Fishing enthusiasts are a fascinating “species.”
Wherever there’s a spot suitable for fishing, you can find them at any time of day.
Even though they come back empty-handed nine times out of ten, you should never underestimate a fishing enthusiast. Who knows what kind of hidden “master” might be lurking under that plain sun hat?
From identifying venomous snakes, recognizing medicinal herbs by sight, wilderness survival, and fossil identification, to postpartum care for sows—there’s nothing they don’t know.
And besides fish, the things fishing enthusiasts manage to reel in are bizarre and varied. There’s scrap metal that’s been soaking in water for who knows how long, “spicy strips” as thick as a baby’s fist, and people have even pulled grenades out of the water.
Perhaps because they’ve seen it all, the arrival of Luo Ming and Lin Shuwen didn’t attract any attention from the fishing enthusiasts.
Even in December, the nighttime temperature in Shanghai was already quite low, let alone by the riverside.
The evaporation of river water absorbs heat from the surroundings, causing the nearby temperature to drop. Moreover, water has a high specific heat capacity, meaning it can absorb more heat, and the humid air makes the felt temperature even lower.
Fortunately, this river wasn’t too wide, and the wind wasn’t too strong—otherwise it would have felt even colder.
Even so, Lin Shuwen was already shivering from the cold.
Luo Ming took off his jacket and draped it over Lin Shuwen.
“Aren’t you cold?”
“I can handle the cold.”
After saying that, Luo Ming began examining the rabbit-shaped sky lantern.
After propping up the rabbit lantern, Luo Ming realized the old man really hadn’t cheated them.
This 10-yuan lantern was truly different from the 3-yuan ones.
Their differences weren’t just in shape—the quality difference was significant too.
Some lower-quality sky lanterns use paper that’s just a thin layer, easily burned through, or they simply won’t fly—they flip over as soon as they lift off.
But this rabbit lantern used oiled paper, and thick oiled paper at that.
On top of that, a lot of thought had gone into the rabbit lantern’s design. Luo Ming hadn’t noticed earlier, but now he realized the rabbit’s eyes had even been specially dotted with red ink.
“You really get what you pay for!” Luo Ming thought to himself.
Luo Ming slowly propped up the lantern. Lin Shuwen had put on a layer of clothing and didn’t feel as cold anymore.
She walked over and helped Luo Ming hold up the lantern together.
“Wenwen, write down your wish!”
“Okay.”
Lin Shuwen took out the paper slip from inside the rabbit lantern, holding it with one hand while writing on it with the other.
Thankfully, the paper slip was made of fairly stiff paper, and Lin Shuwen was careful, so she didn’t poke a hole through it.
“Done writing?”
Lin Shuwen nodded.
“Then Wenwen, you hold the lantern! Lift it up with both hands from the top. It’s oiled paper, very sturdy—you can use some force and it’ll be fine.”
Lin Shuwen carefully took the rabbit lantern as Luo Ming instructed.
Meanwhile, Luo Ming started lighting the wax block inside the rabbit lantern.
Although the wind by the river wasn’t strong, it was still easy enough to blow out the small flame on the wax block. Luo Ming tried lighting it several times, but the wind kept blowing it out. To get the wax block lit, Luo Ming instinctively bent down.
Lin Shuwen watched Luo Ming bent over, lighting the rabbit lantern, and couldn’t help but feel captivated. They say a man who’s focused is the most handsome, and in this moment, she really thought Luo Ming was incredibly handsome.
Lin Shuwen wanted to watch a little longer, but she noticed Luo Ming’s hands were trembling—probably from the cold.
This guy just won’t admit it, saying he’s not cold. So Lin Shuwen took a small step forward to help block some of the wind. With Lin Shuwen’s help, the wax block finally lit.
Luo Ming cupped his hands into a “wall” to protect the flame, until the rabbit lantern slowly puffed up. Soon, even without anyone holding it, the rabbit lantern could maintain its balance.
Luo Ming slowly straightened up, and Lin Shuwen quietly stepped back half a pace, putting some distance between them.
“Wenwen, let’s release the lantern together!”
“Okay!”
Lin Shuwen responded and together with Luo Ming held the bottom of the rabbit lantern.
Half a minute later, the rabbit lantern wobbled and floated up.
“It’s flying!” Lin Shuwen’s tone was a bit excited.
“Yes! It’s flying!” Luo Ming murmured, watching the rabbit lantern pass over their heads.
“Little rabbit, you must fly high, fly up high carrying our wishes!” Lin Shuwen thought to herself as she watched the rabbit lantern.
For the next few minutes, Luo Ming and Lin Shuwen tacitly kept looking up at the rabbit lantern.
From its slow ascent to its disappearance into the night sky.
Suddenly, Lin Shuwen felt her right hand being gently held. A smile curved at the corner of her mouth, and she clasped back, interlacing their fingers just like they had at the temple.
“Achoo!”
The next morning when Luo Ming woke up, he felt something was off.
“38.6°C. Didn’t someone say he could handle the cold?” Lin Shuwen said helplessly, looking at the temperature on the thermometer.
“Maybe the wind in Shanghai is different from the wind in Bingzhou!”
“Nonsense. Don’t try to act tough anymore.”
“I just think it’s better for me to catch a cold than for you to catch one!”
Lin Shuwen couldn’t bring herself to say what she was about to say.
“Alright, alright! Just lie down properly! I’ll go make you some porridge.” With that, Lin Shuwen turned and walked into the kitchen.
Luo Ming felt dizzy and groggy, and before he knew it, he had fallen asleep.
In his daze, Luo Ming smelled something fragrant. He opened his eyes and immediately saw Lin Shuwen sitting by the bed, holding a small porcelain bowl in her hands.
“You’re awake? Perfect timing—my porridge is ready too.” As she spoke, Lin Shuwen scooped a spoonful of porridge from the bowl, blew on it gently, then brought it to her lips to test the temperature. After confirming it wasn’t too hot, she brought the spoon to Luo Ming’s mouth.
Luo Ming instinctively opened his mouth and drank the porridge from the spoon.
“Is this century egg and lean pork porridge?”
“Yes!”
“I thought it would be millet porridge like we have back home!”
“Millet porridge doesn’t keep you full. Besides, you’re sick and need some nutrition.”
Luo Ming nodded and happily accepted Lin Shuwen’s feeding.
After finishing the small bowl of porridge, Luo Ming felt a bit more energetic.
Not eating was fine, but once he ate, his stomach started feeling a bit hungry.
“What? Feeling hungry?”
Luo Ming nodded.
This was actually a normal physiological response. When food enters the stomach, it stimulates gastric acid secretion and gastrointestinal motility, creating a feeling of hunger.
“I still have some century egg and lean pork porridge left. Want me to bring you another bowl?”
“No need, I’ll go eat outside myself!”
“Can you manage? Don’t push yourself!”
“I’m not that fragile.”
Lin Shuwen didn’t try to persuade him further. She watched Luo Ming get out of bed, and only after confirming there was no problem did she and Luo Ming leave the room one after the other.
Luo Ming came to the kitchen and saw the Chen sisters each holding a bowl, drinking porridge.
“Wen-jie, I didn’t expect you to be such a good cook! Way better than me. I always thought you couldn’t cook!” Chen Sichu praised.
“I never said I couldn’t cook. You guys just never asked me.” Lin Shuwen pulled out a chair and helped Luo Ming sit down.
