Only After I Was Reborn Did I Realize That I Had Childhood Sweethearts

Chapter 236: Guo Yuns Swimming Instructions

After everyone got into the water, Xia Yuan tried moving around for a short while and quickly regained her floating and swimming skills.

“Wow, having learned this as a kid really paid off. I’m still quite good at it.”

“Put your swim cap on properly, it looks like it’s about to fall off. Let me help you with it.”

Mei Fang walked over to Xia Yuan to adjust her swim cap.

“Tying up long hair and putting on a swim cap is such a hassle…”

While Mei Fang was adjusting Xia Yuan’s cap, Xia Yuan kept staring at Mei Fang’s body.

Hehe…

Suddenly, she reached out and poked Mei Fang’s chest, making him flinch and turn around.

“What the heck?! Are you messing with me?”

“Was that move accidental?”

Xia Yuan stuck her tongue out and made a face at Mei Fang. “Well, I did it on purpose. What are you going to do about it, huh? Are you going to poke me back?”

“Sigh…”

In this setting, Mei Fang didn’t dare to go too far with Xia Yuan. At this moment, Lin Youxi appeared behind Xia Yuan, lifted the ruffle on her swimsuit, and started to tickle her.

“Shall I avenge you, Ah Fang?”

Xia Yuan, caught off guard by Lin Youxi’s attack, started laughing uncontrollably. “Ahahaha, Youxi, why are you always siding with Ah Fang? I hate you! Ahaha, okay, I’m sorry! I’m sorry! Let’s just practice swimming!”

The three of them were having a great time. Just then, Guo Yun returned after swimming for a while. Mei Fang, worried she might be bored alone, took the initiative to strike up a conversation, “Guo Yun, you seem to be quite good at swimming. Do you come here often?”

“Yes… Swimming actually consumes a lot of energy, so it’s a highly recommended aerobic exercise. But I only recently finished my swimming lessons.”

“So, you must have solid theoretical knowledge. You can teach me then.”

Mei Fang showed a somewhat troubled expression. “I can hardly float naturally.”

“Well, you do need to overcome some psychological barriers. When I first started…”

Guo Yun was about to share her swimming experiences with Mei Fang when she noticed Xia Yuan and Lin Youxi watching her curiously from behind Mei Fang.

Driven by a strong survival instinct, Guo Yun reached out to Xia Yuan and Lin Youxi. “Um… How about Yuan Yuan and Youxi teach you instead?”

“No worries, Yun Yun. Since you’ve just finished a structured course, you can teach Ah Fang. I’ll review as well,” Xia Yuan said. She didn’t want to come across as overly jealous and petty.

Lin Youxi also nodded in agreement, “Let’s all share our experiences to help Ah Fang learn to swim. He might learn faster that way.”

“Three people teaching one. You really think I’m a little kid, huh?”

In his previous life, Mei Fang never had the opportunity to learn how to swim. Places like the beach where people living fulfilling lives gather were not places Mei Fang would often go to. His only friend was Zhang Ming, and they only played video games together. As time went on, the chances to learn became even fewer, and he remained a “dry duck”^[1] all along.

Swimming is a survival skill, and even without the end-of-term exam, learning it would be beneficial for me…

Guo Yun instructed Mei Fang to get used to breathing techniques, transitioning from breathing on land to breathing in water, and then to continuous breathing.

“The key is to master the rhythm of your breathing. When swimming, forget that you have a nose. Get used to breathing with your mouth and don’t be afraid if water touches your nose. Yes, just like that…”

“Puff… ha… puff… ha…”

With Guo Yun’s guidance, Mei Fang practiced breathing while holding Lin Youxi’s hand, and he was doing quite well so far.

“Great job, Ah Fang, you’re doing great!”

Xia Yuan cheered for Mei Fang, and seeing this, Guo Yun moved on to the second stage, teaching Mei Fang to float. Previously, Mei Fang developed a fear of swimming because he couldn’t float during his swimming lessons. But since he was now mastering the breathing rhythm and holding Lin Youxi’s hand steadily, things were looking better.

“Just like that, relax your body, stretch your arms and legs—Yuan Yuan, don’t help him with your hands, let him try on his own.”

Guo Yun’s guidance was patient and professional. After several attempts, Mei Fang managed to float naturally under her instructions.

“Yay, Ah Fang did it!”

“It’s not a success yet. Youxi also needs to let go of his hand.”

Following Guo Yun’s instructions, Lin Youxi slowly let go of Mei Fang’s hand. However, she could feel Mei Fang gripping her hand tightly. Lin Youxi thought that this wasn’t going to work, so she suddenly pulled her hand away.

Without support, Mei Fang started flailing like a baby deprived of its mother’s embrace. Everyone rushed to help him, and in the chaos, Mei Fang accidentally pulled down Guo Yun’s swimsuit strap and ended up diving into Xia Yuan’s arms.

Mei Fang’s awkward state amused the girls, but everyone was considerate of his feelings and didn’t laugh out loud. Xia Yuan was especially thoughtful, supporting Mei Fang to float on the water, and patting his back comfortingly while saying, “Whew… Look how scared our little brother Ah Fang has become… It seems we’ll need to practice a few more times.”

Blushing, Guo Yun pulled up the strap that Mei Fang almost yanked off, cleared her throat, and added, “It seems Mei Fang is still quite afraid of floating on his own…”

After a long afternoon of persistent effort, Mei Fang made some slow but steady progress and finally managed to swim a bit on his own.

Watching Mei Fang swim towards them with a happy wave, Xia Yuan couldn’t help but cover her face and murmur, “I don’t know why, but it feels like watching my own child finally learn how to walk. Huhu…”

“Speaking of which, when we were learning to ride bicycles, Ah Fang also put in a lot of effort teaching us, didn’t he?” Lin Youxi smiled at Xia Yuan. “Do you remember those times?”

“Of course I remember!” Xia Yuan responded with a smile. “I remember back then, because you were slower to learn, Ah Fang would always be by your side, and I was so jealous.”

“Well, my balance was always poor. Even when I tried roller skating, it was the same…”

Guo Yun, leaning against the edge of the pool, listened to Xia Yuan and Lin Youxi reminisce about the past, and she became interested. “The Mei Fang in your stories sounds more like the deskmate I knew.”

Xia Yuan nodded. “Indeed… In middle school, I always thought Ah Fang could do anything. He was the first person I’d think of whenever I needed help.”

“But isn’t it nice this way too?” Lin Youxi said with a smile. “No matter how excellent Ah Fang is, he’s still just like us, a person with strengths and weaknesses, things he’s good at, and things he’s afraid of. We’ve always relied on Ah Fang’s company since we were young. Now, in areas where he’s lacking, we can support him and do things for him.”

As she spoke, she turned her gaze to Guo Yun. “It’s the same for you, Guo Yun. For Ximilu Studio and for Ah Fang, your skills are indispensable. But you’re only one person; you can’t shoulder all the responsibilities alone. Do you understand what I mean?”

“Mm… I understand.” Guo Yun’s face showed a hint of guilt. “The progress of Cloud Journey has been slow lately because the art department is struggling to keep up.”

“If you can’t find classmates interested in game development in high school, that’s understandable. We’re currently setting up a company and will be recruiting some artists. Of course, most of them will probably be inexperienced newbies…”

Xia Yuan immediately jumped in. “I saw how well you guided Ah Fang just now. Maybe take a step forward and try to communicate more with people outside our group. Perhaps you’ll find that it’s not that so scary.”

“Yes… I understand.” Guo Yun smiled and nodded. Guiding Mei Fang had given her a great sense of accomplishment. She had clearly left her past insecurities behind, but achieving true confidence would still take some time.

“If we recruit new artists or if there’s an opportunity to find like-minded people at school, I’ll… try to communicate more.”

Xia Yuan and Lin Youxi had inadvertently facilitated Guo Yun’s growth, while Mei Fang was still lost in the excitement of having learned to swim.

“I’m no longer a dry duck! Wahaha—cough, cough, cough——”

Half-baked swimmers are the most likely to drown, and Mei Fang was currently in that state.

Translator's Notes: