Chapter 49 p2
After warming up, Xu Ling went to the hotel front desk to get a kickboard. After getting in the water, she had Qin Cong’an tread water in the shallow end for a while to get used to the feeling, while asking her, “What stroke do you want to learn? How about we start with freestyle?”
“Are you really planning to teach me?”
Being asked this, Xu Ling realized that she had really been called “Teacher” a couple of times and had gotten into the mode. She slapped the water a couple of times. “So you’re not planning to learn?”
“I want to. I’ve always wanted to learn, but I told you, I don’t like being touched by others, so I never learned.” Qin Cong’an turned her face to look at Xu Ling. Before she could react, she continued, “But you can’t teach me in one day, right? What about after?”
Xu Ling’s hand was on Qin Cong’an’s waist at this moment, and she didn’t show any dislike at all. And she wanted a follow-up?
“Okay.” Seeing her silent, Qin Cong’an said again, “We’re both very busy.”
“No, we’re not so busy that we can’t find any time at all,” Xu Ling replied immediately after coming back to her senses. “Then let’s check our schedules and see when we’re free, and we can go out to practice.”
Qin Cong’an nodded and said okay.
So was not being able to swim a weakness? It was clearly a lucky point.
But, because Xu Ling was willing to teach her, because her palm was on her waist at this moment, fireworks exploded in her heart. This was indeed her weakness.
“Are you lying to me?”
“What?” Qin Cong’an was interrupted by her sudden question.
“You can swim, right?” Xu Ling felt that she didn’t have the uneasiness of a beginner in the water. “Can you or can’t you?”
“…Do you want to throw me into the deep end and see how many minutes it takes for me to die?”
Xu Ling was choked. “There’s no need for that.”
She started to teach Qin Cong’an how to kick her legs. Seeing that she didn’t know how to point her toes and couldn’t get the rhythm right, she confirmed that she really couldn’t swim. But Qin Cong’an learned quickly. She had a foundation in sports, so it wasn’t difficult to learn.
After teaching for a while, Qin Cong’an sat on the edge of the pool to drink water and rest, watching Xu Ling swim in the pool.
Even if she couldn’t swim, Qin Cong’an could see that her butterfly stroke was very beautiful, like a mermaid. Even the waves she created were elegant.
After a few laps, Xu Ling flapped her way towards Qin Cong’an, thinking to herself, did you see that? while saying out loud, “It’s been a long time since I’ve swum seriously. I’ve almost forgotten how.”
“Your expression doesn’t seem to say that.”
“…Is that so?” Xu Ling forced a calm expression. “Well, I did swim quite smoothly. I’m very happy.”
Seeing her face full of “am I not amazing, praise me, praise me,” Qin Cong’an reached out and patted her head. “You’re amazing, particularly beautiful.”
The rich expression that Xu Ling hadn’t been aware of froze on her face. She lowered her head, and after Qin Cong’an retracted her hand, she started to tidy her hair.
“So why do you swim so well?”
“I put in a lot of effort when I was a kid,” Xu Ling said, gradually becoming more at ease than when she had been patted on the head. “At the beginning, I choked on a lot of water. The coach said I was the worst. So I studied very seriously, and even practiced on my bed at home. Later on, I was always first in the swimming class exams.”
Qin Cong’an listened intently, watching her proud smile, and really wanted to pat her again, but she held back, just unconsciously showing a soft expression. “No wonder you look so professional.”
Xu Ling started to chat animatedly, slapping the water. “Let me tell you, I was chosen to go professional, but my parents didn’t let me. They said sports were too hard, and I didn’t really want to go that much either. Now that I think about it, it’s a good thing I didn’t go. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have met you…”
Wait, what was she talking about!
Diving into the water, Xu Ling suddenly started to swim again, as if she had an endless amount of energy. Surrounded by water, she felt like she couldn’t hear the outside world, but her inner voice was magnified several times.
Was this the honesty that Qin Cong’an was talking about? It was a good thing she hadn’t showered with her. She would have probably said everything.
Qin Cong’an sat on the edge of the pool, watching Xu Ling rise and fall in the water. Her back was so beautiful. This swimsuit made her look as bright as a swaying spring.
Xu Ling’s words from just now, mixed with the sound of the water, played again in her ear.
Qin Cong’an regretted having known her, had wanted to grab her and ask “why,” but she also really couldn’t imagine what it would be like not to have met her.
When Xu Ling came over again, Qin Cong’an pointed to the sky.
“Wow!” Xu Ling let out a surprised gasp. “How are there so many stars!”
Qin Cong’an had had the same gasp in her heart just now. At this moment, looking at her flushed face, she also thought to herself, how can she be so cute?
Xu Ling had rarely seen so many stars. Whether in North City or London, it wasn’t suitable for stargazing. Seeing so many at once, she couldn’t take her eyes off them.
She just excitedly grabbed Qin Cong’an’s hand. “I’m going to teach you how to do the backstroke. We can swim and look at the stars at the same time.”
Could she? How much was her promise worth?
But Qin Cong’an nodded and said, “Okay.”
Soaking in the water for too long was also uncomfortable. Plus, they had to get up early tomorrow to shoot the sunrise. The two of them had to go back to their rooms to shower.
Every time Xu Ling finished swimming, she was in a particularly good mood. Today, she was in an exceptionally good mood. She almost slipped in the bathroom and had a tragic end to her joy.
After showering and drying her hair, she was leaning on the balcony when she realized she had forgotten to take a photo just now.
It would have been so nice if she could have captured them and the starry sky just now. Although it seemed they would be shooting until the evening tomorrow and would probably shoot the starry sky, work and private life were different after all.
But, it was also good not to have taken a photo. Then she wouldn’t have to think about whether to post it or not. Now, it was just a very pure, shared memory between the two of them.
Xu Ling was smiling so much her face was a little stiff. The sea breeze had even dried her teeth a little. She rubbed her face. Where was their boundary? What was their relationship now?
But this was definitely a question that couldn’t be asked. As soon as she asked, everything would collapse.
The dawn on the island was breathtakingly beautiful.
A sliver of light on the horizon turned the sky a pale purple for a moment. The photographer captured this moment and took a backlit silhouette of the two of them holding hands.
Xu Ling’s posture was needless to say, a perfect balance between tension and relaxation. The photo looked like a work of art. Qin Cong’an was always relaxed. She was perfectly suited for this scene, looking like someone who would wait for the sunrise, sitting on a mountaintop and looking into the distance.
For a magazine shoot, body language was very important. What kind of relationship two people had was largely judged by the feeling of their physical contact.
When the photographer was checking the photos after the shoot, besides sensing Xu Ling’s professionalism, he could actually feel that Qin Cong’an seemed to be a little dependent on Xu Ling.
This was an unexpected shooting effect, but it looked very good.
As time passed, the sun rose higher and higher, and the light became brighter and brighter. They changed several locations, from the seaside to the mountains, and from the forest back to the seaside, continuing to shoot according to the plan.
During the pre-shoot communication, both sides had expressed that they were not averse to physical contact.
But Qin Cong’an’s side had also said, “not too excessive.”
At that time, the coordinator had given Qin Cong’an a few templates, and she had accepted them all. The coordinator had thought that a few of the poses were already in the “excessive” range for many artists, but she had agreed. So what level of “excessive” was she talking about?
In short, the two of them had some rather intimate poses, a bit similar to the ones Qin Cong’an had disliked that Xu Ling had shot with the other two models.
“Good! Good!” the photographer was very excited. “Try looking at each other! Hey, very good! A little bit apart. Wow, so beautiful!”
On the plane on the way here, when Qin Cong’an was looking at that magazine’s inside spread, she had been wondering how Xu Ling had shot it, what she had been thinking during the shoot.
Now she probably knew. Xu Ling was probably just thinking, do a good job.
She could receive every one of the photographer’s instructions and complete them with precision, very professional. Whatever emotion, whatever expression she was asked to give, she could immediately give the photographer what they wanted.
Although Xu Ling was also very serious when filming and looked very charming, at this moment, seeing her shine in her own field, there was still a different kind of tingling sensation, spreading from their intertwined fingers to her whole body.
The scorching sun at noon was a break time, but the behind-the-scenes camera didn’t stop. They were eating seafood by the sea.
Both of them were shelling, and the staff next to them were also shelling, all exchanging and eating. Qin Cong’an didn’t eat what others had touched, only what Xu Ling had touched.
Xu Ling was burying her head and eating, not noticing at all. She just felt like she was starving. Eat more, eat more.
At noon, they went back to the hotel to rest. It would be very hot from three to four o’clock due to the direct sunlight, so they shot in the hotel.
A cat was with them for the shoot, a completely black cat with not a single white hair, but its name was Cream. It was raised by the hotel. It looked very cool but was very well-behaved and obedient.
Also because it liked the two of them, during the shoot, it would even take the initiative to climb on them, showing off its proud figure.
This didn’t feel like a work assignment at all. It was more like a young couple had come out to play with a cat.
It was just that this cat’s appearance made it hard for Xu Ling not to think of Mo Yun.
Because it was a more relaxed photo, it was fine for the two of them to talk. It was all up to the photographer to capture the wonderful moments.
Xu Ling lowered her head, rubbing the little cat’s bottom until it was high in the air, and said, “This cat looks a lot like the one on your main account’s profile picture. What’s its name again?”
“Mo Yun.” As she said this name, Qin Cong’an started to smile.
Xu Ling looked at her. “Is Mo Yun okay?”
“Very good. I’ll show you a video of it later.” Qin Cong’an’s tone was so soft. Then she suddenly remembered something. “Oh, no, I can’t. My phone can’t play it.”
That was great. Xu Ling really didn’t want to see the cat they were raising together.
“Cream is so cute. Baby Cream, the cutest little cat in the world,” Xu Ling praised the little cat crazily. If it weren’t for the makeup on her face, which would have gotten all over the cat, she would have really wanted to pick it up and nuzzle it.
Qin Cong’an couldn’t say in front of Cream, “Actually, you’re the second cutest little cat in the world.” She could only retort in her heart that Mo Yun was actually the cutest in the world.
Xu Ling asked her, “Why don’t you praise Baby Cream?”
“Baby Cream is of course cute,” Qin Cong’an said obediently, then asked, “Isn’t it enough for you to praise it? Why are you so insistent on making me say it too?”
“…” How to explain this? Xu Ling rubbed the little cat’s ears and said, “If only I praise it, then Cream will only like me and not you. That can’t happen.”
“Oh, your way of thinking is quite cute.”
Xu Ling couldn’t help but purse her lips, which she shouldn’t have. No, she wasn’t cute. She was despicable.