Chapter 182 – No Point Being Jealous of a Dead Woman

At long last, they arrived.

After getting out of the car, Lin Xi stretched, spread her arms, and embraced the great outdoors.

Not only was the weather bright and sunny, but their group had the entire fishing and camping spot to themselves.

Beautiful scenery, and even more beautiful girls.

Lin Xi looked at all the cute, gorgeous girls around her. Mm. How lucky was someone like her to be invited along on a fishing and camping trip with them?

Wait-Lin Xi suddenly spotted the flaw in that logic. Hadn’t she been the one to organize this whole outing…?

Whatever. Time to scout out some fishing spots!

Their fishing party currently broke down as follows:

Lin Xi knew how to fish and claimed she never went home empty-handed.

Yang Tongtong and Shi Yu both called themselves expert anglers, though whether that was true remained to be seen.

Yang Shanshan knew the basics of fishing and was especially well-versed in theory.

Zhao Xinning and Xia Xun were complete beginners, and both were counting on Lin Xi to teach them hand over hand.

Lu Yi knew how to eat fish.

That was the state of play. After a quick assessment of everyone’s abilities, Lin Xi called on Yang Tongtong and Shi Yu, the other two who knew how to fish, to scout out some spots with her.

Everyone else could start bringing over the fishing and camping gear.

Lin Xi, Shi Yu, and Yang Tongtong set off along the stream. They had no intention of going far; they were only surveying the immediate area.

“What do you think of this spot, Lin Xi?” Shi Yu was the first to find a promising one.

Lin Xi thought it would work. Shi Yu had a pretty good eye.

Yang Tongtong showed her expertise as well and found another solid spot.

Lin Xi scouted out several more that all seemed worth trying.

But the only way to tell whether a spot was truly any good was to cast a few lines and find out.

The three of them returned for their rods and bait.

“Let’s split into teams first,” Lin Xi said. “We can’t all crowd together in one place. The fish would be paralyzed by choice.”

“I want to be on Xi’s team!” Zhao Xinning moved fast, grabbing a fishing rod and taking her place beside Lin Xi.

“Me too!” Not to be outdone, Xia Xun grabbed a rod and planted herself on Lin Xi’s other side.

Lin Xi had already promised to teach both of them, so the three formed a team.

Shi Yu would look after Lu Yi, while Yang Tongtong took Yang Shanshan. That gave them three fishing teams in all.

“Ladies,” Lin Xi announced, “whether we get fragrant grilled fish and delicious fish soup for lunch today depends entirely on your hard work.”

They had brought every cooking utensil and seasoning they would need.

Everything was ready. All they lacked was fish to put in the pot.

“Fishing on its own is too boring,” Yang Tongtong suddenly proposed. “Why don’t our three teams compete to see who catches the most? The winning team gets an extra reward!”

“Huh?” Lin Xi had already lost to Yang Shanshan once before. She glanced at her, but Yang Shanshan shook her head vigorously to make it clear she had not put Tongtong up to this fishing contest.

“Sure. A fishing competition with a bonus prize sounds pretty fun.” Shi Yu cheerfully accepted the challenge.

Before Lin Xi could speak, Zhao Xinning and Xia Xun chorused from either side of her, “No problem!”

The mood grew subtly tense.

“Lin Xi’s team has three people,” Yang Tongtong said. “Surely you’re not afraid of losing to us?”

Three people, sure, Lin Xi thought, but two of them are complete beginners.

Still, everyone else had agreed to the contest. Lin Xi wasn’t about to spoil their fun by objecting.

“Fine! A competition it is.” Lin Xi brimmed with fighting spirit. “Bring it on.”

The three teams headed to the spots they had scouted and prepared to show what they could do.

…

“That’s Xinning for you! You pick up everything so fast!” Lin Xi showered her with praise.

After a single demonstration, Zhao Xinning had mastered baiting the hook, adjusting the float, watching for signs of fish… and had even landed a pale chub.

Zhao Xinning’s spot was to Lin Xi’s left, while Xia Xun sat to her right.

Seeing Zhao Xinning get a bite and earn Lin Xi’s praise made Xia Xun anxious.

Why won’t the stupid fish bite already?

I want Lin Xi to shower me with praise too!

Then something else happened on Zhao Xinning’s side.

“Xi!-“

“I think I’ve got a big one!”

At Zhao Xinning’s call, Lin Xi sprang up from the folding stool at her own spot and hurried over to help.

“Play it for a while first, or it might shake the hook loose,” Lin Xi instructed.

“How… how do I play it? Could you show me hand over hand?” Zhao Xinning asked urgently.

How could Lin Xi possibly refuse? If they let a big fish escape, she wouldn’t sleep a wink all night!

To an angler, losing a big one was far more humiliating than coming home empty-handed!

Without another word, Lin Xi clasped Zhao Xinning’s hands and began teaching her in the most literal hand-over-hand sense.

That was exactly what Zhao Xinning wanted.

She didn’t care about catching fish. The one she was angling for was Lin Xi.

And now that Zhao Xinning had reeled Lin Xi away, Xia Xun panicked.

Damn it-is Zhao Xinning doing this on purpose?

Did she deliberately call Lin Xi over to help her play the fish?

Xia Xun could not sit back and let the flirtatious mood between them carry on indefinitely. She made her move-and froze the wildly thrashing fish solid.

For one beat, neither Lin Xi nor Zhao Xinning said a word.

“What do you think you’re doing, Miss Xia Xun?!” Zhao Xinning demanded, her voice thick with hostility.

Xia Xun smiled. “I froze the fish so it would stop flailing around. Now you can just drag it in. Isn’t that better?”

“It can’t escape, and I’ve saved you the trouble of fighting it.”

Her true aim had been to ruin the cuddly atmosphere between Lin Xi and Zhao Xinning.

Zhao Xinning knew that. Lin Xi did not. She genuinely thought Xia Xun was trying to help.

“Um, Xia Xun, that was helpful. Please don’t help like that again.”

“Huh?” Xia Xun bristled.

“You’re not allowed to cheat with your powers,” Lin Xi explained.

“I-get-it-” Xia Xun replied, turning away.

Lin Xi stared at her in confusion.

Is she angry?

It was rare to see Xia Xun angry.

Lin Xi had thought an All-Round, Super-Invincible, Perfectly Beautiful Magical Girl was incapable of getting angry at her.

I didn’t say anything hurtful, did I?

She had only told Xia Xun not to use her powers for the sake of fairness.

How could anyone cheat in a fishing competition?

It would be completely unfair to Shi Yu’s and Yang Shanshan’s teams.

Lin Xi was about to go over and explain things to Xia Xun, but Zhao Xinning caught hold of her.

“Xi, teach me how to change the hook too.”

“Uh…”

“You won’t?”

“All right.”

Lin Xi stayed. She would have to talk to Xia Xun later.

Zhao Xinning had Lin Xi all to herself and gloated inwardly.

Xia Xun was still such an amateur at this. If she weren’t a Magical Girl, Zhao Xinning would never have considered her a threat.

As Xia Xun listened to Lin Xi and Zhao Xinning chatting and laughing, she finally understood how painful it was to be unable to keep Lin Xi all to herself.

Surely it would be fine if she got rid of a wicked woman like Zhao Xinning, someone on par with a Super-Grade Dark Realm Disaster… right?

As one of Z City’s three strongest guardians, Xia Xun was duty-bound to protect every resident of Z City who had committed no crimes.

But Zhao Xinning had committed a crime!

She was sabotaging Xia Xun’s relationship with Lin Xi!

I’ll find a chance to get rid of her, Xia Xun decided. She felt much better once she had thought it through. There was no point being jealous of a dead woman.