"Tonight for supper, let's grill this fish I caught!" Shi Xingwu flicked water droplets from his hair, proudly displaying his catch. "It looks so plump and delicious!"
"I didn't realize you had such skills," Miao Tong praised with a nod.
"Hmph~" Shi Xingwu merely grunted, but inwardly he couldn't help but muse: men who rely on being a woman's *xiǎo xiǎosū* are certainly no match for a *true man* like himself.
"Goddess! How is it?" Shi Xingwu held the fish up before Xia Qingyu, his eyes sparkling as he sought praise.
"It's great, truly amazing," Xia Qingyu complimented with a gentle smile.
Having received Xia Qingyu's praise, Shi Xingwu became even more excited. He bolted towards Li Xiaozhong, who was engrossed in her laptop, shouting, "Li Xiaozhong! Look at my fish!"
"Get lost! You're dripping water! Stay away from my computer!" Li Xiaozhong, worried the clumsy Shi Xingwu might splash water on her laptop, immediately scooped it up and retreated.
"Don't be stingy! Look! Hurry and look!" Shi Xingwu chased after Li Xiaozhong, running further and further away.
"He's certainly full of energy," Miao Tong said, hands in his pockets, as he walked over to Xia Qingyu with a smile. "Qingyu, your classmate is quite interesting."
"Yes, he's quite amusing," Xia Qingyu nodded.
Despite Shi Xingwu's frequent foolishness and rough ways, his straightforward nature brought a lot of joy.
"It's just... he doesn't seem to like me very much," Miao Tong scratched the back of his head and glanced sideways at Nie Qingkong beside Xia Qingyu.
Whether it was his imagination or not, he felt Nie Qingkong's gaze on him was sometimes chilling, as if he wanted to kick him into the sea at any moment.
Perhaps... it was just his imagination.
After all, he was just an ordinary high school student. Where would such malice come from?
"I'm going to look around elsewhere," Miao Tong said, his hands returning to his pockets, his gaze casually falling on something in the distance. "Call me if anything comes up."
He had to try his luck. What if he could find Tang Jiamingzhu? That would make this trip worthwhile.
"Okay," Xia Qingyu nodded. "Go ahead, but be careful."
"Don't worry," Miao Tong winked playfully, flashing a bright, sunny smile before walking away.
Seeing Miao Tong flirt with Xia Qingyu, Nie Qingkong's eyebrow twitched, and his gaze at Miao Tong's retreating back became even colder.
"Hey!" Xia Qingyu waved her hand in front of Nie Qingkong's face. "He's long gone, and you're still glaring. Are you trying to provoke him?"
"Are you going to be heartbroken if I glare for a moment? Will looking at him take a pound of flesh?" Nie Qingkong's tone was tinged with an acidity he himself hadn't noticed. "You seem to cherish him quite a lot."
"Of course, after all, he's with me and Xia Qingtian..." If anything were to happen to Miao Tong, she wouldn't know how to explain it to Xia Shang.
Reasons flashed through her mind rapidly, but Xia Qingyu couldn't be bothered to explain herself to Nie Qingkong: "I can't be bothered to explain all this to you!"
With a dismissive snort, Xia Qingyu turned to leave.
Seeing Xia Qingyu so warm and open with Miao Tong, elegant and composed with Bai Shao, and yet so heartless towards him, practically baring her teeth,
"Xia Qingyu!" Nie Qingkong grabbed Xia Qingyu's wrist, making her turn to face him. "Am I being too lenient with you?"
If it were anyone else, he could have unceremoniously tossed them into the sea to feed the sharks.
"I'm being too lenient with you?" Xia Qingyu raised an eyebrow. "Did you even think before you said that?"
Xia Qingyu shook off Nie Qingkong's hand and turned to leave again.
Just then, Shi Xingwu, who had been chasing Li Xiaozhong, came running back. Not paying attention, the fish he was carrying flew out and landed at Xia Qingyu's feet. As she stepped on it, Xia Qingyu lunged towards the ship's railing, her face about to collide with it. She instinctively closed her eyes in fear.
The expected pain didn't come. Instead, an arm circled her waist, and a deep male voice said in her ear, "Do you have some kind of unlucky constitution?"
Xia Qingyu's ears burned at the sound, and she immediately pushed away the person behind her.
"Goddess! I'm so sorry!" Shi Xingwu was also terrified and rushed over to apologize. "Are you alright!"
"I'm fine," Xia Qingyu shook her head.
"Good thing Nie Qingkong was there," Li Xiaozhong, who had seen the whole thing, couldn't help but sigh in relief and gave Shi Xingwu a hard pat on the head. "Can't you be more careful! Don't be so reckless! We're at sea! Falling overboard would be really dangerous!"
"Sorry!" Shi Xingwu shrunk his neck, then looked at Nie Qingkong and said, "Thank you!"
"It's nothing," Nie Qingkong replied. "Protecting my grandson is a grandfather's duty."
Xia Qingyu's mind was in a mess, unsure how to face Nie Qingkong, who had helped her again. Hearing his almost mocking words, her wildly beating heart instantly calmed down. She glared at Nie Qingkong, "What nonsense are you saying!"
"Didn't you say it before? Who's afraid of whose grandson? Dare you say you weren't afraid?" Nie Qingkong looked at Xia Qingyu, a smirk playing on his lips, a challenge in his eyes. "If you weren't afraid, why would you have been sitting here with me, enduring this cold wind for so long? Is it filial piety?"
"You!" Xia Qingyu choked, stamping her foot in anger. "I'm not bothering with you!"
With that, Xia Qingyu turned away, huffing indignantly.
Watching Xia Qingyu's retreating back, Nie Qingkong let out a snicker. This ungrateful girl, so stubborn and sharp-tongued, was quite amusing.
"You always call me a straightforward guy," Shi Xingwu whispered to Li Xiaozhong. "This guy is even more of a straight man than me. He calls girls 'grandson'... If he finds a girlfriend, I'll call him Dad!"
"Don't be a pot calling the kettle black," Li Xiaozhong gave Shi Xingwu a speechless glare. "Reflect on today's events properly!"
After saying that, Li Xiaozhong picked up her laptop and walked away.
"Tsk." Shi Xingwu tsked, scratching the back of his head helplessly, about to follow.
"Shi Xingwu." Nie Qingkong called out to Shi Xingwu, who was about to leave, a meaningful smile on his face. "Let's talk?"
"Talk about what?" Shi Xingwu asked, confused.
"Let's talk about Xia Qingyu and that... *xiǎo xiǎosū*." Nie Qingkong's smile deepened.
"Huh?" Shi Xingwu blinked, looking at Nie Qingkong with a confused expression.
About ten minutes later, Shi Xingwu, clenching his fists in anger, strode in the direction Miao Tong had left.
Nie Qingkong, left behind, turned to look at the distant scenery, slowly letting his smile fade.
Since Xia Qingyu was keeping such a close eye on him, he might as well have a chat with this Shi Xingwu, who didn't seem very bright.
After all, all that mattered was teaching that *xiǎo xiǎosū* a lesson.
Who teaches the lesson, does it really matter?