After staying at home for a week, Zhou You decided to head back. His childhood friends were all away, and his parents had started to get annoyed with him—three days of closeness, seven days of irritation, and by the end of the week, scolding and arguments had begun. Since he now had a car, making the trip back and forth was convenient. He told his parents he was leaving and drove off. They acted reluctant to see him go, stuffing the trunk full of things.
Zhou You said, "I'm alone and don't cook, so all that stuff is useless." But his parents didn't listen. They packed the trunk with plenty of items—mostly inexpensive local specialties, but they represented their heartfelt care for their child. Zhou You took a look and noticed there were even steamed buns made at home. Oh well, it was his parents' goodwill, so he'd bring them along. He couldn't keep eating out all the time and ruin his stomach.
He left at noon and arrived in the afternoon. School was about to start, so Zhou You decided to get himself into better shape. Playing basketball was hard without enough people, so running and swimming were the options. Lüzhu University, being such a large comprehensive school, surprisingly had no swimming pool—it was almost laughable to mention. Fortunately, near the neighborhood and the campus, there was the Feicui Lake Guesthouse, a high-end hotel with steep prices. In the past, Zhou You wouldn't have dared to go in.
The environment there was really nice. Once the new campus next door started selling properties, he had to get two units. Adjacent to the park, he could run in the morning or swim whenever he wanted. Zhou You loved swimming. He used to go at least once a week. Though his skill wasn't great, his consistent practice over the years had kept him from getting sick often. He used to prefer breaststroke, which he jokingly called "old-man breaststroke," and could keep it up for one or two hours. He'd tried freestyle but found it tricky to master and never got good at it. It wasn't until he injured his meniscus later that he focused on freestyle, since the kicking motion in breaststroke also hurt his knees.
The August heat was still intense, so Zhou You decided to ride his electric scooter to the Feicui Lake Guesthouse. It was only about 300 meters away, but walking in this weather was out of the question. Driving would be even more troublesome—by the time he started the car and got there, he'd have to find parking. In the past, he might have driven to show off, but now that he had real confidence, he didn't care about external appearances.
"Excuse me, could you tell me how to get to the swimming pool?" he asked the security guard while still on his scooter at the entrance. "Go through the lobby, keep going straight, and turn right—you'll see the signs," the guard replied politely.
The Feicui Lake Guesthouse was indeed a high-end hotel. The lobby's ceiling was at least six meters high, giving no sense of claustrophobia. The decor would still look stylish even a decade later. There were greeters in the lobby who could guide you or even escort you if you weren't familiar with the place. In the past, Zhou You would never have dared to come here—how much would such service cost?
"Do you sell swimsuits and goggles here? Saves me from buying them outside. Most pools have them." "Yes, we have various brands. You'll need to pick them yourself, but we don't have prescription goggles yet," the greeter said, noticing Zhou You's glasses.
"Alright, I'm mainly here to check out the place today. How do you handle membership cards?" "Are you looking for a per-visit card, an annual card, a half-year card, or a quarterly card?" "What's the price difference?" "A per-visit card is 88 yuan each time. A quarterly card is around 3,000, a half-year card is 6,000, and an annual card is 10,000. It's a heated pool, so it's warm year-round. Summer might be a bit busier, winter less so."
Zhou You knew this. In the past, he rarely went swimming in summer—he always went in winter. In winter, there were hardly any people, and it was really comfortable, with one lane per person. Summer was like a crowded pot of dumplings, but in winter, you might occasionally spot a few attractive women. The pool wasn't big—25 meters long with six lanes, divided into shallow and deep sections. The shallow end was 1.5 meters, the deep end 1.8 meters—different from standard pools, which are 50 meters with six lanes and a deep end of at least 2.1 meters. Still, this was decent. Probably because of the high price, there weren't many people—maybe a dozen scattered around, enough to swim freely.
"What level are your swimming coaches? I want to learn freestyle." "We have three coaches now: two teach kids, and one teaches adults. The adult coach used to be on the provincial swimming team and works here part-time. His surname is Wang. You can discuss it with him later."
"Hello, are you Coach Wang? I want to learn freestyle. I know a little, but my technique isn't standard, I'm slow, and I can only swim short distances, not long ones." Coach Wang had tanned skin, short hair, and hadn't gained weight yet—probably recently retired. Swimmers who stop training tend to gain weight quickly.
"That's fine. You've got some basics. Adult classes are rare now. Do you want a private class or join a group? Group is 3,000, private is 5,000." Zhou You thought it over. He wasn't in a rush to learn, and since he lived nearby, joining a group would give him company. "I'll go with the 3,000 option and learn with others."
"Alright. This is a summer class—three times a week, Monday, Wednesday, Friday, from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM. Bring your own gear." Zhou You then checked out the shower area and found that towels, toiletries, and slippers were all self-provided. That was fine—clean and hygienic.
He had no other choice but to swim here. He went to the front desk, paid, and then asked about the dining options. "We mainly host accommodations, banquets, and have a restaurant with a buffet. The buffet is 108 yuan per person. If you get tired from swimming, you can eat here. You can also order à la carte from the menu."
Since he was already there, he decided to take a swim first. At the pool entrance, he bought swim trunks, goggles, a swim cap, slippers, and a towel for under 400 yuan. His old goggles and cap were cheap, costing just tens of yuan, but this time he went for better quality, spending over a hundred. He planned to ask the coach later what gear was best, since using poor equipment regularly could harm his body, and constantly swapping things out was a hassle.
With a splash, Zhou You jumped in. Summer swimming was great. There were quite a few people now, and with his mediocre freestyle, he couldn't see ahead and didn't want to embarrass himself. So he switched to breaststroke. He pushed off the pool wall, hands together and extended, gliding out in a small wave. Then it was: lift head, lower head, kick, lift head, lower head, kick. Simple as that. Ironically, his breaststroke was faster than his freestyle—how embarrassing. A balance of exertion and relaxation—that was the way to health.