Chapter 39: The Taste of a Pig

Chapter 39

In the morning, there were few people at the swimming pool.

The waves on the water's surface made Xiao Qi feel relaxed in her mind.

Xiao Qi wore a red swimsuit that her coach had prepared for her, one like the athletic unitard swimmers would wear on the field, complete with a bright red flag logo on the top.

Her skin was fair, her eyes as clear as water, and her figure was well proportioned.

She had previously felt that her existing swimsuit made her look stouter since she had a longer torso, but seeing herself now, she felt her legs looked very long and the new swimsuit fit her perfectly.

Her chest hadn’t developed much yet, the bulge there was actually the foam padding built into the suit.

The seventeen-year old girl still had some fluffy facial hair, with a bit of lingering baby fat around her cheeks.

Xiao Qi walked barefoot into the swimming pool. The morning water felt a bit cool, and she couldn’t help but shiver a little as she first stepped into the disinfecting pool.

"Good morning Coach."

Xiao Qi saw that Coach Wu had already arrived. A towel was wrapped around her and she appeared damp—she had likely already finished two laps.

Seeing her latest student, Peirong's eyes lit up.

She had taught two lessons so far and found the young girl to be very hardworking. Diligence was what Peirong appreciated most. As a former athlete herself who had trained for so long, she understood that although natural talent was important, a willingness to learn and work hard mattered more. Her swim team wasn’t competing internationally but rather in municipal and provincial level meets. And in those competitions, those who won weren’t always the most naturally talented—to be honest they weren't competing at the level where natural talent was the key deciding factor. It came down to who put in the effort and hours of diligent practice.

In her very first lesson, the young girl had meticulously completed all the practice tasks Peirong assigned, even going above and beyond. Typical students who paid for private lessons tended to be less obedient, practicing half-heartedly as long as they could swim decently. But Xiao Qi took her lessons even more seriously than the team Peirong coached.

Her second lesson had been the same story.

Not only was the girl hardworking, Peirong had been pleasantly surprised to discover she also had natural talent for swimming. She slipped into the water smoothly and effortlessly.

“You’re sufficiently warmed up. Let's start practicing freestyle today. It's the event with the highest number of races at the Olympics so a country's freestyle capabilities are seen as indicative of their overall swimming prowess."

Peirong's coach had shared that sentiment with her long ago and she had been filled with passion, eager that one day she could win honor for her country. But looking back now after so many years, she realized how naive she had been then.

In contrast, her current student showed no signs of impassioned aspirations for winning national glory. Xiao Qi had much simpler motivations—if she placed in the top three in this upcoming competition, the prize money would be sufficient.

Xiao Qi slipped into the water and began swimming, steadily accumulating steps on top of the over 10,000 she had already logged that morning in the pool. Working that hard underwater felt far more grueling than walking the same number of steps on land. By the end of the workout she felt like every muscle in her arms and legs had been evenly pulverized.

Following her teacher’s guidance, she focused intently on each swimming stroke and turn. One lap, two laps, three laps... fifteen laps...twenty laps... As she neared twenty her limbs grew increasingly fatigued. She slowly swam to the pool's edge where Coach Wu reached out to help pull her up. Beaming encouragement, Fang Fang praised:

"You practiced very well today. Let's wrap it up for now. In a few days I’ll have you race some others to get a feel for the competitive difference."

Xiao Qi hauled herself up the ladder, muscles quivering with exhaustion. But rather than immediately rest she began more stretching exercises.

The morning swim had already exceeded 10,000 steps. Accruing so many paces underwater was far more draining than walking the same amount. Her arms and legs felt uniformly crushed.

Following her teacher’s prescribed routine she worked to fully stretch every muscle.

By the time she finished, the previously empty pool had flooded with people streaming in steadily like water poured into dumpling skins. More kids had arrived too, some with life rings and others with little duck floaties. Practically converting the pool into a water park. At least her section of the deep end remained relatively calm.

It was Sunday morning and many parents were bringing their children swimming.

Coach Wu also had to leave to start her paid lessons. The training with Xiao Qi was complimentary but Xiao Qi could gift Wu’s reserved private lessons to others.

After saying goodbye to her teacher, Xiao Qi headed off to shower. The hot water poured evenly over her skin. She felt her whole body relax blissfully as all her pores opened up and warmth seeped through.

"The host diligently completed her swimming practice, meticulously following instructions to improve her skill which positively impacted those around her. Rewarding the host with one level increase in taste perception. Ordinary humans have approximately 3,000 taste buds. After this increase, the host now possesses taste buds comparable to a pig, around 5,500 taste buds. She will be able to perceive flavors more keenly.”

Xiao Qi: ......

The hot shower had left her a little numb already when she received notice that along with her new canine sense of smell, she now also possessed a porcine sense of taste...