Huo Qin, as if seeing some kind of heartbreak in the fish, thought: "...?"

Fortunately, only ten seconds passed between the moment Yu Daoxin shattered and his resurrection.

After taking a couple of bites to satisfy her craving, Chaochao reached out and pinched a small piece of bread, crumbled it into crumbs, and let it float lightly into the water.

The crucian carp that had been motionless at the bottom of the bucket suddenly swung its tail, half of its head popped out of the water, and its mouth opened and closed rapidly. Within seconds, most of the breadcrumbs floating on the surface of the water were cleared away.

"Eat slowly, there's no rush."

While chewing on bread, Chaochao saw the fish eating with such ferocity that she was momentarily stunned for a couple of seconds before offering words of comfort as if she were experiencing the same thing firsthand.

"The little bread is right here, it won't run away."

However, the fish heads on the surface of the water did not slow down their feeding speed at all.

Huo Qin felt that he had guessed one or two of the reasons.

As soon as the words of comfort were spoken, the little dumpling opened its mouth and took another bite.

At this point, the once plump, milky bread had dwindled to the size of Chaochao's fingernail.

system:"……"

That's right.

It nodded in agreement.

The little bread roll certainly won't run away, because it can't run away anyway!

Chaochao glanced at the last tiny piece of bread between her fingers, licked her lips, and finally stopped her attack.

She crushed it with her fingers and threw it back into the water.

At the same time, he spoke calmly and confidently in a steady, childlike voice:

"Fish, look! If I have something to eat, you'll have something to eat too. All of this is yours!"

System: ...That sounds familiar.

It appears to be a pie-in-the-sky promise made by a leader during a system-wide conference.

Chaochao, who had unwittingly tossed a pancake to the fish, was now squatting by the bucket, staring blankly at the fish's opening and closing mouth, her little expression surprisingly serious.

She was thinking—

Fish eat in the water, isn't that just like eating rice porridge all the time?

So, has it never eaten anything dry?

Every morning he tilts his head, every morning he thinks, every morning he launches an attack.

The crucian carp, in the final stages of cleaning its food, suddenly sensed a shadow looming over its head, and then—

The fish's mouth, which had just opened, was stabbed.

With an inquisitive and curious little face, Chaochao picked up the last crumb with her tender fingers and quickly and accurately put it into the fish's mouth.

Huo Qin and the system, observing from inside the arena: "..."

Chaochao blinked and encouraged the dazed fish head.

"Eat up, this is—"

She paused briefly for half a second.

"This is dry rations!"

Accompanied by a firm gaze and a fist of approval.

The words had barely left his mouth.

A string of bubbles suddenly rose from the water's surface, where scattered powder was floating.

"Gurgle..."

The system gently blows steam from the electronic tea.

A whoosh, possibly the dry gurgling sound of a wild crucian carp.

Huo Qin had already sat back down, his broad shoulders leaning against the cabin, his dark eyes quietly watching the little dumpling teasing the wild fish outside, occasionally flashing a thoughtful light.

The man's shoe tip lightly touched the ground.

I have this feeling.

Huo Qin's deep-set eyes darted around.

The ship is heading in the wrong direction—

"Fish, don't move yet."

The little dumpling chatted with the fish for a while, when the top-performing saleswoman, Gold Medal Service, came online again. She excitedly pulled out a large wooden bucket from somewhere and said to the fish.

"I'll change your water in a bit, that will definitely make you feel more comfortable sleeping."

After saying that, the little dumpling turned its head, its eyes sparkling with anticipation.

"Daddy—"

Huo Qin looked at her, a barely audible chuckle escaping his throat, vanishing in an instant. The man slowly rose, took the wooden bucket held high in the little girl's hand, and gave a faint sigh, accepting his fate of being ordered around. "I know."

As he carried the bucket closer to the gunwale, the dark, murky water beneath the hull instantly blurred and diffused, leaving only the gently rippling surface of the lake when Huo Qin looked down. "..."

He placed the wooden bucket, which was seven-tenths full, next to the original bucket.

Chaochao raised her little face: "Hehe, thank you, Daddy~"

Let her handle the rest!

Just scoop the fish out like this, and then throw them in like this... no, put them in like this.

Uh-huh.

Having practiced in the air, Chaochao felt confident and prepared. She rolled up her sleeves and firmly grasped the head and tail of the small crucian carp with both hands.

Because the wooden bucket was a size too big, she had to stand up to carefully throw it in, ensuring it wouldn't go wrong.

She took a breath, tightened her core muscles, and successfully stood up!

What follows is that one in ten thousand chance of "loss".

Perhaps it was the little dumpling's gesture that reminded the little crucian carp of the dark time when it was being manipulated not long ago, because it gently wiggled its tail.

Then, he derailed himself.

In the instant she lost her grip, Chaochao's almond-shaped eyes widened as she stared at the little fish, which was wading through the air in all sorts of poses.

The unexpected event was like a slow-motion replay.

In fact, the small wild fish that thrashed about ten times in a second shimmered in the sunlight like sparkling fairy wands in full bloom.

It's so beautiful!

Chaochao tilted her head back at a 45-degree angle, her innocent little face showing an approving smile.

The next second, "plop—"

It was the clear, rippling sound of water.

Completely oblivious to the terror revealed in the eight hundred feints she made in a second before her beloved little fish fell into the water—

Why aren't you holding on tight to me?!