Chapter 2 Her long, thick eyelashes drooped forlornly…
The water surface shimmered and rippled, then returned to calm.
Song Juelan stared at the French windows for a long time without moving.
"What's wrong?" Zhu Zhenghao, who was posting advertisements to recruit students on the shore, asked, noticing that he was distracted.
There was no one outside the floor-to-ceiling window; the blue sky was clear, and a few white clouds drifted lazily by.
The gaze he just saw seemed to be just his imagination.
"It's nothing." Song Juelan looked away, smoothed her wet black hair, and plunged back into the water to swim one last lap.
After Zhu Zhenghao finished putting up the advertisements, he dusted off his hands and said, "Oh right, I haven't thanked you for helping me with this. I'll treat you to dinner tonight."
"No need, I have something to do tonight."
Zhu Zhenghao wasn't surprised to be rejected, and shrugged: "Then let's do it another day."
This swimming pool is owned by his family. He heard from other friends that if a swimming pool wants to do well these days, it needs to hire a few handsome internet celebrities as coaches.
Upon hearing this, he immediately thought of Song Juelan.
Not to mention internet celebrities, even movie stars aren't necessarily as good-looking as Song Juelan.
To his surprise, Song Juelan actually agreed to help him with this favor.
Zhu Zhenghao could almost see the bustling scene after the swimming pool officially opened, with people flocking to the door.
“Hey, what do you think?” Zhu Zhenghao stroked his chin, looking at the colorful advertisements on the wall, “Should we do a discount program for children’s students? It’s summer vacation right now.”
Song Juelan pushed off the shore with both hands and nimbly climbed ashore, giving him a cold glance: "I won't help you take care of the child."
"I know, I know." Zhu Zhenghao quickly raised his hands to show his attitude, "I will hire a few more coaches to take care of the children, it will definitely not be troublesome for you."
The more he thought about it, the more feasible the plan seemed. He took out his phone and sent a message to his assistant, asking them to make another version of the promotional poster, adding information about the special offers.
After sending the message, Zhu Zhenghao looked at the person drying their hair on the shore and couldn't help but ask, "Don't you have anything else to do during the summer vacation?"
After the college entrance examination, he lost contact with a group of his friends, who were either on graduation trips around the world or busy looking for partners.
After he finishes his busy work this summer, he plans to travel for a while, and it would be even better if he could find a girlfriend.
Even he was so busy during his summer vacation, and Song Juelan had been involved in family affairs even earlier than him, so she shouldn't have been idle either.
Song Juelan draped the towel over his shoulder, water droplets sliding down his deep brow bone: "It's alright, it's fine if it happens a few times now and then."
"That's good."
Zhu Zhenghao had just breathed a sigh of relief when he suddenly remembered something else.
I've heard from others that it's not so easy to find a partner after you go to college, so you have to start looking for one as early as possible.
If Song Juelan spends all his free time during the summer vacation at this swimming pool, wouldn't he have no time to find a partner?
He hesitated for a moment, glancing at Song Juelan's departing figure, then stopped himself from speaking.
Forget it, Song Juelan probably has absolutely no interest in this kind of thing.
*
Back home, Wen Zhi's thoughts were still lingering on the scene she had witnessed outside the swimming pool, feeling somewhat surreal.
He had never seen anyone who matched his aesthetic standards so perfectly. Both his appearance and physique were almost perfect, and he was a pleasure to look at.
There was only one person in the swimming pool just now, and today isn't the official opening date yet, so that person must be a staff member of the swimming pool.
If all the staff at the after-school program looked like that, his suffering this summer would be somewhat lessened.
Wen Zhi hadn't eaten much rice in her bowl for a long time. She looked up at the other side of the table and saw that Xiao Tang was also staring blankly, biting her spoon.
"Xiao Tang, what are you thinking about?" Wen Zhi asked, biting the tip of her chopsticks.
Xiao Tang looked at him with her round eyes, her soft voice filled with longing: "Zhi Zhi, the swimming pool is so big and beautiful."
Wen Zhi thought of what she had witnessed today and nodded in agreement: "Brother thinks so too..."
He paused, stared intently at the child in front of him who looked on with longing, and an idea popped into his head.
If we change one of Xiaotang's extracurricular classes to swimming, wouldn't she be able to go to that swimming pool more often?
Wen Zhi put down her chopsticks, rested her elbows on the table, cupped her porcelain-white chin in her palm, and smiled slightly: "Does Xiao Tang also like swimming?"
"I like it." Xiao Tang nodded like a chick pecking at rice.
Although he has never swum, his favorite thing to do is play in the bathtub, especially with the little yellow duck floating on the surface to play with him.
Wen Zhi's smile deepened: "How about your brother takes you to that place where we learned to swim today?"
Xiao Tang's eyes immediately lit up, and she raised her hands and cheered, "Great!"
Having reached a consensus, the two huddled together and whispered for a while, deciding to replace the Go lesson with a swimming lesson.
Xiao Tang felt that Go lessons were too boring and had no interest at all.
Wen Zhi felt that the old man who taught Go was not very interesting.
The decision to change extracurricular classes was made.
The opening day of the swimming pool was another busy day.
Wen Zhi took Xiao Tang to the art studio early in the morning, but when she got there she realized she hadn't brought her apron, so she had to go back home to get it.
After running back and forth twice under the scorching sun, my eyelashes were soaked with sweat, and the corners of my eyes turned slightly red from the stinging.
Even the handsome Mr. Xia smiling at him at the studio entrance could not soothe his heart in the slightest.
I took my usual afternoon nap, but Xiaotang woke me up in less than ten minutes.
He fought off his sleepiness, dressed Xiaotang in a miniature taekwondo uniform, and hurriedly went out.
By the afternoon, Wenzhi was as withered as a leaf by the roadside, too weak to even speak.
On her way home, Xiaotang stopped at a familiar traffic light.
"Zhizhi, the swimming pool is open!" Xiaotang excitedly pointed to the building that looked like a whale.
Wen Zhi turned her head and saw that the entrance to the swimming pool was crowded with people, men, women, and children.
After spending most of the day making a fuss, he had completely forgotten that today was the opening day of the swimming pool.
The blazing sun hung in the sky like a furnace, and the arched roof of the swimming pool shimmered with dazzling white light.
Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, you can see the bright swimming pool inside; the cool, light blue color seems to lower the temperature of the air by two degrees.
Wen Zhi originally wanted to come back another day, but then she thought that there might be special offers on the first day of opening, so she took Xiao Tang's hand and walked across the street.
At the entrance of the swimming pool, there are several posters recruiting students for the academy, offering everything from basic classes for preschool children to intensive courses for adults.
The automatic sensor glass door opened, and a powerful blast of cold air rushed in.
Upon entering, you are greeted by a spacious and bright hall. Long queues have formed at the ticket counters and turnstiles, and several staff members are maintaining order.
The rest area in the corner of the lobby was also full of people, including elderly people who brought their children to cool off and young people who came to join in the fun.
A group of young men and women sat together, frequently glancing at the closed door of the changing room, excitedly whispering something, and occasionally bursting into laughter and playful banter.
When he was in a noisy and bustling environment, Wen Zhi would easily lose his way. He looked around but couldn't find the place to register.
Perhaps it was because I had been out and about for too long today, but as soon as I stepped into the air-conditioned room, my head started to ache and my steps felt a little unsteady.
He looked around, wanting to find a staff member to ask where to register, but everyone in the hall was busy.
With a "click," the tightly closed locker room door next to them was suddenly pushed open, and a tall shadow fell to their side.
The chatter of the young men and women in the rest area suddenly grew louder, but it was drowned out by the noise and couldn't be heard clearly.
Wen Zhi turned her head a beat late, blinked slowly, and saw a pair of clean white sneakers in her line of sight.
Above that are two straight, long legs, a well-defined waist, broad, straight shoulders, and finally, a handsome face with distinct features.
The person in front of her looked somewhat familiar. Wen Zhi stared at him for a few seconds before her dulled senses finally connected him with the person in the swimming pool a few days ago.
It was him.
He almost didn't recognize the man when he put on his clothes.
However, he was now exhausted and had no mood to appreciate that face, which looked even more perfect up close.
Since this person was able to swim in the swimming pool before it even opened last time, he must be a staff member here.
Wen Zhi quickly stepped forward and stopped the only available staff member in the lobby: "Excuse me..."
Hearing the soft voice beside him, Song Juelan stopped and turned to look.
What came into view was a strikingly beautiful face with delicate and exquisite features. Her eyes, beneath long lashes, held a sense of bewilderment, and her slightly pale lips were pursed.
The sunlight behind him illuminated his jet-black hair and outlined his slender, graceful shoulders and neck.
"Excuse me... do you still accept students here?" the person asked softly, his tone slightly uncertain.
Song Juelan's first reaction was that the person in front of her wanted to sign up, but out of the corner of her eye she caught a glimpse of a fluffy head below, and then her gaze fell on a pair of bright, round eyes.
It was a very small boy, with a chubby face, but you could tell he looked a lot like the handsome young man.
Song Juelan was usually never interested in other people's affairs, but at this moment a question popped into her mind uncontrollably.
What is the relationship between these two people?
He raised his gaze again, meeting those beautiful, clear black and white eyes, and his throat involuntarily bobbed: "Confess."
The young man seemed to breathe a small sigh of relief, then asked, "Where should I register?"
Song Juelan did not answer this simple question immediately.
Today is the first day of the swimming pool's opening, and he has given Zhu Zhenghao a lot of face by staying in the pool all afternoon, only coming out now after changing his clothes.
Reason told him that all he needed to do was point the young man in the direction of the counter, and he could immediately resolve the problem of being mistaken for a staff member.
But looking into the young man's eyes, which were filled with a faint weariness, he fell silent for a moment for no apparent reason.
Wen Zhi didn't receive a reply and thought her guess was wrong, mistaking an ordinary customer for a staff member. She apologized, "Sorry, I'll go ask someone else..."
"Come with me." Song Juelan interrupted him, uttered these three words, and turned to walk in another direction.
Wen Zhi quickly took Xiao Tang's hand and followed. The person in front was tall and had long legs, and took big strides. He almost couldn't keep up.
After weaving through the crowded queues, they arrived at the relatively quieter front desk.
"Wait a moment." Song Juelan walked straight to the side of the front desk, opened the door with his fingerprint, went around to the inside, and bent down to rummage through the drawers.
He was supposed to register at the counter next door, but he remembered that Zhu Zhenghao had also left a few registration forms at the front desk, just in case.
He just felt that the young man's face didn't look good, and the child he was holding was too young to wait that long.
He quickly took out a registration form for a basic preschool class from the drawer, placed it on the table, and handed over a pen: "Just fill this out."
"Thank you." Wen Zhi took the pen, her fingertips inadvertently touching the other person's slightly cool knuckles, and quickly withdrew her hand.
He lowered his head and carefully looked at the contents of the registration form, filling in the basic information as he went.
His gaze fell on the last column, and he suddenly stopped, the pen tip hovering above the paper, not falling for a long time.
The words "Student's Parents Information" were clearly printed in that column.
This basic swimming course only lasts two months, meaning that by the time his parents return from their honeymoon, the course will have already ended.
And the person who would bring Xiaotang to class all summer was him.
The thought of this made Wen Zhi feel dizzy and her heart ache.
Song Juelan stood on the other side of the front desk, looking down at the elegant handwriting on the registration form, when the pen suddenly stopped.
His gaze fell on the spot where the pen tip had stopped, but he only saw a question that couldn't be simpler.
His gaze lingered on the slender, fair hand for a few seconds before shifting slightly upwards to land on the young man's slightly furrowed brow.
For young people, that seems to be a difficult question to answer, or rather, a question they don't want to face.
A moment later, he heard the other person ask softly:
"Can I just fill in my information?"
The young man's long, thick eyelashes drooped forlornly, his face was as white as paper, and he gripped the pen with a slight force.
Song Juelan curled her fingers at her side, forcing herself to look away from that beautiful face and instead at the table beside her.
His Adam's apple bobbed almost imperceptibly, pretending not to notice the other person's unusual mood.
"……Can."
A note from the author:
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Xiao Song: From afar he looks like a married man, up close he looks like a widow.
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