Chapter 908: Chapter 908: Why Aren’t Their Fish Biting?
Jas Jero and Zoe Thatcher started fishing with the ‘gold-plated’ hooks they had exchanged for a hefty sum. One minute, two minutes, three minutes… twenty minutes passed, and amidst the biting cold wind, the two exchanged glances, then looked over at Mary Scott, who’d just reeled in another fish, “…”
So why weren’t their fish biting?
Zoe sighed deeply, while Jas looked in Mary’s direction with a face full of grievances and said to Zoe, “Little Zoe, go check if her bait’s different from ours.”
Zoe quickly got up and dashed over to Mary, then just as quickly dashed back. “Uncle Foster, her bait’s the sa as ours.”
“Could it be the posture?” Jas glanced at Mary before curling himself into an awkward quail-like shape.
Zoe, “…”
Posture? Isn’t that a little absurd?
“Whoa, a fish bit the hook!” Jas shouted excitedly just as he changed his posture.
Zoe was taken aback. Could it really be a posture issue?
The two of them excitedly fixed their eyes on the ice hole, tugging on the fishing rod. In no ti, the fishing line pulled up a fish for real. As the lively fish flopped on the ice, the two were ecstatic—they had finally regained a shred of confidence after twenty minutes of waiting.
Jas placed the fish in the bucket, pounding his chest with newfound confidence. “Little Zoe, don’t worry. Uncle Foster won’t let you lose!”
Zoe nodded enthusiastically. “Uncle Foster, keep it up!”
Stella Murray glanced over at the pair, then looked at their fishing net. As ti went by, their catch grew fewer and fewer, and most of their pulls resulted in empty nets. Worried, she asked hesitantly, “Really not going to switch spots?”
Adam Piers saw how much fun Jas and Zoe were having and said, “If you want to give it a try, go ahead.”
Stella had never fished before, and seeing that Zoe and Jas were catching fish stirred her curiosity. But upon hearing Adam’s comnt, she quickly waved her hands. “No, no, I’m not a child.”
But just as she finished speaking, Adam beckoned to a nearby staff mber. “Get us so fishing gear too.”
The staff mber responded happily, imdiately agreeing. Simon Baker’s braids seed to sway excitedly at the developnt. Originally, Adam’s group was thought to have the upper hand, but this added twist put them just two fish behind Mary Scott’s side—the gap wasn’t big but introduced more tension and drama.
Simon could already imagine the reaction of the live-stream viewers when they saw Mary Scott seemingly poised to win, and their anticipation for Adam’s team to pull off a coback.
Indeed, as soon as Adam summoned the staff mber, the livestream’s chat exploded. Many viewers who’d been keeping count of the fish were left dumbstruck—was Mary Scott really going to win? How was that acceptable?
Suddenly, the live-stream comnts section was flooded, catapulting the show’s popularity to the highest rank on the streaming platform. The viewer count surged past three million as even casual passersby joined in.
Simon, hearing Assistant Director Ernest through his earpiece, stared at Adam with sparkling eyes, certain that Adam truly understood the chanics of entertainnt.
Though the viewers were frustrated, Adam’s charming face and gentlemanly behavior diffused their anger, leaving them cheering for him to outshine Mary entirely.
Mary Scott, who was being criticized, remained in her quail-like position, wholeheartedly focused on fishing. anwhile, Duke Blue, watching as Mary’s fish bucket gradually filled, grew increasingly anxious.
Except his anxiety wasn’t about losing—it was the fear of winning!
After all, he’d dismissed Mary multiple tis earlier, clearly showing his lack of confidence in her. If they won, he’d appear to have piggybacked on her efforts, which didn’t align with the image he was trying to craft.
He had originally planned to step in when Mary was struggling and offer his assistance.
With this thought, Duke set aside his ice chisel and approached Mary thoughtfully, saying, “Mary, your hands look completely red. Why don’t you take a break while I fish for a bit?”
Duke observed that Mary’s thodology seed effortless—just sitting on a stool without much technical skill, unlike his arduous ice chiseling attempts, which resulted in barely a small opening. He believed that if Mary could catch so many fish, he was bound to catch even more.
Mary glanced at Duke, imdiately spotting the calculation behind his polite façade. Without remarking on it, she stood up graciously. “Sure, I’ll go ask the crew for so hot water.”
Mary handed the fishing rod to Duke.
Duke took it and proudly sat down opposite her position, mischievously keeping an eye on the other two teams.
After their sole successful catch, Jas and Zoe seed rejuvenated about the fishing endeavor. But after waiting a while longer, with Jas mimicking Mary’s moves to the letter, no fish bit their line again. anwhile, Stella, who had just picked up her rod, looked tense—it was her first ti fishing, and her high hopes were t with silence from her baited hook.
Seeing this, Duke’s confidence soared, deducing that their spot must be the lucky one explaining Mary’s abundant catch.
But as ti slipped away, the three rods seed frozen in place. No fish bit, and not even the fishing lines stirred.
The program crew cheekily typed out a ssage on the live-stream screen: “This is not a still fra.”
Viewers who’d thought the stream had frozen, “…”
So where’s the fish?
Another ten minutes passed when Mary returned to the fra, bouncing along with her thermos. “How’s the fishing going for you? The weather’s great today; there’s plenty of fish! I even squeezed info out of the director—the losing team’s responsible for making everyone’s dinner tonight, using the fish caught today. I’m telling you, these fish are fresh and fat—perfect for steaming, braising, or even soup!”
The other five turned to her simultaneously.
Mary rubbed her nose. “Is… is there a problem?”
Feeling smug after their sole successful catch, Jas grinned mischievously at Mary. “Let tell you in advance, Uncle Foster isn’t very good at cooking.”
Zoe weakly raised a hand. “Mary, I’m not good at cooking either.”
Mary: “…” Have you no spine? Giving up already?
Stella gazed at the unmoving fishing line and asked contemplatively, “Mary, be honest—how did you catch your fish?”
Not a single fish, she thought!
Mary noticed the growing focus on her and asked, “You all haven’t caught any?”
The group grew gloomier, not wanting their struggles to be aired out further.
Mary chuckled shyly. “Maybe the fish didn’t recognize the hook earlier but have beco smarter now?”
The group collectively stared, unconvinced: **Are you serious?**
“No way, little Mary, you need to demonstrate it to Uncle Foster, or I’ll suspect you’re cheating!” declared Jas.
Adam Piers frowned slightly. “Mr. Foster.”
Jas realized his words might’ve been too harsh and quickly laughed it off. “Oops, slipped up—my bad! I just can’t figure out how only your hook works. Is there so secret to it?”
Mary nodded appreciatively at Adam before stepping up beside Jas. “Shall I demonstrate it for Mr. Foster?”
“Why yes, it would be an honor,” Jas replied, overly polite now to make up for his prior slip.
Duke perked up his ears, sensing a rare opportunity. Despite his confidence about fishing re monts ago, his lack of catches gnawed at him. Now, he suspected Mary’s earlier luck was fluke, feeling smugly sure she’d embarrass herself.
The live-stream viewers largely agreed with Duke and gleefully awaited Mary’s failure.
Mary, unbothered, calmly took Jas’s fishing rod and chose a new position. She baited the hook slowly and gracefully, showing no hint of anxiety. anwhile, Jas and Zoe looked overly serious nearby.
Stella was entirely in spectator mode.
Adam, on the other hand, watched with a surprising intensity.
Soon enough, Mary dropped the line back into the ice hole.
One minute, two minutes, three minutes…
By the fifth minute, with no activity, the viewers were practically rolling with laughter, mocking Mary for confusing luck with skill. Even Jas stroked his whiskers with amusent. “Perhaps the fish really got smarter!”
Zoe and the others looked pitifully disappointed. Duke’s expression remained neutral, yet his heart swelled with satisfaction. Suddenly, the previously reserved Adam spoke up: “It moved.”
As Adam said this, Mary abruptly reeled in the line, revealing a large, lively fish flopping on the ice. She said nothing, calmly rebaited the hook, and repeated the process. This ti, it took less than three minutes for the hook to tug.
Mary consecutively reeled in three more fish before handing the rod back to Jas.
At that mont, Jas was left utterly speechless, while Zoe gazed at Mary with starry-eyed admiration—it was beyond belief.
Stella snapped out of her daze and pointed at the fresh catches. “Why? I an, why can Mary do it but not us?”
Mary, hearing this, gave a charming smile. “Maybe it’s because I attract fish?”
(Narrator whispering: “No, it’s the protagonist halo!”)
Everyone else, “…” Lies!
“So… whose total do these five count towards?” Zoe asked hesitantly, glancing at the flopping fish and looking at the production team.
For a mont, the production mbers were at a loss for words.
Mary, on the other hand, made a sweeping hand gesture. “If the fish are caught from your ice hole, they’re yours.”
“Feels like we’re taking advantage…” Jas murmured, but then imdiately nudged Zoe. “Hurry up and collect them!”
Mary, “…” Too impulsive!
She quickly turned to Duke. “Young Master Duke, should I take over?”
Duke laughed stiffly and unwillingly stood. “Sure.”
Mary repositioned herself and resud fishing, while Adam swapped in for Stella—he dropped his line back into the ice hole too. Long after, Mary’s line moved, and simultaneously, so did Adam’s.
Both reeled in fish shortly afterward. Mary glanced at Adam in surprise, then continued fishing.
Soon enough, they reeled in yet another set of fish, one after the other.
At first, everyone thought it was coincidence, but as their catches grew, doubt started creeping in. Could this be too miraculous?
Stella, seated nearby, recalled vividly how Adam had earlier claid he wasn’t good at fishing. But now… had he mastered it that quickly? Despite still being slightly slower than Mary, his pace undoubtedly left every other competitor in the dust. It was almost unbelievable.
Jas and Zoe stared, dumbstruck, before waving their hands dramatically. “Alright, we’re done here! Why bother?!”
Eventually, they ditched the rods altogether and resorted to their fishing nets, managing to snag three fish at once—this small victory patched their wounded pride.
As the competition escalated, the viewers’ negativity toward Mary changed. With each group catching more fish, they beca less focused on arguing and more enthralled by the action itself. So even started warming up to Mary’s charismatic fishing style, finding her strikingly cool and attention-grabbing.
As the evening fell, the production crew announced the end of the fishing session, assigning the task of fish tallying to the staff mbers. Just as tension peaked and everyone held their breath to find out which team had triumphed, Simon Baker grinned widely and appeared on-screen. “That’s it for today’s livestream. Tune in on Saturday on Penguin Videos to watch ‘Detectives and Wilderness.’ We’ll see you then!”
Livestream viewers, cursing profusely: “What the hell!”
When the stream ended, Simon turned back to the six contestants, who were now thoroughly frozen from the cold. “Great job today, everyone! However, the recording isn’t finished. Next up, the third-ranked team will prepare dinner for us back at the hotel.”
He turned toward Jas and Zoe specifically. “Thank you for this!”
Jas and Zoe, speechless: “…” Seriously?!
Simon ignored their protests and addressed the other two groups. “The winning team will have the chance to beco the face of Raspberry Snacks, but the final winner will be revealed in Saturday’s broadcast.”
“What?” The contestants were stunned. The victorious team might actually secure the Raspberry Snacks endorsent—what a dream reward!
Though it was just a snack brand, its demographic reach was vast, spanning from kids to elderly fans. Securing that endorsent would significantly boost one’s national recognition.
Zoe was visibly regretful, while Jas resigned himself to his fate, understanding his age and appearance wouldn’t be a match even if they won entirely—after all, the director did say “might,” not “guaranteed.”
Stella shared Jas’s sentints, while Adam remained indifferent.
Mary, on the other hand, knew the director was setting up a way for her to avoid criticism. With her current reputation, directly bagging an endorsent deal might stir controversy, but if it was frad as a program victory instead, the circumstances would be different. She wasn’t too worried about winning.
Nearby, however, Duke was thoroughly shaken by the announcent. He hadn’t considered that such a modest show like “Detectives and Wilderness” could secure an endorsent like Raspberry Snacks. Regret welled in his heart for not giving his all during the fishing. Yet, realizing the final results depended on the broadcast hinted at so behind-the-scenes maneuvering opportunities.
With renewed resolve, Duke surveyed the contestants, confident in his star power overshadowing theirs. Clearly, the endorsent was bankrolled by his celebrity pull, and he assud the title would naturally fall upon him. In Duke’s mind, the director was simply building suspense for the audience.
Feeling certain, Duke’s grin widened noticeably.
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