Chapter 43

Silence.

A deathly silence.

Time slipped by awkwardly in the stillness.

The perceptive young Chen Xun quickly broke the silence in the room. After finishing his bowl of food, he grabbed his little brother with one hand, held his sister under his arm, and—whoosh!—retreated to their own room.

Xiao Guo Guo was baffled as she was whisked away, still gnawing on her meaty bone with her small chubby hands.

Chen Gang cleared his throat, slowly set down his chopsticks, and stood up. “Um, Comrade Xiao Yu, I have an urgent matter to handle.”

“Sit down for me!”

“Ai!”

Tian Mi…

For some reason, as bold as she was, Tian Mi always felt inexplicably intimidated around her elder sister, almost like… a suppression of her very bloodline.

Especially now, with her sister glaring at her in silence, she felt an unexplainable sense of panic.

Under her sister’s intense gaze, Tian Mi felt her scalp prickling. She forced a sweet smile, attempting to reason, “Jie~… don’t you remember? I’m a great swimmer! I can even hold my breath underwater for ten minutes.”

Chen Gang, who hadn’t known this, looked over at his sister-in-law in surprise. It finally dawned on him why she had been able to rescue Lao Lou from that ice hole—few people could hold their breath underwater for that long.

Smack! Tian Yu slammed the table. “Do you think that’s the same? Huh? Can it be the same? Minus thirty, forty degrees out there—you think it’s like swimming in the Chaoyang River? I think you have a death wish!”

She didn’t just yell; she punctuated her scolding with hard slaps on the table.

Tian Mi couldn’t explain to her sister that temperature made no difference to her when she was underwater. To put it plainly, soaking in this freezing weather felt more comfortable than staying indoors by a warm stove.

If she could, she’d spend all twenty-four hours in the water.

“Da Jie, everyone likes different things. When you enjoy it, the cold doesn’t bother you. Back home, I used to swim even on icy days,” she lied, fighting for her freedom to enjoy the water.

The army was holding its annual winter swimming competition—a perfect opportunity, like having a feast served directly to her. If she didn’t seize it, it would be a complete waste.

“Didn’t Mom and Dad say anything?” Tian Yu was shocked at her sister’s daredevil antics, even back at home. Although the winters there weren’t as cold as up north, temperatures could still drop to minus seven or eight.

Tian Mi’s eyes darted around as she mumbled, “They didn’t know…”

“You!” Tian Yu shot up, grabbing a feather duster and swinging it at her sister.

Caught off guard by his wife’s sudden outburst, Chen Gang, who’d been casually watching the scene unfold, quickly put down his teacup and stood up to intervene. “Comrade Xiao Yu, calm down! Why the need to use force? Er Mei is married now…”

“Out of my way!” Tian Yu, unable to catch her swift-footed sister and irritated at her husband for getting in the way, shoved him aside with a hard push.

Caught off guard, Chen Gang stumbled back several steps until he steadied himself against the side table, wincing as he rubbed his bruised back. Realizing the situation, he stayed back in the corner, not daring to approach further.

Now he understood—it was just a bit of fun between sisters.

Usually, his wife’s feather duster was swung with such ferocity that none of the little rascals in the house could escape it. But this time, it kept missing its target, clearly meant only to scare.

“Hey… Da Jie, no need to get physical! Actually, there’s medical proof that winter swimming is good for your health…” Tian Mi spared a moment’s sympathy for her brother-in-law, then continued circling the table.

“Still daring to talk back? I don’t care if winter swimming is good or not… In this freezing weather, you actually dared to go into the river alone! Do you have a death wish?” Tian Yu whipped the feather duster in the air with loud cracks, her chest heaving in frustration.

She felt that her younger sister was no different from her own mischievous son—if you didn’t discipline them every few days, they’d start acting up again.

“I wasn’t alone, Si Mei knew all about it! The money I saved up earlier came from selling fish…” At this critical moment, Tian Mi had no qualms about throwing her sister under the bus.

Tian Yu paused at this, a little skeptical. “You’re saying… the money-making method you mentioned before was catching and selling fish?”

Seeing her sister calming down, Tian Mi kept one hand on the table, ready to make a dash, and nodded quickly. “Yes, it was selling fish. We’d sell them at the market on market days. Si Mei and I had a system—I caught them, she sold them.”

Tian Yu frowned and was quiet for a good while before asking again, “Are you really not afraid of the cold? And you can actually hold your breath underwater for ten minutes?”

There was hope! Tian Mi was thrilled and kept spinning her tale. “It’s cold, sure, but I love swimming, in summer or winter. I can hold my breath for at least ten minutes.”

Tian Yu suddenly grew silent. It didn’t matter whether she was afraid of the cold; holding her breath could be tested first. Thinking this through, she tapped the feather duster against her sister. “Wait here.”

What did she mean? Tian Mi watched in confusion as her sister left with a determined look and headed to the kitchen.

“Auntie, Mom’s probably coming up with a big plan to deal with you,” said Chen Xun from the doorway, where he and his brother Chen Zhao had been watching the scene unfold. At their feet sat little Guoguo, her face covered in grease from gnawing on a piece of meat.

“Stop talking nonsense.” Tian Mi bared her teeth at her nephew, though she was actually debating a tactical retreat—until her sister returned with a basin of water and set it on the table.

What was going on?

Only Chen Gang seemed to catch on, chuckling, while everyone else looked puzzled.

Tian Yu tapped the edge of the basin. “Didn’t you say you can hold your breath? Let’s test it. If you really can last ten minutes underwater, then I’ll take you to try winter swimming.”

“Really?” 

“I’m not so stubborn that I won’t agree to let you participate in the competition if you really have the ability.” Northern women are generally straightforward, and the annual winter swimming competition is one of the rare lively events of the year.

There aren’t many women participating, but it’s not uncommon. Having lived here for many years, Tian Yu has been somewhat influenced by the local culture. As long as her younger sister truly has that capability, she isn’t unreasonable.

Of course, the bigger reason is that she doesn’t really believe someone can hold their breath for ten minutes in the water.

With her younger sister growing up, it wouldn’t be appropriate to suppress her with force. It would be smarter to outwit her; if she can’t hold her breath for ten minutes, then she can’t blame her sister for not keeping her word.

Completely unaware of her sister’s ulterior motives, Tian Mi broke into a joyful smile. “Deal!”

Tian Yu rolled her eyes and tapped the basin again, urging, “Hurry up.”

Ten minutes posed no challenge for Tian Mi, who had her own advantages. She quickly tied her hair back, placed her hands on the edges of the basin, and, under everyone’s watchful eyes, took a deep breath before plunging her head into the water.

As she had guessed, even in the small basin, she was able to breathe freely.

Under the water, although she couldn’t see the time, her brother-in-law was very considerate and would announce the time every minute.

When she reached seven minutes submerged, still managing easily, young Chen Zhao couldn’t hold back anymore. He leaned over the edge of the basin, staring at his aunt, who was motionless in the water, with envy. “Mom, I want to try too!”

Tian Yu: “Hehe…”

“What does ‘hehe’ mean?”

“It means you’re dreaming.”

“Mom, look, Da Ge is poking me again.”

“Stop making noise; it’s been eight minutes.”

Nine minutes, ten minutes… It wasn’t until fourteen minutes had passed that Tian Mi finally emerged from the basin.

To make it look convincing, she truly held her breath for the last minute.

Now, gasping for air, her little face was flushed: “Cough, cough… How was that, Jie… cough, cough… Am I impressive? When are we going winter swimming?”

Tian Yu… had miscalculated.

“How about we wait for Mei Fu to come back… and only go if he agrees?” 

“……”