Chapter 93 Grouper love is exclusive.

In the end, Fang Qingzhuo was worried about Chen Qianshu being around, so he dragged his family and dog with him to go to the appointment with Luo Shu. When they arrived at the destination, they found that the so-called casual play on the sea turned out to be a fishing trip.

After asking, I found out that Jiang Xun opened this sea fishing club out of interest in order to make it convenient for him to fish anytime and anywhere.

Before departure, Shen Qianshu arrived late, with Zhang Sheng's face chasing after him.

Luo Shu immediately looked at Tong Menglin, asking with her eyes: Why is she here too?

Tong Menglin knew she was in the wrong for not informing him beforehand, so she mumbled a weak explanation, "I don't know where Qiao Minmin heard Qian Shu was back, so she follows him wherever he goes."

She took Luo Shu's arm and coquettishly admitted her mistake, "If you want to blame someone, blame me. We're all classmates, it's not right to turn someone away."

Luo Shu said calmly: "I'm not angry."

Tong Menglin: "What about last night?"

Luo Shu: "What do you think?"

"I don't know you yet. If you were angry, you wouldn't have agreed to come." Tong Menglin blinked. "Jiang Xun has already done some ideological work on me. I was wrong. I shouldn't have said some nonsense at the dinner table and embarrassed you."

Luo Shu lowered her head and reflected for a moment: "I need to reflect on myself, too. I was too impulsive."

Hearing this, Tong Menglin shook her hand instead, carefully trying to persuade her, "Then can you and Qian Shu please stop being so awkward? We haven't had a proper reunion since graduation. It's so hard to have you two back, and I just want us to be like we used to be, the four of us everywhere."

Luo Shu glanced at Fang Qingzhuo, who was fiddling with bait with Jiang Xun not far away. She said with a tone of unsureness that she herself hadn't noticed: "I'll try my best."

Tong Menglin didn't detect the hint of uncertainty in her voice, and simply assumed she had agreed. She pulled her towards the flying bridge and said, "Let's go up, I've prepared a lot of delicious food."

Hehe, who was patrolling the new environment, pricked up his ears and immediately echoed, barking twice.

Tong Menglin squatted down contentedly and rubbed its furry cheeks: "Oh, we also want to eat delicious food."

As soon as the words fell, Qiao Minmin, wearing a sequined mini dress and out-of-place high heels, jumped onto the deck: "Qian Shu, wait for me."

Shen Qianshu boarded the boat before her and happened to meet Luo Shu who was about to go upstairs. His legs and feet stopped in place uncontrollably.

Qiao Minmin, who followed closely behind, thought he was waiting for her, and hurriedly took small steps to rush towards Shen Qianshu, but he dodged her by swinging his arm. Before she could scold him, she followed his still gaze and saw her old classmate whom she hadn't seen for a long time.

The surprise in his eyes was fleeting, and he said with a half-chuckle: "Isn't this that person, Luo Shu, you are back too."

Luo Shu looked calm: "Well, long time no see."

Qiao Minmin straightened her long curly hair that had been messed up by the sea breeze, and with her eyes raised, she carefully examined her minimalist outfit from head to toe. She curled her lips and said, "There's no need for you to dress so simply for a reunion with old classmates."

Hearing her sarcastic tone, Luo Shu didn't get annoyed: "You mean this outfit? I usually wear it when I walk the dog. Now, I knew you were coming, so I put it on specially to see you."

"You..." Qiao Minmin was speechless for a moment, unable to refute for a long time. She turned to the man beside her helplessly, "Qian Shu, look at her."

Tong Menglin rolled her eyes. If Qiao Minmin hadn't overheard the matchmaking call she made to Shen Qianshu, she would never have let this woman show off. She gave Shen Qianshu a look that said, "You'll have to deal with the trouble you've caused yourself," and then dragged Luo Shu up the stairs.

The overwhelming smell of gunpowder made Fang Qingzhuo, who had witnessed the entire process, push Jiang Xun, who was busy selecting a fishing rod, and ask, "Is that woman always so rude?"

"You're talking about Qiao Minmin." Jiang Xun kept his fishing rod in his hand. "When she was in school, she liked Qian Shu, so she always regarded Luo Shu as an imaginary enemy."

Fang Qingzhuo leaned against the guardrail, his eyes slightly narrowed, and watched the man and woman climb onto the flying bridge with a cold look as if he were looking at cargo, and an exclamation of extreme disdain spilled from his teeth.

Against the backdrop of the water and sky merging into one, a three-story luxury yacht slowly sails, leaving behind surging waves on the boundless sea.

In the flying bridge area with a wide view, the sea breeze blows on the faces of people with different expressions.

Although the yacht had all the necessary facilities for dining, drinking, and entertainment, Qiao Minmin still found it completely boring: "So boring! Did you guys come out here just to enjoy the sea breeze?"

Tong Menglin put down the camera, looking disinterested after being interrupted. "So, how do you want to play?"

The boat rocked slightly as the wind and waves hit. Qiao Minmin, who had already lost all her image, pushed aside her hair, barely steadied herself, and suggested, "We have three men and three women. Why don't we pair up men and women and see who can catch the most fish?"

When Jiang Xun heard about the fishing competition, he was the first to raise his hands in agreement: "I think it's okay."

Qiao Minmin continued, "Just comparing isn't enough, there has to be a punishment."

Tong Menglin asked in confusion, "No, can you fish? Is that all you can do?"

Qiao Minmin said confidently, "I can't do that, but Qianshu is here. He can catch me and I'll just wait to eat him."

After hearing this, Tong Menglin couldn't help but want to dampen her spirit, so she suggested a competition: "Okay, let's have a competition. The group that catches the least fish will be punished by grilling fish for everyone after they get ashore. The time limit is one hour."

"Shushu, what do you think?" She turned to ask Luo Shu for her opinion.

Ever since they entered the sea, they were visibly excited, their chin resting on the observation deck, enjoying the sea breeze. They seemed to enjoy the salty and humid air and the schools of fish that occasionally jumped out of the deep blue sea. Luo Shu kept an eye on them the whole time, afraid that they would accidentally jump in. She didn't care about the competition at all: "I have no objection."

"Okay, I'll be in the same group with Qianshu." Qiao Minmin asked.

"I don't agree." Shen Qianshu was unhappy, "For the sake of fairness, let's draw lots."

When drawing lots, Tong Menglin took out a pen and paper and was about to start writing when Fang Qingzhuo kindly reminded her: "Don't bother with that. Just use your phone. We have a special program for drawing lots within the company."

"No." Shen Qianshu looked at him warily, "Who knows if you can manipulate your company's software behind the scenes?"

Tong Menglin was afraid that the two would make eye contact again, so she quickly wrote down the number and crumpled it up: "Okay, I declare the drawing of lots to begin."

"The boys' group is capital numbers, and the girls' group is Arabic numbers."

As she was explaining the rules, a scorching gaze shot towards her. Tong Menglin traced the source and found it was a signal from Shen Qianshu seeking attention. She was stunned for a moment, then blinked and replied with a reassuring message.

"In short, those who draw the same letter are automatically grouped together."

After the girls finished distributing their numbers, it was the boys' turn. Fang Qingzhuo looked at the tampered digital signature Tong Menglin handed him and asked, "Are you sure this is my number?"

Tong Menglin's voice suddenly rose several degrees: "You, are you questioning my impartiality as a referee?"

Fang Qingzhuo saw everything they exchanged just now: "You said that yourself, not me."

"I..." Tong Menglin's defense was immediately broken. "Why don't you play by the rules?"

Seeing that the draw was a foregone conclusion, Fang Qingzhuo was too lazy to argue and took the digital ticket and accepted it with pleasure. After all, all the competitions in the world, big and small, could not escape the influence of those with connections, without exception.

Finally, the groupings were announced. Undoubtedly, Luo Shu and Shen Qianshu were in one group, Tong Menglin and Jiang Xun were in one group, and Fang Qingzhuo was in one group with Qiao Minmin.

At the moment of the announcement, Luo Shu carefully observed that Qiao Minmin did not show much disappointment, but instead showed a bit more special attention to her new partner.

The competition started, and Jiang Xun took the lead. Halfway through, he found that the other two men had not caught up, so he turned back and picked up one each: "Hey, be a gentleman. The sun is so hot, let the girls have fun by themselves. I'll tell you which spot is the best to fish, here..."

The sun was still shining brightly at four o'clock. Shen Qianshu passed by Fang Qingzhuo's fishing area and squinted his eyes in the strong light. He stopped and asked: "Did you expect this last night?"

"What did you expect?" Fang Qingzhuo cast his rod towards the sea without turning his head.

"What's wrong with the gift I gave you?" Shen Qianshu stared at the back of his head and recalled that last night, Ms. Ai sent them downstairs on behalf of Luo Shu, and only returned his gift, saying that it was too expensive and they appreciated the kindness.

Fang Qingzhuo twisted his neck and said, "Call me brother, and I'll help you solve your problems."

Shen Qianshu's slightly furrowed brows revealed another hint of dissatisfaction: "Forget it."

He was quite a man of character. Fang Qingzhuo glanced sideways and saw that he was still standing there, with no intention of leaving. "I can tell from looking at it that your brother didn't teach you the ways of the world properly."

"What does this have to do with my brother?" Shen Qianshu asked with his remaining patience.

The fishing rod in his hand made a sinking noise. Fang Qingzhuo remained calm and composed. "My pile of stuff looks impressive, but the total value is nowhere near what yours is. And you definitely didn't back-check what the other two old men do. Teaching is no different from other professions. What else can you do with a silk scarf worth tens of thousands of yuan, other than cause gossip and unnecessary trouble? Are you going to keep it as a collection?"

Shen Qianshu lowered his eyelashes and thought for three seconds. He had neglected this point.

The sun had already dipped in the west, and the agreed match point was already more than halfway past. Tong Menglin took a stroll and happily ran over to share her findings with Luo Shu: "Jiang Xun caught a striped grouper, and it's half the size of my leg."

Luo Shu: "Very good."

Tong Menglin: "Don't you want to go down and take a look? Qianshu has caught quite a few fish."

Luo Shu: "Let's see later."

Tong Menglin: "I see Qiao Minmin has already gone downstairs."

Luo Shu: "Oh."

Tong Menglin: "She went in the direction of your ex-boyfriend."

Luo Shu finally raised her head to look at her, then realized her mistake and quickly recovered: "They are a group anyway, there is nothing strange about it."

Seeing that she was obviously upset but still unmoved, Tong Menglin didn't want to do anything with bad intentions: "Now that it's just the two of us, tell me the truth. What do you think of Qian Shu? Is there any possibility..."

Luo Shu made a prompt decision, stopping her from saying anything else: "From the beginning to the end, Qian Shu is just a good friend, just like you guys."

"What about Fang Qingzhuo?"

"He..." Luo Shu moved her lips, the strong sea breeze filling her throat with soreness, "He's very annoying."

This ambiguous answer left Tong Menglin confused. Not giving up, she tried to inquire further, "Are you planning to return to me?"

"I have no idea."

Tong Menglin sighed: "Then let me ask a question for Qian Shu. What is it about Fang Qingzhuo that is worth remembering?"

Speaking of this, Luo Shu looked away, gazing at the setting sun for a few seconds in ecstasy. "He has a pure yet not-quite-pure sense of fate, neither black nor white, and something that you could call persuasive."

Hearing her give such a high evaluation, Tong Menglin's blocked heart suddenly opened up. Yes, if they really broke up, how could Luo Shu allow Fang Qingzhuo to enter her house? In the most colorful year, messages, phone calls, affection leaping out of the eyes, longing written on the face, how could someone who had been so happy forget it easily.

Although he didn't understand, he respected her choice and held her wrist: "Okay, then let's take this opportunity to see him thoroughly."

The two of them sneaked into the salon cabin behind the deck. Tong Menglin opened the sunshade and pushed open a small gap in the glass door. What came into view was the back of Fang Qingzhuo who was immersed in his fishing career and Qiao Minmin who was a few meters away.

Luo Shu tried her best to lower her voice: "What exactly are you going to do?"

Tong Menglin put her ear close to the gap and said, "Let's see what sparks they will create."

This was Luo Shu's first time doing this, and she felt unsure: "Let's go. Eavesdropping is immoral."

"Who else could Qiao Minmin and he talk about besides you?" Tong Menglin coaxed. "By the way, don't you want to hear what they say about you behind your back?"

Luo Shu hesitated in her heart, but her eyes, which went against her consciousness, had already been locked on the scene in front of her, and had not moved for a moment. Qiao Minmin, who was eager to move in her sight, took action first. She stood on tiptoe and looked at the spoils in the bucket beside Fang Qingzhuo's legs. It seemed that she could not see clearly, so she walked forward to check. Before she took two steps, a sharp voice suddenly interrupted her approach.

"Don't come over here."

I originally thought that men were difficult to get along with, but now it seems that is not entirely true. At least he still cares about her personal safety. Qiao Minmin's palm-sized face reveals a distinct sense of superiority. If you want to blame someone, blame her for her charm that has nowhere to go.

She held her head high and tossed her hair: "Don't worry, I'll just see how much you caught. I'll be careful."

Fang Qingzhuo shook the reel and sneered clearly, "Don't be so self-indulgent. I'm just worried that you might scare my fish without careful control."

It was very quiet, at least for half a minute, with only the sea breeze and waves roaring in my ears, like a mocking audience fanning the flames.

In an instant, Qiao Minmin felt the blood rushing to her face. She clutched the fabric of her skirt and stumbled to save face and argue: "You are the one who is being sentimental. I just came to visit you because we are a group. I am not interested in you. The person I like is Shen Qianshu."

"That young man is hanging around me." Fang Qingzhuo suddenly turned his gaze, the shadow cast by the brim of his sun hat slightly obscuring the emotions in his eyes, but the sharp words that came out of his teeth were too blunt. "Let me be clear in advance, I don't have a good impression of you, and I'm a very unpleasant person."

Qiao Minmin was slightly annoyed: "I am a girl."

"How old are you?"

Qiao Minmin was unsure of his intention and paused there: "I..."

Fang Qingzhuo treated everyone equally: "You're already adults, right? Since you have the ability to judge right from wrong, stop using gender as a banner. I don't buy it. The idea of ​​gender opposition is a false proposition, and I'm not discriminating. There are quite a few women in our company. Original painting, planning, and copywriting are almost all supported by women. Even development has their contributions. Male colleagues will ask them for advice when they encounter bugs they can't solve. So, in my eyes, there is no gender. There are only differences brought about by physiological structure. But this is not an advantage to be proud of, nor is it an excuse to foster unhealthy trends. People with delicate minds do delicate work, people with strong limbs do physical work, and those with ideas and ability are responsible for mental work. Only in this way can the scales be balanced."

"I don't like preaching either, unless I meet someone who is hopelessly stupid, then I'll just scold them and do whatever I want."

Qiao Minmin was stunned by what he said: "Are you calling me stupid...?"

Fang Qingzhuo stared at her, his lips moving: "Did I scold you?"

Qiao Minmin stammered, "It seems not."

Fang Qingzhuo's mouth corners raised instantly: "That's it."

The afterglow shone obliquely from the horizon, making his figure, which only showed two-thirds, particularly dazzling. Qiao Minmin felt a little uncomfortable under his gaze: "Then why did you say you had a bad impression of me?"

"Because I'm extremely protective of my shortcomings."

After talking for so long, the man's back remained straight. His sun protection gear hid his toned body from careful training, but it couldn't hide his inherent arrogance. Qiao Minmin stared intently and asked, "Who are you referring to?"

"If I tell you, you'll turn the tables on her again, right?"

Qiao Minmin was suddenly choked and turned her face away.

Fang Qingzhuo turned his head nonchalantly and continued to observe the movements under the sea: "If I were Shen Qianshu, you wouldn't even have the chance to get on this yacht."

"But I haven't gotten on board yet."

"So you're suffering now, and you can only vent your frustration on others," Fang Qingzhuo said casually. "You definitely have your reasons for liking someone, but to attack someone who's not even a rival, not even a competitor, based on one-sided fantasies and without justification, think carefully about whether it's worth it."

The warning was so obvious that the doubts trapped in Qiao Minmin's heart instantly dissipated. She suddenly realized: "Oh, so you are talking about Luo Shu. Do you like her?"

"I only see now that I really don't have good taste."

"..." Qiao Minmin ignored his sarcasm, "In that case, let's work together."

Xing was amused. Fang Qingzhuo gave him a quick glance, his hair swaying in the wind. "When it comes to business and cooperation, you're already a dishonest debtor, sister."

When she heard the name "sister," Qiao Minmin's ears burned indescribably. "What is it about her that you like?"

Time seemed to move very slowly in this sea area. The gears in Fang Qingzhuo's brain that were operating precisely were paused at this moment. In the gap that was opened up, there was a freedom that he had not enjoyed for a long time.

"If you didn't look at Luo Shu with tinted glasses, you wouldn't ask such a meaningless question given your long-standing relationship with her."

He reeled in the line slowly and leisurely. "That night she asked me why I hadn't tried to find someone else after all these years. I didn't tell her the truth. After breaking up with her, I didn't have the heart to meet someone new."

"Why?"

"You wouldn't understand even if I told you."

"How can I understand if you don't tell me?"

"Before I met her, I thought there was only sea beyond the sea. After I met her, I realized I owned the world. I had eyes that had seen the entire world. Mountains, jungles, and lakes could never fill that space."

If you truly love someone, you will not have any thoughts about other people. Even if a better person appears, you will subconsciously look down on him.

Love is exclusive.

The fishing line was pulled out from the seabed. Fang Qingzhuo reeled it in and put it on the rod. It seemed that he didn't plan to fish anymore. Qiao Minmin frowned: "There's still time before the end of the competition. Why don't you fish?"

"How can you catch fish if you can't even calm down?" Fang Qingzhuo left Qiao Minmin, who was stamping her feet in anger, and walked away without even looking back.

As night fell, the yacht galloped back towards the lighthouse.

The sea breeze was howling, and the temperature at sea dropped sharply. Tong Menglin found Shen Qianshu, who was staring at the waning moon, and sat with him for a while: "Qianshu, why don't you just give up."

After a long while, Shen Qianshu finally focused his attention, his pupils dotted with moonlight showing confusion: "What does Luo Shu like about him?"

Thinking back on today's events, Tong Menglin sighed secretly and replied tactfully: "Maybe love is a matter of first come first served."

“First come, first served, wasn’t I by her side first?” Shen Qianshu said in a dull tone.

"But I don't feel that way," Tong Menglin said. "Just think of it as fate. Fang Qingzhuo happened to save Luo Shu from heatstroke during her military training."

"What did you say?" Shen Qianshu seemed not to hear clearly, or perhaps he couldn't believe it, and he suddenly became quiet.

Perhaps it was an illusion caused by the darkness of the night, but Tong Menglin saw the haze in his eyes suddenly clear, and then a spark of hope ignited. After a few seconds, he carefully confirmed again, "So, Luo Shu thought Fang Qingzhuo saved her?"

The yacht docked and the group came to the seaside resort hotel to rest. Boxes of seafood needed to be processed in time. According to the agreement, Fang Qingzhuo and Qiao Minmin were willing to accept the bet and be responsible for grilling the fish.

Automatically blocking out the incessant chatter and complaints around him, Fang Qingzhuo picked up a few ornamental fish from the foam box and decided to pack them up and take them back to his home fish tank to raise. He even got an inflated pufferfish and started inflating it on the spot.

I found it very interesting and subconsciously wanted to share it with someone. When I looked around, I found that two people were missing from the originally gathered crowd.

At the same time, in the open-air swimming pool, the shimmering water reflected on Luo Shu's expressionless face.

"You called me over here because you have something to say?"

Shen Qianshu approached, his tall figure reflected on the water: "If I don't take the initiative to find you, you will never want to talk to me, right?"

"I admit that whenever I meet Fang Qingzhuo, I lose my mind and become brainless and extreme. I apologize."

Luo Shu is not an unreasonable person. Regardless of her original intention or motivation, she should not be so persistent.

She raised her eyes: "Then we are still good friends."

Under the moonlight, one stood and the other sat, the former staring at each other for a long time, while the latter tried hard to ignore the burning gaze above his head.

Shen Qianshu never agreed. He squatted in front of Luo Shu, bent down slightly, and his eyes were level with hers. As he confessed his true feelings, he slowly approached: "The decision I regret most is going abroad, and those childish behaviors when I was a child trying to attract you. You didn't realize that I only like to tease you."

"I heard the fastest way to forget someone is to start a new relationship."

Meeting her stunned gaze, Shen Qianshu's Adam's apple rolled, and his gaze slid down uncontrollably, lingering on her lips for a moment, then tilted his head and leaned forward, "Do you want to try it with me?"

The good apology suddenly turned sour. Luo Shu widened her eyes, fearing that he would kiss her again like last time. She reflexively stretched out her hands to push him away, but Shen Qianshu stopped abruptly when he was about to touch her lips.

Luo Shu also realized his prank, but it was too late, Shen Qianshu had already been pushed into the pool by her.

With a loud bang, he plunged into the bottom of the pool and disappeared. Luo Shu called Shen Qianshu's name anxiously. The next second, Shen Qianshu emerged from the water, coughed twice as if choked by the water, closed his wet eyelashes and stretched out his arm to her for help.

Luo Shu did not suspect anything and knelt by the pool to lend a helping hand. The moment her palms clasped together, she was suddenly pulled down by a brute force, and immediately lost her balance and fell into the swimming pool.

In an instant, the water in the swimming pool began to fluctuate violently again.

As Shen Qianshu was holding her and falling, Luo Shu was shocked and scared. She unconsciously hugged his neck with both hands, and she could no longer tell whose heartbeat it was in her ears.

When the water surface calmed down, Luo Shu was extremely angry and punched him twice: "Chen Qianshu, are you sick?"

Feeling unsatisfied, he pulled his collar and hit him.

This pull actually exposed a large area of ​​skin on the back of his shoulder to the air. The light brown scars covered in them immediately caught her eye. The shape and size looked like cigarette burns. Luo Shu didn't dare to think too much. She lifted up his loose vest and asked, "What's the matter with the wound on your back?"

Luo Shu's attention was completely focused on those old wounds, so she didn't notice that there was a pair of deep, bloodshot eyes behind her that were jealously staring at her without blinking, and her hand that was touching someone else's back.

Shen Qianshu wiped off the water droplets on his face and was about to explain when there was another splash of water. A group of agile white furry creature jumped into the water and paddled towards Luo Shu with its claws. It was her dog.

Hehe's unexpected intrusion interrupted Shen Qianshu's overall plan and caught Luo Shu off guard. She turned to the only entrance and exit, and sure enough, she saw a dark shadow disappear in the aisle. Without time to think, her instinct drove her to climb out of the swimming pool and chase after it.

The man's strides were so long that Luo Shu found it difficult to catch up. She simply stopped where she was and shouted, "Fang Qingzhuo."

Fang Qingzhuo turned around and looked at each other, but no one took the next step.

Luo Shu's breathing was disordered and her mood was like a roller coaster, but one thought was extremely clear. This time, she could no longer convince herself as firmly as before.

Thanks to the dim light in the corridor, Fang Qingzhuo finally got a glimpse of the vulnerable Luo Shu. His fingertips couldn't stop trembling. He took a few steps forward to close the distance between them. His dark eyes, filled with sadness, were tinged with a hint of temptation. "Luo Shu, do you have something to say to me?"

Behind him, Shen Qianshu also hurried over: "Luo Shu, I have something to say to you."

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The author has something to say: The basic plot setup has finally come to an end, and with one more twist, the couple is about to reconcile!!!