I turned reality into a romantic comedy.

The nearly forty minutes of diving time passed in the blink of an eye as we held our breath and focused intently.

The instructor next to Chen Junqian raised his underwater camera and asked if he wanted to take a picture. Having learned his lesson once, Chen Junqian had already agreed on the price, so he generously said that he would ask Lin Mu and Xu Youwei first, since he planned to continue diving for a while, so he wasn't in a hurry to take pictures now.

In response to the coach's suggestion, Lin Mu grabbed Xu Youwei, who was swimming past him, pointed to the camera, and then pointed to Chen Junqian, who was about to leave alone not far away. He awkwardly gestured with his hands in front of his chest, his meaning clear: Call Qianqian over so we can film together!

Seeing their gestures, Chen Junqian glanced around and then pointed to a dead rock nearby that wasn't covered in dangerous vegetation. He jokingly gestured to Lin Mu to crouch down and stay put, then powerfully kicked off with his flippers and glided gracefully toward the two girls.

As it turns out, taking a decent group photo underwater in complete weightlessness is harder for beginners than solving the last math problem.

Lin Mu tried to stand up straight underwater, but as soon as he stopped paddling, his lower body floated upwards uncontrollably, making him look like an upside-down bowling pin. In his anxiety, he spat out a string of gurgling, frantic white bubbles from the regulator in his mouth. Xu Youwei was slightly calmer, but as soon as she tried to raise her hand to adjust the messy waterproof hood on her forehead, her body was affected by the reaction force of the water flow and began to slowly and irreversibly move backwards, about to crash into a clump of sea fans.

The two girls were like two clumsy headless flies in the water, swaying from side to side and unable to fit in the same frame.

As Chen Junqian glided over, he saw the chaotic scene and a hint of helplessness in his eyes behind the mask. He quickly swam into the center of the painting, positioned himself slightly behind the two of them, and stretched out his long arms, skillfully transforming into a pillar of stability.

With his left hand, he naturally grabbed the shoulder strap of Lin Mu's vest from behind, like pulling on the cat at home that shared the same name as her, and forcefully pressed her body, which was about to take off, back to normal height; his right hand pressed against the base of Xu Youwei's oxygen tank without missing a beat, acting as her backrest and helping her to steadily stop the backward force.

As the only person in the entire event who possessed perfect neutral buoyancy, Chen Junqian multitasked, hovering in mid-air with extremely subtle leg kicks, holding the two girls on either side, and creating an absolutely stable isosceles triangle underwater.

Upon seeing this, the diving instructor in front immediately raised his huge waterproof camera, held up three fingers with his free hand, and began to count down.

"three--"

With physical support, Lin Mu finally felt safe and excitedly stretched out her hands, making a classic double V gesture for girls near her cheeks.

"two--"

After having a great time playing around, Xu Youwei looked at Lin Mu's gesture and also made a V sign.

"one!"

Just a second before the flash went off, Chen Junqian, who was acting as a human support, effortlessly left his position with one hand, coolly making a two-finger salute in front of his forehead. His short black hair flew wildly in the water, full of youthful vigor.

As everyone surfaced along the guide rope, pulled off their masks and heavy regulators to breathe, a burst of excited cheers, mixed with coughs, erupted on the sea.

"Ahhh, it's so beautiful! I just touched a live sea cucumber, it's so soft!"

Xu Youwei was so excited that she splashed around in the water like a deflated black duck, spraying seawater all over Lin Mu's face. However, the latter didn't care. She was breathing in the salty, fishy air of the tropical ocean, her heart pounding.

"How was it? Was it fun?"

Chen Junqian also took the opportunity to rest ashore. He took off his mask, knelt down on one knee in front of the two women, and pulled them up one by one. His short black hair was wet with seawater and clung tightly to his forehead. Crystalline water droplets slid down his high nose bridge, swept across his strong jawline, and dripped into the half-open collar of his wetsuit. Washed by the seawater, he exuded a clean and powerful hormonal aura, which made several female instructors who had been invited over feel a little tempted. However, when they thought that he was still a minor, they could only temporarily suppress their old-fashioned desires.

"Mmm! It's so much fun, I want to play it again later."

"I think it's fun too."

After Xu Youwei and Lin Mu gave positive reviews, Chen Junqian recommended it again:

"Everyone can try it too, Mumu thinks it's fun."

"What do you mean I find it all fun?"

"Because Mu Mu is definitely not very brave."

As Chen Junqian spoke, he stood up again, grabbed a large, dry, soft bath towel from the shelf, and unceremoniously draped it over his childhood sweetheart's head, gently ruffling her hair a couple of times.

Through the sun-warmed towel, the familiar voice, carried clearly by the sea breeze, reached her ears, but just like yesterday, it spoke the name of another girl:

"So, Xiaoxi, why don't you give it a try? This matter is also recorded in the Annals of Emperor Guangwu."

Oh, it's your younger sister. Then it's alright.

However, the way Qianqian and Xiaoxi get along is really strange. It's always something she can't understand at all. It must be some historical allusion, right?

Under the dark towel covering her head, Lin Mu released her breath, her fingers gripping the edge again as she began to dry her wet hair.

P.S.: Thank you for reading and subscribing.

PS2: Diving is a lot of fun, but diving in Sanya is a total rip-off... This is based on my own experience.

Chapter 125: Of course I hope my sister wins, referring to the Azure Sea (Part 2)

As the only person present who could accurately identify and interpret the information in Chen Junqian's words, Chen Xi naturally knew that when his older brother said, "This matter is also recorded in the Annals of Emperor Guangwu," he was referring to the classic scene of Emperor Guangwu of Han, Liu Xiu, during the Battle of Kunyang.

However, it wasn't the scene of the Grand Magus summoning meteors that various marketing accounts and editors have been talking about. Instead, it was when Liu Xiu took the initiative to lead his troops back to Kunyang and personally led the charge, the defending soldiers in the city exclaimed in surprise, "General Liu is usually timid when facing small enemies, but now he is brave when facing large enemies. This is quite strange. Moreover, he is in the front again. Please help the general!"

In the simplest terms, Liu Xiu, who was usually terrified of dealing with small groups of enemies, was surprisingly brave today. It was as if he was implying that if someone like XX was charging in, and you weren't following suit, then you were even less capable than him. It was also as if someone as cowardly as XX dared to go all in, which meant there was a chance to win. In short, with the help of both inside and outside forces, the legendary Battle of Kunyang was finally won.

As for who the Guangwu Emperor Chen Junqian mentioned was, it was naturally Mu Mu, whom he had just specifically pointed out was not very brave.

Faced with this situation, Chen Xi couldn't just shout, "Congratulations, Mu Mu, on becoming emperor and recreating the glory of childhood sweethearts for two hundred years!" So she could only try her best to show that she wasn't afraid at all. Besides, Lin Mu really seemed to be having a lot of fun, and Gu Lingguo also showed an eager expression, which made her want to give it a try too.

However, such confidence vanished within two minutes of entering the water. With physical fitness several times better than that of Zhu Wenyun, the pseudo-literary girl, Chen Xi quickly lost her sense of direction and balance underwater. Fortunately, Chen Junqian, who had already enjoyed a dive, was still considerate of his sister at this time. After all, he was the one who had encouraged her to come down. Therefore, as soon as he noticed, he swam directly to Chen Xi's side.

Instead of taking Chen Xi's hand, he went directly above her, reached out and grasped the valve handle at the back of her gas cylinder, steadily controlling her direction and weight from behind, like pushing a small stroller or carrying a chick.

With his support and lift from behind, Chen Xi's body instantly reached a perfect horizontal position, and she completely relaxed. She leisurely directed her brother to show her this and that, and then she saw Gu Lingguo waving her hands excitedly not far away.

She seemed to have discovered an extremely beautiful blue star rock. Excitedly, she pointed to the starfish and then to the small underwater camera strapped to Chen Junqian's wrist. She awkwardly made a frame gesture with her hands in front of her chest, begging him to take a picture of her.

This was something Gu Linguo had agreed upon with Chen Junqian before going underwater. Using the rather subtle excuse that "her photographer can only be Chen Junqian," she enabled him to embark on his first underwater photography experience. Fortunately, he had relevant experience in both photography and diving, so after familiarizing himself with the instructor, he mastered the most basic techniques and was able to take simple photos.

Seeing Gu Linguo looking for him, Chen Junqian turned around, gestured to Chen Xi to wait here for a moment, then released his grip on the valve of her gas cylinder, and with powerful kicking of his flippers, swam gracefully towards Gu Linguo's direction.

Without Chen Junqian's silent physical restraint from behind, Chen Xi's body began to float slightly uncontrollably again. She could only obediently grab onto a dead rock with no long attachments to maintain her balance. Then she turned her head and looked at the two people not far away through the dark blue sea.

Gu Lingguo, who was also diving for the first time, performed only slightly better underwater. She was fine being pushed around by the ocean currents, but when she tried to strike a pose, she felt like an uncontrollable puppet, just like Lin Mu and Xu Youwei who were in a chaotic frenzy earlier. She tried to strike a pose next to the starfish, but as soon as she raised her arm, her whole body and mind fell backward, frantically splashing around in the water, creating a bunch of chaotic white bubbles.

By this time, Chen Junqian had already picked up some experience and quickly steadied the girl directly above the starfish. Then, he raised the camera and patiently waited for her to reposition herself. In order to include both the starfish and Gu Linguo in the frame, Chen Junqian even professionally lowered his body, half-kneeling on the sand, found a perfect angle for shooting from below, and pressed the shutter.

After the photo was taken, Gu Linguo happily gave him a thumbs-up while in the water.

Chen Xi watched all this silently from a distance, biting her lips on the breathing regulator and unconsciously tightening them slightly. Suddenly, a sour feeling, as if a whole effervescent tablet had been thrown into her chest, welled up in her chest.

The feeling wasn't extremely strong, but the bubbling, slightly sour sensation seemed to be amplified infinitely under the water pressure at a depth of over ten meters. It made him realize once again that the other person was a "central air conditioner" who extended kindness to every girl. Only by quickly changing his identity card back to the "younger sister" from the beginning could he feel a little better.

Perhaps sensing the low pressure behind him as if by telepathy, Chen Junqian nimbly turned around underwater immediately after taking the photos of Gu Lingguo.

Through the rays of sunlight streaming down, he immediately spotted Chen Xi clinging tightly to the rock, seemingly sulking. The rising transparent bubbles resembled the steam effects commonly used in animation, making Chen Junqian chuckle.

That's why he didn't put away his camera. Instead, he swam straight back to Chen Xi. When he was less than half a meter away from her, Chen Junqian suddenly stopped and pointed the wide-angle lens of his camera directly at his unsuspecting sister.

Chen Xi was stunned for a moment, and subconsciously wanted to let go to block the camera. Her hair was floating around in the water like seaweed, and she must look terrible. But Chen Junqian had already pressed the shutter button, freezing her lively, angry and helpless appearance in time.

Then, Chen Junqian reached out his free hand and poked her cheek, which was puffed up from biting her lip, across the seawater. He then flipped the camera, switched to selfie mode, and leaned closer to her without saying a word.

The two shoulders touched gently underwater. Chen Xi saw the other person make an extremely childish "V" sign in front of the camera, and then nudged her with their elbow, seemingly gesturing for her to look at the camera.

Just like that, the slight awkwardness she felt earlier was instantly shattered. She couldn't help but glare at him in the mirror, but in the end, she obediently raised her hand and made a clumsy "V" sign next to her cheek, despite her reluctance.

This is probably what Lin Guo keeps saying, that "tsundere" (a term for someone who is arrogant and smug).

Such thoughts uncontrollably popped into Chen Xi's mind.

After a halftime break, Chen Junqian once again became the freest kid in this sea area during the last third of the game. At the same time, Shen Nianqiu and Zhu Wenyun's physical condition was not something he needed to worry about. So, compared to the tens of minutes underwater, what impressed him the most was the moment when the two of them took off their wetsuits to breathe after the three of them came ashore. It almost made him start to suspect that Kitahara Iori joined the diving club because she saw her cousin taking off her wetsuit when she first arrived here.

However, compared to the mysterious blond second male lead who, upon his appearance, exclaimed, "Why didn't any high school girl clubs revolve around me join?!", he has now achieved his initial goal.

Unlike Chen Junqian, who was full of energy and hadn't had enough fun, and went diving again after resting for a while, the girls who had experienced diving walked down the pier with slightly unsteady steps and went straight into the shower and changing room attached to the private beach.

"Help—me—!"

Gu Lingguo, seemingly sensing the camera's intention to switch back to her, let out a scream with remarkable camera presence. She leaned against the blue locker in a starfish position, clutching the collar of her tight-fitting wetsuit in agony.

"This thing is much harder to get off than I thought... I feel like a salted fish trying to shed its skin."

"Salted fish don't need to shed their skin; it's the sly snake that does."

While calmly complaining, Chen Xi helped her best friend pull down the zipper on her back, but because she didn't have enough strength, her face turned bright red.

"Lin Guo, don't move! If you move, the zipper will pinch your flesh. Did you secretly drink seawater after diving? You look even bigger than before you went underwater."

"That's buoyancy, residual buoyancy. I also want a body that's stuck like that! Ahhh—"

Gu Lingguo shouted unwillingly, and finally, with a tearing sound, she tore herself out of the pile of black rubber layers, revealing the swimsuit underneath with red marks from the tight binding.

Compared to the two little ones who were making a ruckus, Lin Mu sat quietly on the narrow wooden stool, also struggling with her wetsuit, but her movements were much slower. Seawater dripped from her hair onto the floor tiles, and her head was still a little dizzy, whether from the aftereffects of the water pressure or from reliving the various scenes underwater.

Shen Nianqiu was the first to finish tidying herself up. Standing under the shower, she let the warm water wash away the salt from her skin, rubbing her slightly disheveled long hair as she chuckled softly through the mist.

"Everyone seemed to be having a lot of fun, but the happiest one was the younger brother. He's still diving there now. It felt like he wasn't as free to dive with us."

"This is the typical wooden male protagonist who chose diving over his adorable childhood sweetheart."

"I wouldn't say it's wood, Qinqin even took a picture with me underwater."

"I think everything is in order. I even had a senior colleague take a picture for me."

Gu Lingguo finally stripped herself naked and ran barefoot to rinse off, still muttering to herself:

"I'm lucky if I can keep my balance underwater. If my senior hadn't come over and grabbed me like a kitten, I probably would have been swept into the open sea by the current."

"But I always felt that Junqian didn't seem to be diving for the first time; he seemed quite skilled."

As she spoke, Zhu Wenyun also walked into the shower room, standing on either side of Gu Lingguo with Shen Nianqiu, making her feel a bit of pressure in the literal sense.

"Actually, as for photography, my senior learned it a long time ago because he was going to take cosplay photos for me. As for diving, I don't know much about it. Maybe he became interested in it when he was translating Grand Blue?"

"what is that?"

"It's a comic that's only been out for a short time. My senior and I both really liked the author's previous work, which was about diving."

In response to Zhu Wenyun's question, Gu Lingguo smugly displayed the mentality of a veteran and Brahman in the animation field, almost as if to say that you two online viewers should humbly brush up on your knowledge for a few more years.

But the next second, she started rubbing her head in self-reproach:

"But... no, no! The romantic comedy in the diving club isn't like that at all. It should be that I first say I'm afraid of water and don't want to go diving, then my brother takes me to the aquarium to let me witness the wonders of the underwater world, then he starts teaching me to swim, and when I finally put my head underwater, I see him accidentally being swept away by the current..."

"Stop!"

Before she had even finished taking off her clothes, Chen Xi walked in wearing only half of her wetsuit still hanging around her waist and covered Gu Lingguo's mouth with hers. Her little face was flushed red from the steam in the shower.

"Don't throw in any personal opinions that only you anime fans would understand. Your brother isn't here either."

"Um, it would be strange if Qianqian were here."

Lin Mu poked half of his wet head out from the next cubicle and suddenly felt as if there were no normal people left here.

"On the contrary! The so-called 'women's bath' is meant to make the male protagonist mistaken... Waaaaah."

This time, Chen Xi stretched out both hands at once, which finally stopped Gu Linguo's outburst.

After being tormented and stopped twice, Gu Linguo finally calmed down a bit. Chen Xi breathed a sigh of relief, took off her clothes, rinsed herself off briefly, turned off the water, gently pushed open the partition door, and changed into a simple white cotton dress. Her long hair was wet and draped over her shoulders, making her look ethereal and charming, with a touch of youthful beauty.

She was the fastest to wash and the first girl to come out. As soon as she came out, she bumped into Chen Junqian, who was emerging from the water.

Unlike Gu Lingguo, whose features had been meticulously reconstructed countless times due to his constant makeup application, Chen Junqian only now realized, somewhat dazedly, that Chen Xi, the same age as Gu Lingguo, had also blossomed into womanhood. Her thin summer dress could no longer conceal her curves, and seeing her smiling sweetly at him made him even more aware of this unfolding reality.