Now that Zhang Yang, the main character, has left, the other friends naturally wouldn't really spend the night there either. Soon, the courtyard echoed with the roaring engines of off-road vehicles, the gate opened, and everyone drove out in succession, with a final honking farewell as they each departed.

Once the cars hit the main road, Zhang Yang, sitting in the passenger seat, breathed a sigh of relief.

Zhou Chu, who was driving, couldn't help but remark, "Zhang Yang, you should think about getting yourself a decent car!"

"Yeah, right! People rely on clothes and horses rely on saddles. When you're out and about, driving a big Land Rover or Hummer surely garners more respect!" Zhang Yang nodded in agreement.

"Damn, it's nice to have money! Look at Old Xu's big mansion! This is Tianjin, mind you! Having such a big place just to entertain friends, isn't that infuriating? If we ever have money one day, we have to get ourselves a..." Wang Yan, who had drunk quite a bit, grumbled sourly.

"Bread will come, and so will milk! We're still young; in a few more years, getting an estate is still within reach!"

Zhang Yang slightly turned his head, his gaze sweeping over the night view outside the car window, unsure if he was answering Wang Yan or comforting himself.

...

After more than an hour of night driving with the help of phone navigation, everyone returned to their lodging at the hotel. Zhang Yang sent Old Xu a message of safety, and then everyone dispersed, returning to their rooms to rest.

As Zhang Yang entered his room, the first thing he did was take off his sun protection clothing.

Having fished intensively for most of the day and sweated profusely, his close-fitting tank top was soaked. After the awards ceremony, he didn't change his clothes and went straight to Old Xu's estate, staying there until the evening.

Zhang Yang isn't too particular, but the smell of sweat in his clothes was a bit too much. After entering the room and closing the door, he decided to take off both the sun protection clothing and the vest, leaving him wearing just shorts as he headed into the bathroom for a shower.

After a cold shower, Zhang Yang felt much more comfortable. He stuffed his dirty clothes into the suitcase, took out fresh clothes for tomorrow, tossed them on the bed, and, having done all that, flopped onto the bed to prepare for sleep.

Before he could fall asleep, there was a knock at the door.

This team consisted of nine people in total, so Zhang Yang got a room with a big bed all to himself. At this hour, who would be looking for him?

"Who is it? What's up?" Zhang Yang asked in a low voice without even lifting his eyelids.

There was no answer from the door, but two seconds later, Zhang Yang received a WeChat message from Xiaowei: "Open the door!"

"Hey, this little girl, is she trying to go against the Sky Gang?" Seeing it was Xiaowei, Zhang Yang quickly got out of bed and went to open the door.

Not sure if it was because he'd had a drink, but Zhang Yang's head was a bit excited, thinking his girlfriend was here to 'pay a visit.'

But when he opened the door and saw Xiaowei carrying a tray with two medicine bottles, Zhang Yang was a bit taken aback.

"What are you doing? What's this?"

Xiaowei rolled her eyes in mock annoyance and said, "What else would it be? Massage oil! You've got a competition tomorrow, and you caught so many fish today. Did you think a drink and a good night's sleep would be enough?"

Xiaowei's concern wasn't unfounded. Fishing over a thousand pounds of fish during the day, even with a strong rod and skilled technique, was still quite draining.

In the afternoon, socializing and chatting about fishing kept Zhang Yang excited, and the evening drinks only heightened that excitement. If he rested in this state, he'd undoubtedly wake up sore and aching tomorrow.

"Lie down properly on the bed! I'm going to give you a muscle rub!"

"Okay, okay!" Zhang Yang replied obediently and went to lie on the bed as instructed.

What followed wasn't exactly child-friendly. Xiaowei, quite the professional, applied muscle relaxation oil on Zhang Yang, using a muscle-down blade to relax the muscles, which were fatigued from a high-intensity fishing day. Zhang Yang was in so much pain he couldn't keep quiet, making noises for more than half an hour before the process finally ended.

After putting away the oils and tools, Xiaowei wiped the sweat from her forehead and sat by the bed, letting out a sigh of relief.

"Zhang Yang, you won't overthink about what happened today, will you? I feel like it was a bit inappropriate!"

Xiaowei suddenly blurted out, catching Zhang Yang off guard.

"What are you talking about? Old Xu and the others sticking up for you?" Zhang Yang asked.

"Yeah! But I'm your girlfriend! They're your streaming room fans, after all! There might be a few with ulterior motives among today's gathering... I'm just worried you'll overthink it!" While speaking, Xiaowei clutched onto Zhang Yang's arm, her tone becoming gentle.

No matter how magnanimous a person is, once it involves their significant other, there will be some feelings. Zhang Yang was no exception.

Upon first hearing about it, Zhang Yang felt a bit uneasy. Having fans of his girlfriend trying to stick up for her and make gestures made Zhang Yang, the legitimate boyfriend, feel awkward.

However, after spending time together that afternoon and evening, Zhang Yang quickly let it go.

Online fan relationships are indeed hard to define, but the offline interactions seemed quite decent. Plus, since Xiaowei brought it up herself, Zhang Yang didn't think much of it.

"You're a girl, after all. Keeping some distance from male fans is just sensible! But as long as they don't cross the line, I'm fine with it! Besides, your husband is quite handsome, wealthy, and an excellent fisherman—no worse than those rich playboys! If I were you, I'd hold on tight and never let go!"

"Ugh, you shameless!" Xiaowei playfully scolded, her cheeks slightly flushed.

Seeing his wife with her head slightly lowered, exuding elegance, Zhang Yang's hands mischievously snaked around Xiaowei's waist, whispering, "How about spending the night here with me?"

The words were a request for Xiaowei's consent, but being old partners, Zhang Yang was quite adept at being cheeky, already making a move as he spoke.

Three seconds later, the room light went out.

[15867 words omitted here.]

...

Early next morning at 5:30, the alarm rang on time.

Zhang Yang, sleeping soundly, opened his eyes and instinctively tried to sit up.

But just as he attempted to get up, pain shot through his lower back, arms, and shoulders.

"Ouch!" Zhang Yang inhaled sharply, crying out from the pain.

Beside him, wrapped up in a blanket like a little cat and still half-asleep, Xiaowei opened her eyes in confusion and asked, "What's wrong?"

Zhang Yang didn't answer, only responding with a string of gasps.

Feeling the unusual state of his muscles, Zhang Yang immediately became concerned.

He had underestimated the aftereffects of hauling over a thousand pounds of fish. Even though Xiaowei had helped him with a thorough muscle relaxation session the night before, he woke up feeling sore all over, every muscle protesting.

"Are you having muscle pain? Is it really bad?" Xiaowei asked, anxiously watching Zhang Yang.

"Yeah, my arms, shoulders, and lower back seem a bit injured," Zhang Yang replied.

"What should we do? Maybe you should skip today's competition?" Xiaowei suggested, worried.

"No, I have to compete! Help me up, let's see how I feel!"

Xiaowei nodded and helped Zhang Yang sit up.

Fatigue and even muscle damage from high-intensity activities are actually common issues. With proper rest, recovery usually takes just a few days.

Zhang Yang tried moving around and got up to gauge his condition.

Fishing over a thousand pounds of catch during the day, then cuddling with a beauty at night, left his condition pretty worrying.

"Help me get some pain relief patches from Brother Chu. With those, I should manage to get through the competition," Zhang Yang said.

"Alright, wait here. I'll go get them," Xiaowei responded.

Xiaowei got dressed and quickly went to knock on Zhou Chu's door.

A few minutes later, she returned with the patches. Zhang Yang sprawled out on the bed while Xiaowei applied every single patch on him.

Indeed, the whole pack of ten patches—none were spared, all were applied on Zhang Yang.