Chapter 12
On Wednesday morning, Huang Yanxiang pestered Huang Qian to go swimming, even though Huang Qian had never heard of the place. Huang Yanxiang mysteriously said she had plans with a friend and even gave her ten tickets. Huang Qian couldn't go because of school, so she asked Yan Qing to accompany her.
The swimming location was a hotel, and the huge pool was occupied only by the two of them, one adult and one child. Huang Yanxiang, wearing a swimming ring, splashed around happily. Yan Qing sat on the shore watching her play.
Huang Yanxiang shouted to the shore, "Sister, Mom said you're a great swimmer, come down and play with me!"
Huang Qian bumped into Yan Qing at the school swimming pool. At that time, she was determined to learn to swim in order to lose weight. She only went into the pool once and didn't even learn to float, but she witnessed Yan Qing's amazing swimming style.
Yan Qing has loved swimming since she was a teenager, but the school swimming pool costs 20 yuan a ticket, and she couldn't bear to spend the money after going once.
"Sister, come quick!"
Hearing Huang Yanxiang urging her, Yan Qing stood up, stretched her limbs, and lightly leaped into the water. The icy water instantly enveloped her body, and she entered a world she had been away from for a long time, yet which was still incredibly familiar. She immersed herself in it, her parched and dusty skin was moisturized and cleansed, and the long-lost freedom made her feel refreshed all over.
She was swimming with complete absorption when she suddenly heard Huang Yanxiang's bright laughter echoing from below the ceiling.
"Look how amazing my sister is!"
Upon surfacing, they discovered several more people on the shore: Cheng Jiaming, Secretary Gao, Wu Yanying, and Shen Hanyang.
Cheng Jiaming looked on with admiration. He had already put on his swimming ring and shouted to Yan Qing, "Teacher, catch me!"
"Slow down!" Before Yan Qing could even finish speaking, Cheng Jiaming came in like a giant cannonball, splashing water everywhere.
"Cheng Jiaming, take this!" Huang Yanxiang, wearing a swim ring, swam towards Cheng Jiaming. The two splashed water at each other, quickly creating a chaotic scene.
Yan Qing then realized that the friend Huang Yanxiang had mentioned inviting her swimming was Cheng Jiaming.
Besides Cheng Jiaming, the other three on the shore were also dressed in swimsuits. Secretary Gao's swimsuit was conservative and old-fashioned, while Wu Yanying's was much fresher and more lively, revealing a pair of slender legs under her light purple swimsuit with small flutters. She said somewhat timidly, "I'm afraid of water."
Secretary Gao said, "We have President Shen. President Shen was on the swimming team when he was at Stanford."
Both of them looked at Shen Hanyang, who was focused on adjusting his swimming cap and goggles, showing no reaction to Secretary Gao's compliment.
Secretary Gao added, "I'm a complete landlubber too, but I still came."
Yan Qing was hesitant about whether to go up and say hello, but seeing that no one was paying attention to her, she breathed a sigh of relief and quietly swam to the outermost lane, swimming freely.
Yan Qing learned to swim in an accident. Without professional guidance, her movements were far from standard. But she swam gracefully like an elegant fish, her snow-white neck and back flashing briefly on the deep blue water, possessing a natural beauty.
"I've never learned to swim," Wu Yanying said somewhat dejectedly, glancing regretfully at Yan Qing in the water.
Secretary Gao comforted her, "It's no big deal. We'll hire a coach later, and after a few lessons you'll be swimming beautifully."
Shen Hanyang put on his swimming goggles and jumped into the lane next to Yan Qing's. His professional entry into the water earned a shout of praise from Secretary Gao: "Excellent!" He swam a section of freestyle first, then switched to butterfly. His firm, full muscles appeared and disappeared in the splashing water, making it hard not to take a second look.
Secretary Gao retorted indignantly, "Did you come here to swim or to show off?"
Wu Yanying asked in confusion, "Who?"
"Who else could it be but that Teacher Yan! What kind of attire is that? She's showing everything that should and shouldn't be showing!"
Wu Yanying looked again at Yan Qing's receding figure. Yan Qing was wearing a white one-piece swimsuit. Although it was called a one-piece, it was only connected by two thin strips of fabric in the middle, exposing her slender waist and smooth skin completely without any cover.
Secretary Gao kept rambling on: "She finally got a chance to perform. She's lucky, she got in thanks to Jia Ming, otherwise how would she have had the chance to swim at President Shen's hotel?"
Wu Yanying said, "Forget it, let's ignore her and go play for a while."
Yan Qing swam with great focus, completely unaware that a figure in the next lane had brushed past her several times. After swimming for about an hour, Yan Qing went ashore to rest. Feeling a bit hungry, she took out a small glass bowl from her bag, unscrewed the lid, and began to eat with a small spoon.
Secretary Gao and Wu Yanying also went ashore. As they passed by, Wu Yanying noticed the glass cup in Yan Qing's hand.
She asked in surprise, "Is this yours?"
Yan Qing looked at the ready-to-eat bird's nest in her hand and said, "Jiaming gave it to me."
Wu Yanying and Secretary Gao exchanged a glance, their faces displaying a similar expression.
Wu Yanying said, "This was given to me by Brother Hanyang to help me recover. He gave me two boxes, and I was wondering why they disappeared after I put them there. Turns out they were with you."
Yan Qing was taken aback: "I'm sorry, I didn't know this was a gift from Mr. Shen."
Wu Yanying frowned unhappily: "It's very expensive."
Yan Qing stood there awkwardly, unsure of what to do. The weekend before last, Cheng Jiaming came to visit her at school, bringing two boxes of bird's nest. Yan Qing felt she didn't need to eat it, so she asked Gu Feimeng to take it back to her mother. Before leaving, Gu Feimeng opened two bowls and left them for Yan Qing, saying, "You have to try it. Otherwise, it'll be embarrassing if Jiaming asks you if it's good and you can't answer." Little did she expect that the current situation would be ten times more awkward than she had anticipated.
Secretary Gao's voice suddenly interrupted: "Jiaming is a child who respects his teachers. Teacher Yan wanted to eat it, so he just brought it over without even knowing it was yours. Don't take it to heart."
Yan Qing felt helpless. The story had been completely distorted by Secretary Gao, and she was powerless to explain herself.
While Yan Qing remained silent, Secretary Gao coaxed Wu Yanying away. The two sat on a bench some distance away from her, whispering to each other with their heads down, their eyes occasionally glancing over.
The others in the pool also came up. Huang Yanxiang said, "It's so cold!" Shen Hanyang grabbed a towel from the chair and wrapped it around her. Cheng Jiaming followed last, slowly climbing ashore. He circled the rest area a few times, then hunched his shoulders and said, "Where's my towel? Has anyone seen it?" Yan Qing looked at Huang Yanxiang, who was comfortably wrapped in two layers of towels, and couldn't help but laugh. She then looked at Shen Hanyang, who seemed oblivious to Cheng Jiaming's plea for help.
Cheng Jiaming walked tremblingly toward Yan Qing: "Teacher."
Yan Qing draped her bath towel over him: "Are you warmer now?"
Cheng Jiaming nodded: "I almost froze into an icicle!"
After showering and changing, everyone gathered in the lobby. Huang Yanxiang gave Cheng Jiaming a wink, and the two whispered to each other to one side.
Secretary Gao laughed: "What are these two kids talking about?"
Huang Yanxiang glanced warily at Secretary Gao and Wu Yanying, as if afraid of being overheard, and pulled Cheng Jiaming away a little. Secretary Gao remained silent, while Wu Yanying turned her head away expressionlessly.
After chatting with Huang Yanxiang for a while, Cheng Jiaming said loudly to Shen Hanyang, "I want to have dinner with Xiangxiang."
Secretary Gao said first, "Then why don't we eat at our hotel? It's convenient and delicious. Last time, there was a pandan glutinous rice cake that you and Sister Wu both loved, remember?"
Cheng Jiaming glanced at Huang Yanxiang, who made an X with both hands. Cheng Jiaming turned to Secretary Gao and said, "No, Xiangxiang and I are having a private conversation. No outsiders allowed."
Secretary Gao's lips twitched slightly, and she gave an awkward smile. But she still cleverly found an excuse to take Wu Yanying away.
Yan Qing hesitated for a moment, then decided she should give Shen Hanyang an explanation. She told him the whole story of how she obtained the bird's nest and sincerely apologized. Unexpectedly, Shen Hanyang frowned slightly after listening, as if he had no idea about the bird's nest at all.
"What bird's nest?" Shen Hanyang thought blankly for a long time before finally remembering. "You mean that thing, something worthless, a gift from a downstream supplier. I didn't want it at all. Who knew he found out my address and mailed it to my house? I shared it with Aunt Chen and the driver, and now there's a whole box of it sitting in the storage room, I can't get rid of it. Wait, what happened to the bird's nest you just mentioned?"
Yan Qing was taken aback for a moment, then gave up: "Oh, it's nothing."
Shen Hanyang gently stroked Huang Yanxiang's hair: "What would you like to eat, Xiangxiang? Uncle will treat you."
Cheng Jiaming answered quickly: "Meicun Fried Chicken!"
Huang Yanxiang chimed in, "Yes, we want to eat Meicun fried chicken!"
Following the navigation, Shen Hanyang made several turns and finally found the so-called Meicun Fried Chicken on a small road opposite the side gate of the Normal University in the South University Town. The storefront was pitifully small, and there were only three tables inside. Huang Yanxiang ordered basil, fried squid, cuttlefish balls, and oden.
Yan Qing was somewhat skeptical about how delicious the food could be from this unassuming little shop. Huang Yanxiang had mentioned it many times before, but Huang Qian was too lazy to travel halfway across S City to buy it for her.
When the fried food was served, Yan Qing realized she had underestimated this restaurant. The owner, who came from Taiwan, spoke with a gentle Taiwanese accent and enthusiastically said, "This is delicious, perfect for kids. It's a little spicy, so parents should be careful!"
Shen Hanyang patiently corrected: "It's not 'Dad' and 'Mom,' it's 'Dad' and 'Sister.'"
The shop owner was astonished: "I can't believe it, sir! Your eldest daughter is already so grown up! Amazing!"
Yan Qing wanted to laugh but couldn't, while Shen Hanyang calmly opened soda bottles for Huang Yanxiang and Cheng Jiaming.
The children paid no attention to the adults' conversation. Cheng Jiaming was still complaining to Huang Yanxiang about Wu Yanying: "She follows me everywhere I go. She comes to Disneyland, she comes swimming, and she says she's afraid of water. What's the point of being afraid of water! Lao Shen takes me to Disneyland in Orlando every year. If it weren't for her, I would have gone this year! Disneyland in Orlando is much bigger than Disneyland in S City. You can play for five days and five nights!"
Huang Yanxiang picked up the conversation, saying, "She and that Aunt Feng, one is a skinny cucumber, and the other is a fat cucumber."
Yan Qing quickly reminded her, "Xiangxiang, your aunt's surname is Gao."
"I'll call her Crazy Auntie, because she's crazy!"
Yan Qing then realized that she meant "crazy" and not "Feng".
Yan Qing returned to school after 8 p.m. Gu Feimeng called.
"Are you back?"
"You're back."
"Taking care of a little one must be tiring, right?"
Yan Qing then told Gu Feimeng about her encounter with Shen Hanyang and his group at the swimming pool.
"What? He saw you swimming? Humph, that scumbag got another free ride, letting him feast his eyes!"
"Not at all, they didn't say more than ten sentences."
"Are you wearing the swimsuit I gave you? The one with the really sexy design at the waist? Even the Terracotta Warriors would get nosebleeds if they saw you wearing that!"
Yan Qing smiled.
"By the way, have you had dinner yet?"
"I ate it, Mi-mura fried chicken."
Gu Feimeng screamed, "Meicun Fried Chicken?! The Meicun Fried Chicken I've been craving! Did you bring it for me?"
"Here it is! You'll smell the fragrance after a five-second countdown."
Gu Feimeng started counting seriously: "Five, four, three, two, one!"
As soon as she finished speaking, Yan Qing pushed open the dormitory door, carrying a fragrant takeout of fried chicken.
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