A Young Woman's Heart

In this respect, it's actually the girls who are bolder.

They often bullied Huang Yuxi, with Hua Yinyin being a prime example.

"Alright, enough chit-chat." Ye Ran, seated in the lifeguard's high position, blew his whistle. "Boys, stand on the right side of the pool; girls, stand on the left side. Line up now!"

And so, the chaotic students became orderly again.

Sunlight streamed in through the floor-to-ceiling windows, but was filtered through the black glass, making it less glaring.

Looking at the huge swimming pool, Mo Xueyao felt both nervous and expectant.

……

Chapter 171 Buoyancy

"This is the first swimming lesson, and this time we've been given quite a bit of time." Physical education teacher Ye Ran sat upright in the lifeguard's position, holding the life rings placed on either side of him.

"The girls' side is the shallow water area, and the boys' side is the deep water area. From front to back, the shallow water area is 1.4 to 1.6 meters deep, while the deep water area is 1.5 to 1.7 meters deep." Ye Ran examined the students' heights and pondered for a while. "Among the girls, the two tallest ones, well, the tallest one and the tall and fat one, step forward."

After looking around, Tian Xinnan had to admit that she was the 'tall and fat' girl.

"Hmm, you two must be over 1.8 meters tall, right? You two go over to the boys' side."

“Okay.” Aya Akimoto nodded, while Tian Xinnan pouted, a little unhappy with how her teacher addressed her.

However, she often insulted others, so she only felt resentful when karma came back to haunt her...

“Hey boy over there, the one in the front, I forgot about you earlier, you're the boy from Class 2 who looks like a girl, right? Go to the girls' side and stand in the front. When you go into the water later, stand in the shallowest part. If you're on the boys' side, at most only your forehead will be showing.”

Huang Yuxi walked over to the girls with her head down, feeling embarrassed.

Ye Ran checked the heights again and, finding it to be fine, nodded: "Alright, now get in the water. Arrange yourselves by height, shorter people stand closer to me, and taller people stand further away from me."

The swimming pool is divided into two sides, separated by floating plastic strips in the middle, which prevent people from accidentally stepping into the deep end.

So the students jumped into the water one by one, like dumplings being dropped into boiling water.

When I first went into the water, it felt a bit cold, but once I was fully submerged, the temperature felt just right.

In the water, she felt her body become lighter, and Mo Xueyao really liked this slightly floating feeling.

"Since it's our first time in the water, we need to get a feel for what it's like. Now, everyone stay still!" Ye Ran smacked Gao Yuan on the head with a swimming ring. "Little fatty, shut up, and you over there too!"

The boys who had been grinning quickly stopped smiling.

"Everyone, whether you can swim or not, listen carefully to my steps. First, grab the edge of the pool. There are many drains on the edge of the pool, and there is a non-slip material there. Grab there, and you can maintain your balance." Ye Ran said, then called to Li Hongran, "Physical education representative, please put my swimming ring on the shore."

Mo Xueyao listened to what the PE teacher said, grabbed the shore, and felt that she could control her legs to float a little.

"Okay, then I'll count down to three. Get ready to take a deep breath, then bury your face in the water and hold your breath. Let me see how big your lungs are."

Mo Xueyao remembers that her lung capacity used to be pretty good, but she doesn't know how it is now.

After all, a lack of exercise will reduce lung capacity.

Huang Yuxi, who was lying on the girls' shallow end, looked shyly at the girls in swimsuits and intentionally or unintentionally covered her upper body.

It meant something like... he should have one too.

Ah, in a sense, it's really dangerous for Huang Yuxi, a boy, to have such a petite figure.

Even if they're not wearing anything on their upper body, it's hard to tell if they're male or female.

Mo Xueyao glanced at him, then couldn't help but turn back to look at Mr. Xue. She hadn't dared to look earlier, but now she wanted to confirm whether his was also pink.

Unfortunately, all we can see now is a group of boys with their backs to her.

"Three, two, one!"

As the PE teacher counted down, everyone took a deep breath and buried their faces in the pool.

The PE teacher then started timing with a stopwatch.

The first one to give up was Huang Yuxi.

He probably only lasted about ten seconds before suddenly raising his head as if he were about to suffocate, gasping for breath.

Mo Xueyao used to be able to hold her breath for almost a minute, but this time, she probably didn't even last thirty seconds before she raised her head.

Fortunately, most of the girls looked up at that moment, so she didn't feel too embarrassed.

Hua Yinyin held her breath the longest, which made Mo Xueyao seriously suspect that she might have somewhere else besides her lungs where she could store oxygen.

Apart from Hua Yinyin, none of the girls lasted more than a minute.

Oh, we need to remove Aya Akimoto from the group of boys.

As a member selected to join the school's sports training team, she has excellent physical fitness and hasn't raised her head yet, seemingly able to continue holding back.

Most of the boys were no longer able to continue.

Even the usually composed Mr. Xue looked completely exhausted.

Clearly, he had reached his limit, but it was only a little over a minute.

On the boys' side, Li Hongran's physical fitness was undoubtedly the best, while An Ruosu, whose height wasn't particularly outstanding, was still holding her breath.

"Hey chubby, your lung capacity isn't good. Shouldn't fat people have good lung capacity?" Ye Ran teased Gao Yuan, then said to the boys who were still holding their breath, "Don't be stubborn. Get up when you need to. Don't hold it in. If you damage your brain, I can't take the blame."

"Hoo—" As she spoke, Aya Akimoto raised her head.

"Hmm, the last girl held it in for a minute and fifty seconds, impressive."

"Huff huff huff..." An Ruosu also raised her head with her chest heaving rapidly, gripping the shore and panting heavily.

Li Hongran also raised her head. At this moment, only one person was still holding their breath.

Surprisingly, that person turned out to be Zhou Yong, who was quite ordinary and unremarkable in every way.

"Hey, you guys, take a look at that boy next to you, see if he's passed out!" Ye Ran said, half-seriously and half-jokingly.

Zhou Yong still had the strength to wave his hand on the shore, indicating that he could still hold on.

"Impressive, kid." Ye Ran jumped off the lifeguard's chair, holding a stopwatch to count the time for him. "Two minutes now. Let's see how long you can hold your breath. Don't push yourself."

At this moment, Mo Xueyao also opened her eyes wide with great curiosity, unable to believe that a person could hold their breath for so long.

Most importantly, Zhou Yong doesn't seem to exercise regularly. Could it be that his lung capacity is naturally extraordinary?

So, does every ordinary person actually have their own strengths?

It's just that it's not easy to be discovered.

Moreover, many of their strengths, even if discovered, may not be of much use.

"Two minutes and thirty-nine seconds!" Just as Ye Ran was about to count down the next second, Zhou Yong finally raised his head. His face was flushed purple from holding his breath, and veins were bulging on his forehead and neck.

"Huff, hah..." Zhou Yong took a deep breath, recovering from the brief dizziness caused by holding his breath.

"Not bad, kid. Your breath-holding ability is already at the level of an amateur swimmer." Ye Ran, standing in the water, patted his shoulder. "With a little more training, you can definitely last even longer. I think you could try learning a wind instrument. Those instruments require a lot of lung capacity, which would suit you well."

"A wind instrument?" Liu Xiaowei gestured, "The kind that's long and has buttons?"

"Yes, I forgot what it was called."

"Suona!" Liu Xiaowei immediately shouted.

"What the hell? The teacher clearly said saxophone..." Gao Yuan bumped into Liu Xiaowei.

"Haha, okay, everyone take a two-minute break. Next, we'll do a relaxation exercise. All you have to do is hold your breath, hug your body, and let your body float in the water."

After resting, everyone followed suit.

The feeling of floating on the water is actually quite nice, but I still can't breathe.

Although we learned in class that because there is a lot of water in the human body, it is possible to suspend in water or even float on the surface of the water.

But you can only have a deeper understanding when you experience it yourself.

"Okay, boys, watch first. Girls, imagine you're lying on a bed, and try floating on the water with your limbs flat on the surface!"

"Oh—" Many boys immediately let out a strange cry.

"It's a mountain range when viewed from the side, and a peak when viewed from the front!" Gao Yuan exclaimed in amazement.

"It's only at times like this that you can use classical poetry so well," Liu Xiaowei teased him.

“Actually, I think a flat stomach is also very attractive,” Zhou Yong licked his lips, “that kind of beautiful line…”

"Huh—I didn't realize Zhou Yong was the one who knew so much about this?"

“Bullshit, I’m the purest!” Zhou Yong immediately retorted, and the group of clowns burst into laughter.

Ye Ran walked over to the girls and helped them maintain their balance one by one, so that they could float steadily on the water.

"I really envy PE teachers!" Liu Xiaowei wiped his drool. "I want to be a PE teacher when I grow up!"

"Someone like you can be a PE teacher?" Gao Yuan burst into laughter. "You'd be better off becoming a male escort! Hahaha—"

“No, no, no, male escorts don’t want someone like him.” Zhou Yong shook his head. “Even if we wanted someone like Huang Yuxi, we wouldn’t want someone like him.”

"What if?" Liu Xiaowei retorted. "There's always a chance of something going wrong, you know?"

"No, unless all the men in the world die."

"What if it actually happens?"

"Then we can only mourn for the women," Li Hongran joked from the side.

Hua Yinyin floated the most easily on the water, although Mo Xueyao was always curious as to why she never lost her balance and ended up face down.

"Okay, now girls, relax and breathe, then close your eyes. When you feel water in your mouth, stand up immediately."

After hearing Ye Ran's words, Mo Xueyao slowly closed her eyes and imagined herself drifting on the ocean.

The sun shone on her, and the melodious calls of seabirds filled her ears.

When can we go to the beach?

I really hope I can go to the beach this summer.

As Mo Xueyao drifted into her thoughts, she felt herself sinking into boundless tranquility, and almost fell asleep.