Early that morning, Yin Feng got up and had a nutritious breakfast. Afterward, he took a stroll around the family courtyard to warm up before changing into top-branded swimming gear—cap, trunks, and goggles.

The swimming pool was behind the villa. Usually used by the others, today Yin Feng was breaking tradition by using it, and no one was allowed to watch except for Tu Ya, who would teach him swimming, and Xiao Yan, who was there as a precaution. Of course, today the pool was temperature-controlled.

Tu Ya couldn’t understand why they needed precautions—with him being such a strong man there and the pool only being 1.8 meters deep for Yin Feng’s 185-centimeter frame.

Standing before the full-length mirror in the changing room, Yin Feng examined his reflection. Over the past half year, he seemed to have tanned a bit, and despite reportedly not maintaining his workout routine, his physique appeared more robust and powerful. The image of that woman charging fearlessly at the front lines of crime scenes flashed through his mind. His expression turned stern as he wrapped himself in a towel and walked toward the outdoor pool.

Learning to swim today wasn’t a sudden whim. Ever since learning about his grievances with Luo Yu, especially after being held underwater by his thugs until near death, Yin Feng had harbored intense anger. Even though he had gotten back at Luo Yu under the police’s watch at the station, he remained unsatisfied. So after giving up swimming for over a decade, he found new motivation to learn again.

The dark organization watching him was nearby, and there were countless scum like Luo Yu out there. If he were to be held underwater and humiliated again, needing a woman to risk her life to save and protect him, he might as well just put a bullet in his head.

Today’s rare sunshine made the water’s surface shimmer crystal clear. Xiao Yan sat on the poolside bench wearing sunglasses, holding a red life preserver, and smiling at him. Tu Ya had already shed his towel, revealing his muscular build. Seeing Yin Feng emerge, he smiled briefly before diving into the pool. Such a burly man moved with surprising agility in the water, swimming swiftly to the other side. With a turn, he swam back.

Xiao Yan applauded.

Yin Feng’s expression darkened further.

Tu Ya hung onto the pool’s edge, looking up with a smile. “Teacher Yin, come on in.” Truthfully, he didn’t want this job. He’d never seen anyone as afraid of water as Yin Feng, who was typically shrewd and alert on land with decent physical abilities. But once in the water, he became like a strangled rooster, flailing clumsily and struggling in a way that left you speechless.

Then they watched as their usually dignified and morose Teacher Yin removed his robe, revealing a model-worthy physique, before descending the specially built poolside steps into the water.

Tu Ya, self-taught in swimming but highly skilled, began teaching instinctively.

“Teacher Yin, hold onto the pool’s edge, and let’s start with leg movements. Like this—kick, retract, kick again. It’s simple.”

Yin Feng gripped the pool’s edge tightly, nodded slightly, then submerged his head and began kicking as demonstrated.

The endless water surged from all directions in that instant. The world suddenly fell silent—surface sounds disappeared. Through his goggles, Yin Feng saw only shifting blue. He kept kicking but still felt his body sinking. Then he could feel his body tensing, every bone and muscle becoming rigid as stone, gradually losing sensation.

No one knew why he feared water so intensely. He would never tell anyone.

When you enter the water, when that seamless, soundless liquid surrounds you from all sides, it’s like entering a sealed space—an inescapable chamber you cannot resist. You begin to lose your breath, then a sensation in your body. You feel terrible, intensely suppressed as if trapped by something you’ve always wanted to escape but never could…

Yin Feng suddenly lost his balance and began choking on water. Tu Ya quickly grabbed him, but Yin Feng had already swallowed a large mouthful, feeling terrible. His face finally broke the surface as he gasped for air. Tu Ya, startled, pulled him toward the steps.

He waved to indicate he was fine, saying, “Let’s continue.”

Tu Ya hesitated, watching him grip the pool’s edge again before submerging his head.

Once, twice, and again.

He would lose balance and choke; Tu Ya would pull him up. Then, pale-faced, he would continue, with an almost cruel smile on his lips. It was like self-torture, or perhaps refusing to admit defeat. But indeed, after such suffering, he could stay afloat longer, occasionally even lifting his head to breathe.

“Teacher Yin, you’re making great progress,” Tu Ya said sincerely. Though his learning pace might be slower than a child’s, starting from such a low point, Tu Ya truly admired him. On shore, Xiao Yan was also impressed, watching quietly, applauding, and offering words of encouragement.

Once more, Yin Feng sank beneath the surface, that viscous sensation surrounding him. He felt his limbs’ tense helplessness and his fierce resistance against it. He smiled underwater—this weakness, this vulnerability that had once left him hovering between life and death, must be erased from his body.

He choked again, badly this time. His throat, nose, and ears ached severely. Just as Yin Feng reached for Tu Ya’s arm to end this training session, familiar images suddenly flooded back—the wavering water surface, the dim light, and the sensation of water filling his nose, ears, and throat.

They all came rushing back in an instant.

Yin Feng saw the deep night and the lurking mountains. Saw the water’s violent movement as someone grabbed his head, pushing him under until he choked and nearly suffocated, then pulling him up. He heard his breathing, like a desperate, pathetic fish. He could even feel the immense panic and helplessness in his heart then, before seeing the cruel water surface approach again.

Then he saw that woman.

She crouched nearby. Someone struck her back with a pole, but she didn’t make a sound, her eyes full of tears.

Yin Feng suddenly didn’t want to see those eyes anymore, to see her pained gaze at that moment, nor did he want her to see himself so weak and useless.

He saw himself turn away, face death-like.

…

Finally, the woman seized a gap in the enemy’s defense, instantly taking down several men before rushing to him. He even remembered her scent that day—wet, full of stream water, unpleasant and cold. But he also recalled the feeling of holding each other tightly, faint starlight overhead, as if they were the only two people left in the world.