My Mr. Mermaid

Untitled Part 1

Chapter 1: Swimming Goggles and a Tea Egg by ryuxenji

As the year shifted into October, the weather in City-Z was constantly dismal. It drizzled unceasingly, wet and cold — it was as if the entire city had fallen into a gloomy and hazy impressionist painting. Even the mood of the people in the city seemed to have been soaked by the rain, becoming wet and heavy.

Such bad weather persisted until the day  came to City-Z. On that day, the skies suddenly cleared up and turned sunny. The long-unseen sun hung high above, radiating crisp golden sunlight down on everything beneath it, instantly changing the city into a bright and vivid oil painting.

"What a hospitable city!" Yun Duo could not help but sigh in awe. She was carrying a large backpack, a hand supporting the camera hanging down in front of her chest, while her other hand held onto a plastic bag with a tea egg in it. It was a leftover tea egg from her breakfast — she could not bear to waste food, and so had carried it with her all this while.

Walking alongside her was a short, middle-aged man. Yun Duo addressed him as . She had started working at  after graduating from university this summer, and Teacher Sun had been mentoring her since then. Now, she had just passed her probation period.

Teacher Sun turned to glance at her and smiled. He was someone who liked to smile and always treated others kindly. Teacher Sun teased her, saying, "Yun Duo, what are you thinking? Carrying a tea egg to a swimming hall?"

Yun Duo smiled sheepishly, tying the plastic bag up with a knot and tossing it into the spacious pocket of her coat.

Teacher Sun then asked her, "Are you nervous for your first official interview?"

Yun Duo carefully examined her feelings for a moment, then answered, "Nope, I'm not nervous! After all, I have you to cover for me!"

"Oh you!" Teacher Sun shook his head, "Next time there's an event like this, I'll let you go handle the interviews on your own."

Yun Duo knew he was only joking — for a grand event such as this one, how could a small fry like her be allowed to go conduct interviews on her own?

Yes, a grand event. In the swimming hall ahead of them, the annual national swimming championships was being held.

For a long time, swimming had not been a sport which received much attention in China. A world champion in swimming was valued far less than an ordinary national soccer athlete, even if the latter may not have accomplished much in his field.

This slightly awkward situation remained unbroken until last year's Olympics. The Chinese prodigy Qi Rui-Feng emerged in the Games, winning a gold and two silvers in swimming events and also breaking a world record, making China proud.

Such great results naturally set off a wave of swimming fever within the country.

By the time Yun Duo arrived at the swimming hall, there were actually no empty seats left. It was clear to see how passionate and enthusiastic the crowd was. On the west stands, a large group of people were waving flags and shouting at the top of their lungs. The slogan on the flags read: 'Qi Rui-Feng, good luck!'

Besides that, there were all sorts of posters and signs being shaken around, all of them filled with words of encouragement and love ... from the looks of it, the atmosphere was really like a superstar's reception.

Swimming competitions were typically brief. Those who would invest so much into cheering despite the low value-for-effort rate must be true fans.

'As expected of an Olympics champion!' thought Yun Duo. Even his true fans were a grade higher than others'.