I Can Fish Up Everything!

"Your man probably got tired of you a long time ago. Be careful he doesn’t pop up with an illegitimate child to fight your two precious sons for the inheritance."

The words were incredibly vicious, aimed right where it hurt most. Furious, Shen Suping immediately swung a slap.

Gu Nan’s eyes narrowed. The moment she raised her hand, he moved forward to block it.

But Yi Chen took two steps back and bumped right into his arms, coincidentally dodging the slap.

She knew her mother well. Shen Suping had a habit of getting physical when she was embarrassed and angry. Having learned her lesson after getting hit twice before, Yi Chen had been on guard the whole time.

Gu Nan held Yi Chen, then pulled her behind him. It was time for him to step up. He had to protect his own woman; not even his difficult future mother-in-law could bully her.

But his girlfriend was particularly assertive today, leaving him no room to play the hero.

She didn’t stay hidden, stepping out again. "This is your only move, isn’t it? Hitting people when you can’t win an argument. Why don’t we just disown each other? In your eyes, my only value is in getting married to expand your family’s network."

"With parents like you, I’d rather be an orphan!"

Yi Linfei: ???

Shen Suping stared daggers at her daughter. She hadn’t expected that after just a few months apart, the girl’s tongue had become even sharper.

Her chest heaved with rage, but she was, after all, someone who had seen the world. Slowly composing herself, she sneered at Gu Nan. "Do you think your parents will approve of you two when they find out about all this?"

Without waiting for Gu Nan’s reply, she turned and left.

Shen Suping had indeed come here in a rage. Just yesterday morning, she had been discussing her and a major client’s children—in other words, arranging a blind date for Yi Chen. That very evening, she received news that her daughter already had a boyfriend.

Beautiful, a good cook, and most importantly, had never been in a relationship—these were all Yi Chen’s biggest selling points.

Her education, on the other hand, wasn’t a big deal in their eyes. She could just keep studying; getting a university diploma was a simple matter.

This was why Shen Suping had been flinging snide remarks the moment she entered the shop. She had arrived filled with fury.

Once the woman was gone, Yi Chen’s body suddenly went limp. Gu Nan quickly steadied her.

All her earlier assertiveness was gone. Instead, she looked at him in a panic. "Ah Nan, will your parents not like me?"

Shen Suping’s parting shot had truly broken her composure. Because she loved him, she cared.

Gu Nan, no longer caring that they were in the shop, tenderly came behind the counter and held her, comforting her. "My parents are very reasonable people. When they know the reason, they’ll only feel for you. Why would they dislike you?"

"Really?"

"Definitely. You have to have confidence in yourself!"

Yi Chen leaned quietly in his arms, murmuring, feeling a new kind of warmth and security.

Before, she could only bear these things silently on her own, with only her grandmother to hold and comfort her in the end. This felt completely different.

To be honest, Gu Nan was also furious, but Yi Chen hadn’t given him any room to act.

So, he asked Yi Chen what kind of work Shen Suping and her husband did.

The answer left him rather speechless. Shen Suping herself only owned a relatively high-end beauty salon. It was profitable, sure, but not so much that it made her untouchable.

The husband she’d remarried, Qu Jing, was in the glass business. Yi Chen didn’t know his net worth.

Gu Nan noted down the name of the glass factory and her stepfather. He decided to set a small goal for himself: to surpass their net worth.

That afternoon, he took Yi Chen to an escape room, then for a stroll through the mall. After cheering up his girlfriend and seeing her home, he went to the club and headed straight for the office.

Wang Junhe was there today. The club had just launched, so either he or Guo Xiao would come by whenever they were free.

The shipyard owner and the diving instructor were just minor shareholders; the club wasn’t their main focus.

Gu Nan arrived empty-handed. To Wang Junhe’s dumbfounded expression, he opened a nearby cabinet and took out two cartons of Hua Zi cigarettes.

"Brother Wang, let me ask you something. Do you know a Qu Jing?"

Wang Junhe was even more baffled. "Who’s that? Did he piss you off?"

𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Gu Nan shook his head. "No, I’m just asking. You don’t know Qu Jing? Then have you heard of the Hang Yi Glass Factory?"

Wang Junhe replied, "Huh, that factory name does sound a little familiar! Oh, right, the owner’s wife seems to run a beauty salon. Your sister-in-law has a membership card there."

He’d heard Guo Xiao mention it once, saying the salon owner wanted to play matchmaker for his son.

Guo Xiao had a son and a daughter. The son was older, but he was only thirteen. Isn’t that a bit early to be talking about matchmaking?

That’s why he’d mentioned it to Wang Junhe as a joke at the time.

"I see. So, this glass factory owner and the lady who runs the beauty salon... what do you think their family’s net worth is?" Gu Nan continued to ask.

Wang Junhe spread his hands. "How would I know? It’s just a small factory. At most, a net worth of ten million. The beauty salon does okay, but it probably only brings in two or three million a year in hard-earned money."

Gu Nan nodded thoughtfully. ’His own current annual income is actually pretty absurd too.’

Just from supplying restaurants and hotels, he was making five to six hundred thousand in monthly revenue, which was pretty close to his actual income.

Even on paper, his annual income wasn’t any less than what Shen Suping’s beauty salon made.

Once the golden fishing rod from Seven-Star Rock arrived, he could set up two electric reels to haul in his stock, and his income would only get higher.

’Unfortunately, one person’s energy and time are limited. There’s a ceiling to how much you can make just by fishing and selling.’

A "small goal" would be genuinely difficult for someone who just fishes and sells his catch, but reaching the ten-million-level wasn’t hard. It would happen in due course.

"What’s up? Why the sudden questions about this?" Wang Junhe couldn’t help but ask, seeing him lost in thought.

Gu Nan threw up his hands. "Today, someone was pointing at my nose, calling me a ’fish seller’ over and over. They acted like they were some big shot."

"So I came to you to get the scoop. I was thinking, fortunes change. I need to hurry up and surpass their net worth so that one day I can point at their noses and call them a ’glass seller’ and a ’hot-air peddler’."

Hearing this, Wang Junhe flew into a rage. "Fucking hell! What’s wrong with selling fish? Are we living off them?"

"By the way, what do you mean ’hot-air peddler’?"

"Don’t beauty salons basically run on bullshitting people?"

"...Is that what it means? Whatever, that’s not important. I’ll get even for you. Just wait for my news!"

Wang Junhe wasn’t doing this entirely for Gu Nan. Part of it was because of his own hobby. As a fisherman, even though he didn’t sell fish, he felt obligated to get involved in anything fish-related.

"I’m not living off them, but your sister-in-law is! It was her good-for-nothing mom. Sounds like she tried to set up some blind dates, but your sister-in-law turned them all down. She ended up with me, and her mom’s not happy about it."

"Brother Wang, you should stay out of this. I was just asking for information. This is one of those classic ’putting someone in their place’ stories from a novel. Don’t you dare steal such a perfect opportunity to look cool!"

Today’s incident also gave Gu Nan a rough idea of why her parents had divorced. The main reason was clearly Shen Suping.

Finding his words amusing, Wang Junhe couldn’t help but laugh. "What are you thinking, kid? She’s your future mother-in-law, for crying out loud. You can’t just go and stir up trouble yourself! Yi Chen is your girlfriend, which makes her my little sister-in-law. I have to help vent this frustration."

Gu Nan quickly tried to stop him. "No, don’t! If you guys handle it, what am I supposed to do? This afternoon, Chenchen stood in front of me to confront her mother. Can’t you guys let me have a turn to shine?"

"Get outta here. While Old Guo is away, you’d better go catch a big fish for me. Then I guarantee I’ll handle this for you, and I’ll do it beautifully." ’If he really wanted to handle it himself, why would he have come to me? He was just checking to see how powerful they were. If they weren’t, he’d borrow my hand to teach them a lesson.’

Wang Junhe had long seen through Gu Nan’s intentions. He agreed to step in, on the condition of a big fish.

"You got it! I’m heading out to sea for a big one right now!"

Grinning, Gu Nan left the office. But just as he reached the club entrance, he slapped his forehead and turned back around.

Seeing him return, Wang Junhe asked, confused, "What else?"

"Nothing, I forgot the cigarettes!" Gu Nan snatched the two cartons of Hua Zi from the coffee table and stuffed them under his arm.

The corner of Wang Junhe’s mouth twitched. He immediately picked up a pen and threw it at him. "Get the hell out of here, and be quick about it!"

Watching Gu Nan bolt out of the office, he suddenly burst out laughing.

’It really is rare, in his position, to find like-minded friends who don’t just care about personal gain.’

He and Guo Xiao were friends because they had similar backgrounds and had known each other since their school days. They’d actually become friends after a fight.

Gu Nan, on the other hand, was purely a kindred spirit. They both loved fishing, and their friendship didn’t involve any other complications.