Why are you rushing at me

After Liu Bo swam far away, Su Yang smiled, turned around, and swam toward the depths of the sea.

It had been a long time since he last experienced the feeling of diving in Lucheng, and now he wanted to seize the chance to enjoy it again.

Su Yang moved quickly, reaching a calm area in just a few strokes. At this point, the depth where he was floating was roughly sixty to seventy meters.

He exerted force with his arms and swam downward toward the seabed.

The seawater in this area wasn’t very clear, unlike the pristine waters near that small island in Lucheng.

There, diving about thirty meters down, he could still see sunlight piercing through the water, along with colorful coral reefs and fish.

But this was a coastal area where people often played, so the water quality was bound to be somewhat polluted.

After descending to about fifty meters, Su Yang paused, floating in the sea to gauge his body’s reactions.

Back in Lucheng, he would start feeling chest tightness at around thirty meters, but now at fifty meters, he felt nothing at all.

Sensing no discomfort, he continued diving deeper.

He went all the way down to sixty or seventy meters until his feet touched the seabed, and still, his body showed no adverse reactions, nor did the system issue any warnings.

‘Holy crap? Am I this strong now? I remember the world record for free diving (without any fins or gear) is about 52 meters... So I just broke the record?’

‘Haha, I could probably dive even deeper, but I’ll save that for later. Next time I’m alone at the beach, I’ll really test it out.’

Su Yang didn’t linger. Mainly, it was pitch black down there with terrible visibility—nothing fun to see. He pushed hard off the seabed with his feet and shot rapidly toward the surface.

Soon he emerged, now about seventy to eighty meters from the shore, far beyond the area allowed for tourists.

He oriented himself and swam quickly back to the beach.

Before long, Su Yang was back on the shore. Lu Yun and Tang Ziyun saw him and asked, “Where did you go?”

“I took a little trip to the bottom of the sea.”

“What?” They exchanged glances, thinking Su Yang was joking.

Su Yang didn’t elaborate. He walked up to Lu Yun and smiled. “Come on, Little Lu, I’ll teach you how to swim.”

“Right now?”

“Yeah.”

“Tang Ziyun tried teaching me earlier, and I swallowed a few mouthfuls of seawater. It was awful.”

“Relax, I’ll teach you. I promise you won’t swallow a single drop.”

“Alright, so what do I need to do?”

“First, I’ll demonstrate, then I’ll hold you up and guide you as you swim.”

Hearing this, Tang Ziyun immediately recalled the scene from Lucheng when Su Yang taught her to swim.

That memory led her to think of something else that happened back at the inn, and she felt a bit shy.

Su Yang noticed Tang Ziyun lowering her head and asked, “What’s up with you?”

“Huh? N-nothing really.”

“How’s your swimming now? Can you manage on your own?”

“In a pool, I can sort of swim, but in the sea, I still can’t.”

“Then I’ll teach Little Lu first, and later I’ll help you brush up.”

Tang Ziyun froze for a moment and then nodded instinctively. “Okay.”

“Hang tight for a bit.” With that, Su Yang led Lu Yun forward.

They reached a secluded area. Su Yang looked at Lu Yun and said, “Little Lu, let me show you first. Watch carefully.”

“Okay.”

Lu Yun stood to the side, observing closely as Su Yang splashed onto the water’s surface. Using standard breaststroke form, he swam about ten meters forward, then turned and swam back.

“Got it?”

Lu Yun nodded. “I see it, but I’m not sure I can do it.”

“That’s fine. For now, just be aware of the basic moves. Later, I’ll hold you up to practice a bit. After a few tries, you’ll get the hang of it.”

“Oh, okay.”

Su Yang demonstrated several more times in front of Lu Yun, then had her lie face down on the water. He extended both hands to support her as they swam slowly toward the distance.

Su Yang’s hands rested on Lu Yun, and though he didn’t move them improperly, Lu Yun was still blushing and a little tense.

“Your form is wrong. You need to move your arms and legs together.”

Lu Yun nodded. “Got it, but I feel like I can’t coordinate them.”

“No worries. Take it slow. No rush.”

“Okay.”

On the other side, Meng Wenzhou and Jiang Xiaotang were happily playing in the water. Since Jiang Xiaotang could already swim, Meng Wenzhou didn’t need to teach her.

They splashed each other, having a great time.

Nearby, Pan Ning, Zhuang Mengli, and Han So-yeon were quietly swimming.

Liu Bo was successfully teaching Jin Xiangmei, following Su Yang’s advice: avoid touching her as much as possible, and when he had to, he used a clenched fist to support her.

The other girls were gathered in a group, laughing and playing cheerfully, filling the air with joy.

After Su Yang taught Lu Yun for over twenty minutes, she finally started getting the feel of it. She could swim a few meters on her own without needing support.

“Nice, nice, pretty good! You’re a quick learner, faster than Little Tang.”

“Really?” Lu Yun turned her head and smiled happily.

“Yeah. At this rate, I think you’ll master breaststroke in just two or three hours.”

“I never could learn it before.”

“That’s because you didn’t have a pro teaching you, you know?” Su Yang laughed heartily.

Lu Yun chuckled along. “So I really needed an expert like you to teach me personally.”

“Haha, okay, keep practicing here on your own for a bit. I’ll go help Little Tang brush up.”

“Sure, go ahead.”

Su Yang turned and swam toward Tang Ziyun, who was swimming alone nearby.

As he got close, he shook his head. “Little Tang, Little Tang, your form is still off.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Your arms and legs aren’t in sync. They need to move together. Otherwise, like now, you swim two meters and start sinking.”

“I haven’t swam in a while. I forgot.”

“Have you forgotten how to tread water?”

“I... have.”

“You’ve forgotten how to tread water?”

“I don’t know. I’m too scared to go into deep water, so I don’t know if I can still do it.”

“Alright, first let me demonstrate the swimming form again, and then I’ll take you to some slightly deeper water to practice treading.” Su Yang swam a loop around Tang Ziyun and asked, “See that?”

“Yeah, I’ll give it a try.”

“Hold on, don’t try yet. Let me support you and guide you first to see how it goes.”

“Do I still need support?”

“Why wouldn’t you?”

“Oh... fine.” Tang Ziyun’s face flushed as she suddenly lunged toward Su Yang.

Caught off guard, Su Yang instinctively caught her, and they ended up hugging tightly.

“What? Why’d you jump at me?” Su Yang laughed, shaking his head.

“Uh... sorry, my bad. Let’s try again.” Tang Ziyun’s face was bright red as she backed off a bit.

She had a momentary mental blank and, for some reason, just flung herself at Su Yang, leaving herself embarrassed.

“Jump to the side next time.”

“Okay.”

When Tang Ziyun was lying on the water’s surface, Su Yang quickly reached out to hold her up.

After guiding her through several strokes, he let go and said, “Alright, you should be good. Try it on your own now.”

“Okay.” Tang Ziyun agreed and began swimming on her own. After being strengthened by Su Yang, it went much more smoothly for her.

“That’s right. Keep that rhythm, don’t mess up your breathing, and swim a bit more.”

“Got it.”

After Tang Ziyun swam for about seven or eight minutes, Su Yang took her hand and led her to a spot where her feet couldn’t touch the bottom.

Once she couldn’t feel the ground, Tang Ziyun panicked and quickly hugged Su Yang.

“Now try treading water. Let go slowly. You know how to do it. Don’t be afraid.”

“Okay.” Tang Ziyun swallowed hard, released Su Yang, and started treading water on her own.

“See? You do know how. Treading water is a must for swimming.”

“But my feet feel so sore.”

“Your technique might be off. Don’t rush. Keep a steady pace, open your mouth, breathe slowly, and spread your arms out. You won’t sink.”

“Okay...” A few minutes later, Tang Ziyun grew more confident and turned to Su Yang with a joyful smile. “I’ve got it now!”

“Ha, see? It’s not that hard. Don’t fear the water. Take it slow, and you’ll learn quickly.”

“Awesome! Now I can teach others!”

Just as she spoke, Tang Ziyun’s right calf suddenly cramped up.

“Ah!” She screamed and quickly sank, but since they were very close, she frantically grabbed Su Yang’s neck as she went under, pulling him into the water as well.

......