"Then I, then I won't get in!" Koukou declared righteously.
"You really are..." Gu Yanqing rubbed his forehead. Reasoning with Koukou always led to so much twisted logic. He simply said, "Then Mommy, Daddy, and your sister will play. You can stay on shore under the umbrella. No sunbathing."
Though Koukou was a little conflicted, the sight of the water still frightened him. He obediently went to stand beneath the umbrella by the pool.
Seeing that he was genuinely afraid, Gu Yanqing turned to tease Zhenzhen. "Come on, Zhenzhen, get in and play."
Zhenzhen did not yet know much fear and was even quite interested. Seeing Daddy reach out to her from the water, she opened her little arms and threw herself down from Qiao Wanqing's embrace.
Gu Yanqing caught her, pulled over the swim ring, and placed her in it. It was a sit-in float, somewhat like a toddler walker; the child sat inside it, with only both feet touching the water.
Zhenzhen had been happy at first, but when Daddy carried her into the water and tried to put her in the float, she became frightened at once. She desperately reached for Daddy, but his bare, slippery body gave her nothing to grab onto.
"Ah, ah."
Zhenzhen kicked her little feet in resistance. When she struggled, she was surprisingly strong. Gu Yanqing had not been standing very steadily in the water to begin with, and her struggle nearly made him fall. He hurriedly held her tight, patted her back, and said, "Don't be scared, don't be scared. If you keep struggling, Daddy won't be able to hold you."
Koukou clapped from the side, sounding a little gleeful. "Sister's scared!"
Qiao Wanqing said, "Then do you want to go down and encourage her?"
Koukou immediately changed his tune. "Sister