When we all gathered together for dinner in the evening, everyone at the table was asking me if I was okay, if I was feeling unwell, etc., but Du Ting was not asked a single question at all. From the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of Du Ting lowering her gaze. She didn't know where to put the knife and fork in her hand. She felt so embarrassed.
I don’t want to look at other people’s faces, and I don’t want others to be embarrassed because of me.
So I quickly changed the topic and stopped mentioning the incident of rescuing people from drowning during the day.
After eating, everyone took a rest for a while, because this is a famous hot spring area in Night City. It is impossible not to take a hot spring here. Everyone was ready to take a hot spring, and so did I. But Luo Xiangdong suddenly stopped me and said, "Liang Zijin, come with me."
After that, he stood up and walked forward. Du Ting glanced at me instinctively, and I felt extremely nervous. It felt like I was having trouble with Luo Xiangdong in front of Du Ting.
Both of us looked strange for a moment, but Du Ting quickly looked away, and I simply pretended to be calm, got up and walked towards Luo Xiangdong.
I didn't expect Luo Xiangdong to take me to the swimming pool where we were during the day. As soon as I saw the large area of water, I felt a little out of breath.
Earlier I dared to lean towards the edge of the pool, but now my legs were weak and I stepped back, as far away as possible.
Luo Xiangdong looked at me and said, "Go and change clothes."
I looked at him in panic and asked, "What are you doing?"
Luo Xiangdong said: "Teach you how to swim."
I shook my head like a rattle and kept saying, "No, no, no, no, no..."
Luo Xiangdong said with a normal expression: "If you could swim, would you be able to drown like this today? Go back and change clothes quickly, don't waste time."
I was extremely confused in my heart. I want to learn a life-saving skill, but I just drowned during the day, and now I am afraid of water. I don't want to go down at all.
Luo Xiangdong saw my hesitant look and refused to move a step. He stepped towards me, opened his thin lips, and threatened: "Do you believe I will throw you into the water?"
I screamed "Ah" subconsciously, turned around and ran towards the changing room at the back. When I was running, I almost fell because my legs were weak and my shoes were slippery.
In our Northeastern dialect, I literally ran to the changing room like a somersault. There were a lot of new swimsuits with labels still on them, and I reluctantly picked them up. The thought of getting into the water made me feel bad.
I lingered in the changing room for about ten minutes when suddenly there was a knock on the door from Luo Xiangdong. He said, "Liang Zijin, come out quickly!"
My heart was so frightened that I couldn’t help but frown and said, “Here we come!”
I never thought I would swim with Luo Xiangdong, so I struggled with choosing a swimsuit, and finally chose a cute black suspender-skirt swimsuit. Looking at myself in the mirror with fair skin and slender legs, I feel lucky that I have lost weight.
Coming out of the changing room, Luo Xiangdong was already in the pool. He stretched out his hand to wipe the water from his face and said to me, "Come here."
I put on my slippers and took small steps to the edge of the pool, one and a half meters away. I didn't dare to go any further.
I put my hand on my chest, took a deep breath, and replied: "Brother Dong, I can't do it anymore, I can't do it anymore..."
Chest tightness and shortness of breath, I feel like I need to take a rest.
Seeing my virtue, Luo Xiangdong said disapprovingly: "Come down, you won't be afraid after you learn how to do it."
I said, "You won't have cramps for a while, right? Then I won't save you anymore. Are there security guards and rescue team members nearby? Can they hear me when I call?"
Luo Xiangdong knew that I was deliberately stalling for time. He walked towards the edge of the pool under the water and said as he walked: "Liang Zijin, are you going to come down by yourself or let me push you down?"
I was about to cry, and I replied with a groan: "I don't want to learn, so why don't I stop touching water in the future?"
Luo Xiangdong ignored me at all. He only took a few steps with his long legs to reach the edge of the pool. Seeing that he was about to come up with his arms stretched out, I didn't know where I got the courage. I ran over quickly and kicked him in the face. On the shoulder, he kicked him back into the pool.
Luo Xiangdong himself didn't expect the plop. The splash of water wetted his handsome face and the broken hair on his forehead. He stretched out his hand to wipe his face, looked at me who was in shock by the pool, and glared: "Liang Zijin, you are looking for death, aren't you?!"
Either way, I was going to die, and I didn’t want to get into the water. I turned around and ran back, saying, “Brother Dong, I don’t want to learn anymore, bye bye.”
The slippers under my feet were not slippery, so I didn't dare to run too fast, so I had to trot as fast as a millet and a rifle. I heard a "crash" sound behind me. It was the sound of someone breaking through the water.
I didn't dare to look back because Luo Xiangdong's footsteps were getting closer and closer.
How could I outrun him, not to mention that Luo Xiangdong had just been kicked down by me and rushed up with anger.
I was still several meters away from the door of the swimming room, and I already felt that Luo Xiangdong would touch my arm soon, so I squatted on the spot like a coward, hugged my legs, lowered my head and said: "I was wrong, Dong Brother, I was wrong..."
Sure enough, Luo Xiangdong was standing next to me, and I caught a glimpse of his calves from the corner of my eye.
Luo Xiangdong said: "Are you going in by yourself or should I throw you in?" Such a naked threat again!
Now I am like a piece of fish on the chopping board. Instead of letting Luo Xiangdong slaughter me, I would rather kill my relatives myself.
Thinking about it, I stood up suddenly, turned around and walked back. Luo Xiangdong followed me, fearing that I would run away, and never left.
I won't run away anymore. If I stretch my head out or shrink my head with a knife, it's just like a knife. What's more, Luo Xiangdong is right. If you learn to swim, you won't drown again in the future.
But when I walked to the edge of the pool, the fear of drowning that I felt during the day came over me again. People who have never been flooded cannot understand the fear.
Being cut by any sharp object will bleed and hurt, but being submerged in water is a painless suffocation. It is a kind of suffocation in which water fills the mouth and nose and gradually paralyzes the lungs. A drowning person will not die immediately, but will struggle until he is weak, and then his body will slowly sink, watching helplessly as his signs of life disappear inch by inch...
I pursed my lips tightly and looked at the overwhelming pool of water under my feet, my face turned pale.
Luo Xiangdong stood next to me, and I immediately turned to look at him alertly. At the same time, I stepped aside, for fear that he would push me down.
Luo Xiangdong said calmly: "I'm here, don't be afraid."
His words were like a reassurance, which made my inner restlessness seem to calm down instantly.
I looked at him and said, "Then you promise not to let me choke."
Luo Xiangdong said: "I promise."
I added, "Then if I can't learn it after I go down, you can't force me to learn it."
Luo Xiangdong hummed.
"You can't let go suddenly, you can't teach me in extreme ways, you can't..."
I thought about it a lot, but Luo Xiangdong rarely had the patience to answer it from the side.
When I had nothing to say, I swallowed my saliva, slowly walked down the ladder to overcome my fear, and stepped into the pool again step by step.
The way Luo Xiangdong entered the water was extremely simple. He jumped directly to me. I held on to the ladder tightly and refused to let go. Luo Xiangdong asked, "Have you learned how to hold your breath underwater?"
I nodded with a pale face.
Luo Xiangdong said: "Hold your breath and let me take a look."
My heart was beating like a drum. I guess it was nothing more than that when I was interviewed by Luo Xiangdong.
Taking a deep breath, I plunged into the water, kicked off my feet, and my body quickly floated on the water.
I kept convincing myself that I should learn to swim, master this survival skill, and never drown again.
I'm actually pretty good at holding my breath, so I can stay underwater for a minute without any problem. When I couldn't hold it in any longer, I pulled myself back to the edge of the pool with the ladder, raised my head, and took a big breath.
Luo Xiangdong looked at me and said, "If you can hold your breath for such a long time, you can definitely learn the breath-holding swimming method first."
I said: "Du Ting showed me today, but I didn't see it clearly."
Luo Xiangdong began to teach me step by step. From the position of the arms to the kicking position of the big and small legs, there is no detail.
At first, I would feel distraught because of Luo Xiangdong's touch. After all, I am also a young girl...
"Liang Zijin, why are you distracted? Did you hear what I just said?"
"Ah?" I stretched out my hand to wipe the water on my face, paused, and then said, "I heard you, let me swim for you to see."
Luo Xiangdong leaned aside and said, "You."
I quickly put my mind back and devoted myself to the important matter of learning to swim.
Taking a deep breath, I plunged into the water, used the movements Luo Xiangdong taught me, and started swimming forward with my hands and feet.
I didn't dare to open my eyes underwater, and I didn't know if I was swimming correctly. But when I was about to run out of breath, I wanted to get up, but found that my body was floating in the middle of the water, unable to reach the surface or the ground.
Seeing that I couldn't hold it in any longer, I immediately panicked and flopped around in the water.
In the chaos, someone grabbed my arm and pushed my center downwards. I landed on my feet and quickly stood upright.
I raised my head out of the water, spat out, and said, "Oh my god, you scared me to death just now."
I was really scared, otherwise I wouldn’t have spoken Northeastern dialect.
Luo Xiangdong frowned and said: "You can swim very well now, why can't you stand still? The water is not as tall as yours."
When he said this, I subconsciously looked to the side and found that I was already several meters away from the edge of the pool. I asked in surprise: "I swam so far?"
Luo Xiangdong said: "Yes, you swam so far in one breath, your movements are very standard."
I felt happy for a while, but then I said, "I can hold my breath and swim now, but I can't stand up. Fortunately, you are here, otherwise I would have choked again just now."
Luo Xiangdong scolded me for being stupid, and then showed me how to stand up in the pool. I took a closer look and said, "Is it that simple?"
Luo Xiangdong glanced at him and said, "So people like you deserve to drown."
I replied sullenly: "Don't curse someone who just drowned."
Luo Xiangdong said: "Don't be nagging, hurry up and swim. When you are familiar with this set of movements, I will teach you how to breathe underwater."
I thought to myself, what you waited for me to learn, now I have to ask for help from others and I have to bow my head. I am one of those who sleep on my laurels.