In truth, soone truly intent on jumping into a lake wouldn’t choose a man-made one like this, constantly passed by people and likely very shallow.
There were no weights tied to her feet, and her clothes were made of thin silk that didn’t absorb water. Unless the girl genuinely couldn’t swim, drowning herself in this lake would be quite difficult.
With a hint of concern, Yuu casually walked closer, then stopped by the lake’s edge, observing her movents with keen interest.
When the water reached her calves, almost touching her short khaki skirt, the girl stopped. Seemingly unwilling to get her skirt wet, she even took two careful steps back.
"If you don’t want to get wet, why not stop earlier? This person’s so strange."
Yuu struggled to understand the girl’s thoughts.
But humans, complex as they are, often don’t even understand themselves, let alone others—just like how he could never quite grasp what Haruno was thinking, ultimately giving up on useless guesses.
He kept watching her.
Like a spectator in the stands, enjoying the slow unveiling of the curtain on the lake’s stage.
After checking her skirt, the girl began inspecting her shoulder-length hair, then quickly pulled out a hair tie, binding her beautiful flaxen hair into a long ponytail, flicking it slightly, a satisfied smile forming on her lips.
Like a female knight ready to mount her horse for battle—no misunderstanding, a mainstream ani female knight.
As he thought this, the next second, he saw her pinch the hem of her skirt and start kicking the water.
"Hoi! Hoi! Hoi!" She kicked the water high with all her might, the splashes whitening the sunlight, crystal droplets shimring in the air.
The sound of splashing water rang clear under the calm, bright sky.
Yuu: "..."
"I thought she was up to sothing, but she’s just playing in the water?"
"I recall this resort has a pool—an indoor luxury one with glass half-ceiling windows, complete anities, even three palm trees making the promo photos on the website look stunning."
"Not going to a safer place, but deliberately coming to a man-made lake to play in the water, this is just..."
Yuu gave up on comnting.
After all, where and how soone wanted to play in the water was their freedom. He was just a spectator, with no right to say anything.
He didn’t think to record it to preserve the mont either. Yuu simply watched as the girl, done kicking the water, gleefully stomped in it, humming on the lake’s surface while dancing oddly.
...Don’t get it wrong—she was pretty, with a great figure, and seed to have so dance training. Though he didn’t know what dance she was doing, the sight was still pleasing.
The clear sky stretched wide, and she danced on the lake, as well as in Yuu’s eyes.
Occasionally, the glimpse of plain white beneath her skirt beca a spotlight illuminating the stage.
Though impolite, Yuu couldn’t help but glance twice before preparing to leave—after all, n are inherently big perverts, and seeing a "bonus" scene made it hard to move.
Not that he ant to peep; it was just that seeing her play so joyfully without caring about others, he didn’t have the heart to disturb her... Any excuse felt a bit problematic.
No matter what others thought, he was just passing by and enjoying a beautiful performance—that was roughly his feeling.
Standing up from the grass, Yuu brushed off his pants, about to turn and leave.
"Ah... Kyaaa—!"
A panicked scream rang out. The girl finished a spin in her lake dance, not yet standing upright, when her body suddenly wobbled, staggering back a few steps.
Her reaction was quick; she managed to stand upright, but as if tripping over sothing, she frantically waved her arms, seemingly about to fall into the lake.
Yuu didn’t think much, acting on instinct. He combined two skills and shouted—
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
Yuuki Asuna always wondered, what was she working so hard for?
Walking the path her mother laid out, pouring all her ti into dull studies, her ears filled daily with her mother’s orders and commands.
No friends to play with, no hobbies to share with others—even the one thing she could take pride in, her studies, was seen as rely expected, never earning praise or comfort.
Perhaps because she rarely had free ti, thoughts she’d never had before now sprouted like mushrooms in the rain.
Walking alone on a path with no visible light...
This kind of life had exhausted her.
A weary, gloomy feeling enveloped her heart. Asuna gazed at the clear, calm lake surface before her, then suddenly muttered:
"Sleeping at the lake’s bottom must be so comfortable..."
No more pointless forcing herself, no more striving for a aningless life.
The lake water was cold, but not as cold as her mother’s gaze when she didn’t get perfect grades. Sleeping there, all her problems would vanish.
So, Asuna made a decision.
She took off her shoes, as if casting off all the burdens in her life, and resolutely walked toward the lake’s center.
The cold lake water crept past her toes, slowly rising, as if trying to freeze her blood.
Asuna took a deep breath, stopping when the water reached her calves.
"Here... should be enough?"
Don’t misunderstand—she had no intention of drowning herself.
She was only 17, hadn’t experienced love, hadn’t lived freely, hadn’t sat by a fireplace chatting casually with her daughter and a pet—how could Asuna just die like that?
Though exhausted, she had to live strongly, because one day, even soone like her would surely find her own happiness!
"When was the last ti I played in the water... Kindergarten? Elentary school?" Her finger touched her chin, and Asuna sank into thought.
Looking back, it was all ti weighed down by textbooks and assignnts, with no joy or rest.
(Though hoping for her daughter’s success, isn’t this parenting style too harsh...) Thinking this, Asuna gave a bitter smile.
She secretly resolved that in the future, she wouldn’t let her daughter endure such treatnt!
Not daring to protest her mother, she could only pass this sentint to the next generation.
Back to the main point.
"Mother and the others should still be talking, right? They won’t know I’m here. Before they call back... just for a bit, I’ll play a little!"
Glancing nervously left and right, ensuring no one was around, Asuna lifted her skirt, tied her hair, and carefully began kicking the water.
"Hoi!"
It was a childish act that would’ve earned her a thorough scolding if her mother saw.
Water splashed before her, a mundane sight that sohow sparkled.
The cool breeze brushed her face, the cold water seed to warm, an odd joy rising from her heart, the thrill of breaking rules flushing her cheeks.
"Hoi!"
The corners of her lips lifted unconsciously, and Asuna kicked the water again, a bit harder this ti.
Left foot, right foot, left foot, right foot...
Her skirt inevitably got splashed, but she didn’t notice, continuing like a naughty child, disrupting the calm man-made lake’s surface.
Tired of kicking, she stretched her body, dancing a dance even she didn’t know the na of.
"La la la la~ Che ru ru ru~ Che ru pi pa~"
Humming an irregular tune, she freely swung her arms and swayed her hips on the water, letting her long ponytail wave in the air, as if reaching for distant airplane clouds.
Asuna closed her eyes, her lips smiling, savoring the mont’s happiness.
Right now, she wasn’t a Yuuki, but simply Asuna—just herself, shedding all burdens, dancing freely in the cold lake water.
Exhausted from spinning, she prepared to pause and rest.
Just as she was about to stand upright, she felt a pebble underfoot, and her foot slipped.
"Eh?"
Her large eyes blinked blankly as the scenery before her retreated.
Stunned for only a mont, Asuna’s eyes sharpened, and she reacted quickly.
One foot instinctively stepped back, stabilizing her tilting body.
Before she could sigh in relief, the earlier movent shifted her other foot outward, tripping over sothing, instantly breaking her unsteady balance.
"Kyaaa—!"
She scread unconsciously, her arms flailing frantically twice, her body tilting uncontrollably.
Her mind blanked, watching herself about to fall into the lake, awaiting a soaked body and her mother’s scolding. Suddenly, a shout ca from the lake’s edge—
"Stand tall!"
The voice, astonishingly, pierced straight into her heart, echoing through her body.
Filled with anxious, serious, and earnest emotion, it was as if soone more important than her mother was shouting, pleading for her to straighten up.
A strength from nowhere surged, restarting her stagnant, resigned mind, her stiff, uncontrolled muscles reacting again.
—I can’t let him down!
As this thought erged, Asuna’s actions followed.
Her abs suddenly tensed, forcing her back to arch sideways; in the corner of her eye, she saw the lake water, muddied by her antics.
The water wasn’t deep—about half an arm’s length!
"Hup!"
She let out a low grunt, her right hand swiftly plunging into the lake, her five fingers firmly bracing against the bottom. Her agile half-body ford an arc, like a turtle bouncing in place, successfully flipping herself upright.
Her long ponytail skimd the water’s surface, sending a cascade of droplets.
The process took less than three seconds, and the girl’s final dance ended with her standing tall.
"Huff, huff..."
Seeing the scenery return upright and the lake’s surface gradually calm, Asuna opened her mouth slightly, panting.
She blinked, the panic in her eyes lingering, like waking from a nightmare.
"...What was that just now?"
Though part of her mind was still blank, Asuna instinctively turned, looking toward the lake’s edge where the voice ca from.
...The grass was still green, butterflies occasionally fluttered by, the lake’s edge completely empty.
She looked around again, her sharp eyesight finding no trace of anything unusual—everything was as normal as before she entered the lake.
"...Was it just my imagination?"
Shaking her head, Asuna dismissed the thought—it couldn’t have been her imagination.
The voice still echoed in her mind, its impression so vivid she might not forget it anyti soon.
Droplets fell from her arm.
Looking down at her reflection in the lake, seeing herself standing so upright, truly "standing tall," she couldn’t help but pull the corners of her lips into an amused smile.
(It felt like being under a spell.)
Thinking this, she frowned again in confusion:
"So, what exactly happened..."
Could soone explain?
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