“I really didn’t mean it this time!”
Xu Ye pulled his hand back in a hurry, protesting his innocence.
Without thinking, Chen Qingqing glanced up at the young mother on the side of the pool. Seeing that she wasn’t looking their way, she pulled a face and said, “I’ll teach you once. After that you can learn on your own with a swim ring.”
“No problem.”
Chen Qingqing swam a length of the pool and back with practiced ease. Her form was very clean, and in the water she was as nimble as a mermaid. In the time it took him to blink she was back at his side.
“The first thing you have to learn is how to breathe. Hold your breath underwater, breathe out above it. Try it yourself first.”
Some people take to water naturally. Others are born afraid of it.
Xu Ye was the first kind.
He had never had a swimming lesson, but as a child at his grandmother’s, every summer break he and the other kids would go catching crawfish in the stream that ran between the field ridges. The water in that stream was clear back then, and it was never very deep. If the crawfish were scarce they fished for them with homemade rods. If there were plenty, they simply rolled up their pant legs and went in after them.
Air conditioning wasn’t common yet in those days, but he never felt the heat. Watermelon down the well, mung bean soup left to cool, old-style popsicles at half a yuan apiece — those were what summer came with.
There was just no going back to days like that now.
The clear stream had long since turned into a filthy ditch, and his childhood playmates had lost touch years ago and scattered in every direction…
Xu Ye obediently did as she asked, going under the surface and coming back up again. After only a short while of practice he seemed to have the hang of the breathing.
And Chen Qingqing moved on to the next stage of the lesson.
“Take a breath and hold it, then straighten your arms and legs out naturally. Head a little lower, waist a little higher. Hold that position and you’ll float on the surface.”
“You have to hold me up a bit or I won’t feel safe.”
“Just do what I said first.”
Xu Ye did exactly as he was told.
He straightened his arms and legs and slowly floated up, but his form wasn’t quite right, and he couldn’t hold the position long before he sank.
Seeing this, Chen Qingqing came forward without a word and put a hand gently under his rock-solid stomach.
She pressed her lips together and steered the subject elsewhere. “You need to spread your hands a little wider… you don’t need to spread your feet, right, like that.”
“Did you just touch me?”
“I did not! You were the one moving around.”
“All right.”
A little over ten minutes went by.
Xu Ye asked eagerly, “I’m learning this fast. Does that mean I’m a natural?”
Chen Qingqing saw how pleased with himself he looked and was hardly going to play along. She answered flatly, “No. You’re hopeless.”
Xu Ye knew she was saying it on purpose and didn’t argue. He only smiled and asked, “Shouldn’t you be teaching me the strokes now?”
“Mm.”
Chen Qingqing set about teaching him very patiently…
And Xu Ye learned with great concentration…
Half an hour later Chen Qingqing threw him a swim ring and left him to practice in the pool on his own. She climbed out and sat down on one of the reclining chairs at the poolside, watching him go mechanically through the breaststroke she had just taught him, the ring around his middle. A smile surfaced on her small face without her noticing.
“Mommy, Mommy~”
Hearing the little girl’s voice beside her, Chen Qingqing tilted her head and looked over at Xu Ye. When she saw that the young mother with the two children was watching him too, she got up immediately and went over. Like someone staking a claim, she said, “No slacking, dumb pig. Keep practicing.”
Xu Ye stood up in the pool, wiped the water away with one hand, and said with a long face, “You’ve got to let me rest at some point.”
Ordinarily you couldn’t tell with his clothes on. He had the kind of build that looks slim dressed and solid undressed, and his skin was a healthy tan. He didn’t have the exaggerated muscle of a serious gym-goer, but after exercise the lines of his arms and stomach came out sharply, and the whole effect was full of power.
Chen Qingqing came back to herself and immediately held out the bath towel. “Dry yourself off, then. Come out and rest a while.”
Xu Ye swam over to the side. Chen Qingqing bent down, meaning to put the towel straight into his hand — but in that position, from his angle, the best view a girl has to offer was on full display…
“Take it, then.”
Xu Ye reached up, took the towel and wiped the beads of water off his face.
When he still hadn’t climbed out after a long moment, Chen Qingqing frowned. “Aren’t you coming out?”
“I can’t right now.”
Chen Qingqing didn’t follow. “Why not?”
“It’s not convenient.”
“Why isn’t it convenient?”
Xu Ye glanced at the little family of three nearby and beckoned her over. “Come closer and I’ll tell you.”
Half believing him, Chen Qingqing crouched down at the edge and leaned in toward him. Xu Ye hesitated. He didn’t dare give her the reason outright, and only said quietly in her ear, “One gummy bear pins another gummy bear down on the bed and says, ‘I’m a hard candy bear now.'”
Chen Qingqing blinked, and blinked again. A few seconds later her fair little face went visibly red.
……
By the time they came out of the activity center it was nearly five in the afternoon.
The sun hadn’t gone down yet.
It was still blazing.
Xu Ye walked along beside Chen Qingqing. Neither of them said anything, and in the end it was a phone call that broke the slightly awkward mood.
To Xu Ye’s mild surprise, the person calling turned out to be Zhao Ming.
Xu Ye answered and put the phone to his ear. “Hello, Boss Zhao—”
Before he could get the rest of the pleasantry out, Zhao Ming said excitedly on the other end, “Xu Ye, screw you. When did you start an investment company?”
So this guy had found out about the film investment.
Xu Ye laughed. “What, do I have to file a report with you before I start a company?”
Zhao Ming: I only found out today, scrolling Weibo and seeing your interview video. Christ, I almost didn’t recognize you.
Zhao Ming: Are you in Shanghai right now?
Xu Ye: No. I’m going back next month.
Zhao Ming: All right. Get in touch when you’re back and I’ll buy you a drink.
Xu Ye: Sure. I’ll be in touch.
Only once he had hung up did Chen Qingqing finally speak. “Who was that?”
“The son of a rich family.”
Then he laughed and added, “I actually thought about introducing him to Zhang Ruowei. Personally I think the two of them would go well together. But the guy doesn’t want a girlfriend for now, so I never brought it up.”
Chen Qingqing laughed too. “Ruowei’s standards are very high. She wouldn’t look twice at an ordinary boy.”
“She’d look at this one, definitely.”
“Why?”
“Tall, rich and good-looking — he’s got all three. Taken all around, he’s only a shade behind me.”
Chen Qingqing gave him a flat look and pushed him away. “Stop preening.”
“So… with your mom not home, aren’t you scared sleeping on your own tonight?”
“No.”
“Your mom told me you sleep with the light on. How about… I stay tonight and keep you company?”
“……”
“I’ve got it all worked out. First half of the night we can look at the stars, look at the moon, get a taste of the quiet good life. Second half we can get into the meaning of life, and look ahead to the future while we’re at it.”
“Hey — hey! What are you walking so fast for? Wait for me!”
(End of Chapter 266)