A pod of dolphins!
A moment of silence fell over the dinner table.
Teacher Huang was the first to stand up, slamming her chopsticks on the table, her voice brimming with barely suppressed excitement. "Let's go take a look."
The crowd followed him and ran outside.
The production team was also incredibly excited, carrying their equipment and chattering excitedly as they rushed onto the deck.
Someone was shouting, "Get the telephoto lens!" while another was saying, "Drone ready!"
The entire cruise ship seemed to have been switched on, transforming from a leisurely breakfast mode into a state of combat readiness.
When Cheng Che walked onto the deck, someone was already leaning over the railing and shouting.
"I see it! Over there!"
He looked in that direction.
On the sea, a group of dolphins is swimming towards us from the left.
There were more than a dozen of them, some big and some small, their dorsal fins cutting through the water's surface, leaving streaks of silver light in the sunlight.
They swim very fast, and occasionally one of them arches its body, leaps out of the water, draws an arc in the air, and then plunges back in, splashing a small spray of water.
One little dolphin jumped exceptionally high, its entire body leaving the water, twirling in the air before landing back down, its tail slapping the surface with a crisp sound like a string of firecrackers.
Teacher Huang leaned on the railing, mouth agape, and remained silent for a long time.
Then he turned to the photographer next to him and shouted, "Did you get the picture? That little one! The one that jumped really high!"
"I got it! I got it!" The photographer's voice trembled.
A female guest stood by the railing, tiptoeing and looking down, muttering "My God, my God," then turned to her companion and said:
"I've never seen a wild dolphin before! This is my first time!"
Another male actor was leaning over the railing, with most of his body hanging out, when a staff member tugged at his clothes.
"Brother, don't fall."
He chuckled twice, but his gaze remained fixed on the sea.
The directing team stood in a row behind the deck; some were watching the monitors, while others were calling out camera positions on walkie-talkies.
The assistant director whispered into the walkie-talkie, "Film the dolphins from all angles, film the guests' reactions, don't miss a single one."
Then, after a pause, he added, "Especially for Cheng Che's side, shoot a few more takes."
Cheng Che stood by the railing, holding onto it, looking down at the sea.
[ Iconic Moment ] triggered.
Sunlight shone through the clouds and fell on his profile.
The sea breeze ruffled his hair a little, with a few stray strands falling across his forehead.
He tilted his head slightly, his gaze fixed on the water, a happy smile on his lips.
Behind them were leaping dolphins, surging waves, and the gray-blue horizon in the distance.
The whole scene has a strange sense of tranquility, as if the leaping dolphins and splashing waves are just background, and the real protagonist is the person standing by the railing.
The female photographer carrying the equipment glanced through the viewfinder, and her fingers stiffened for a moment.
She steadied her breathing and continued filming, but her eyes behind the camera seemed a little vacant.
The assistant next to her asked quietly, "Sister, are you alright?"
"It's nothing," the photographer said, his voice a little unsteady, "I just think this shot is just too beautiful."
The dolphins followed the boat for nearly ten minutes. One daring dolphin even swam near the bow, skimming along the gunwale, its dorsal fin cutting through the water and leaving a white trail.
Teacher Huang pointed at the dolphin and shouted, "It's racing against us!"
Everyone shouted and laughed, making the deck as lively as if it were Chinese New Year.
Cheng Che looked at the dolphins, he was thinking about something else.
Nine o'clock.
Today's luck stat randomly dropped to nine.
No wonder I was able to encounter such a rare sight as dolphins; " Little Luck " can be quite uncanny at times.
It was almost noon when the cruise ship docked.
The sea breeze in Zhoushan is saltier than in Ningbo, and the docks are full of fishing boats, with seagulls circling overhead.
The group disembarked and were led by the production crew to an open area next to the dock.
A large sheet of paper was placed on the open ground, with a nine-square grid drawn on it.
Each square contains one type of fish: ribbonfish, yellow croaker, pomfret, cuttlefish, eel, shrimp, crab, shellfish, and kelp.
The illustrations are very vivid, and the characteristics of each ingredient are labeled next to them.
"Today's task," a member of the directing team said loudly, standing in front of the paper, "Is to go fishing at sea. Each of you will throw a shoe; whichever square it lands on, you're responsible for catching that type of ingredient. There are nine kinds of ingredients, at least one of each. If you catch any, that's what we'll eat tonight."
Teacher Huang glanced at the paper, then at her shoes, her expression complex. "Lost shoes?"
"Losing a shoe."
"What do you do after you lose everything?"
"Walk barefoot." The production team laughed quite casually.
The group looked at each other in bewilderment.
A group of elderly fisherwomen surrounded them, picking vegetables with their hands and speaking in Zhoushan dialect, laughing heartily.
An older woman shouted in somewhat broken Mandarin, "Aim carefully!"
An older woman next to him nudged him, and the two of them burst into laughter.
Teacher Huang was the first to go up.
He took off his shoe, weighed it in his hand, then closed one eye, aimed for a long time, and threw it.
The shoe spun twice in the air and then landed with a thud on the "shrimp" square.
"Shrimp!" Teacher Huang shouted, then turned to the production team, "This is good, boiled shrimp!"
The next guests took turns throwing their tosses; some threw crabs, some threw yellow croakers, and some threw ribbonfish.
Everyone gets a different result from their toss, so you could say you're lucky.
It was Cheng Che's turn.
He took off his shoes, held them in his hand, and glanced at the piece of paper.
He wanted to throw something that no one else had hit.
Ribbonfish, yellow croaker, shrimp, and crab are already in demand.
The remaining items include pomfret, cuttlefish, eel, shellfish, and kelp.
Shellfish and kelp are not fish, so they might be difficult to catch and don't look very appealing.
He glanced at the "[ Little Luck ]" icon on the panel, then weighed his shoe in his hand and tossed it aside casually.
The shoe traced an arc in the air and landed steadily on the "squid" square.
"Squid!" someone from the production team shouted, their tone implying that this was no easy feat.
Cuttlefish are difficult to catch; you need to go out to sea and it requires some skill.
Teacher Huang peeked over and patted Cheng Che on the shoulder. "Brother, you've really dug yourself a tough job."
Cheng Che smiled but didn't say anything.
All the ingredients have been distributed. The production team clapped their hands.
"Alright, let's head out to sea. Each group will take one fishing boat and catch the ingredients they're responsible for. If you catch anything, come back; if you don't, you'll have to watch others eat tonight."
Several small fishing boats were moored next to the dock; they weren't big, and each could seat three or four people.
Cheng Che followed Teacher Huang and two other guests onto one of the ships.
The ship was rocking and swaying, much more violently than a cruise ship.
The staff handed over several fishing rods and a box of bait.
Cheng Che took the fishing rod, glanced at it, and then froze.
"Fishing?"
"Fishing." The staff member nodded. "The squid was caught too."
Teacher Huang had already found a seat, cast his fishing rod, and then turned to the camera, saying:
"Ladies and gentlemen, it's one o'clock in the afternoon. We had seafood for breakfast and are now fishing at sea. I, Huang, have never been so exhausted in my life."
Cheng Che cast his fishing rod, sat down, and looked at the sea.
The wind was light today, the sea was calm, and the sunlight shone on the water, creating a shimmering, golden effect.
He stared at the float, thinking to himself, "With a luck score of nine, surely I can catch at least one squid?"