Chapter 68: Buying a Watch

Chapter 68

Xiao Qi plunged her head into the swimming pool.

She opened her eyes.

She blew a few bubbles.

The world underwater was blue.

Sunlight streamed down from the transparent roof overhead, the water shimmering.

Xiao Qi swam freely, like a fish in the water.

Only now did the jumbled thoughts finally drain completely from her mind.

The splash of water in the pool washed them away without a trace.

Her hometown, Grandet's grandmother, her unpleasant relatives, the unfairness...everything slowly faded.

Exercise didn't just strengthen the body, it broadened the mind.

Because when Xiao Qi was truly immersed in running or swimming, exhausted as she was, she had no thought left to dwell on those things. And later when she did think back on them, she realized they were such small, tiny things, they wouldn't impact the next decades of her life at all, not really even the present.

After swimming back and forth vigorously for a few laps, the Teacher finally came over.

She had Xiao Qi keep swimming so she could observe her. After watching for a while, she finally said, "There's a qualifying round tomorrow, a more formal one. If you maintain the level you showed today, you'll be fine."

Xiao Qi nodded.

Tomorrow was the 11th, the last solar term of the summer. The formal competition was on the 20th.

"Any issues? Did you watch the competition videos I gave you?"

"No issues. Yes, I watched them."

Now when Xiao Qi cooked or took breaks or went to the bathroom, she would open the videos of swimming competitions that Teacher sent and watch.

"Good. Don't be nervous. Just perform at your normal level and there's no need to worry. Come in the morning tomorrow. The qualifying rounds in the morning should finish pretty quickly. After a bit more practice, remember to come get the gear and uniform for the competition from me."

After the Teacher finished speaking, someone else called her away.

She was quite busy in the afternoons.

So Xiao Qi practiced on her own. She swam vigorously and happily. She couldn't quite feel the other improvements herself, but her endurance really was much better. In the past she would be exhausted and ready to get out after 10 laps, barely able to lift her arms and legs. By that point she just wanted to lie down by the poolside. However, the Teacher had strictly instructed that even when tired from swimming, she couldn't lie down but had to do stretches.

Only after stretching could she rest.

The saleswoman was very attentive, smiling widely, her lips a bright red that contrasted sharply with her very white, straight teeth.

She looked quite beautiful with that huge smile.

"This watch is simple and understated, very suitable for students like you to wear. What do you think?" The saleswoman held out a silver watch resting lightly on a black velvet box, encased in her white gloved hands.

On her slender, fair wrist beneath the store lighting, the silver watch gave off a dazzling brilliance.

It matched her hand perfectly and looked very attractive.

"This is a Longines watch with a white mother-of-pearl dial. It displays the date and is mechanical, so it has lifetime warranty coverage without needing batteries. It's waterproof to 15 meters deep." The saleswoman enthusiastically introduced it from the side.

Xiao Qi quite liked it. The price tag was right on the watch. She had assumed it would be 1-2,000 RMB at least, but when she looked closely she realized she was far too naive, short by a zero.

This watch cost over 16,000 RMB!

In that moment Xiao Qi hesitated, wondering whether to buy it or not.

The saleswoman continued persuading her, "The watch band is stainless steel so it won't break. If you flip it over you can see the inner workings. You can wear it your whole life. And if you don't like it someday, you could always gift it to someone else to enjoy for just as long."

Amortized over a whole lifetime, the price didn't seem too unreasonable.

But Xiao Qi still hesitated a bit.

In the mirror across the counter stood a 17-year old girl in a white dress, graceful and pleasing. She held up her wrist with a hint of bright color upon it.

The watch suited her outfit today very well.

Yet she didn't buy it, because at that moment the girl seemed to see her elementary school classmate Juan Zhang through the mirror. She had a lovely bag on her arm and pretty high heels on her feet, laughing together with some fellow villagers and inviting them to her home. At that time Juan Zhang looked so beautiful, young and vibrant, fashionably dressed, brimming with confidence.

But soon after, all sorts of gossip spread through the village about her.

Xiao Qi set the watch back down to look for another option.

"This one's too expensive. I just want something waterproof I can wear swimming, it doesn't need to be so nice. Something more cost-effective with decent quality that I can check the time on is fine," she calmly replied.

The saleswoman's smile didn't waver as she returned that exquisite Longines watch and led Xiao Qi over to another counter. She brought out another watch for her consideration.

This watch looked much cooler with a larger dial and rubber strap. It had lots of buttons around the edge and could display the time along with acting as a stopwatch for timing. A thin gold rim encircled it with gold lettering that gave off a modern robotic vibe.

Xiao Qi saw it cost 1,500 RMB and relaxed, even finding it amusing now that watches costing 1,000 seemed cheap when before that sum used to seem expensive. Clearly her sense of money had inflated quite a bit.

In the end Xiao Qi purchased that casual CASIO electronic watch which clashed somewhat with the feminine dress she had on. While her watch was sportier, her dress looked elegant and ladylike. However, Xiao Qi usually dressed casually so she felt the watch suited her better, having more functions and being waterproof for timing her swims although she probably wouldn't wear it her whole life. When she became truly wealthy someday, she could always buy herself another watch.

Still she felt quite grateful to the saleswoman for introducing her to the Longines brand, something she'd never known about before when it came to watches. It might not be the most expensive but she imagined one day she would certainly buy a Longines for herself.

Xiao Qi put on her newly purchased watch as she walked out of the watch store. The moment she stepped out of the shop, the mechanical sound rang in her ear, "Host has made reasonable consumption purchases, choosing things currently most suitable for herself. This establishes the correct concept of consumption and rewards the host with a 20-day doubled learning efficiency buff."