172: Soon to part

"Squirrel-shaped Mandarin Fish!" Gao Xiaofan's eyes lit up.

As a dish requiring great skill, Squirrel-shaped Mandarin Fish needs a seamless process of scoring, marinating, coating, deep-frying, and saucing. Secondly, one must pay attention to changing the diagonal cuts into cross-hatch patterns, which requires a certain level of knife skills; the fish skin must not be cut through to facilitate frying and shaping.

However, since they were just grabbing a quick bite outside, Pillar didn't bother with the presentation. Yet, his skills as a chef were evident; even a casual display of his talent left everyone dumbfounded.

"I just threw it together, it doesn't really count as Squirrel-shaped Mandarin Fish. To be honest, it's more like Exploded Mandarin Fish, hahahaha~"

Pillar scratched his head and chuckled.

"Also, I didn't make a sweet and sour glaze, fearing you might not be used to it. The sauce I thickened is savory~"

Gao Xiaofan couldn't wait to pick up a large piece of fish, dip it in the sauce at the bottom of the basin, and pop it into his mouth.

"Mmm~ Delicious! It's so good! Everyone, dig in!"

No need for Gao Xiaofan's invitation; the others' chopsticks were already frantically stabbing away.

The meal was thoroughly enjoyed, making everyone in the livestream room green with envy.

"What kind of divine life is this? I thought my instant noodles were great, but looking at that mandarin fish, boohoo~"

"This isn't scientific! Which other Fishing Tour Streamer is as extravagant as Brother Wo Zi!"

"And even a chef cooking for him... I want to go on a Fishing Tour too~"

"Calm down, person above me, you're broke!"

...After finishing the meal, Gao Xiaofan, the Regiment Commander, the Second Battalion Commander, and Qiu Gu squatted by the shore smoking, while Pillar, the Company Commander, and Li Yuer cleared the table.

"Hello~ Ah, okay, this number is fine, yes." The Regiment Commander's phone suddenly rang in his pocket, and he started talking with a smile after answering.

"Really, there's no need. It's fine, it's fine, really no need!"

Gao Xiaofan didn't think much of it, but after a moment, the Regiment Commander started giving an address—wasn't it right where they were?

After hanging up, the Regiment Commander looked at Gao Xiaofan's curious gaze and scratched his head, not knowing how to explain. However, the Second Battalion Commander beside him couldn't help but speak up.

It turned out that when the Regiment Commander and the others went to buy breakfast this morning, they encountered an anxious mother holding a child. At the time, they instinctively asked if she needed help.

For some reason, the child was semi-conscious and trembling all over. There weren't many taxis in the county town, so when the mother saw someone willing to help, she hurriedly said they needed to go to the hospital.

Seeing the child's condition, the Regiment Commander didn't say a word, opened the car door, took the mother and son in, and sped all the way to the county hospital.

"Holy crap, you have no idea how domineering the Regiment Commander was~" The Second Battalion Commander, cigarette in hand, gestured excitedly.

"When I saw the yellow light, I was about to slow down, but the Regiment Commander told me to just floor it~"

Later at the hospital, the mother hadn't brought her phone or money. The Regiment Commander directly took out 3,000 yuan in cash and gave it to her. The mother pulled the Regiment Commander back, insisting he leave his contact information, so he gave her his phone number.

"Yeah, anyway, that's what happened. Then she just called me to ask if this number was linked to my Alipay, transferred the money back, and insisted on buying us some water to drink."

The Regiment Commander said dully, "I told her, why buy water? It was just a small favor~"

After hearing this, Gao Xiaofan gave a thumbs up.

"Brother, the Independent Regiment is awesome!"

"Hehe, not as awesome as you, Brother Wo Zi~"

The Regiment Commander scratched his head and said sheepishly, then as if remembering something, he looked at Gao Xiaofan.

"Brother Wo Zi, uh, we probably won't be able to follow you to the next stop."

Gao Xiaofan looked puzzled: "Why?"

"The Company Commander might have some school business, so we'll likely have to part ways after this stop. Besides, those two guys have lives to live; after following me out for this long, their families are probably in an uproar~"

"Who's in an uproar? Nonsense." The Second Battalion Commander stiffened his neck.

"Oh, come on. Your wife's voice is so loud, I could hear her even if you put the phone in the toilet, closed the lid, and locked the door~"

"I'll freaking kill you!" The Second Battalion Commander was exasperated.

Li Yuer, the Company Commander, and Pillar (the Italian Cannon) also gathered around. Realizing they would part ways at Xu River, the atmosphere suddenly turned cold.

"Who ordered takeout!!!" A shout came from the roadside in the distance. Everyone looked over to see a youth clad in yellow, sitting on a small electric scooter, looking their way.

"Over here, over here~" The Regiment Commander hurriedly ran over.

Gao Xiaofan looked at the tripod standing there all alone and slapped his forehead. Oh no, the livestream had been running all this time without any interaction.

He rushed over to look. Sure enough, the camera was pointed at the empty space where the table had been. The number of viewers in the top right corner had dropped to 80,000, and the bullet chat was in an uproar.

"Good grief, where did everyone go?"

"Did Brother Wo Zi drink some fake liquor and forget he was still streaming?"

"Did you guys hear that? Someone shouted 'takeout' just now?"

"No way, ordering takeout? It's a script! So everything in the stream was just an act~"

"It was probably takeout ordered by a local Angler~"

Gao Xiaofan awkwardly turned the camera around and quickly apologized.

"Brothers, I'm really sorry. I just went to smoke and chat for a bit and forgot for a moment. Sorry, sorry!"

Having experienced loneliness, he understood the feeling of being neglected even better. These were his fans, people who liked and supported him, yet he had accidentally ignored them.

Fortunately, they were all long-time fans. After Gao Xiaofan apologized, they stopped complaining.

But as Gao Xiaofan turned and moved, the camera swung around, catching the Regiment Commander and the delivery person in the frame just as he was picking up the takeout.

????

"??? Isn't that the guy from the Independent Regiment? They really ordered takeout?"

"No way, it really is a script. I thought Brother Wo Zi was the most comfortable among Fishing Tour Streamers, why would he need to order takeout?"

"Ordering takeout is understandable, but there's no need to eat instant noodles in front of us and then turn around to order takeout. It makes it look like a script."

"Everyone, calm down. Maybe the Independent Regiment ordered the takeout~"

Gao Xiaofan didn't notice anything in the bullet chat because his mind was filled with the upcoming separation.

These two days spent with the Independent Regiment, though short, had been very interesting.

The big-brother-like Regiment Commander, the quiet Italian Cannon with his flashy cooking skills, the simp University Student Company Commander, and the dim-witted Second Battalion Commander who got lost while watching adult movies.

"Brother Wo Zi! Here, have some Fat Nerd Happy Water~ Hahaha, a whole case!"

The Regiment Commander came running over, carrying a case of Coke.

"Ah, okay, everyone drink up! Taste the Regiment Commander's Happy Water of Love~"

Gao Xiaofan looked up, bared his teeth in response, then looked at the bullet chat on the screen and couldn't help but freeze for a moment.