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Even so, he knew perfectly well that he was no longer human. He was now a lizard yearning for the sea, and he had to find some remote place to face his own abnormality.

The next day, Lu Ao called his childhood friend Ge Ranzhou, who was attending graduate school in the city, and asked him out for dinner.

Ge Ranzhou assumed it was just an ordinary meal invitation. His eyes lit up the instant he got the call. "Sure. Where?"

"Let's go to that food stall we always used to visit."

"Lunch or dinner?"

"Dinner. There's nothing much going on at night, so we can talk longer."

"Alright. I'll come find you once I finish today's paper."

Ge Ranzhou was attending graduate school in the city. His coursework was not too demanding, so it was easy for him to come out.

That evening, Ge Ranzhou arrived wearing sandals and oversized shorts. The moment he entered the private room and saw Lu Ao stand up, he blurted out, "Holy shit, did you get taller again?"

Ge Ranzhou was a fair-skinned, chubby guy, standing one meter seventy-four. At the moment, he only reached Lu Ao's nose.

That really hurt his pride.

Lu Ao nodded. He had not measured his height in the past few days, but he could feel that he had grown a little taller. Even his pants had become too short.

Ge Ranzhou stared enviously at his long legs, then looked at his lean, toned waist. He looked like a boy straight out of a comic book. "You'd qualify as a model if you debuted right now."

Lu Ao could not be bothered with such remarks. He sat down directly and said, "I ordered a few dishes. See if there's anything else you want."

"Let me see. Steamed turbot, salt-and-pepper pork ribs, shredded chicken, stir-fried yellow beef, beer duck, fried hairtail chunks, charcoal-grilled oysters... You ordered twelve dishes, and most of them are meat. How can the two of us possibly finish all that?"

"We can finish it." Lu Ao sounded lazy. "If we really can't, we'll pack it up."

"Tsk, fine." Ge Ranzhou muttered, his eyes sweeping over Lu Ao from head to toe. "Now I don't think you can be a model anymore. With your appetite, even if you became one, you'd turn into a plus-size model within days."

Lu Ao kept it brief. "I'm still growing."

Ge Ranzhou had been about to say, You're already twenty-four. Growing, my ass.

But then he thought of Lu Ao's height shooting up like bamboo after rain, and swallowed the words, closing the menu with deep melancholy.

Some friends were simply born to crush you.

Lu Ao had ordered some dishes ahead of time, so the food arrived quickly.

The two ate and chatted.

Lu Ao said, "I just rented out my little supermarket. The house hasn't been rented out, though. Here's the key. Go check on it when you have time."

"Wait!" Ge Ranzhou did not take the key from his hand. He stared at him in shock. "Wasn't your supermarket doing great? In your neighborhood, even X Kelon doesn't do as much business as your place, right? Why rent it out?"

"It's not that exaggerated. The income was only average." Lu Ao said, "I went sea fishing with some people these past few days and made pretty good money. I want to switch careers."

"Hey, no, it's not like just anyone can be a fisherman, right?" Ge Ranzhou looked deeply skeptical. "Doesn't being a fisherman depend on skill? What season, what currents, what fishing nets to cast—there's a lot to it. Besides, luck plays too big a part in it, taxes are so high, and your income can be high one day and low the next. The pressure is huge."

"I know what I'm doing," Lu Ao said.

After all, Lu Ao's hometown was a small fishing village. Of course he knew that many aspects of it depended on skill.

In his lizard form, he was actually quite good at catching fish.

At the very least, during those two days on the deserted island, he had never gone hungry.

Ge Ranzhou did not know how to persuade him, and a trace of anxiety showed on his face.

After a while, Ge Ranzhou took the key and asked, "Who did you rent the supermarket to? Are they reliable?"

"They are. An old neighbor."

Lu Ao's little supermarket stood at the entrance to a residential area. It had a full range of goods, cheap prices, and an excellent reputation.

Since he was busy returning to his hometown, he offered it at a price slightly below market value.

He had only put up the transfer notice that morning, but before noon, an old neighbor had already negotiated the deal.

Lu Ao's store was over one hundred sixty square meters, with annual rent of eighty thousand. The other party also bought the remaining inventory, shelves, freezers, and other items in the shop.

Lu Ao did not ask much. He only wanted sixty thousand for the secondhand goods.

After happily taking stock, the other party signed the contract with Lu Ao that afternoon, then went to the relevant departments to complete the paperwork.

After Ge Ranzhou heard the whole story, he said, "It's a little better if they're reliable."

"Yeah." Lu Ao told him, "I'm planning to go back to my hometown the day after tomorrow."

Ge Ranzhou could not believe it. "So soon?!"

After asking that, he added reluctantly, "Can't you stay a little longer?"

Lu Ao raised his glass and clinked it against his.

That meant no.

Ge Ranzhou ate the rest of the meal with a worried frown.

Lu Ao was too stubborn. He had no elders looking after him, and once he made a decision, no one could change his mind.

Lu Ao also knew Ge Ranzhou was worried, but many things were hard to explain.

Once everything at home had been settled, Lu Ao informed Tian Mingzhi and the others, then headed straight back to his hometown.

He left home at seven in the morning, first taking a bus to the provincial capital, New Luzhou, then transferring to a train at the station.

The train sped across the land for three hours before arriving at the county train station.

After leaving the county train station, he took a passenger-seeking van and spent over three hours reaching the town.

Their town lay deep in the mountains, with one main road running through it.

The sun was still in the sky, and the green mountains all around looked even more verdant beneath its light.

Most people passing through town wore short shirts and shorts. Most had dark, weathered faces and straw hats, speaking in an authentic local dialect.

The moment Lu Ao found himself among them, he relaxed.

Lu Ao got out at a side road and went to the market to buy groceries.

The small town had inconvenient transportation, but its produce was fairly abundant.

Beyond the mountains was the sea. Seafood was especially plentiful here—every kind of snail, fish, and shrimp laid out at street stalls for people to pick through at will.