Kissing Her Mortal Enemy in the Pool for Three Minutes

The last class of the afternoon was a free-swimming practice session.

The vast pool was filled with clear, sparkling water. Most of the students were lounging or playing around, and only a few were training seriously.

Several girls sat by the pool. They had specifically chosen the swimming class to get close to Shao Enci, Peking University's campus heartthrob. They wanted him to teach them personally, and they also wanted to see his sexy, alluring, sexually charged eight-pack of lean muscle.

But they were disappointed.

In every swimming class, Shao Enci always wore a form-fitting black long-sleeved swimsuit. He was so modest that he wouldn't even show them the lines of his arm muscles.

The girls stared infatuatedly at the graceful, upright figure in the middle of the pool.

Suddenly, the eyes of one sharp-eyed girl lit up. She had spotted a faint red mark on his fair neck. She excitedly tugged at her companions. "Did you see the hickey on Shao Enci's neck?"

Her companion sounded incredulous. "Could he really be dating Lu Xiaoxiao from the School of Life Sciences, like they said on the forum?"

Another companion straightened up by the pool and looked toward Xie Yihui, who was holding on to the pool wall and practicing his kicks a short distance away. "If you want to know the truth, just ask him."

Xie Yihui wore nothing but black swim trunks, his tight, sleek eight-pack sharply defined. His youthful figure was relaxed and unrestrained as he leaned lazily against the pool railing, looking casual and at ease.

Seeing several girls approach him, he assumed romance had come knocking. He instinctively raised an arm and deliberately tensed it, showing off his newly developed biceps.

The girl in the blue swimsuit folded her arms and got straight to the point. "Xie Yihui, you're closest to Shao Enci. Tell us honestly, are he and Lu Xiaoxiao dating or not?"

Xie Yihui froze mid-pose. The corners of his lips dipped slightly, and his carefree smile vanished. "I don't know whether they're dating," he said in a low voice, "but you girls probably don't stand a chance anymore."

With that, he raised a hand to sweep aside the wisps of hair on his forehead and arched an eyebrow at them. "Why don't you consider me instead? I'm single right now."

The girl in the red swimsuit chuckled and mercilessly burst his bubble. "Sorry, we're only into the aloof male-god type. Funny guys need not apply."

Xie Yihui: "...?"

He couldn't be bothered to make a fool of himself any longer. He leaped up and dove cleanly into the water.

The clear pool water made his tan skin look fair.

Xie Yihui wiped the water from his face as he surfaced and curved his lips. "You don't get it. I'm cheerful on the outside but melancholy on the inside. I'm going for the melancholy, devoted type."

He was met with three perfectly synchronized eye rolls.

"Tch~~~"

On the other side of the pool, the atmosphere was completely different.

Ruan Qingyan wore a light pink one-piece swimsuit, its straps decorated with layers of ruffles and its chest adorned with a small ivory bow. The ruched waist and midsection hugged her body, outlining her slender curves, full in the front and rounded in the back.

The swimsuit deliberately showed off her alluring side.

Several boys crowded around her, vying to court her favor, unable to hide the affection in their eyes.

"Qingyan, let me teach you how to swim. I've got solid technique."

"That swimsuit looks so good on you. It really suits you."

Ruan Qingyan was used to being the moon surrounded by stars. She smiled gently at them, her voice sweet and soft. "Thank you, but today I still want Shao Enci to teach me."

They followed her gaze.

In the middle of the pool, the young man had just finished a lap.

He braced a long hand against the pool wall and tilted his head back to catch his breath. Water beaded on his lowered lashes, slid down from his temple and grazed his jaw. His prominent Adam's apple moved up and down, giving him an air of distance that set him apart from the world.

Ruan Qingyan's breath caught as she watched him. Her gaze drifted from his sexy Adam's apple to the red mark on the side of his neck. Her heart jolted, and she felt as though she couldn't breathe.

Shao Enci was just about to turn and swim another lap when ripples suddenly spread across the water behind him.

Ruan Qingyan entered the water of her own accord and swam gently to his side. For the first time, she couldn't keep her emotions in check and blurted out a thoughtless question. "Enci, what happened to your neck? Did some bug bite you? Should I buy you some ointment to put on it?"

The young man didn't even turn his head. His voice was cool and indifferent, without a trace of warmth. "No need."

Those two short words brought the conversation to an end.

But Ruan Qingyan refused to leave it at that. Her gaze clung to his pale, angular profile as she continued softly, trying to recover. "You swim so well. Could you teach me? I turned everyone else down. I only want to learn from you."

Shao Enci still didn't look at her, his face wearing its usual faint air of detachment. "You'd be better off spending that time pursuing someone else."

Though he had turned her down so bluntly, Ruan Qingyan shamelessly moved closer, reached out and lightly caught his forearm. "I'm very devoted, Shao Enci," she said tenderly. "No matter what you say, I won't stop liking you."

He frowned deeply and wrenched his arm from her grasp. Just then, Ruan Qingyan caught a glimpse of a familiar figure in white out of the corner of her eye.

Lu Xiaoxiao was hurrying over.

Ruan Qingyan's expression shifted. She deliberately slipped and fell into Shao Enci's arms.

The onlookers by the pool immediately erupted. "Look, look! Shao Enci and Ruan Qingyan are hugging in the pool!"

The faces of several boys sitting by the pool stiffened. "Damn, doesn't Shao Enci dislike Ruan Qingyan? Why's he holding her?"

Lu Xiaoxiao, wearing a red strawberry swimsuit, happened to be walking over from the side of the pool. She followed the sound and looked toward the water.

She saw Shao Enci pushing Ruan Qingyan away. The moment he looked up, his dark gaze met hers. There was a flicker of panic in his eyes, as though he had been caught doing something he shouldn't have been seen doing.

Lu Xiaoxiao couldn't spare a thought for any of that. The countdown in her mind had only 15 minutes and 36 seconds left.

She slipped into the pool. When the water rose past her waist, her breath hitched slightly, but she continued toward him, water rippling out on either side of her.

The gazes around her followed her like spotlights, and murmurs came from every direction.

"A full-blown shura field! Shao Enci's rumored girlfriend actually showed up."

"Do you think she'll start arguing with Ruan Qingyan?"

Under everyone's expectant gazes, Lu Xiaoxiao gave Shao Enci an indifferent glance, then turned to Ruan Qingyan. Her tone was calmer than anyone had expected. "Sorry to interrupt your conversation. I have something important to do right now, so I need to borrow Shao Enci. I'll return him to you in a little while."

Lu Xiaoxiao said "borrow" clearly and casually, as though she were borrowing a pen. Ruan Qingyan's smile froze, and before she could say a word, Shao Enci had already taken half a step toward Lu Xiaoxiao.

Shao Enci's heart paused.

He had thought that, having witnessed the scene with her own eyes, she would show at least a little discomfort or jealousy.

But she showed none at all.

An inexplicable sense of heaviness and irritation welled up in Shao Enci's heart.

Though the young man was angry, he still obediently let the girl in front of him lead him to a corner of the pool.

His gaze fell on her outfit. She wore a loose, thin white cartoon shirt over her swimsuit, the fabric slightly translucent where it had been splashed, with red polka-dot swim bottoms below.

She stood in the blue pool water, the wet ends of her black hair clinging to her shoulders, her skin snowy white. Her slender waist darkened the young man's gaze, filling it with a hint of barely perceptible possessiveness.

Shao Enci looked up and swept a cold glance over the boys watching them. His voice was somewhat restrained. "You're not even in this class. How did you get in?"

Once Lu Xiaoxiao reached the corner, she didn't dare look directly into his deep eyes and nervously kept watch on her surroundings.

The gazes of everyone in the pool were fixed on the two of them in the corner. Their burning stares had already left her socially dead in advance.

"I have my ways of getting in."

Her parents were professors at Peking University, after all. She had casually mentioned wanting to try a swimming class, and her father had spoken directly to the instructor, allowing her to join without a hitch.

Thanks to her parents, she had this good opportunity to complete her task.

After a moment, Lu Xiaoxiao finally raised her eyes, meeting his deep gaze directly with her bright, starry eyes. The corners of her lips trembled, and she pressed them together before speaking. "I'm going to force a kiss on you for three minutes in a moment. I hope you won't push me away in front of them. That would make me lose a lot of face."

Shao Enci raised an eyebrow, a smile curving his lips. His long, fair hand settled on her waist, and he leaned close to her ear, his voice low enough for only the two of them to hear. "When have I ever turned you down when you forced a kiss on me?"

Before the words had fully left his mouth, he cupped her bottom and lowered his head, taking the initiative to kiss her cherry lips.

The instant their lips met, the surroundings fell silent for a moment, and ripples spread through the water on either side of them.

In the young man's warm embrace, her eyelashes fluttered, unable to conceal her shock.

A few seconds later, Shao Enci pulled back slightly, his warm breath brushing her lips. The corners of his mouth lifted, and the smile at the corners of his eyes was bewitchingly seductive. "Forget three minutes. Even ten would be fine."