New Year's Eve girlfriend let me go ice fishing, just to boil fish soup for bamboo horse

On New Year’s Eve, my girlfriend, Chloe, wanted me to go ice fishing on the lake, just because her childhood friend, Jake, said he wanted fresh fish soup.

I accidentally fell into the icy lake. As I struggled, dying, I called her countless times.

She finally picked up when I was about to drown.

My heart was filled with hopeful anticipation, but then Jake’s voice came through:

“Chloe said if you don’t catch any fish, don’t even bother coming back, you pathetic loser.”

Amidst Jake’s mocking laughter, my phone sank to the bottom of the lake.

The freezing water filled my nostrils. The moment my body was engulfed by the icy embrace, my heart seemed to stop.

My hope died right then.

Luckily, fate intervened, and a passing fisherman pulled me out. The first thing I did when I woke up was to make a call.

“Mr. Sterling,” I asked, “is that remote development project still looking for people?”