Chapter 201: Ye Yunxi's Shy Tenderness
"Xiaoya, you're cheating!"
Jiang Nannan reacted a second too late but quickly caught up.
Instead of choosing Tang Ya's more standard but strenuous swimming style, she took a deep breath and plunged into the water.
Her legs bent, pushing powerfully off the edge of the pool, her whole body shooting out like a torpedo.
She glided swiftly and silently underwater for a long stretch, only surfacing to breathe—and by then, she had already overtaken Tang Ya.
"What? You can do that??"
Tang Ya blinked in disbelief, then hurried to catch up. Imitating Jiang Nannan, she dove underwater too, moving with a speed and grace like a fish.
This technique consumed tremendous energy and required long breath-holding.
Ordinary people wouldn't be able to manage it.
But spirit masters had incredibly strong physiques, and this kind of underwater swimming actually became the fastest and most efficient method for them.
"Damn you, Tang Ya, stealing my technique!"
Jiang Nannan glared at Tang Ya in mock anger, but there was nothing she could do.
The clear water churned as the two moved back and forth.
Over and over, they dove and surfaced, each breath punctuated by glimpses of their blurred figures and the flashes of their bright, beautiful faces.
Ye Chen leaned lazily against the pool's edge, watching the competition with ease.
His eyes roamed over the two "mermaids," appreciating two different kinds of beauty.
Every time Tang Ya swung her arms,
The full curves barely contained by the thin blue fabric rippled with each motion, sending waves rolling outward.
Her fair, supple flesh trembled subtly with every intense movement, alive and radiant like dancing flames under the sunlight.
Jiang Nannan, on the other hand, was like a nimble golden carp. Her yellow swimsuit clung perfectly to her slender yet strong waistline.
The smooth, jade-like skin of her back shimmered faintly through the rippling water, forming an alluring silhouette.
Each dive made her one with the water—mysterious and serene.
Each emergence left her pink cheeks sparkling with crystal droplets.
Her sapphire eyes stayed focused ahead, their gentle seriousness revealing an entirely different charm.
"Xiaoya, you're swimming too fast! You'll run out of energy!" Jiang Nannan shouted between breaths when she noticed Tang Ya's incredible speed. Her moist voice was both soft and urgent.
"Haha! When it comes to stamina, Nannan, you're still behind me!"
Tang Ya laughed proudly, splashing up more water with her arms. "Nannan, your head-down swimming won't win you this time!"
As they passed Ye Chen, they couldn't help splashing water at each other.
"Ah!" The cold water splattered across Jiang Nannan's bare shoulders, eliciting a short cry before she blushed and retaliated with a splash.
"Haha!" Tang Ya twisted gracefully to dodge most of it, but a few droplets still landed on her delicate collarbone, sliding down along her alluring curves.
The playful cries and laughter of the girls echoed through the courtyard.
Sunshine, water, and youthful bodies made Ye Chen's mood soar.
"This is life~" he murmured contentedly, leaning back as he admired the splashing scene before him.
…
Not far away, under the corridor of the main house, a figure quietly stood—holding a plate of freshly cut watermelon.
It was Ye Yunxi.
She had intended to bring some fruit to cool everyone down, but instead stumbled upon this vivid, intoxicating scene.
The moment she took a few steps toward the courtyard and caught a glimpse, her footsteps froze, and her cheeks flushed fiery red.
Her eyes first landed on her daughter.
Seeing Jiang Nannan swimming gracefully in that striking yellow backless swimsuit—her smooth white back exposed under the sun and Ye Chen's gaze—Ye Yunxi's face grew even hotter.
"This girl… She seems so shy normally, but look at what she's wearing now…"
Ye Yunxi's heart filled with both concern and indescribable emotions.
Her daughter's youthful, radiant body exuded vitality in the sunlight, filling Ye Yunxi with pride and faint disorientation—as if seeing her younger self from twenty years ago.
Thanks to Ye Chen's medicinal help, her own figure and face had regained youth. While she couldn't match Jiang Nannan's youthful bloom, she still carried a graceful maturity.
Her gaze inevitably slid toward Ye Chen and Tang Ya beside him. Even mentally prepared, Ye Yunxi still found herself breathless at the boldness of Tang Ya's light-blue swimsuit.
Those tiny triangular cups, those thin strings, and the almost—
Her face felt like it was on fire.
"Young people these days really know how to enjoy themselves…"
A strange sense of envy rose in her heart. Such energy, such unrestrained confidence in displaying one's beauty—she, a woman raised conservatively in the countryside, had never dared anything so bold.
In the pool, one girl was like a blooming rose, fiery and passionate;
the other like a shy lily, gentle and elegant.
Ye Yunxi subconsciously lowered her head, her fingers brushing along her own firm, youthful waist, now smooth after rejuvenation.
A daring thought slipped into her mind.
Maybe… I could try it too… That water looks so cool… This young body should also feel the touch of sunlight and water…
The very thought startled her!
Her face turned red to the ears.
I'm already this old—with a child at that age—and I'm thinking… How could I?!
What would that look like…? People would surely misunderstand…
Ye Yunxi shook her head hard, as if to fling away the unthinkable idea.
But her heart kept pounding rapidly.
Her eyes, moving on their own, drifted to Ye Chen's tall, defined figure, tracing the muscles across his shoulders and back before swiping guiltily toward her daughter's lively form…
At last, Ye Yunxi backed away quietly.
Hmm, maybe when Ye Chen and the others go to school, she could sneak in for a little swim herself.
…
…
By now, the contest by the pool had reached its climax.
The initial excitement and novelty had faded, leaving only endurance, strength, and willpower.
"Huff… six hundred and eight… six hundred and nine…"
The two moved swiftly through the water, each kick generating strong thrust like underwater engines.
Even their breathing was clean and precise.
Tang Ya's innate spirit power wasn't particularly high—after all, she had the Blue Silver Grass martial spirit. No matter how strong, its innate level couldn't exceed rank five. Her rapid progress came mostly from the Tang Sect's resources.
Jiang Nannan, however, possessed a much higher innate spirit power. Because of that, this commoner-born girl could hold her own against any noble disciple in cultivation.
Both of them were at level 43.
Still, in terms of physical fitness, Tang Ya—having grown up nourished by the rarest treasures despite Tang Sect's decline—was physically stronger than Jiang Nannan.
(END CHAPTER)
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