"Haochen, have they all left?" Murong Yanran, having just finished washing up, saw Li Haochen had already prepared breakfast and placed it on the table.
"Mm, eat quickly, they've already eaten."
Li Haochen very thoughtfully peeled the shrimp shells and placed them in the bowl in front of Murong Yanran.
"Thank you!"
Murong Yanran's face flushed slightly, she enjoyed this feeling immensely. The breakfast was simple, but very sweet, so sweet that even the air seemed to turn into sugar molecules.
"How can I eat with you staring at me like this?"
"You eat yours, I'll watch mine, hehe!" Li Haochen propped his chin with his hand, quietly watching Murong Yanran eat breakfast.
Murong Yanran could do nothing about Li Haochen's playful persistence, she just let him be, quickly gobbling down a few bites before tidying the bowls and chopsticks.
"Not eating anymore?"
"I'm full."
"It's a shame you're not a chef, look, I've gotten fat." Murong Yanran pinched her arm, pouting, complaining a little.
"To capture a woman's heart, you must satisfy two things, one of which is her stomach."
"Congratulations, you've succeeded. What's the other thing?"
Li Haochen's face flushed slightly, he turned his face away, "I forgot..."
"Do you have class later?"
"Yes, I have classes all day. What about you?"
"I don't have class today. I'll go to the beach for a while to earn some living expenses, and then in the afternoon, I'll go to the Administration for Industry and Commerce and the Tax Bureau."
"Oh, then I'll take the bus back to school."
"…?"
"I'll take you!"
Murong Yanran, slinging her small bag, turned and smiled, "You hurry up and earn money, and come pick me up this afternoon."
"Shouldn't there be something at this moment?" Li Haochen spread his arms, smiling.
Murong Yanran stopped, her eyes widening as she looked at Li Haochen. Her eyeballs flickered a few times, the corners of her mouth curved up, and she gave a sly smile.
As the gentle breeze blew, Murong Yanran spread her arms, "Alright, I'm going to school."
"…?"
"That's it?"
"The breeze just hugged me, you should go hug it." Her tongue playfully darted out, and Murong Yanran giggled, humming a sweet tune.
"..."
"Remember yesterday, that summer, in the moment the breeze blew, it seemed to overturn everything, leaving only loneliness to settle...
...In just one season, we're back to how it was before
That summer the wind blew."
Li Haochen put on his diving gear, his mood quite cheerful as he sang the summer love song performed by JJ and Jin Sha.
He hadn't walked far when he turned back and went to a fishing tackle shop not far from Dalong Village.
The sharp-eyed, tall and thin shop owner's spirit was immediately lifted when he saw a glimpse of a flipper peeking out of Li Haochen's bucket.
"Is this gentleman here for diving equipment? We just got two sets of excellent items, please come this way..."
"…?"
Li Haochen scratched his head, "What makes you think I'm here to buy diving equipment?"
"Boss, give me a bundle of water grass."
"Oh, water grass... water... grass?" The tall, thin shop owner's eyes circled Li Haochen, his face a picture of bewilderment.
"Pa..."
"Ten yuan." A bundle of dry, thin water grass, one meter long, landed on the glass counter. The tall, thin shop owner muttered indistinctly, his lips puckered, and after throwing out the price, he didn't even look at Li Haochen, as if looking at him any longer would be a waste of his eyesight.
After paying, Li Haochen grumbled and cursed as he walked out of the fishing tackle shop, "What kind of person is this? Isn't 10 yuan money? I won't patronize you skinny monkey anymore, isn't it better to go to Old Ma? He even delivers! Hmph!"
Passing by a hardware store, Li Haochen paused and went inside. When he came out, he had a bag of stainless steel expansion anchors, a 200-meter roll of 16mm thick polyester safety rope, and a few safety carabiners.
With such a large roll of safety rope hanging on his body, it had to be said, the weight of several dozen pounds was no joke, nearly causing Li Haochen to stumble and fall face-first.
Half an hour later, he arrived at that treacherous and rugged area again. Looking at the cliff dozens of meters high below and the fierce ocean waves, Li Haochen couldn't help but shiver.
"Every time I come here, my heart races."
Shaking off that sliver of fear, he put down all his belongings and walked slowly into the rocks with a few stainless steel expansion anchors, carefully examining the rock surfaces as he went.
He discovered a crack about the size of a finger on the rock about a meter ahead, and Li Haochen's face lit up with joy. He hugged the rock and slowly moved closer, took out a stainless steel expansion anchor to compare, then happily inserted it and grabbed the top ring, twisting it forcefully.
When he could no longer turn it by hand, he took out a cross screwdriver given by the hardware store owner from his pocket, inserted it into the ring, and twisted with all his might, making a whirring sound.
After more than ten seconds, when even the screwdriver could no longer turn, he pulled hard with his right hand. Seeing that it hadn't budged, Li Haochen smiled in satisfaction.
Returning to his original position, he found a large rock, tied a slipknot with the safety rope, and then climbed with the other end to the steel ring he had inserted into the crevice. He then connected the steel ring and the safety rope using a safety carabiner.
"Click..."
The moment the safety carabiner snapped into the steel ring, a sense of security filled him, giving Li Haochen the feeling of walking on flat ground.
After an hour of such busy work, he finally secured the safety rope to a rock at the entrance of Butterfly Bay.
Looking at his masterpiece, Li Haochen grinned, smiling brilliantly, "Heh heh, it will be much more convenient to get in and out from now on."
He put away his tools, changed into his diving suit, and went to the spot where he had dived last time. Riding the outgoing tide, he pushed off with his feet, shooting out like an arrow. As the tide rushed back in, Li Haochen submerged, slid his hands forcefully, and passed under the waves to the calm sea. His timing was incredibly precise, a testament to his rich experience.
"Plop...!"
The colorful marine life felt very familiar to Li Haochen. Schools of sea bass, red snapper, grunt, yellow-fin bream, and black sea bream made Li Haochen's eyes gleam with desire. He even saw several giant grouper, and Li Haochen wished he could go and fight them.
"This grouper must be forty to fifty catties, worth thousands each."
Life's greatest regret is having money right in front of you, but being unable to obtain it.
With eyes as sharp as radar, Li Haochen wouldn't miss any treasure on the seabed! And indeed, he immediately spotted several palm-sized scallops nestled in the coral crevices below.
"Not bad, each one is nearly a catty."
Li Haochen weighed them and, satisfied, placed them into the net bag hanging from his waist.
Discovering one scallop after another, including Japanese scallops, bay scallops, and other shellfish and snails, within 10 minutes, the entire net bag was heavy, making Li Haochen beam with joy.
With a net bag full of harvest, Li Haochen had to return to shore first.
"Lift."
Li Haochen laboriously lifted the scallops and poured them into the bucket, "At least thirty catties, what a great place."
However, Li Haochen did not intend to sell this harvest for money at the moment. He took all the scallops into his space in several trips and scattered them all at the bottom near the large rock.
"Huh, the island has gotten bigger again."
Li Haochen looked at the several meters of beach that had appeared next to the last row of coconut trees and mused, "Is this growth rate related to the number and variety of creatures that come here?"
After thinking for a while, Li Haochen felt this was the most likely scenario, "If that's the case, then contracting this Butterfly Bay is imperative."
Emerging from his space and seeing that it was still early, Li Haochen put on his gear again and dived back into the underwater world.