He continued searching until the sun began to set, the mudflats now crisscrossed with his footprints.

He sighed softly, realizing he'd been too optimistic.

Wild earth dragons were rare, and the chances of finding one were low. It was no surprise he hadn't found a second one.

Carrying the lone earth dragon and a small collection of mud snails, Chu Mingcheng found a relatively clean rock to sit on and began washing himself with the muddy seawater.

He managed to get most of the mud off his hands and feet. As for getting completely clean, that would have to wait until he got home.

Back at home, he put the earth dragon in water to keep it alive, then went to take a shower.

He was about to start making dinner when he received a photo from Jiang Luoluo—a picture of her in full costume and makeup.

"What do you think? Do I look good?"

Chu Mingcheng opened the picture and studied it carefully. The makeup was quite heavy, the kind you'd see on a goddess in a fantasy drama, with a silver-white floral design on her forehead and matching eyeshadow.

She wore a white, ancient-style gauze dress, looking both ethereal and beautiful.

"I've never seen you look anything but beautiful. The makeup matches the dance theme perfectly. It's gorgeous."

Jiang Luoluo was sitting in a chair while a stylist worked on a new look for her.

For this dance, she was portraying not only a sacred aspect but also one of freedom, so she had two sets of makeup and costumes.

One was finished; now she was trying the other.

When she saw Chu Mingcheng's reply, the first part of his message made her burst out laughing, causing the half-finished braid the stylist was working on to come undone.

The stylist, a woman she knew well, gently tapped Jiang Luoluo on the head and chided, "What are you giggling about all of a sudden? Sit still."

Zhang Ruomei, who was reading a magazine nearby, glanced over and teased, "Someone's chatting with her boyfriend. Isn't it normal for her to be giggling?"

"Boyfriend?" The stylist's voice shot up an octave. "Luoluo, you have a boyfriend?"

Jiang Luoluo blushed and protested, "Don't listen to Mei-jie's nonsense. We're just ordinary friends!"

The stylist, being experienced and perceptive, immediately sensed the situation and joined in the teasing. "Oh, so just ordinary friends. Why don't you call him over so we can all meet him?"

"You guys, stop it. You're making a simple friendship sound like something it's not," Jiang Luoluo said, trying to stay calm.

Just then, Zhang Ruomei suddenly reached out and snatched the phone from her hand.

"Hey, Mei-jie, what are you doing?" Jiang Luoluo, still in the chair, tried to get up and chase her but was held down firmly by the stylist.

"Wanying here wants to meet your 'ordinary' friend. I'll just call him over so she can get to know him." Zhang Ruomei put extra emphasis on the word "ordinary," then sent a message to Chu Mingcheng.

"Ah Cheng, Mei-jie has something to do tonight and left early. Could you please come and pick me up?"

"Sure, I'll be right there!"

Chu Mingcheng had no idea the sender had changed and naturally agreed.

He had borrowed her car, making it inconvenient for her to get around. It was only right that he go pick her up.

"Mei-jie, how could you!" Jiang Luoluo, pinned to the chair, watched as Zhang Ruomei sent the message, feeling a mix of helplessness and embarrassment.

She didn't know how the two of them would tease her when he arrived.

At the same time, for some reason, she also felt a small flutter of anticipation, hoping that the people around her would approve of Chu Mingcheng.

Half an hour later, her new look was complete. After changing into a red dance dress that exposed her midriff, Chu Mingcheng arrived.

His car was parked by the roadside. He looked around and saw a sign for a styling studio on the third floor of a building. Jiang Luoluo was up there.

The ground floor was all shops. Chu Mingcheng asked around and learned he had to go down a side alley to the back of the building to get upstairs.

He made his way to the third-floor studio. As he pushed the door open, he saw Jiang Luoluo in a red dress.

If the white dress was icy and sacred, the red was fiery and passionate. Even her makeup had changed dramatically.

"Oh, Ah Cheng, you're here!" Zhang Ruomei saw Chu Mingcheng, quickly gave Chen Wanying a meaningful look, and got up to greet him.

"Huh, Zhang Ruomei, didn't you go home? Why are you still here?" Chu Mingcheng was surprised to see her.

"It was Mei-jie who used my phone to trick you!" Jiang Luoluo quickly explained.

"Trick me?" Chu Mingcheng was confused, not understanding the situation.

"He really is a handsome guy. No wonder someone was giggling while texting earlier."

Just then, Chen Wanying's teasing voice rang out. Coupled with Jiang Luoluo's shy and embarrassed expression, Chu Mingcheng began to piece together what was happening.

"Ha, it seems the joke I told was pretty funny after all."

Seeing Chu Mingcheng come to the rescue, Zhang Ruomei and Chen Wanying exchanged a smile and stopped their teasing.

They weren't that familiar with him, after all. A little teasing was fine, but going too far would be inappropriate.

"Ah Cheng, what do you think of Luoluo's red outfit?" Zhang Ruomei asked.

Chu Mingcheng stroked his chin and looked her over carefully. "This one should represent the snake demon from the second song, right? Since the theme is freedom, and the third life is a goddess, then the second and first lives should also achieve freedom. Do you have a costume for the first life too?"

He had been in Jiang Luoluo's dance studio for the past few days. Although they hadn't discussed the choreography, having seen the dance, he could roughly guess her concept.

Zhang Ruomei looked at Jiang Luoluo, who had become somewhat quiet since Chu Mingcheng's arrival. "Did you two discuss the concept for this dance privately?"

Jiang Luoluo shook her head. "No!"

Chen Wanying looked at Zhang Ruomei and said, "This is called being in sync. What are you getting involved for?"

"Alright, my mistake." Zhang Ruomei threw up her hands, then turned to Jiang Luoluo. "The look seems fine. Should we go with it?"

Jiang Luoluo looked at herself in the mirror, also quite satisfied. "Okay, let's go with it. I'll practice the dance for the next few days, and we'll shoot in three days, at night."

"Okay, if there's nothing else, I'll head back. You two have fun." Zhang Ruomei picked up her bag, ready to leave.

"Aren't you staying for dinner?" Chu Mingcheng was somewhat speechless. They tricked him into coming here, teased him for a bit, and then that was it?

"No, I called you over because I wanted to get off work early and be lazy. Luoluo, I won't come over for the next few days. I have other things to do."

"Okay, Mei-jie, you take care of your things. I'll call you when I've got the dance down."

Zhang Ruomei left. Jiang Luoluo sat in the chair and had Chen Wanying remove her hair and makeup. Chu Mingcheng found a seat to wait.

A short while later, Jiang Luoluo had her makeup removed and was about to go into the back room to change when another couple came in. The woman was there for makeup and styling, and the man sat down next to Chu Mingcheng.

Seeing this, Jiang Luoluo felt a sense of déjà vu, and her face flushed slightly.

She quickly slipped into the changing room before Chu Mingcheng could notice her embarrassment.

After changing, she said goodbye to Chen Wanying, and the two of them left together.

It was already dark. As they walked, Jiang Luoluo suddenly said apologetically, "Ah Cheng, I'm sorry. Mei-jie suddenly grabbed my phone, and I was held down in the chair, so she ended up tricking you into coming over."

"What are you apologizing for? You lent me your car; I should have come to pick you up anyway." Chu Mingcheng waved his hand dismissively and changed the subject. "I got lucky today and caught an earth dragon. How about we buy a Muscovy duck tonight and make earth dragon soup?"

Jiang Luoluo was successfully distracted. "You caught an earth dragon? Why didn't you sell it? It's six hundred a jin!"

"It was just one, and only about a jin. I already made over three thousand today, so selling it or not doesn't really matter."

"You should still sell it. It feels too extravagant to eat it ourselves. Let's eat out tonight. I'll take you somewhere good."

Jiang Luoluo felt bad for him; it was too expensive.

So she thought for a moment and decided not to go back to eat, so Chu Mingcheng wouldn't insist on cooking the earth dragon.

"Alright. I've been in Xiamen for a few days and haven't really explored. How about we go for a walk after dinner?"

"Okay!"

They ate and wandered, and Chu Mingcheng tried several more Minnan specialty snacks.

Once they were full, they walked leisurely along the road.

Chu Mingcheng looked at Gulangyu Island in the distance. "Luoluo, I heard Gulangyu Island is very famous. Is it fun?"

"If you want to go, I can take you! But I'm too familiar with it, just like you are with Yan Mountain, so I'm pretty indifferent to it."

Chu Mingcheng understood. Even the most beautiful scenery gets old after a while.

After walking for a bit, he felt the sea breeze getting colder. In the city lights, he could vaguely see thick clouds gathering in the sky.

"Luoluo, let's go back. I have a feeling it's going to rain."

"Rain?"

Jiang Luoluo took out her phone to check the weather forecast, puzzled. It had been a clear day. But she found that it was indeed going to rain.

"Oh my, the forecast really does say it's going to rain. Let's go, let's go, let's hurry back."

The two of them rushed back. They were lucky. Just as they got in the car, the sky opened up, and it started to pour.

Jiang Luoluo looked at the pedestrians running for cover and said with relief, "Phew, that was close. If we hadn't been quick, we'd be soaked."

Chu Mingcheng smiled, started the car, and headed back. Their evening walk was cut short, but he might as well go back and study.

…

Waking up the next day, Chu Mingcheng pulled open the curtains to find it was still raining, and quite heavily at that—a steady downpour.

He first checked the temperature and found that the saying "an autumn rain brings a chill" didn't apply in Xiamen.

The temperature had dropped a little, but it was still around twenty degrees Celsius. This temperature wouldn't affect the fish's appetite.

If this were up north, fishing after an autumn rain would be difficult.

The sudden drop in temperature would make the fish stop feeding and start preparing for winter.

You could fish in the rain, but with the rain this heavy, Chu Mingcheng didn't plan on going out. The bite should be good after the rain stopped, so there was no need to rush.

Life should be a balance of work and rest. After being busy for a few days, Chu Mingcheng decided to take a day off.

He lay back down in bed and found that the bed was exceptionally comfortable on a rainy day.

But sometimes, someone just has to go against the grain.

Old Man Wei had had a few drinks the day before, both at lunch and dinner. He woke up not only without a headache but also feeling particularly energetic.

He had originally planned for a leisurely day of fishing in the rain.

But the highest temperature the day before had reached twenty-eight degrees. The rain had lowered the temperature a bit, and the increased oxygen in the water made the fish very active.

Just then, a friend called, saying he had found a spot at sea with red seabream, the fishing was great, and there were even sea red groupers.

With that, Old Man Wei's plans immediately changed. He was going out to sea to fish.

But his boat had had some problems a few days ago and was at the shipyard for repairs, which was why he had been fishing from the shore or in lakes and rivers these past few days.

He could have gone on a friend's boat, but he thought of Chu Mingcheng and quickly made a call.

"Hello, Agong, what's up?"

"Let's go fishing."

"Agong, it's raining today. I was planning to rest."

"There's a school of red seabream at sea, and sea red groupers. My boat is at the shipyard for repairs, so I want to borrow yours."

A school of red seabream, and sea red groupers…

This damn old man, tempting him like this.

"Alright, Agong, do you know someone with a fuel truck? I'm still studying for my license, so the boat has been parked at the marina."

"…" Wei Jianguo was silent. He bought a boat before he even had a license? What kind of operation was this?

He then agreed and asked which marina it was, then drove over.

As for fresh water, the marina where Chu Mingcheng's boat was docked had it available for five yuan a ton, which wasn't expensive.

Chu Mingcheng's lazy day was also ruined. He quickly got up, washed up, changed, and ran to Jiang Luoluo's place to borrow her car keys.