Chapter 11

Nora gripped the bamboo-handled net tightly, her cool, delicate face brimming with joy and astonishment. When she heard Lin Yi’s voice, she could only stare at him blankly.

Fish! So many fish!

Lin Yi: "..."

"Nora, let’s get them onto the boat first."

Nora snapped out of her daze and agreed, "Right! Leave it to me, Yi-bao!"

Although Nora was small, she was more composed than most children her age. After the initial adjustment, she grew increasingly adept. If it weren't for the weight of the fish and her own small strength, she would have wanted to scoop up two or three at a time.

The cameraman was less composed than the little girl; he kept his lens frozen in a daze. Had there not been other camera angles, he likely would have been "roasted" by the netizens. Still, he was definitely losing a chicken drumstick from his dinner box tonight!

The lifeguard, clearly a man of the world, recovered quickly. Beyond his shock, his eyes widened with excitement; his hands were itching to learn this skill from little Lin Yi. With this ability, who would ever worry about coming up empty-handed while fishing?

The people on-site were stunned, while in the livestream chat, after the initial wave of shock subsided, the skeptics emerged to perform once again.

[Scripted? Is Lin Yi actually some capitalist's child? It’s disgusting how hard the production team is pushing him!]

[This is unreasonable. I suspect the production team has someone hiding underwater.]

[Heh, are they treating us like fools? Why don't they have Lin Yi perform walking on water next?]

[Are the haters collectively having a breakdown?]

Lin Yi’s fan base was small, and they couldn't withstand the massive wave of questioning. Only the casual fans still had a bit of fight in them.

[I don't know if Yi-bao can walk on water, but someone with keen hearing and sharp eyes can indeed detect subtle changes in the water and pinpoint the location of fish in a shallow, man-made pond.]

[The world is vast. Many things you think are impossible have often already been realized in times you aren't aware of.]

[If you told the ancients that humans would one day transmit sound across thousands of miles, speak face-to-face across thin air, destroy a city with a single shell, or even fly to the moon, they wouldn't have believed it at first either.]

The Master of Zhengyun Temple even upgraded his membership for this segment. Because of the long dwell time and flashy special effects, every viewer saw the Master’s comment. Many of those who were blindly questioning felt like a bucket of cold water had been poured over them, and they sobered up quite a bit.

On-site, Lin Yi remained completely unaffected by the surroundings, focused intently on the water surface. Zhong Qi, Xie Yu, and He Tong had long since lost their patience sitting still and rushed to the bank of Pond No. 1.

Qin Siyan and Yang Bai also noticed the situation at Pond No. 1 and found it strange. Qin Siyan asked the cameraman, "What’s happening over there?"

Had something happened to Lin Yi? No, if someone had fallen into the water, there would surely be a commotion.

Although Yang Bai’s personality was like a capybara, he still had the curiosity of a child. "Is something interesting happening?"

The cameraman and the lifeguard didn't know either. The lifeguard picked up his walkie-talkie, and the director directly replied: "Everything is normal. Continue filming."

The less they knew, the more they were driven to madness. Yang Bai glanced at their boat; they already had seven small fish, and they weren't competing for first place anyway. He looked at Qin Siyan: "Go take a look?"

Although tempted, Qin Siyan insisted, "The competition time isn't over yet."

Yang Bai: "Boring." He added bluntly, "With a personality like yours, I really don't know what Lin Yi sees in you." *Could it be that Lin Yi is like me, forced to please others?* He could only mutter this thought to himself.

Pond No. 2 was closer to Pond No. 1, but Ian and Mianmian were in such a scramble that they couldn't pay attention to anything else. After Ian threw in the fish bait, it did indeed attract many fish. He demonstrated to Mianmian: "Little sister Mianmian, watch closely. Point the bucket at the school of fish, just like this—whoosh, put it down and lift it up!"

Mianmian learned from him, their movements synchronized. The little ones didn't consider that besides the fish, the bucket was also full of water. Before they knew it, they fell into the water one after another with a "thud, thud."

The lifeguard had seen Ian’s movements and already knew what was coming. Almost as soon as they hit the water, he pulled them back onto the boat. Mianmian spat out a jet of water, spraying it right onto Ian’s face.

Ian: "..."

Because they were rescued so quickly, it didn't attract much attention. However, Ian had chosen good equipment, and after the first experience, he not only caught fish but ended up with more than Qin Siyan and Yang Bai.

Watching his son’s wet and disheveled appearance on the screen, and then looking at Lin Yi’s calm and composed demeanor, Jiang Xuan nearly ground his back teeth to dust. It was only because everyone’s attention was on Lin Yi that they didn't notice his sinister expression.

Yang Xing looked at Jiang Xuan’s expression with some unease.

Jiang Xuan: "Yang Xing, go do something for me..." He whispered a few words into Yang Xing’s ear.

Yang Xing looked at him in surprise: "Is this really feasible?"

"Why not? Once the label of 'animal cruelty' is slapped on, will those animal lovers care about the truth? Just do as I say." Jiang Xuan glanced around to ensure no one was listening.

Jiang Xuan had calculated everything clearly: even if public opinion backfired, it wouldn't fall on him; after all, it was Yang Xing who would be acting. As for whether he would offend Yang Xing? A small, rootless internet celebrity wanting to make it in the entertainment industry should be prepared to be used.

*

At Pond No. 1, Nora was still excitedly catching fish; the soreness in her wrists from overexertion couldn't affect her movements at all. Lin Yi hadn't even used half of the small stones he’d collected, and the small boat was already piled high with fish. After Nora struggled to scoop up a fish the size of a palm and a half, she noticed that Lin Yi had stopped fishing.

"Yi-bao, why aren't you continuing?" Nora glanced at the remaining stones. There were still so many; they could catch so many more.

Lin Yi: "It’s enough."

The lifeguard looked at Lin Yi with eyes full of approval. To be able to retreat at the peak of success—this kid was impressive! With Lin Yi’s help, the speed of catching fish had clearly increased, and soon all the fish floating on the surface were transferred to the boat.

However, the competition time wasn't over yet.

The lifeguard nudged his colleague: "Do you think it would be rude if I asked the kid to teach me this craft?"

The other lifeguard was also envious but said rationally: "The competition is still ongoing. Why not ask the assistant director first?"

The assistant director had arrived late; he hadn't been satisfied watching through the screen and had sent someone to find a small boat to watch up close. But it turned out Lin Yi was already finished? The assistant director happened to run into the two lifeguards, and he was so happy he could have jumped for joy! He almost agreed immediately. But then he thought, Lin Yi was a guest invited by the production team, and he couldn't make decisions for him.

He pretended to be in a dilemma: "I respect little Lin Yi’s wishes on this matter."

The lifeguard heard this and was as happy as if he’d already received a positive answer. As he walked away, he whispered: "I didn't expect the production team to be so humane, knowing how to respect a child..."

The assistant director didn't hear the rest. He huffed to himself: *We aren't some heartless production team, after all.* He grumbled while rowing, but the next second, he noticed something was wrong. The weight of the boat was wrong!

The assistant director’s rowing skills were amateur at best; he knew the weight was off the moment he swung the oar. He turned around abruptly to see Zhong Qi, Xie Yu, He Tong, and even Xi Lan standing at the stern. Seeing him look over, everyone except the famous actress Xi smiled so wide their teeth showed! Their cameramen were still struggling to get on board.

The assistant director: "...Enough! Do you really think this is a cruise ship, jumping on one by one! Do you want to all jump into the water later? That would be just like throwing dumplings into a pot."

The cameramen: "..."

The netizens in the livestream were laughing like crazy.

When the assistant director rowed the boat near the first boat, Lin Yi was already chatting with the lifeguard. Lin Yi held the lifeguard’s arm: "Don't keep your forearm too high. Use your wrist to exert force, and throw!"

*Whoosh*—the stone in the lifeguard’s hand flew out.

The lifeguard was still a bit dazed. *That’s it?*

The netizens in the livestream couldn't sit still anymore; those lying down with their phones sat up, and those casting to their TVs walked to within a foot of the screen, almost pressing their faces against it. The cameraman was curious too, keeping the lens locked on the direction the stone disappeared.

One second, two seconds passed. No movement.

*Did it fail?*

The lifeguard was a bit disappointed not to see the expected scene, but he comforted Lin Yi: "It’s okay, maybe my first attempt at applying force wasn't accurate..."

Before he could finish, someone exclaimed: "It appeared! It really appeared!"

The lifeguard looked over immediately, and sure enough, a fish was floating up with its white belly exposed. The tall man excitedly picked up Lin Yi, adoring him to bits. His first thought: *Is this a little deity?* His second thought: *How wonderful it would be if this were my kid!*

Lin Yi was a bit dazed by being suddenly picked up.

The other lifeguard grabbed him: "My turn, it’s my turn!"

Lin Yi used the same method, teaching him hand-in-hand what angle and what force to use to throw the stone. Another hit!

The lifeguard who had already hit a fish wanted to try it on his own, but looking at the surface of the pond, his eyes were blank. *Where... where am I supposed to throw?*

After Lin Yi finished, he finally spoke: "Little Yi-bao, how do you determine the position of the fish in the water? With everything pitch black like this, even if our technique is on point, we can't find the fish."

Lin Yi looked at him, considering it seriously. Not only were the two tall lifeguards looking at him with eager eyes, but the audience in front of the screen was also holding their breath, waiting, fearing they would miss any important information.

Lin Yi blinked: "Intuition."

The lifeguard: "..."

Nora, who was listening openly: "..."

The cameraman, who had been quietly pricking up his ears: "..." *He had wanted to learn a trick to show off in front of his buddies, but his fantasy was instantly shattered.*

Lin Yi looked at their disappointed expressions and whispered to himself: *Sorry.*

Of course, it wasn't intuition. It was similar to catching an apple; when catching an apple, one judges its position in advance based on the sound of the apple breaking through the wind. This method of fishing relied on the fish swimming in the water. Both required extremely keen hearing.

Ordinary people could achieve this through training, but it would take a lot of time and effort. If it was just to make one’s ears more sensitive, there was no need for it. As for little Lin Yi, he was born with sharp ears and bright eyes; Lin Yi had been pleasantly surprised when he discovered this himself.