Chapter 250: Snorkeling
Beside the coral reef.
Vivian Lowell put on her snorkeling gear, bit down on her mouthpiece, and entered the water hand in hand with Julian Faulkner.
Vivian was a bit nervous since it was her first time snorkeling.
Fortunately, the weather today was fantastic. The sun shone brightly with barely a cloud in the sky to block its rays. The surface of the water sparkled, and the world beneath was crystal clear.
In this coral reef area, the water wasn’t deep. The shallowest spots were only about a meter deep, meaning Vivian could stand up straight with no problem.
Of course, it wasn’t low tide yet. Once the tide went out, the spot where Vivian was currently standing would be completely dry.
She thought, "Tides really are fascinating."
Slightly distracted by her thoughts, Vivian nearly choked on the water. In a flash, Julian swam closer. He was clearly worried about her, though his large waterproof goggles obscured his eyes, making it impossible for Vivian to read his expression.
Vivian waved her hand at him. It was a pre-arranged signal between them, meaning she was fine.
Slightly relieved, Julian took her hand again and led her toward deeper waters.
As they swam deeper, the water grew a bit dimmer. With the light blocked and unable to reach the ocean floor, her visibility worsened.
Still, she could see small fish swimming all around her.
Fish as long as her index finger wagged their tails, darting around the coral reef.
Vivian reached out to catch them, but the fish were incredibly agile underwater, darting away in an instant.
After one fish escaped her "evil clutches," Vivian felt a little unsatisfied and reached out to catch another!
But after several attempts, she failed every time.
Facts proved that fish truly were creatures of the deep. It was practically impossible for clumsy "bipeds" on land to catch them barehanded.
After a few failures, Vivian gave up trying. Feeling Julian tug on her hand, she obediently followed behind him and continued snorkeling.
Julian was an excellent snorkeler.
With his flippers on, he moved as freely in the water as a fish.
Watching his beautiful physique glide through the water, Vivian suddenly realized that the legendary "mermaids" didn’t necessarily have to be women.
Who said men couldn’t be mermaids?
Julian was so good-looking; if he wanted to be a handsome merman, he definitely could!
Uh, but a "handsome merman" probably wouldn’t have the curvy figure of a traditional mermaid, would he?
With her imagination running completely wild, Vivian carelessly bumped her head against a rock while snorkeling.
"OUCH!"
Vivian desperately wanted to cry out in pain!
But the moment she opened her mouth, she instantly regretted it.
Only after inhaling a mouthful of seawater did she remember she was underwater!
Julian hurried back to her side. This time, Vivian was choking quite badly and desperately wanted to cough. She quickly signaled Julian to take her to the surface.
Understanding her completely, Julian immediately followed her instructions. A moment later, the two of them broke through the water’s surface.
Vivian clung to Julian’s body, wrapping her arms around him as she coughed.
The seawater was far too salty, and inhaling it felt awful. Her throat felt completely parched and incredibly uncomfortable!
"Are you okay?"
Julian didn’t dare stray too far from her. He searched the immediate vicinity and, luckily, found that they had surfaced not far from where they had first entered the water.
Julian retrieved a bottle of mineral water wedged in the reef and handed it to Vivian. "You see, when I follow behind you, you don’t like it.
"But when I lead the way... what just happened? Are you alright now? If you’re tired, let’s head to shore and rest. There’s still a bit of time before the tide goes out.
"Soaking in the water for too long will make your body feel heavy once you’re on land, and you’ll need time to adjust."
Vivian drank some water and felt significantly better.
Seeing Julian furrow his brows in concern, she was too embarrassed to tell him that she had just been daydreaming about him turning into a merman while she became a prince, and the two of them...
Well, she had gotten so lost in thought that she bumped her head.
And because she was so engrossed, she completely forgot she was underwater when she hit it. Her subconscious urge to cry out and distract herself from the pain had resulted in this frustrating mess.
She had choked on seawater.
Vivian thought to herself that if she had just paid attention, this definitely wouldn’t have happened!
"I accidentally bumped my head..."
Feeling a bit guilty, Vivian muttered weakly. Glancing up at the blazing sun, she added, "Let’s go back and rest for a while.
"It’s a good time to change clothes and apply some sunscreen. We should also get our beachcombing tools ready. It’s about time."
It was past nine o’clock, and low tide wasn’t far off.
"Alright," Julian agreed, and together they climbed back onto the boat.
When they returned, they found that Mr. Drake and Eleanor Rhodes had also just returned. Evidently, Eleanor hadn’t snorkeled before; she had been a bit nervous today and ran into a few minor issues.
Fortunately, they were just small hiccups. Eleanor had still thoroughly enjoyed snorkeling. With this practice under her belt, she felt certain she would do even better next time!
"How was it, Eleanor? Was it fun? I saw so many fish just now, but I couldn’t catch a single one. What a pity!" Vivian asked.
"I saw them too!"
Eleanor was full of enthusiasm, eagerly pulling Vivian into a conversation. She rambled on about her grand ambitions and how many crabs and clams she was going to catch when they went beachcombing later.
After changing their clothes, Vivian was just applying sunscreen when Vance Wyatt and Finn finally returned.
They were the last to come back, which surprised Vivian a little. Moreover, they both seemed to be in exceptionally high spirits.
It wasn’t like Vivian and Eleanor, who had returned early due to minor "accidents" while snorkeling.
It was just...
Vivian didn’t know if it was because the sun was getting a bit too strong, but both Finn’s and Vance’s faces were slightly flushed. The atmosphere between them was also a bit peculiar.
Did something happen?
It didn’t look like anything unpleasant.
As Vivian watched them in confusion, Finn spoke up first. "Ms. Lowell, I’m not too late, am I? Look what I found in the water just now."
Finn handed her a shell.
It was a beautiful, pristine white shell, as large as Finn’s palm.
"What’s this?" Vivian asked, puzzled. Had Finn started "beachcombing" early?
As she wondered, Finn opened the shell. Inside lay a green pearl!