Chapter 548: Chapter 548

The face of Old Huang on the hosting stage looked a bit sour; the numbers on the screen seemed particularly glaring to him.

How did this kid end up taking first place?

If I had known earlier, I wouldn’t have given him the #001 entry.

But for the sake of saving face, he forced a smile and shouted loudly, "In this past hour, I feel like I’ve witnessed the rise of a bright new star in Rong City’s fishing scene. Please take a brief rest, contestants, as the scores are being calculated." After saying this, he no longer wanted to host. He shoved the microphone to the other host beside him and stomped off the stage, puffing with frustration.

Han Qiwu stretched lazily, stood up, and found Grandpa Chen and their group. He waved enthusiastically in their direction.

"Who said earlier that the mystery guest was dead weight? Let me recall..."

"Han, remember to keep the fish later. We could even set up a stall to sell them."

Han Qiwu chuckled at their words and was about to sit down when he turned his head and noticed two somewhat familiar faces.

He quietly sat down without drawing attention and closed his eyes to gather his thoughts. That uncle’s face looked a bit like Brother Jing’s.

And that aunt’s face, it bore some resemblance to Mr. Tang’s.

What’s the deal here?

Could they be... his future father-in-law and mother-in-law?

As this possibility crossed his mind, Han Qiwu quickly sat up straight, replaying his earlier behavior in his head to ensure he hadn’t done anything inappropriate.

After careful consideration, he pulled out his phone and sent a message to Tang Qingying, asking, "Qingying, I think I saw your parents today at the fishing competition site. Their faces seem familiar—I’m not sure if it’s them."

Having sent the message, he slyly adjusted the camera on his phone and discreetly snapped a photo from a distance, then sent it to her.

At that moment, Tang Qingying had just taken a sip of water when she heard her phone vibrate. She instinctively picked it up to check the notification.

Seeing it, she nearly spat out her water.

What? When did Dad and Mom go there?

Were they secretly checking up on him behind her back?

And holding grilled squid sticks, no less!

Tang Qingying quickly grabbed her phone and messaged Han Qiwu, asking for the location while dashing to Grandpa Chen’s office to leave a note. Like a whirlwind, she bolted downstairs, hopped in her car, and sped off toward the beach.

Han Qiwu hadn’t expected Tang Qingying’s urgency. He promptly reminded her via text to drive carefully; there was no rush on his end.

After about ten minutes of calculations, the scores and rankings automatically appeared on the display screen. Han Qiwu’s total fishing weight accounted for 46% of all the contestants’ catches, earning him 46 points. Xiao Lin also performed well, accounting for 19% of the total weight, earning 19 points.

Overall, Han Qiwu topped the leaderboard with 80 points, a record-breaking score, while second-place Xiao Lin only managed to secure 40 points. The remaining ten anglers barely scored over 20 points in total.

Of course, the main reason for the disparity was that Han Qiwu’s overwhelming skill had suppressed everyone else’s results, leaving their percentages pitifully low.

The new host, unaware of Old Huang’s thoughts on Han Qiwu, bounded onto the stage and enthusiastically announced, "Ladies and gentlemen, the scores for this competition have been finalized! Let’s celebrate our champion, Contestant #001 Han Qiwu, who has achieved a record-breaking total score of 80 points and won the championship of this fishing contest! Congratulations to Contestant #002 Xiao Lin for earning the runner-up spot with 40 points, and Contestant #003 Lande for securing third place! Please come on stage, all three of you!"

The three contestants walked onto the stage one after the other. Following the host’s directions, the third-place and second-place winners took their positions on the podium first, and Han Qiwu stepped up last to stand proudly in the center.

"Now, let’s invite Mr. Huang, the organizer of this event, to come up and present the awards!" the host shouted excitedly.

At the sound of those words, Old Huang, who had been sitting in the audience sipping water, nearly had a stroke.

I completely forgot about this.

Why did I insist on personally presenting the awards?

Let’s hope that kid doesn’t catch on.

Grabbing his suit jacket, Old Huang quickly put it on, smiled, and strolled onto the stage. He rattled off a string of encouraging remarks, distributing certificates and prize money one by one. When he got to Han Qiwu, there was an additional agreement for the Shadow fishing rod, officially marking the dark gold-colored rod behind him on the stage as Han Qiwu’s property.

After finishing the awards presentation, Old Huang was planning a smooth exit, but the overly zealous host cut in ahead of him and asked, "Would the winners like to share their acceptance speeches? Let’s start with our champion, Mr. Han!"

Old Huang: "...Where did they find this host? He’s never getting hired again!"

Taking the microphone, Han Qiwu snuck a peek at his future in-laws, who were sitting up particularly straight and listening attentively. He cleared his throat and began, "First off, I want to thank my girlfriend. She has always supported my passion for fishing, frequently encouraging me to catch all kinds of fish—sea fish, river fish—accompanying me to scout out fishing spots and study techniques."

"He means Qingying! The first person he thanked was Qingying!" exclaimed Mrs. Tang, gripping Mr. Tang’s arm excitedly.

Mr. Tang adjusted his sunglasses with a resigned air. "Your daughter—you should know her better, right? Studying fishing techniques? No way. Qingying was definitely just craving fish and conned Han into catching her meals."

"Well, she definitely deserves his gratitude—it’s miles better than you! When have you ever thanked me for anything?!" Mrs. Tang retorted indignantly.

Meanwhile, on stage, Han Qiwu continued his acceptance speech. After thanking his parents, he wrapped up with, "And finally, I’d like to thank Grandpa Huang. He gave me this ticket to enter the finals and granted me this tremendous opportunity."

"Bravo!" The host led the applause. "What a touching story of intergenerational friendship! I believe Grandpa Huang must be overjoyed to see Young Han win the championship!"

Old Huang: "...I just want this guy to shut up!"

The microphone, now inches from his lips, caused Old Huang’s face to twitch slightly. With an awkward smile, he took the microphone and said reluctantly, "When I first met Han, I could already see that his fishing skills were exceptional, especially considering his young age. I have no doubt he’ll achieve good rankings in national competitions someday!"

Having said his piece, he quickly handed the microphone back to the host.

After the other two contestants shared their speeches, the host summarized the fishing competition’s theme and significance before announcing the event’s successful conclusion!

Han Qiwu smiled faintly, walked over to the glass display case at the side of the stage, and waited for the staff to unlock it. Once the lock was undone, he reached inside to retrieve the Shadow.

The moment he held the Shadow in his hands, he couldn’t help feeling an overwhelming surge of emotion.

Old Huang is truly a good guy! Tʜe source of this ᴄontent ɪs NoveI★Fire.net

Honestly, the Shadow’s grip was the best he had experienced among all the rods he had handled. The metallic sheen of the rod’s body made it feel especially well-balanced. Though slightly heavier than the Golden Sun rod, it was by no means cumbersome for his current strength, giving it an even better feel. Its extension mechanism was impeccably smooth, with barely any resistance, and under the sunlight, the dark gold rod shimmered with an iridescent brilliance.

[Congratulations on becoming the champion of the fishing competition]

[You’ve received a prize of 100,000 gold]

[You’ve obtained a special reward, a custom alloy fishing rod: Shadow]

[You’ve gained 8,000 fishing experience points]