you’re steady, you can slowly let go with one hand."

With that, she released her left hand.

The yacht pulled Zhao Qingqing across the water at high speed, churning up foamy waves in its wake.

Crouching slightly, she held the rope with one hand. "At this speed, you can let go completely—but only if you can keep your balance."

No sooner had she spoken than she released the rope.

Riding the yacht’s wake, Zhao Qingqing carved sideways, crouched low as she trailed behind the boat.

Su Yang stood up, eyes wide. "Whoa! I thought you had to hold the rope the whole time. Didn’t realize you let go at the end."

Leaning against the stern, Meng Wenzhou grinned. "Never done this before?"

"Nope. Only seen clips on TikTok. Hard to get the feel without trying it yourself."

"Really? This sport’s been huge lately. Oh, right—I forgot it’s your first time in a coastal city."

As they talked, the yacht slowed down.

Zhao Qingqing dove into the water and clung to the wakeboard, waving at Su Yang.

"Your turn! Oh, and put on a life jacket first."

Su Yang laughed. "Nah, I’m a strong swimmer."

With that, he executed a perfect dive, plunging headfirst into the sea.