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The New Year had just passed, and Wuhan was in the depths of winter. The city's Education Bureau organized a "Winter Swimming Competition" across all schools, aiming to improve the physical fitness of the youth. Each high school was required to send ten participants to compete, with the event taking place under the Jianghan Bridge by the Han River. Originally, this winter swimming competition had nothing to do with Zhu Hui, but unexpectedly, the students at Nanhua High School showed no interest in participating. With very few sign-ups, Jiang Xi, the president of the student council, found herself in a bind. In a moment of desperation, she decided to take matters into her own hands and put Zhu Hui's name down without her consent, forcing her to represent Nanhua High School in the competition. When Zhu Hui learned of this, she was furious and stormed into the student council office to confront Jiang Xi.
"You've gone too far! How could you sign me up without my permission?" Zhu Hui exclaimed, her eyebrows furrowed in anger.
"I had no choice! No one else from our school signed up for the competition. As they say, if you don't go to hell, who will?" Jiang Xi replied nonchalantly.
"I'm doing just fine here; why should I have to go to hell?" Zhu Hui retorted.
"Because you're one of the few people in our school who can swim!" Jiang Xi shot back.
"When did I ever say I could swim?" Zhu Hui asked, bewildered.
"You can't have forgotten so quickly! Just last month, you were bragging about being like a water hyacinth on the Yangtze River and a hibiscus flower in the Han River, dominating everywhere and known as 'Water Glider,' light as a swallow and graceful as drifting willow fluff!" Jiang Xi reminded her.
"Did I really say that?" Zhu Hui's eyes widened in shock, her face turning bright red from embarrassment.
"You did!" Jiang Xi insisted, worried that Zhu Hui might deny it. She pointed at Wang Yuhan nearby for corroboration: "If you don't believe me, ask Wang Yuhan; he was there too."
Wang Yuhan nodded vigorously in agreement: "You even said you could 'walk on water like it was solid ground and cross rivers without needing a boat.' Honestly, your skills are unmatched; even Sikuang Zhaixing would be envious!"
Zhu Hui felt cornered as Wang Yuhan joined in on the teasing. She lowered her head in embarrassment and let out an awkward laugh: "I... I was just exaggerating! I thought it would spark everyone's imagination!"
Hearing the term "Water Glider," Wang Yuhan couldn't help but laugh and teased her: "You really have a knack for boasting! To describe yourself as 'Water Glider'—aren't you worried about affecting the water quality of the Yangtze?"
"I am 'Water Glider,' but I definitely won't affect the water quality!" Zhu Hui insisted stubbornly.
Both Wang Yuhan and Jiang Xi stared at her in disbelief as they exclaimed in unison, "What?!"
"Floating on an air cushion in a swimming pool—how could my 'Water Glider' self possibly affect the water quality of the Yangtze?" Zhu Hui argued back defiantly.
“Are you really going to swim or not?” Jiang Xi asked, her voice tinged with anxiety.
“I can swim a little,” Zhu Hui replied, nervously counting on her fingers and forcing a smile.
“What do you mean by ‘a little’?”
“If the safety measures are adequate, then I can swim a bit,” she explained hesitantly.
“What safety measures?”
“If I could have one or two floaties tied to me, then I could swim a bit,” Zhu Hui said, her voice trembling.
“What? Floaties? You want two of them?” Jiang Xi exclaimed, feeling exasperated to the point of tears. She stomped her feet and pounded her chest, saying, “I can’t believe it! I can’t believe it! The biggest lie of the century was created by you, Zhu Hui.”
“Now that you know I can’t swim, for the sake of the school’s reputation, I advise you to quickly remove my name from the registration form. If we end up in last place, who knows what the principal will do—he might start expelling people left and right,” Zhu Hui urged anxiously.
“Remove it? That’s easier said than done! I’ve already submitted the registration form!” Jiang Xi shouted at her, eyebrows raised in frustration.
“What… what do we do now?” Zhu Hui’s face fell as she realized the form had already been submitted. She looked utterly panicked and lost.
“This is all your fault for bragging without thinking! Now that the form is submitted, I don’t care whether you can swim or not. When we get there, even if I have to tie ten floaties to you, you’re going to wade through that muddy water!” Jiang Xi declared angrily, pointing at her with determination.
Seeing Jiang Xi’s furious expression made Zhu Hui feel like an ostrich burying its head in the sand. Trembling with fear, she stammered, “What if… what if I sink to the bottom of the river and drown?”
Jiang Xi thought for a moment and pointed at Wang Yuhan nearby. “Don’t worry! With Wang Yuhan looking out for you, you’ll definitely be safe.”
Wang Yuhan gasped as if she had just been robbed. “What? Did you really put my name down too?”
“Of course! I registered everyone’s name from our student council—except mine, of course,” Jiang Xi replied with a mischievous grin.
“What?” At that moment, the other students in the student council, who had been busy with their tasks, stopped and turned to stare at her, their faces filled with surprise.
Jiang Xi, seeing them all casting accusatory glances in her direction, crossed her arms in frustration, stood on tiptoe, and shouted at them with spittle flying:
“What’s wrong? Do you all have something to say?”
“You, as the president of the student council, don’t set a good example for us. Why do you want to drag us down with you? Are you out of your mind?”
“I am the president, that’s true, but I’m also just a delicate girl!” Jiang Xi replied, her tone shifting as she brought out the sweet voice she had practiced at home. She added coyly, “And I’m the only girl in our student council. In situations like this, it should be you brave boys stepping up!” As she spoke, she cast flirtatious glances at them.
“Oh—look at you being so modest.” A nearby male student remarked upon hearing her sweet voice, feeling a chill run down his spine as if he were covered in sticky rice. Goosebumps covered his body.
“As they say, ‘The early bird catches the worm,’ I’m just providing you all with a great opportunity to improve yourselves. As for thanking me, I think there’s no need for that. Sigh! Who told me to be so low-key?” She sighed dramatically and gave everyone present a mischievous grin.
Zhu Hui noticed that she wasn’t the only one suffering and felt somewhat comforted. Standing aside, she watched the chaos unfold as they argued loudly, turning the entire student council into a scene of disorder.
On Saturday, the winter swimming competition finally kicked off amidst a flurry of excitement. Zhu Hui arrived at school early and ran ten laps around the track to warm up before heading to the competition site by the Han River. By the riverside, colorful flags fluttered in the breeze and voices buzzed with energy—a lively scene indeed. After changing into her swimsuit and putting on a swimming ring around her slim waist, she stood shivering in the chilly wind. The other competitors couldn’t help but stifle laughs at her comical appearance.
With the sound of a gunshot, thousands of competitors jumped into the Han River. Zhu Hui held her breath and dipped one foot into the water but immediately recoiled; it was freezing cold. Hesitating on the shore and reluctant to take the plunge, she heard mocking voices behind her. Turning around, she realized she was the only one left on land.
“What are you still doing standing there? Everyone else is almost at the finish line,” Yang Qianfan suddenly appeared in front of her wearing swim trunks.
“How did you get here? Did you sign up for the competition?” Zhu Hui asked in confusion.
“I didn’t sign up because Wang Yuhan got an upset stomach this morning. He asked me to take his place since he was worried about contaminating the Han River.”
“Now I understand,” Zhu Hui pondered.
“Alright, stop thinking! Otherwise our school will really be left behind,” Yang Qianfan said as he suddenly pushed her into the river before jumping in himself with a splash.
As he swam alongside her, he thought to himself that as soon as this Dwarf Winter Melon cried for help, he would swoop in like a hero to save her. At that moment, he couldn’t help but smirk at his own thoughts.
However, fate had other plans; just as they reached the center of the river together, Yang Qianfan’s leg cramped up due to not warming up beforehand. Suddenly stiffening like a brick, he began sinking straight down into the water.
“Help! Someone, please save me!” Yang Qianfan shouted as he struggled in the water.
Hearing his desperate cries, Zhu Hui realized that his leg had cramped and he was sinking. Without hesitation, she took a deep breath and swam over to rescue him. Just as she reached Yang Qianfan, he instinctively lunged at her with his eyes closed, grabbing her tightly. In that critical moment, he accidentally touched a sensitive area on Zhu Hui's chest, causing her face to flush with embarrassment. Startled like an electric eel, she instinctively kicked at him in panic, sending him away with a few yelps of protest.
As Zhu Hui celebrated her escape from Yang Qianfan's grasp, she was taken by surprise when he suddenly grabbed her foot from beneath the water, driven by his will to survive. The swimming ring was too large for her to hold onto properly; her arms slipped off, and they both sank to the riverbed, tangled together. The only thing left floating on the surface was the lonely swimming ring.
On the riverbank, the onlookers were tense and shouting in alarm. In that urgent moment, two figures burst from the crowd and jumped into the river.
“Where am I?” Yang Qianfan mumbled groggily.
Seeing him awake, Jiang Xi rushed over joyfully and gave him a hearty pat on the shoulder. “If it weren’t for Xiong Laoshi saving you, you’d probably be reporting to the King of Hell by now.”
“Xiong Laoshi?” Yang Qianfan blinked in confusion as he looked at the rather unattractive man before him. “Xiong Laoshi, were you the one who saved me?”
Having sunk into the river, Yang Qianfan gradually lost consciousness, yet it felt as if he were still aware. It was as if he had fallen asleep and was dreaming. In his dream, he was having breakfast at Lao Jiu's Tang Noodle Shop, but instead of soup noodles, he was served a basket of Chive Dumplings. The dumplings tasted terrible; they had a faintly unpleasant odor as if they had spoiled over time. Just as he began to complain to Lao Jiu about the dumplings being unappetizing, a wave of sourness surged up from his stomach. He instinctively gagged twice and woke up coughing.
As he slowly opened his eyes, he saw a middle-aged man with a round face and unkempt beard staring intently at him. When the man noticed Yang Qianfan was awake, he broke into an excited grin. As he smiled, a piece of green chive leaf was caught between his gleaming golden teeth, swaying conspicuously in the cold wind.
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